{"title":"All","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"contest-of-pleasures","title":"John Butcher,   Xavier Charles,   Axel Dörner","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003ethe contest of pleasures:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eJohn Butcher\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003esoprano \u0026amp; tenor saxophones\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eXavier Charles\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eclarinet\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAxel Dörner\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003etrumpet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003eR\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003eecorded live at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003eNovember 2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003etotal time:  51:09\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/contest_of_pleasures_480x480.jpg?v=1751916236\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"style15-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style151-C\"\u003eHaving used extensive editing and some remixing for the second of their two excellent Potlatch CDs,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eAlbi Days\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style151-C\"\u003e, The Contest of  Pleasures returns to its initial acoustic position with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C-C0\"\u003eTempestuous\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style151-C\"\u003e, which launches the new British label,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style151-C-C0\"\u003eAnother Timbre\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style151-C\"\u003e.   Recorded late on a stormy November night in an old church,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eTempestuous\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style151-C\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emoves between the poles of calm and urgency that the setting might suggest.  It even documents the ambient rattles of the building.  There’s something marvellous about a performance by this group.  Each musician has an achieved purity of sound (suggesting the bel canto of a sine tone), so that he might stand as a model of what soprano, trumpet or clarinet should sound like.   Each musician has also explored the sonic potential of his instrument to the point where there are moments that might be attributable to any one of them -- finger taps and air passing through a column become central events.  One notable aspect of their work is the exploration of beat patterns, the sounds that  arise as two pitches move toward unison, so that there are sounds that can’t be said to arise from any one of the three.  At one point  or another, each player approaches the specific glissando of a siren, doing so in the midst of sustained long tones.  The result suggests an Arvo Pärt score with air-raid hardware. The sum total is an ineffable masterpiece, an unusual collocation of the original and beautiful.”\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C-C1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStuart Broomer\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C-C0\"\u003ePoint of Departure\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"style15-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style15-C\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"style15-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style15-C\"\u003e‘These three musicians work together so sublimely to transcend the limitations of our soundworld that it is not ncongruous that a church should be their performance space.  Their concert at the 2006 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival took place in the old St.Thomas’ church.  For over fifty minutes in the hour before midnight on 20\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style15-C-C0\"\u003eth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style15-C\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eNovember the church resonated with a music which gently mocked their name and questioned even the nature of the instruments themselves.  Between silence and voluminous drones a wind music emerged befitting such a trinity, though with the devil in its detail.  Without electronic manipulation the focus of the hour’s music was more the nature of sound itself.  The sound spectrum was stretched and widened using distinctive playing techniques which Butcher, Charles and Dorner extended further with siren-like glissandi and full-throated sounds.  Dissonant noises of course occurred in abundance, with the expected but nevertheless puzzling pops, roars, gurgles, grumblings and wild shrill tones.  As on Prospero’s island, the performance space was filled with “noises, Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.  Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears, and sometimes voices…”  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style15-C-C1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRigobert Dittmann\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style15-C-C2\"\u003eBad Alchemy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"style15-C\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e       \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e                                                                                      \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“The title of  this 51 minute improvisation refers to the weather buffeting and rattling the windows of the church where the gig took place.  The trio lapse into silence in several places, which must have been particularly effective ‘live’, as the sounds generated by the wind outside would have been even more noticeable.  The resultant performance mediates between art and nature, human and natural agencies, adding an extra level of engagement.   At the ‘micro’ end of the improvising spectrum, Butcher is associated with a virtuosic ability to produce sound from the saxophone by every conceivable means:  a forensic, almost obsessive exploration of every possible effect, like pad-popping, and slapping, sucking and kissing sounds.  But at the ‘macro’ level, he has a preoccupation with using his instruments to test and exploit the acoustic characteristics of the performance space, which is perhaps more interesting.  All three musicians travel both these roads, but there are other approaches too, including each of them holding long tones, so that the ‘beat’ of the sound becomes more prominent as the frequencies merge and collide.   For me the test of good music is that, regardless of its degree of abstraction, it pleases and holds the attention moment to moment while providing a deeper satisfaction through a - perhaps illusory - sense of structure.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eTempestuous\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eticks all these boxes.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e                            - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBarry Witherden\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“Butcher,  Charles, and Dörner have been playing together as a trio for close to a decade now.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eTempestuous\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis  their third release, and their second live recording. Captured at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the recording provides an intimate view of these masters.  All three take an elemental view of their instruments;  they each strip things down to the conical bore of brass or wood, the mechanical valves and keypads, or the vibrating striations of mouthpiece and reed, and build back up from there.   Having heard them live, they know how to play to a given room, measuring the acoustics and physical space and carefully gauging their use of attack and decay accordingly.  They can stretch their instruments to extremes, but they are also comfortable letting pure tones slip  in, whether popped tenor notes, quavering trumpet, or long woody clarinet  hues.  Their improvisation is defined by an unhurried sense of arc with accumulated sonic events separated by pools of silence.  Tensions are built and released as the three make waves of skirled textures and burred breaths.  As the piece moves toward its hushed conclusion, they have created a palpable sense of the collective process of shaping sound and silence into spontaneous form.”  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMichael Rosenstein\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eSignal to Noise\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“From a provocative new label comes the third release from this timbre-happy trio.  I’ve been a fan since their first disc and it’s refreshing to know they’re still at it, pushing the boundaries of contemporary Euro free improv until it intersects with electroacoustics.  The restless slur of Dorner’s trumpet contrasts so vividly with the woody burr of Charles’ clarinet and the otherwordly buzz of Butcher’s horns.  Glissing, portamento, and other effects are heard here and there, and sometimes (as on the tail end of “1”) the music lifts gracefully in a kind of birdsong (as it does again on “7”).  But this is mostly a music of carefully modified laminations, whose surface stillness contains within it multitudes of excellent, at times even thrilling dynamic range (from sudden swells to unexpected dives into silence). When listening to the extremely subtle breath noises coaxed forth on “3,” the tiny squeaks and grumbles on “4,” or the wonderful pitch-bending in pure horn sonorities on “6,” it’s almost like listening to musical cartographers map out an alien territory. Excellent.”             \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJason Bivens\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eCadence\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400385331514,"sku":"at01","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at01ContestofPleasurescopy.jpg?v=1749115452"},{"product_id":"tasting-sophie-agnel-phil-minton","title":"Sophie Agnel, Phil Minton","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSophie Agnel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e piano\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003ePhil Minton\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e  voice\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003e6 tracks, total time  45:48\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003eR\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003eecorded at the Jazz à Poitiers festival, June 2006\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Sophie-Agnel-1722143753_1dfc948b-2876-4174-b80b-05beb128a0f1_240x240.jpg?v=1751915439\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e      \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/phil_minton_by_francesca_pfeffer__large-321664087_240x240.jpg?v=1751915508\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eRecorded live at the June 2006 Jazz à Poitiers festival this little gem features the work of two truly extraordinary musicians,  both of whom are giants from a technical and creative point of view: Phil Minton and Sophie Agnel, an unusual and very welcome pairing in that ceaselessly changing world which is the improv scene.  The former is well-known, and has the weight of many years’ experience on his shoulders, but refuses to give up and continues indomitably to explore the outer possibilities of the human voice.  He is now plumbing its most hidden depths, often gratingly, but perhaps necessarily so, regressing to the  most basic instincts from which he can ultimately progress and evolve.   Sophie Agnel is no less powerful, one of the most  interesting and original voices on today’s scene, though largely still undiscovered, given that her discography is small.  Her approach to the piano is  really surprising, a mysterious and fascinating mixture of inside and outside piano. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eResonances, mictrotones, noises, dizzying cadences, squeaking strings, little hammerings and other sounds which I can’t find the words to describe; all very measured, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003emelancholic yet incisive, like markings traced on the living flesh of the spirit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eListening to the first track on the cd, which is a kind of dance on the edge of a razor-blade, it’s hard to know what the sounds are.  The vocalist creates a whole dictionary of breaths and stammerings, and it’s difficult to believe that  the instrumental sounds are being produced solely by a pianist.  Though it’s not immediately obvious how they are being played,  the strings of the piano are resonated (I imagine) by a small bow, while at the same time on top of this chords are produced,  sometimes intense, sometimes steeped with nervousness, so that you’re left puzzled as to how all these sounds can be  produced with only two hands.  Agnel is certainly a musician whom I would like to see live so that I can see with my own eyes  just how she produces these sounds.  It’s fantastic, and I wouldn’t want it any different.  In a way that logically seems  impossible, and which few others could certainly achieve, Minton’s singing blends easily into this dialogue with a pianist who seamlessly combines harshness and fragility.  Sobbing, writhing, purring, blethering, always in his own particular style, though  here he seems more introspective than elsewhere.  Those who have heard him often may know what to expect, but the  combined effect of the two musicians is really powerful.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eOne thing that helps the disc succeed is the unexpected variety of the music, in which every track seems self-contained and sufficiently different from the others, unlike on many cd’s where the division into tracks seems merely for  convenience.  Thus, for example, the opening track is followed by something completely different, a piece built from refuges  and pauses, in which the piano strings squeak and resonate luminously, while Minton, Janus-faced, is part avant-garde lyricist  and part meditating monk.  While the third track, different again, combines the mewing lamentations of Minton’s voice with  Agnel’s emotive, dampened hammered chords.  Like a drama of the absurd, lacerating, torturing and moving.”                      \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eAlfio Castorina\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e-\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eKathodik webzine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e“Subtle and fragile aren’t adjectives you’d usually use to describe the taproom brawl of grunts, gurgles and growls that usually makes up a Phil Minton performance, but these six untitled tracks are certainly that.  The precision and delicacy of Sophie Agnel’s prepared piano work make for a fine contrast with the energetic bravura of Minton’s longstanding sparring partner on the 88 tuned drums, Veryan Weston.  It’s often hard to believe that such a wide range of sonorities could come from just one instrument, let alone be produced by one pair of hands in real time.  The woefully under-recorded Agnel is at her most impressive in the third track, whose intricate shimmering polyphony of bowed, plucked, strummed and struck timbres is as complex as it is haunting.  British performer Minton is such a distinctive voice in improvised music that he tends to shine out in whatever ensemble he performs in, but here he’s often content to hum and flutter discreetly behind Agnel’s glistening curtain of harmonics.  For the first six minutes he contributes little more than tiny gasps and whimpers, finally producing recognisable notes only at the beginning of track two, many the result of his trademark wheeze that allows him to produce - and, amazingly, control - two pitches simultaneously.  At high volume this can sound as dangerous as a wounded lion, but here it’s as forlorn as a kitten trapped in a cupboard.”                        \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDan Warburton\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e“It’s not a given that the pairing of a voice and a piano will provide interesting results, but “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eTasting\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e” is definitely on another  level.   I’m firmly convinced  that this is one of the best piano\/vocals duos that I’ve ever heard.  While Phil Minton’s poetry of the  unexpected gratifies via large quantities of systematically  fulfilled expectations - featuring monstrous technical expertise, irony  and drama a go-go, providential multiphonic nefariousness and hair-splitting precision - it must be told that Agnel is the true  revelation here.  The pianist is gifted with a unique style that fuses the inside and the outside of the instrument into a provocative communion of fermentable sketches, mixing abrasive rubbing and soft hammering and plucking of the strings  with Minton’s overtone singing in masterful fashion, respecting the dynamic palette with few  touches and scarce chords,  building cathedrals of emotional intensity and harmonic suspension with effortless ingeniousness.\u003cbr\u003eThe six tracks are  examples of a creativity that can be fresh-sounding and cinematic at one and the same time, sort of a documentary about the secret life of an uncommon kind of creature inhabiting the obscure sections of this vocal- \/instrumental microcosm.  No assertion can really express the wealth of minute details and the stunning reciprocal reactivity that identifies this splendid  record.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e                                                                        \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eTouching Extremes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e“In\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eTasting\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eSophie Agnel and Phil Minton invite us to join a subtle pursuit; to taste, to touch, to palpate and to grasp.   At first with the greatest delicacy and then with a stylish confidence,  Agnel and Minton draw from piano and voice ephemeral flickering highlights which illuminate this nocturnal music. The listener is drawn on and absorbed into a music which is both serene and teeming with activity..... It is a joy to hear the soft murmurs and poetic touches of a music which seeks out other themes, explores living dreams and attempts new ascents.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e                                                                                                   - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGuillaume Tarche\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eImprojazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400438448442,"sku":"at02","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at02AgnelMinton.jpg?v=1749117583"},{"product_id":"music-for-shakuhachi-frank-denyer","title":"Frank Denyer","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003e1.   \u003cstrong\u003eOn, on - it must be so\u003c\/strong\u003e  (1977-78)           8:31\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003e2.   \u003cstrong\u003eQuite White\u003c\/strong\u003e  (1978)                                 7:37\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003e3.  \u003cstrong\u003e Wheat\u003c\/strong\u003e  (1977-81)                                     9:30\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003e4.   \u003cstrong\u003eUnnamed\u003c\/strong\u003e  (1997)                                   45:28\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eplayed by\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eYoshikazu Iwamoto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e-\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003ewith Paul Hiley \u0026amp; Frank Denyer  (percussion)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/FD_portrait_Darmstadt_1990081_f0f74b80-0015-42d7-9378-15fb26cac7fa_480x480.jpg?v=1751897903\"\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003eFrom the sleevenotes by Bob Gilmour\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003e\"The four works on this CD are the fruits of a musical collaboration that spans a quarter of a century. Frank Denyer and Yoshikazu Iwamoto met at Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 1974, where the former was a doctoral student in ethno-musicology and the latter artist-in-residence in the World Music programme.  Whereas initially it was Denyer's interest in traditional Japanese music that brought them together, the enduring legacy of their friendship is a folio of new compositions for shakuhachi that run like a vein through Denyer's output and collectively form a body of work unique in contemporary music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003e[.....]  The idea of a western composer writing for shakuhachi was not an entirely new idea in the 1970's, but precedents were few and far between. And after World War II a few Japanese composers wrote music for shakuhachi, so the idea of integration of shakuhachi into the western instrumentarium began to take hold (with even an occasional rock band using the instrument). Denyer, however, was not interested in east-west synthesis. The first works he produced for the instrument \u003cstrong\u003e(On, on - it must be so\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eWheat) \u003c\/strong\u003ewere essentially solo works with accompanying parts for percussion.  They are very different from the traditional Japanese repertoire and manner of playing, and yet far also from the concerns of contemporary western composers of the time. Rathervthan being exercises in cultural fusion they are musical spaces not yet identified on any map.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003e[....]  In the mid-1990s Denyer's music entered a new phase, which took the form of an intense concentration on extremely quiet sounds, sounds so soft and delicate that they seem in danger of disappearing altogether, of being brutally nudged out of existence. This new sound world only emerges fully in \u003cstrong\u003eUnnamed \u003c\/strong\u003efor solo shakuhachi, completed in October 1997. At 45 minutes it is both Denyer's longest composition to date and one of his richest and most enigmatic....\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/FD_portrait_Maria_Marquise_1998_480x480.jpg?v=1751899365\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“This record is all about a friendship between Frank Denyer, for years a teacher at Dartington College of Arts in Devon, and shakuhachi master Yoshikazu Iwamoto, who also taught at Dartington in the 1980’s.  The two first met on an ethnomusicology course at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where they played Japanese music together.  Already interested in flute making and microtonal tunings, Denyer wrote a series of demanding compositions for Iwamoto over the next 20 years.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eOn, On – It Must Be So\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e from 1977 is, as the title suggests, driven and dynamic.  The shakuhachi’s agile gymnastics are egged on by castanets and bass drum.  The music sounds tough to play, and there’s a lurking sense of the performer leaping through hoops.  By contrast\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eQuite White\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a solo built from serene, swooping glissandos.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eWheat\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e is a suite of six short pieces: Iwamoto’s shifting tone colours and ambiguous pitches are complemented by delicate tapping on stones, bamboo slit drums and an artillery shell.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eWhile these three compositions have already been heard on the 1984 album\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eWheat\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e, the reason\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eMusic for Shakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e has been so keenly awaited is the 45 minute monster\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eUnnamed\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e, a piece with legendary status among shakuhachi players, which Iwamoto recorded in 1999 and has never been released.  Iwamoto retired from playing after a serious illness several years ago, so we are lucky he recorded this when he did.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eUnnamed\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e may be a pianissimo epic, but it’s strongly structured and sustains the interest.   Broadly we are in the territory of Morton Feldman’s second string quartet, but Denyer patiently explores an extraordinary range of timbral colours, from quavering in-breaths to gasps of sobbing notes.  Iwamoto plays with quite magical delicacy.  Many of these notes are so spectral that a hypnotic aura descends like a veil, only to be shoved aside by vocal cries or monk-like growls.   Always keen to build from scratch on uncharted land, Denyer constructs an unusual soundworld here – though some improvisors have also ventured into this territory recently via a different door.  Iwamoto dedicated himself wholeheartedly to realising Denyer’s challenges, and this record is a crucial part of his testament.”       \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClive Bell\u003c\/strong\u003e  -\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“While the shakuhachi is a notoriously difficult instrument to play, its tonal colors and mysterious sonic density have drawn interest from Western composers as well as improvisers like Ned Rothenberg, Philip Gelb, Clive Bell, Steve Cohn, and Richard Teitelbaum. This release, on the new label Another Timbre, presents music that composer Frank Denyer wrote for the instrument of the course of two decades. The British composer had been working on the intersection of aleatory strategies, the use of exotic and homemade instruments, and composition during the late ’60s before heading to Wesleyan University. It was there that he met Japanese shakuhachi master Yoshikazu Iwamoto and began to write pieces for the instrument. (Iwamoto  was part of the fantastic trio along with Eddie Prevost and John Tilbury captured on the CD\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eSuch\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eThe first three pieces on this disc are from the late ’70s and grapple with the formal extensions of the shakuhachi. Two look at the interactions between the breathy woodiness of  Iwamoto’s playing with percussion. The six short episodes of the piece “Wheat” are particularly engrossing as the timbres of the clack of stones, tuned sound of bamboo slit  drum, and the metallic resonance of struck steel plates are contrasted with the sighing microtonalities of the shakuhachi. The centerpiece of the release is the more recent ”Unnamed” for solo shakuhachi. This stunning piece is a study in subtlety, traversing the dynamic range of quiet to barely audible.   But it is in these gradations that the music finds its structure. Here are calibrations of dynamics and sonic densities; pure tone, pure breath and vocalizations; high overtones and dark low notes. Iwamoto traverses the graphic score, extending the framework of intervallic microtones and contrasting shadings into a piece of dramatic intensity. While outside of the constructs of most of what is covered in this magazine, this one will certainly repay concentrated listening.”                                                                          \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMichael Rosenstein\u003c\/strong\u003e –\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eCadence\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“Frank Denyer is a very fine composer (and so very little known!) who whilst writing acoustic music invests it with an enormous amount of life, of chance and of ‘clinamen’ through the use of unusual modal scales, silences, extreme nuances and the use of unconventional instruments.  The history of these pieces begins when Denyer underwent a compositional crisis after hearing a shakuhachi record whilst at the Wesleyan University.  There he met Yoshikazu Iwamoto, the virtuosi shakuhachi player, with whom he began to create the marvellous works on this disc.  Twenty years separate\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eOn, on, it must be so\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003efrom\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eUnnamed  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e(the highpoint of this unique collaboration).   There is a perfect correlation between the writing and the playing, based round a pentatonic scale whose notes are microtonally shifted by a combination of embouchure, breathing and fingering.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eThe first piece\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eOn, on it must be so\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e(1977) is accompanied by castanets and bass drum and retains a rather classical phrasing, its expressive pointillism still relating to western criteria.  But with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eQuite White (1978)  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003ethe results of the collaboration with Iwamoto begin to be heard.  The tempo slows, the inflections tend towards electric silences, the glissandos and held notes are played in a way that gives a truly new twist to the melody as Denyer envisaged it.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eWheat\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e(1977-81) takes up and concludes the working out of this first salvo of pieces.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eAnd then\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eUnnamed\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e(1997) twenty years later....  John Cage tells us that in India aesthetic emotion (the ‘rasa’) is aroused through one or two simultaneous states from an ensemble of eight permanent emotions.  These eight emotions can be eclipsed by a ninth, which subsumes all the others and is called Tranquility.  The superb 45 minutes of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eUnnamed\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003edo precisely this; it is a hymn to tranquility, an aural  ataraxy which brings us to the power of serenity.  Iwamoto can snatch from the shakuhachi’s column of air incredible pianissimo nuances and hold them, or make them pulse, clearly or grainily, with all kinds of inflections.  It is magnificently assured and leads us to the edges of a world of true equanimity, with a perspective of such enormity that a million years seems like nothing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eThe smallness of Denyer’s discography, and the rare beauty of these pieces for shakuhachi means that this disc is truly significant.  It is like no other, and allows us to hear a work which has evolved over 30 years.  Finally it gives us a tranquility and a restorative enjoyment that is ultimately very rare. “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e                                                                              -    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBoris Wlassoff\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e Revue et Corrigée\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“This CD is a landmark of contemporary works for the Japanese end-blown notched oblique bamboo flute, the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e, written by the British composer Frank Denyer and played by I\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003ewamoto Y\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eoshikazu.  The\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis one of the most successful non-Western instruments to enter the world of new classical or avant-garde music in recent years.  The CD comprises four compositions, written between 1977 and 1997, and through them the listener can follow how Denyer ventures ever deeper into the possibilities of the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand utilises to the maximum Iwamoto’s impressive playing skills.  More than most composers, Denyer creates his own unique sound world. His music here sounds completely unlike traditional\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emusic, the so-called\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003ehonkyoku\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eplayed by the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003ekomusô\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emonks of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism, nor does it fit any particular genre in contemporary music. Rather, it constitutes a distinctive musical world, perfectly rendered by Iwamoto’s otherworldly playing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eDenyer and Iwamoto met in the 1970s at Wesleyan University (USA), where Iwamoto was artist in residence in the World Music programme and Denyer a doctoral student in ethnomusicology.  Denyer is also a\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003ekoto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(Japanese zither) player and has a thriving career as a pianist, alongside his professorship in composition at Dartington University (UK).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eDenyer’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecompositions are very difficult to play, requiring almost inhuman control of this already very difficult instrument. The player is forced to create new techniques in order to play the material as written. Denyer’s deep engagement in Indian music seems to have influenced his rhythmic aesthetics, providing his compositions with a complexity in sharp contrast to traditional\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emusic, which calls for a free interpretation of time and phrasing.  And yet Denyer’s compositions for\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003esuit the instrument very well; the difficult writing is not due to a lack of knowledge of the instrument  – Denyer just writes difficult music.  In fact, the careful listener soon discovers the consideration the composer has taken to remain true to the nature of the instrument while at the same time challenging it.  Denyer’s dynamics markings and his writing require a player of the calibre of Iwamoto, who fearlessly accepted the challenge and dedicated a large part of his performing life to deciphering Denyer’s music.  This CD is thus the fruit of an intense and unique musical friendship and collaboration between composer and player.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eThe first four minutes of “On, on – it must be so” (1977-8) are in a tempo and density that takes the breath away from even a listener who plays the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e.  The melody line, accompanied by castanets and bass drum, moves restlessly on to the next finger-twisting challenge.  After a stroke of a metallic percussion instrument, the percussion becomes silent and the piece slows down and enters a realm of beautiful serenity before ending as energetically as it began.  Iwamoto’s dexterous rendition of the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eportamento\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ealone makes this piece impressive.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“Quite White” (1978) is characterised by restrained dynamics at the top of the range of a\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e. What most strikes the listener is Iwamoto’s skill in playing\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003epianissimo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ein registers where the instrument, in the hands of most players, can only produce notes in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eforte\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e.  Together Denyer and Iwamoto are exploring new possibilities of timbre and expression on the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e.  The tempo of “Quite White” is slow, although Denyer has expressed his reluctance of writing slow pieces for the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eas most of its traditional music is slow.  However, in “Quite White” Denyer again shows his mastery in creating his own music.  The music is as elusively transparent as water and, at the same time, as solid as a rock.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“Wheat” (1977-81) consists of six pieces, all of very different character.  ‘Instruments’ such as stones, bamboo slit drum, sandpaper blocks and various steel plates employed as gongs all accompany the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e.   Here, Denyer explores new and surprising possibilities of tempo and intonation for this instrument, and Iwamoto moves with dexterity through these novel melodic lines.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“Unnamed” (1997) is a celebration of restrained\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003epianissimo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eplaying and microtones.  Denyer has notated the score in several colours to differentiate the conflicting scales, so that the player knows which scale is being played. Although Iwamoto has written on his systematic approach to playing microtones on the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e, he does not seem to have anchored his system sufficiently in his students before abruptly retiring from\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eplaying – a great loss to future\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eplayers of new music.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eAlthough the CD was released ten years after the last piece “Unnamed” was written, the musical fruits of the collaboration between Denyer and Iwamoto are as cutting edge today as they were at the time the pieces were written and performed.   No performer today can really match Iwamoto in his dedication to playing music so extremely challenging to the player’s rhythmic precision, dynamics and technical skills.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eThis CD is a testimony to a collaboration between composer and performer that took\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eplaying to a new level.  It is also an important milestone in the history of the instrument and an affirmation of the role it can play in genres outside its own tradition.  The popularity of the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis growing rapidly outside Japan.  Players throughout the world, enchanted by its unique and haunting timbre, are introducing it in new genres and inventing new playing techniques.  This CD is a living monument to\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emusic without roots in any particular tradition. It demonstrates just how much an instrument of the world\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003ethe\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eshakuhachi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehas become.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKiku Day\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eEthnomusicology Forum\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400440447290,"sku":"at03","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at03FrankDenyershakuhachi.jpg?v=1749117583"},{"product_id":"hum-rhodri-davies-matt-davis-samantha-rebello-bechir-saade","title":"Rhodri Davies, Matt Davis, Samantha Rebello, Bechir Saade","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eRhodri Davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e-  harp\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eMatt Davis\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e-  trumpet \u0026amp; field recordings\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eSamantha Rebello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e- flute\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBechir Saade\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e-  bass clarinet\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eone    7:12\u003cbr\u003etwo   13:26\u003cbr\u003ethree  8:02\u003cbr\u003efour    7:17\u003cbr\u003efive     6:13\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eR\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eecorded at the Red Rose club, London, June 2007\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/rhodri_2_480x480.jpg?v=1751905170\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e‘\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eHum\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e relaunches the quest for new expressive methods in that area of EAI which mainly deals with constituents such as air, saliva, friction.  The instrumentation makes for some pretty damn fine moments of fascinating  interaction, with Matt Davis’ electronics often constituting an element of menacing doubt amidst a detailed suspension characterized by various types of overtones that peep first, clash later, then look for a meeting point  somewhere in the middle. “Two” wears the timbral components down to frazzles, giving the music a far-reaching anxiousness miles away fromself-indulgence.  On the contrary the music takes advantage of the whole dynamic range to uproot any hope from those who expect vibrations of peace and love to sweeten an improvisation.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eIt’s virtually impossible to quantify individual contributions to the body of the performance, despite the extreme clarity of the recording. While breath is obviously a common denominator -  although fragmented to minuscule crumbles, oppressive exhalations and guttural snaps - it is when Davies’ harp resonates vigorously that the music assumes a totally different weight, transforming the seductive, if somehow acrid grace of Rebello and Saade’s microscopic elaboration into a muscular buzzing torso that David Jackman would almost envy.  Tracks like “One” and “Four” bring us back  to the golden era of reductionism,  but the tendencies to silence are soon removed in favour of gentle droning and mechanical tampering amidst piercing shrieks and malevolent low-tone resurgences.  A distinct urban cloud underlines the seagull-like harmonics at the beginning of “Five”, scraped strings and scattered noises dematerialising pigmentations and suggestions down to a combustible absence of meaning.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e Touching Extremes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“It’s odd to think that the micro-gestural sound world of musicians such as these now have a deep tradition on which to draw.   Improvisers have been mining the lower boundaries of dynamics, and densities for long enough that the vocabulary and strategies are no longer the radical affront they once appeared to be.  Today's listeners are attuned to the flickers, breaths, scrapes, and hisses to the point that they can get past the surface textures of extended technique and focus on the music that is being created.   Rhodri Davies and Matt Davis are both well-established improvisers in settings like this.  For\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eHum\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e they are joined by flutist Samantha Rebello and bass clarinetist Bechir Saade for a series of intimately detailed collective sound explorations.  While Rebello is a new name, Saade is a member of the Lebanese improv scene along with Sharif Sehnaoui, Christine Sehnaoui, and Mazen Kerbaj.   The instrumentation is harp, trumpet and electronics, flute, and bass clarinet but of course that does little to describe the music.   Instead, what jumps out is a strategy of collective circumspection as the four assiduously construct spontaneous tracery.  There is the clear weighting of sound and space; durations of tone placed against scrubbed and scraped textures; velocity of activity balanced with inky stasis.   While electronics are present, their use is understated, placing a much stronger focus on the acoustic interactions.  Fluttering breaths, sputtered reed pops, bowed and scraped strings, strident flute overtones, and brassy exhales, buzzes, and valve clicks create a taught balance of density and transparency.  Their palate and attack eschews line for more of a sense of collective sonic choreography and it is here that they really develop their group sound.  For all the subtleties, this is not about muted silence.   Instead the four have woven together improvisations full of variegated lucidity informed by careful listening and radiant interaction.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMichael Rosenstein\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eSignal to Noise\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“In\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ehum\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ethe instruments are transformed by the fingers and lips of the players into the gurgling, whistling and ululating sounds imagined by the Italian Futurists, producing flickering noises of smoke and of burning.  These are small sounds, as though written on the wind, or traced in dust, or like particles of spittle rubbed into the ears of the blind so that they can hear again, or the lame so that they can see.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eMusique concrete\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e created directly from the players’ mouths, often grey on grey.  The bass clarinet gurgles with phlegm from the very bottom of the lung, the flute trembles fearfully like a fluttering leaf.  The trumpet rattles like the death rattle itself, or shrills like a badly oiled machine.  Davies’ harp is simply one object amongst others, an\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eobjet trouve\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e, a frame of wires on which the wind pulls and the frost creaks.  Davis sets in play some electronics, but the sounds are indistinguishable from the rest.  A classic of the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eBruit Secret\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eaesthetic, of the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eArte Poverissima,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ewhich sits as if naturally on the benches of this world amidst the wind and rain.”                                                                                         \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eRigobert Dittmann\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e–\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eBad Alchemy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400443560250,"sku":"at04","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at04hum.jpg?v=1749117462"},{"product_id":"endspace-angharad-davies-tisha-mukarji","title":"Angharad Davies \u0026 Tisha Mukarji","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eAngharad Davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e-  violin\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eTisha Mukarji \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e-  inside piano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003etotal time:  37 : 56\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003erecorded at Goldsmith’s College, London, July 2007\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/DSC01916_9767d8b4-1f13-443e-a466-610c9b70ea11_480x480.jpg?v=1751906699\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“Violinist Angharad Davies has been one of the most consistently interesting improvisers performing regularly on the UK scene over the past few years, although CD releases that do her playing real justice are few and far between.  Likewise Copenhagen based inside-pianist Tisha Mukarji, whose music has always held me captivated in live situations, is previously represented by only a single CD release, the solo\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eD is for  Din\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eon Creative Sources.  So this, their first recording as a duo is a very welcome and extremely  satisfying arrival.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eEndspace\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis an entirely acoustic affair, and it  is impossible to ignore the heritage that goes before such a recording of piano and violin.   At least one of the musicians is classically trained, and both the slow pace of Feldman and the New York School and the grey austerity of the Wandelweiser collective can be heard echoing through these five improvisations.   Indeed, listening to this delicately constructed album you could even be forgiven for  forgetting that it is an album of improvised music.  Its simple, fragile forms put together from only the most essential elements have a sense of precision about them more commonly found in modern composition.  However whilst restrained in its construction Endspace contains very little silence, gaining its sense of fragility more from the slow pace of the music and its use of decaying sounds than any concept of “reductionism”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThis is a beautiful, enchanting album. Both musicians use preparations to their instruments to create a softened, muted feel to the sounds they make.   Davies’ violin work ranges from small high pitch bowed whispers somehow pulled from the upper register of the strings to dry, rasping sounds as the entire body of the violin is investigated. She often uses a circular bowing technique to create a rhythmic, sustained pattern. Mukarji’s smaller, more percussive sounds often provide counterpoint to these deadened textures, although it frequently becomes difficult to separate the sounds of the two musicians from each other.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eMukarji works exclusively within the piano, addressing the simply prepared strings and also the body of the instrument with beaters, and what sounds like a bow. She summons up a range of sounds, from the distinctly piano-like chimes that bring the still beauty  of the fourth track to a close to the rasping wooden vibrations that appear elsewhere. The two musicians work superbly together, their patience with the music and impeccable timing combine together with the obvious compatibility of each other’s sounds to create music that is deserving of the listener’s careful attention.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eEndspace\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis quite stunningly gorgeous. A thoroughly engrossing meditation on what can still be achieved with these two most  traditional of instruments, this is chamber-improv of the highest order.”           \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eRichard\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003ePinnell\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e -  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eBagatellen\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“For some time, Angharad Davies and Tisha Mukarji have been two of the most  distinctive young improvisers on the UK scene, but they have not been adequately represented on disc.  This release starts to remedy the situation, and so is  particularly  welcome.   The combination of Davies' violin and Mukarij's inside piano - both entirely acoustic, but each with a range of preparations— qualifies as “chamber improv,” but that  term hardly does justice to the vibrancy of the music here.    The music is difficult to pigeonhole; although improvised, it goes beyond the normal borders of improv.   Davies is comfortable producing sustained bowed patterns that give much of the music an underlying rhythmic feel, one that is enhanced by Mukarji's plucked punctuations.   