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Vijay Iyer

Uneasy

ECM

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Touba
Interview with WBGO
Human Nature - Vijay Iyer Trio Live at KPLU
Vijay Iyer talks to Hash Varsani of Jazz Club Jury, about music and his view on jazz
Qobuz - My Favorite ECM Album by... Vijay Iyer
1 Children Of Flint  
2 Combat Breathing  
3 Night And Day  
4 Touba  
5 Drummer's Song  
6 Augury  
7 Configurations  
8 Uneasy  
9 Retrofit  
10 Entrustment  
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Uneasy, with Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh, is Vijay Iyer's second trio album on ECM and his seventh appearance as a leader on the label. Navigating from one shape-shifting idea to another, he continues to push boundaries from one album to the next. His unique musical approach has gained him many accolades and much praise from the international press, The New York Times summarizing his persona as a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway". On Uneasy, he draws on the history of the music while continuing to push it forward. In the course of this endeavour, the political and social turbulences dominating today's American landscape are reflected in musical contemplation and tense space. In his liner notes, Vijay elaborates on how today "the word ‘uneasy' feels like a brutal understatement, too mild for cataclysmic times. But maybe, since the word contains its own opposite, it reminds us that the most soothing, healing music is often born of and situated within profound unrest; and conversely, the most turbulent music may contain stillness, coolness, even wisdom."

Uneasyportrays this cast's first studio session after having played together throughout 2019 – Tyshawn and Vijay's partnership even going back to 2003, when they both appeared on Vijay's quartet album "Blood Sutra", featuring saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa and bassist Stephan Crump. They've worked together frequently since, including on Vijay's 2017 ECM release Far From Over. Linda May Han Oh is a new collaborator of Vijay's, although their professional relationship has been developing for several years. A consistent guest faculty member of the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music in Alberta, Canada, the bassist has become well acquainted with Vijay and Tyshawn, the workshop's co-artistic directors.

Linda and Tyshawn have both recorded with ECM before – Sorey playing on Roscoe Mitchell's Bells For The South Side and Ohadding her unique voice as bass to German pianist Florian Weber's ECM debut Lucent Waters. Her nimble language and Tyshawn's robust but deeply musical swing add the complementing pieces that set Uneasy apart from Vijay's past work and build a striking contrast to his last trio outing Break Stuff. "We have an energy together that is very distinct. It has a different kind of propulsion, a different impulse and a different spectrum of colours", raves Vijay in regard to his trio partners.

