We sat down with flutist Claire Chase (and friend/composer Kyle Brenders) to talk about her early experiences with avant-garde music, the Density project, the problem with genre, and how she's gotten really into conference calls (among many other things).
We talk with Lebanese singer Yasmine Hamdan about Big Ears 2017, the inspiration behind her new album, Al Jamilat, and the state of the world right now.
Armed with a guzheng, a 2,000-year-old Chinese instrument akin to a zither, Beijing-born Wu Fei will break new musical ground at this weekend's Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN.