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PUBLIQuartet Releases Genre-Blending Album Rhythm Nation
When the world’s rhythms collide with the delicate timbre of a string quartet, the result is a sonic tapestry that defies genre boundaries. New York‑based PUBLIQuartet has just released Rhythm Nation on the Avie Records label, a 12‑track collection that debuted in early 2026 and fuses improvisation, world‑music influences, and contemporary composition.
Formed in 2010, PUBLIQuartet has earned a reputation for adventurous programming that blends standard repertoire with new commissions and live improvisation. The group’s 2016 television appearance—where they improvised a soundtrack for the presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump—illustrates their willingness to engage with current events. Rhythm Nation continues that tradition, featuring four fresh commissions, two pieces from the Kronos Quartet’s Fifty for the Future project, and a sprinkling of classics alongside brief nods to pop icon Janet Jackson.
The album opens with Sunjata’s Time, a trio of pieces commissioned by Kronos as part of Fifty for the Future. Composed by Malian balafon virtuoso Fodé Lassana Diabaté and arranged for string quartet by Jacob Garchik, the suite captures the balafon’s bright resonance through cello double stops and pizzicato motifs that echo the kora. The narrative follows Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire, and reflects Diabaté’s griot heritage.
Next comes Eddie Venegas’s Cachumbambeando en clave, a syncopated groove that showcases the Venezuelan violinist’s compositional voice. Grounded by cellist Hamilton Berry’s steady pulse, the track features a solo by violist Nick Revel and highlights the rhythmic vitality of Venezuelan folk traditions while maintaining the quartet’s precision.
Henry Threadgill’s Sixfivetwo follows, another Kronos commission from the Pulitzer‑winning jazz composer. The piece’s abstract language of slithering figures, percussive spasms, and pointillist bursts creates space for improvisational solos, including a violin solo by Curtis Stewart that shifts from delicate articulation to a funk‑inspired swagger—underscoring the group’s improvisational core.
Interspersed between these commissioned works are brief interstitials that reference Janet Jackson’s 1989 album Rhythm Nation. According to the liner notes, violinist Janinna Norpoth cites Jackson’s record as an “ear‑opening manifesto of inclusion.” The interstitials are short, almost conversational, and serve as a nod to the album’s title rather than full covers of Jackson’s songs.
The closing tracks showcase the quartet’s versatility. Jlin’s Baobab, an electronic composition that samples the quartet’s own music, invites improvisation over a percussive landscape that evokes African drumming traditions. The piece opens with a gritty glissando described by the composer as a “creaky door opening a treasure box of surprises,” highlighting the group’s ability to blend acoustic and electronic elements.
Other highlights include Daniel Bernard Roumain’s Hip‑hop Etudes, which fuses hip‑hop rhythms with classical string writing; a new work by neurodivergent composer Mazz Swift; and Jeff Scott’s Blues for Buddy, a composition that marries tango and New Orleans‑style processional music. These tracks reinforce the quartet’s mission to represent the multiplicity of American musical heritage.
Rhythm Nation follows the group’s Grammy‑nominated What Is American: Rhythm Nation, which explored American rhythmic traditions in a similar fashion. The new album broadens that exploration with a wider array of global influences—from West African and Venezuelan styles to modernist complexity and jazz standards—while maintaining the thematic focus on rhythm.
Releasing the album on Avie Records adds to the label’s catalog of contemporary classical and crossover works. Critics have praised the quartet’s fearless programming and improvisational skill, and the record underscores the ongoing influence of Kronos Quartet’s Fifty for the Future project, which has commissioned fifty new string quartet works for emerging musicians and performers.
In sum, PUBLIQuartet’s Rhythm Nation is a 12‑track journey that blends world‑music rhythms, contemporary composition, and improvisation. The album showcases the quartet’s commitment to commissioning new works, engaging with global traditions, and redefining the possibilities of the string quartet format.
Formed in 2010, PUBLIQuartet has earned a reputation for adventurous programming that blends standard repertoire with new commissions and live improvisation. The group’s 2016 television appearance—where they improvised a soundtrack for the presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump—illustrates their willingness to engage with current events. Rhythm Nation continues that tradition, featuring four fresh commissions, two pieces from the Kronos Quartet’s Fifty for the Future project, and a sprinkling of classics alongside brief nods to pop icon Janet Jackson.
The album opens with Sunjata’s Time, a trio of pieces commissioned by Kronos as part of Fifty for the Future. Composed by Malian balafon virtuoso Fodé Lassana Diabaté and arranged for string quartet by Jacob Garchik, the suite captures the balafon’s bright resonance through cello double stops and pizzicato motifs that echo the kora. The narrative follows Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire, and reflects Diabaté’s griot heritage.
Next comes Eddie Venegas’s Cachumbambeando en clave, a syncopated groove that showcases the Venezuelan violinist’s compositional voice. Grounded by cellist Hamilton Berry’s steady pulse, the track features a solo by violist Nick Revel and highlights the rhythmic vitality of Venezuelan folk traditions while maintaining the quartet’s precision.
Henry Threadgill’s Sixfivetwo follows, another Kronos commission from the Pulitzer‑winning jazz composer. The piece’s abstract language of slithering figures, percussive spasms, and pointillist bursts creates space for improvisational solos, including a violin solo by Curtis Stewart that shifts from delicate articulation to a funk‑inspired swagger—underscoring the group’s improvisational core.
Interspersed between these commissioned works are brief interstitials that reference Janet Jackson’s 1989 album Rhythm Nation. According to the liner notes, violinist Janinna Norpoth cites Jackson’s record as an “ear‑opening manifesto of inclusion.” The interstitials are short, almost conversational, and serve as a nod to the album’s title rather than full covers of Jackson’s songs.
The closing tracks showcase the quartet’s versatility. Jlin’s Baobab, an electronic composition that samples the quartet’s own music, invites improvisation over a percussive landscape that evokes African drumming traditions. The piece opens with a gritty glissando described by the composer as a “creaky door opening a treasure box of surprises,” highlighting the group’s ability to blend acoustic and electronic elements.
Other highlights include Daniel Bernard Roumain’s Hip‑hop Etudes, which fuses hip‑hop rhythms with classical string writing; a new work by neurodivergent composer Mazz Swift; and Jeff Scott’s Blues for Buddy, a composition that marries tango and New Orleans‑style processional music. These tracks reinforce the quartet’s mission to represent the multiplicity of American musical heritage.
Rhythm Nation follows the group’s Grammy‑nominated What Is American: Rhythm Nation, which explored American rhythmic traditions in a similar fashion. The new album broadens that exploration with a wider array of global influences—from West African and Venezuelan styles to modernist complexity and jazz standards—while maintaining the thematic focus on rhythm.
Releasing the album on Avie Records adds to the label’s catalog of contemporary classical and crossover works. Critics have praised the quartet’s fearless programming and improvisational skill, and the record underscores the ongoing influence of Kronos Quartet’s Fifty for the Future project, which has commissioned fifty new string quartet works for emerging musicians and performers.
In sum, PUBLIQuartet’s Rhythm Nation is a 12‑track journey that blends world‑music rhythms, contemporary composition, and improvisation. The album showcases the quartet’s commitment to commissioning new works, engaging with global traditions, and redefining the possibilities of the string quartet format.