The mission of Seek Refuge comes into sharp focus this month with two icons of quite opposite scenes brought together for an hour. James Dillon, legend of British new music and J Dilla, one of the most important Hip Hop producers to have lived.

This month Seek Refuge focusses on the dark sounds of Iannis Xenakis and Rebecca Saunders with their works Pithoprakta and Scar as the centrepoints of the mix. Around them are other sounds from across contemporary music echoing something of their essence.

Scenes in Deserta

Streaked, teasing this haze of confusion; nothing is clear, all is quite too much. Keep driving though mind not drive too far... thinking is clear, but really quite too much too. It’s really hot out. John McCabe’s Scenes in America Deserta should never again be followed immediately by Samba Jean-Baptiste, so hear, I do so for you, so none shall ever have to again. Happy Seek Refuge Sunday.

A collection of dark, percussive tracks to blow off some steam this month. Inspired by J "Mo'ong" Santoso Pribadi and friends.

This episode features :

E+E – Sword; Nuno Beats – Sai do Curaçao; Divide and Dissolve – Oblique; Zoo – Hegamila; Charles Verni – That; ABADIR – Mois de Marie; Takkak Takkak – Kyouzon; Tennota – Vivious Cycle; Tennota – Apical; Raja Kirik – Buto Abang (Red Giant); Geinoh Yamashirogumi – Reincarnation

An hour of piano music this month celebrating the versatility of the instrument in its solo form. The piano alone can do so much, from minimal soundscapes to dense jazz and much beyond... and just wait til you hear what Raphael Montañez Ortiz does with it!

This episode features :

Duval Timothy – Hairs; Christian Drew – More Parlour Music; Raphael Montañez Ortiz – Piano Destruction; Fergus McCreadie – Chorale; Sakoto Fujii – Horizon; Barbara Monk Feldman – Soft Horizons; Ichiko Aoba – 2024-06-13 03.33; George Crumb – Spiral Galaxy; Hania Rani - Buka

The darned sun has brought a sudden halt to listening habits! Here: a skewered selection of music of the past 900 years - from Hildegard von Bingen to Caterina Barbieri & Bendik Giske’s recent collaboration.

This episode features :

Caterina Barbieri & Bendik Giske – Persistence, Buds; Shards – Facta est deserta; Rolf Lislevand – Pasacaglia al modo mio; Reinartz – Empty Time (Leaking Skin); Giles Swayne – Cry, IV. Sun – Moon – Stars; Holy Tongue & Shackleton – Gravity Will Fail Us; Karlheinz Stockhausen – Stimmung models 47-51; Hildegard von Bingen – O tu suavissima virga

This month had me thinking about all the great dance, opera and ballet going on round the world rn, with thriving living composers creating incredible, accessible and meaningful work and masterpieces by late legends of the game which continue to hold huge relevance in the scene and potential appeal to wider communities, should the desire to engage take them.

I heard Daniel Blumberg performing his soundtrack to the upcoming movie The Testament of Ann Lee last week - it handled free improvisation, period instruments, shaker hymns, birdsong, a percussive masterclass, and Amanda Seyfried all at once and in perfect matrimony. This mix aims to do something like that with moments of trance-like intensity, others of ethereal folk melodies and much in between.