The latter are an object lesson in economy; Mukarji plays  few  notes and none of them is wasted, yet there is an irresistible logic to her playing.   Above all else, the two players are highly compatible and communicate a shared understanding of what  they wish to produce.   The end results have a tranquility and beauty likely to appeal to listeners who would not normally consider improv.    The five pieces here have a combined playing time of under forty minutes.   However, that is a strength more than a weakness. Their quality more than compensates for the quantity.   Such is the sense of completeness provided by the pieces that any more would seem superfluous. This is one of those (rare) albums that when it finishes, one is hard pressed to think what to follow it with.   More often than not, the solution is to simply play it again.   And again.    A delight.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e –\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eendspace\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003epasses seamlessly into the existing\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eanother timbre\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ecatalogue.  Both the violin and piano strings are brought with great care and artistic assurance into a kind of Beckettian aesthetic of disappearance as applied to the world of sounds.  Slight scrapes interact with knocks on the insides of a vessel.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eendspace ii\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e is articulated with sharp, eager, gnawing tones.  But more often the violin strings are like a squeaking machine, or rasping breathing, a shrill piercing, or the whistling of a toneless recorder.  Mukarji plucks single pizzicato notes, as random as raindrops, yet always played with an inner sense of harmony.  She produces harp-like rippling sounds on the strings or keys, hammering pings, or internal sounds like those you hear when a large clock is opened.  Also tones as though she too is working with a violin bow on the piano wires.  All five pieces define the ‘space’ as something diffuse, as something that might be dissolved even with such delicate handling, grey on grey, white on white – closed space, endspace, dead end, coffin.  The ear senses something indistinct that can only fleetingly be heard.  The sounds illuminate the space briefly and then are extinguished, like flares.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRigobert Dittmann\u003c\/strong\u003e –\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eBad Alchemy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eEndspace\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eshowcases Tisha Mukarji’s use of her 19\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003eth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecentury Hornung square piano frame rather better than on her inaugural CD, the solo\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eD Is For Din\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(Creative Sources).  She strums and plucks the piano strings, bows them, brushes and scrapes them with wood and metal, strikes  them with various implements and in the process produces a wide range of engaging sounds.  But whereas\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eD Is For Din\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e was dense, dark and somewhat abrasive, her duo with Angharad Davies is spacious and light, a music that breathes.  At first Mukarji seemed to be treading in the footsteps of Sophie Agnel and Andrea Neumann, but on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eEndspace\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eshe really comes into her own.   Her techniques aren’t very different from those of Neumann and Agnel, but listen to how she layers sounds of different durations during the first half of “Endspace IV”, and the light and shade she brings to the music throughout the CD, to be convinced of her sterling qualities as an improvisor.     Like Mukarji, Angharad Davies is a player who never raises her voice unnecessarily, who doesn’t fill all of the available space with her sound, who never grandstands.  Everything she does is musical and in the service of the music at hand.  Her years as an orchestral violinist have given her an assured technique, and the sounds she produces on her instrument, no matter how hushed and delicate they are, are confidently made and beautifully controlled.  Her playing on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eEndspace\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis mainly textural in nature, using various bowing techniques and materials wedged under the strings to bring out different sonorities.  She tends to work with blocks of short, seemingly repetitious phrases that are in fact constantly, subtly changing.  These Mukarji often embellishes with single plucked or struck notes.  When they engage in mutual textural play, as on“Endspace I” and the midsection of “Endspace II”, the music seems to pause momentarily, shimmering in space.”                   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Marley\u003c\/strong\u003e -\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/DSC01918_df061a56-13da-47cb-b846-e006b5216348_480x480.jpg?v=1751907047\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400450179386,"sku":"at05","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at05Endspace.jpg?v=1749117695"},{"product_id":"a-life-saved-by-a-spider-and-two-doves","title":"Max Eastley, Evan Parker, Mark Wastell, Graham Halliwell","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eMax Eastley\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e- arc  (electro-acoustic monochord)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eGraham Halliwell\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e- computer \u0026amp; electronics\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEvan Parker\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e- soprano saxophone\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Wastell\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e-  tam-tam, metal percussion \u0026amp; harmonium\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e1. a carp gives a lesson in perseverance                        15:53\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e2. human fireflies                                                           14:27\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e3. the chessboard cherry tree                                        16:51\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eRecorded at the church of St.James the Great, London, September 2007\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Max-Eastley-2896006846_480x480.jpg?v=1751916814\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e“As George Lewis recently said, it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between improvised and composed music.   It’s a distinction he would like to see dropped.  For much of its length this delicately nuanced recording could quite easily be a formal electroacoustic composition, an impression strongly reinforced by the fact that Evan Parker sounds curiously unfamiliar in this new grouping.   He’s well used now to working with electronics, but this was a first convocation of this quartet with Max Eastley, Graham Halliwell and Mark Wastell, and in the full but not unduly resonant acoustic of St.James the Great in North London, the four musicians move round one another with the gracious decorum and unfussy discipline of monks walking a prayer path.  The track titles taken from ancient Japanese folklore perhaps suggest another provenance, but there is nothing pictorial or impressionistic about this music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eWastell’s metal percussion and the sliding tones from Eastley (or is it Halliwell?) sometimes recall honoured British improvisation of the kind associated with Ovary Lodge, who offered similar hostages to critical fortune by providing haiku-like titles.   This is estimably quiet music and eminently reasonable, which might seem a strange word in the circumstances.  Listen to Parker alone, insofar as one can separate even him from a shared soundworld, and he could be examining his sound and its processes rather than spinning a linear narrative.  One always tends to reach for ‘stillness’ as a shorthand for music of this kind, but that’s wrong too.  It’s all movement, but movement of a markedly abstract and ratiocinative sort, coming back to its own subtly altered premises at the end of each of the three pieces.  The notes suggest that, having embarked on this small pilgrimage at the recording, the group are now working regularly.  That’s excellent news.”                       \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Morton\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e“Two generations meet, it seems, Eastley and Parker on one side and Halliwell and Wastell on the other.  The music is from their  first meeting as a quartet, which has continued afterwards.  The improvisations here aren't easy to describe.  There are on one hand the electronic and electric-charged machinery, which provide a very  modern look, crackling, drone, static, but on the other hand there are the acoustic instruments, especially Parker's saxophone, that sound very traditionally improvised.  However most of the time this marriage works wonderfully well.   An endless stream of sounds colliding into each other, bumping but also carefully missing each other, like a near collision.  In that way each of the players knows how to avoid the other, but also it's a matter of respect for the others; each of the players gets room to play, to develop, take shapeand transform, noting what the others do and adding where necessary.  A great work. “    \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrans de Waard\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e Vital Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e“These three improvisations, traced in the air of a London church, form one of the most beautiful sound landscapes of the year.  This is the first offering from a quartet which has become a regular grouping, and whose open and sensitive music reaches a high plateau of deep satisfaction.  There’s nothing forced or competitive about this meeting of generations and styles (which are certainly different).  It is a process of mutual connection; everything is placed with impeccable delicacy into the swirling mists and drones of sound, and interwoven with the furtive embellishments of the soprano.  Collective and majestic.”   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGuillaume Tarche,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eImprojazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C-C0\"\u003e“Eastley is a sound sculptor and instrument builder who here plays an arc, an “electro-acoustic monochord” of his own devising in the rich tradition of Harry Partch and Eddie “One String” Jones.   It’s a nine-foot long, wooden, single-string instrument that changes pitch with a flexing of the wood.  It’s also bowed and played with glass rods and its sound is altered electronically.  Graham Halliwell, who has previously concentrated his energies on saxophone feedback, here plays computer and electronics, while Mark Wastell plays tam- tam, metal percussion and harmonium.   Parker plays soprano exclusively.   As all that might suggest, there’s a lot of droning going on, and the most characteristic sound is wisps of high-pitched soprano saxophone against the slow, harmonium-like oscillations of the other instruments.   Even Wastell’s percussion is sometimes used for sustained sound, a deeply resonant gong shimmering through the electronics.  The occasional glittering flash of struck percussion emphasizes the heightened resonance of the church in which it was recorded, but with the further suggestion of Japanese percussion employed in a Buddhist service, an inevitable analogy in a CD with artwork and titles derived from traditional works of Japan.   Within its almost constant state, the music is always changing, sounds shifting and mutating.   There’s no easy way to describe it, index perhaps of one of its values.   The music is both stimulus and companion to reverie,  a work of great  beauty.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C-C1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStuart Broomer\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C-C2\"\u003e Point of Departure\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400491368762,"sku":"at06","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at06ALifeSaved.jpg?v=1749119717"},{"product_id":"obdo-frederic-blondy-thomas-lehn","title":"Frédéric Blondy, Thomas Lehn","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eFrédéric Blondy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e piano\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eThomas Lehn\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e analogue synthesiser\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e1.  pooq          12:47\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e2-4.  obdo       37:00\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eRecorded Bourogne, Montreuil \u0026amp; Périgueux,  2003 - 2006\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/frederic_blondy_240x240.jpg?v=1751918221\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e        \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/lehn_bertoncini_3_240x240.jpg?v=1751918284\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“Thinking of this release as a duet between Frédéric Blondy and Thomas Lehn misses the mark completely.  First there are the mechanics of the session.  Blondy’s piano was routed in to external input of Lehn’s synth, providing sound sources which were manipulated in real time.  At the same time, the input served as control signals that affected the sound synthesis.  All of which was refracted back out for Blondy to respond to.  Of course the technical setup would be of no consequence if the musicians didn’t connect so well.  Both have extensive experience working in this space.  Blondy is part of the group Hubbub, a quintet that turns two-reed, guitar, piano, and drums instrumentation into a setting for nuanced, chamber-like gradations of micro-details.  And Lehn’s list of collaborations is mind-boggling.  But in each case, he manages to inhabit the sound-space of his partners, from the hyper-kinetic Konk Pack to his participation in Mimeo.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eHere, the two musicians mine the electro-acoustic palette of their combined instrument.  While the low resonances and ringing sustain of the piano are filtered and fractured, the essence of the acoustic source is always present.  Likewise, Lehn’s scribbled gestures and jagged textures are picked up by Blondy, with crashing chords, rumbling ostinatos, and percussive work inside the piano.  The first piece was assembled by Lehn in the studio from two performances; the second  piece is a live recording.  Both are built around shadings of voicings and gesture along with the careful balance of dynamics and densities.  Calligraphic electronics dart across piano thunder.  Dark chords are turned in on themselves into roaring shards.  Bright, sparely-voiced notes from the upper octaves are dropped against crackles and scratched synth.  Particularly on the more extended length of the live title piece, the improvisation balances sections of spacious calm with heated squall with a thoughtful sense of overall form.  This new label has been putting out a series of strong releases since its launch in late 2007. This is one of their strongest yet.”          - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eMichael Rosenstein\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eSignal to Noise\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e“Obdo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e’s two pieces derive from performances at French festivals by pianist Frédéric Blondy and analogue synthesiser player Thomas Lehn.  The bulk of ‘pooq’ was recorded in Bourogne in 2006 and subsequently modified in a process of audio editing that enhanced and added emphasis rather than substantially changing the material.   On stage Blondy’s instrument was routed through Lehn’s synthesiser in a way that allowed reciprocal processing and interference to occur.   The outcome might have been wild, even chaotic, but the duo prefer a highly restrained, subtle, even austere approach.   Sparse, precise tones are tinged with reverb or gently swirled through ring modulation.  Their interactive set-up reminds me of a suggestion  by philosopher Michel Serres, in his musings on hosts and parasites, that something new arises only “by the injection of chance into the rule, by the introduction of law at the heart of disorder”.     The longer title track was performed at the Actes Temporaires festival in Périgueux and received only minor adjustments later.  This piece is  far  less like a cautious tightrope walk; the interaction is far more explicitly dramatic.  Blondy works vigorously with the body of the  piano, case and strings as well as keyboard.     And Lehn is more intrusive, agitated and sometimes squally.  The culmination is explosive.”                                                                           \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJulian Cowley\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“The music is spectacularly spectral, for the most part quiet, yet containing an amazing sense of drama and danger, of underlying nervousness and a feeling of uncertainty as to what is lying around the corner.  I’d advise you to listen to it in complete darkness as – thanks to the excellent recording – every sound, every gesture has an explosive force.  Darkness is the right environment for the mentally dazzling and psychologically grazing effects of a music which tricks and subjugates you, which evokes spirits and causes deep wounds.  Desolate shrill sounds, probably the strings of Blondy’s piano, introduce the first piece\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003epooq\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e, to which are added Lehn’s menacing pulses and strange effects.  There are a few moments of stasis in a trembling grey zone, then afterwards everything changes thanks to the pianistic explorations of the Frenchman with his rich vocabulary of extended techniques.  Accents and note-clusters that are almost Feldmanesque, runs and dissonant cadences like an insistent punctuation to the miraculous work of the synthesiser which measures out and projects long iridescent shadows.  Great, but the best is still to come with the long title track, which draws us into a strange game of mirrors.  Everything is undefined and shifting;  bizarre forms of life seem to materialise out of nothing, at first quietly, then noisily and threateningly, as if coming to reclaim the space of the living.  The synthesiser moves round restlessly, creating obstacles and little traps, while the piano seems to be an almost physical presence intent on dismantling and reassembling everything.  There are moments when the tension rages furiously and everything seems about to collapse, saturating the nerves and emotions of the listener who finds relief only in the final moments of the piece.  A mad and desolate rush towards the void which swallows and destroys everything, leaving us completely dumbstruck.  Spectacular.”            \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlfio Castorina\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eKathodik\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“Thomas Lehn (whom we should remember trained as a pianist) and Frédéric Blondy form a duo of interacting keyboards, wires, strings and filters.   For not only are the piano sounds treated by the synthesiser, but they themselves feed into and affect the synthesis.  The dizzying possibilities of this situation could overwhelm, befuddle or intoxicate the musicians, but happily there’s nothing of that here.   It is a drama of tension, of the play of timbres and spaces opening up landscapes which are diffracted and then shattered by delicate excavations or sudden orchestral squalls.  For the listener this is a passionate journey through lands which rise up and then shift from moment to moment.  On stage too this duo must be quite something.”                                                                        \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGuillaume Tarche\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eImprojazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e“Those who know the work of Frédéric Blondy and Thomas Lehn might expect a meeting of the two to be a kind of free-for-all in which speed is the primary parameter.  But they will be surprised.  In this recording there are no lyrical flights of fancy, nor shows of extravagant dexterity, as if both musicians are keen to avoid being caricatured.  What is unique about this recording is the way in which the piano sounds are fed into the analogue synthesiser in such a way that they are not only manipulated but also themselves interfere with the process of synthesis.    And while certainly active, the musicians let these technical processes play themselves out and be heard.   At times they just listen to the (sometimes minute) transformations that they are effecting upon each other.  We are invited not so much to listen to a dialogue as to explore the interior of a third space, the space of that almost immobile moment when the activity necessary for its survival is found in its deepest recesses.  So this music takes time to build up and accumulate structures, which it then tramples down (though without hotheadedness) that same territory where it has become entrenched.  Nonetheless there is a certain disequilibrium between the two musicians, with Thomas Lehn taking the initiative more as regards the sudden ruptures and other surprises which give life to the duo’s music.  This cd will certainly delight all those like me, who love to be surprised by the richness of a soundworld which is both willed into being and allowed to run its course, and also moved by the musicianship of the playing (whether it is fast and furious or not).”            \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLe Quan Ninh\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eRevue et Corrigée\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400492122426,"sku":"at07","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at07LehnBlondyObdo.jpg?v=1749119838"},{"product_id":"an-account-of-my-hut-clive-bell-bechir-saade","title":"Clive Bell, Bechir Saade","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eClive Bell\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- shakuhachi\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eBechir Saade\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- ney\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e1 kindling                            08:53\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e2 an account of my hut       08:12\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e3 straw                                 04:53\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e4 eaves                                 05:00\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e5 cloud trapeze                    04:38\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e6 wisteria                             05:38\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e7 withered leaves                 06:42\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eR\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eecorded in Ealing, west London, July \u0026amp; October 2007\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Clive-Bell_240x240.jpg?v=1751917614\"\u003e      \u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Bechir-Saade-playing-his-nay-left-photograph-taken-from.png?v=1751917650\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eDuring my first time with this collection of duets for ney (Saade) and shakuhachi (Bell) I found myself catching the single voice’s essence, mentally absorbing any droplet, any barely audible harmonic, and all the complex relationships between the wood and a pneumatically enhanced system of liquids which are here put in direct confrontation.  A wonderful experience, rendered memorable by a detail-splitting recording quality that lets the audience feel like the very embouchure of those exotic whistling tubes.  The notes just flow through our substance, into the core of self-examination.  I tried a second listen at low volume, and was astonished to discover that the spirit of the music was still there, certain aspects of its ritualistic charm even boosted by the connection that my ears and brain had already established during the first session.   Naturally, it helps that Bell and Saade are masters of the game, their intertwining sensitivity and intelligent choice of spaces, reticence and wavering vibrations - or the mix of all these ingredients - demonstrating what “inner ear” really means.  Music that spread-eagles between the silence of your reflections, arriving at the right moment to save us from idiot television programs and useless chit-chat to establish a poetic logic of no-nonsense and gratification of the remote depths of the soul.  A great, great record, confirming Another Timbre as currently the best English label devoted to improvisation, on a par with Emanem.”  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e            \u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e Touching Extremes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“One would normally consider improvised music on the Japanese shakuhachi and the Arabian ney as an example of a 'meeting' of  two distinct cultures.  But not only are both instruments made of plants from the same grass family - the shakuhachi from bamboo and the ney from reeds - the sensitive exploration by  two fine improvisers also shows that as well as differences, they have very much in common, not least with regard to timbre and musical language.  The key words for this CD are harmony and tranquillity.  Thus the 'meeting' here is very smooth and without 'clashes', perhaps due to both musicians' deep interest in improvisation and timbre.  With his ney, Saade explores the links between Middle Eastern improvisation techniques and contemporary  music, while Bell uses his shakuhachi to interpret traditional solo and ensemble music, folk songs, and improvisation. Both players move freely in and out of their instruments' cultural backgrounds and their own interest in contemporary music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e In 'Kindling', the communication between the two is peaceful, but powerful. They  exchange phrases with each other, while at the same alluding to the music idiomatic to their respective instruments.  Bell plays here a typical honkyoku phrase so slowly that  its cultural provenance is disguised almost to the point of inaudibility.  In 'Straw', the ney wails nostalgic phrases, which Bell layers beautifully, creating an ambiance of distant lands.   In 'An account of my hut', they seem to synchronise their breathing and to be playing the other’s instrument (on their own, of course).  And while improvised, this is a well-structured piece, in which the end possesses elements  of the beginning.  Both musicians have a wide palate of sounds and techniques and their exploration of multiphonics and timbre is remarkable, in particularly when they play with difference tones.    Simon Reynell, the owner of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eanother timbre\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e, label has done an admirable job of recording and mastering the music.  Mic’ing is close and intense, and the listener gets the feeling that the two musicians are playing only a few arm-lengths away.  The CDs hitherto released on this label seem carefully chosen and with a strong emphasis on improvisation.  It will be worth keeping an eye on this label – as well as on Bell and Saade.”         \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eKiku Day\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“”The player’s breath is integral to the sound of both instruments, and phrase lengths are often dictated by lung capacity.   Although the music consists of two distinct voices and is amicably conversational, their conversations aren’t always about the same thing at the same time.   But even when they talk at slightly cross purposes, there’s a strong creative spark.  The mood throughout these seven pieces is not entirely relaxed, as there’s always a measure of uncertainty  about the direction the music is taking.   The tensions that ensue are part and parcel of genuinely free improvisation.     Bell, an ethnic music multi-instrumentalist who studied with shakuhachi master Kohachiro Miyata, and Saade, a Lebanese improviser who, in addition to ney, on other recordings plays bass clarinet and flute, bring selected items of cultural baggage to\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eAn Account of My Hut\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e, but they place them in odd corners of the studio and unpack them only a bit at a time.   Bell introduces\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eKindling\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e with quiet, wispy curlicues of sound, and when Saade responds with rhythmic tappings and pressurised long tones, he slips into the shakuhachi’s lower register.  The range of articulations  on the remainder of the track, and on the cd as a whole, is just as wide.  When textures roughen, as on the opening measures of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eWisteria ,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003ethe breathy overtones of the flutes fly like molten sparks or chips of ice.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Marley\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“This is a disc apart which arouses a mysterious fascination and demands to be listened to in a state of contemplation.  Its mood is above all calm and serene, but emphatically not in a reductionist sense.  Its pure tones carve in the air ‘melodies’ from distant worlds and traditions, without sounding folksy thanks to the skilful playing which draws on the radical experience of recent improvisation, and to the undeniable mastery of the two musicians as they examine the most hidden, secret timbres of their instruments.   This is a sound which enchants, and which creates its own time, heedless of the stupid frenzy of this strange world which we have created.  It is a music which seeks out and excites a pure and extremely fragile beauty.  Long phrases brush against each other, slide one upon the other, unite and then separate, panting, puffing, tangling and then resettling.  It is clear from the first moments of the opening track\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ekindling\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e what kind of internal journey the listener will be taken on:  a dialogue made of small, woody and percussive sounds, scraps of melancholy dirges which are blown around like leaves in the wind, gentle drones and long circular breaths.  There’s a certain sameness of mood throughout, which you’ll either love or hate.  But if you like it, it will be difficult to detach yourself from this music, which will continue to wander inside your head long after listening to it.  One of the most profoundly human expressions of recent improvisation.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlfio Castorina\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eKathodik\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400494121274,"sku":"at08","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at08BellSaade.jpg?v=1749119931"},{"product_id":"de-las-piedras-esteban-algora-alessandra-rombola-ingar-zach","title":"Esteban Algora, Alessandra Rombolá, Ingar Zach","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eEsteban Algora\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- accordion\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlessandra Rombolá\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e- flute \u0026amp; tiles installation\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eIngar Zach\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- percussion\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e1. ámbar                                  7:45\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e2. Alabastro                             4:21\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e3. Galena                               12:19\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e4. Turmalina                            6:53\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e5. Jade                                     6:48\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e6. Amatista                              5:28\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eRecorded at the Eremita de la Anunciada, Urueňa, Spain, August 2007\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/de_las_piedras_2_480x480.jpg?v=1751915052\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eINTERVIEW WITH INGAR ZACH, MARCH 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eHow long has the trio with Esteban Algora and Alessandra Rombolá been in existence, and how did this group come about?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eI got to know Esteban and Alessandra when I moved to Madrid in 2004.  Esteban is a very special musician and he is the first choice on accordion in Spain, when it comes to contemporary music.  Esteban and Alessandra have played together for a long time, in duo and in other constellations such as the trio MEI (with Horacio Curti on shakuhachi), where they exclusively play Japanese music, both traditional and contemporary.  Alessandra and I play together with Rhodri Davies in MUTA .  Esteban, Alessandra and I had our first and so far only performance as a trio in Madrid in March last year.  We wanted to play together and investigate the combination of instruments.  And after the concert we all felt that this was certainly something to take further.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eWe decided to call Pierre Olivier Boulant from Toulouse to come to Urueňa with us, to record music in the beautiful small stone church close to Valladolid.  So, basically  the trio is very fresh still, but right now, we have lots of plans, and we are all three very happy with the outcome of the recording.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe church has a very particular acoustic that you are clearly exploiting in the music.  Could you tell us about this?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eYes, Alessandra recorded her solo cd there in 2005, and we both fell in love with the place and the acoustics.  After our first concert we decided that it would be very natural to choose a space for the recording which had a special and reverberant acoustic, and we immediately thought about the church.  We wanted our sounds to melt together in the space, and work on the total group sound where the room became a fourth member of the group in a way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eCould you explain the title of the disc, and of the individual tracks?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eAs it is an old stone church we thought it would be a nice connection to name the tracks after minerals, and the title of the cd, ‘...de las piedras’  (which means, \"...of the stones\") could give the listener a sense of understanding of the space we are playing in.  Alessandra also uses tiles which gives a direct association to the sound of stones.  It's nice to try to find connections between the music and the titles, even if sometimes the connection can be very vague.  But in this case I feel we managed to find titles that have some kind of meaning with the music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eMuch of '....de las piedras' sounds like contemporary classical music.  How much of the music was at least partly composed or at least pre-planned?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eI don't think of it like that.  In fact I don't even try to separate or distinguish between composed and improvised.  What we do in the trio is to talk about sounds we like, and also different possibilities of structure and form.  And then we try to improvise with the material and\/or structure we have agreed upon.  In the recording I think we had 7-8 ideas in total, and we did three or four versions of all of them.  Finally we ended up choosing just six, because it made sense musically and we thought the form of the cd worked well with the final six tracks.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eYou and Alessandra also play in the trio MUTA, with Rhodri Davies rather than Esteban Algora, and have produced an excellent cd on the Sofa label. Given that two thirds of the group is the same, how similar are these two trios?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eIn the way of working the two trios are very similar, but in terms of the music that comes out, there are differences.  One obvious difference is that MUTA is amplified and uses electronics, while this other trio is totally acoustic.  But also in terms of the density of sounds and aesthetics there are differences.  MUTA is more harsh and noisy, while this trio is more melodic, more dynamic maybe. In any case MUTA haven't played for a while, so this may all change the next time we meet....\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eIn the past few years the music you play has changed in character.  You seem to be being drawn more and more closely towards contemporary classical music, whilst retaining a strong commitment to improvisation.  Can you say more about this?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eWell, as I said earlier I don't think of it in these terms, but I guess it is the hunger for change and development in my expression that is the reason for the change in character.  I need to use improvisation to create my music, but after playing so-called \"free improvised music\" in ad hoc settings for a long time (where normally nothing was said before or after playing), the urge to set in place limits, discuss solutions, or predetermine structures became more important to me.  It's just that I felt that all the music I played sounded the same, even if the people I played with changed.  In the last 5 years I have deliberately focused on playing differently in each group I’m involved in, or changing the material or instruments I use to fit each project.  Nowadays I work steadily with fixed groups, and do very little ad hoc playing.  I am into group playing and working with steady ensembles over time, and I think that this has been the right path for me over the last five years, because better music has come out of it. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eOne of your fixed groups is Looper, the excellent trio with Martin Kuchen \u0026amp; Nikos Veliotis, who collaborated with John Tilbury on the ‘MASS’ project (documented on Esquilo).   Can you say something about Looper?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eIn Looper, the music flows very easily.  All three of us have a very clear, common idea of what we want to do.  It’s all about layers, and how to start and stop these layers, and where to put them dynamically and pitchwise.  Silence is also very important in this trio.  That’s when all three of us stop our actions at the same spot, and the space that this creates can be really magical.  We decided to bring in John Tilbury on MASS, and the choice was very natural to us.  We didn't need another layer in the music, but something that could be a contrast, yet still an equal part of our sound.  And we knew that John was a musician who valued time and space in a very particular way. To me we couldn't have chosen a better musician. John is one of a kind.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eIn spring 2004 you moved from your native Norway to Spain.  What made you decide to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003emake this shift?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eActually I wanted to move to Berlin in 2004, but then I met my wife here in Madrid, and then there was no other way really.  And I don't regret it for a second!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ePrior to moving to Spain you worked for several years with a number of other Norwegian musicians (Ivar Grydeland, Tonny Kluften etc.)  Have you been able to maintain these collaborations from afar?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eOh, yes. The trio with Ivar Grydeland and Tonny Kluften is very active.  It's called Huntsville, and it has taken a totally different direction the last three years.  In Huntsville, I play mostly rhythmical patterns with my two snare drums, a bass drum, an electronic tabla machine and a Cajón!  Ivar works with the whole guitar family: banjo, pedal steel guitar, acoustic and electric guitar, and Tonny plays double bass, bass pedals and an old analogue rhythm box.  It's a very bizarre mix but it works.  The method of working is kind of similar to the way I work with Looper, although the music sounds completely different.  Huntsville is minimal in the sense that small ideas are put in motion, loops are introduced that go on for a long time, the same groove going on for 15 minutes with very small changes.  Huntsville work with layers, and the dynamic between all the layers makes up the form of the pieces which always last between 40 and 50 minutes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eYou also played with Derek Bailey on a number of occasions and produced two duo CD's, one of his Incus label and one on your Sofa label.  Derek had the reputation of being brilliant but sometimes difficult.   How did you find him, and what did you learn about improvising from working with him over a period of years?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eI learned a lot by just being together with him and his wife Karen. They were fantastic company and I'm still in touch with Karen.  For me there was nothing difficult in my relationship with Derek.  I am just very happy and honoured to have got to know him and to have shared music with him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eGoing back still further can you say how you first discovered 'free improvisation', and what were your \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003efirst inspirations in this area?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eDifficult to say, but it was my meeting with Raymond Strid and David Staceknás in Stockholm in 1996\/97 that really got me into improvisation.  Earlier I was playing jazz, and I had difficulties in finding my voice inside the jazz-idiom. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eComing back to the present, how would you characterise the improv\/new music scene in Spain today?  Are there any musicians you would pick out as ones to watch?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eWell, I can only say that both Esteban Algora and Alessandra Rombolá are fantastic musicians, and I am really happy to have the opportunity to work with this trio in my home town.  I also work with Wade Matthews from time to time, and there are a couple of young guys; Julio Camarena and Andrés Arregui who are really playing interesting stuff.  The scene is very small, and the activity is very spread, but Wade Matthews is putting on concerts in a Gallery in the centre of Madrid, and many great musicians have passed through there.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eApart from Madrid, you have Barcelona and the great musicians Ferran Fages, Pablo Rega, Alfredo Costa Monteiro, Ruth Barberan and Agustí Fernández just to name a few.  There are more people up there as well, but I am not sure about recent activity.  It's been some time since I've been there.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eWhat other groups are you currently working with?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eRight now I’m working with the quartet \"Dans les arbres\" with Christian Wallumrød, Xavier Charles, Ivar Grydeland.   We are releasing our cd in late april on ECM, and looking forward to touring with them in May and the forthcoming summer.  Huntsville with Ivar Grydeland and Tonny Kluften.  Our second cd will be out in the autumn on Rune Grammofon with Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche as guests.  Looper with Martin Kúchen and Nikos Veliotis and John Tilbury, and the duo La\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003ebField with the Swedish guitar player David Stackenás. Point 4 with Kenneth Karlsson, Jon Balke and Bjørn Rabben.  MUTA with Alessandra Rombolá and Rhodri Davies.  Flore de Cataclysmo with Michel Doneda and Giuseppe Ielasi.  I also do solo concerts from time to time, and at the moment I am working on my third solo disc. Hopefully it will be out before the summer.  We'll see.  I also hope I will have a chance to play with\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eAgustí Fernández.  We just finished a duo CD which will be out in June on the Norwegian label Plasticstrip.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eYou’ve played with many of the leading figures in improvised music, but is there anyone you'd particularly like to play with who you haven't yet had the chance to?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eAt the moment I am very happy with the constellations I am working with, and I haven't had time to really think about any future collaborators.  Right now I have got my hands full….\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Ingar_Zach_480x480.png?v=1752479645\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e“The title, taken from a poem by Pablo Neruda, suggests in an exemplary way the use of the space where the recording was made – an old stone church in Spain, the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eeremita de la anunciada\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e.  On this cd the instruments amplify and extend the potential of the location, indissolubly tying the music to the place of its recording.  The stones of the church transform themselves into sound, gathering within its walls the trio of Esteban Algora (accordion), Alessandra Rombolá (flute and tiles) and the fantastic percussionist Ingar Zach, known amongst other things for his work with the trio Looper.  As you’d expect these are improvisations, and yet the music is not far from the more ‘conventional’ sound of contemporary classical music.  It is relatively placid, though charged with an inner drama that can be both explosive and expansive.  All the track titles refer to the names of minerals, and the opening piece,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eámbar,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003esets a mood of extreme melancholy with the disconsolate accordion impregnating the cold sacred stones with sorrowful tears.  Here Algora brings to mind the playing of Pauline Oliveros and the Deep Listening Band, but set against a background of concrete percussive sounds which add a sense of harshness and suffering to the acoustic experience, while the flute emits flurries of dancing sounds.  There are very beautiful moments when the flute slows the music down and offers some consolation.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eAlabastro\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eis a more classical piece of improv, in which the flute delicately underlines the tinkling of the percussion with short reproachful bursts.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eGalena\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003esets in motion and then cuts across a set of drones, constructing an architecture of brilliant lights and dazzling reflections which finally undergo a slow collapse into cacophonous clusters of dark, roaring sounds.  There is some great percussive work in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eTurmalina\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e, sometimes gentle, sometimes screeching, while the accordion periodically tears apart the space to open up a black abyss.  A great and unusual disc, full of ideas and sounds of extreme beauty played by musicians with an uncommon touch and sensibility.”  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e                                                      \u003cstrong\u003eAlfio Castorina\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eKathodik\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e”An ensemble of flute, accordion and percussion could raise expectations of rehashed folk music: but aren’t albums that trash instrumental archetypes great?  Accordionist Esteban Algora, flautist Alessandra Rombolá and percussionist Ingar Zach operate from Madrid and .\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e..de las piedras\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis their canny negotiation between composed and improvised ideologies.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThe title translates as ‘of the stones’ and the disc is prefaced with a poem by Pablo Neruda about the alchemy of transforming stones into music.  There is the literal symbolism of Rombolá switching between her flute and an installation of hanging tiles that lend a pebbly, granite quality.  Zach is credited specifically as playing percussion\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e bass drum, and uses the latter to roll sonic boulders across the soundscape.   Algora’s accordion embraces a similar range: a fluid, watery treble is met with thunderous sounds from the bowels of the instrument.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThe first sounds heard are isolated accordion pitches placed in counterpoint with Zach’s percussive rumbles, as Rombolá bows her tiles to produce a halo of harmonics.  The result is stratified like stone or rock formations, but with each voice also allowed freedom of movement.  Algora’s broken accordion figurations evolve into harmonic swells, as Zach morphs his fragmentary gestures into an erratic pulse.  If there is a connection with composed music, Xenakis’s stochastic principles and the ‘anarchic harmony’ that gave birth to Cage’s late number pieces both come to mind.  But the intensity of instrumental nuance, especially as the music begins to occupy ruder and more complex gestures, is the trademark obsession of the improviser.”                                                   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Clark\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e“Percussionist Ingar Zach met Spanish flautist Alessandra Rombolá and accordion player Esteban Algora when he moved to Madrid back in 2004. They began to play together as a trio a couple of years later.  The location for \"…de las piedras\" – a stone built church - was chosen partly because Rombolá's solo recording \"Urueńa\" was recorded there, and the church's acoustics play a crucial role in the music's development. Many of these sounds resemble chamber music; its insistence on pre-conceived ideas is equal in scope to its improvisational focus.  Algora and Rombolá stagger their sounds apart generously.  Each one plays off the other with perfect timing while keeping their options open to sounds that occur by pure chance.  To say these sounds are subtle would be an understatement of the year.  Each breath given off on the flute, each move of the accordion arms, each squeak on the percussion is not only perfectly executed but delicate by its very nature.  The reverberation of the church as the sounds bounce off its wall further propels the music along.  Gentle scrapes on the tiles installation that Rombolá produces leaves a directly vibrant sound in one’s ears. Much of this music possesses a strange, nearly alien quality about it.  The first few minutes are spent simply adjusting to the slow pacing.  