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  • Vijay Iyer Trio - Compassion will end up being one of the best jazz albums of 2024 / EVERYTHINGISNOISE
    Posted At: March 12, 2024 12:00 AM
    Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer follows his acclaimed 2021 ECM disc Uneasy — the first to showcase his trio featuring bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey — with Compassion, another creative leap in league with these two gifted partners. The New York Times captured the distinctive qualities of this group, pointing to the trio’s flair for playing “with a lithe range of motion and resplendent clarit...
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  • Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, and Tyshawn Sorey find 'Compassion' / popMATTERS
    Posted At: March 4, 2024 12:00 AM
    The Vijay Iyer Trio’s new album Compassion contains some of the pianist’s most immediately enjoyable music without sacrificing any of his usual complexity.popMATTERS - Justin Cober-Lake writes….To understand pianist Vijay Iyer‘s latest release, you must understand the joy of a good haunting. Or at least the joy through a good haunting. Nearly two years have passed since Iyer’s ensemble project Ghosts Everyw...
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  • 'Compassion' solidifies the chemistry of Vijay Iyer's trio across a set of originals and some choice covers / THE BIG TAKE-OVER
    Posted At: February 23, 2024 12:00 AM
    Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer follows his acclaimed 2021 ECM disc Uneasy — the first to showcase his trio featuring bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey — with Compassion, another creative leap in league with these two gifted partners. The New York Times captured the distinctive qualities of this group, pointing to the trio’s flair for playing “with a lithe range of motion and resplendent clarit...
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  • The Vijay Iyer Trio's connected interplay can seem telepathic, as they imagine future possibilities on 'New Sounds'
    Posted At: February 22, 2024 12:00 AM
    Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer follows his acclaimed 2021 ECM disc Uneasy — the first to showcase his trio featuring bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey — with Compassion, another creative leap in league with these two gifted partners. The New York Times captured the distinctive qualities of this group, pointing to the trio’s flair for playing “with a lithe range of motion and resplendent clarit...
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  • Vijay Iyer, a man without boundaries / STEREOGUM
    Posted At: February 21, 2024 12:00 AM
    STEREOGUM's PHIL FREEMAN writes….I’ve been listening to Vijay Iyer’s music for almost 20 years. We first met in 2006, when I was the editor of the world music magazine Global Rhythm and he had just released Raw Materials, an album of duos with saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. They came up to the magazine’s offices and I interviewed them together. It was a very interesting conversation; what struck me the mo...
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  • Vijay Iyer - Compassion makes 91.1WTJU's NEW JAZZ RELEASES
    Posted At: February 19, 2024 12:00 AM
    Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer follows his acclaimed 2021 ECM disc Uneasy — the first to showcase his trio featuring bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey — with Compassion, another creative leap in league with these two gifted partners. The New York Times captured the distinctive qualities of this group, pointing to the trio’s flair for playing “with a lithe range of motion and resplendent clarit...
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  • Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh & Tyshawn Sorey reprise the shape-shifting lines that made 'Uneasy' standout / FINANCIAL TIMES
    Posted At: February 14, 2024 12:00 AM
    Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer follows his acclaimed 2021 ECM disc Uneasy — the first to showcase his trio featuring bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey — with Compassion, another creative leap in league with these two gifted partners. The New York Times captured the distinctive qualities of this group, pointing to the trio’s flair for playing “with a lithe range of motion and resplendent clarit...
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  • Vijay Iyer's latest album: 'Compassion,' showcases clear and intentional music in a chaotic world / bnn
    Posted At: February 14, 2024 12:00 AM
    Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer follows his acclaimed 2021 ECM disc Uneasy — the first to showcase his trio featuring bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey — with Compassion, another creative leap in league with these two gifted partners. The New York Times captured the distinctive qualities of this group, pointing to the trio’s flair for playing “with a lithe range of motion and resplendent clarit...
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  • Vijay Iyer wants to be heard loud and clear / The Washington Post
    Posted At: February 14, 2024 12:00 AM
    His trio’s latest, ‘Compassion,’ feels like a highlight on the acclaimed pianist’s path in and out of jazzThe Washington Post's Chris Richards writes….As enchanted staircases go, the entry to the Village Vanguard is tough to beat. Duck down the steps and you’re walking into one of the most storied rooms in American music. You’re also stepping out of the cruelty of the world. On a recent Tuesday evening, at ...
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  • Vijay Iyer/Linda May Han Oh/Tyshawn Sorey - Compassion is a present-day ECM gem / SOMETHING ELSE!
    Posted At: February 7, 2024 12:00 AM
    SOMETHING ELSE! S Victor Aaron writes….For the last twenty years, Vijay Iyer has stood as one of the most renowned jazz pianists, composers, bandleaders and sidemen, freshening up an old genre by pushing out the frontiers of composition and improvisation. For the last ten of those years, he’s done that from the distinguished perch of ECM Records, expanding his legacy further by constantly introducing new id...
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  • Vijay Iyer/Linda May Han Oh/Tyshawn Sorey turn 'Compassion' into a stunning work of musical skill / SPECTRUM CULTURE
