For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.
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Born in Detroit, raised in London and now based in Kraków, Alex Roth is a composer, guitarist, producer and interdisciplinary collaborator. His diverse body of work encompasses improvised performances; a wide range of concert music from solo to orchestral compositions; scores for dance, theatre and film; leading numerous bands; and producing electronic music. He has worked with some of Europe’s leading experimental musicians, such as John Butcher, Arve Henriksen, Savina Yannatou, Kit Downes, Mikolaj Trzaska and Olga Szwajgier.
Alex leads the acclaimed improvising trio Cut The Sky (with Wacław Zimpel and Hubert Zemler); produces experimental electronic music as Supersigil; co-directs Sephardic music group Sefiroth; and founded the networked ensemble MultiTraction Orchestra, whose critically lauded debut album was hailed by The Guardian as "a remarkable sonic collage by an A-list of international improvisers.”
Alex’s compositions have been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Sinfonietta, and the 20+ releases in his discography also include collaborations with singer/songwriter Alice Zawadzki, Mercury Prize nominee Laura Jurd's Human Spirit, and Orcadian fiddler/singer/songwriter Catriona Price, among other recordings on labels such as Superpang, Edition, Diatribe and NMC.
Alex is also the founder of multidisciplinary label Zyla, whose inaugural season of releases was curated around his Inpouring EP—a collaboration with experimental cellist Alice Purton—and included poetry, drawing, animation, choreography and videography.
MUSIC MENTIONS
- Duke Ellington
- Count Basie
- Neal Hefti
- Glenn Miller
- [AllMusic.com](http://allmusic.com/)
- Penguin Guide to Jazz
- Olivier Messiaen
- Blue-Eyed Hawk
- Cut the Sky
- MultiTraction Orchestra
- Zyla (label)
- Band Camp
Early inspiration (25:00):
- Derek Bailey
- Fred Frith
- Robert Fripp
- King Crimson
- Frank Zappa
- Frippertronics
- Bill Frisell
- Ben Monder
- Tim Berne
- Marc Ducret
Discovering music from then to now (32:37):
- Grove Dictionary of Music
- Art Blakey
- Wayne Shorter
- Miles Davis
- HMV (record store)
- The Wire (magazine)
- Peter Margasak
- Nowhere Street
- Steve Smith
- Night After Night
- Ted Gioia
- MUSIC x
- Maarten Walraven
- Bas Grasmayer
- Band Camp Daily
- [AlbumoftheYear.org](http://albumoftheyear.org/)
Q&A
- Nyege Nyege
- “Children of the Forest” album by Milford Graves, Arthur Doyle, Hugh Glover
- “The Liquified Throne of Simplicity” album by Širom
- Oasis
- Ornette Coleman
- “The Shape of Jazz to Come” album by Ornette Coleman
- Bjork
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Nick Drake
Three artists of note discovered in the past year (44:34):
- MC Yallah
- Milford Graves
- Širom
First album ever purchased (52:16):
- “Paint the Sky with Stars“ by Enya
Most under-appreciated artist from your favorite music decade (1:02:28):
- Éliane Radigue
Desert island discs (1:06:52):
- “The Columbia Years 1955-1985” by Miles Davis
- “Fantasia” by Franz Schubert
- “Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares” by The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir
Recommended guests for future episodes (1:14:11):
- Maarten Walraven