As the minutes go by, one starts to appreciate this music simply for its discreet dexterity and its humble nature.  If more groups would take up this type of a challenge, the musical landscape would be a much better place.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTom Sekowski\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eGaz-eta\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e“This Spanish-Norwegian trio made these recordings in a small stone church near Valladolid, and the ambience is beautiful.  With accordion, flutes and percussion, they make chamber improvisations full of nourishing content.  Sound, form and structure are combined in original ways, and the music acquires an attractive and edgy character.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e        - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArild Andersen\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eAftenposten\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400498577722,"sku":"at09","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at09delaspiedrassinglecover.jpg?v=1749120095"},{"product_id":"lost-daylight-terry-jennings-john-cage-john-tilbury-sebastian-lexer","title":"Terry Jennings, John Cage, John Tilbury, Sebastian Lexer","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e1.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eTerry Jennings\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003ePiano Piece 1958                           1:57\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e2.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eTerry Jennings\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eWinter Sun, 1966                           7:17\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e3.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eTerry Jennings\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eFor Christine Jennings, 1960          8:55\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e4.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eTerry Jennings\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eWinter Trees, 1965                         8:20\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e5.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eTerry Jennings\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003ePiano Piece 1960                            3:47\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e6.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eJohn Cage\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eElectronic Music for Piano, 1964        39:58\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eJohn Tilbury\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003epiano\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eSebastian Lexer \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eelectronics (track 6 only)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eR\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eecorded in London, November 2007 and September 2009\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/john_tilbury_3_2431adb2-6dd5-4d1e-9c7d-789982beb079_480x480.jpg?v=1751896816\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eSleevenotes by Michael Pisaro\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eLOST    We live near the edge of  the desert and not far from the ocean.  We lean in one direction or the other.  Hiking at the edge of the Mojave one finds austerity: bone dryness, bright light, heat and wind.  One hears a high whistle and senses in one’s body the rumbling of the ground.  There is an etched horizon at the edge of each open space.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eOr we move near the \\Pacific.  There is mild weather and a light breeze; a comforting and constant noise.  We walk on soft sand, as people stroll along the beachside shops and cafes, with music playing in the background.  In the sea-perfumed air, there is the fragility of a beautiful moment that could suddenly change.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eBetween these two borders is a place that somehow contains both: a wasteland and a dreamspace, in addition to being a real city with hard times and seemingly unending small (almost private) cultures, hidden in plain sight.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eI’m writing this in Santa Clarita at the northernmost edge of Los Angeles, about 20 miles from where Terry Jennings was born - in Eagle Rock in 1940.  He grew up in the area, and started studying at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and Art (later the California Institute of the Arts) at an early age.  He was an elusive figure in the scattered landscape of West Coast experimental music.  His presence is still felt here, somehow - ghostly. Although he lived for a while in New York, it’s hard, listening to the pieces collected here, not to relate the music to the landscapes we share.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eIt is music of simplicity and great mystery.  There are bar lines, but nothing feels counted: things happen in moments not measures.  There is always time for resonance of the piano. (Is there any player batter at feeling this resonance than John Tilbury?)  The sounds drift, suspended in a dense medium of some kind.  The shape of a piece emerges gradually, like the hills appearing as the marine layer burns off.  Each piece feels like a small event extended in time: “one morning the sun shone just so”, “her voice seemed exactly like this”.  The gentle modality of the two later pieces (\u003cstrong\u003eWinter Sun\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eWinter Trees\u003c\/strong\u003e) is beautifully offset by the sparse, lean harmonies of the earlier ones (\u003cstrong\u003ePiano Piece 1958\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eFor Christine Jennings\u003c\/strong\u003e).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003ePiano Piece 1960 is something of a special case.  This piece (like the \u003cstrong\u003eString Quartet\u003c\/strong\u003e from the same year) occupies a unique place in the music of the time.  The arc towards silence is so profound, that it takes on the character of something more than a pause.  It has a being.  The notes, even more than in the music of Morton Feldman, are just there to create the silences.  There are silences in the sounds too.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eListening again and again to these incredible recordings, I have the unmistakable feeling of coming into contact with something necessary that has been lost.  I don’t know what it is - I can just barely make out its form, as if glimpsed once, fleetingly, at the bottom of a canyon.  Is I a certain sense of a communal future that was alive to both Jennings and Tilbury when these pieces were written?  Where did it go?  When will it be back?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eDAYLIGHT  Nothing seems to be lost in Tilbury and Lexer’s wonderful, original realisation of John Cage’s \u003cstrong\u003eElectronic Music for Piano\u003c\/strong\u003e.  The score might be sketchy, but the performance is as clear as a bright day in Cage’s Los Angeles.  Sounds ad silences appear and disappear like natural facts, without any longing of the one to become the other.  To me, the events recorded here are not mysterious, even if I don’t always know who (or what) is making them.  They are material and tangible - objects flying through time and space, from any angle or any trajectory.  Attentive performances of Cage are usually in contact with the real: with the chaos of the present; with living things that move.  It’s an anarchic materialism, and, I think, another world from the romantic immateriality of Jennings.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/sebastian-lexer-20160619115744-1351098116.jpg?v=1751897075\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eSleevenotes by Sebastian Lexer\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eJohn Cage’s ‘Electronic Music for Piano’ is a peculiar composition, the more so as the published score is little more than a list of hand-written notes including reference to the essential source, his earlier composition ‘Music for Piano 4-84’ (1953-56).  It seems that the score contains notes he collected for a performance by cage himself and David Tudor in Stockholm, September 2nd 1964, for two pianos and electronics, the paper carrying the letterhead of  the Hotel Malmen in Stockholm.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eApproaching a realisation one is left only with hints as to what they used - “feedback, changing sounds (microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers)” - and most crucially, a reference to the use of transcriptions on transparencies from an astronomical atlas.  Both techniques had been part of Cage’s and Tudor’s realisations in various pieces, including Tudor’s remarkable realisation of Variations II (1961) from 1967.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eJohn Tilbury and I had developed a version of Electronic Music for Piano in 2002, utilising a computer-based system (which over the years became the piano+) in which parameters of effects and routings were directed by the proximity of a random movement through a digitised star map.  His approach felt inappropriate for this recording in which  the spirit of Tudor’s approach to piano and electronics is as much a governing factor as the score itself.  We wanted to go beyond a realisation that comprised of simply adding electronic effects to the piano.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eIn this recording John Tilbury’s playing is captured by a series of stationary and movable microphones and pick-ups.  Transformations were initiated and directed by a score devised from lines printed on transparencies and star maps.  This organic, ‘performed’ version was then subjected to further similar randomised processes and editing to derive the order and time placement of segments, the mixing between tracks, and panning.  This enabled us to distance ourselves as much as possible from any aesthetic decision-making.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e'\u003cstrong\u003eLost Daylight\u003c\/strong\u003e' was released as part of the 'Piano series'; four CDs all centred on experimental music for the piano. There were three excellent reviews covering the series as a whole:\u003cbr\u003ePhilip Clark in The Wire  \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-piano-series-in-the-wire-by-philip-clark\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e \u003cbr\u003eStuart Broomer in Point of Departure  \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-piano-series-in-point-of-departure\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand Bill Meyer in Signal to Noise  \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-piano-series-by-bill-meyer-in-signal-to-noise\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBelow are some individual reviews of Lost Daylight:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003eAny new release with John Tilbury is the cause of great anticipation on my part (not to slight the fine Master Lexer!) but I was especially antsy when I learned he'd be performing several pieces by Terry Jennings. Like many, perhaps most, I'd heard a thing or two of his over the years but had certainly read far more about him than heard his work. Tilbury plays five pieces, written between 1958 and 1966. They took a while to worm their way into me. Jennings is often cited, with Riley and Young, as one of the true precursors of minimalism and you can hear that in this music, though to a far lesser extent than I'd imagined. You perceive more of an antecedent to work like Young's \"The Well-Tuned Piano\" than subsequent Riley, much less the more routine minimalist pantheon. There's little in the way of repetition, though kernels appear and iterate now and then; I said less of Riley, but in some ways it's like Riley with a strong enough dose of Feldman to all but obliterate his standard tropes. They have the appearance of disarming simplicity; it takes a while to hear all the superfine subtlety with which Jennings (and, one presumes, Tilbury) imbue the pieces. (another referent that just popped in my head: a hyper-sensitive, ultra-contemplative Paul Bley). It's very thoughtful, beautiful music, wonderfully realized. Very glad to have finally heard Tilbury's take.\u003cbr\u003eThe Cage work, \"Electronic Music for Piano\" (1964), exists in another universe, though an equally beguiling one. Tilbury and Lexer (handling the electronics) weave a 40-minute gossamer tapestry that's entirely unpredictable and totally immersive. I don't own another version and am not sure if I've heard it before. I know Stefan Schleiermacher has recorded it on vol. 2 of his MDG series, which I should hear. Apparently the instructions are rather vague, Cage having jotted them down on hotel letterhead, Tudor having first performed it. Whatever the possibilities, here Tilbury and Lexer have opted for a very wide open reading, with great amounts of space, the sounds almost like leaves (or dust motes) irregularly swirling in an eddy from a hidden draft. Every so often there's an upsurge in volume, a clang or loud ringing as though that breeze has succeeded in knocking over some delicately balanced object. But it all occurs at such a \"natural\" sounding, unhurried pace that one accepts every event as proper. It disappears for a minute or two and you don't quite notice. Clusters form, sometimes mellifluous when clear piano tones contribute, often comprised of rumbling static, each with equal weight, each simply an event in time.\u003cbr\u003eIn both cases, this is music I can see returning to many times over the years. Very beautiful, invigorating and deep work.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\"I have listened to this album a great deal over the past couple of weeks, initially sitting in awe of it and later spending time really trying to understand it better. It is in many ways a CD in two halves. The first half an hour of the disc consists of five performances by Tilbury of piano works by the American minimalist composer Terry Jennings. There then follows a forty minute recording by both Tilbury and Lexer of John Cage’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eElectronic Music for Piano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e, a work from 1964 that was written for David Tudor. The album can be divided between the two not only simply by composer but also through the very different approach to aesthetics and beauty. In fact, it could almost be said that the two halves sit in complete contrast to each other, almost standing as a neat analogy for some of the main issues tackled by 20th Century composition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThough the name Terry Jennings has occasionally popped up throughout my reading up on contemporary composition I don’t think I have ever heard any of his music before. So for that reason I am not certain how much of the sheer beauty contained in the five pieces here is to be found in the compositions themselves, and how much comes out through Tilbury’s realisation of them. Certainly it is as if these five miniatures were written for Tilbury. A lazy comparison might be to call them Feldmanseque, and indeed the space that is left within the music, into which notes are allowed to slowly decay does give that impression on surface listening, but in truth these are quite different pieces. While there is a minimal amount of notes dictated and s deathly slow pace abides there are none of the irregular patterns to be found in Feldman’s later work, no sense of gradual change over time. These five pieces, which vary from the two minute longer opener\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003ePiano Piece 1958\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eto the eight minute plus works\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eWinter Sun\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eFor Christine Jennings\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eare each fully rounded, highly romantic distillations of music. They begin, and then progress to an end as complete works, not just studies for something greater that was to follow. Each tells a story of some kind, albeit sometimes a tale told with only the fewest words and singular brush strokes. The final Jennings piece on the album, the startlingly spare Paino Piece, 1960 is particularly remarkable in that the actual number of notes played across the four minutes is reduced to just seventeen. Even here though there is none of the stark emptiness of say a late Taku Sugimoto composition. Even as the piece seems to slip away slowly into silence as the gaps between notes get longer we still feel each note hanging in the air, even after they are no longer audible, and the music holds a deeply emotive power to it throughout.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThis music was written for Tilbury’s playing. His incredible touch, the way he holds a key down as his foot works a pedal is somehow (I don’t fully understand how) different to how others seem to do it. The music has Tilbury’s mark all over it. Though if played ot me blind I would never have known the composer I would have been able to identify the pianist after just one note. Tilbury has a wonderful way of making a single piano note seem to have more life than anyone else, more soul if you will. Having watched him play many time down the years it has always been so clear to me how much he feels every note, how the sound from the piano runs through his body long after it has disappeared from the air. So these five pieces, as well written as they are also work as almost the perfect vehicle for Tilbury’s masterful playing, his own touch brought to the music. The sixth piece then sets about as its main purpose to dismantle this sense of sheer beauty, to maybe show the other side of the modern compositional dilemma.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eCage’s Electronic Music for Piano was written in 1964 seemingly specifically for a performance by both the pianist and the composer together in Sweden the same year. If a recording of the performance exists I don’t think I have ever heard it, and I’m not sure that further performances of the somewhat complex work have been attempted all that often since. The “score” apparently consists of just a single page of notes and directions that point the musicians back to a an earlier Cage piece Music for Piano 4-84. It also shows that the original performance used transparencies made from astronomical charts as a way of generating random choices and timings. Lexer and Tilbury have been working through ways of performing this piece for a number of years. Eight years ago they performed a live version that is available to hear at the Interlace site here. This version though merely applied digital effects to the played piano. Considering this approach to be inadequate, the pair developed different ways of working that better capture the spirit and style of Tudor’s approach to performing Cage’s work. At the heart of their realisation however lies an attempt, at various levels to remove aesthetic decision making from the performance. If the Jennings pieces are all about simple, refined beauty and the skill involved in playing them, then the Cage work here is about removing the human touch, dismantling standard ideas of what beauty is in a piano work.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eFor this performance then, Tilbury “plays” the piano, both at the keys and on the inside, and Lexer randomly places microphones and pick-ups, according to starcharts, within the piano. Some stay static, some are moved as the performance progresses, and their output is then treated via Lexer’s piano+ software in different ways, again randomly selected by the starcharts, but with a starting point perhaps leaning towards sounds and methods more akin to Tudor’s individual approach. So one full recording was made, in one take, described in the liner notes by Lexer as “organic”. Lost Daylight has been worked on by the musicians for at least two years since it was first proposed as a release on the Another Timbre label. Over this time though the duo have wrestled with their thoughts on the music, whether what they were doing was close enough to the original intentions of the score, and whether the ultimate goal of the piece should perhaps be about the complete eradication of aesthetic decision making. So, once a “final” version of the piece existed the pair then subjected it to a further randomised edit of the work, which effectively cut it up into pieces, rearranging it by chance, and treating mastering elements such as crossfade panning in a similar manner. all dictated by the starchart system. What we end up with hints at the piano, suggests the powerful expression of Tilbury’s playing, but essentially dismantles the music into something that feels unfamiliar and thoroughly awkward. it is this final edit, and the impact it has on us as listeners that really makes this music such a wonderful work to me. Everyone with any musical taste adores Tilbury’s approach to the piano. This CD chooses to ignore and subvert it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eWhat we actually hear then is in part what we might expect, single piano notes, scrapes, bangs and violent crashes inside and outside the piano sometimes treated by Lexer to stretch out sounds into further shapes and textures. The randomised placement of the sounds makes the experience very difficult to follow though. There is no sense of continual structure or development in any traditional manner, just a constant feeling of intense anticipation and expectation. Then when sounds appear they are stunning. They are often quite shocking. The way the work has been cut up leads to several immediate entries from powerful, dramatic sounds, and the way these might suddenly sound much closer, louder, present in the mix because of the randomised mastering throws you completely. The music has an incredible tension to it, even after the twentieth listen through I remain shocked and surprised at points. The sense of intensity is nothing like we are used to hearing in improvised or composed music though. The music does not get the chance to build into anything, its organic feeling has been removed, the human touch if you like has been taken away and we are left instead with these incredibly powerful fragments of music that have been thrown in the air and then carefully stitched back together in whatever order they happened to land. Long silences might be interrupted by a slight whisper, or smashed out of the way by a slammed down piano lid, but trying to make sense of the recording in any traditional manner is fruitless.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe irony in all of this is that Sebastian Lexer is John Tilbury’s preferred sound engineer, and Lexer has spent much of the last year painstakingly remastering recordings of Tilbury playing Feldman, removing outside influences, preserving the emotional power and integrity of the performances. His skills as a mastering engineer of that kind of music are second to none in my opinion, and so much of their work together has been in search of the perfect listening experience, the best way to portray Tilbury’s personal rendition of other people’s music. This Cage work turns that relationship completely inside out. The mastering here has had all sense of listener ease removed. What we hear here is ironically what the stars predicted. It is in fact a brave move for these two fantastic musicians to place their music so much in the hands of chance, but in doing so they have created something that is both beautifully powerful and creatively honest in the same breath.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe absolute jewel in Another Timbre’s crown, this is a wonderful, wonderful CD. As other new CDs have arrived here in their droves Lost Daylight has kept its place in my player and will return frequently. It has been a while since I heard anything so equally beautiful, challenging and stunning at the same time. If this area of music is of any interest to you then this has to be an essential purchase.”                                      \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003e“Lost Daylight\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehas been a long time arriving. It has been much trailed, and eagerly anticipated since 2008, as indicated by its low catalogue number, at10. Now released as part of Another Timbre's piano series, alongside at24 and at25, good things are always worth waiting for—and this release proves the truth of that adage. Quite simply, it is a gem.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eAlthough, perhaps, best-known for his long-established membership in AMM and his other improvised work, pianist John Tilbury is just as renowned for his recordings of scores by John Cage, Cornelius Cardew, Morton Feldman, Howard Skempton and Christian Wolff. Now\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eLost Daylight\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efollows in that lineage. It consists of two contrasting halves, featuring five solo piano compositions by the little-recorded Fluxus minimalist Terry Jennings, followed by a forty-minute realization of Cage's Electronic Music for Piano, with Sebastian Lexer on electronics.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eTilbury, along with Cardew, championed Jennings back in the 1960s. The Jennings pieces here, which include his best-known works \"Winter Trees\" and \"Winter Sun,\" are understated and repetitive, creating a tranquil, meditative mood. The silences between the notes are as important as the notes themselves. To be heard at their best, these pieces rely on delicacy of touch and restrained pacing, both of which Tilbury supplies in abundance. Throughout he sounds totally in the moment, irresistably engaged by the music and his performance. Near-perfect, these readings of Jennings could not be improved.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe long Cage piece dominates the album and contrasts well with the Jennings. Tilbury and Lexer have collaborated for a number of years at Goldsmith College in South London, appearing together at the regular Interlace concert series there and developing approaches to combining piano and electronics. This version of the Cage piece does not simply add electronics to the piano. Instead, Tilbury's playing is picked up by a series of stationary and movable mikes, and transformed electronically (in a very Cage way), using a score devised from lines printed on transparencies and star maps. The recording of the performance is then further transformed and edited in a similar fashion. The end result produces a fine balance between piano and electronics, in terms of playing time and emphasis. It is restrained and full of space, feeling like a co-operative enterprise not a struggle or a battle. Against expectations, the most dramatic episodes come from the piano, with the electronics being relatively subdued. The whole is easy to listen to and reveals new facets with each hearing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eIts release date meant\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eLost Daylight\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emissed the \"best of the noughties\" lists, but it is sure to be on similar lists come 2019. A future classic.”                                                        \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“Earlier this week I got the four new releases in the “piano series” put out by the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Hyperlink-C\"\u003eAnother Timbre\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003elabel (read a review of all four\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Hyperlink-C\"\u003ehere\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e). While I am of course interested in listening to the entire series, the long awaited John Tilbury release has gotten almost all of my attention so far. Announced almost at the beginning of the label’s history (it’s AT 10, the most recent is AT 25) it contains recordings of solo piano pieces by the minimalist\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Hyperlink-C\"\u003eTerry Jennings\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eplus an innovative working of John Cage’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Hyperlink-C-C0\"\u003eElectric Music for Piano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e. The Terry Jenning’s pieces are sublime, delicate piano miniatures from 1958-66 that anticipate Feldman’s late piano pieces in their soft, deliberate nature if not their length. Jennings is woefully underrepresented in performance and recordings, I can only think of a few other pieces of his that I’ve heard. Thus it is a wonderful gift to hear some of his piano pieces so perfectly played by Tilbury on this recording. There is sound and silence and a sense of waiting in these pieces; patient and without any anxiety.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Blockquote-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Blockquote-C\"\u003eIt is music of simplicity and great mystery. There are bar lines, but nothing feels counted: things happen in moments and not measures. There is always time for the resonance of the piano. (Is there any player better at feeling this resonance than John Tilbury?) The sounds drift, suspended in a dense medium of some kind. The shape of a piece emerges gradually, like the hills appearing as the marine layer burns off. Each piece feels like a small even extended in time” – Micheal Pisaro from the liner notes to the Jennings pieces.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe bulk of the album is a near forty minute realization of John Cage’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Hyperlink-C-C0\"\u003eElectric Music for Piano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e, which was written for David Tudor in 1964 as a set of loose instructions for combing several disparate elements. These elements are instructions for use of parts of Cage’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eMusic for Piano 4-84\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e, realized using electronic equipment (the score mentions microphones, amplifiers and oscilloscope) and constellations from an astronomical chart. John Tilbury performs this piece as a duo with Sebastian Lexer handling the electronics. Lexer has developed this system he refers to as\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003ePiano+\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewhich is basically the piano captured by microphones and manipulated by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Hyperlink-C\"\u003eMAX\/MSP\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003epatches of his own devising. Of course MAX\/MSP manipulation of the piano is an academic trope done enough so that even the most varied of patches share a certain amount of familiarity. Lexer’s solo release\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eDazwischen\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eon the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Hyperlink-C\"\u003eMatchless\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003elabel aptly displays these tropes and the kind of digital excess that MSP can lead to. But in the case of this piece, in I think attempting to capture aspect of Tudor’s electronics, which often used cascading amplification, feedback, phase shifting and other simple and frankly abused electronics, these excesses are mostly avoided. Which isn’t to say there isn’t the occasional bit of cheesily delayed tones, autopanning or video game type of sounds, just never to any sort of excess. Most of the time the sounds seem to be more faint crackles, distorted piano tones, restrained feedback and the like. The piece is remarkable in its spaciousness and subtlety with the most dramatic parts coming from the piano: crashes of the lid or bangs on the body or strings. The setup of the electronics itself as well as the excerpts from\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eMusic for Piano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand finally the editing of the piece all used overlaid astronomical charts to arrange their construction. This adds additional layers of indeterminacy to the piece and fully succeeds in Lexer’s stated desire to “… go beyond a realisation that comprised of simply adding electronic effects to the piano”. With a piece like this one is always going to be in the shadow of Tudor and I think that Tilbury and Lexer succeeded admirably in creating a realization that is fully their own but acknowledges this influence. Tilbury’s pianism is markedly different from Tudor’s though I’d say they share many a common goal. As an example of how they are different but akin Tudor’s realizations of Feldman’s indeterminate pieces are I think far superior to Tilbury’s but I would definitely rather hear Tilbury handle the late Feldman. The two pianists strengths I think lie in different areas even if their sympathies are closely aligned. Likewise the electronics that Lexer employs, digital simulations of analog effects, are a far cry from the wild, on the edge, virtuoso electronics of Tudor. And he makes no attempt here to cavort in that territory. It is far more restrained and safe then Tudor and yet it nods toward it, acknowledges the sounds if not the application. This makes the piece theirs and it is a remarkable bit of music, something that is simultaneously new and old a piece of music that could really be read as an application of new technology and ideas to older music that is open to such experiments.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe beautiful Jennings pieces and the thoroughly engaging Cage realization make for a varied and fantastic CD. One of the best releases yet on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Hyperlink-C\"\u003eAnother Timbre\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand absolutely well worth picking up.”   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRobert  Kirkpatrick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eA Spiral Cage\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400503755066,"sku":"at10","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at10LostDaylight.jpg?v=1749120207"},{"product_id":"for-hugh-davies-hugh-davies-adam-bohman-lee-patterson-wark-wastell","title":"Hugh Davies, Adam Bohman, Lee Patterson, Wark Wastell","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eHugh Davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- invented instruments - playback of solo recordings\u003cbr\u003e+\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eAdam Bohman\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- prepared balalaika \u0026amp; amplified objects\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eLee Patterson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- amplified objects\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Wastell\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e- cello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e1. 2 springs + 3                                                       7:56\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e2. 3 springs + 3                                                     14:38\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e3. invented instruments + 2  (HD + AB \u0026amp; LP)       10:53\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e4. bowed diaphragms + 1 (HD + MW)                   6:52\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e5. bowed diaphragms + 3                                       8:15\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e6. for hugh davies (AB\/LP\/MW)                             12:48\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/hugh_davies_480x480.jpg?v=1751906148\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eSleevenotes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e‘\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003efor hugh davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e’  pays homage to and celebrates the remarkable music of Hugh Davies.  It was  recorded almost three years to the day after his death in January 2005, and was released in July 2008.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eHugh Davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas one of that  outstanding first generation of European improvisers who emerged in the mid-1960's.  He played in the Music Improvisation Company (along with Derek Bailey, Evan Parker and Jamie Muir), and was a founder-member of the legendary ensemble Gentle Fire, a group who – years ahead of their time – used live electronics and improvisational elements to interpret radical scores by composers such as John Cage and Christian Wolff.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eFrom 1964-66 Hugh worked as an assistant to Karlheinz Stockhausen, during the latter’s most radical and fruitful period as a composer.  Hugh assisted on the production of  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eMikrophonie I\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e, a stunning work based on the amplification of sounds produced on a large tam-tam as it is brushed, struck or stroked by a variety of different objects and materials. In a sense Hugh's music over the next 40 years was a deepening exploration of the soundworld opened up by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eMikrophonie I\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e, again usually using metal objects as a sound source, though far smaller ones than Stockhausen's giant tam-tam.  Employing what he described as a “do-it-yourself approach to music”, Hugh built instruments from everyday objects such as springs, egg-slicers and fretsaw blades.  These were rubbed, scratched, beaten or blown, and the resulting small sounds were amplified.  Although thought of as a pioneer of the use of live electronics in improvisation, the only 'electronics' involved in the vast majority of his instruments was amplification.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003efor hugh davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003euses a number of previously unpublished solo improvisations by Hugh dating from the 1970's.  At the recording session these improvisations were played back to three musicians who have been deeply influenced by his work:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eMark Wastell\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eAdam Bohman\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eLee Patterson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e.  The musicians improvised alongside Hugh's recordings, producing an unusual improvisational situation in which one of the voices was fixed and unable to respond to the playing of the others.  The musicians had been given copies of Hugh's pieces three months in advance of the session, but in fact none of them chose to listen to them more than three times, as they wanted to leave plenty of room for spontaneity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eIn the recording\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eMark Wastell\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eplays cello – the instrument with which he emerged as an improviser in the 1990's, but which he has since largely abandoned.  He chose to play it here because it was the instrument he'd used on the dozen occasions that he performed with Hugh.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eAdam Bohman\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eLee Patterson\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eworked from tables full of amplified objects similar to those that Hugh employed in his self-built instruments.  Both acknowledge Hugh as a major influence, though Adam only played with him on a handful of occasions.  Lee never played with Hugh, and the one time they 'met' at a conference, Lee was too awestruck to actually speak to him.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eTen pieces were recorded of which six have been selected, including two very different responses to Hugh’s ‘Music for Bowed Diaphragms’.  On the final track the musicians improvise unaccompanied by Hugh's recordings as a joint homage to his memory.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe original recordings of Hugh's music around which the improvisers played are being issued on an ‘another timbre’  cdr:  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eHugh Davies - Performances 1969 - 1977\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e       \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/hugh_davies-94-foto-boersma-700102466_480x480.jpg?v=1751906210\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e“Totally fantastic.  With Hugh Davies' voice as one part in four (or three or two on two tracks), his ratchetiness is subsumed within a lovely blanket of work from Adam Bohman (prepared balalaika\/amplified objects), Lee Patterson (amplified objects) and Mark Wastell (unpacking his cello for the occasion).  Each piece is something of a gem, including the final one, which is sans Davies, though dedicated to him.  Beautiful recording. “                    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e“When Hugh Davies died in January 2005, the many heartfelt tributes that appeared provided a reminder as to just how influential a musician he was.  Davies worked as an assistant to Karlheinz Stockhausen during the mid ’60s, helping to produce works like “Mikrophonie I” which amplified the sounds of a large tam-tam as it was struck and brushed by a variety of objects.  Expanding on that strategy, Davies made a career of developing a variety of amplified home-made instruments assembled from springs, saw blades, egg slicers, and other household detritus.   As part of the first generation of British free improvisers, he was a member of the original incarnation of the Music Improvisation Company and continued to collaborate with Evan Parker, Derek Bailey and like-minded instrument makers like Max Eastley and David Toop while also pursuing performances of contemporary composition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eWhile his music sounds electronic, in reality it is the result of the hyper-amplification of tiny gestures: the close inspection of timbres and textures.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eFor Hugh Davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis an homage recorded by Adam Bohman, Lee Patterson, and Mark Wastell.  Each has been heavily influenced by his work— Bohman and Patterson with their use of contact-miked homemade instruments, and Wastell in his approach to the use of amplification of his cello as sound-source, and more recently, his own work with amplified tam-tam.  For this session, the three formed a virtual quartet, improvising alongside recordings which Davies made in the ’70s.  The three build on the nuanced spaces of Davies’ pieces, extending them through their expanded timbral spectrum.  Wastell makes a rare return to cello.  Bohman uses a prepared balalaika and joins Patterson at an arsenal of amplified objects.  Davies’ recordings centre around a set of sound sources and dive in to explore their diminutive details, whether amplified springs, bowed diaphragms, or egg slicers.  The trio adds gestural layers, picking up on the scrapes and scoured resonances. But there is never a sense of preciousness or hesitancy.   After all, Davies was as apt to crash in and disrupt improvisational proceedings as he was to play with delicacy.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eWastell sits out one piece where Bohman and Patterson take a playful tack, accentuating a jagged sonic calligraphy.  Wastell “duets” with Davies on one take of “Bowed Diaphragms”, and the tensile energy of his flayed amplified cello builds a bracing arc.  The trio stretches out the abraded palette across a wider spectrum in another version of the piece.  The session closes out with a trio, minus Davies’ source tapes, making clear the musical debt that these three owe.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMichael Rosenstein\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eSignal to Noise\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003e“In keeping with its adventurous approach, Another Timbre has put out two complementary releases, one a CD, the other a CD-R.  Taken together, they make a fine tribute to Hugh Davies, the musician, composer, researcher, electronic pioneer and instrument inventor who died at the start of 2005, aged 61.  The limited edition CD-R  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C0\"\u003eHugh Davies - Performances 1969 - 1977\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003eserves two useful purposes. Firstly, it brings six unissued vintage Davies performances into circulation--five solos plus a duet with Richard Orton.  As with anything in Davies' (woefully small) discography, the pieces are endlessly intriguing.  His ability to conjure a dazzling array of sounds from the most unpromising of sources is simply stunning....\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003eSecondly, the CD-R allows us to hear in isolation the source materials that were used as the stimuli for Bohman, Patterson and Wastell on this CD proper.  The music from the CD-R was played to them, they improvised around it, and the resulting music forms the CD.  In their different ways, Bohman, Patterson and Wastell all owe a huge debt to Davies; their music would be vastly different without his pioneering work, hence their participation in this tribute.  The most striking thing about this CD is that Davies' own playing remains central to the music.  The other three players work out from his performance and expand the soundscape, but the agenda is clearly set by Davies own playing.  The end result is more akin to a remix of a solo album than to a quartet performance.  Only on the closing track, \"For Hugh Davies,\" on which the three improvise without Davies' music as a stimulus, do they come out of his shadow, producing a taut, focused piece.  It is indicative of how ahead of his time Davies was that the new piece sounds no more contemporary than anything that precedes it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003eAs an experimental way of paying tribute to a musician, this must be judged a great success. Doubtless, Davies himself would have heartily approved of the experiment. The results are extraordinary.  It is a great CD.   It is meaningless to compare these two releases trying to decide which is \"better\".  Both are essential.  They complement one another, each throwing light on the other, making the whole greater than the sum of the two.”   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400508375354,"sku":"at11","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at11ForHughDavies.jpg?v=1749120332"},{"product_id":"dun-matt-davis-matt-milton-bechir-saade","title":"Matt Davis, Matt Milton \u0026 Bechir Saade","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eMatt Davis\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e -  trumpet \u0026amp; field recordings\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMatt Milton\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e- violin\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eBechir Saade \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e -  bass clarinet \u0026amp; flute\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e1.    21:17\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e2.    13:57\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e3.    14:09\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eRecorded at the Church of St.James the Great, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eFriern Barnet, London, November 2007\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/friern_barnet_st_katherine_go050417_57-492398566_480x480.jpg?v=1751903632\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eInterview with Bechir Saade\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAt what age did you start playing music, and what instrument did you first play?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI was 14 when I started playing the guitar.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eAt the age of 17 I moved to wind instruments, starting with the ney and shortly after the flute and the clarinet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow and when did you first come into contact with improvised music?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIt was kind of a revelation to me. I was completely absorbed by this relaxation of boundaries.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI was already feeling very frustrated with the focus on tones and found it much more interesting to go back to one of the reasons why music resonates in us, and which has to do with the nature, the texture of the sound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs your style of playing the ney influenced by traditional music?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eOf course. Traditional Arabic music (and to some extent Turkish, Persian, etc) is mostly based on improvisation. You have centuries of thinking improvisation when you enter this door, thinking texture of sound, intensity, silences, etc.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eArabic music for example is modal and its tonal structure is much more complex than today's Western music.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eMiddle Age European music may resemble it more in structure because tonal intervals are not the simplified 12-note chromatic scale that you use today and on which modern 'harmony' is built.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003eBut this has a lot to do with this new development in music which is 'composition', especially in its written form. The more you move to a composed form of music (written vs oral) the more you lose the subtleties related to everything that comes with the sound.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eIt is interesting to see how contemporary western music struggles with these forms after having several centuries of the predominance of composition.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eAlas, Arabic music has fallen prey to European \"standards\" and has struggled to \"write\" its music and thus is losing much of its potential.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eThe power of the oral tradition brings improvisation to the forefront.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWhat is the improv scene like in Lebanon today?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWell as you may know, Lebanon is successively undergoing severe political crises which make it hard to promote anything long-lasting at the artistic level. Except for an annual festival that is organized by MILL (Musique Improvisée Libre au Liban), an association founded by Sharif Sehnaoui, Mazen Kerbaj and Christine Sehnaoui.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eNow we are all in all 7 musicians who also founded the first experimental ensemble in the Middle East, Moukhtabar Ensemble (meaning ‘the Laboratory’ in Arabic). Most of these musicians live (and play music) outside of Lebanon most of the year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWhat is the audience for this kind of music in Lebanon?\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe audience is pretty much the same as in any other 'modern' society: a tiny minority of either music aficionados, artists of all types, curious, musicians or just friends being dragged along!\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eOf course Beirut is much smaller than London and so you have to divide then the number of the curious by 20...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIs there any state support for improvised \/ new music in Lebanon?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eNone whatsoever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eHow did the Al-Maslakh cd label come into being, and what are its aims?