Michael Schell
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Michael Schell
@schellsburg.com
110 followers 140 following 210 posts
Composer/intermedia artist, host of Flotation Device on 91.3 KBCS, contributor to Sequenza 21, cribbage player. Views expressed are mine and no one else's. https://linktr.ee/MichaelSchell
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Day 7…. Thank YOU!
September 21, 2026 at 8:39 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday! Henry Threadgill has two new albums w/Zooid & Vijay Iyer. Plus Thea Musgrave at SFOpera, Xenakis, Anna Clyne, Goebbels, Nabatov and Ustvolskaya.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @vijayiyer.bsky.social @nonesuch.com @kbcs.bsky.social @sfopera.bsky.social @lporchestra.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-09-27 - Musgrave, Threadgill, Xenakis
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September 28, 2026 at 4:32 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday, and happy John Coltrane Centenary! John Seman celebrates on Flotation Device with an all-vinyl program focusing on the master's late masterworks with Pharoah, Alice, Rashied and the great Quartet.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @john-coltrane.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-09-20 - Coltrane at 100 by Flotation Device
Flotation Device celebrates The John Coltrane Centenary with an all-vinyl show hosted by John Seman, touching on 1965–67, including Coltrane’s final studio dates in Spring 1967 featuring Alice Coltran...
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September 21, 2026 at 8:53 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday as we celebrate Beckett- and Dürer-inspired works, Ned Rothenberg's 70th BD, and new albums by Wadada Leo Smith, Donnacha Dennehy, Cheer-Accident and more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @nonesuch.com @newworlddram.bsky.social @burningambulance.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-09-13 - Broody music by Flotation Device
This week we explore somber works inspired by Beckett and Dürer, contrasting Charles Dodge’s speech-synthesized realization of Beckett’s play Cascando with Trevor Bača's new rendition of Stirrings Sti...
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September 15, 2026 at 12:08 AM
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In this new podcast we wish Dave Liebman a happy 80th birthday, hearing him w/both Miles Davis & Tyshawn Sorey (who channels Morton Feldman in his new recording). Plus Brandon Seabrook, Victoria Bond & Anne-Sophie Mutter playing ringtones.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev...
@newfocuslabel.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-09-06 - Liebman, Sorey, Seabrook by Flotation Device
Flotation Device celebrates saxophonist Dave Liebman’s 80th birthday with a look at his career that spans Miles Davis and Tyshawn Sorey. We’ll remain with Sorey as he reflects on Morton Feldman’s mast...
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September 7, 2026 at 9:27 PM
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Now at YouTube: our 60th birthday interview with the innovative Australian composer Liza Lim, touching on her early influences and fondness for unconventional instruments as with her just-premiered carnyx concerto written for Marco Blaauw.
youtu.be/LYswEHLdYSc @kbcs.bsky.social @mblaauw.bsky.social
Liza Lim interviewed by Michael Schell
YouTube video by Schell77
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August 31, 2026 at 6:01 PM
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Happy 60th birthday to Australian composer Liza Lim. We celebrate tonight on Flotation Device with an exclusive interview and retrospective. Plus the latest from Threadgill, Nabatov, Hanes, Min Xiao-Fen and Visible Cloaks.
Sunday 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @nmcrecordings.bsky.social
August 31, 2026 at 2:18 AM
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Happy Podcast Monday! John Seman returns with tributes to Mel Powell, Wally Shoup and Muhal Richard Abrams. Plus Nick Dunston remixes the JACK Quartet, something new from Hedvig Mollestad and something old from Luigi Nono.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @ooyhrecords.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-08-23 - banquet bouquet by Flotation Device
Flotation Device salutes the uncommon Americanism of Mel Powell, a student of both Willie “The Lion” Smith and Paul Hindemith who recorded his neoclassical compositions for the Vanguard jazz label bef...
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August 24, 2026 at 9:49 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday! This week brings premiere recordings of Saariaho, Sorabji, Heiner Goebbels (for his 74th birthday today) and Heinz Winbeck. Plus Feldman, Gibbs, Min Xiao-Fen on pipa w/Julian Kytasty on bandura & more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @melvingibbs.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-08-16 - Goebbels, Sorabji, Saariaho
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August 17, 2026 at 4:53 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday! John Seman explores progressive proclamations w/2 new Gentle Giant reissues and a lineage w/mssv, CSTMR, Phil Minton, Nmperign & others. Plus more from our Blood Ulmer tribute
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @mphonic.bsky.social @eiderdownrecords.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-08-09 - More Blood by Flotation Device
Progressive Proclamations, Free Jazz Gestures, Intentions, and more Blood with your host John Seman.
www.mixcloud.com
August 10, 2026 at 8:38 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday!
