cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE – A Series of Indecipherable Glyphs
Take Effect
February 24, 2023
“Call them avant-rock, new classical, experimental electro-acoustic or a combination of all 3, there are few outfits out there as daring or accomplished as NakedEye Ensemble, and this exceptional body of work further solidifies them as the best of the best in area of chamber music.”
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE – A Series of Indecipherable Glyphs
Peter van Laarhoven
United Mutations
August 29, 2022
“This is one very impressive album.”
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE – A Series of Indecipherable Glyphs
Seth Colter Walls
The New York Times
August 25, 2022
“The latest release from NakedEye, the Pennsylvania-based group, leans into the contemporary classical-goes-rock conceit. (…) To my ear, it’s on the final five tracks of the NakedEye album — representing the majority of its running time — that things open up. The composer Whitney George wraps some ghostly mystery around regular pulses in “[These Hands] Hold Nothing.” Rusty Banks’s “Dum Spectas Fugio” uses ticking clock sounds and electric bass to create grooves that can conjure turntablism, the Minimalism of Marc Mellits and some gentler moods. Aaron Jay Myers’s “Strabismus” suggests an affinity with some of Zappa’s notated music but sounds less self-consciously zany. And substantial works by Molly Joyce and Richard Belcastro — all richly interpreted by NakedEye — round out this adventurous recording.”
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE – A Series of Indecipherable Glyphs
John Fielder
Klang – New Music on the Fringe
July 20, 2022
“A Series of Indecipherable Glyphs (New Focus Recording) is an eclectic album by Pennsylvania-based group the NakedEye Ensemble. If you’re not familiar with this ensemble I suggest giving them a listen. They’re a unique blend of modern classical, avant-garde, experimental rock-crossover and electro-acoustic band, all of which is featured on this stunning album.”
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE / A Series of Indecipherable Glyphs
Chris Spector
Midwest Record
July 16, 2022
“If Boulez could be inspired by Zappa, who was originally inspired by Varese, why can’t the circle come full circle and have this award winning nu new classical crew be inspired by Zappa and other rockers. Unafraid to go as dada as needed, this bunch clearly draws inspiration from left of center rock while keeping their recital spirit in the fore. This is the sound of young eggheads letting loose. (New Focus 338)”
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE. TOY.
Monica Pearce
musicworks
Winter 2019, Issue #135
“As a showcase for an instrument that is often underestimated or typecast, this album is superbly curated and concentrates on what the toy piano does best. (…) Toy is an ear-warming listen from an energetic and sophisticated ensemble.”
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE, JU-PING SONG – TOY
Samuel Rogers
A Closer Listen
August 29, 2019
“This release centres on her [Ju-Ping Song’s] virtuosic exploration of toy piano and other non-traditional instruments. It makes childish fun of the sombre classical world; but then it elevates child’s play to serious art.”
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE, JU-PING SONG – “TOY”
Avant Scena
Contemporary music blog
August 26, 2019
“Original … wild … playful … remarkable.”
cd review – NAKEDEYE & JU-PING SONG – TOY
by Daev Tremblay
Can this even be called music?
August 13, 2019
“As the name implies, Toy is a collection of pieces centred on toy piano and other juvenile and mature instruments. Five composers took part in the composition of this album, bringing new perspectives on the instrument of choice and creative ways to approach composition and performance. The result is a contemporary classical music album looking with new eyes on the past and future alike. It’s really quite a staggering album, and perhaps the only one in my library using toy piano!”
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE: TOY
by Chris Spector
Midwest Review
June 1, 2019
"Ah, the move from fantasy to reality. Back In the 90s, there was a record purported to be Snoopy playing kids classics on toys. Flash forward, here we have a toy piano at the center of this set being taken seriously as an instrument. And there's some pretty high minded stuff covered along the way. Amazingly, one of the ways you can take this set is to introduce junior to classical music much the same way Bugs Bunny introduced you. For fans of unbridled creativity that does color inside the lines, this is one seriously wild excursion. Check it out. (New Focus 234)"
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE: STORYLINES CROSSING
by Edwin Pouncey
The Wire, Avant Rock Column
October 2018, Issue 416
"Utilising a variety of styles drawn from classical, jazz and rock, Browning's 'Decade of the Dragon' is immediately alluring, his compositional reflections on the anniversaries that marked the beginning and end of the Vietnam War. Here he re-enacts the conflict and its disastrous aftermath through explosive Zappa styled guitar flourishes and filtered variations from traditional Vietnamese music."
cd review – STORYLINES CROSSING
American Record Guide
September-October 2018 issue
"NakedEye Ensemble looks like a large rock band that has a lot of fun with their programming and performances – and there's a great deal of truth to this outward persona. Belcastro's arrangement of Rzewski's Coming Together is a 20-minute odyssey, cyclical and philosophical, with spoken text over various backgrounds that bring to mind the techno boom of the late 20th century."
cd review – A FINE NEW MUSIC GROUP PAYS HOMAGE TO PAST AND FUTURE
by Allan J. Cronin
New Music Buff
August 17, 2018
"The music here is great all the way through but the special joy of this release is the discovery of these youthful artists whose insights belie their age and whose technical skills suggest that NakedEye can now take their place alongside Eighth Blackbird, ICE, Alarm Will Sound, Bang on a Can, etc. Definitely a group that bears watching/listening."