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eSince MILL was founded and its festival IRTIJAL (which means ‘Improvisation’ in Arabic) started being organized, the idea of Al Maslakh was there, but it took time to materialise. The basic idea was that we needed to document what\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003ewas happening in Lebanon in this regard.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eAnd we needed something that could take what we were doing outside Lebanon.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eIt is Mazen and Sharif who run the label, and Mazen draws the covers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA handful of Lebanese improvisers are now known in Europe (Mazen\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eKerbaj, Sharif \u0026amp; Christine Sehnahoui, yourself).\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eAre there others\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003ecoming up who we should look out for?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThere are also Jassem Hindi who plays electronics and is based in Paris, as well as Raed Yassine who is now based in Holland.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eAlso there is Charbel Haber who is a guitar player\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eand lives in Lebanon and is lead guitar and singer in Scrambled Eggs, a Lebanese rock band.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe only other middle eastern country that I'm aware of having an improvised music scene is Israel.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eAre there any contacts between\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eIsraeli and Lebanese improvisers, or is such an idea ridiculously utopian?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI don't know what you mean by contacts but we are not a priori against\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eplaying with Israeli musicians as long as they don't support (or live in denial of) the destructive and murderous policies of their government.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003eWe actually played with Dror Feiler, an Israeli saxophone player and artist who lives in Sweden, while we were touring there.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eBut Dror is a strong and outspoken critic of the Israeli government, so he is welcome to play with us!\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eBut I don't want to speak on behalf of all the Lebanese players, this is just my opinion.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe American percussionist Michael Zerang released a disc on\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eAl-Maslakh on which he plays with a number of Lebanese musicians on different tracks.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eOn your duo with him you play in a different style from your other recordings.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eHow did this recording come about?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eMichael wanted to play something that mixed traditional ways of playing with more free types of improvisation. So we tried and that was one of these experiments. It was the first time I had played in this context, because I am either completely immersed into a free improvisation setting or a hermetically traditional way of playing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOn the CD 'Oranges' on 'Creative Sources' you play with Wade Matthews (who also plays flute and bass clarinet), and the string players Ernesto and Guilhermo Rodrigues.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eHow did that come about?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eVery simply by going to Lisbon and finding that Wade was going there during the same period.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eWe just met one night and played and the next day we went to record in a studio.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI knew Wade from Lebanon and have profound respect for his work. I am always excited to play with him.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eIn a certain sense he is the main musician who convinced me of how fascinating free improvisation could be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou recently spent a year in London. How did you find the improv scene there?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI quickly met improvisers in London, and I loved playing there especially because people there are so open to any possibility.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhile in London you attended Eddie Prevost's improvisation workshop.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eThat seems to be a really important base for\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003enew young players in the UK.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003eWhat did you make of it?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI think Eddie's workshop is great for many reasons.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eFirst because I had the occasion to meet with very interesting musicians like Matt Milton, Seymour Wright, Nicholas Christian and others.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003eMost important of all is that it is very respectful of what improvisation can be. Unfortunately (and that is just my opinion) it could be more used by other musicians based in London.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhich musical collaborations that you made in London were particularly important to you, and will you be able to continue them now that you've returned to Beirut?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI have duos with Nicholas Christian (electric bass), and Clive Bell (shakuhachi), both of which I hope to continue. I also have something going on with Samantha Rebello and Angharad Davies, or probably wish that I had (!) because I think these two musicians are just great.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAt the 2007 Freedom of the City Festival you played a trio with Matt Davis \u0026amp; Matt Milton.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eIn The Wire Clive Bell recently referred to this as \"young musicians reinventing improvised music\"\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eWas it that good?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWell it was great!\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eIt was Matt Milton who came up with the idea, and it really worked.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Hum' on 'another timbre' also has Matt Davis, but this time with the harpist Rhodri Davies and the flautist Samantha Rebello.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eWhat did you make of this grouping?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis was one of the subtlest sound experiences I’ve had so far. I'm so happy it got recorded.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI never felt so much concentration while playing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou have also performed in Berlin.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eWhat was the occasion, and how did the improv scene in Berlin strike you as compared to London ?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWe were invited to play at the Tasten festival. ‘We’ as in some of the Lebanese crew.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI was there just for a couple of days, but surely Berlin is the paradise city for musicians, at least in terms of a base, and mainly because rent is cheap.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eIn fact that may be the main difference between the cities. So there are a lot of musicians there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYour duo cd with Clive Bell\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e(‘an account of my hut’ ) is out now.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eIt is a unique combination of two non-western instruments: the ney and the shakuhachi.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003eDoes your playing here differ from your bass clarinet work on 'Oranges' and 'Hum'?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWith Clive we try to see how these very dense sounding woodwind instruments can interact. So we borrow a lot from the traditional airs from where these instruments come.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003eSo in this way it may be different.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eBut in terms of the overall \"philosophy\" of playing, nothing has changed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI feel that the music on the duo has a more classical feel than most improv.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eDo you agree?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWell I don't know if classical is the right term, but it is surely different.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eWe are hypnotized by the sound of the wood, and so we try to work with it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou play bass clarinet, flute \u0026amp; ney in different improv situations.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eDoes your playing style vary considerably from instrument to instrument?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe ney is the instrument I spend most of my time with.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eIt may be a bit simplistic, but it is my favourite sound, no doubt about that.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eBut in free improvisation as the focus is more on textures, the ney is kind of limited because it does what it does and that’s it.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eSo the bass clarinet fills this gap.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003eBut most of the time I use ney techniques of blowing when I’m playing the bass clarinet, but because it has a much larger and thicker body sound the possibilities are greater.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat musical collaborations are you currently involved in?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWell aside from the duo with Clive, I play with Nicholas Christian, and the Moukhtabar ensemble grouping of Lebanese musicians.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eApart from that, I have other Arabic 'traditional' playing projects.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs there any improviser with whom you'd particularly like to play in the future?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWell I'd like to play with whoever wants to play!\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI do wish I could play again with Samantha\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eRebello and Angharad Davies. But I'll need to come back to London for that…..\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003edun\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003ebegins with a spectrum of Bechir Saade’s bass clarinet multiphonics spooning against the muted hum of Matt Davis’s trumpet - this keenly heard music requires keen listening.  The trio are following that strain of British Improv interested in amplifying the quiet and concentrating on minute gestural nuance.  Davis does his best to cloak his instrumental identity and Milton’s violin is a chameleon: is that high register flicker a tremolo squeak from his instrument, or is Davis squeezing all the juice he can from his electronic sound sources?  An eloquent statement.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e                                                                                            \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Clark\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e“Finally comes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003edun,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ea very fine, expansive and at the same time bracingly spartan set by Davis (trumpet. field recordings), Milton (violin) and Saade (bass clarinet and flute).  Three longish cuts, each carving out a wedge of space, sharply defined as to overall shape even as the elements making up the volume are sparely distributed.  The latter half of the second track, all a-twitter, is especially beautiful.  Really enjoyable, intelligent music.  Nice batch of releases overall from an excellent label.”                                                      \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e“The cover photo is very mysterious and evocative; a lake covered in thick mist, and in its muddy waters, apart from the reflected vegetation, there is something which appears to be the superimposed drawing of a human form.  Or perhaps I’m wrong and it’s something else?  Looking more closely I can’t really be sure.  But the fact is that this dark and desolate landscape truly complements the music of Bechir Saade, Matt Davis and Matt Milton.  Within this ‘dun’ landscape in which a dark blanket seems to cover everything up to the horizon just a soft breath can produce a spark of life.  As if in an animistic rite, a tragedy is being recounted silently and subconsciously, revealing its deep sadness.  It’s impossible to ignore the dramatic and mystical nature of this music, especially because, to my ears at least , nearly every cd on this English label seems to share this particular stylistic feature.  And, needless to say, this disc was recorded inside a church.  But none of this is a problem, especially when - as here - the music is of such high quality.  Right from the start it casts its spell.  The wind instruments of Saade and Davis embrace one another elegantly, mixing blasts and polyphonic screeches that could practically dismantle the world with warmer and more traditional sounds, principally from the trumpet, near-melodies which unfold gently from the very start of the opening track.  The remainder of that piece is more inscrutable, with the two winds often exchanging dialogues as if through an extremely sparse morse code.  Davis’ contribution is outstanding; thin and discrete, yet always designed to support the work of the violin, which produces sounds that are sometimes searing, and sometimes gently grating.  But his use of field recordings is even more remarkable, appearing as a shock or a flash of lightning.  The original sources of the recordings might be natural sounds that are then reprocessed, but given the unorthodox instrumentation, it is impossible to know more.  They occur throughout the cd, but especially at some of the most enchanting moments, producing a kind of surreal conversation, as in the final minutes of the second track, or the eerily sinister (electronic?) sound that ends that piece.  Everything is very abstract, drawn with rather elusive strokes, but endowed with its own intimate coherence and a precise and natural flow that makes ‘dun’ a small marvel.  Very beautiful.”                                       \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlfio Castorina\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eKathodik\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e“The Another Timbre label often puts an emphasis on restrained, almost minimalistic approaches to music, evoking a mood of reflectiveness, meditation or even natural mysticism or religiousness.  This album is no exception.  It is as though the three musicians create music from a kind of natural silence.  The sounds used could be described as either spartan or precise, depending on how you view the whole, and how much you appreciate this sort of silence.  For there are different kinds of silence, and here silence is always thoughtful and focused.  The music was recorded in a church and the whisperings and scrapings of Matt Davis’ trumpet and Matt Milton’s violin exemplify a form of English free improvisation which arguably springs from a certain type of Protestantism, and which is of course very beautiful.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eHowever for me it is the contribution of flautist and bass clarinettist Bechir Saade that really raises the temperature.  His musical schooling was in Lebanon, and his playing combines brilliant traditional instrumentalism with extreme avant-garde bravery.  The combination is almost intoxicating, and delightfully original.  I don’t mean to be disparaging if I say that it is his playing that gives that provides the real substance of the session.  The English musicians fill out and colour the lines which Bechir draws out with masterly precision.  His sensitivity of finger and lip combined with the deep sensuality of an epicure is the lasting impression of this album.”                 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThomas Millroth\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eSound of Music\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400515780922,"sku":"at12","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at12Dun.jpg?v=1749120612"},{"product_id":"blasen","title":"Seymour Wright \u0026 Sebastian Lexer","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e1.  blase_37:18\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e2.  blase_25:34  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eSebastian Lexer\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e- piano+\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour Wright\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e- alto saxophone\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eR\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eecorded  at Trinity College, Greenwich, London in May 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/seymour_wright_240x240.jpg?v=1751912125\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e       \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/sebastian-lexer-20160619115744-1351098116_e4ee5a53-a7e8-43a9-aac7-85b7b5eadf52_240x240.jpg?v=1751912164\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eInterview with Sebastian Lexer \u0026amp; Seymour Wright\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow did you first come across \u0026amp; become involved with improvised music?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  I have never been without improvised music. I grew up being taken to art galleries and concerts, surrounded by art and music – what I still call jazz – from the AACM to AMM to Louis Armstrong.  Musicians would stay at, or visit, our house. I also began to explore the endless records at home, and was fascinated. The Crypt box set [by AMM] was one of the first I ever played.  Importantly, though, it has always been a living music made by people who eat, sleep, talk, read and make music, and don’t just exist through records.  When I began playing music, first trumpet at 7, then saxophone aged 12, I started from there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian\u003c\/strong\u003e:  In many respects I discovered improvised music fairly late.  Although being generally aware of its existence, I hadn’t actively explored it in any way. Only through a growing interest in compositions by Cage, Cardew and Feldman have I discovered free improvisation for myself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat brought you to London from Germany. Sebastian?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian:\u003c\/strong\u003e  I had the idea to study music.  I wasn’t interested in attempting to get into a conservatory, yet I did want to have the chance to do practical studies.  London seemed at that time the best option to do both theoretical and practical studies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou have both been very involved with Eddie Prevost’s improvisation workshop at Goldsmiths College.  How did this come about?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian:\u003c\/strong\u003e   The workshop actually never happened at Goldsmiths! From the start it happened in Borough. First in the Community Music Centre in Union Street, it then moved to Southwark Bridge Road, and finally to the Welsh Chapel a couple of doors further on.  As John Tilbury had been teaching at Goldsmiths College, (he has been my piano teacher for many years) a whole group of students from Goldsmiths heard about the workshop and became quite regular players.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSo when exactly did it start?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  It has been running weekly since autumn 1999. I went to the first and have been going every Friday I can, ever since. This year I have been to all of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDescribe the early days of the Workshop.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  Unprecedented; a ‘school’ formed between the winter of 1999 and summer of 2000 with the coming together of a group of people who were almost exact peers and who shared unique, already defined instrumental ethics, identities and philosophies. Every Friday it felt there was a new music, a new way of playing that had not been before. Following the workshop we would talk about the music all that night and go on to play through the weekend, often with people we had met that Friday.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow has it changed over the years?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  It’s older, so for me the one big difference is that now the workshop has both a history and even tradition, which it didn’t have at its inception; the implications of this are at once clear, intricate and wide. It remains the place to be on a Friday night.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow has the workshop affected your music?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  Significantly and positively through the continued work it requires: the challenges it makes; the problems it poses; the questions it asks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAre there other participants in the Workshop who have particularly influenced or impressed you?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour: \u003c\/strong\u003e Anyone who comes or has come and been committed to the work impresses and influences me consciously and subconsciously; more time is spent listening than playing, so the tides, times and patterns of influence within the workshop are complex.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBoth of you and other Workshop members formed the ensemble 9!, which released a cd on Eddie Prevost’s label Matchless a few years ago.  Does 9! still exist?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  Yes 9! still exists.  It was convened at a time when I was in Japan, but providentially for me the recording session for that disc took place a few days after I moved back to the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNeither of you seeks to earn a living from playing music.  Why is this, \u0026amp; what are the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy? \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour: \u003c\/strong\u003e As a language teacher I spend much of my day improvising and\/or thinking about ways of facilitating improvisation on the part of others, so in this sense I have a professional connection with improvisation. But to me, work away from music is an essential part of my life and musical life; it affords me a real musical freedom to choose when and what to play without being beholden to produce, perform or deliver anything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian:\u003c\/strong\u003e   Earning a living from playing music can be fantastic and ought to be possible even if one engages in more experimental genres.  However, knowing the continuous struggle of even the best and most renowned improvisers, it’s hardly possible to see any prospect of living off income from music alone, without there being also some aspects of musical compromises, active promotion and networking, and applications for additional funding.  The effort and time consumed by these activities (“fund-raising exercises”) combined with the frustration of discovering the apparent agendas of many funding bodies felt inappropriate for me, so I have come to accept the ‘semi-professional’ nature of my musical work as a logical  consequence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy involvement in teaching at universities, and working both as an audio engineer and software programmer is also a very rewarding way of engaging in and contributing to the growing acceptance and interest in these alternative ways of music making.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt has to be said in any case that a non-commercial engagement with music enables a more rigorous approach to one’s own playing.  In my case this involves developing a computer-based extension to the ‘extended techniques’ on the acoustic piano. For me the interest and focus of this development is the social interaction within ensembles engaging in free improvisation and the consequences of embedding technologies in such situations. Our forthcoming cd ‘blasen’ feels very satisfying and different in this respect, but it’s just one more step in a process of continuous development.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour, I think I first came across you in 2000 through the ‘396’ disc on Matchless with John Lely and Yann Charaoui.  Tell us about that disc and how do you regard it now?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  396 is a record I fear few people have actually heard, which is unfortunate. It is strong. 396 contains the beginnings of many of the questions I’m still investigating through my music and saxophone philosophy – my current technique is very much intact, if nascent, on that record. It also contains John and Yann’s respective, peculiar and singular greatness. It’s an initial interrogation of concerns that have grown in my mind and music about proportion, scale and time, the nexus of actual and potential; and it’s most of all about learning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou lived in Japan for a while and recorded two discs there on the Two Thousand And label.  How did that come about, and did the Japanese scene influence you?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  Only part of one of the Two Thousand And records was recorded in Tokyo, when Ross [Lambert] came to visit; he put Lucky Rabbit together from a selection of recordings at the invitation of Michael Rogers and Anthony Guerra. The other record from Japan is Meeting At Offsite Vol. 1. on IMJ. It’s a 4:33 section of a performance with Tetuzi [Akiyama] and Toshimaru [Nakamura], the first concert I did in Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMusically I think that was a good time to have been in Tokyo. The legacy of my time there is, I suppose, ideas about the scale and proportion of ideas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian, for some time you’ve organised monthly concerts under the title Interlace, featuring most of the leading names in cutting-edge UK improv as well as lots of lesser-known musicians.  Why did you set up this series, and what is the philosophy behind it?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian:\u003c\/strong\u003e   London suffers from an incredible lack of cheap or free performance spaces, especially places which have a piano and are acoustically capable of presenting improvised music in a concert setting rather than just a gig.  Being involved with Goldsmiths College and having the opportunity to utilise their facilities, it felt a logical step to create some sort of concert series. The location enables performances of a very special kind.  The large room has a very good acoustic, even for really quiet music. Even the heavy traffic of the A2, and some inconsiderate passers-by don’t spoil the listening environment.  Furthermore the support we receive in kind from the Electronic Music Studio, managed by Ian Stonehouse, in the form of electronic equipment, enables the realisation of projects with literally no budget, which otherwise would have consumed a lot of money.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was clear from the start in March 2003 that INTERLACE should attempt to bring together performances featuring free improvisation, live electronics, and interactive composition in any combination and focus. Curating this series has been a very interesting experience, especially given my commitment to the exploration of electronic elements in performance, their implication on the musical outcome, and their juxtaposition with purely acoustic improvisations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn additional feature has started to fascinate me over the years: observing how much the performances can be influenced by the previous set, often resulting in a very coherent musical discourse across the whole evening.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou’ve done a lot of work with John Tilbury on several projects, and he is clearly a major influence on your work.  Could you tell us something about your relationship with him?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian: \u003c\/strong\u003e  I met John as my piano teacher at Goldsmiths 13 years ago. He was certainly a mentor introducing me to certain strands in contemporary music, most notably Morton Feldman and Cornelius Cardew. His radical and uncompromising approach to performance and his emphasis on the importance of sound have facilitated my musical development. My previous interest in more mainstream jazz was in hindsight quite tentative and half-hearted – you could even say that I felt obliged to adapt to specific approaches and interests – leaving me with a constant feeling of unease. Speed and physical virtuosity were never of much concern for me, so my work with John often felt incredibly liberating, finding ways to combine my long lasting fascination for sounds (acoustic and synthesised) and performance and technology. Furthermore, John has been very helpful and supportive of my initial experiments with electronics. We’ve continued to collaborate beyond the college, and our relationship has become a friendship. I have recorded several of his recent projects and have worked with him on various projects involving electronics. I see certain similarities between my piano playing and his, especially if the keys are involved, which stem from an interest in the development of sounds. My approach to ‘inside piano’ has developed more out of playing at Eddie Prévost’s workshop, though this in turn involves some of the aesthetics akin to AMM.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour, you recently issued a cd-r of your own solo playing: ‘Seymour Wright of Derby’.  It’s been widely praised, and people have spoken of it as a “breakthrough”.  I really like it, but to my ears it’s not so much a breakthrough as a continuation of the work you’ve been doing for several years in deconstructing the saxophone.  How do you see it?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  The music is from 2005, 2007 and 2008.  The first solo recording I made was in 2003, the year of my first solo performance, which is still one of only three solo performances to date. Seymour Wright of Derby follows on from that, and from my solo on the Matchless cd horn_bill, which was also from 2005. So, yes, it is in that sense very much a continuation of my own saxophone ethic; philosophically and procedurally I have been approaching the saxophone in a consistent way for the last decade. I read the idea of it being a ‘breakthrough’ more as something communicative – making my music available – rather than aesthetic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDescribe some of the techniques you use on blasen (the new duo disc with Sebastian), and what are you aiming to achieve with these unorthodox methods of playing?  One critic has described you as having “an agonised relationship with the saxophone”.  Is this true?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  The origins of my playing are moral – I felt, and still do feel, a certain moral responsibility and need to work with the saxophone in a way people do not seem to at present, to look beyond the scope of orthodoxy (even of current saxophone unorthodoxy) into the potential of the instrument, what it is and what it can be.  This responsibility derives out of both an intellectual respect to explore, comprehend, and maybe understand, all of the instrument, its history, and also a sense that it somehow lags behind other instruments developmentally.  Given what, for example, Sebastian [Lexer] or John [Lely] can do with a piano, it would be wrong of me when playing with them not to look to offer a balance on a similar scale\/proportion of instrumental, and corollary musical, potential. This comes from making and thinking about music, and entails spending time with the instrument, as object, concept, history and imagined future – by which I mean years, decades of playing and listening. I am just getting started; the saxophone is of endless potential.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs for technique, in my notes to GAMUT , a forthcoming duo with Eddie [Prévost] on Matchless, I explain that my playing is an\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eenquiry into saxophonic actuality, through the potential inherent in, for instance, imagination, re-proportion, inversion, transformation, juxtaposition, construction, deconstruction, reconstruction, permutation, truncation and extension.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese are philosophical techniques, they are what I am doing, and they lead to physical techniques, which will or will not remain and re-appear, depending on how practical and practicable they are. So, I don’t think that my relationship with the saxophone is at all agonised, no. On the contrary it’s committed and celebratory, about respect and a love of music and the saxophone. Steve Lacy talks somewhere in an interview I read recently about ‘grappling with the saxophone’; this is perhaps close to what I’m trying to do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m working on a text about my saxophone playing at present through which I’ll expand on these ideas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian, can you describe how you are using the computer in blasen?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian: \u003c\/strong\u003e The technology used on blasen is a performance system developed by myself using Max\/MSP. The basic idea behind it is that the system augments the potentialities of the acoustic instrument, without turning the performer into a computer operator. This implies that the system utilises a series of processes (audio analysis, sensor readings etc.) to capture the gestural information of the performance. These data streams are then used to influence audio processes on the audio feed from the instrument. As the entire system is dependent on capturing the activity on the acoustic instrument(s) with microphones, for both analysis and processing, a very intrinsic relationship between the acoustic and electroacoustic soundworld is enabled. While I was developing this system I realised that I am most interested in exploring the spaces between defined entities, whether they are within the socio-political, musical or technical ‘space’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou spend more time in the body and on the strings of the piano that at the keyboard.  Does this mean that you have an ‘agonised’, or at least problematic relationship with the instrument and its history?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian:\u003c\/strong\u003e  I don’t have a definite answer to this. I am certainly aware of the historical baggage which seems to appear when one employs conventional pianistic techniques on the keys.  Especially after a prolonged time of playing inside the piano, a single note played on the keyboard highlights and opens the personal and social association of these sounds. The general importance of the timbral content of notes, their development over time, might have to suffice as an explanation of the slower pacing I usually work with when I use ‘normal’ piano notes. But equally it comes from my interest in the ‘interspatial’ that I mentioned before; the scale from piano notes to extended techniques, leading to processed timbres. Normal piano notes often bring a certain directive into the sonic world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMaybe my work on the computerised extended instrument has led to a degree of avoidance of straight piano sounds. However I’d claim that this is merely part of the process and development of this particular approach. Working with Seymour, among others, has defined another point for me: the piano is maybe one of the most rigidly fixed instruments, most obviously in the fact that as a pianist you have to just accept and deal with the physical ‘fitness’ and tuning of the instrument available. Performances within this genre hardly ever have even the budget to get the instrument tuned.  But above all the physics of the instrument don’t allow any alteration of string tension and so on during a performance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome further problems are superimposed by the fears of some organisers and venues that one’s actions will damage the instrument. I overheard a stage manager at a London venue speaking admiringly about the incredible skill and physical strength of a pianist playing Rachmaninov in a performance that led to a couple of strings being broken.  Then a moment later she refused to allow any of the strings to be touched by improvising musicians, as she feared this would break them (which in fact is barely possible without hard and sharp tools).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat are your future projects and plans?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeymour:\u003c\/strong\u003e  Working and playing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSebastian:\u003c\/strong\u003e  We are hoping that blasen will contribute to a wider appreciation of the music being produced by the generation of musicians in and around  Eddie’s workshop. We’ll also be more active in touring, and are planning to appear in various festivals. Our collaboration will certainly continue beyond this project and we want to investigate the musical space we’ve created much further.  The current disc is just one stage in a continuous process of development.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e“With its third batch of releases, Another Timbre reinforces the impression created by the first two batches—this is a label whose every release is likely to surprise and delight the listener, a label that is documenting improvised music's journey into interesting new territory.   This is an exciting release, and one which shows that Another Timbre is a savvy label, with its finger on the pulse. Pianist Sebastian Lexer and alto saxophonist Seymour Wright are two of the new generation of improvisers who have captivated London in recent years. Both are members of 9!, the ensemble that emerged from percussionist Eddie Prevost's regular improvisation workshops which have been running since 1999. Lexer and Wright have other AMM connections too: Lexer has had John Tilbury as a piano teacher while Wright has recorded live with guitarist Keith Rowe. Hence, the emergence of this new generation feels as if the baton is being passed forward to them.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eCertainly, Lexer and Wright show every sign of having learnt from the very best. Both exhibit great restraint and empathy; it seems vitally important to both of them that each note is correctly placed and of the right duration and tone. Lexer often plays inside the piano and also uses computer technology to augment the sound of the instrument, producing sounds like conventional piano alongside those that could just be electronically produced. The greatest compliment to his playing is that he sounds like a pupil of Tilbury's.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eQuoting Steve Lacy, Wright has spoken of his own saxophone technique as \"grappling with the saxophone\". He certainly does not display straightforward conventional technique, but instead problematises this area of his playing. The end results combine well with Lexer's playing, producing music that has its own satisfying logic and coherence, surely a test that we should expect any music to pass.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eIntriguingly, a future Another Timbre release will feature a trio including Wright and trumpeter Jamie Coleman, another member of 9!. On this evidence, that will be worth checking out.”                                      \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e“ ‘I feel a certain moral responsibility and need to work with the saxophone in a way people do not seem to at present,’ writes Seymour Wright, ‘to look beyond the scope of orthodoxy (even of current saxophone unorthodoxy) into the potential of the instrument, what it is and what it can be.  This entails spending time with the instrument, as object, concept, history \u0026amp; imagined future.’   On these two extended duo improvisations, recorded in Trinity College, Greenwich in May last year, he’s joined by Sebastian Lexer on “piano+”, that plus referring to a self-designed Max\/MSP application he uses for real-time sound processing.  In similar vein, you could add both a plus and minus sign to “alto sax”, as in performance Wright frequently dismantles the instrument and spends as much time sucking and blowing its constituent lengths of tubing, not to mention exploring their resonances with extraneous devices including handheld electric fans.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eBut there’s nothing disjunct and abstruse about the result; Lexer’s processing - of his own sounds on track one and Wright’s on track two - is so subtle you often don’t notice it’s there, and the musicians’ patient exploration and analysis of their material is as mature and spacious as vintage AMM (both men have studied with Eddie Prevost and John Tilbury).  But this certainly not Little League AMM either - Lexer has inherited Tilbury’s immaculate timing but paints with a palette of prepared piano colours all his own, and Wright’s daring deconstructions of syntax and instrument alike take the music into a dark, dangerous and hitherto unexplored territory.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eBlasen\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e is convincing and exciting proof that there is still much to discover in the post-AMM lowercase world.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDan Warburton\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e“Piano and alto saxophone, in turn processed by a computer over the course of two lengthy improvisations. As stated in the liners, “sometimes the origins of the sounds are transparent, but often they are ambiguous”: this pretty much sums up the specific aesthetic of this album, a straight-faced investigation of the scarcely visible connections linking the insides of instruments belonging to completely diverse families. The players expertly move across a shady setting, in which candle-lit images of reciprocal correlation get misshapen by distorting mirrors; the preparations utilized by Lexer transform the strings of the piano in rudimentary generators that magnify an unstructured awareness, the notes now murkily resounding in inexpressibly indefinite agglomerates, now appearing as percussive calls to attention, the artist always in search of the perfect spot to minimize the recognisability factor. Wright is a percussively detached analyzer of the saxophone’s viscera and (generally) unused parts; this does not detract from the absolute musicality of his irregular differentiations, where “musicality” is a definition that should delineate an organism fusing the human initiator with a sound-producing apparatus. The importance of silence in this context is fundamental: the couple appears in fact especially interested in the maintenance of a quiet environment despite the abruptness of certain solutions, apparently born and instantly dead. The music transcends typical definitions to represent the consecutive modifications in the different states of matter: an enthralling combination of gaseous and grainy, scraping and popping emissions enriched by a reverberating uncertainty, the whole signifying an anomalous kind of seclusion. But it’s the spartan intransience of this probing record that matters most, constituting its major point of attraction.”                                                                                                               - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eTemporary Fault\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e“During the later half of 2008, British reed player Seymour Wright got a modicum of well deserved attention with his self-produced solo release\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eSeymour Wright of Derby\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eas well as a duo release with Keith Rowe. This duo with pianist and electronic musician Sebastian Lexer should be added to the solo as recordings not to miss. Wright and Lexer are part of a nexus of musicians who have been participating in regular Friday workshops in London run by Eddie Prévost since the late ’90s, which gives an indication as to their aesthetic leanings. Wright is one of a handful of reed players who have managed to define a truly personal vocabulary out of extended reed technique. Zeroing in on the core sonic properties of the mechanical and acoustic components of his alto saxophone. He’s integrated every breath, burred reed vibration, keypad flutter, and hissed microtone into a unique improvisational language. Likewise, Lexer has delved into the strings, sounding board, and mechanical action of the piano to develop a quietly-nuanced approach to the instrument. He’s also a computer programmer and adds a system for real-time electronic processing to the session. What is so striking about this disk is the intense focus and subtlety of the interactions. Every sound is placed precisely into the overall context of the two expansive improvisations. There is a constant measure and balance of attack and decay; resonance and sympathetic overtone; metallic reverberation of strings and percussive snap of sax keys and pinched alto cries. As to the electronic processing, it is striking only in its lack of obvious presence. Lexer describes it as filling in the space between the traces of ideas and contributions of the performers. It is so fully integrated that the extended timbral control of the two musicians blend seamlessly with the minute electronic shadings of the processing. This one’s another stellar release from Another Timbre and yet another reason to check out Seymour Wright.”                             \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eMichael Rosenstein\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e“The first of the two tracks here is one of the strongest things I've heard in while.  Lexer has something of Tilbury in his playing--not the obvious (no redolence of Feldman, particularly) but a similar sense of tone, touch and placement, of managing to get the best of each in one keystroke, a rare enough achievement.  Wright melds beautifully here; one often forgets entirely the instruments at hand and just experiences the music, which is remarkably cohesive and, for all its spareness, full and tactile.  Beautiful work.  The second piece is pretty good as well, a bit more diffuse, a little less gripping.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400520007994,"sku":"at13","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at13Blasen.jpg?v=1749120612"},{"product_id":"toot-axel-dorner-thomas-lehn-phil-minton","title":"Axel Dörner, Thomas Lehn, Phil Minton","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eToot:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eAxel Dörner\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e- trumpet\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThomas Lehn\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e- analogue synthesiser\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ePhil Minton\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e- voice\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e 1. ling      26:52\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e 2. klagen  27:22\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eR\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eecorded in concert at Esslingen, Germany 2008 (ling) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e \u0026amp; Klagenfurt, Austria 2005 (klagen)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/toot_gr_300_l-1306705114_480x480.jpg?v=1751902916\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\"As its title implies, this is the second outing – the first was on Sofa three years ago – from the triumvirate of Axel Dörner (trumpet), Thomas Lehn (analogue synth) and Phil Minton (voice). It also refers to the fact that the disc contains just two tracks, \"ling\", recorded in June 2008 in Esslingen and \"kla\", which dates from May 2005 in Klagenfurt. Connoisseurs of Dörner, Lehn and Minton can amuse themselves by trying to work out how the musicians' individual vocabularies have evolved over those three years, but suffice it to say they make abundant and gleeful use of their particular \"tricks\" (to quote Paul Lovens): there are plenty of pitchless machine gun puffs and gritty low notes from Dörner, spring reverb shudders and sci-fi bleeps from Lehn and split-tone wheezes, birdcall twitters and Leatherface-does-Donald-Duck from Minton. But even though the individual sounds themselves will no doubt be familiar to you, dear reader, the way these three master craftsmen choose to deploy them is source of amusement and delight. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eTo paraphrase Art Lange writing about Misha Mengelberg, you can hear them listening to each other – and they take great pleasure in going their own ways when you least expect it. It'd be also too easy for one of Minton's boozy spitstorms to provoke an avalanche of stuttering and splattering from Dörner and Lehn, but more often than not they take the opposite tack, sitting quietly on a sound until Phil either shuts up or joins them. Similarly, some of Dörner's busiest playing occurs while Minton is at his most demure and introspective. It all adds up to one of the most musically satisfying improv releases of the year, on what must be (though I hate the inevitable end of year \"top tens\" and \"best of\"s) 2008's label of the year.”                                                                           \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDan Warburton\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eParis Transatlantic\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"google-src-text1-C\"\u003e“The first album by the trio TOOT appeared in 2003.  ‘Two’, their second disc, comes five years later, recorded at festivals in Austria and Germany, and issued on the British label\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eanother timbre.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe quality of the album comes as no surprise.  The musicians’ abilities are well-known and have been demonstrated on dozens of discs.  Minton, Dörner and Lehn each have their own strong personal style which is faithfully reproduced from album to album, so that people know in advance what to expect.  The major (and perhaps only) difference between ‘Two’ and their previous cd is the time and place of the recording; everything else remains unchanged.  And yet the disc is a real feast.  It is one of the most striking of recent releases and can lay claim to the title ‘album of the year’.  The three musicians are able to combine multiple relationships while shifting between different layers of sound.  Thomas Lehn’s synthesiser plays the role of the first violin, linking and balancing Minton’s vocals with the rasping trumpet of Dörner.  On both pieces the musicians give each other plenty of space and obviously enjoy their interactions with each other.  