VINCENT BONDET & CEDRIC LEROULEY – 4 3 2 1 (CDR by Comma)
VINCENT BONDET & CEDRIC LEROULEY – PREMONITION (CDR by Comma)
CEDRIC LEROULEY – CHAMBRES DOUBLES (CDR by Comma)
CEDRIC LEROULEY – RESERVE-NORD (CDR by Comma)
AC – HARDDISK (CD by Cronica)
PEDRO TUDELA – LA OUJE DORS (CD by Cronica)
FREEFORM – CONDENSED (CD by Nonplace)
KK NULL – ERG PER GALAXY (CD by Opposite Records)
REWORK – FALL RIGHT NOW (CD by Playhouse)
SCANNER – PUBLICPHONO (CD by Mr. Mutt Records)
NOBUKAZU TAKEMURA – SONGBOOK (CD by Bubblecore Records)
ASMUS TIETCHENS & JON MUELLER – 7 STUECKE (CD by Aufabwegen)
TAPE 10 (CDcompilation by Ware Records)
VEER – LIDESKAPE (CD on Source Records)
VESSEL – DREAMING IN PARIS (CD by Expanding Records)
THE HAFLER TRIO – THE MOMENT WHEN WE BLOW (10″ by Crouton)
TIMELESS PULSE – LIVE CNMAT 2002 (CD by Deep Listening)
RHODRI DAVIES – TREM (CD by Confront)
MR. SOON – PLACES IN ARIZONA (CD by Psyrecords)
MNORTHAM – A GREAT AND RIVERLESS OCEAN (CDR by Mystery Sea)
MNORTHAM – MOLT AND ANECDOTE (CDR by S’Agita)
ENTRELACS – UNDERLEAF (CDR by S’Agita)
LORI FREEDMAN – A UN MOMENT DONNE (CD by Ambiances Magnétiques)
VINCENT BONDET & CEDRIC LEROULEY – 4 3 2 1 (CDR by Comma)
VINCENT BONDET & CEDRIC LEROULEY – PREMONITION (CDR by Comma)
CEDRIC LEROULEY – CHAMBRES DOUBLES (CDR by Comma)
CEDRIC LEROULEY – RESERVE-NORD (CDR by Comma)
This is certainly no easy task. So much work by one person… I’ll
try to review one day and not everything at once. The main works here
are by one Cedric Lerouley, a guy of whom I only know he did a Dieter
Muh remix before, on a CDR release by Naninani (see Vital Weekly
337). On his CDR with Vincent Bondet he presents four lenghty tracks,
simply titled 1, 2, 3 and 4. Although the cover doesn’t reveal much
as to what has been used before, it’s most likely some sort of
experiment in feedback. These have been generated by
contactmicrophones – some crackles are still audible – but they
culminate in processed feedback (some people would call this a no
input mixer I guess). However do not expect senseless and pointless
noise, as the pieces are delicately made, with great care for depth.
The low end is of as much importance as the high end. A simple
release but made with care – and that’s important.
The other work by the two is called ‘Premonition’ (and has nothing to
do with the various Legendary Pink Dots tracks of the same name) and
is along similar lines, but there is somewhat more upfront mixing of
contact microphones and more recognizable sound effects applied here
(delay, reverb). The second piece even seems to bear free
improvisational elements and is the one that is most conventional
musical of the lot here.
Chambres Doubles (double rooms) is a solo effort by Cedric. Again
four pieces of an even more drony and minimalist kind. There isn’t
much to define in terms of sound sources, but Cedric arrives at
pieces of music in which not much seems to be happening. It could be
of feedback nature, but here it seems, well, as usual I’m guessing,
that whatever generates the sound, it’s being fed through a whole
bunch of MSP plug ins. Changes arrive but only at a very slow rate,
but they are most certainly there. Very ambient approach on this one.
