{"id":10486,"date":"2025-05-19T22:15:28","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T03:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=10486"},"modified":"2025-05-19T23:04:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T04:04:39","slug":"trying-to-be-free-a-conversation-with-curtis-hasselbring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/trying-to-be-free-a-conversation-with-curtis-hasselbring\/","title":{"rendered":"Trying to Be Free: A Conversation with Curtis Hasselbring"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Concepts of genre are odious as they defy human reality. Even the most ardent adherent to stylistic norms, if they are being honest, draws influence from elsewhere. While categorical boundaries may help in the marketplace, they fail to address the complexity of art or individual expression. One of the most blatant of these dividing lines is drawn between electronic and acoustic languages. In reality, however,  as Bill Laswell has noted, \u201ccomputers and electronic music are not the opposite of the warm human music. It\u2019s exactly the same.\u201d Curtis Hasselbring & the Curhachestra<\/em> (-est, 2025) explores this unity of computer-generated sounds and the acoustic in depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A frequent collaborator with Satoko Fujii, member and arranger for the Ghost Train Orchestra, and member of Chris Lightcap\u2019s SuperBigmouth, Hasselbring is no stranger to experimenting to find a new sound. In the case of the Curhachestra, such creative openness has resulted in an incredibly deceptive group. Its name – a combination of the leader\u2019s nickname \u201cCur Ha\u201d and orchestra – suggests a big band or concert band setting, but in reality, it is anything but. Instead, it is merely a quartet with a much larger-sounding descriptor. Its unusual instrumentation allows Hasselbring to explore pieces he wrote for electronics within a predominantly acoustic setting while keeping a foot in both realms. Raphael MacGregor\u2019s lap steel guitar evokes a taste of Americana and mid-Century dance halls. It stands in stark contrast to Adam Minkoff\u2019s continually propulsive basslines. The leader\u2019s trombone adds a lyricism even as it becomes distorted under pedals and manipulations. It is also sometimes difficult to tell Dan Reiser\u2019s tight drum hits from mechanized beats. The result is tracks like the shape-shifting \u201cMorphology\u201d with special guest Nels Cline, where an edgy punk rock anthem drifts to the sounds of surf before the tide takes it somewhere more menacing. Or the lost disco excursion through the spaceways of \u201cBee Alley\u201d that ultimately becomes a global jetsetting dance party ala Balthvs, Glass Beams, or Khruangbin on acid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than an exposition on some space between humanity and technology, Curtis Hasselbring & the Curhachestra<\/em> is a welcome reminder that the two are more unified than they may first appear. In even the most technologically advanced, there is an inescapable ineffable human quality – you simply need to look for it – a message essential in this new age of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PostGenre: In another interview, you indicated you make music for \u201caccountants, ice sculptors, and food truck proprietors<\/a>,\u201d not critics. Do you take criticism into account when making music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Curtis Hasselbring: I wonder why I said that. It\u2019s kind of true. The music I make is what I would want to listen to, and I like to listen to many different styles and genres. I’m mostly trying to please myself. My general approach to composition, production, or whatever aspect of music making I’m working on is ultimately tied to what I want to hear as a listener. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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