Last February, Dan Goldberg (aka The Spookfish) performed in a sling at Palisades. His guitar resting upright on a stool, he strummed awkwardly and adequately, each focused, wincing movement endearing him more. This personal challenge not to cancel the set (after dislocating his shoulder in a snowstorm) became the essence of the set; the arrangements took on a certain vulnerability in the light of that particular night.
Also planned that week was a session with Brooklyn-based violinist, Nicole Ruggiero. The two had met not long before, and the open-minded newness of their first creative encounter can be heard across these improvised takes, as well as in between them—Nicole laughing after ‘Improvisation 1’, Dan noting fatigue as ‘4’ unravels, etc. Mixing “harmony and dissonance,” frames Nicole, the collection feels like a capsule of a moment. Raw and fleeting, finished yet pleasantly incomplete.
The lead track appeared in Sam Ray’s Art Week 2016 compilation. Now the full set is up at SoundCloud, paired with an image by visual artist Symbios.