Download this album for unlimited listening.
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Inspired by the experience of an Iranian filmmaker wrongly detained by INS officials at JFK airport in New York, this epic work explores life through the microcosm of the airport -- a place of arrival and departure, of being an alien or leaving one's citizenship behind. Poet/hip-hop man Mike Ladd has done a superb job with the lyrics, polished by real little monologues that examine all aspects of the problem -- and it's a problem that often leaves travelers dehumanized. Keyboard player Vijay Iyer gives tone and color to all this in his compositions, and the two together become more than a sum of their parts. It's not an easy album to listen to -- often harrowing, as in "Innana After Baghdad" or "Terminal City" -- but more than repays the investment of ears and time. Is it jazz? Not really. It falls outside category -- as it should, given the subject matter involved. At first it can sound simplistic, but it soon becomes apparent that the textures and depths of the music only reveal themselves gradually, such as with "Asylum." Written originally to be performed on-stage in a theatrical setting, it transfers well to a purely recorded medium, dense and demanding, but ultimately satisfying, inasmuch as it leaves the listener full of questions and less certain about the world.
© Chris Nickson /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Vijay Iyer, MainArtist - Mike Ladd, MainArtist
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Album review
Inspired by the experience of an Iranian filmmaker wrongly detained by INS officials at JFK airport in New York, this epic work explores life through the microcosm of the airport -- a place of arrival and departure, of being an alien or leaving one's citizenship behind. Poet/hip-hop man Mike Ladd has done a superb job with the lyrics, polished by real little monologues that examine all aspects of the problem -- and it's a problem that often leaves travelers dehumanized. Keyboard player Vijay Iyer gives tone and color to all this in his compositions, and the two together become more than a sum of their parts. It's not an easy album to listen to -- often harrowing, as in "Innana After Baghdad" or "Terminal City" -- but more than repays the investment of ears and time. Is it jazz? Not really. It falls outside category -- as it should, given the subject matter involved. At first it can sound simplistic, but it soon becomes apparent that the textures and depths of the music only reveal themselves gradually, such as with "Asylum." Written originally to be performed on-stage in a theatrical setting, it transfers well to a purely recorded medium, dense and demanding, but ultimately satisfying, inasmuch as it leaves the listener full of questions and less certain about the world.
© Chris Nickson /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 17 track(s)
- Total length: 01:08:58
- Main artists: Vijay Iyer Mike Ladd
- Label: Pi Recordings
- Genre: Jazz
2003 Pi Records, Inc 2003 Pi Records, Inc
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.