    Posted At: February 7, 2024 12:00 AM
    SPECTRUM CULTURE's Konstantin N. Rega writes…..American pianist Vijay Iyer continues to come into his own after nearly 30 years in the business. Easily one of the most notable contemporary pianists working today, (think Joey Alexander, Kenny Barron and Benny Green), he continues to forge a distinct style and expression of sound. Joined by bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey once again, the te...
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  • Vijay Iyer/Linda May Han Oh/Tyshawn Sorey - Compassion makes BrooklynVegan: Notable Releases
    Posted At: February 2, 2024 12:00 AM
    Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer follows his acclaimed 2021 ECM disc Uneasy — the first to showcase his trio featuring bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey — with Compassion, another creative leap in league with these two gifted partners. The New York Times captured the distinctive qualities of this group, pointing to the trio’s flair for playing “with a lithe range of motion and resplendent clarit...
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  • Vijay Iyer Trio set for Eastman School of Music's 'Kilbourn Concert Series' / RochesterBeacon
    Posted At: November 3, 2023 12:00 AM
    Described by The New York Times as a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway," VIJAY IYER has carved out a unique path as an influential, prolific, shape-shifting presence in twenty-first-century music. A composer and pianist active across multiple musical communities, Iyer has created a consistently innovative, emotionally resona...
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  • Vijay Iyer reflects on music, ownership, and improvisation / The Amherst Student
    Posted At: October 25, 2023 12:00 AM
    The Amherst Student's Noor Rahman writes…..In the second installment of the Freedom Talks speaker series, Grammy-award winning musician and professor Vijay Iyer spoke about the Western conception of music as something that can be owned and argued for the need to historicize concepts like improvisation and freedom.Musician, MacArthur Fellow, and Grammy nominee Vijay Iyer was the second speaker in the college...
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  • Vijay Iyer on 'how to make music matter to people' / 88.3WBGO
    Posted At: April 11, 2023 12:00 AM
    Described by The New York Times as a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway," VIJAY IYER has carved out a unique path as an influential, prolific, shape-shifting presence in twenty-first-century music. A composer and pianist active across multiple musical communities, Iyer has created a consistently innovative, emotionally resona...
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  • Vijay Iyer digs deep on inspired solo set at London Piano Festival / jazzwise
    Posted At: October 17, 2022 12:00 AM
    jazzwise witnesses a stirring performance by the preeminent US pianist at Kings Place, LondonKevin Le Gendre writes….Many artists have expressed an ambivalence about the need to give titles to songs. The music is to be heard not named. Listening is what counts above all else. Vijay Iyer picks up the theme in no uncertain terms, by announcing, as soon as he arrives on stage, that he won’t list all the compos...
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  • relix features: Vijay Iyer
    Posted At: June 16, 2022 12:00 AM
    relix - Jeff Tamarkin writes….Prolific is just one of many adjectives that seem to attach themselves to Vijay Iyer’s name—along with visionary and virtuosic—nearly every time a writer profiles the pianist and composer. It’s been more than a year since the release of Iyer’s most recent album, Uneasy (ECM Records)—recorded with bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey—and, in that time, Iyer has com...
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  • Vijay Iyer Trio - Uneasy makes New York Public Radio 'New Sounds Year in Review 2021'
    Posted At: January 2, 2022 12:00 AM
    He is a sample of notable new music releases from 2021, according to New York Public Radio Technical Director, Senior Broadcast Engineer, and Radio Host Irene Trudel. She can often be found in her natural habitat listening to music with her keen ears, making radio and podcasts, recording remote concerts, or cleaning up our audio messes, and in doing so, she frequently discovers arresting New Sounds. Here ar...
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  • John Coltrane, Vijay Iyer & Sons of Kemet make the arts fuse: 2021 Jazz Critics Poll
    Posted At: December 29, 2021 12:00 AM
    the arts fuse - Francis Davis writes…..Jazz isn’t an orthodoxy, a religion, a form of faith healing, or a tribal rite — you don’t have to be in the room with it the moment it happens to reap its benefits.When I had to scramble to find new headquarters for my annual Jazz Critics Poll once before, I called it “the oldest, established, permanent, floating crap game” in … well, New York initially, at the Villag...
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  • 'Uneasy' with Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh and Vijay Iyer makes JazzTimes: Top 40 Jazz Albums of 2021
    Posted At: December 14, 2021 12:00 AM
    Uneasy, with Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh, is Vijay Iyer's second trio album on ECM and his seventh appearance as a leader on the label. Navigating from one shape-shifting idea to another, he continues to push boundaries from one album to the next. His unique musical approach has gained him many accolades and much praise from the international press, The New York Times summarizing his person...
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  • Vijay Iyer - UnEasy makes Treble: best jazz albums of 2021
    Posted At: December 13, 2021 12:00 AM
    Treble's Konstantin Rega writes….In recent years, jazz has consistently been a source of the most thrilling and innovative new sounds, and 2021 was no exception. This year, heralded by a landmark release from a contemporary electronic musician with a saxophone legend, we saw a trend of more atmospheric jazz with electronic elements, but that alone doesn’t tell the story of what was happening in jazz this ye...
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  • Vijay Iyer Interviews with 89.9WORT: Strictly Jazz Sounds
    Posted At: December 8, 2021 12:00 AM