-Betsy Jolas at 100
-Braxton, Wadada, Residents gems at 50
-New Glass, Hillborg, Brennan, Courvoisier, Scribner, Kim and more
tinyurl.com/JolasAt100 @philipglass.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social @theresidents.bsky.social @stevenericscribner.bsky.social @neumarecords.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-08-02 - Betsy Jolas at 100 by Flotation Device
Flotation Device celebrates the 100th birthday of the indefatigable Franco-American composer Betsy Jolas, and the 50th anniversaries of Anthony Braxton’s Duets 1976, Wadada Leo Smith’s Song of Humanit...
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August 3, 2026 at 11:46 PM
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Turning 50 this weekend is Einstein on the Beach, minimalism's greatest opera, and the crowning achievement of Philip Glass & Robert Wilson. We'll celebrate tonight with a survey of its four extent recordings.
Sun 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @philipglass.bsky.social @normanrecords.com
Photo credits: Suzanne Vega by Jorge Carmona, Philip Glass and Robert Wilson by Robert Mapplethorpe, Robert Wilson and Philip Glass by Kristian Kruuser, Sheryl Sutton and Lucinda Childs by Richard Landry, Bed (Montpellier 2012) by Lucie Jansch, Albert Einstein on the beach (1939), organ solo from Einstein on the Beach (Act IV, Scene 2: Bed), Tison Street as Einstein (BAM 1984), Train (Montpellier 2012) by Lucie Jansch, Trial (Paris 1976) by Egon Von Fürstenberg, Rudy Wurlitzer and Philip Glass on the beach (Nova Scotia 1971) by Roberta Neiman. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with hosts Michael Schell and John Seman, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
July 26, 2026 at 6:56 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday, happy 70th birthday to Michael Gordon, and happy 25th birthday to us! Check out our silver anniversary show, now in podcast format.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @icebreakeruk.bsky.social @cantaloupe-music.bsky.social @aum-fidelity.bsky.social @nonesuch.com
Flotation Device 2026-07-19 - Our 25th Birthday!
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July 20, 2026 at 4:28 PM
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Flotation Device turns 25 tonight with 4 DJs spinning A.Coltrane, W.Parker, P.Oliveros & more. We also mark the 70th BD of Bang on a Can's Michael Gordon.
Sunday 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @nonesuch.com @cantaloupe-music.bsky.social @icebreakeruk.bsky.social @visiblecloaks.bsky.social
Photo credits: KMRU and microphone via the artist, Jonathan Lawson via Climate Solutions, Alice Coltrane by Jeff Dunas, Michael Gordon by Peter Serling, Beatriz Ferreyra by INA grm, Naked City (Wayne Horvitz, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Joey Baron, Fred Frith) by Timothy Greenfield Sanders, Alëna Korolëva by Mike Hoolboom, Pauline Oliveros by David A. Cantor, Christopher DeLaurenti by Alex Woodward, Michael Schell and John Seman via the artists, William Parker via AUM Fidelity. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
July 19, 2026 at 10:01 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday! This week we celebrate Unsuk Chin at 65 w/Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mei Yi Foo and Ensemble Intercontemporain. Plus Stockhausen, Grdina, Hemphill and more.
mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @ooyhrecords.bsky.social @odradekrecords.bsky.social @ensembleinter.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-07-12 - Unsuk Chin at 65
Flotation Device celebrates the 65th birthday of the most important living Korean composer, Unsuk Chin, with a sampling of her complex, colorful music conveyed in new recordings by Ensemble interconte...
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July 13, 2026 at 6:17 PM
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Now available in podcast format: Stuart Dempster at 90, plus Cage, Sun Ra, Kancheli, Chen Yi, Wrens, Satoko Fujii, Myra Melford, Kenneth Gaburo, Miles Okazaki and more.
mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @sunrauniverse.bsky.social @ooyhrecords.bsky.social @pentatonemusic.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-07-05 - Dempster, Sun Ra, Kancheli
Flotation Device celebrates Stuart Dempster for his 90th birthday with a look at his career highlights as a trombonist, composer and didgeridoo player credited with co-founding Deep Listening Band, pl...
