Rhythm Nation

Rhythm Nation celebrates American rhythmic traditions as an expression of bodily autonomy and tacit history keeping. This wide-ranging exploration features new works by Jlin, Jeff Scott, Mazz Swift, and Eddie Venegas, commissioned by Publiquartet with the support of a 2024 Chamber Music America Artistic Projects grant. The quartet also expands upon two works from the library of Kronos String Quartet's Fifty for the Future project: Fode Lassana Diabate's Sunjata's Time (2015) and Henry Threadgill's Sixfivetwo (2018), with electronics interludes created by Jannina Norpoth and John-Paul Norpoth meditating on the poignant words of Janet Jackson's 'Rhythm Nation.' Each of the pieces on the album evokes a distinct rhythmic world, reflecting the plurality of American movement(s) and protecting the unspoken spirit of their lineage's narratives.