Time and again the two Germans find ways of containing the physicality of Minton’s textural sounds in an almost clinical way.  This album is hugely pleasurable and provides us with two electroacoustic masterpieces.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e                                                              \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDennis Vederko\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eMachine Room\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e“A second release from TOOT - the inspired coming together of Axel Dörner’s trumpet, Thomas Lehn’s analogue synthesiser and Phil Minton’s inimitable voice.  Two lengthy improvisations, recorded with vivid clarity that’s almost tactile.  No one can match Minton in the role of park bench visionary, giving eccentric voice to the world’s cryptic signals and the body’s fleshy mysteries.  But Dörner and Lehnare sparking from the same outsider circuit.  There’s a real sense of complicity in their approach, a shared language of vaporousexhalations, low murmurs and judders, hums, groans, farts and other explosive outbursts.  It’s the language common to spittle and synapse, drool and neural network - sounds of the body electric.  Freedom of association is one of the great regenerative strengths of improvised music, but the affinities within TOOT are so readily audible that you feel it’s a triothat just had to happen, and had to succeeed as it does.”   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJulian Cowley\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400523022650,"sku":"at14","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at14TOOT.jpg?v=1749120672"},{"product_id":"kravi-rohnn-project-anette-krebs-rhodri-davies","title":"Anette Krebs \u0026 Rhodri Davies","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eAnnette Krebs\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- guitar, mixing board, tapes\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eRhodri Davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- electric harp \u0026amp; electronics\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e1. traguar            21:25\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e2. jailom              12:03\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e3. ssronck           12:08\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eRecorded in Berlin, April 2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eEdited, mixed \u0026amp; mastered by Annette Krebs\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/annette_krebs_39824f60-6f94-42fd-bd07-a281811c2c49_480x480.jpg?v=1751902433\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e“Very strong, extremely well integrated set,  Krebs and Davies meshing perfectly; had I been told this was a (complex) solo set, I'd have accepted that.  There's a wonderful gliding aspect to much of the music here, maybe set into motion largely by Davies, a kind of slow, up and down swoop, that's quite entrancing, all the more so when adorned with pebbles of taped sounds, gritty static, etc.  Great balance of soft dronage, occasional quasi-rhythms, super-sensitive inclusion of quiet voices--next to impossible to describe to any degree of satisfaction, but that's usually the case with something as beautifully positioned as this.  Mandatory.”          \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e“I’ve been listening to the recent release by Rhodri Davies and Annette Krebs on the Another Timbre label quite bit over the past week or so, but while I know I really like it a great deal I haven’t really been able to find the right words to be able to say what it is I enjoy about it. I’m still not sure now I have the right words to hand, but I’ll have a go.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eAnnette Krebs has been making wonderfully surprisingly, unusual and somewhat oblique music for a few years now, but if the truth be told so has Rhodri Davies in the right company. Together here they both seem to step up a gear, firing off of each other to produce music that repeatedly does the unexpected but at the same time still just sounds\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eright\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e, as if each sound is placed just where it belongs, even if they don’t always seem to follow naturally from the sounds before. If that reads a little vague I can only apologise, its hard to think of other ways of describing\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eKravis Rhonn Project\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e, which is the (pretty bad) title for this album.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eRhodri uses his tabletop electric harp for this recording, something he is doing increasingly often as a bad back and spiralling travel costs make lugging a full scale harp around a currently more difficult thing to do. Over the past couple of years he has begun to really find his voice with this laid-flat version of his chosen instrument however, and on this new album his range of sounds; buzzing, scraping, droning, chiming and even the occasional all out roaring are put to use brilliantly. While he may allow a sound to flutter or hum in the background for a while, others will build for a second or two before being cut dead. The range in sounds and textures allows Krebs the space and opportunity to place bits of sampled voices, radio grabs and the odd guitar chime into the gaps. Some of the voices used here come from recordings of dadaist sound poets Annette found online last year. A few of which found their way into her trio performance I caught with David Lacey and Paul Vogel last year, so although that was six months ago now they sound strangely familiar to me now.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eAt one point in the opening track\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eTraguar\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(the titles come from the imaginary words spoken by the aforementioned voices) a blizzrd of sound from both musicians falls off the edge of the recording and the silence left behind is suddenly filled with a grainy blast of a rap record, some other unidentifiably cheesy music and then an oddly disembodied voice. This few moments of the music seems to sum up\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eKravis Rhonn Project\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003efor me, hints at the kind of electroacoustic improvisation we might have expected from this duo a few years back cut short by these odd breaks in the musical narrative. Near the end of the third track a thick, claustrophobic hum rises out of the music and builds in intensity until suddenly snapping dead, leaving a few seconds of distant sounds and then a half second burst of unidentifiable voice. This is how the album goes. It is exciting to listen to, full of these sudden twists and precarious cliffhangers but also a work of great focus and concentration as the two musicians wrap their contributions around each other so well that you lose track of who might be doing what.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eI wrote a week or two back about a trio disc involving Davies alongside Robin Hayward and Taku Unami and said that the music on that release seemed to fit within a recent group of CDs and performances that feature new approaches to the sonic communication between musicians, utilising juxtaposed seemingly unrelated sounds rather than gentle blends of similar sounding events.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eKravis Rhonn Project\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efits that aesthetic to some degree, with the radio grabs, voices and sudden struck sounds playing counterpoint to the more musical abstract elements, but it should also be said that when sounds from both musicians are allowed to coalesce here in a more traditional manner they are also very beautiful indeed. That it isn’t easy to place this CD into one firm box or the other is only to its own credit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eThe three pieces on this album total up to some forty-five minutes in length, and I have listened through to it maybe as many as eight or nine times now but really it seems so much shorter, such is the way it really grabs the attention. Recorded only a year ago it offers a rare contemporary view of where two continually evolving musicians are currently at, something that, in Rhodri’s case in particular has not often happened in the past. It is also yet another fine fine release on the Another Timbre label, which can do little wrong in my eyes recently. Album of the year so far.“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e                                                                              \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e“Annette Krebs \u0026amp; Rhodri Davies – Kravis Rhonn Project  (Another Timbre)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eMax Eastley \u0026amp; Rhodri Davies – Dark Architecture (Another Timbre)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eWhile these two albums were realised under very different circumstances, they’re united on sonic and philosophical levels.  The attunement that electric harpist Rhodri Davies and his confederates achieve is profound.  Tabletop guitarist Annette Krebs assembled\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eKravis Rhonn\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efrom recordings that she and Davies made in her apartment.  Strings scrape and pluck, outboard electronics sputter and abruptly drop out, both players working with small gestures so similar they could be playing a single instrument.  It’s easier to differentiate Davies’s e-bow hums and cirrus pitches from the ghostly groans and lonesome whistles of Eastley’s arc, a self-constructed, flexible wood and wire monochord, on the live recording\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eDark Architecture\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e, but their confluence is so perfect it’s pointless to do so.  Particularly since the larger point of both records seems to be the productive coexistence of each duo’s playing with potentially disruptive elements.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eDark Architecture\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eenjoys the involvement of both planned and unplanned randomisers.  The original plan was for the two men to play along with eastley’s sound generating sculptures, whose occasional ringing and clatter contribute a laconic commentary, sparse yet pertinent.  Less polite are the fireworks from a neighbouring park that start up about 11 minutes in, so loud you couldn’t have blamed the duo for stepping out until the display was over and then trying again.  Instead, the fireworks become part of the music, less predictable and more insistent than Eastley’s sculptures, yet all framed by singing sine tones and bowed sighs.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eThe disruption on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eKravis Rhonn\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis presumably more planned.  Krebs is credited with tapes, which consist mostly of music and voices snatched off the internet.  German newsreaders, archived sound poets and traces of rap and traffic noise rise up through Krebs and Davies’s shimmering surfaces, pockmarking them like potholes on city streets, occasionally cutting the playing short.  The duo seem to be hanging back, trying to figure out how to fit into this rough surface rather than roll over it.  It’s a sublime ride. “                                         \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBill Meyer\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/rhodri-davies-musician-b4458955-adfc-48e8-a455-f80c5791df5-resize-750-1892178282_ca4e6679-584b-44ce-89a2-dc693c40b95f_480x480.jpg?v=1751902627\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400527970618,"sku":"at15","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at15KravisRhonnproject.jpg?v=1749120891"},{"product_id":"elecricals","title":"EKG - Kyle Bruckmann \u0026 Ernst Karel","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eEKG:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\" style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003eCD copies very nearly sold out\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eKyle Bruckmann\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e- oboe, english horn \u0026amp; analogue electronics\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eErnst Karel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e-  trumpet \u0026amp; analogue electronics\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e1.  Field             05:14\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e 2.  Drift              13:26\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e 3.  Current         08:51\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e 4.  Resistance    08:34\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e 5.  Interval         10:15\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eRecorded in the studio in Cambridge MA \u0026amp; Chicago, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e and live in New York \u0026amp; Philadelphia, 2007 - 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/ErnstKarel_HL2-591146518_240x240.jpg?v=1751901778\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e      \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/KYLE-BRUCKMANN-1875515188_240x240.jpg?v=1751901820\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C4\"\u003eInterview with Kyle Bruckmann \u0026amp; Ernst Karel \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eFirstly why ‘EKG’?  Does it stand for anything?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eKyle:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe Ernst and Kyle Group. Honest. Obviously, there are a couple winks and resonances embedded therein as well, but they’re side effects.  At the risk of tipping our hand: there’s the technological \/ biological conflation, the Germanic element that references both of our family backgrounds and so much of what’s been musically influential to the project…and Ernst may be mortified, but I’ll also admit to getting a kick out of the nod to the old-school hardcore band naming convention (GBH, DOA, DRI…)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eErnst:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e Kyle sells me short.  My favourite band as a 14-yr-old in 1984 was MDC….\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eYou have described EKG’s music as “between acoustic and electronic, improvised and premeditated, disruptive and meditative”.  Why situate yourselves ‘between’?  Is this important?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eKyle:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eYes. Personally, I realize that one thread tying\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eall\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emy creative projects together is an obsession with that liminal state, the productive tension of both\/and, neither\/nor. I find a never-ending state of “becoming” a hell of a lot more interesting than any form of alleged certainty, and more honest.  I think in EKG in particular there’s room for a very subtle, very delicate blurring of lines and interpenetrating of spheres…for instance, something as obvious as approaching our horns like electronics and our electronics like horns, exploring the timbral overlap and thinking about how sound behaves relative to its origin…\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eErnst:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e It seems important for the music that it be between all kinds of things.  For example, there was a tour where halfway through, we realized that we had been working on a composition the whole time rather than improvising.  This process continues as we make our albums, where the imaginary line between improvisation and composition is further erased.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eTo my ears ‘Electricals’ seems the most composed of your discs so far.  Were the pieces on the album studio-created, or do they have their origins in live performances?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eKyle:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eYes and yes. We’re not improv purists by any means; all of our albums are painstakingly edited from a combination of live performances, direct-to-hard-drive rehearsals, and sometimes solo elements added after the fact. The process of playing is improvisational; our intent when assembling an album is definitely compositional. I guess the only real procedural difference this time around is that I finally got my hands on some editing software and started pulling my share of the weight – previously pretty much all of that stage of the work had fallen on Ernst.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eErnst:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e Yes, in terms of process, it’s not any more ‘composed’ than our other albums, but I think we’ll take that as a compliment nonetheless!  As Kyle said, they’ve all involved a lot of editing and mixing, and the difference with this one is that Kyle did the editing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eYou hardly play trumpet on ‘Electricals’ at all, Ernst.  Are you moving away from using the trumpet as a sound source?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eErnst:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e At least for now, yes….\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eYou always describe your electronic instrumentation as ‘analog electronics’.  Why do you not use digital technology at this stage of your music?  Why does it matter that you’re using analogue equipment?  Does it sound different or affect the way you play?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eErnst:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e A couple of things.  First, I’ve been heavily influenced by music from the electronic music studios of the 1950s and 1960s; I love the sounds that those machines were capable of, and essentially the technology we’re using is similar.  Second, the analog modular equipment we use forces a way of interacting with the sound, both with the interface of the instrument and with the very electricity itself, that’s quite different from using a computer or other digital device.  For example I'll often leave cables hanging from the various inputs and outputs of the modular analog system and make or break connections by touching cable-ends together or to the metal table or to my fingers, changing the strength of the signal by how much skin is conducting it, and in this way rerouting signals back into the system.  This allows for a kind of playing that’s a little bit similar to the kind of moment-to-moment dependence of the trumpet on the physical state of the body.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eSo what is your musical background?  When did you start playing trumpet \u0026amp; when did you start composing music for tape or electronics?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eErnst:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e I began playing trumpet as a child, just because my father played trumpet – other instruments I took up but didn’t continue with were mandolin, piano, and electric guitar – and played mainly classical\/composed music until college, where I studied music theory and performance (but ended up majoring in comparative religion), and jazz and improvised music and noise during and after college. I started working with electronics (pedals, amps, etc.) in my early 20s, as a way to extend the possibilities of the trumpet, and have been working with analog modular electronics seriously for about 10 years now.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eKyle, you seem to work across several genres of music, from classical through jazz \u0026amp; improv to avant rock.  What is your musical background, and why this broad reach?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eKyle:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eI’m not sure how to answer that without my entire life story, but I’ll try to rein it in…My first instrument was actually the organ, from the time I was 6; I started the oboe when I was 9. Growing up, music was an all-encompassing pursuit, a real playground – I was involved in choirs, camps, youth orchestra. The records my parents played at home were all over the place: top 40 Classical, Spike Jones, Bavarian oompah; thanks to some influential music teachers, I was exposed to Ives, Stravinsky, Varese at impressionable stages. Adolescence hit; hormones and the local college radio station spurred me to construct my social identity around hardcore, new wave, and especially industrial. When I went off to college, all I knew was that I thought music was\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003efun\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e; I’d never given any realistic thought to what the heck it would mean to be a professional. But because I landed in the school where I did with an oboe in my hands, I was very quickly shunted down the path of an orchestral performer, a specialist, a cog within a creaking museum piece – the University as a whole was amazing, but the conservatory, though world-class at what they do, had a VERY narrow focus. I spent a lot of energy trying to convince myself that that’s what I really wanted, internalizing the attitude that all the other music I loved outside of the European Common Practice Period was illegitimate, a waste of time – it kind of screwed up my head for quite a while. But I stayed involved in the college radio station, kept reading and listening, and never outgrew the punk bands, despite my professors’ browbeating and my own self-flagellation. It was discovering improvisation just as I was transitioning to graduate school that really saved me – it allowed me to directly reengage with creativity, to integrate and connect the dots between my interests and my training, providing a framework to think about the wider world of music and how and why people use it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eNow, part of what I\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003edo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehave the conservatory to thank for is my discipline and training as a stylist. Even within a scope as narrow as 300 years of European art music, a hyperconsciousness to context is required: there are mindsets specific to playing German as opposed to Italian repertoire, 17\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eas opposed to 18\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecentury, 2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003end\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eas opposed to principal oboe, etc.  I suppose I’ve taken that orientation and run with it – perhaps too far, and in too many different directions, but it’s what gets me out of bed in the morning. Always wanting to explore ‘now, if the oboe were in a context of electroacoustics\/free jazz\/no wave\/indie rock\/whatever, would it work? And if so, how? What would be required?’  So at this point, I try to focus on different core projects that, while interrelated, address different creative and aesthetic needs, and I try to delve fully, with integrity, to the heart of what I see as specific to each.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eYou play oboe \u0026amp; English horn, both double-reed instruments, which is relatively rare in improv or jazz, certainly when compared to sax or clarinet.  Why do you think double reeds are relatively rare in new music?  And are there other double-reed players who have influenced you?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eKyle:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eWell, at least in the Darmstadt\/compositional branch of new music, there’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eplenty\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eof oboe, thanks in large part to the legacy of Heinz Holliger, and descendants like Peter Veale. There’s Joseph Celli, who’s more a part of the lineage of the New York School, fluxus, conceptually-oriented sound art. My grad school teacher Harry Sargous really opened some doors for me; he commissioned and played a lot of composed new music and was starting to explore improvising and Max applications while I was there. And I’d have to mention my friends and colleagues Robbie Hunsinger, with whom I played a lot when I first moved to Chicago, and Carrie Shull, and bassoonists Sara Schoenbeck and Katy Young.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eBut it’s true: double reeds are relatively absent from the history of improvised music. In part this is simply because there are fewer of us around than single reed players, so statistically there are fewer to stray. Honestly, it’s a rather difficult instrument, and we’ve got plenty to worry about just being able to play “normal” music well. We seem to tend to be a rather tightly wound lot; apparently I was wound tightly enough that the spring sprung.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eThere are pretty clear reasons why the oboe doesn’t factor as much into the lineage of jazz, though. It’s not exactly the People’s Instrument – the damn thing’s too expensive, and the reeds are too finicky and fragile. It can’t play nearly as loud as a saxophone, and the articulation doesn’t lend itself readily to anything resembling swing. There are players who’ve made a credible case for it within relatively traditional contexts, like Yusef Lateef and Ken McIntyre, but it’s an uphill battle, and nothing\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eI\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehave any business attempting in public. In the realm of free jazz, there’s much more of a legacy of saxophonists picking up an oboe temporarily for suitably exotic and “aegyptian” color: Sonny Simmons’ English horn, for example, and of course Marshall Allen, who really blew my head open when I first encountered Sun Ra records.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eI should also really mention how much even superficial listening to the oboe’s various cousins around the world (shenai, duduk, suona, piri) makes it glaringly apparent how pathetically domesticated and limited the Western classical oboe has become, and suggests alternate paths.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eHave you ever been tempted to try other wind instruments?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eKyle:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eYes, and I’ve never dared, because I fear I’d never look back; I’ve always had bass clarinet envy in particular.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eThe oboe produces a relatively thin sound compared to the saxophone, yet on the electronics side the sounds you work with seem to be substantially thicker and more textured than the thinner sounds favoured by, say, some of the Japanese electronics improvisers.  Do you consciously aim for a balance of different textures in your music?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eKyle:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eI suppose I would say that we really think of ourselves as musicians first and foremost, not as sound artists or conceptualists…and I don’t think we’re out to overturn or negate anything. I think we’re really rather traditional in terms of what we do, yes, consciously aim for: balanced orchestration, counterpoint, dramatic contour, nuanced texture, phrasing…Ernst, is that fair?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eErnst:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e I might imagine the line between ‘music’ and that other stuff to be more imaginary. I don’t consciously aim for a balance of different textures\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eper se\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e, but I do want the music to grow out of itself.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eErnst, as well as music, you work a lot in ‘media anthropology’.  Could you briefly explain what ‘media anthropology’ is, and does this perspective inform your musical work?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eErnst:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e This would be media anthropology in the sense of doing anthropology through media, such as video or (in my case) audio, rather than in the sense of studying the media of other cultures.  I’ve been interested for a long time in the way our experience of the world is mediated through sound.  In graduate school at the University of Chicago I did ethnographic research on the way that sound functions in various contexts in South India.  One project had to do with the religious and phenomenological experience of the sound of bells during Hindu ritual, and my doctoral work was concerned with larger questions of the connections between sound and social identity, for example the way amplified sound is used to describe social spaces in an urban context.  My interest in ‘sound’ has always informed my ‘music’, but recently perhaps in a more obvious way, compositionally, for example in a new project coming out on and\/OAR called\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eHeard Laboratories\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e.  This piece consists of edited compositions of unprocessed recordings made in research labs at Harvard University, where I work; I think of it as both straight documentary and ‘acoustic electronic’ music.  While I’m in Basel, Switzerland, this fall, I’m working on a couple of other projects which are ethnographically motivated and similarly situated between the documentary and the abstract.  One has to do with the sounds surrounding the studio where I'm working on the Rhine river, almost right at the point where France, Germany, and Switzerland meet; there is a major Swiss port on the Rhine, a train yard behind the building, and a trucking business in the building.  This is a place where things come and go, and the sounds echo around in the open spaces here.  The other project has to do with the various kinds of transportation that are specific to a mountainous environment, e.g. gondolas, chairlifts, funiculars.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eLast year EKG performed a version of Morton Feldman’s composition ‘Oboe and Orchestra’, with Ernst recreating the orchestra parts through electronics.  Why did you do this \u0026amp; how did it go?  Is there a growing classical influence in EKG’s work?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eErnst:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e Well, in terms of the influence of composed music on our work, it’s always been there, whether in terms of the ‘classical’ electronic music studios or in terms of 20\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecentury composers like Nono, Scelsi, Gubaidulina, or Saariaho.  But the Feldman piece is part of our newest project, still in process, which will be an album of pieces composed by other people and performed by us.  We both love Feldman’s music, and we’ve in fact stolen harmonies from him in the past (for\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eGroup\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e).  It occurred to me to do ‘Oboe and Orchestra’ one day as I was marvelling at the textures created by his harmonies.  At first I thought I would be approximating those textures more intuitively using electronics, but the more I studied the piece I realized that they really depend upon or emerge from the specific pitch relationships.  So I ended recreating the score note-for-note, creating a sonority to represent each instrument and hand-tuning my oscillators for each pitch (no keyboard was used!).  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eHow would you characterise the improvised music scene in the States in comparison with Europe at the moment? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eKyle:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eI’m afraid I’ve only toured in Europe once, so I can only guess from afar. And I don’t get out nearly as much lately even within the States – our daughter was born in Feb. ’08, so my priorities have definitely shifted this past year. But what I think I’m seeing amongst our peers here – and this may very well be projection – is a restlessness with any sort of dogmatism, any doctrinaire approach, just as it’s become a given (at least amongst critics) that there’s a line in the sand between “eai” and good old fashioned free improv, or even, god forbid, free jazz or Creative Music.  I must say, I think some of what you’ve done with Another Timbre has done a good job of muddying the waters productively, drawing connections between generations and “camps,” providing some historical perspective (I’ve always been uncomfortable with the conception of eai as a genre at all, much less one that was allegedly invented in Tokyo\/Berlin\/Vienna in the late 90s).  So maybe it’s really just as true amongst artists in London or elsewhere in Europe, but here and now there seems to be absolutely no inconsistency with making music one night that’s so “lowercase” it’s almost a caricature, blasting all-out noise the next, collaborating with scum kids and freak folkers… In part, I think it’s because there’s a sense that nothing’s at stake, so there’s no real compulsion to rigidly define yourself; I know of only a very small handful of American peers who can be said to be in any way making a full-time “career” of experimental music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C5\"\u003eFrom what I can see from across the ocean there are a lot of little new music scenes in the States but they are thinly spread, just because the country is so vast.  And you two live on opposite coasts, thousands of miles apart.  This must make collaboration difficult?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eKyle:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eWe don’t work together nearly as often as we’d like, but we laid a pretty significant foundation together in Chicago between around ’98 and ’03, and our process has adapted nicely to handicaps of time and distance. As for the US as a whole, I think there’s actually a surprising amount of interaction among scenes given the country’s vast size. I like to cite our friends\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003enmperign\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ein particular (though obviously there’ve been lots of folks involved) for really applying the venerable Black Flag model of DIY, get-in-the-van, do-or-die, windmill-jousting touring to the younger generation of the improv world in the late 90s. It’s getting harder, though, with the price of gas here finally creeping closer to its devastating true cost.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Drop-performed-by-Kyle-Bruckmann-2218743745_480x480.png?v=1751901973\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e“Rarely has an album been more truthfully named. While both members of EKG play acoustic instruments (Ernst Karel, trumpet; Kyle Bruckmann, double reeds), their presence on this record is negligible. Analogue electronics, mainly modular synthesizers so hirsute with cables that they look like a Rogaine success story, dominate the sound. Immune to the lure of such effete affectations as keyboards, EKG manage their gear the old-fashioned way; by twisting knobs, flipping switches, yanking patch cords in and out, and sometimes using their own fingers as conductors between cables and instruments.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eThe resulting music sounds, to borrow a phrase from Bruckmann’s occasional collaborator Gino Robair, like voltage made audible.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eElectricals\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e’ five tracks are composed mainly of highly tactile low end hums, feedback tendrils, static blasts, and motor buzzes that are deployed with a palpable sense of contour within a dynamic range that goes from loud and in your face to distant and small. But the fact that Bruckmann and Karel bring their horns at all speaks to an essential EKG quality, a perpetual state of being in between things. At the end of “Drift,” a series of lonely brass cries seem to issue not from Karel’s trumpet, but from the collective unconscious, they’re so rich with wordless meaning. Moments later, at the beginning of the aptly named “Current,” EKG speak in the more dominant electrical tongues, generating malevolently vibrating tones that end in loud microphone bumps.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eEKG also shuttle between composition and improvisation. While everything they play is spontaneously generated, they’re not averse to consciously revisiting material in concert.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eElectricals\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas assembled from different concerts and rehearsal recordings, some made miles and years apart; the music isn’t just played, it’s constructed in a way that yields the best of two approaches. Each track sports the carefully graduated interaction and promise of potential instant change that total improvisation provides, but develops with the inevitability that hindsight affords. Each hum, shimmer, and bump yields to another in a way that feels absolutely necessary.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e                                                                                      \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBill Meyer\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eDusted\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e“If there ever was such a thing as electroacoustic improvisation this disc would probably typify such a categorisation in that it consists of two musicians who combine acoustic and electric instrumentation in such a way that it often becomes difficult to tell them apart.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eOn the whole the music is relatively understated, consisting more of layered tones and warbling textures than anything too energetic and eventful, but the switches in sound when they do come tend towards sudden handbrake turns rather than gentle blending into the flow.  There are five pieces altogether, each a little vignette in itself.  The second track, titled\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eDrift\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis the most calmly poignant to my ears, though ironically given the title the track also slowly grows into a troubled cauldron of electronic bubbles and groans.  Maybe it drifts there but it is not always a relaxing journey.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eResistance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emay be my favourite track, a fretful exchange of simple yet disturbingly charged lines of muted sounds with a dark, grainy undertone to them, threatening aggression in several places.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eElectronics\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a deceptive release. If you only half-listen to the album while trying to do other things at the same time its easy to miss the subtleties of the music.  I first listened last night while writing my daily post and although the music was pleasing I missed a good deal.  Listening on headphones in bed early this morning revealed a lot more, the tension simmering between the two layers of sound became clear, and the overall sense of composition to the recording shone through, with each track obviously improvised and yet involving a placement of sound that betrayed the experience and skill of the musicians.  A really nice release, yet another strong one from Another Timbre.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e“Kyle Bruckmann and Ernst Karel concentrate, as implied by the title, on the non-acoustic portion of their arsenal here, fashioning five fine pieces again, as with the previous releases, balancing the crunchy with the smooth, the fluttery with the grainy buzz. I get a subtle narrative flavor here as well; much of this music would work very well in partnership with visuals. When the horns do emerge, it's often quite effective in a plaintive, melancholy manner. The structures are off-center enough that I find new facets on each hearing, always a good sign.        Good stuff!”                                                                            \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400530592058,"sku":"at16","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at16Electricals.jpg?v=1749120891"},{"product_id":"octante","title":"Octante - Lúnula","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOctante\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eRuth Barberán\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e-  trumpet, speaker \u0026amp; microphones\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eAlfredo Costa Monteiro\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e- accordion \u0026amp; objects\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eFerran Fages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e- oscillators \u0026amp; pick-ups\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eMargarida Garcia\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e- electric bass\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e1. Onda 2856       28:56\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e2. Onda 2904       29:04\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e R\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eecorded in Barcelona, February 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/ATOL_oN_fotos_EnricCorominaVidal_36_480x480.jpg?v=1751901001\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eThe quartet Octante is a guarantee that the music might be a bit minimalistic.  Done.  The musicians pass under the lowest bar of limbo dance.  We have heard this kind of music before, but within given frames it is also possible to find new cavities for each instrument to find out what kind of echoes there are. Done.  The quartet creates a crackling and crunching kind of sound. It is being utterly condensed. It is not very easy even to separate the different instruments from one another. The quartet has turned into one common music machine. It is tight as a sore in a shoe!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMonteiro’s accordion breathes slightly asthmatically. Garcia’s bass acts as a pulse. Fages creates echoing sounds. And all of them are tightly embraced, moving the same sounds around. I came to think about the box with the music by Norweigan genius Svein Finnerud. On the DVD the musicians take part in a kind of musical happening, where they wrestle very slowly embracing one another turning over and over again half naked. I sense this music in the same way. It is very ritualistic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd then Ruth Barberán!  Her trumpet changes between different sounds and moves as if she was swimming in deep waters.  It gives life to a music that could have been just a good piece among other good pieces. I do not know what it is, maybe the heat and passion, the persistence in forming the notes. It is indeed intense when she splits the stream of air into several small wet sounds. Or how close she is when Monteiro lets  the accordion breathe a little less breathlessly. They exhale and relax  together. Her tone is like wet woollen cloth over the others.  Her trumpet warms the music up. She takes it into elementary, atavistic and unsophisticated directions, giving it a sense of meditation. There are no pretty phrases left and she does not have to show off.  After the first quarter of an hour she  squeezes the notes to death. The accordion prepares a sweet bed for her.  But Garcia finds some simple beats and soon everyone is moving again in a strange singing ritual. And the music turns into a somnambulant state of mind.  They move between dreaming and wakefulness.  Time, space and direction stop.  Garcia plays a strange lullaby with her bow. On her own. Ok!? In the middle of the stream of music she plays a solo by her own, a room for a strange and utterly beautiful solo. Her introvert joy creates echoes among the others, before the sound disappears totally.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is one way  to describe a part of this music. It is like a scene, it creates space and is full of events. As soon as you get used to the short sound you get your reward. And within the frame of this fairly  homogenous quartet you also notice some extraordinary musicians, especially Barberán.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut alas I have to finish with pointing out some shortcomings in this beautiful album. These Spanish musicians are not very well known across  the world. Why is there practically no information here? And also I wonder about the picture on the front;it resembles a picture by Kim Hiorthøy in the booklet of Original Silence The Second Original Silence. Could this really be a coincidence?… But last but not least: the music on this record is magnficient.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThomas Millroth\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe Sound of Music\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“Ferran Fages is a self-taught 35 year old from Barcelona, who started out in rock but then moved simultaneously into electronics and a solo style that plugs deep into flamenco roots.  He’s heard using oscillators and pick-ups for the mysterious, trumpet-led\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eLunula\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e, teamed with the impressive Ruth Barberán, accordionist Alfredo Costa Monteiro and electric bassist Margarida Garcia.  The group music is softly fractured, elusive, ends and beginnings elided and the tone at times almost disturbingly intimate.  It’s possible here and there to tease out Fages’s contribution, and it’s surprising to hear how consistent a soundworld he inhabits.  Like his guitar playing, his electronics work reaches impressively for duende, that untranslatable sorrow\/joy\/anger\/love\/death spirit that suffuses Iberian culture and defines Catalan art in particular.  Ferran Conangla’s mixing gives the music an intense presence, like something that unfolds unheard and in the head.  It adds another fine disc to Another Timbre’s already impressive list.”                                                            \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e-\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Morton\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“The Barcelona-based trio of Ruth Barberán, Ferran Fages, and Alfredo Costa Monteiro have created a handful of strong releases as a trio, surveying the outer timbral frontiers that can be created from trumpet, accordion, and resonant objects. They've also collaborated with bassist Margarida Garcia, releasing their eponymous recording six years ago on the l’Innomable label. While on the earlier release it was almost impossible to tell the sound sources of the various threads, the players are more at ease letting the intrinsic nature of their instruments come through on the two half-hour long improvisations captured here. Barberán’s trumpet can sputter or screech with a scrubbed brassiness, Costa Monteiro pushes his instrument to reedy overtones and lets its air-driven organ-like drones shake through the group, Fages's oscillators and pickups send out skirling sine waves and buzzing groans, and Garcia’s electric double bass accentuates the dark, full tones of her instrument, using electronics to subtly extend the textures. There is a restless intensity to this music, but the performers never lose the collective thread. The second piece is a bit more open than the first, and the four let long tones and drones hang and reverberate off each other, slowly gathering force and density. The pristine recording lets every nuance come through. It's another compelling entry from these musicians and yet another in an incredible line of winners for Another Timbre.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C-C0\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMichael Rosenstein\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C-C1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eParis Transatlantic\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400534327610,"sku":"at17","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at17Lunula.jpg?v=1749120978"},{"product_id":"decentred-tom-chant-angharad-davies-benedict-drew-john-edwards","title":"Decentred","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eDecentred:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTom \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eChant\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e-  saxophones \u0026amp; bass clarinet\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eAngharad Davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e-  violin\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eBenedict Drew\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e -  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eelectronics\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eJohn Edwards\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e -  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003edouble bass\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e1.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eMichael Pisaro\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e:  Reader, listen: harmony series no.10                     6:32\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e2.   Activation (improvisation)                                                               10:38\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e3.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e John Cage\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e:  Four 6                                                                          30:05\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e4.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eMichael Pisaro\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e:  La voix qui dit: harmony series no.8d                    4:50\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e5.   Decentring (improvisation)                                                              13:15\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e6.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eMichael Pisaro\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e: Flux: harmony series no.8a                                      3:12\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Cage_photo_Guardian_480x480.jpg?v=1751896062\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThis is a gorgeous and well-recorded disc that brings improvised and composed forms together in a satisfying way. These four musicians introduce eclecticism and insight to pieces by John Cage, California-based composer Michael Pisaro and to two purely improvised structures; the best part of it all is that their respective vocabularies are so distinctive and versatile that each work is delivered with insight and spontaneity.\u003cbr\u003eThe two quartet improvisations certainly contain many clichés of the Euro-free improv variety, but these are just as often supplanted by the lush electronic drones more often associated with EAI.  Witness the rather chatty but still sparse opening of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eActivation\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e, with its pointillist dialogue gradually falling silent as jagged high-frequency sustains come to the fore. The much more restrained long tones then become an integral part of the piece, informing the quicker exchanges on their return.