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July 8, 2026 at 12:21 AM
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Tonight we celebrate the 90th BD of Stuart Dempster, the 100th of Kenneth Gaburo, and the 50th of Cage's Apartment House 1776 & Sun Ra's great Montreux gig.
Sun 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @imprec.bsky.social @neumarecords.bsky.social @johncagetrust.bsky.social @andrewdrury.bsky.social
Photo credits: Stuart Dempster performing General Speech, Sun Ra and Ahmed Abdullah in Montreux by Leon Collins, Pauline Oliveros and Stuart Dempster via Andy Clausen, Kenneth Gaburo in Michael Schell: Just Words, Chen Yi by Jiang Xiao Ming, Giya Kancheli via Wise Music Classical, John Cage in Nam June Paik: Good Morning Mr. Orwell, Satoko Fujii and Myra Melford by Michele Giotto, WRENS (Elias Stemeseder, Ryan Easter, Lester St. Louis, Jason Nazary) by Guarionex Rodriguez, Jr., Miles Okazaki by John Rogers. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
July 6, 2026 at 3:33 AM
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Happy Podcast Monday. Today we celebrate Henze at 100, Giteck at 80, the debut of Sorabji's Opus Archimagicum, and new albums by Horse Lords, the Halvorson/Akinmusire duo, Dewa Alit, Denis Dufour and more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @nonesuch.com @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-06-28 - Henze At 100
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June 29, 2026 at 9:07 PM
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Next on Flotation Device:
-Henze at 100
-Janice Giteck at 80
-New albums by Halvorson, Akinmusire, Amy Denio, Dewa Alit, Steve Layton, Horse Lords and more
-Sorabji's Opus Archimagicum in its first recording
Sunday 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm @kbcs.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @nonesuch.com
June 28, 2026 at 5:13 AM
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Flotation Device welcomes John Seman back to the mic for this extended podcast that celebrates the late James Blood Ulmer, plus Joe Morris, Richard Bishop, Tomeka Reid, Climax Golden Twins & more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @jamaaladeen.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-06-21 - James Blood Ulmer Rip
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June 22, 2026 at 4:45 PM
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Enjoy the latest from Terry Riley as we preview his new album with Claire Chase and the JACK Quartet. Plus Jamaaladeen Tacuma at 70, RIP to James Blood Ulmer, and new things by Alex Paxton and more
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @jamaaladeen.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-06-14 - The Terry Riley Liftoff
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June 15, 2026 at 3:39 PM
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Our new podcast takes us back to June '76 and gems by Zappa, Braxton and The Residents. Plus John Luther Adams finds a new home and a new piece in Australia and Donnacha Dennehy has a new opera.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @frankzappa.bsky.social @crashensemble.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-06-07 - I Can't Get No…
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June 8, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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Flotation Device bids farewell to Sonny Rollins and Gunter Hampel, Wayne Horvitz and the Human Rites Trio play Seattle, Sean Shibe plays Adès and Birtwistle, and Andriessen's Hoketus turns 50.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social @pentatonemusic.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-05-31 - Sonny Rollins (1930–2026)
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June 1, 2026 at 7:49 PM
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Flotation Device salutes Miles Davis for his 100th birthday with a survey of his most unusual, forward-looking albums. Plus new music by Adès, Kris Davis, Angelika Niescier and Simon Hanes.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @milestones-archive.bsky.social @lporchestra.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-05-24 - Miles Davis at 100
Flotation Device salutes Miles Davis for his 100th birthday with several of his most unusual and forward-looking (but not always most popular) recordings. We marvel at the range of his half-century ca...
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May 25, 2026 at 10:59 PM
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A week past our Mother's Day Zappathon we explore post-Zappa themes in this podcast w/contributions by Zorn, Frith, Paxton, Cheer-Accident and more. Plus Xenakis, Ligeti & Nancarrow gems turn 50.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @frankzappa.bsky.social @skingraftrecords.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-05-17 - Post-Zappa
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May 18, 2026 at 9:00 PM