Violins swirl over carefully plucked guitar chords with a cello rumbling below, while a Rhodes piano sets off on a beautiful, emotional, and sometimes turbulent musical journey.  These wordless reveries are crafted by musicians who have a deep background in modern classical music, but their live shows push their influences farther, engaging in Cage-like usage of live TV and radio broadcasts to add an aleotoric element to their music.   Slow Six, a long-running group of committed musicians, already have released a critically acclaimed record (and another in the related project Redhooker), received favorable radio and press coverage, and have played in some of the most respected downtown NY venues.  An eight-piece ensemble with a shifting line-up, the band plays an original brand of electronic chamber music, pairing their expressive post-minimalist instrumentals with video-art and other media.

Nor’easter moves with a melodic sensibility that is refreshing from a ‘minimalist’ artist, showing that Slow Six are not to be confined by constructs, movements, or genres. They, in fact, seem to defy labels, blending musical virtuosity and intense artistic creativity, without allowing themselves to be pigeonholed into one style.   While apparently claiming influence from the world of indie rock and espousing a DIY philosophy, these musicians are clearly masters of their respective instruments. The six long compositions on this release do not necessarily flow into one seamless work, but nor do they shift between styles, instead offering a fresh hybrid.

The musical direction of Christopher Tignor gives the band a unique identity, distinct from fellow New Albion artists, though certainly not leaving the realm of classical.  The personal touches of the other musicians shines through however, particularly guitarist Stephen Griesgraber and pianist Rob Collins.  Griesgraber in particular makes his presence felt, and, as in his other group, Redhooker, it is the guitar work that allows the band to straddle the worlds of classical and popular music.  Fusing traditional instrumentation with electronic effects, amplifying strings, and the occasional drums, Slow Six are in many ways representative of a new crop of bands emerging in NYC. For many listeners, especially those who aren’t already fans of classical or new music, classical musicians are considered be to too technical and lacking the emotion that seems to fire jazz and rock.  This is unfortunate, however, as classical music offers a powerful and dynamic emotionality, one which has become easier to identify in these new ‘cross-over’ artists.  Although I will reiterate that Slow Six are not to be reduced to some cliché or lumped into some movement created by journalists and critics, I will also go as far as to say that they are one of the best new artist emerging from New York, and make me proud that my hometown is still churning out vital art such as this.

-Joseph Sannicandro