Marc Riordan and Jon Leland are multi-instrumentalists, extensive collaborators, members of Sun Araw and also Ragger, an undertaking dedicated to playing the ragtime compositions of Scott Joplin on synthesizers (Riordan) and electronic V drums (Leland). If Wendy Carlos springs to mind, that’s a solid conclusion to jump to, but think of Carlos composing for Nintendo while sitting on a big-ass synthetic mushroom.
This electronic ragtime impulse isn’t revivalist, but neither is it a gimmick. Instead, Euphonic Sounds connects as a thoughtful and fascinating reinvigoration that retains its recognizability and is a sheer pleasure to listen to, even for those who’ve never, or hardly ever, brutalized a joystick or commandeered a controller in their lives. Ragger’s debut release is out now on compact disc, cassette, and digital through Hausu Mountain.
There’s nothing inherently boneheaded about tackling the ragtime style in a purist manner. When a skilled pianist who understands the music is sitting at the bench, ragtime’s worthiness can still be very much in evidence. It’s Joshua Rifkin’s three volumes of Scott Joplin compositions recorded for Nonesuch from 1970–’74 that set the standard and, crazy as it might seem now, rescued The King of Ragtime from obscurity.
Ragger establishes that straight ahead isn’t the only route to ragtime success. Euphonic Sounds includes four Joplin pieces handled by Rifkin on those Nonesuch sets—the title track, “Paragon Rag,” “Original Rags,” and “Weeping Willow.” And adds four more. The final selection, “Wiggle Rag,” was composed by George Botsford. As said, this album isn’t a gimmick on Ragger’s part and is also not an attempt at twisting or otherwise distorting the ragtime form into something deliberately strange.
The tunes are handled with care, but there is a key difference in the addition of drums to the instrumental scheme. Ragger’s additive works, and if Euphonic Sounds still stands as a bit of a curiosity, switching out saloons for arcades, it’s a fully functional one.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
