Michael Schell
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Michael Schell
@schellsburg.com
75 followers 130 following 120 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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Now in podcast format: What's Going On returns to the Northwest, celebrating the legacies of Sun Ra, Butch Morris and Henry Threadgill. With Wayne Horvitz, Ingrid Laubrock, Brandon Ross & more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @sunrauniverse.bsky.social @ingridlaubrock.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-11-09 - What's Going On
www.mixcloud.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:38 PM
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Wayne Horvitz's What's Going On festival is back for a second year, and we'll have all the details tonight. Sun Ra, Butch Morris & Henry Threadgill will be in the spotlight of four Seattle concerts.
Sun 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@sunrauniverse.bsky.social @ingridlaubrock.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Photo credits: Felipe Lara by Celeste Sloman, Wayne Horvitz and Butch Morris by Dany Gignoux, Sun Ra with Yamaha YC30 combo organ, John Zorn in MindFlux 2010 via the artist, Oxana Omelchuk via Orbit, Steph Richards by Chris Weiss, Butch Morris by Chad Batka, Michael Finnissy via the artist, Brandon Ross via 27 East, Henry Threadgill via Pi Recordings, Ingrid Laubrock by Frank Schindelbeck. 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.
November 10, 2025 at 1:25 AM
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Happy Podcast Monday! Celebrate Berio and Berberian at 100 and Hosokawa at 70 w/Stuart Dempster, Seattle Symphony, Alarm Will Sound, the Arditti 4tet and more. Plus Craig Taborn, Patricia Brennan, Gabriel Cabezas and Gabriella Smith.
tinyurl.com/FD0226 @starbuckcello.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-10-19 - Berio & Berberian at 100
Flotation Device celebrates the 100th birthdays of Luciano Berio and Cathy Berberian, and the 70th birthday of Toshio Hosokawa. We use the opportunity to examine the divergent postmodern aesthetics of...
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November 3, 2025 at 7:25 PM
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Tonite Flotation Device pays tribute to Jack DeJohnette—perhaps the most versatile drummer ever—with help from Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Roscoe Mitchell & more. Plus Zappa, Rzewski, Meredith Monk, Clone Row & Prudencio at 70.
Sun 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@maryhalvorson.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Photo credits: Cergio Prudencio via Kairos Records, Meredith Monk by Julieta Cervantes, Jack DeJohnette via the artist, Aquaserge (Audrey Ginestet, Julien Chamla , Manon Glibert, Benjamin Glibert, Olivier Kelchtermans) by J.P. Sageal, Alex Paxton by Jess Rose, Standards Trio (Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Peacock) by Roberto Massoti, Norma Jean Bell and Frank Zappa by Gail Zappa, Frederic Rzewski and daughter by Françoise Walot, Jack DeJohnette and Miles Davis by Harry Monty, Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos via the artists, Clone Row (Liberty Ellman, Mary Halvorson, Nick Dunston, Ches Smith) by Chase Pierson. 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.
November 2, 2025 at 10:28 PM
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Now in podcast format: Flotation Device celebrates minimalism's founding father La Monte Young at 90 with help from Terry Riley, Marian Zazeela, Pandit Pran Nath and John Cale. Plus Partch, Shardik, Dai Fujikura Dobrinka Tabakova, all in new recordings.
@kbcs.bsky.social @daifujikura.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-10-12 - La Monte Young at 90
Flotation Device celebrates La Monte Young, the father of minimalism, for his 90th birthday with a look at his uncompromisingly static and intense music that gave rise to everything from ambient and n...
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October 29, 2025 at 12:49 AM
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Now at YouTube: my Flotation Device interview with Matthew Aucoin, who brings his Music for New Bodies to Meany Center on 11/1. We hear highlights from that work and chat about Matt's collaborations with Peter Sellars, and the state of new opera in the US.
youtu.be/4S-BLAI5Q74 @kbcs.bsky.social
Matthew Aucoin interviewed by Michael Schell
YouTube video by Schell77
youtu.be
October 27, 2025 at 7:20 PM
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Tonight Flotation Device interviews Matthew Aucoin about Music for New Bodies (coming to Meany Center on 11/1). Plus Wayne Horvitz & Kris Davis play Earshot Jazz, Dai Fujikura on timpani, Borderlands Trio, Zeena Parkins and more.