    The Thursday December 2 edition of Strictly Jazz Sounds featured a live interview with world renowned pianist, composer, and Harvard educator Vijay Iyer who performed at the Wisconsin Union Play Circle on that Friday.  SJS cohosts Steve Braunginn and Jane Reynolds chat with Iyer about his critically acclaimed recording "Uneasy," his social activism through music and the power of his compositions. ...
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  • Vijay Iyer chats with 90.1WRTI about 'Uneasy'
    Posted At: October 22, 2021 12:00 AM

    Uneasy, with Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh, is Vijay Iyer's second trio album on ECM and his seventh appearance as a leader on the label. Navigating from one shape-shifting idea to another, he continues to push boundaries from one album to the next. His unique musical approach has gained him many accolades and much praise from the international press, The New York Times summarizing his...
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  • Vijay Iyer's 'Children of Flint' makes KCRW's Best Songs of 2021 (So Far)
    Posted At: July 8, 2021 12:00 AM

    KCRW'S Andrea Domanick and LeRoy Downs writes.....We love a good album, and there have been a lot of them this year, but let's be real - whether you're driving down the freeway with the radio on, or streaming KCRW as you pregame for a night out (remember those?), we at KCRW know better than anyone: It's all about the songs. Whether it's a powerhouse lead single, a brooding deep cut, or a one-off ...
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  • Vijay Iyer in conversation with 102.5KXSF - San Francisco on creating art and social change
    Posted At: June 17, 2021 12:00 AM

    KXSF 102.5 FM San Francisco - Frequency Uplift! Bob Thayer is in conversation with jazz pianist/composer VIJAY IYER, on his new trio and music ‘Uneasy.' They discuss creating art and social change, and on challenging the political and cultural moment.  Uneasy, with Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh, is Vijay Iyer's second trio album on ECM and his seventh appearance as a lead...
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  • Vijay Iyer captures a prophetic and present sound on 'Uneasy' / 88.3WBGO
    Posted At: May 25, 2021 12:00 AM

    WBGO's Greg Bryant writes...Vijay Iyer's latest album, Uneasy, is a striking document of synergy and awareness. Iyer, along with bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, musically calls attention to a global state of angst and disarray. The music is dark and contemplative, but the rhythmic drive also suggests energy, optimism and forward motion. "Artists end up being right at the foref...
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  • On 'Uneasy' the Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey trio continually morphs as it explores / JazzTimes
    Posted At: April 15, 2021 12:00 AM

    JazzTimes JACKSON SINNENBERG writes.....Astark, black-and-white, distant photo of the Statue of Liberty; composition titles that reflect crises of infrastructure and systemic racism; an underlying tension in the music throughout; all these elements suggest that Uneasy, the new trio album by pianist Vijay Iyer, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, could be the definitive political work of ...
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  • Vijay Iyer teams with new trio for a new record that came together during a period of tragedy and unrest / The New York Times
    Posted At: April 8, 2021 12:00 AM

    The New York Times - Giovanni Russonello writes...The pianist Vijay Iyer composed the title track to his new trio album, "Uneasy," back in 2011 for a collaboration with the dancer and choreographer Karole Armitage. It was still a few years before the 2016 presidential campaign, when so many of the country's old wounds and resentments would burst onto public display, but he already felt some undercurr...
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  • Vijay Iyer Trio - Entrustment makes 88.3WBGO: Take Five
    Posted At: April 5, 2021 12:00 AM

