Cages began to work out its fluid identity in the latter part of 2004. Using ideas that were part of her musical vocabulary for years, vocalist and instrumentalist Nola Ranallo positioned her experiments with sounds into a cohesive entity known as Cages. She had always had the concepts for this music, but had been a member of more structured groups throughout the late nineties and until Cages became manifest. Nola amassed hours and hours of home made tapes of noise and sound while in high school, most of which has never been released or heard by the world. Cages was a “coming out of the closet†in some ways, the revelation of the desire and potential of her work, which is often unstructured, post-noise, post-music.
After a number of local shows in Buffalo performing alone, Nola was joined in live performances by David Bailey on guitar and noise, who would also play a major role in song-writing and recording as a member of Cages. However, in the summer of 2005, Nola was to complete the first Cages recording, Our Ears Fell Off and Then Took Flight, over five days with Brandon Locher in Pennsylvania solo. Wanting to get back to the roots of her sound, indicating a break from rock-oriented groups she had performed in during the years prior, Our Ears… embraced the natural gravity of experimentation with vocal harmonies and noise. This recording was self-released on CDR. A second full-length followed, Blackhole Telepathy. Working with Blizzard Sounds’ Gerald Thomas, Nola chose the nearly eighty year old Buffalo Central Terminal as the setting for these sessions. In the main concourse of this national historical landmark, on ledges and hidden in corners, tracks were laid down in freezing temperatures. The building once saw thousands of visitors a day, but in its present near dereliction it provided new challenges to both performer and engineer. Blackhole Telepathy came out on self-released CDR. Both this and Our Ears… are available with silk screened arigato packaging.
David and Nola wrote and recorded Folding Space in late 2006/ early 2007 with Mark Nosowicz at Harvest Sum. This double-disc including eighteen songs was recorded and mixed over several months, combating technical failures, northern weather and the destitution of David. But the inclusion of his performances allowed everything from harsh noise to complex guitar work. Saxophonist Steve Baczkowski contributed his work to “Corpse of Spaceâ€, and other local musicians appeared variously. Nola then began to work with Steve following their meeting in 2006, doing live improv sessions as well as numerous recordings in the Hallwalls space, and in rotting grain silos on Buffalo’s waterfront. A quartet featuring David, Nola, Steve and drummer Ravi Padmanabha is responsible for another recording that is due to be released, showing the commonality of unstructured music as it appears in various traditions such as rock and jazz.
In June 2007 Nola and David toured the Northeast. The following year Patrick Bolger joined the live lineup on bass and noise for a Midwest tour, featuring Cages opening for solo percussionist Jon Mueller. A new full-length album is being prepared at the moment.
CAGES MUSIC
"Live at Nietzsche's" cassette
"Immovable Object" live cassette