\u003cbr\u003eThis permeability of tempo and dynamic boundaries is reflected in the juxtaposition of individual timbres and motives in all of the music on offer, whether improvised or composed. The album's centerpiece, the quartet's performance of Cage's\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eFour6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e, has a structure open enough to incorporate both Tom Chant's rich multiphonics and Benedict Drew's remarkably varied and emotive electronics. Premiered in the summer of 1992, it constitutes one of Cage's number pieces, which were constructed of time bracket notation.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eFour6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e's score stipulates that each player chooses twelve sounds, with fixed overtone structure and amplitude. The freedoms inherent in the score can be abused—witness Sonic Youth's rather juvenile version which relies more on repetition and novelty than on the subtlety and interplay that defines Cage's music. This quartet adheres to its choices while also embracing the silence where appropriate, but each musician finds enough diversity to ensure that the music develops over its thirty-minute duration.\u003cbr\u003eThe Cage and Pisaro works complement each other beautifully, both relying on the use of indeterminate structures, developing sustains and relative silence. The three Pisaro duos presented here are taken from his\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eHarmony\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eseries (2004-2006), which was initially inspired by James Tenney's\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eSwell Piece\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e. Comprising 34 pieces, each using a poem as inspiration and to determine its structure, the series is a vast and stunning exploration of the intricacies of sound relations that we call harmony, for lack of a better term. As with the Cage, the scores are meant to allow freedom of choice, but the instructions are quite detailed regarding the sorts of timbres that should be used and their placement. The results can be startlingly diverse, as with the brief\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eFlux\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewhich ends the disc. It's a stark series of quasi-pitched alternations joining Drew's electronics with wispy utterances from Edward's, the two performers even managing to match pitches despite Drew's white noise! The duo realizes the last line of the verbal score effectively, matching noise and pitch with astonishing subtlety. By contrast,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eReader, Listen\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003epresents declamatory pitch complexes that sometimes give the illusion of more than two instruments at work, exactly the intricate overtonal relationships that imbue so much of Pisaro's work.\u003cbr\u003eThe disc is well programmed, the constant contrast between the busy improvised pieces and the slowly morphing compositions lending unity to the whole. Better still, there is a sense of discovery throughout; as with Pletnev's recordings of Beethoven piano concertos, the composed material is presented with the freshness of improvisation, and I find these solutions engaging and persuasive.”     \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMarc Medwin\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eParis Transatlantic\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e“The album, is a combination of three Michael Pisaro scores taken from his Harmony Series folio, John Cage’s composition Four6 and two improvisations.  It begins and ends with a Pisaro piece, with the half-hour long Cage realisation at its centre and the other tracks spaced between. The three Pisaro pieces are all scored for two musicians playing sustaining instruments.   I am a big fan of Pisaro’s Harmony Series. There are thirty-four compositions in the set, each based upon a poem, or a fragment of it. The scores usually involve only part instructions for the musicians, rarely indicating particular instruments or pitches, but often describing the type of sound that should be played, with parameters set for how and when they might be used. Not all of the pieces are scored for duos, but the three pieces chosen here are for just two musicians.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe first, based on a William Bronk poem is performed by Davies and Edwards. Their realisation is a dry, sparse piece with a vaguely Malfatti-esque tone to it, slides of grey tones spaced apart by silences, sometimes coinciding with each other. Angharad has worked quite a bit in this area of composition, indeed she is one of the music’s most respected musicians, but the interesting thing to me is the involvement of John Edwards in this track, and in the album in general. He plays the piece beautifully well, as one would expect from such a skilled musician, but the piece seems so far away from what we know him as, a powerful, expressionistic bassist whose heart is rooted in improvisation. At the danger of sounding very boring through repeating myself, the fact that Edwards (and to some degree Chant) are involved with this project is testament to the current feeling of openness and cross-fertilisation prevalent in London right now.  The second Pisaro piece is similar but different. Played by Davies and Chant the score asks one of the musicians to play a single pure tone for at least two of the piece’s five minutes while the other is given rough instructions on how and when they should play a certain number of pure sounds themselves. Davies takes the role of inserting the two minute sound, which she elects to play right from the outset, a quiet, hissing sound played on the violin. When she stops after a couple of minutes we are suddenly very aware of the sounds creeping into the recording from outside the church in which it was recorded. They are faint and unobtrusive, but after the continuous sound their presence is suddenly heightened, interrupted by Chant’s occasional additions to the music. This track is so very simple, like the short poem (by Beckett) that inspired it, just a few lines carefully placed in white space.  The final, short (three minute) piece, based again on Beckett’s words is played by Drew and Edwards, and again the soft ambience of North London is framed by a series of short, quiet tones picked out in turn by the musicians. For me the beauty of this music is in the simplicity of it, tiny forms created with simple raw materials. The three Pisaro pieces work very well weaved around the busier Cage score and the improvisations, little interludes of calm, carefully constructed music that won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but are certainly mine.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe performance of Cage’s Four6 is maybe the highlight of the album though. The score asks the musicians (all four here) to select twelve sounds, which they then place into time brackets dictated by Cage, or rather by a randomising computer programme he used to write the piece just before his death in 1992. If the score is taken literally just about any outcome is possible. Here though the musicians work together in a gentle, yet occasionally tense and abrasive manner. The question for me here is if I would be able to guess this was an improvised work if I did not already know. Certainly it would be difficult to tell. The music has a spacious, slow feel to it because of the way the sounds are distributed amongst the thirty minute duration, but otherwise there are few giveaways. It is lovely music throughout. At times it feels very obvious that the musicians are not playing ‘together’ as they come and go at abrupt moments, but elsewhere when two or more sounds combine it feels all very natural and determined. Its a really nice piece though, a well balanced combination of sounds (presumably not discussed in advance) just enough to give the music an edge, but also to allow it all to gel together in a natural manner.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eAny question about how improvised the Cage piece may have been are answered when you hear the two improvisations here though. In comparison, they sound so much more busy, wild and obviously unplanned. I have no idea how I can justify this claim, but the musicians also seem to relax when they move into the improv pieces. Maybe this is just a feeling sensed through the freeform method of playing, the restriction of the score removed, but there is almost a sense of relief audible in the first moments of each improvisation. Drew and Edwards in particular sound much more alive, boisterous and busy. Drew has often been the self-igniting firework of so many improv performances I have seen this year, and although he remains relatively restrained throughout this album it is in the improv pieces that his tense energy shines through, met well by the other musicians around him. Both of the improvisations sound alive when placed beside the compositions around them, and like Wedding Ceremony, a similar release from this year that asked a group to mix modern compositions with improvised sets the contrast between the two is marked.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eIt is not that one way of making music is necessarily more valid than the other, certainly not, and I enjoy all of the tracks on Decentred. The album works well for me though in highlighting how a score, however loose or simple usually results in music so very different to improvisation. The intriguing elements of this album, for me at least come through listening to the different ways the musicians respond, how those that are rarely involved in anything like this react to the constraints that composition places on the relationship they have with their colleagues, and then how they change when those restraints are removed. Decentred is a fascinating CD that probably reveals more about the musicians than the scores they are playing (something Cage and Pisaro would probably like). It is also full of beautiful, engaging music.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e      \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e“Working both sides of the fence between notated and improvised music is second nature to the four accomplished British musicians featured on this CD. The session’s powerful appeal lies in the sensitive maneuvering the quartet uses to personalize one long piece by John Cage (1912-1992) plus three short indeterminate scores by Michael Pisaro (b.1961). An added bonus is two mid-sized improvisations.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eBuffalo, N.Y.-born guitarist Pisaro teaches composition at CalArts. A member of the Wandelweiser Composers Ensemble, his harmony series translates into sound that leaves most sonic decisions to the musicians. Similarly “Four 6”, the last of Cage’s number pieces, utilizes a computer program to distribute the 12 pre-determined sounds to four musicians playing any instrument.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eAs the centrepiece of Decentred, this 30-minute track takes some of its shape from pulses produced by the electronics and objects of Benedict Drew, a radio artist and soundtrack composer. Also on hand are bassist John Edwards, known for his work with saxophonist John Butcher; reedist Tom Chant, who plays in drummer Eddie Prévost’s free form trio; and violinist Angharad Davies, who plays with harpist Rhodri Davies.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eRattling objects plus Drew’s adagio signal-processed crackles and splutters set the scene for “Four 6”, with the exposition developed through intense, chromatic string plucks, wood-wrenching sul tasto lines and reed-biting slurs. With the instrumental voices closely packed, a sense of impending menace is advanced until interrupted by Chant’s wide, atonal vibrations. Pushing the abrasive string-scratching aside, his overblowing purposely almost drains the oxygen from the studio until a vibe-like ping and a whirligig shrill introduces a percussive variant from scrubbing strings. These continuous unison reverberations chug along until challenged by the saxophonist’s ear-wrenching split tones. The final variant regroups the strings’ strident textures with expanding electronic wave forms from Drew, which are patched in for split-seconds until the piece dissolves into silence. .\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eChant’s bass clarinet figures prominently in the two improvisations, exposing altissimo whoops as often as chalumeau growls. On “Activation”, his tone repetitions bond spiccato string tugs, a patterning percussion beat and quivering signal processing. The title tune is more cohesive in its interaction. Characterized by radio-tuning static, sul tasto bass runs, abrasive treble-string responses and isolated reflective reed vibrations, it evolves with unexpected wide-screen-like characterizations. Spacious sweeps from both string players and mallet-like patterns from Drew plus counter-tenor-like parlando from Chant eventually synchronize despite Davies’ irregular shuffle bowing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eAs for Pisaro’s indeterminate compositions, each is played by a different duo. Alternating intense interludes – which often expose affiliated nodes and partials – with protracted silences. Chant’s diffuse bottom-scrapping pitches impress the most.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eReflecting on the first-class work here, the strength of the tracks is a direct result of transforming improvisational freedom to notated scores.”                                    \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKen Waxman\u003c\/strong\u003e ,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eJazzWord\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400536228154,"sku":"at18","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at18decentredcover.jpg?v=1749121179"},{"product_id":"midhopestones-rhodri-davies-michel-doneda-louisa-martin-phil-minton-lee-patterson","title":"Midhopestones","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eRhodri Davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e-\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eharps\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eMichel Doneda\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e-  soprano saxophone\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eLouisa Martin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e-  laptop\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003ePhil Minton\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e-  voice\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eLee Patterson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e-  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eamplified objects \u0026amp; processes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e1.  strines                       10:51\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e2.  crow edge                 18:04\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e3.  wharncliffe side         19:41\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e4.  deepcar                       9:44\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eRecorded in the old church in Midhopestones village, near Sheffield, January 2009\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/midhopestones_church_480x480.jpg?v=1751895225\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_383\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_192\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e“If you chanced across this disc in a blindfold test, what would you think?  Possibly that these slowly evolving textures could only have derived from electronics, or from careful post-production techniques on sampled recordings.  That these four hushed, allusive tracks were born of real-time improvisation would be fairly low down on the checklist of possibilities.  Recorded in Midhopestones, a small village outside Sheffield in January 2009, the demands of this music stretches your ears, obliging you to fall further towards sound.  Louisa martin’s laptop provides various centring continuums, but the challenge is guessing where Phil Minton’s voice ends and Michel Doneda’s soprano saxophone begins; whether those gentle punctuating tones are from Rhodri Davies’ harp or Lee Patterson’s amplified objects.  New standards for laminal improvisation are set.”\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Clark\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e“Would have guessed, wrongly, that a session with Doneda and Minton present would turn into something more rambunctious. Restraint is the order of the day here, however, and it's an excellent day's work. There are actually only a handful of moments when you hear the vocalist (Minton) as such; he otherwise blends amazingly well with the harp (e-bowed, pretty much), soprano sax and amplified objects. Mostly hushed with an great mix of textures, sandpapery to bell-like, sighed to gravelly. Nice, distant foghorn-y effects on the last cut, over whistled saxophone. Solid, mature in the best sense, well worth a listen.”   \u003cbr\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e“This album was recorded in January 2009 in the church of St. James the Lesser, in the village of Midhopestones near Sheffield, South Yorkshire\\hence, its intriguingly uplifting title (incidentally, its track titles refer to other villages or features nearby). Maybe that recording location explains the sense of tranquility and beauty that pervades the music here. It seems as if all five players were on their best behavior as they were in church; everyone gets along well together; there is no rowdiness, no arguing, and no outbursts.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe sounds here are rarely predictable, straightforward or unambiguous. Having listened to this album countless times, it's been necessary to check the credits nearly every time, usually to clarify the origin of some non-attributable sound. So, although no bassist is listed, a persistent low frequency sound recurs throughout \"Strines,\" giving it a strong pulse. By a process of elimination, it must originate from Louisa Martin's laptop.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eIt was also necessary to check that Phil Minton is actually credited, as his voice is rather elusive here, and surprisingly subdued. Those familiar with his usual improvising style, complete with trademark guttural interjections, will have to listen hard to detect him here. \"Wharncliffe Side\" features a dialogue between Doneda and Minton, during which saxophone and voice are each practically unidentifiable as they imitate each other, intertwine and mingle. Elsewhere, Minton camouflages himself perfectly, blending into the background; he contributes much but never steps into the spotlight.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eAnd so it proves with all the players here; the musicians must have left their egos at the church door. They are focused more on creating multi-layered, evolving music than on leaving their own mark on it. The end results stand up remarkably well to repeated listening, delivering more and revealing fresh facets every time. What a gem.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e                    -\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e“Midhopestones is a village near Sheffield within which lies a church used by Simon Reynell to record the quintet of Rhodri Davies, Michel Doneda, Louisa Martin, Phil Minton and Lee Patterson in January of this year. The resulting album, just released on Simon’s Another Timbre label takes the name of said village as its title. I guess to some degree it was a little inevitable that I would like this album, but trying to describe why that might be is a little harder.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThere is a lot of disguise in this recording. Rhodri Davies’ harp doesn’t sound much like a harp, the same can be said for Michel Doneda’s sax. Lee Patterson’s use of amplified objects is all about finding hidden sounds where you wouldn’t expect them and Phil Minton seems here to be making sounds as far from what we recognise from a human voice as he possibly can, in fact he seems to be trying to hide his input amongst the sounds the others create around him. Perhaps only Louisa Martin’s laptop makes sounds as we might expect, but even then were laptop computers primarily designed to make buzzing hissing sounds?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eI mention all of this because for me this music is all about a group of musicians working in harmony together, perhaps testing and nudging each other from time to time, but on the whole merging their individual sounds to create a thriving mass of detailed, quite beautiful sound. It doesn’t sound like the sum of five different instruments, as maybe an improv record made fifteen years ago might do, but an amorphous mass of indefinable sounds that shifts and moulds itself into a series of interesting shapes. It is as if the instrumentation itself, and the individual histories attached just don’t matter, they are all just ingredients that combine to create something else again.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe music is generally slow, and is most often devoid of sudden events, it gradually changes, with sounds slipping in and out of our attention rather than making dramatic entrances. It is a very\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003evertical\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emusic, something to be listened\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003einto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003erather than\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003ealong with\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e, the sounds made interacting with other sounds of the moment rather than what came before or will come after. Like studying a tiny detail of a Pollock painting, any one moment on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eMidhopestones\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehas its own little world of textures and colours not dissimilar to those found in other places throughout the album but is also individual and fascinating in its own right. Stepping back and viewing \/ listening to the whole work then reveals how so much layered detail all comes together to form a co-ordinated, very beautiful statement.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe playing on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eMidhopestones\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis all very gentle and soft, as if Pollock chose to just work only in grey pencils. Phil Minton’s vocals rarely rise above deep gurgling murmurs, and actually for me really make the CD, providing a sprinkling of character to the otherwise delicate structures. It is above all very beautiful, not threatening, not challenging the rules of improvised music, just very finely crafted, delicate and really very beautiful music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eIts late here now, gone 2AM, obviously dark outside and with a room lit only softly this recording adds the perfect soundtrack. Maybe there isn’t the same degree of playful creativity as featured on say Rhodri Davies’ last AT disc with Annette Krebs, but\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eMidhopestones\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis up there with Dropp Ensemble’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eSafety\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eas the most simplistically gorgeous album of the year and sometimes that is more than enough.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eI should also mention the mixing \/mastering here which is superb. An album like this one needs to be well engineered and very carefully mastered, and Simon has done a fantastic job. While all of the sounds come together as one they can also be clearly picked apart by the ear if you stop and listen closely. There are five more Another Timbre releases sat here waiting for me to get to them. Its about time I really disliked one of them but I haven’t found it yet.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e               \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400541012282,"sku":"at19","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at19Midhopestonescover.jpg?v=1749121179"},{"product_id":"arethusa-wade-matthews-stephane-rives","title":"Wade Matthews \u0026 Stéphane Rives","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWade Matthews\u003c\/strong\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003esoftware synthesis \u0026amp; manipulated field recordings\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStéphane Rives\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003esoprano saxophone\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e1.        8:50\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e2.        8:17\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e3.      17:23\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e4.      11:58\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eRecorded in Madrid, July 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/arethusa_480x480.jpg?v=1751894696\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eSleevenotes by  Wade Matthews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e“Perusing Ovid while translating a text on Rubens’ Vertumnus and Pomona, I came across the story of Arethusa, a metaphorical tale of flight and transformation that speaks to the identity of the musicians on the present CD, their artistic evolution and their way of making music.  Arethusa - a Nereid nymph and virginal servant of the Greek goddess Artemis (Diana the Huntress to the Romans) - takes a dip in a stream, not knowing it belongs to the river god, Alpheus.  Alpheus pursues her with carnal intent.  Arethusa flees but is unable to outrun the libidinous river.  She cries out to Artemis, who quickly envelops her in a dense cloud, successfully hiding Arethusa from the god.  Fear and the exertion of running cause her to perspire so heavily that, hidden in the fog, she gradually turns into a stream.  Alpheus is eager to mingle his waters with hers, but Artemis opens a subterranean channel that bears Arethusa’s stream to Ortygia in Sicily, where she becomes a fountain.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eFor two expatriate musicians, this story speaks of attitudes towards change, perception and identity.  Arethusa is fleeing not Alpheus’ sexual aggression, but rather the change it would wreak.  And therein lies the first paradox, for Arethusa’s escape is brought about by her transformation.  It is unbidden metamorphosis - not the cloud - that actually saves her.  While Alpheus contnues to search for her in the mist, Arethusa becomes water and flows away from him.  But what has she escaped?  And what has she lost?  In her flight from change she is irredemiably transformed.  From a forest-dwelling nymph at the service of Arteis, she metamorphoses into a Sicilian fountain.  She has not escaped change at all.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eAnd here we reach the second paradox.  Not only has Arethusa changed;\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003ein her quest to remain herself, she has become exactly what she fled\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e.  The forest nymph’s contact with water is irremediable, her change ineluctable.  First she takes a dip in the water, then she is pursued by a god in the formof a river.  Artemis hides her in a cloud - yet another form of water - while she perspires until she herself becomes a stream, flowing until she becomes a fountain.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eFleeing from a river she fears will rob her of all she holds dear, she becomes water herself.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eOf course, change and identity are keys to any improviser’s praxis, for change is the only constant, and improvising calls for a carefully weighed mix of action and reaction.  Action comes from within; reaction from a clear grasp of what is happening at every moment, that is, the capacity to perceive change and flow with it while remaining oneself.  We generally associate perception with learning and thus with knowledge, yet its strongest ties to change and identity may lie in the attitude that accompanies the perceptual act.  For improvisers, the most fecund may be that of acceptance.  Improvisation is context-based art making and contexts are in constant change.  Perceiving change is thus imperative, but it must be accompanied by acceptance, by the recognition that a perceived change\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003ehas already happened\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e.  Acceptance of this is essential to the cognitive agility one needs in order to continue creating one’s music.  The poles are Proteus and Procrustes and one hopes to be closer to the former than the latter.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003ePerhaps the story of Arethusa is an object lesson in the dangers of non-acceptance - a delicate point if we read it too superficially.  I am not advocating Arethusa’s surrender to Alpheus, nor her mere acceptance of the obvious fact that change is inevitable, but rather that\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eidentity per se is inevitably linked not to immobility but to change.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eThe question is how to use change to maintain identity, rather than to destroy it.  Therein lies freedom.  I think that is what this music is about.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eReviews:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e“Sometimes a beautiful idea gives birth to a beautiful work. That is the case here: the idea was to put  Stéphane Rives (on soprano saxophone) face to face with Wade Matthews (on fields recordings and electronics).  And the work in question is Arethusa.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eOn Arethusa a dialogue takes place not with words but with unusual sounds.  Unusual to such a point that it’s difficult to define the sounds except by using comparisons: like the peaceful atmosphere of a corner of central Java, or like light being transcribed into musical notes which filter through to the deepest of underground spaces.  Which is to say that the collaboration of Rives and Matthews is essentially a natural one, which plays with materials (wood especially ), three of the four elements (water, earth and air), and with numerous silences.  A decrescendo, and the duo disappears.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e                                                                \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePierre Cécile\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eLe Son du Grisli\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“A fine amalgamation of software-generated synthetic sounds, treated field recordings and soprano saxophone that spells out its legitimacy over four tracks, each different in terms of sonority and, at the very least, engaging when not veritably transfixing. Such is the case of the opening segment, a painstaking vacillation of elevated pitches - some of them pretty smooth, other uneven – that initiates a series of natural glissandos and shrilling adjacencies whose near-incandescent vibrancy is essential for a thorough purging of the auricular conduits. The second track is adequate if a little more normal, rolling percussiveness of the wooden kind and stinging whistle mixing in various degrees of cohesiveness. Not groundbreaking, but nice. The third subdivision increases the distance between the events, also extending the brain’s faculty of anticipating a sonic occurrence while still remaining astounded by the glory of selected sudden appearances. It happens with imposingly resounding bumps and pulses, in turn eliciting subsonic ramifications amidst solid materials caressed by Rives’ extemporaneous sibilance, mystifying harmonics, bumblebee buzzes and aborted honks. A ceremonial aura permeates this section, intermittently turning it into a quasi-paranormal experience. The record is ended by a piece juxtaposing severe upper partials and whispered talking, the whole surrounded by less decipherable manifestations, grainy hissing and sub-quaking drones. I could have done without the vocal constituent; however, this remains a completely fitting conclusion for a frequently magnetizing release.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eTemporary Fault\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e“Two new, or at least less known names for me, in the world of improvised music. Wade Matthews is credited with software synthesis \u0026amp; manipulated field recordings and Stephane Rives is credited with soprano saxophone. He is playing the soprano saxophone in an unconventional way, of course, very minimal, sublime, mostly producing hissing sounds... At the same time, the electronic sounds of Wade Matthews are making rumbles that intervene with the saxophone, also sublime and precise, dissolving into a hypnotic kind of atmosphere, putting you into a trance kind of mood, a primary state of being... 'Arethusa' is music in a state of becoming, desintegrated even before it achieves it's full form... At the edge of existence... At the edge of presence... A sheer minimalistic beauty... I would definitely like to see and listen to the both of these musicians play this at a concert... Excellent album!”\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e    \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBoban Ristevski\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e Outlands\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400585609530,"sku":"at20","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at20Arethusa.jpg?v=1749122657"},{"product_id":"loris-patrick-farmer-sarah-hughes-daniel-jones","title":"Lucio Capece \u0026 Lee Patterson","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLucio Capece\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003esoprano saxophone, bass clarinet, preparations, sruti box\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLee Patterson\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003ecd players, pick-ups, ebowed springrods, springplate, hazelnuts\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e1.   Impeler            5:50\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e2.   Suspender       3:35\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e3.   Fervesce          6:35\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e4.   Ventilar            7:48\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e5.   Coriolis            5:45\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e6.   Insuflar            7:48\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e7.   Sostener          5:12\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e8.   Burning           9:56\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e R\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eecorded in London, June 2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/be37c2a4-cdd2-4d38-9222-e7d9a14afabf_luciocapece_-1335426847_1af35f80-aadc-4282-8e89-4cccfb598430_240x240.jpg?v=1751893831\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e       \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Lee-Patterson-does-the-Table-1073389196_4fd04297-e27f-4a72-a532-d8ca5cf80fa8_240x240.jpg?v=1751893873\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e“\u003cem\u003eMy breath is long-that's the measure, one physical-mental inspiration of thought contained in the elastic of a breath.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e~ Allen Ginsberg\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003efirst, last, outer, inner, only that breath\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003ebreathing human being.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e~ Rumi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLucio Capece has contributed his reed instruments, shruti box and carefully developed concepts to quite a few releases in the past few years. Listening through a clutch of these, I decided to focus on three duos from the past two years. While these three projects pair Capece with disparate temperaments and instrumentation, I began to hear an aspect of continuity and cohesion across the pairings that points to Capece's understated role as a framer of the pieces- his breathy reeds and shruti box limning, shading and subtly nudging the direction the duos take, not unlike the way in which Keith Rowe's recondite but sturdy sounds-at-the-edges-of-the-canvas operate.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eDrilling down deeper into the gradually emerging, unflickering presence and influence Capece attains with the gentlest of sounds, even when his foil is the amplified plangency of metal springs, motors and frying pans, as in his stunning collaboration with Lee Patterson, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eEmpty Matter\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e, I hear what the unitive element is for me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is his breath- when measured, applied and integrated as Capece does in these meetings, there is nothing less intrusive or obvious, nor more tensile and powerful, than the mindfully measured breath. Capece's breath lengths, as well as the textures of tongue and lips, find their analogy in the privileging of the breath as the basic metric of the poetry of Ginsberg and his contemporaries, as Rowe's analogous, likewise initially imperceptible role as a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003ecanvas\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003efor his collaborators has its metaphor in abstract painting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eNo start, no ending, no development\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e, Capece has said of his musical aspirations, at least not in that [nor in any] order. Indeed, some of Capece's work, particularly the duos with Radu Malfatti and long-time collaborator Sergio Merce, can easily be imagined as unspooling endlessly in the aether, riding the breath, without beginning or end.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis adamantine quality of Capece's breath-work is rigorously tested and teased in his fantastic duo with Lee Patterson on \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eEmpty Matter\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e. Patterson's pallette includes an amplified spring-board redolent of Will Guthrie's junk instrumentation, and a frying pan of chattering chestnuts [the sonic cousin to his marvelous-and I'm not being ironic- recording of fried eggs on his 2009 Cathnor release, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eEgg Fry #2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e]. In other words, Patterson tosses ingredients into the mix other than the steady-state pitches endemic [and frequently anaemic] in drone works. This makes for a more visceral, at times raucous affair; again, Capece holds his mat with superbly focused long tones and nuanced variations in pitch. Equanimity is not an absence of imagination nor flexibility, and I hope I am not conveying the idea that Capece is somehow rigid or unresponsive in adhering to the anchoring breath. On the contrary, he can move between his partners' clamour and absurdist sound sources with a flexibility that serves each project admirably.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCapece floats, shimmers and at times seems to disappear among these three duo works. Sometimes a musician in this area of music will challenge themselves with an extreme reduction of means for sound production, or reimagine the archetypal instrument [whatever you call that object guitarist Keith Rowe approaches with increasingly bracing results]; Capece has been working with that most elemental, immediate and available sound source, the breath. In some respects, he is making some of the most, as Rumi would have it, human-sounding music around. I cannot recommend him highly enough.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJesse Goin\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eCrow with no Mouth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“It’s not surprising that Lucio Capece (saxophone, clarinet, preparations, shruti-box) and Lee Patterson (cd players, amplified objects) should combine forces on a disc on the Another Timbre label.  The two experimentalists produce a dark, stormy music whose aesthetic imperatives match perfectly those of the lively young English label. Here their experiments create neither technical complexity nor a reassuring stable universe.  Lucio Capece provides the essential basis of the soundworld with his repetitive, granular breaths or with the humming drone he creates with his Indian shruti-box.  Sometimes it’s difficult to know the source of the sounds with any certainty.  The booklet that accompanies the disc tells you that Lee Patterson uses hazel nuts as a sound source, but how do you identify these sounds?  These uncertainties reinforce the aura of mystery, of an electronic matter that is full of fissures.  The unorthodox use of traditional instruments and diverse objects combine and create an irruption of a musical otherness, similar in certain respects to the noises you might hear in your kitchen or living room, but produced by spellbinding improvisers with a telling economy of gesture and discourse.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJean Dezart\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eLe Son du Grisli\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e“Capece plays soprano sax, bass clarinet, preparations and sruti box (featured in a delightful drone piece called “Sostener”, one of my favourites), while Patterson is active on CD players, pickups, eBowed springrods, springplate and hazelnuts. The duo is endowed with a considerable percentage of mutual receptiveness, a factor that often transforms even the most ordinary occurrences into dazzling sounds. The harmonic substance of a single pitch can become, pertinently magnified, an ascetic choral hymn. The coincidence of frying pan activity, reiterated notes and unpromisingly vague rattling heard in “Fervesce” is outright splendid, among the disc’s top episodes, immediately followed by the affecting thickness of “Ventilar”, an improvisation that exploits the junction of echoing metals and squealing insinuations (the latter made me look out of the window twice to see if cats were doing damage somewhere in the garden). Underscoring the activities, the steady throbbing of a low-frequency underworld keeps us prepared for a display of power that instead remains merely hinted, unexpressed. Persistently acute intrusive emissions by Capece attempt to limit a latent tendency to needless lavishness (with all that menacing jangling, you never know), confining the interaction in face-to-face dialogues between regal roar and gritty roughness. In “Coriolis”, old-fashioned, but still efficient percussive patterns are supplemented by the intrinsic features of their original source, giving life to dissentient trance tarnished by rust, symbolizing a routine that is both physical and rational yet, somehow, lets the victims get a glimpse of non-illusory methods for escaping.”                                     \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eTemporary Fault\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400593342778,"sku":"at22","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at22CapecePattersonEmptymatter.jpg?v=1749122933"},{"product_id":"empty-matter-lucio-capece-lee-patterson-copy","title":"The Sealed Knot","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eThe Sealed Knot:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eBurkhard Beins \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e   percussion and objects\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRhodri Davies\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e      \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003epedal harp and e-bow\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eMark Wastell \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e      \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003edouble bass, bow \u0026amp; beaters\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eTotal time:   38:30\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eRecorded in Biel, Switzerland, February 2007\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/the-sealed-knot-20201229080848-4098836947_480x480.jpg?v=1751893236\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e“The Sealed Knot is the trio of Burkhard Beins, Rhodri Davies and mark Wastell.  In the early 2000’s the group spanned the two key sites of Reductionist Improv: London and Berlin.  The musicians certainly cultivated dialogue between the cities, but, when I interviewed tham for The Wire around that time, they were already unhappy with tags such as Reductionism, lowercase improv or ‘the New London Silence’.  There was a sense that the music was moving too swiftly to be caught by such labels.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eIt was also, even then, often too abrasive for the various quietist tags to stick.  This harder, more outward-facing dimension of their work is strongly apparent in parts of ‘And We Disappear’, a single 40 minute piece recorded live in Switzerland in 2007.  While the early work betrayed an interest in contemporary composition - the spaciousness of Feldman, or the textural vocabulary of Lachenmann - the more recent work is drawn to slow development and long tones.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eAt the heart of the piece is a series of jarring high-pitched tones from Davies, working with an e-bowed harp, and a long answering sequence of double bass from Wastell.  Beins provides a sensitive, ever shifting setting for these sounds, housing them in an ambience that moves between recognisable percussion instruments and unidentifiable objects.  A feeling of communication through shared spatial and temporal awareness comes to dominate the listening experience.  The album doesn’t sound like three people engaged in virtuosic explorations of a particular instrumental vocabulary.  Instead these are collaborative sound makers, loosely in the tradition of AMM, or David Tudor’s realisations of John Cage, forging music through whatever means meet the needs of the moment.  While electronic music is an influence, it’s the joint involvement with the tactile demands of objects and instruments that gives this music its urgency.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWill Montgomery\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e“A fine live set, almost three year ago now, from a Swiss festival with Burkhard Beins (percussion, objects), Rhodri Davies (pedal harp and ebow) and Mark Wastell (double bass, bow, beaters). As in some of their previous work, one almost has the sense that the performance was composed, so cohesively does it play out. Beins is a master of injecting almost-rhythms into the mix 9perhaps abetted by the aforementioned beaters?) and the whole sound has a delightful sense of both space and propulsion, one instrument segueing into another, sending matters tumbling along. Wastell contributes some wonderful arco work, twined with Davies' ebow, getting into this luscious quasi-drone state, Beins' dry cymbals adding just the right amount of sandiness.   It builds to a brutal roar about 10 minutes from the end then subsides into a gentle ambiance of bells and soft plucks. A stunning recording and, incidentally, approachable enough to qualify as one of those you might foist on a friend who's expressed interest in the genre.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e                              \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e“The Sealed Knot are the trio of Burkhard Beins, Rhodri Davies and Mark Wastell. Without getting up from my seat to check I think I am right in saying they had released four albums before this one over what must now be a decade of playing together, albeit it infrequently. In fact, this new recording, suitably titled\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eand we disappear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas recorded at one of the group’s last concerts playing together back in early 2007. A couple of days after this recording, which was made in Switzerland I caught the group play what was their last gig together, over in Dublin. I wrote about that one\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.thewatchfulear.com\/?p=20\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Hyperlink-C\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.thewatchfulear.com\/?p=20\"\u003ehere.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe good news is that they are set to reform in January for a gig organised by Simon at Café Oto in London.  The new group will see all three musicians playing either slightly or dramatically different instrumentation, so maybe this album will be the last chance we have to hear the trio as we have come to know them. In 2007, The Sealed Knot were probably the last exponent of the acoustic end of the so-called New London Silence group of musicians that rose into people’s attentions at the turn of the millennium. Later groups involving the same musicians included electronic elements, often with Wastell utilising his amplified textures, but like IST, Assumed Possibilities or Quatuor Accorde before them the ‘Knot relied heavily on the simple acoustic possibilities of the instrumentation to hand, and the close understanding between the trio.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eBack in 2007 Beins played percussion, Davies harp (though electronic accompaniments, particularly eBows were a firm part of his set-up then) and Wastell double bass, an instrument he didn’t play anywhere near enough in my opinion. The Sealed Knot, by this stage were a ridiculously tight unit. The timing of the group, the understanding between its members was incredible, maybe as good as I have ever heard. Perhaps as a result of this symbiotic relationship the music they made had begun to rest heavily on rhythms and circular patterns, one member of the group repeating a sound and the others clicking into place with it, helping the music revolve in small interlocking circles. Sorry for the highly personal childhood flashback here, but at this stage the group reminded me of Freddy Phillips backing group for the opening titles of Trumpton.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eand we disappear\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003ecaptures a characteristically sprightly performance from the group. The music contains little silence but plenty of space and delicacy. Although much more happens, and changes in shape and form come far more quickly I often think of Morton Feldman’s compositions when listening to this group at this point in their existence. There are the same irregular rhythms, the same attention to the quality of sounds and the way they decay, and that chamber music feel of acoustic instruments intertwining via simple systems to create little fragments of subtle beauty. Oddly though I am also reminded of techno music often as I listen to this recording. There are plenty of moments when a sound, or combination of sounds are left to run, usually in some kind of cyclical pattern, only for a further sound to suddenly be added to the musical system, like an 808 bass drum suddenly kicking in on an acid house track. That is how tight, yet excitingly sudden the music feels. On occasions there are new, more surprising elements added in. Davies’ use of the eBow brings something new compared to previous albums. One particular extended heavy tone takes the music off somewhere else, but his sudden cessation of its use clicks the music straight into a new rhythmic circle, the response of the musicians to the sudden removal of this sound really quite remarkable.