‘Reserve-Nord’ is also a solo work, but of an entirely different
nature. Here the sound sources are very concrete, picked up with a
contactmicrophone, sheets and metalpipes, which are transformed over
the course of twenty minutes by adding reverb and extra sounds, which
I think are basically derivated (slowed down) from the original
contactmicrophone recordings. Quite a raw (not as in noisy) work, but
quite nice also.
All in all nice work, with not everything being brilliantely good,
but certainly someone who will grow. (FdW)
Address: <comma@online.fr>
AC – HARDDISK (CD by Cronica)
PEDRO TUDELA – LA OUJE DORS (CD by Cronica)
Cronica is a new Portugese label, who rather use cryptic information
then anything straight forward. Oh well. So apperentely they have
money to spend, and then, at that, why not on some CD releases? AC’s
second CD (after ‘+’ on Variz in 2001) is made by three people: Pedro
Tudela, Lia, and Miguel Carvalhais and they all their work outside
music, as webdesigner, programmer and visual artist. The text is
again not very clear about how they work. It seems to be
improvisation, but along pre-arranged lines. AC is probably an all
laptop trio, doing both sound and visuals at the same time. They have
a strong interest in the rhythmical aspect of music – this CD with
seven audio tracks and one video track is filled with the influences
of Pan Sonic and other minimalist tecnoids, along with the more
abstract doodlings of Mego, but AC lacks the overall harshness of the
latter source of inspiration. The result is a nice CD that however is
also a bit faceless in the current flow of micro-techno musicians.
Many of the ideas have been performed already before and not always
more better or worse. So, one could sigh and think: another one of
those. Nice, not brilliant.
A solo CD by Pedro Tudela is also now available from Cronica and was
commissioned by the choreographer Isabel Barros, ‘for whom dream were
the subject of work’. Tudela followed from the beginning onwards the
process of the conception of this work. This work follows the lines
of the AC work: minimalist techno music, which never hops the 4/4
floor beat, but with enough rhythmical underpinnings to make it euh
dance music. If there is a difference between AC and Tudela solo, I’d
say that the latter has more ambient influences in his work. The
darker and dronier lines hint at that. The beats are sometimes
flooded by bath of extraterristial sounds and over the whole, this is
a more varied product then the AC, and at that, also a more composed
one. And that is always a great advantage with music like this. (FdW)
Address: www.cronicaelectronica.org
FREEFORM – CONDENSED (CD by Nonplace)
Freeform (Simon Pyke) continuously evolves its sound base. From its
former funkier roots this has resonance and at times delivers purely
ambient washes. This time around his work is given treatments by
Burnt Friedman on the Nonplace imprint. These pieces have lift, kick
and aura. A batch of quirky, jerky percussion and other assorted
sounds blend with a certain Nintendo sensibility. Though this is not
strictly the gaming sounds from beyond, Pyke has created an alternate
space for introspection and cursory dalliance. His antics on Phu Qouc
and
throughout allot for eastern Asian influences with West Coast edges.
This is great music to download for long walks on alien terrain. In
what could seemingly be the decoding of language, the balance of
lingual vs. beat is not forgotten. Freeform has planted a fine (and
unearthly)
seed. (TJN)
Address: http://www.nonplace.de/
KK NULL – ERG PER GALAXY (CD by Opposite Records)
Suffern NY’s Opposite Records has released the latest from the
ever-morphing world of Kazuyuki K. Null. Recorded between 2001-02
this ten-track is like spacetime continuum. Breaking sound barriers,
traveling at light speed, you name it. This is a filtering stretch of
contained and somehow harmonious white noise. The metallic tones have
screetchy blurred edges but sound like some prototype for a future
flotation technology. This is science fiction. This is Pink Floyd
and Dr. Who meeting in the Land of the Lost. I am grinning listening
to this. Circular rhythms seemingly at their outermost edge, a
blast-off, hoses out of control, dam broken and watery destruction
ensuing. Am I reading too much into this or is this a modern day
sound drama minus the actors? And that’s just track one. To me this
disc represents newly discovered territory for Null, though the man
has been at it an awfully long time, this is a breakthrough – a
channeling of complex timbre and subharmonic exploration. He may be
our modern day Sun Ra or maybe he has just evolved to a higher
interplanetary system where his fingers are sensing the voices from
the residual dusts of alien static. The steady pitter patter of an
engine becomes a multi-channeled communication device and is short
circuited suddenly by warbling, technological jargon gone haywire –
still maintaining the clear direction of its leader. With full
respect to recent rockets in spaces never flown, this is never crash
‘n’ burn. Null has warped and transcended himself in a brilliant
light on ERG per Galaxy. (TJN)
Address: http://www.oppositerecords.com
REWORK – FALL RIGHT NOW (CD by Playhouse)
Rework is a French/German/Hungarian quartet. This outfit reminds me
of a contemporary Liquid Liquid with its vibes and repetitive
androgyny. They sing (or hint) of love, and its endless contentions.