Sun 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@daifujikura.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Photo credits: Matthew Aucoin via the artist, Megan Moore in Music for New Bodies via Meany Center, Wayne Horvitz by Tom Chargin, Cecilia Lopez by Ian Kornfeld, Kris Davis Trio (Kris Davis, Robert Hurst, Johnathan Blake) by B Natural, Zeena Parkins by Andy Newcombe, Dai Fujikura by Seiji Okumiya. 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.
October 27, 2025 at 4:34 AM
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Happy Podcast Monday! Ches Smith and Clone Row offer Schoenberg in a rock-n-roll guise. Rzewski takes us on a road trip. Threadgill writes for 6 guitars & 2 pianos, plus historical gems by Bayle, Ohana and Roscoe Mitchell.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-10-05 - Signs, tracks and rows
Ches Smith's Clone Row quartet provides an opportunity to ponder what Schoenberg might have sounded like as a rock-n-roller, while Frederic Rzewski takes us on a road trip, Henry Threadgill writes for...
www.mixcloud.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:20 PM
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Tonight Flotation Device marks the 100th birthdays of Berio & Berberian (w/Stuart Dempster & Seattle Symphony) and the 70th of Hosokawa (w/the Arditti 4tet). Plus Smith, Taborn, @nelscline.bsky.social Patricia Brennan and more.
Sun 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm @starbuckcello.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Photo credits: Carol Levin via the artist, Toshio Hosokawa by Kaz Ishikawa, Luciano Berio by Gisela Bauknecht, Trio of Bloom (Craig Taborn, Nels Cline, Marcus Gilmore) by Frank Heath, Sequenza V by Luciano Berio, Patricia Brennan by Werner Siebert, Luciano Berio and Cathy Berberian via Seattle Chamber Orchestra, Gabriella Smith via the artist, Stuart Dempster via Still Listening 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.
October 20, 2025 at 4:03 AM
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Happy Podcast Monday! This week brings Gubaidulina, Amelia Cuni, the Bozzini Quartet, Tim Berne, Cuong Vu, Pat Metheny, Marshall Allen, Oasis Boom, Arlene Sierra, and even Cage and Nancarrow.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @orenambarchi.bsky.social @quatuorbozzini.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-09-28 - Figures Of Time
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October 13, 2025 at 5:59 PM
schellsburg.com
Tonight on Flotation Device: La Monte Young at 90 w/Riley, Zazeela & Cale. Plus the latest from Dai Fujikura, Dobrinka Tabakova, Partch Ensemble & Shardik, and Earshot Jazz & Seattle Opera previews.
Sunday 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @seattleopera.bsky.social @daifujikura.bsky.social
Photo credits: Dai Fujikura by Seiji Okumiya, Theatre of Eternal Music (Tony Conrad, Marian Zazeela, La Monte Young, John Cale), Dobrinka Tabakova by Benjamin Ealovega, La Monte Young by Co Broerse, Joe McPhee via the artist, Harry Partch riding the rails, improvisation segment from Ulysses Departs from the Edge of the World, Shardik (Sana Nagano, Danny Sher, Nick Jost, Matt Hollenberg) by Naeemah Maddox, Rudresh Mahanthappa via the artist, Henry Cow (John Greaves, Fred Frith, Dagmar Krause, Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper) via the artists. 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.