    88.3WBGO's Nate Chinen writes.....We've already noted here that Uneasy - the new ECM album by pianist Vijay Iyer, bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey - is cause for celebration. In advance of its release this Friday, it's worth spending time with the album's contemplative closing track, which you could almost characterize as a prayer. The droning resonance in the song, ...
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  • Dramatic track from Vijay Iyer's forthcoming visionary album makes JAZZIZ: New Release Cheat Sheet
    Posted At: March 24, 2021 12:00 AM

    Jazziz - MATT MICUCCI writes.....If you're looking for some great new music to discover this weekend, look no further than our weekly New Release Cheat Sheet. This week, we bring you the first of a series of new singles by Joey Alexander on Verve Records, a dramatic track from Vijay Iyer's forthcoming visionary album, new music from Jon Batiste and more. Vijay Iyer has shared a new song from his fort...
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  • Vijay Iyer Sextet will play final 2019 performance at CSUN: The Soraya - Jazz / BroadwayWorld
    Posted At: April 17, 2019 12:00 AM

    "There's probably no frame wide enough to encompass the creative output of the pianist Vijay Iyer," The New York Times observed. His Ph.D. in cognitive science from UC Berkeley is just the start. He's been recognized as a bona fide "genius" by DownBeat magazine and was named by GQ India as one of the 50 most influential Indians. The jazz pianist is also a prolific recording artist and his quintet...
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  • Matt Haimovitz and Vijay Iyer turn The Ringling Museum into a club filled with devotees seeking expanded horizons / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
    Posted At: February 23, 2019 12:00 AM

    Cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Vijay Iyer turned The Ringling Museum's Historic Asolo Theatre into an experimental jazz club filled with thinkers and devotees seeking expanded horizons. We knew going in that we would be encountering two music visionaries each rooted in a different world, and even the performers didn't know what the results might be. This concert, part of the New Stages Contemporary P...
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  • Vijay Iyer, set for Edinburgh Festival, Q&A's with The List
    Posted At: July 14, 2018 12:00 AM

    Vijay Iyer, who brings his acclaimed Sextet to the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival on Tue 17 Jul, is one of the leading pianist-composers in contemporary jazz – although like many of his mentors and peers, he resists genre labels. 'Most of the elder musicians I know reject the word jazz,' he tells me over the phone from Madeira, where he is performing on his current tour. 'Henry...
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  • Vijay Iyer Sextet will play two different sets on two different nights at Cape Town Jazz Festival / IOL
    Posted At: March 18, 2018 12:00 AM

    Internationally acclaimed jazz pianist Vijay Iyer is one of the few artists to play two different sets on the Rosies Stage at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Iyer brings out his sextet to play both nights of the Festival on March 23 and 24, presenting original compositions on both nights. Speaking from New York, Iyer said it had not been a tough decision to travel so far to get to Cape Tow...
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  • Vijay Iyer Sextet set for Birdland / The New York Times
    Posted At: January 6, 2018 12:00 AM

    p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica} The Vijay Iyer Sextet  is set for Birdland from Jan. 9-13.  Mr. Iyer's sextet was one of the most discussed stories in creative music last year, when it released a stalwart debut album, "Far From Over." The group plays this pianist's compositions, which cut and weave while maintaining solid structures, and build muc...
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  • John Scofield, Vijay Iyer & Bill Frisell combos make Boo Boo Records 'Top 10 releases of 2017' / New Times SLO
    Posted At: December 29, 2017 12:00 AM

    I've been feeling like my repertoire of music needs a definitive update. And after the staff members at San Luis Obispo's Boo Boo Records provided New Times with their Top 10 releases of 2017, I felt like I just needed to throw everything away and start over. But thankfully, Jan. 1 is almost here, and now I have some lists to help kick start my search for new tunes ... in 2018.   Loo...
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