They use old scratchy record samples and sing of Sharon Tate on the
catchy Not Quite Like Any Other which has singer Laetitia sounding
like a modern-day Velvet Underground-era Nico (I wrote that before I
read it in the press release). Having taken Chris and Cosey’s October
Love Song and reprocessed it, it’s now a Frenglish’ 80s glossy pop
hit with essence au dub haus on a hot tin roof. This record is a lazy
day clash of the sensibilities previously brought forth by likely
candidates Stereo Total and Ladytron with a finite gusto and
exhilaration, in a pop-trip package take on modern melody. I Think
You Think reminds me of something you might have heard live by Lene
Lovich or Romeo Void circa 1983, but add
an edge of perhaps X Ray Spex for good measure. These people have a
great sensibility for musics that had impact and will gain them a
long shelf life ahead. Fall Right Now is almost a dance record but
keeps a safe distance from being too accessible, coming closest to
dance floor rhythmics on Loin de Moi with its penchant for
pulsations. Boppy, trippy fun disc filled with something to please a
crowd of frowny faces. This is a great pre-Summer record, serve
chilled – but make no mistake buddy, this ain’t no appetizer – this
is a full-course spin. (TJN)
Address: http://www.wanna-rework.de
SCANNER – PUBLICPHONO (CD by Mr. Mutt Records)
In a short edition of only 200 copies the first release on Mr. Mutt
Records is what will certainly become an incredible live cdr series
put out by Italian composers known as tu m’. Recorded live at Prix
Italia’s After Radio events in Rimini Italy in late 2000, Scanner
(Robin Rimbaud) was commissioned to create this piece to be broadcast
on their public speaker system. His use of sampling radio broadcasts
beckoned back to the establishment of the 52 year old organization.
An obvious complement to the festive occasion had Scanner presenting
the work for which he has been grown best known for – combining
sounds and voice scans and electronics to be heard in a public forum.
A re-processing of older spoken word recordings taken from their
original source and now born as a horizon line for the cross section
between documentarian technique and aesthetic fare. Rimbaud has
prepared a new colloquialism, a merge of vocabularies. This
particular piece was broadcast on the beach to anyone in earshot, out
into the sea. The sheer fact that the broadcast took place in a
natural environment further deconstructs its initial context. There
is a blend of sultry Italian tongues and steely Kraftwerkian
voiceboxes (minus the funk). This is a very serious, almost clinical,
recording that is bathed in a dramatic soundscape of light vibes and
tactile vibrations, filters and the unfamiliar. Scanner has become
synonymous as a creator of recordings derived from man-made
technology sound sources and their junction with the human voice. On
Publicphono he has truly used the spirit of silence to great effect.