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eIf you know the music of The Sealed Knot, if you purchased\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eLive at the Red Hedgehog\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e, the preceding album that was recorded just a few months before this new disc then you know what to expect from the group. There is little on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eand we disappear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethat we have not heard from them before, but that matters not. Great music is great music, and when a trio develop the degree of understanding apparent on this CD then I can lap this stuff up all day. However it is easy to see why the group chose to lay off playing together for a while after this last string of concerts though, and why the reformed group will play with very different instrumentation. All three of these musicians are renowned for constant change, and for not resting on their musical laurels. Perhaps as the group got tighter, and the music of The Sealed Knot became more recognisable things just got too easy for them, and rather than slip into a routine of regular appearances on the European festival circuit doing much the same thing each time it felt right to break things off and follow other threads for a while. While I support this move entirely it does no harm in my opinion to have this recording of the group in full flight spinning in my CD player right now.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eand we disappear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis everything we expect it to be, gorgeously attractive, acutely sharp and a fantastic example of what can be achieved through the close interpersonal understanding between improvising musicians. A fine release indeed. Looking forward to what happens next.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e                                                                                                                                            \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400609399098,"sku":"at23","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at23TheSealedKnot.jpg?v=1749123264"},{"product_id":"the-middle-distance-chris-burn-philip-thomas-simon-h-fell","title":"Chris Burn, Philip Thomas, Simon H Fell","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Burn\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003epiano\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon H Fell\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003edouble bass\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Thomas\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eprepared piano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e1.  Looking ahead, seeing nothing              12:19\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e2.  Not with the fire in me now                    13:12\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e3.  All moved                                                  6:07\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e4.  Never knew such silence                           7:28\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e5.  Looking back, remembering little            12:58\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eRecorded in Huddersfield, February 2009\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/chris_burn.png?v=1751892482\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e'the middle distance' \u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003ewas released as part of the 'Piano series'; four CDs all centred on experimental music for the piano. There were three excellent reviews covering the series as a whole:\u003cbr\u003ePhilip Clark in The Wire  \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-piano-series-in-the-wire-by-philip-clark\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e \u003cbr\u003eStuart Broomer in Point of Departure  \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-piano-series-in-point-of-departure\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand Bill Meyer in Signal to Noise  \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-piano-series-by-bill-meyer-in-signal-to-noise\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eBelow are some individual reviews of 'the middle distance'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eThe Middle Distance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e, is by the trio of Chris Burn, Philip Thomas and Simon H Fell, and is a recent release on the Another Timbre label.  I really like the music here, as is often the case with Another Timbre releases.  I should state right now though, that if you are one of those people that likes to pigeonhole improvised music into categories and then subsequently does not like the one labelled “EFI” then I probably wouldn’t read on any further. Although the music on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eThe Middle Distance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis actually quite varied, and is always very subtle and delicately balanced it is occasionally quite busy and expressive. It should also be added that it is often also quite quiet and spacious, but as wonderfully crafted as it is it probably won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, sadly.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eSo Fell plays double bass here, and Chris Burn and Philip Thomas each play piano, with Burn preparing his in advance, and so contributing a generally more percussive sound than Thomas, though neither plays it entirely straight. Thinking about it, although I have seen Thomas perform a number of times this might be the first instance I have heard of him improvising like this in a group formation. I may be wrong, but nothing springs immediately to mind. There are five tracks here then, each a concise piece in itself though its possible that all five were taken from one whole. From the start of the first track;\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eLooking ahead, seeing nothing\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(an allusion to the uncertainty of improv?) the music is put together like some kind of finely crafted filigree sculpture, tense, full of anticipation and edgy precipices hanging over moments of silence. The interplay between the musicians is outstanding, there are three exceptional set of ears here, and the many years experience they share in the music is clear right from the outset. There is a chamber music feel to the recording, which is wonderfully captured in the resonant space that is the St Paul’s building at Huddersfield University. Everything is played entirely acoustically, and so we have the sound of a lot of strings here, struck, rubbed, bowed and hammered, combining wonderfully to create little sections of finely balanced sounds, some short some long, some tonal some percussive. It all just works so well. The second piece, a gradual, episodic thirteen minute study called\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eNot with the fire in me now\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003esounds almost composed, and given that all three musicians have worked with compositional structures quite often in the past maybe this isn’t such a crazy idea, but whether there is any preordained structure to the music or not it is clear that improvisation is at the heart of every one of the pieces here.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eI love to hear piano played in improvised music like this, and Fell is such an able and versatile bassist that he finds a multitude of ways to wrap around the mix of scrapes and chimes from the pianists. The sense of shape and balance in the music is what really makes it for me. Nothing is overdone, bold statements are made when they are needed and there isn’t a fight to be heard. the musicians are working here to form a music together. This is just a great recording. It isn’t going to win any awards for innovation or have very many words written about it at online discussion boards, and it probably won’t sell out any time soon, but it is a wonderful fifty plus minutes of finely crafted improvisation that I have played a lot over recent weeks. The opening passage of the final Looking back, remembering little is just great, a thunderous blend of pummeling deep piano booms matched by a heavy metal approach to bowed bass, in places almost reminding me of a more abstract Hendrix workout. Just as the opening is so powerfully direct, so the sections that follow are elegantly gentle, so underlining the varied nature of the music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eI thoroughly recommend this album to anyone that enjoys improvised music of any kind. My favourite improv disc of the year so far.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e                                                                          -  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e“The Middle Distance has a cover shot of a barren snowscape which combines with its rather chilly track titles to give an initial impression of bleakness. The music within could easily have lived up to that impression. The two pianos, both prepared in some way, with Philip Thomas on the right channel and Chris Burn on the left, only occasionally produce conventional piano sounds. For much of the time the prepared piano sounds are in the upper register, sometimes having a metallic brittleness about them that could become wearing. The separation of the two pianists allows the listener to hear their contrasting contributions as they indulge in a fractured conversation, exchanging brief phrases or gestures.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe saving grace of the album, which gives the music warmth and humanity, and makes it required listening, is the placing of bassist Simon H. Fell dead centre between the pianos. Fell seems to act as mediator between the two—or as the glue that holds everything together. Either way, he does a fine job. Curiously, for an album that forms part of a piano series, it is the bass that repeatedly takes the limelight. Fell does not play the role of conventional bassist, instead being an equal participant always ready to move things forward when the need arises. Rather than the bass filling the space between the pianos, it often seems that the opposite is true, that the pianos are peripheral to the bass.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eAs the album progresses, it increasingly gels as a trio performance as the players seem to warm to the task. The closing track, \"Looking back, remembering little,\" is its highlight, featuring some full bodied playing from Thomas offset by more restraint from Burn, with Fell holding things together. This is an intriguing album that stands up well to repeated listening.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eInterview with Chris Burn\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: start;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/chris_burn_1_480x480.jpg?v=1752477448\" alt=\"\" style=\"float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhen did you start playing piano, and what or who were your early passions or influences?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI began playing piano aged nine. Before that I had learnt trumpet from the age of six and subsequently guitar. I'm so glad that you separate passions from influences. Two very different concepts in my opinion. I could give you a long list of my early musical experiences and passions; what, if any influence these had on me, I wouldn't like to say. I have fond memories of the brass band I played in from age 6 playing Wagner arrangements, marches and tunes such as Barwick Green ( the Archers theme tune). I also have very early memories of, whenever possible, trying out the  piano in my  grandmother’s front room. This instrument was subsequently given to me and I played it for nearly twenty years. It was over a semitone flat and because of its age, it remained that way. This has given me an unusual sense of pitch, furthered by the fact that my current piano also has a similarly lowered pitch.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEarly teens saw me introduced to Coltrane and Coleman along with the usual progressive rock stuff and a large amount of music from the orchestral repertoire. I remember standing in a record shop booth listening to Afro Blue and getting very excited by Coltrane's soprano playing. I have similarly powerful recollections of a London concert by the Ornette Coleman quartet. What if any of this influenced me I wouldn't like to say; and if early exposure to any musics has influenced me I would be hard pressed to say exactly how it has worked its way through to the stuff I do today. Actually this an area that I would very much like to spend time researching.  No coincidence that a track on Cultural Baggage, Ensemble's first CD is called Influence and Concealment; and this was the title of a short article I wrote for an LMC magazine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCould you say how and when you first got involved with experimental music?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a teenager (b. 1955) I was always dabbling with stuff but it wasn't until University that I really started to be aware of music that came under this umbrella. This was also the time of my first forays  inside  the piano. I tried – unsuccessfully - to organise some free jazz stuff and I was part of a group led by Robin Maconie called Intuitive Music Group.  We also began listening to records of Stockhausen's groups playing so-called intuitive music. (Robin was an inspirational lecturer at Surrey University who had been an assistant of Stockhausen's.) This was probably my first experience of free improvisation. It was also about this time that we played Feldman's Marginal Intersection, which made a big impression.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI first heard you play on the 1984 LP Fonetiks, a duo with John Butcher, which was also his first disc. 25 years on you still play with John in various contexts, but how did you meet, and did your experimental playing evolve together?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe met at Surrey University in 1974. I had transferred there from the Guildhall School of Music, and he was studying physics. In fact I remember him bringing in a tenor saxophone he had bought from London and asking me how to blow the thing! (Which amused me me as I didn't play the saxophone.) We were by then friends and listening to much the same stuff. We played together in jazz orientated things at University and immediately after, but we had \"breathed the air from another planet\"; towards the end of the 70s we were playing free jazz and rapidly moving towards working in free improvisation. I always joke that what started off as a 22 musician big band playing jazz compositions ended as a free improvisation duo. It was a very intense period of of my life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne of your first releases was a cassette of Henry Cowell's music. How did you discover Cowell, and what qualities in his music attracted you?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI came across the first volume of his piano pieces published by AMP. Then I traced book two and later, in my search for other scores, was given the phone number of Sidney Cowell, Henry Cowell's widow.  I spoke by to her by phone.  She lived in Shady, New York State where the Cowells had lived for many years.  By now she had lost her sight and had other health problems yet she rattled off a whole list of publishers' numbers and details and who were the best people to contact.  A  few weeks  later an avalanche of photocopied  music came through my letter box; and it kept coming for quite some time. Very exciting. I have copies of both published and unpublished works and sketches, many in his own hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat initially drew me to Cowell was his work for inside piano - string piano is the term he uses - that he had written early on in the twentieth Century.  He had not only started to work directly on the strings of the instrument but, as can be seen from a number of these works, he had done so in a studied and systematic way. A random scrape and pluck it was not! He also systematized keyboard clusters. I found the whole Cowell experience very exciting. His own CD of the pieces is a delight, as is the commentary he provides at the end of the disc. I have since remained very attracted to this earlier period of his work.  I don't find his later music as interesting as the early compositions, but nevertheless his seemingly constant need to create and create afresh  is  inspirational.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou've always combined a commitment to improvisation with an interest in composition and the work of contemporary composers. Do you see any conflict between improvised and composed music?  And does it affect your playing?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePersonally I feel no conflict. In fact each may inform the other in various ways. However, by and large I keep them as separate  activities. The impetus to compose again in the 1990s – I had stopped about the time I became fully committed to free improvisation in the late 70s \/early 80s - came from considerations of how to work with certain material, generated by keyboard techniques I was using as an improviser. It seemed to me valid to use this material in both fully notated compositions and – at that time - especially in solo improvisations. In fact at times the boundaries became a little blurred and my compositions have certainly hinted at transcribed improvisation, and perhaps vice versa. But that is nothing new. So it is not always clear cut, but essentially, for me they are different activities. In terms of the broader politics of contemporary music ,do I see any conflict between improvised and composed musics? Oh yes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou've also worked a good deal with larger ensembles of improvisers, especially through your own group Ensemble. With Ensemble you have often experimented with different kinds of scores and semi-composed pieces. Is this just because free improvisation with larger groups often becomes a sprawling mess, or are you generally interested in structured improvisation?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith Ensemble it was more a case of using varying degrees of composition to generate things that in the absence of a score would (probably) not happen; and yes possibly to avoid others. In Ensemble – the octet, the eleven piece and with Ensembles since – we have worked with musicians who empathise with this concept. The degree of compositional control has varied with each composer; initially myself and John (Butcher) produced the scores. Generally I plan out groupings of musicians and rarely go beyond those specifications. Others use more detailed material. We only ever played one fully notated piece which was by Axel (Dörner). Richard Barrett's piece for us mixed the very specific with freely improvised passages. Other pieces were freely improvised or worked with schemes devised in rehearsals.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the start your improvisation involved playing inside the piano at least as much as on the keyboard. Nowadays inside piano playing is widespread within improvisation, but 30 years ago you were unusual in the extent to which you did this. What were you looking for by going inside the piano so much?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo be honest I was trying to escape from keyboard playing. I got to a stage where truly, I didn't want to play one single note of conventionally articulated piano sound. (Conversely I remember John Butcher saying it is important not to deny the true nature of the instrument.) Whilst in the early days I tried in my keyboard playing to sound like McCoy Tyner, Keith Tippett or Cecil Taylor, I failed to find any sense of individuality by pursuing what was essentially hero worship\/pastiche.  So I went inside and worked on the strings. Interestingly in my mind I made little connection with Cage's prepared piano. Mine was, and has remained, unprepared(!), working directly on the strings with real-time manipulation. Early on, John Butcher, John Corbett, myself and others were rehearsing at the Workers Music Association off Westbourne Park Road in London. They had a big old grand piano - a Bluthner I think - and I always had the lid open. I started working directly on the strings, at first mixing keyboard and inside work then later working almost exclusively on the strings. Trumpeter John Corbett  had also been fond of subverting my keyboard playing by throwing objects onto the strings whilst I played.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn recent years it has been relatively easy for me to introduce some electronics into my work; the way I use effects units is very similar to the way I manipulate the strings of the instrument. Incidentally, still, to this day if the sound of a conventionally struck piano note escapes when I am working on the strings I think of it as a mistake. However as I indicate above, I have re-introduced the conventionally played piano sounds into my work, albeit with uncommon keyboard techniques.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe piano has a formidable history as the dominant instrument within western music for most of the past 300 years. Do you ever find this heavy weight of history and tradition daunting when you sit down to make music?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo, I don't have that problem in an aesthetic sense. I certainly don't feel steeped in 300 years of keyboard repertoire, though occasionally I find myself throwing in a small quote from something or other. In fact I think my pianism owes more to jazz pianists and jazz trumpeters than it does to the so called classical tradition. (Influence or passion?)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy main worry, however, is will the piano technician approve of what I do? I always check with the owner or technician before I mark up the piano prior to playing. Over the years I have tried to make my playing techniques as piano-friendly as possible and by and large they are. I try and steer clear of new Steinways etc as they make me nervous. I guess what concerns me is that here is a hugely expensive instrument that has been honed for the performance of 19th century music and they won't want me fiddling with its innards. (Cowell drew gasps from the audience when he went inside.)  As it happens I prefer older, smaller, grand or baby grand pianos; though John Butcher always likes me working with large pianos for the richness of the harmonics. If the promoter is really unhappy about inside playing then I stay on the keyboard and work with other material.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou – along with John Butcher, Phil Durrant, John Russell, Phil Wachsmann etc - belong to what I still think of as an interim generation within UK improvisation; younger than the pioneers \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003efrom the 60's, but older than the generation of the so-called New London Silence (Rhodri Davies, Mark Wastell etc). A few years ago at a time when there was a certain tension between generations you seemed to be able to play with both older and younger improvisers, and included both within Ensemble. Do you see yourself as straddling two different approaches to improvisation, or is this too simplistic a notion?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a difficult one this because as improvisers you work with many musicians in a variety of contexts; you probably adapt your playing for each situation and generally I am very happy to do so. It is not uncommon for groups to favour a particular way of working to the exclusion of  others. Initially I was enthusiastic to work in Assumed Possibilities - Rhodri Davies, Mark Wastell and Phil Durrant, all musicians who had played with Ensemble - and particularly enjoyed the second CD. However there came a time when these enthusiasms deserted me and I actually felt  uncomfortable with the more rigorous approach they had taken. For me it had become far too mannered, perhaps even didactic. This was now a music that in fact, I felt very distanced from. So I resigned - and felt much better for it. (And I am sure this was the best course of action for the others.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis did raise in my mind the whole question of how far one is prepared to adapt ones own playing to fit in with different musical settings. Indeed, can there be a value in working in situations that are way outside your usual areas of performance? Chameleon or maverick? With Assumed Possibilities it was a sensitive issue and a difficult one, particularly when long standing friendships seem to exacerbate the problem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow did the Middle Distance trio with Simon Fell and Philip Thomas come about? Had you played as a trio before the recording session? \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe hadn't played as a trio, but Simon and myself had performed a short duo on Phil Thomas's Comprovisation festival in Sheffield. We wanted to further this work and the opportunity came to record for Another Timbre. A trio was requested and Simon suggested we work with Phil Thomas. An inspired choice. The lunchtime concert prior to the recording session was the inaugural meeting of the group; prior to this Phil had worked with both of us, performing compositions of ours and playing in a large festival group.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHave you often played with another pianist and did it present any problems? Is it something you would do again?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis session presented no problems such as those sometimes encountered when similar instruments play together. In fact I had little idea as to what Phil's approach was to be until I saw that his designated piano had been substantially prepared. This was a masterstroke as it immediately defined and separated the sound of the two instruments. And of course Phil is a skilled interpreter of Cage and is used to working with preparations. Certainly it is something I would love to do again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlaying with another pianist has been a very occasional pursuit for obvious reasons; however I do remember a four hands at one piano I performed with Veryan Weston at the Red Rose. Quite a theatrical performance, and very enjoyable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDo you manage to earn a living from music, or do you need to hold down a day job?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMusic is all I do but my work has always included some music teaching.   \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400613101882,"sku":"at24","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at24TheMiddleDistance.jpg?v=1749123329"},{"product_id":"heartland-magda-mayas","title":"Magda Mayas","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eMagda Mayas\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003epiano\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e1.    shards                  19:04\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e2.    slow metal skin     32:32\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e1 recorded in Berlin, November 2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e2 recorded in New York, September 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/magda_2_90e22ed6-dcf3-48f1-a11e-7236e5538c44_480x480.jpg?v=1751891335\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e'Heartland' \u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003ewas released as part of the 'Piano series'; four CDs all centred on experimental music for the piano. There were three excellent reviews covering the series as a whole:\u003cbr\u003ePhilip Clark in The Wire  \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-piano-series-in-the-wire-by-philip-clark\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e \u003cbr\u003eStuart Broomer in Point of Departure  \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-piano-series-in-point-of-departure\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand Bill Meyer in Signal to Noise  \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-piano-series-by-bill-meyer-in-signal-to-noise\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eBelow are some individual reviews of Magda Mayas's disc:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e“From the prepared piano pioneered by Henry Cowell and John Cage to Hiromi’s recent flashy excercises, plenty of musicians have experimented with the peculiar and gripping world of sound that comes from mucking around inside the instrument.  Yet with two stunning new albums Magda Mayas has expanded the language for internal piano music-making.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eMayas was born and raised in Munster, Germany.  She became interested in jazz piano as a teenager, and while buying be-bop records she also picked up a couple of albums by Cecil Taylor and Alexander von Schlippenbach.  Mayas says she then quickly became enamoured of free jazz.  In 1999 she began studying piano in Berlin, where her burgeoning interests blossomed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e“When I moved there people were playing free jazz” Mayas said.  “I heard lots of concerts like that and I played with other people using extended technique.”  Two years later she moved to Amsterdam where she studied under Misha Mengelberg for a year, and in 2005 she earned a diploms from Berlin’s Hochschule fur Musik Hans Eisler under the tutelage of Georg Graewe.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eMayas has made a handful of records, including a superb duet with Necks percussionist Tony Buck,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eGold\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eon Creative Sources, but she’s made a significant artistic leap with her stunning solo debut\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eHeartland.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe album’s two lengthy pieces showcase the full diapason of her talent, from thundering rumbles to piercing high-end screeches, from resonant glowing long tones to abrupt clattery explosions.  Each improvisation flows organically from one episode to the next, with the pianist balancing a keen sense of investigation and on-the-fly compositional logic.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eA second recording\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eTeeming\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e, with the French-Lebanese saxophonist Christine Sehnaoui pushes the sound palette in other directions.  Although the reader can certainly differentiate between the reedist and keyboardist, that doesn’t mean the actual abstraction of sound bears much relationship to the instrument’s expected tones.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eWhile Mayas has been interested by what she could do inside the piano for years, it’s only more recently that she’s thrown herself into the practice.  “I don’t know what I’ll do in the future, but from playing the keyboard so much I became more interested in creating sounds inside as well, and in the last couple of years I’ve really gotten into it,” Mayas said,. “I don’t prepare it because I want to be flexible with the sounds, so I place objects on the strings or where the tuning points are, or I put gaffer tape on the strings.   Use my fingers and hands a lot.  I don’t stick stuff between the strings beforehand because I want to be able to get a conventional piano sound when I want it, or to change sounds quickly.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eAmong her tools are wooden and metal objects, marbles, stones and even children’s toys.  “I discover new sounds as I play, but I definitely practice with new objects.  Sometimes I have a particular sound in mind that I have to create, so I work until I get it, but I do practice so that I can repeat certain sounds, more or less.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eMayas also has duo projects with cellists Anthea Caddy and Okkyung Lee, and she has two unusual quartets, one with Buck, trumpeter Peter Evans and bassist Clayton Thomas, and another with Buck, Sehnaoui and guitarist Andy Moor from The Ex.  “I feel like I’m still exploring a lot, and I’m excited about it.”            \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Margasak\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eDownbeat\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThere are two pieces of music that make up Heartland, a nineteen minute track recorded in Berlin in November 2008, and a thirty-two minute live set recorded live in New York a couple of months earlier. The first of these is named\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eShards,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewhich is quite a fitting title given the dramatic, almost explosive nature of some parts of the piece. Mayas’ approach to the piano uses a variety of methods inside and outside of the instrument, scrapes, crashes, thuds and strumming alongside some “normally” played keyboard notes. In many ways she is doing little different to what we have heard before by other players, but her playing has real character and personal style. Much of the time she works by mixing up different methods of playing at once so what we hear is a blend of different sounds, wild shimmering scrapes at the strings underpinned by regular keystrokes for instance, the overall effect being one of depth and variety, depite the fact we are listening to a solo performer.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eShards\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eshifts from patches of sparse, minimally picked out low notes to massive earthquakes of acoustic resonance via everything in between. The track is rich with powerfully expressed emotion however. The music builds from the slower, muted sections into the more raucous in a manner than reminds me a lot of AMM a couple of decades back, but obviously on a smaller scale. The music broods for long periods in a tense, expectant manner, before gradually shifting up through slow storms of agitated strings into the crashing, thunderous closing section that sounds like Mayas picked up a series of heavy objects and dropped them one after another into the piano’s body. Its exciting and engaging stuff, all very intense and powerful and performed with no small degree of skill and understanding of the piano’s acoustic possibilities.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe longer live set,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003eSlow Metal Skin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003einhabits similar ground, though the longer duration allows the music to stretch out a little more and use a wider range of sounds. The slow pace is still there, as is the sense of acoustic warmth, but again it is Mayas’ ability to portray a sense of feeling through her instrument that really shines through here. Five minutes in, after a steady build up there is a section of the recording made up of a wide array of techniques that really portrays a dark, menacing mood to the music, all abrasive scrapes and muted strikes at prepared strings. There follows a slide away into a sparse, echoing space full of small, partly isolated notes until things build again. The music oddly makes me think of a boat thrown about by stormy seas, caught on a rock at one point, struggling free, only to be hurled against the next looming hazard, thrown about before coming to rest in the next calm moment. Slow Metal Skin (great title by the way) is not as concise and well formed as Shards, but then it is a live improvisation and naturally tends to wander about a bit. It still goes through stages of powerful emotion however. The section beginning around twenty-five minutes in and running tot he end of the track is quite remarkable. The music rises to a crescendo made up of more sounds than Mayas has hands, wild attacks at the strings, a continuously rattling note and more besides, building in volume and intensity before suddenly collapsing into a single repeated strike at a reverberant high note and rifting gradually away to a series of clunks and crashes that sound almost comical after the weight of seriousness infused in the early music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eHeartland is great, a real tour de force of solo, entirely acoustic improvisation. Unlike Lexer’s digitally enhanced music, or Fuhler’s use of electronics there isn’t much here we haven’t heard before, so this CD is not about innovation or technique, but it is a fine example of one musician using their undoubted skill to portray strong, emotional music in a very direct, powerful manner. Another really good one.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e                                                       \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eA solo CD by one Magda Mayas, who plays piano, on a label full of improvised music. Should improvisers release solo CDs - I asked myself this only recently, and just the other day I spoke about this with Dolf Mulder, our improvised\/free jazz music lover. We think they shouldn't. In improvised music its the interaction between musicians that counts, we thought. That was before I heard 'Heartland' by Magda Mayas, who has two pieces of played live on the piano. I don't know her at all but I wondering how many hands she has, as at times it sounds like she has six. We hear the scraping of metallic sounds, like an improviser on percussion, the snares of the piano being plucked, while a finger hits the keys every now and then. All of which sounding at times at bit electronic. This is a great CD, very powerful and intense. The piano is the piano throughout, but Mayas knows how to pull out so many more of the instrument, the scraping, bowing and plucking that this fifty minute release is a breathtaking work.  Excellently and expertly played.”              \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrans de Waard\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eVital Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e“Talking about listening experiences, this is an avant-garde experimental album that those of you with very open ears and strong hearts should listen to. It is one of the widest and deepest adventures into the sonic heart of the piano, including its entire cardiovascular system attached to it. It is a discovery of sound possibilities, that are utterly frightening while being soothing at the same time. It is so powerful that it's captivating.  Magda Mayas is a German pianist. She is clearly a musical visionary. “                                                     \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStef Gijssels\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eFree Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e“Heartland  is the only one of the four Piano Series releases to feature a lone pianist. At least, that is what the album's credits tell us; whilst listening to this music, some may double-check that Magda Mayas was actually playing alone. On occasions here, she generates such a variety of sounds that it is difficult to believe they all emanate from one woman plus one piano.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe album was produced by Tony Buck (drummer with The Necks), with whom Mayas plays in an occasional duo. The sounds that Mayas produces combine recognisable piano tones with a range of percussive effects that are achieved by preparations or by scraping or striking various parts of the instrument's structure.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eWhereas other releases here contrast the playing of two pianists, Mayas' own music alone contains a mass of contrasts. She frequently produces passages of play in which she adopts two different voices and conducts a dialogue with herself.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe real success of Heartland lies not just in the sounds that Mayas produces, but in the way that they are put together into a coherent and compelling performance. Across its two extended tracks, the energy and invention of the album never flags. It maintains a forward momentum that draws the listener in. Surprises are never far away, though. So, midway through \"Slow Metal Skin\" is an extended passage that most closely resembles the sound of a firework display. “      \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400616411450,"sku":"at25","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at25MayasHeartland.jpg?v=1749123417"},{"product_id":"crepuscular-rays","title":"Håvard Volden  \u0026  Toshimaru Nakamura","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHåvard Volden\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e 12-string guitar \u0026amp; objects\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eToshimaru Nakamura\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eno-input mixing board\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e1.  Scattering         21:41\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e2.  Perception        22:46\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eRecorded in Oslo \u0026amp; Trondheim, November 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Havard_Volden_240x240.jpg?v=1751890673\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e       \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/toshimaru-nakamura-7fff27bf-f59d-481f-8de2-675ecc9601b-resize-750-1445958567_240x240.jpg?v=1751890784\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e“This evening I listened to a CD that it feels like I have owned for absolutely ages-\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eCrepsucular Rays\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e, the duo by Toshimaru Nakamura and Hårvard Volden on the Another Timbre label. I guess actually that I have had this one for a while, having bought a copy back at the concerts the duo played in London in February. Volden is a young Norwegian improviser that plays an acoustic guitar laid flat upon a table that he then bows, scrapes and applies electroacoustic devices to to create quite a wide variety of sounds, from everyday plucked strings to alien sounding drones. The inevitable similarity to Keith Rowe’s techniques, or at least his techniques from a few years back are unavoidable, but while some of Volden’s approach may well have been influenced at a distance by Rowe his sound is actually quite different, the main contrast being the acoustic nature of much of it. Toshi Nakamura’s no input mixing board will be familiar to most readers of these pages, and throughout the two tracks on Cresucular Rays he mixes up his approach from extended clean sinetones through to some of his more aggressively violent work.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eIn many ways Crepsucular Rays is just a good solid improv album. Having played it through three times tonight after a break of a couple of weeks when it didn’t get played at all, I am actually struggling to find things to say about it that are not really obvious comments. Its a CD that veers wildly between beautiful and ugly sounds, but arranges them in constantly shifting patterns that highlight a conversation that works in both linear and laminal ways at the same time. The twists and turns of the music, the little dark corners hiding unexpected moments of sound all curl and unfold together as the tracks progress, with Nakamura’s washes of colour and scorching rasps of heat seeping around the generally smaller, incidental sounds of Volden. The combination of electronic and acoustic sounds overlaid also gives a depth and richness to the music. It seems obvious to state it here, but it is the combination of the rough and the smooth, the dark and the light, short and long that give this music its energy. There are lengthy passages during which one or the other musician might let extended sounds run, or might repeat a single phrase several times. So the other will react with the opposite approach, adding disruption to any kind of comfort, throwing a handful of grit into the well-oiled machine.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eSearching for an overall descriptive term with which to describe Crepsucular Rays maybe “sensual” fits the bill. Not in some cheesy warm and cosy bubble bath advert manner, but rather as a way of describing the mix of intense approaches and close engagement between the two musicians here. Sure we have heard music this good, and also even better from Toshi before on a good number of occasions, but its great to hear a new voice in the music as well working alongside him in a confident and accomplished manner. This duo seem to continue to play together quite often, despite the geographical challenges in doing so, suggesting that there is more to come from the pairing in the future. I certainly hope so.”                  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e“Another duet, this time between Håvard Volden on 12-string guitar and Toshimaru Nakamura on no-input mixing board. Two 20-minute tracks, two meticulous improvisations where noise and silence weave a physical form of tension. Nakamura always manages to enrapture with only a few sound gestures, thanks to his incredible sense of space-time placement. Volden easily finds his place inside this soundworld. Excellent.”   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e                 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrancois Couture\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eMonsieur Délire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e’Håvard Volden’s guitar has twelve strings, and the no-input mixing board of Toshi Nakamura is always the same.  In other words here Nakamura has two times as many sounds onto which to add effects than he does with a regular guitar.  And moreover this is what he sets about doing.  Pulling or stretching the sound of a string into infinity (or almost) to force Volden to find the best way of producing a counter-attack.   At one moment the guitar sounds like a buzzing koto or whirring cogwheeels, but it is soon spitting out interference and distortion, the chords and arpeggios of noise music. I think I’ve heard Nakamura elsewhere playing more poetically, but what he loses in poetry he here gains in brute reality.  Poetry is perhaps no longer the priority.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e                       \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e               \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePierre Cécile\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eLe Son du Grisli\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400635515194,"sku":"at26","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at26CrepuscularRays.jpg?v=1749124124"},{"product_id":"duet-martine-altenburger-john-russell","title":"Martine Altenburger \u0026 John Russell","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMartine Altenburger\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003ecello\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eJohn Russell \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eguitar\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003etotal time:  45:29\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eRecorded in Jarny, France, 22nd November 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/john_russell_240x240.jpg?v=1751890046\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e        \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/martine_altenburger_240x240.jpg?v=1751890132\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003eReview by Jesse Goin\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e“How do you differentiate, when making evaluative judgments, between a musician producing strong work in a specific lineage, and a musician being merely derivative? How do you define, and privilege, innovation over the extension of a tradition? How, for example, is pianist John Tilbury deemed brilliant, even while nearly every critical response to his work contains the apt signifier Feldmanesque, while many other improvisers are regarded less kindly for their decision to essentially continue working through a self-limiting area of sound?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eThe century-old squabble, to place this question in the context of visual art, over whether Georges Braque or Picasso authored the Cubist revolution came to mind, as I researched the guitarist John Russell and found, again and again, guitarist Derek Bailey in nearly every entry. I am far from an art historian, but I think one thing is clear- Braque was well underway in improvising against the hold Cezanne and other antecedents had on his approach to painting, when he met Picasso. That encounter served as equal parts apprenticeship, catalyst and, eventually, co-creation of new possibilities. As Braque moved beyond the orbit of Picasso, he came to this idea- the painting is finished, Braque said, when the idea has disappeared. At some point in any apprenticeship, the student may develop beyond the original idea and conceptual approach of his teacher. His work is his work, when the idea disappears.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eLondon-based guitarist John Russell has performed, organized festivals, and articulated his ideas about free improvisation for 40 years. He is well represented by a discography that includes some celebrated releases; for many, the most recent gem is the reissue of the sole available recording of the ensemble News From The Shed. This 1989 quintet date is now regarded as a seminal work in the transition for several of its members from the discursive, dialogical and, as one of its participants [trombonist Radu Malfatti] has it, on-and-on-going gabbiness of much free improvisation, to something new- a branch of improvisation that jettisons gabbiness, dialogue and high speed reactions, for a reassessment of the uses of elements like silence, erasure of foreground\/background, and a heightened sense of attunement, to reference Malfatti again, to the lull in the storm.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eI focus on this particular project, out of all those Russell had been involved with in the nearly two decades preceding News From The Shed, for a reason. While three of his fellows from the quintet- Malfatti, Phil Durrant, and John Butcher- would gradually move further into the radically quieter, less virtuosic and uncluttered area of improvisation called, variously, reductionist, lower-case and EAI, Russell would continue to hone and meliorate the basic elements heard across the decades in his approach- empathic, dialogical, interactive free improvisation; yes, often garrulous, using high-speed reactions and by now familiar extended techniques to draw forth any and every sound from his acoustic guitars. The collective sound of that ensemble was a fulcrum for some to leap into a new field, and for Russell to continue plumbing the more familiar ground established many years earlier in his association with guitarist Derek Bailey. I am reactive, Bailey stated more than once, and Russell's plumb-line, extending a true vertical of free improvisation, is reactive as well.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eAs I said earlier, I did some surveying of the writing about Russell on the internet; culled from reviews of records and live performances, whether enthusiastic or indifferent, the shadow of Bailey falls across nearly everything I read. In the years since Russell left his former teacher's orbit, whom he received lessons from in the early 70's, he has developed the germinal Bailey approaches-plectrum scrapes and string rasps, above-the-nut plinks, rapid successions of alternating harmonics, percussive chord attacks, and dense, dark harmonies. Anyone, whether intimate or merely acquainted with Bailey's guitar sound, can identify the elements in Russell's approach.