The Kronos Quartet Explodes Its Range On Two New Collaborations

Copyright 2018 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air . TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Music critic Milo Miles has a review of two new albums by the Kronos Quartet. They're each collaborations - one with a group from Mali, the other with Laurie Anderson. (SOUNDBITE OF LAURIE ANDERSON AND KRONOS QUARTET'S "DARKNESS FALLS") MILO MILES, BYLINE: From the 1960s onward, adding string quartets to popular music was usually bad news, an attempt to make the sounds sweeter and more conventionally classical. The Kronos Quartet, founded in 1973 by violinist David Harrington, were always eager collaborators, but for a long time, often a bit tidy and safe - not anymore. They have now done two collaborations that explode their range. One involves Laurie Anderson and her experiences in New York when Hurricane Sandy hit. The other is an exploration of rhythm, texture and soul with a group from Mali, Trio Da Kali. On Kronos and Anderson's more recent album, "Landfall," the unprecedented mixture