At times the illusion takes me on a trip from NASA to an Italian
airport to archaic newsreels. In other moments this recalls some of
the best work from the early/mid 90s EM:T label. This is a pure
exploration of the nuances of contemporary electronics as chamber
music. There is a uniquely passionate and disjointed symphonic
quality about one half hour into this 40 minute single track which
travels in an out of private and public space. Rimbaud has
inaugurated a new era in genre-bending with his Y2K recording. (TJN)
Address: http://www.tu-m.com
NOBUKAZU TAKEMURA – SONGBOOK (CD by Bubblecore Records)
Bubblecore has found a new spirit that is Nobukazu Takemura. Here
the seasoned veteran plays with strings, child-like humming, jazzy
horns and percussion. In interesting contrast to Scope (Thrill
Jockey) this dischas a more irreverent operatic feel. There are toy
vibes and pianos and playful carnival themes illustrated by
amateurish Japanese sing-song awkwardness. In a more pedestrian
approach Takemura blends Stereolab-styled comfort with the academic
stiffness of a third year Julliard cellist. The spirit of Songbook is
the theoretical collision of found-sound, recycled vocalese and
classical meets jazz string arrangements, with a touch of distant
attitude. This new found fascination has only been hinted at in his
former recordings, however, on this disc he lets too much in the
open, the mystery gets lost surviving in brief passages and on the
stand out track Palabra of the Inky Black Manteau. This fusion of
Herb Alpert meets David Byrne’s Knee Plays vs Sesame Street might
play well in Williamsburg or even on Berwick Street, but here there
is a tepid imbalance of expectation to be open to anything goes. I
think this is the typical fate of the
biting-more-than-you-can-chew-syndrome – however, if you listen
closely you will hear the core intricacies of Takemura’s former self.
Mind you, Takemura is a talented, bright performer. Having seen his
work live twice I have witnessed some form of magic on stage – some
mystical balance between an icy presentation and a molten outcome.
This is not a bad record – to the contrary – it is just a major left
turn of sorts. It’s almost as though he had wanted to re-invent those
unfamiliar worlds similar to say The Grassy Knoll who have
successfully created funky and distorted jazzy phrasings with the
best knob twiddler intentions. Still I see some deeper-rooted jazz
being growing. Hmmm, maybe Takemura needs a dual residency with
Ornette Coleman. There are some weird similarities, and some scary
ones. This disc is worth a second spin, even while wearing a second
skin. Good luck if you can crack the nut inside. (TJN)
Address: http://www.bubblecore.com
ASMUS TIETCHENS & JON MUELLER – 7 STUECKE (CD by Aufabwegen)
Fidgeting and burrowing, digging and scraping. At once 7 Stücke
reminded me somewhat of the work of jazz drummer Matt Wilson, but
with a curious proclivity for not piecing things together after
experimenting. And curiously going into finite corners does duo
Tietchens and Mueller go. Cologne-based label Aufabwegen has pretty
much been Tietchens home label – and on this 500 copy pressing I am
proud to purify my live-work space with this latest playful and
elemental endeavor. From hollow metallics and very tactile movements
the formula here is as if they were taking found objects and
transforming them into creatures. There is a level of anticipation
which is articulated in Mueller’s prepared’ drum kit. The silences
are weighty here as we are purely indulged by the awkwardness of
improvised and unexpected happenstance. There are unexpected
distances, play with fore and background and muffled, muted dragging
and manipulation of materials. The eighteen minute long untitled
track five is the centerpiece of this hour long disc, giving proper
way to atmosphere and layering it with austere stillness and timing.
To some degree these gentlemen are going where the conceptualists had
gone and yet could not possibly have ever ended up. It is in the
outcome, which is so patient, that makes a collaboration like this so
powerful. (TJN)
Address: http://www.aufabwegen.com
TAPE 10 (CDcompilation by Ware Records)
This is the type of disc that steals my consciousness. The melding
between the visual and sound arts is central to my nervous system.