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE - STORYLINES CROSSING
Vital Weekly
July 31, 2018
“The ensemble is a joy to listen to. They are very skilled and give way-to-way very inspired and convincing interpretations. Also it must be said that the compositions have a lot inventive twists and turns, intelligent combinations of different idioms, etc. often in beautiful and colourful arrangements. Entertaining from start to finish.”
cd review – NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE – "STORYLINES CROSSING" (STARKLAND, 2018)
Avant Scena
Contemporary music blog
July 3, 2018
"The music of this album has modern, innovative and charming sound – it's a brilliant set of jazz, rock, blues, and contemporary academic styles and genres. Musicians create remarkable, sparkling, and interesting sound."
cd review – IN REVIEW: NAKEDEYE ENSEMBLE PREMIERE ALBUM "STORYLINES CROSSING"
by Anthony LaBat
Sybaritic Singer
June 26, 2018
"The strongest parts of the album...are executed brilliantly, showcasing impressive technical dexterity and depth of musicianship... Resounding throughout the whole album is NakedEye's commitment to innovating through the merging of musical styles... This group sees contemporary (dare I say classical) music in a place that not many groups do, and that's something to treasure and cultivate."
cd review – NAKEDEYE DEBUTS ON STARKLAND
by Stephen Smoliar
The Rehearsal Studio
June 25, 2018
“I was totally blown away by the album’s opening track, a sextet by Jonathan Russell. (…) He has a refreshingly imaginative approach to “music with repetitive structures,” which unfolds through a thoroughly absorbing sense of both rhythm and choices of sonorities.”
cd review – NakedEye Ensemble, ‘Storylines Crossing’
by Joshua Kosman
The San Francisco Chronicle
June 6, 2018
"If you tossed an electric blues band and a contemporary music ensemble into the blender and turned it to high, you might end up with something like NakedEye, the Lancaster, Pa., octet led by pianist Ju-Ping Song. The music on the group’s exciting debut release is a stylistic melange, full of gritty energy and wonderful stylistic feints."
NakedEye Ensemble Will Be Playful At Toy Piano Concert
by Janelle Janci
LNP
September 14, 2016
"For modern composers, toy pianos are more than just child’s play. Friday’s concert will feature music from David Lang, Jan Feddersen and Ge Gan-ru, as well as the world premiere of a piece by Richard Belcastro."
Going Rogue: Song to Perform Contemporary Piano Pieces
by Zainab Kandeh
The Chautauquan Daily
July 14, 2014
"Ju-Ping Song likes throwing caution to the wind. A true maverick when it comes to the piano keys, Song has a constant appetite for discovery, and when it comes to Classical music, she likes to go rogue."
NakedEye Ensemble Offers Treat for the Ears at Winter Center
by Elizabeth Patton
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
March 9, 2014
"NakedEye Ensemble's Feb. 28 'Steel My Heart' concert at Millersville University's Winter Center was another ear-and-mind-opening experience from this group."
NakedEye Ensemble Makes Some Noise!
by Steve Carlson
Wood Stove House blog
March 6, 2013
"The boldness and fearlessness with which NakedEye approaches its art is what makes what they do so unique."
NakedEye Ensemble at MU
by Laura Knowles
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
March 3, 2013
"The music of Lancaster's NakedEye Ensemble is something quite unexpected, even a little jarring at times. It is intended to catch the listener by surprise."
Local Musicians Combine for a 'Radical Mix'
by Jack Roberts and Alejandro Rios
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
November 29, 2012
"A radical mix of social and political issues reinterpreted by three living composer."
Ju-Ping Song Classical Pianist
by Dave Lefever
Musicians of Lancaster blog
November 5, 2012
"If you think classical music is mainly by dead white men, Ju-Ping Song is here to make you think again. Just watch her play the piano and you'll see."
Wonderful Performance by Ensemble
by Richard Belcastro
Letter to the Editor
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
April 24, 2012
"NakedEye Ensemble's level of musicianship is on par with any of the ensembles to perform 'Smoke N' Wid' to date (this would be two NYC ensembles: The Avian Orchestra and Sequitur Ensemble)."
In 'Storylines Crossing' the Music is What You Know
by Jimmy Pianka
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
April 5, 2012
"Classical music is not extinct, nor are its practitioners focused on the past."
The John Cage Prepared Piano Project
by Laura Kuhn
John Cage blog
February 10, 2010