Tyondai Braxton isn’t just a dude from New York with good hair, shoes and duck-filled press shots. No, he’s actually the son of experimental jazz icon Anthony Braxton, a member of avant-rock supergroup Battles, and a quality recording artist on his own terms.
This month, he released his latest solo album, Central Market, for Warp. A departure from the “orchestrated loops” style of his previous work, which was designed to artificially simulate a musical ensemble, it’s his most vivid, memorable work to date, and should find equal admirers with fans of Jim O’Rourke and Brian Eno as those of Ducktails and TV on the Radio.
We asked Tyondai to pick out five treasured records from his collection, and we corresponded with him about them, and how they’ve influenced his work: from Central Market, to the “orchestrated loops”, to his collaborations with Prefuse 73, Battles and Glenn Branca
01: LEONARD BERNSTEIN & NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC
COPLAND: APPALACHIAN SPRING, RODEO, BILLY THE KID, FANFARE FOR THE COMMON MAN
(COLUMBIA MASTERS, 1970)
Pretty highbrow choice – nice one. Do you listen to a lot of classical day to day?
TB: “I guess you can say its highbrow but it’s such a vibrant set of pieces! This record is one of my favorites. Yes, I listen to a lot of classical. I think orchestral music is still some of the most exciting music out there. I love the sense of community you get in an orchestra. It’s almost like a small town coming together and forging through sound.”
Do you have an original copy of this, or is it one of the Bernstein Century re-issues?
“I have the reissue. Copland found an amazing interpreter in Bernstein. They shared a similar aesthetic and what I would perceive to be similar goals musically speaking. The recording is incredible.”
What is it about Bernstein that you like? Is it his work with the Philharmonic in particular, or his film soundtracks, or what?
“He’s a fantastic conductor, one of our country’s finest musicians and in my opinion he hasn’t had his due as far as being viewed as a composer. He and Copland were treading similar terrain, both interested in fusing jazz and classical. Apparently he struggled with making money, being a star conductor or to continue composing his own music. His music is exciting.”
How does classical music inform what you do? Do you view your work as classical, or a modern appropriation perhaps…?
“I’d say it’s a modern appropriation. I’ll use “classical methods” in so far as it pertains to what I need it to do and get across but not the opposite. I don’t feel the need to be a slave to old forms and such – though I find the music interesting. I’m more excited about reframing some of these established ideas.”