Based on photographic work these ten soundsters create a lot of
atmosphere. Markthalle by Markus Güntner responds to a eerily green,
late night and empty parking lot in a photographic work by Adrian
Bischoff. The sounds are bass filled and like long steps, droopy and
slow. Benjamin Brunn developed Propeller, his perky lounge track
after a work by Frank Hülsbömer. In the image we witness a
neo-Bauhausian apartment/hotel-like complex with a five-pronged
streetlight that could be a Suessian helicopter (or even a palm
tree). It is back to staticky clicks and cut, pops and crackles, and
it all sounds good. Laub’s tinkering track, Bangkok, has a weightless
and somewhat agitated feel. The gentle nervous rocking, the rain and
impending storm make Decomposed Subsonic’s Aqua a real live set,
almost a sound stage. Jeremy P. Caulfield’s OK is based on a C-Print
by Kai Peters which depicts a sandy camping outpost and the casual
candid backs of a family headed in for a rest perhaps. The need for
this convergence of visual fine arts and sounds finds delight in only
a few fully realized forums these days, but Ware has put together an
audio-visual language, or as they say in their booklet “music plus
image equals atmosphere”. Mathias Schaffhäuser responds to a juicy
green homey image of jarred dill pickles on a similarly colored
checkered table. Gurken is at once a stark reverberation and toys
with the playful guise visualized by photographer Karsten Handke. How
sweet the sound. To have a fuller experience you can visit their
virtual gallery at www.tape10.com (TJN)
VEER – LIDESKAPE (CD on Source Records)
A light purring, whirring distant static storm intros this new Source
Records release. Veer is Ole Schulte who has created some subtle
reverb, some paced and washed out slacker rhythms. The overall feel
is congruous to a night of endless creative insomnia. This is what
contemporary sound is about. There is a quiet distance, nothing
offensive or inclusive. One cannot really immerse themself in this,
nor is it intended to be witnessed as a spectacle. It is something
you can sense, plain and simply a traveling sound source. At times
the beat is contemplative and at once upbeat, though the overall
emphasis here is on continuum, the road ahead. This is my first
exposure to the work of Veer and hopefully not my last. Great sounds
for reclining and staring through space. (TJN)
Address: http://www.source-records.com
VESSEL – DREAMING IN PARIS (CD by Expanding Records)
London-based Expanding Records stays true to its name in continuing
to build a catalogue that challenges a variety of pop norms in the
world of electronic music. Here, Vessel (Gavin Toomey), delivers
twelve dreamy tracks born from airy harmonics and chiming
mobile-staring luminousity. In the mix are small sounds, momentary
blips and sounds of repetitious production. The energy is light to
mild, baring its weight with diminutive percussive hooks. This could
be played on auto all night long and most likely act as a dream
massage (hence the title?). On Color Queen things change, float
higher, tonalities darken a bit. This passage opens for a more
buoyant Monkey returning to a pared down dance with golden age
techno. More of a cha-cha-cha than a laser lit sub-basement rave,
this track illuminates with style. Dreaming in Paris evokes some
similarities to Eno and Morricone, but also lapses during the
mismatched, new age-tinged Point taking a sappy turn for the prettier
side of the point. Aside from this glowing editorial slip the
remainder of the recording plays with the elegance of blurry vibes
and metronomic throw-backs to clumsy 80s electronics, but in an arty
context. Overall this is a treat for our sensitivities. (TJN)
Address: http://www.expandingrecords.com
THE HAFLER TRIO – THE MOMENT WHEN WE BLOW (10″ by Crouton)
The flow that started late 2002 of new Hafler Trio releases doesn’t
stop after just three of them. Here is a new 10″ release with music
composed in 2002. Packed in a really nice cover, once again, with the
usual cryptic text (“The moment when we blow the flour from our
tongues” being an examination of some aspects of another entitiy
entirely entitled “germans are people too” but in no wise limited to
this – the cover reads), this record is also a flow by itself. The
music on both sides seem to be generated from a single source that
slowly evolve, certainly in the title piece. Almost static in
approach, but with enough variations. This is music that simply
evolves as it happens, it seems to simply unfold before your ears.
Halfway through the sound drops to an inaudible level, but slowly
builts up again, to a more complex level, letting more various types
of sound processing in.
The track on the other side is almost like a transmission. It opens
with cracked codes from shortwaves until it breaks down in some
voices which soon end in a beautifully processed overtone, like on
the other side. On this record The Hafler Trio continue the line of
releases started with ‘Inoutof’, with it’s seemingely simply drone
music that is however vastly layered, and carefully mixed.