October 13, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Reposted by Michael Schell
ellenbraaten.bsky.social
Yes. He is alarmed, but it ends with a directive:”the rest of us, whether we’re elected officials or ordinary citizens, should do everything we can to let our fellow Americans in uniform know that if they risk their careers and even their freedom to protect the Constitution, we will stand with them”
October 8, 2025 at 12:42 AM
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Happy Podcast Monday! This week brings minimalist connections, with Laurie Spiegel at 80, Louis Andriessen's Workers Union at 50, plus Zappa, Rzewski, Blasio Kavuma, Ye Xiaogang, the Dwarfs of East Agouza and more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @cantaloupe-music.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-09-21 - Zappa, Spiegel, Andriessen
Flotation Device celebrates the 80th birthday of computer music pioneer Laurie Spiegel, the 70th birthday of Chinese cross-culturalist Ye Xiaogang, and the 50th anniversaries of Frank Zappa's Orchestr...
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October 6, 2025 at 6:18 PM
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Tonight Flotation Device previews Earshot Jazz Fest w/Ches Smith's Tone Row showing how Schoenberg might have sounded as a rock-n-roller. +Threadgill, Rzewski, Ohana, Bayle, Parkins & Roscoe Mitchell.
Sun 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @libertyellman.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Photo credits: Zeena Parkins by Andy Newcombe, Henry Threadgill via Pi Recordings, Clone Row (Ches Smith, Nick Dunston, Mary Halvorson, Liberty Ellman) by Bianca Zwerlein, Robert Fokkens via Music Theatre Wales, Maurice Ohana by Dominique Souse, Interpret It Well (Craig Taborn, Mat Maneri, Ches Smith, Bill Frisell) by Bianca Claircidor, François Bayle creating Vibrations composes, William Winant by Dennis Letbetter, Frederic Rzewski by Michael Wilson. 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.
October 6, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Reposted by Michael Schell
scottgoeke.bsky.social
These Rite-Aid assholes came into Seattle, bought up a great local chain in Bartell Drugs, systematically destroyed it, and then just went out of business

just absolute parasite actions that only made things worse for people
cnn.com CNN @cnn.com · Oct 4
Rite Aid, once one of America’s biggest pharmacy chains, shuttered its remaining 89 stores this week after filing for bankruptcy in May for the second time in less than two years. https://cnn.it/3KUZkfl
October 4, 2025 at 11:28 PM
schellsburg.com
Happy Podcast Monday and happy 70th birthday to Joe Morris & Adam Rudolph. Plus Hosokawa, Gabriela Ortiz, Gabriel Prokofiev, Shardik, Marshall Allen, Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil and The Residents.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @theresidents.bsky.social @nonclsscl.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-09-14 - Morris, Rudolph, Hosokawa
A pair of 70th birthday celebrations take the spotlight in this podcast. We hear septuagenarian Joe Morris on both guitar and bass in the company of Matt Shipp, Marshall Allen and Seattle’s own Tom Va...
www.mixcloud.com
September 30, 2025 at 2:44 AM
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Tonite Flotation Device features premiere recordings of Gubaidulina and Amelia Cuni. Plus the Tim Berne and Cuong Vu Trios, the Bozzini Quartet Talk Show & more.
Sun 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@nonesuch.com @ooyhrecords.bsky.social @orenambarchi.bsky.social @quatuorbozzini.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Photo credits: Oasis Boom (Vincent Duchosal, Mélissa Acchiardi) by Julie Ricosse, Cuong Vu Trio (Stomu Takeishi, Cuong Vu, Ted Poor) by William Poor, Sofia Gubaidulina by Mario Wezel, John Cage by Ann Keyvan, Amelia Cuni via the artist, Quatuor Bozzini (Alissa Cheung, Stéphanie Bozzini, Clemens Merkel, Isabelle Bozzini) by Michael Slobodian, Blake DeGraw via the artist, Arlene Sierra by Ian Phillips-McLaren, Steph Richards by Chris Weiss, Tim Berne Trio (Gregg Belisle-Chi, Tom Rainey, TB) by Sarah Berne, Pat Metheny by William Ellis, Conlon Nancarrow by Michael MacIntyre, Marshall Allen by Alexis Maryon. 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.