This record is also the first of the newly released ones to be
strictly limited to 500 copies, so I think some rush to the record
shop is needed. (FdW)
Address: www.croutonmusic.com
TIMELESS PULSE – LIVE CNMAT 2002 (CD by Deep Listening)
Timeless Pulse is a group around Pauline Oliveros (who plays
accordion here), David Wessel (electronics), George Marsh
(percussion) and Jennifer Wilsey (percussion). The live recordings on
this disc were made March 10th, 2002 at The Center For New Music And
Audio Technology. That’s about the most relevant statitics about this
CD. There are three tracks – varying from 10 to 28 minutes – of
improvised playing. A tick here on the percussion, some playing on
the accordion – the electronics part is still something which puzzles
me after repeated listening. – building waves of sounds, with the
accordion playing stretched tones, cymabls likewise and occassionally
additional percussion. I had some trouble keeping my attention
throughout this disc, the nature of this flow of was like a tidal
wave – sometimes you notice it, and sometimes you don’t. (FdW)
Address: www.deeplistening.org
RHODRI DAVIES – TREM (CD by Confront)
It’s hard to believe that the music on this CD was made on a harp. Of
course when I hear a harp mentioned, I think of Andreas Wollenweider,
or whatever the name of that new age prat is. No such thing here with
harpist Rhodri Davies. Apart from the solo work captured on this CD,
he also plays with people like saxophonist John Butcher and in free
improvisation ensembles such as The Sealed Knot, Asssumed
Possibilities and Broken Consort. He plays his harp in a very un-harp
kind of way. The harp is prepared, detuned and played with bows,
which is results in a more abbrassive sound than one would ever
expect. The pieces on this CD are all recordings from three different
concerts from 2001 and it’s style goes from noisy to barely audible
(like on ‘Atam’, which hardly exists on the level of sound). He
scrapes, plucks and bows his interest to quite some extent, but
Rhodri knows how to keep the attention. There is a fine balance
between the sounds, wether they are harsh or soft, continuos or
broken down. Rhodri seems to be in various places with his playing,
not really capturing one style, but keeps it refreshingely open. (FdW)
Address: www.confront.info
MR. SOON – PLACES IN ARIZONA (CD by Psyrecords)
Having visited the state of Arizona a few times I was curious to
experience this tour of sonic travelling under the guidance of Mr.
Soon. Behind the name Mr. Soon, which I have never had the
opportunity to meet before is the sound artist called Joe Jakobs. No
doubt does he have warm
relations to the landscapes of Arizona, since each moment on this 80
minutes long trip has been created with such a passion that it should
be able to attract every visitor or non-visitor of Arizona. Each
track refers to one certain geographic place. The overall style on
the album is ambient but as it develops the music varies nicely. At
the beginning of the album rhythmic textures dominate with some
dreamlike floating tunes giving a nice chilling atmosphere, not far
away from earliest Boards Of Canada, but the further we penetrate the
“Places of Arizona”, the rhythms disappear or at least turns subtle,
giving way to some beautiful tracks of pure ambientscapes. As we
approach the end of the album the rhythms return and we stylishly end
up with excellent tribal ambient pieces reminding us that Arizona
used to be the home of the native Indians. Go to Arizona, get a car
and let the album become the soundtrack for cruising the natural
landscapes. Alternatively just take a lean back at home and enjoy
this excellent album of ambient beauty. (NMP)
Address: www.psyrecords.com
MNORTHAM – A GREAT AND RIVERLESS OCEAN (CDR by Mystery Sea)
MNORTHAM – MOLT AND ANECDOTE (CDR by S’Agita)
ENTRELACS – UNDERLEAF (CDR by S’Agita)
Micheal Northam, aka MNortham, is a world traveller, he never stays
in one place for very long. His music is recorded in those places,
using other people’s equipment, soaking new ideas, and then moving
on. That’s maybe the right spirit to keep one’s work fresh.
MNortham’s music evolves around the greater idea of the drone. Either
captured via the microphone in some environment, but sometimes also
via computered processing. On ‘A Great And Riverless Ocean’, Mnortham
uses ‘kelp horn, 20 string zither and ‘walfisch computer’ – honestly
I can only imagine a 20 string zither. In 54 minutes he depicts us an
ocean -leaving early morning, when the sea is all calm, but slowly as
we move over the waves, thunder and darkness, wind and storm arrive.
Halfway through the disc there is short, but powerful outburst. This
lasts only a short moment, and the quietness takes over again – but
things do seem to have changed, it’s not the same calmness as before.
The work ends as quiet as it started. ‘A Great And Riverless Ocean’
is a typical MNortham work: it explores the overtones of sound and
takes great pace to tell you a story. If names like Mirror, Jonathan
Coleclough, Monos, Ora or their US counterparts as Jgrzinich or Seth
Nehil, then I’m sure Mnortham belongs to your repertoire too, if not
already. A fine strong work.
Whilst ‘A Great And Riverless Ocean’ was composed in Portland, Oregon
in the summer of 2002, the CDR ‘Molt And Anecdote’ was made in the
same period in Port Townsend, Washington. It has three tracks
‘Molt’, ‘And’ and ‘Anecdote’, so they are probably linked together.
‘Molt’ sounded much to my suprise like computer processed sounds,
branches or leaves being fed through some effects. A bit like the
more recent works of John Hudak. The second track ‘And’ is again
unlike MNortham, it has the usual drone stuff, but it sort of ends a
bit rhythmical and errmm musical. ‘Anecdote’ finally, the longest of
the three, features again, the usual Mnortham processed environmental
sounds, but are, again a new feature, presented here in a more
collage way, with abrupt fades and changes. Three times new, or
rather, kinda new Mnortham elements, makes this into a remarkable
disc.
Entrelacs is the ongoing collaboration between Yannick Dauby and
Micheal Northam, which they presented in various live concerts. I am
not sure if this is a live or studio recording, but it uses the
sounds of ‘a walk along a fallen tree, corbet, oregon’ and ‘a
conversation with found objects, paris, france’. One can see the
MNortham influences in this one – spacious processings of the outdoor
sounds, but the small tinkling on the found objects work really nice
along side this. The crackling seems to be appearing on all possible
levels and makes this is quite a complex work. Complex because of all
the sounds happening, but it works out as a nice sort of ambient
work. Maybe clocking in at almost 49 minutes is a bit on the long
side, but nevertheless it is a nice one. (FdW)
Address: http://home.planetinternet.be/~chalkdc
Address: http://www.sagitarecordings.vze.com
LORI FREEDMAN – A UN MOMENT DONNE (CD by Ambiances Magnétiques)
Clarinettist Freedman (Toronto, 1958) works in many different
contexts: dance, theater, new music, electroacustics and
improvisation. She performs with the Vancouver New Music Ensemble,
Banff Music Theater Productions, a.o. She is co-founder of the
interdiscipline ensemble Thira and played on many festivals among the
country. Collaborations include Steve Beresford, Ab Baars, Luc
Houtkamp, Maggie Nicols and John Oswald.
She encourages composers to write for bass clarinet. This way she
gives impulses for a new repertoire for this instrument. These works
can be heard on more than 20 cds. But Freedman is not only a
well-known interpreter of new msuic, she is also an improvisor. It’s
from this side that we get to know Lori Freedman on her new cd ‘A un
moment donné’. It’s a solo record with 13 improvisations for solo
(bass) clarinet. They show Freedman as very virtuosic player of
vibrant and complex improvisations. How great, diverse, etc. the
music may be I classify cds with solo-improvisations as only of
interest for the lovers of the instrument that is played or for the
die-hards into improvised music (DM).
Address: www.actuellecd.com
l Weekly (1995
onwards) can be found at: http://vital.staalplaat.com/