September 28, 2025 at 11:24 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday. This week it's a two-hour Arvo Pärt celebration for his 90th birthday. Featuring Gidon Kremer, Keith Jarrett, the Kronos Quartet, Neeme and Paavo Järvi, and two premiere recordings.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @tasmin01.bsky.social @nonesuch.com
Flotation Device 2025-09-07 - Arvo Pärt At 90
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September 22, 2025 at 10:10 PM
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Tonight on Flotation Device: Laurie Spiegel & Ye Xiaogang at 70, Zappa's Orchestral Favorites & Andriessen's Workers Union at 50. Plus Rzewski, Frith & The Dwarfs of East Agouza
Sun 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @cantaloupe-music.bsky.social @nonclsscl.bsky.social @frankzappa.bsky.social
Photo credits: The Dwarfs of East Agouza (Alan Bishop, Maurice Louca, Sam Shalabi) by Maged Nader, Laurie Spiegel via Drew Schlesinger, Frederic Rzewski and Daan Vandewalle via Passacaille Records, Irène Schweizer via the artist, Alexander Hawkins via the artist, Workers Union by Louis Andriessen, Ye Xiaogang via Resonus Classics, Blasio Kavuma via the artist, Cosa Brava (Zeena Parkins, Norman Teale, Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, Matthias Boss) by Heike Liss, Frank Zappa recording Orchestral Favorites by John Williams, Louis Andriessen by Marco Borggreve. 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.
September 21, 2025 at 8:25 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday! Wayne Horvitz and Diamanda Galás at 70, plus Tania León and Sivan Eldar. With help from Bill Frisell, John Zorn, Fred Frith, Robin Holcomb, Le Balcon, Maxime Pascal, the London Philharmonic and more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @diamandagalas.com
Flotation Device 2025-08-31 - Horvitz And Galás At 70
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September 15, 2025 at 5:55 PM
schellsburg.com
Tonight on Flotation Device
-Joe Morris & Adam Rudolph at 70
-Crossover w/Gabriel Prokofiev, Shaun Robert & The Residents
-Hosokowa's new album
-Gabriela Ortiz on Violeta Parra
-New Shardik & Joane Hétu
Sunday 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @theresidents.bsky.social @nonclsscl.bsky.social
September 14, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by Michael Schell
mlpoole.bsky.social
September 14, 2025 at 12:24 PM
schellsburg.com
Today's podcast features an extensive interview with Mary Halvorson and a survey of her new albums with Sylvie Courvoisier, Ches Smith and her Amaryllis sextet. Plus Wet Ink Ensemble, Alex Paxton and more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @nonesuch.com
Flotation Device 2025-08-24 - Mary Halvorson interviewed
Guitarist Mary Halvorson joins us to talk about her new albums with Sylvie Courvoisier, Ches Smith and her own Amaryllis sextet, as well as her formative influences, her guitar setup and her Fall 2025...
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September 8, 2025 at 7:20 PM
schellsburg.com
Tonight Flotation Device celebrates Arvo Pärt at 90 with a two-hour retrospective, including his iconic spiritual minimalist works of 1976–8 plus early and later works, including two brand-new premiere recordings.
Sunday 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm @kbcs.bsky.social @tasmin01.bsky.social @nonesuch.com
Photo credits: Arvo Pärt and Heino Eller via Arvo Pärt Centre, Arvo Pärt by Eric Marinitsch, Arvo Pärt in 1962 by Armin Alla, Arvo and Nora Pärt by Rene Riisalu, Paavo Järvi and Arvo Pärt by Kaupo Kikkas, Für Alina, Between Two Sounds by Joonas Sildre. 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.
September 7, 2025 at 10:21 PM
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Happy Podcast Monday! This week features premiere recordings of Silvestrov and Saariaho, plus Dan Weiss, Tim Berne, Tomas Fujiwara, Donnacha Dennehy, Maiguashca, Kalitzke, Christopher Hoffman & more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @ooyhrecords.bsky.social @buhrecords.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-08-17 - Berne, Saariaho, Silvestrov
Flotation Device presents music of many places and sensibilities, led by Ukraine's leading contemporary composer, Valentin Silvestrov and his Violin Concerto, whose soloist is often dominated by uncon...
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September 1, 2025 at 7:39 PM