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eRussell has not remained, however, in that orbit. His approach to the guitar, exclusively acoustic since 1977, engages areas of sound possibilities with greater patience, lingers longer to develop a sound, permits much more silence, clarifies notes and tones through fragmentation and splintering; he reduces and settles, as much as he agitates and roils. In a way I do not believe we ever play music, but are sometimes lucky to get close to it, Russell once stated in an interview, and personally I find that free improvisation specific to a time and place is the best way to do this.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eRussell gets close to the music in his duet with cellist Martine Altenburger, titled Duet, released in 2010 on Another Timbre. Duet is a live performance from a 2008 festival in France, edited into five tracks. The sound is excellent, warm and intimate. Wood and wire are heard with clarity, and the silences and rests sound equally live.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eCellist Altenburger is a new name to me, and most certainly to most of you as well. She is conservatory trained, but leaped into a pool of improvisers around 1989 that included Michel Doneda and Le Quan Ninh. Her name appears on only a few releases, despite Ms. Altenburger's consistent involvement with performance events for over 20 years. She moves between performances of Cage and Scelsi, and dates like Duet, in which she scrabbles and sings on the cello, engaging Russell confidently and, at times, mimetically. She pulls a wide range of sounds from the cello, pizzicatto as well as her rich, singing bow work. I do not hear either musician employ extended techniques irrelevantly, or in a show-boating fashion. Rather, Duet is another specific time and place for Russell and Altenburger to push out beyond the received ideas, into conference, engagement, and occasionally, bracing and beautiful confluence. The price of the ticket is met, for me, in the concluding several minutes of track 4, as the duo entwine Altenburger's keening, melancholy cello line, with Russell's odd, strummed folk chords, repeated just long enough to invoke an ancient song.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eDuet isn't for anyone insistent on hearing a new innovation in every release; it is for ears that value, as Milo Fine titled his 1977 release,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethe constant extension of inescapable tradition.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eOr, as Braque said a little earlier in time,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eProgress in art does not consist in reducing limitations, but in knowing them better.”                         \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJesse Goin\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eCrow with no Mouth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400645214522,"sku":"at27","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at27RussellAltenburgerDuet.jpg?v=1749124124"},{"product_id":"apstrophe-corgoc","title":"Ferran Fages \u0026 Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eap’strophe:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFerran Fages\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eguitar\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003ezither\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e1.  spring                                 7:53\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e2.  is like a perhaps hand      39:46\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eRecorded in Barcelona, December 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/FerranFagesAcousticGuitar-1_08c88f95-724a-410e-83ae-b85f1bfc0a06_240x240.jpg?v=1751889498\"\u003e        \u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/dimitra_ef817231-c2c6-4b7e-a888-639c0a3c43fb_240x240.jpg?v=1751889541\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"long_text-C\"\u003e\"Ap'strophe is Ferran Fages, a guitarist and turntablist from Barcelona, and zither player Dimitra Lazaridou Chatzigoga. They have played together for four years and have developed a quite breathtaking music that sounds something like what eels produce in the stomach. Pure acoustic passages are overwhelmed by orgies of sound where it is difficult to determine what is acoustic and what is electronic. On the album it says that they play guitar and zither, but the instruments are treated as if they were loudspeakers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"long_text-C\"\u003eIt is entirely appropriate that Ap'strophe is part of the guitar series on Another Timbre, especially since it is representative of the new Spanish scene. The music was recorded in Barcelona two years ago, but was mixed last year, and I assume that some effort has gone into the latter part of the process.  The duo has previously produced pieces that are only available in written form, and seem difficult to perform live or to be reproduced.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"long_text-C\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFerran Fages is based in noise improvisation, and the guitar sounds he uses seem really open.  But he also plays in a relatively \"conventional\" way with rolling shapes, measures, leaps and well thought-out passages, which are interwoven with the zither, which sometimes produces loud mists of sound.  Fages is a sonorous and variable improviser whose playing always has a musical flow.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"long_text-C\"\u003eDimitra Lazaridou Chatzigoga conjures up repetitive shapes that spin out like propellers over Fages’ somewhat slower pace. In contrast to the weight of Fages's playing she spins the music into moments of sharp ecstasy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"long_text-C\"\u003eThe album is divided into two parts. First a brief, strident and cauterizing piece, then a long sound journey where the focus often switches direction.  The music involves roaring clusters of sound that seem to fly forward, reminiscent of the use of sound clouds in noise music. Ap'strophe use these as matter to knead; they punch through them, then pull them down, and fill them with simple scratches or small snaps, things that seem to have been left behind, residues from their improvisations, which they then explore to see what they can do with them. Their attitude is one of a sustained and extreme attention to detail that mixes breakdown, continuity and collage.  They demonstrate that they can stay focused and on track both in sequences of rushing noise, and in quiet passages with small, low-key sounds.  But they never give themselves over fully to either mode; they merely indicate that things could be done in this way, make a suggestion, but then move on to the next sound.  They are unique.  Searing industrial passages that seem new, exist alongside the slightest guitar sounds with minimal tones. And they play in a way I have never heard before.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of the many highlights of the disc starts in the middle of the second piece, where Dimitra Lazaridou Chatzigoga scrapes her zither - or whatever she does - so that it resembles the sound of a loud saxophonist in the 1970s, while Ferran Fages thoughtfully plays with microtonal intervals. And together they subside after a culmination of small dropping sounds and sparse waves of high pitches. So simple, nevertheless masterful. And then they thoughtfully pick out shards of sound to create the mirror image of the previous sequence.  These reflections create an exciting form or structure through which the listener can move, walking back and forth.  And the music continues, as if they are making use of different tenses at the same time.  The music seems about to float away, but it is held back by its incredible sharpness, remaining long enough for some mirror-like distortion to come back.  It is a journey in a land of mirrors. Both at the beginning and at the end we perceive the same image.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eAp'strophe transform free postimprovisation into a minimalist painting of a new simplicity.  For long periods the album contains completely unexpected sounds, and by the end it offers a trans-art dance rhythm that is hard to resist.  Without doubt one of the best records in the Another Timbre guitar series, and one of the most important releases in a long time in all categories of music.”                                               \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"long_text-C-C0\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThomas Millroth\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"long_text-C-C1\"\u003eSound of Music\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e“The second release from the duo of Ferran Fages (acoustic guitar) and Dimitra Lazaridou Chatzigoga (zither) (how great is that name, btw?). The disc consists of two pieces, the first about eight minutes, the other some 40 and, so arranged, it's hard not to hear the album as a prelude and a central piece. Hearing it so has its advantages as it forces one to try to grasp the pieces as a whole rather than a sequence of events which, in this case, with my ears, serves to benefit the music. The first track, \"spring\", begins quite harshly, even unpleasantly, a screechy, raspy sound (tightly bowed zither?) over a wavering, thin drone. It's a little off-putting on its own but \"looking back\" at the piece, after the gorgeous denouement of softly stroked guitar, one gets the sour\/sweet aspect and it feels like a solid whole.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eSimilarly, with greater complications, for the long work. On the one hand, it seems to take a while to really find its groove but after it does, you realize how necessary the initial, more meandering parts, were. It opens with delicate, bowed drones, jangling a bit, very pretty then subsides into a very sparse are, all isolated squeaky bowings and soft plucks and taps. Almost imperceptibly, things begin to gel, the two instruments edging into more plaintive tones, still spare, but with emotional resonance. It's not a straight path, though, wherein lies much of the fascination. They veer of into several pathways, some less promising than others, enter some enticing buzz-saw environs and eventually \"stumble\" into a peaceful, serene glade of sorts, humming and vibrating more solidly, more convincingly than at the beginning. It's quite a lovely journey, imaginatively (if unconsciously) plotted.”       \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400669299002,"sku":"at28","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at28Corgroc.jpg?v=1749124871"},{"product_id":"kuchen","title":"küchen - rowe - wright","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eMartin Küchen\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003ealto saxophone\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKeith Rowe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eelectronics\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eSeymour Wright\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  alto saxophone\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003etotal time:  35:40\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003erecorded in Midhopestones, near Sheffield, June 2009\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/keith_rowe_john_tilbury-1168548076_480x480.jpg?v=1751884184\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“Another Timbre's new series of discs on the guitar in improvised music gives us two alto saxophonists at the table of the veteran guitarist Keith Rowe. Seymour Wright has previously played with – amongst others - Eddie Prevost, so we are roughly in AMM-territory. And it suits Martin Küchen excellently, one of the very few Swedish saxophonists who works without dramatic gestures, focusing on small sounds and a deconstructive music. The dryness of his playing has been its real coherence and strength (and this is meant as praise).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eKeith Rowe's guitar is on a table surrounded by radio equipment and various other electronic devices. It is a sound body, a bringer of unexpected sounds, especially those which disrupt ordinary rhythms and expectations. Rowe's music is not open in the usual sense. He is absorbed in his own soundworld, exploring and following through different pathways. This can clearly be heard here: as if in a trance he offers up a few notes that actually sound like a guitar, then listens, and then tries again, this time involving a radio tuned to whatever programme is on so that a voice draws in and drifts through the electronic sounds. So the saxophonists can appear like intruders, reworking the long tones of their instruments into short pops and scratches so that it's hard to tell whether the sounds I am hearing are coming from reeds or the body of the guitar.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eRowe's presence is good for the saxophonists; they can allow themselves to become infused within his sound world. They drop inside the body of their instruments to marvel at its hollow, lonely sound. Together they construct a sound tunnel within which Rowe can play out his fragmented dadaistic games. And they take liberties, detonating and challenging Rowe's self-imposed limits. A continual process in which melancholy breaths form little scraps of melody until a flow is suggested, teasing, irritating and touching but never trapped by Rowe's electronics, moving around as if by coincidence. It is a heady mixture: an utterly abstract music which is broken up and yet still flows over me as a listener in a safe and cohesive way.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eBut I can also hear Rowe's absolutist approach to music. No compromise, no bargain, no ingratiation. A music that applies the same harshness and severity both to the outside world and to its constant flow of commercial music. Rowe is a musician who is equally critical from an ideological and a moral perspective. The music must never be compromised; it is broken, fragmented and pulled around constantly, sometimes bouncing out into the outside world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe two saxophonists broaden his soundworld, subjecting it to the same process of critical interruption to which his streams of sound often subject the outside world. It's a process of give and take, occurring in slow motion, needing time to unfold. And this process of three musicians carefully negotiating with each other produces one of Rowe's most absorbing discs, and a great moment for Martin Küchen. It's an album where friction and heat are the key words.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e                                                                     \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThomas Millroth\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eSound of Music\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e“Keith Rowe  has a long and distinguished career as an improvising guitarist, dating back to the mid 60's and before. But over recent years he has steadily reduced the role of the actual guitar and correspondingly increased the role of electronics to the point where they are now dominant. At the time this recording was made, the only vestigial trace of a guitar in Rowe's set up was a finger trainer, a device used by classical guitarists to train their fingers. It was joined by various pedals, contact mikes, shortwave radio, face fans and assorted paraphernalia; hence Rowe is credited with \"electronics\" rather than \"guitar.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eRowe is joined by alto saxophonists Seymour Wright and Martin Küchen on the album's one 35-minute piece. Given Rowe's belief that the room is an important component of any performance, it is important to note that this recording was made at the church of St. James the Lesser in Midhopestones near Sheffield in June 2009, not live at the concerts the trio played that month in London and Leeds. Rowe has said that in concert there is a sense in which the audience actually produces the music, so that raises the question of who produces it when three musicians are alone in a large resonant space such as a church.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThe three begin tentatively, with lots of silence punctuating their occasional brief quiet sounds. If anything, they sound very small in the space, not knowing whether to try and fill it, or how. Gradually, momentum gathers as the sounds become less sporadic and the players begin to respond to each other. Plenty of Rowe's trademark sounds appear, most noticeably his hand-held fan and shortwave radio. The responses from Küchen and Wright are subdued, with their emphasis less on blowing than on electronics and tinkering sounds. In this respect, they are drawn into Rowe's orbit and his approach to making sound. Uncharacteristically, despite that finger trainer, there is a greater role for guitar sounds in Rowe's playing than of late, with the occasional strummed chord appearing. As the piece proceeds, the two saxophonists become more outgoing, not playing \"solos\" but progressions of notes that act as backdrop and accompaniment to Rowe and each other.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eDepending on the volume at which it is played, this can actually feel like two different albums. At normal playback volume, the majority of the sounds are compatible with the kinds of ambient sounds found in daily life and so they easily merge in or are camouflaged; occasionally a more prominent sound is clearer, leading to reactions such as: \"Is there something wrong with the fridge?\" or \"What are those neighbors up to?\" At higher volume, the album's sounds emerge clearly from the background and so they can be better heard in their own right and the players' interactions can be appreciated fully.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e“Automatically it is Borbetomagus who come to mind when you hear the unusual combination of saxophone – guitar – saxophone.  These three instruments are equally maltreated by the three improvisers here, though their techniques are quite different, with a full-frontal onslaught being  replaced by strategies that are as oblique as subtle.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eInevitably you draw connections between the three musicians and the culinary image on the cover:  a piece of roast beef, a spoonful of mashed potato and a watercress leaf.  But who then is the carnivore?  And who plays like a potato?  None of these questions is answered in the almost non-existent liner notes:  the title 'additional notes' stands above an empty double-page in the cd booklet, speaking volumes about the desire to preserve the mysteries of this holy trinity.   You are left to try to work out for yourself who is who and who does what in this complex entanglement of sounds in which multiple levels of interferences are both generated and scrambled.  The veteran of electroacoustic improvisation, Keith Rowe (guitar) is surrounded by two alto saxophonists of the rising generation:  Martin Küchen, a member of the Swedish free music scene for some ten years, and Seymour Wright, with whom he has worked here or there, and who is releasing his third album on Another Timbre.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eIt is somewhat misleading to define the identity of the instruments used as they are eviscerated according to surgical techniques that require both the right tools and the most precise instructions.  And this is true not just for Rowe (which you'd expect), but also the others, who employ electric tools, sharp objects, and – most importantly – radios, which play a crucial role here.  The radio waves are evidently British, to judge by the snatches of voices heard amidst the white noise, the fragments of baroque music, and even the sensual voice of Sade (the pop singer, not the Marquis) which briefly occurs at 25:47.  These chance fragments count as focal points amidst the unstable rustlings, the striking of metals, little jackhammers and other dangerous-sounding noises which can be tamed within a second.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThe constant overlaying of shifting materials, the crossings of sounds moving in different (though never opposing) directions, and the building of small temporary moments of climax create a strange unity which is deconstructed as soon as  you try to examine it.    As if under the effect of a spell, a captivating musical discourse emerges from from the chaos.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e      \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJean-Claude Gevrey\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003escala tympani\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400671723834,"sku":"at29","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at29kuchenrowewright_6a9192db-375a-4f8e-84b1-ba849499a808.jpg?v=1749124930"},{"product_id":"nella-basilica-roberto-fabbriciani-robin-hayward","title":"Roberto Fabbriciani \u0026 Robin Hayward","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eRoberto Fabbriciani\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003ebass, contrabass and hyperbass flutes\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eRobin Hayward \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003emicrotonal tuba\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e1.  nella basilica          15:06\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e2.  adagio                   10:47\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e3.  riflessione               7:56\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e4.  colori di cimabue    6:54\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e5.  arezzo                     4:18\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eRecorded in the Basilica di San Domenico, Arezzo, Italy, September 2009\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e        \u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/robin_hayward_480x480.jpg?v=1751883389\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_383\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_293\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eFlute and tuba might sound like an odd pairing, until you learn that Roberto Fabbriciani plays bass, contrabass and hyperbass flutes, the latter a plumber's nightmare of his own design consisting of over 25 feet of tubing and capable of sounding notes below the range of the piano. Indeed, it's often hard to tell who's playing what, and the players seem to delight in trying to trick us, with Robin Hayward's microtonally inflected tuba producing surprisingly delicate flurries of notes in registers normally associated with the flute, while Fabbriciani growls and purrs at the lower threshold of hearing. The instruments are even harder to tell apart when played more unconventionally, whether huffing and puffing without pitch or clicking key pads. As you might expect, such huge beasts aren't capable of making much noise or moving quickly, but just because the music is quiet and takes its time doesn't mean it's cold and unemotional. There's something tender and sensual about this fuzzy gurgling, like a couple of hippos making love.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDan Warburton\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e“Fabbriciani (bass, contrabass and hyperbass flutes) is a new name to me, someone from whom I hope to hear much more. Here we have five pieces with Robin Hayward and the combination of flutes (albeit low ones) and tuba is delicious. As with most of the music of Hayward's that I've experienced, this is serious stuff but it's never, ever dry. Instead, the setting inside the Basilica di San Domenico in Arezzo imparts a contemplative, even reverent (in a good way!) aura. It's almost all very quiet and, though extended techniques are used by both musicians, the listener hardly notices as it's the music  that comes to the forefront. I want to say \"European shakuhachi\"; there's something of that here. Some ruffles in the air appear on the fourth track, a not unwelcome change of pace, but by and large this is as lovely a recording of paired winds as I've heard in quite some time. Strongly recommended.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e, Just Outside\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e“Nella Basilica is the title of a new album on Another Timbre  by the duo of Robin Hayward and Roberto Fabbriciani. It comes as part of the newest batch of four AT releases, all of which are acoustic duos, and more specifically each involves a brass instrument of some kind, thus creating the informal “Brass” series to follow on from the equally imprecise piano and guitar series from the same label. If the name Fabbriciani is a new one to improvised music followers then maybe this isn’t a surprise, given that this disc captures his first ever improvisation release. The flautist is better known however for his realisations of many works by Luigi Nono amongst a long list of contemporary composers. Reading his CV is impressive, he has worked directly with just about everyone, from Cage to Kurtag, Stockhausen to Scelsi. His website even hints that he might have a fanclub. I’m not sure anyone else I’ve ever reviewed here can say that! Given that he plays on my favourite recording of Nono’s wonderful Das Atmende Klarsein I may well try and join myself…\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eOn Nella Basilica the two musicians each play the instruments for which they are best known, but at the same time each plays a different, adapted version. Robin Hayward plays a newly adapted tuba that has been adjusted to include a fully microtonal valve system. Fabbriciani plays bass, contrabass and hyperbass flutes, the last one of which doesn’t sound overly dramatic until you read that it is apparently gargantuan in size containing over twelve feet of plastic tubing. It produces bass tones so low they stretch the lower limits of human hearing. Anyway, that’s the sleevenotes rewritten as a prelude to this review, how does the music sound?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe word that comes to mind, after much consideration is balanced. I have been fortunate enough to have been able to spend a couple of months with this music, since Simon, perhaps knowing my love of Nono gave me a CDr to listen to and give my opinion on. I have played it a lot, and come to know the music here well. Throughout the music, looking at it from varying perspectives, I feel and hear a sense of balance throughout. While not something you could really call reductionist with any conviction, Nella Basilica is a quiet, gently paced set of five pieces. The mood of the music is studious, and each sound we hear feels like it has been very carefully picked out and placed beside the others after a longer amount of time than we know could have been feasibly possible. Perhaps then the music sounds close to a realised composition, or maybe Fabbriciani’s involvement here just leads me to imagine the music that way. Certainly the pair first met while performing Nono’s music together in the same ensembles, perhaps some of that experience informed the collaboration.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eAlthough it is often very hard to tell who is making which sound as so much happens in the lower registers occupied by both instruments, the chosen sounds seem to complement the ones around them very well, so the music feels balanced, a short sound offset by a longer one, a dry hiss paired with something more tonal, but all taking place within quite a slim range, with few surprises but instead a feeling of precision and considered placement. The music here reminds me somehow of a Calder mobile, at first glance a set of ungainly shapes\/sounds, but put together in such a graceful, carefully balanced manner that it all hangs together in equilibrium. Many of the actual sounds we hear are booming, deep guttural groans and roars that are in themselves far from beautiful, but the way they have been combined here into the delicate, fragile structures of the music is exceptional.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eAs well as the soft tones, the deep gurgles, the booming bass surges, there are percussive moments, the pads of either flute or tuba used as tiny tapping devices, while (I think) the tuba is also stuck at several points to add little moments of sharp clarity into the otherwise deep, murky sounds. These are used sparingly, as are Haywards sudden blasts of air every now and again, creating more acute counterpoint to the blurred, longer contributions. There are no wasted sounds here. The music is far from empty, there are no elongated silences, but it all sounds thoroughly considered, each part of the structure balancing out another, the mobile kept from tipping too far in one direction or another.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eI’m not sure what else there is to say about this music. There are no electronics, no histrionics, but also no lack of invention. The music sounds thoroughly modern, and yet also explores the extended possibilities of a very traditional family of instruments. Nella Basilica was recorded by Simon Reynell all the way out in Italy in late 2009, in a basilica in Tuscany. The setting for the music seems to flow into the recording, the slow pace of life, the grand, stately, finely crafted (I am guessing) building, a sense of space. This is a magical recording to me, an absolute joy to sit quietly and involve yourself in, putting aside the stresses and pressures of the world outside. Just great music.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e                              \u003cstrong\u003e  \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400677556538,"sku":"at30","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at30Nellabasilica.jpg?v=1749125123"},{"product_id":"ad-angharad-davies-axel-dorner","title":"Angharad Davies \u0026 Axel Dörner","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAngharad Davies\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eviolin\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eAxel Dörner \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e        trumpet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e1. stück un      12:40\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e2. stück dau    15:04\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e3. stück tri      14:30\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eRecorded in Ealing, London, December 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/angharad-davies_page_image-2660277052_480x480.jpg?v=1751882643\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\"There are some instruments, which, if you asked me to name my very favourite musician that played said instrument, I would struggle to be able to think of one name. The saxophone springs to mind, as does percussion, or electronics, there are so many great musicians working with these tools I just couldn’t be pinned down to one name. With the trumpet and violin however, I can do this quite easily. Although there are an awful lot of really great trumpeters out there, I don’t know if there is any one that has consistently given me so much pleasure as Axel Dörner. If naming one trumpeter didn’t take long, then its even easier to pinpoint a violinist. Angharad Davies has, for me, been the most consistently interesting violinist that has crossed my path over the last couple of decades. The difference between the two names above might be their recorded output. While Dörner has appeared on dozens of albums, Davies has appeared on far fewer, a factor being slowly corrected as time goes by, but I think it is still very fair to say that given her ability and standing in the improvised music world she remains under-recorded. So a new duo disc by this pair then, was always going to push the right buttons for me.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eThe music captures a recording made by Simon Reynell at a West London house in December 2008. It sounds as if the two musicians just sat down and played together, not attempting to adapt their style or technique at all, just playing to see what might happen, drawing on the experience they had of playing occasionally together over the last decade. So the individual voices are there, Dörner at his most muted and breathy, but also completely acoustic, Davies working (I think) completely with the bow, mostly on the strings, prepared at times with small clips, but also bowing the body of the violin so as to find grey tones to match the trumpet’s hiss and hum…\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e…and in many ways, that’s it, that’s enough of a description of what happens on A.D, as this new release on the Another Timbre label is named. I have a vision in my head that I can’t quite shake, of Dörner and Davies sat in the kitchen, sharing a pot of tea, catching up on each other’s news, before putting down the teacups and picking up their instruments to play together. I don’t see this vision as a negative picture, rather an image of how this music seems to extend normal conversation, its simplicity as a metaphor for verbal discourse betrayed by the ability of the music to go beyond what words might be able to describe- a certain “correctness” about how sounds fit together, a tension produced only by choosing the right sounds in the right places.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eI can try and describe the actual sounds used, most of them quiet and non-dramatic in their nature, with the occasional outburst from either player. There is a lot of space, found either in the short silences that stumble into view from time to time, or just where the understated sounds still leave a lot of room for movement. We can always tell the violin from the trumpet, even when neither sounds like either, and so the sense of communication here, the feeling of two people building a delicate structure together in real time is very prevalent. So there are hisses, gentle roars, circular motifs and grainy purring, and that’s just the violin. There are three tracks, which sound to me like they all came from one session, with little gap in between, with the three pieces perhaps even chunks edited from a longer recording. Certainly the parts we hear are uninterrupted sections of music however, any edits just chopped material off of either end of the tracks. Across the three pieces there is a little progression in style and density. The second piece, (titled Stück Dau in amusingly German\/Welsh manner) feels like it uses shorter, more markedly punctuational sounds, increasing the sense of urgency slightly, but still remaining calm and considered, as is the trademark of most of the album.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eI have justified my enjoyment of CDs over the past year a number of times by just stating that they are great documents of the improvisational process, and here I will simply do this again. I can’t think of any other album at all that sounds close to how this disc sounds, the particular mix of textures and tones is unusual, and yet the sounds themselves don’t matter much- the way they are used, the skilful way they are instantly selected, and the choice of sounds not used are all what make this a fine CD and another real winner for Another Timbre.The trumpet always sounds well in the hands of Axel Dörner, who teams up with Angharad Davies, who plays violin. This is a more 'traditional' improvisation disc, if such a thing exists in the world of Another Timbre. Probably not. But here, at times, we recognize the instruments. The soft scraping of the violin, the trumpet sounds like one, but then, that's only on a few instances. By and large however, these instruments sounds like anything but a violin and trumpet. Especially Dörner is a key player in this corner of the improvisation world and knows how to create the most unlikely sounds from his trumpet - white static noise at times. And all of that without any type of electronic processing. This is also a great disc, also one that requires ones full attention, as at times things move beyond the threshold of hearing. Excellent, concentrated music.”      \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/axel_dorner_dfd5e036-6bed-4e52-a75b-55345ac3d3ff_480x480.jpg?v=1751882865\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“Before hearing any of this series, based on their past performances as instrumentalists and improvisers, on paper the pairing of violinist Angharad Davies and trumpeter Axel Dörner looked as tempting as any. Each of them combines technique with the instincts and experience essential for improvising. The reality proves to be just as good as anticipated. They play it straight, with the separate sounds of the instruments being clearly distinguishable throughout and complementing each other to good effect.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eAlthough distinguishable, each instrument produces some atypical sounds. In a stunning performance, Dörner coaxes an extraordinary range of sounds out of his trumpet, from breathy resonances verging on white noise through to low frequency sounds of tongue fluttering and metallic percussive noises. Davies matches him in kind (again, some of her high notes could be electronic) but, more importantly, she always manages a response that is timely and appropriate. The end result is two instruments meshing into a seamless whole; the parts can be heard but they are so sympathetically matched that the whole is greater than their sum. Cleverly, the track titles reflect this symbiosis, being written half in German, half in Welsh. Very fitting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eThe best of the bunch? Close, but it is really too close to call. “                    \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“A.D. are the initials of Angharad Davies (violin) and Axel Dörner (trumpet), a duo who you think you have probably heard already, but haven't. The London-Berlin axis has always been a rich one in improvised music, and has given rise to many subtle and fitting collaborations, and this one might have taken place five years ago. In fact this meeting was recorded in December 2008 and the resulting music is absolutely exemplary of the overlapping aesthetics of the two musicians. \u003cbr\u003eThe brilliance and luxuriousness of the instruments are deliberately set aside in favour of a more internal exploration, keeping a cool head and clear ideas. Proving once more his immensely impressive technique, Dörner concentrates on tiny areas of breath, whistling, saliva, sighs and whispers with a rigour that never lets up. As for Davies, she too exploits one by one the reduced surfaces of her instrument, brushing the strings to produce tonalities that border on ultrasound, stubbornly working with textures which, though fragile, never drag at any moment. The collaboration works in such a way that when one musician is anchored in one area, working to produce a theme, the other often imitates them or, alternately, sets up a counter-movement. I particularly enjoy « Stück Dau », which huddles in silence at the beginning and then unfolds wonderfully, tracing from the middle of nowhere an enticing pathway that leads ultimately into some kind of festival where it's as if the vibrations of atoms in orbit are made audible. Paradoxically quite conventional (from the point of view of the 'codes' of the genre), this performance, virtuosic in its sobriety, shines out above all through its finesse and clarity.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e                                                  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJean-Claude Gevrey\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003escala tympani\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400680309050,"sku":"at31","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at31AD.jpg?v=1749125559"},{"product_id":"giles-u-carl-ludwig-hubsh-christoph-schiller","title":"Carl Ludwig Hübsch \u0026 Christoph Schiller","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eCarl Ludwig H\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eü\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003ebsch\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003etuba\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChristoph Schiller\u003c\/strong\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003espinet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e7 untitled tracks, total time:  53:07\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eRecorded in Cologne and Basel, February and November 2009\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/carl_ludwig_hubsCh_Longrun_Development_in_Noordwolde-3195936216_480x480.jpg?v=1751882179\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_383\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_384\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_298\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“On the surface, the pairing of tuba with spinet seems an eccentric one, both for historical and sonic reasons. The spinet—a smaller version of the harpsichord—was losing popularity by the time the tuba was on the rise. Each has largely been used in an accompanying role, and there are few contexts in which the two have played together. The tuba's bass sounds are in complete contrast to the higher pitches of the spinet, bringing to mind cartoon images of an elephant and a mouse.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eBut none of that concerned tuba player Carl Ludwig Hübsch and spinet player Christoph Schiller when they first played together in 2008-09; they felt a strong connection in their playing—the kind of thing that transcends details of instrumentation; it remains obvious here.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eIn fact, both Hübsch and Schiller have modified their chosen instruments, in the process getting rid of the seeming disparity. Schiller's spinet has become a semi-percussive instrument, amply illustrated by this CD's opening sounds which are most reminiscent of the clacking of an old-fashioned typewriter. Elsewhere, it sounds more like prepared piano—or even a detuned guitar when Schiller strikes or plucks the strings inside. In similar fashion, the tuba produces notes far higher than its stereotypical oom-pah, the result of Hübsch's breath control and circular breathing. Put that all together and it is certain less than one person in a hundred could correctly identify the instrumentation here.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eBe that as it may, the dominant factor is that strong connection that Hübsch and Schiller recognised in each other. It means they produce subtle music that is both sympathetic and beautiful, ultimately making the vagaries of their instruments irrelevant.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“This evening’s CD of choice has been another in the recent Another Timbre mini series of “Duos with Brass” recordings, this time the all acoustic combination of Christoph Schiller’s spinet and Carl Ludwig Hübsch’s tuba. The music is indeed all acoustic, but in the liner notes written by Hübsch he describes some of the sounds he makes as “mechanically created electronic music” a description that essentially doesn’t make any sense, but does perhaps lend some kind of meaning to the way these two musicians, like in the case of the Hayward\/Fabbriciani album I wrote about a couple of days ago, use their instruments merely as tools to create as wide a range of sounds as possible, escaping their histories, and starting instead with a new palette. For once on this recording I think I can always tell the two musicians’ contributions apart, but this time I am often stumped when trying to figure out how either of the musicians came up with the sounds they use.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eI have written about Christoph Schiller’s music a few times here before, and described his spinet, an instrument I have never known used in free improvisation before, This slightly adapted traditional relation of the harpsichord is used by Schiller as much as a stringed instrument as a relation of the piano, but he adds eBows, fans and other non traditional items to the strings to pull out a wide range of tonal, as well as percussive sounds. Hübsch is new to me, but he has a very delicate touch with an instrument that he himself describes in the liners as having “the clumsiness of an elephant” In actual fact elephants are known to be very gentle and sensitive creatures, and Hübsch’s playing is similar here, usually quite muted, raging between breathy hisses and low smooth tones, far from clumsy, full of refined craft and thoughtful placement. There are tiny sounds, passages of longer tones, scratchy, fidgety periods, soft, textural exchanges and moments of near silence.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eThe album, which is intriguingly titled Gilles U is mostly an understated, thoroughly considered and thoroughly beautiful affair. There are no fireworks, few shocks and no interest in finding new ways of playing purely for the sake of it. This is another case of strong improvisation played by dedicated, sensitive musicians that makes no attempt to rewrite the rulebooks, but is just a fine example of musicians fully in tune with both their instruments and each other. (the duo have played together often in the past). I have said similar things about other CDs before, but sometimes this is all that matters. Schiller and Hübsch’s music here is lovely to follow, to wrap your ears around and into.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,  The Watchful Ear\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400694104378,"sku":"at32","price":5.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at32GilesU.jpg?v=1749125631"},{"product_id":"pie-and-mash-mathias-forge-olivier-toulemonde","title":"Mathias Forge \u0026 Olivier Toulemonde","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eMathias Forge \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e      \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003etrombone\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eOlivier Toulemonde \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eacoustic objects\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003erecorded in Sheffield, January 2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eTotal time:  39:08\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/mathias_forge_20_mars-3187325576_480x480.jpg?v=1751881643\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_383\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_384\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_294\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“Trombone and \"acoustic objects\", a single live track, and a very rewarding one. Forge sticks largely to breath tones and other non-trombonely sounds while Toulemonde excites objects in a largely unquantifiable manner, though one guess at some things like rolled marbles. It all works wonderfully. It's interesting, listening to four releases like these that have a certain amount in common, which ones work better (for different reasons) and trying to quantify why this is so. As ever, it comes back to the sensitivity of the musicians involved and how that matches up to the listener's own. In the case of \"Pie 'n' Mash\", the unusual thing for this  listener's proclivities is that the music is at once quite active, even intensely so, yet never feels busy or rushed, as though that particular level of percolation fits perfectly and naturally. It's fairly quiet and not at all strident, which helps. There's also, as I find to be the case with much music in this general area that I end up enjoying, a real sense of air around the sounds, a depth to them, as when Forge's airy blasts whoosh through the aural space, from back to front while Toulemonde's skitterings weave on a diagonal between them. Well, that's the best I can do, anyway. Strong recording.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“The fourth and last in the recent Duos with Brass series of releases on the Another Timbre label, a series that has so far produced a number of heartily enjoyable acoustic improv recordings. This one comes from the French duo of Matthias Forge (trombone) and Olivier Toulemonde (acoustic objects) and revels in the gloriously un-French title Pie ‘n’ Mash, but then given that this music was recorded early this year in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England perhaps the title isn’t a surprise ;)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eI have always really enjoyed the music of Matthias Forge, both on the occasions I have seen him live and on the few CDs I have heard. His trombone playing, which is mostly noteless and yet somehow extends beyond mere hisses and splutters into sudden explosions and semi-percussive moments is full of life and energy. I know Olivier Toulemonde’s playing less well, but here he combines superbly with Forge. The duo seem a perfect match for each other. Exactly what the acoustic objects are that he plays I am not certain, but there are plenty of scrapes and rattles of a metallic nature, some bowed sounds and the unmistakeable sound of a small ball bearing spinning in some kind of circular metal lid. the single thirty-nine minute piece here is generally quite quiet and subdued, but also bursts into little patches of frenetic activity where the two sets of sounds blur into each other, scratches and pops and fizzes all mingling together. At its best moments the music sounds like the results of a pig snuffling and snorting its way around a contact mic buried in a scrap metal yard… there is a lot of chirpy playfulness and real pleasure to be heard in this music.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\"Although entirely acoustic, the bright, very ‘present’ nature of the (excellent) recording lends the sounds an almost electronic edge. Gently escaping breath from the trombone sounds like a detuned radio hissing quietly to itself, other sharp percussive swoops and crashes sound amplified, unidentifiable but somehow it all works. Everything folds together into a crunchy, immediate sonic sculpture that feels alive, twisting and turning, airy and spacious and yet vibrant. Pie ‘n’ Mash is a really fine thirty-nine minutes of improvised music, well worthy of its place in this series of releases, and the kind of joyfully direct and expressive music that brightens up days like today.I don't think I heard of Mathias Forge before, but he plays trombone here on this release. He teams up with Olivier Toulemonde, who plays a variety of acoustic objects. This is the one where we probably regret there is no video registration, since it would be great to see what this would look like. Toulemonde skipped the electronics of his earlier work, and just uses amplification in what is a great, refined work of silent music. At times it's difficult to recognize who is doing what here, but throughout the trombone is to be spotted well. A fine blend of electro-acoustic music and improvisation, again with some emphasis on 'silence as an instrument'.  Four fine duos!\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e                                                                              \u003cstrong\u003eFrans de Waard\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eVital Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“Finally two young French musicians (hurrah!) combine on the fourth disc in the series. I know Olivier Toulemonde (acoustic objects) from a trio with Michel Doneda and Nicolas Desmarcheliers, but here he is accompanied by Mathias Forge, trombonist and member of the MICRO collective (musique improvisée en côte roannaise) and, as his CV tells us, a descendant of a long lineage of woodcutters. From the first « sshhtoiiiing ! », you can't help trying to imagine the apparatus involved. It could be threaded rods, springs, balls, bowls, steel wool and other utensils in contact with a vibrating surface, rather like ingredients being cooked in teppanyaki style. There is a clear preponderance of metal objects, and a bow is also used to draw out groans and other sounds. As for the trombone, you hear hissing, humming, coughing, blathering, all executed with great skill and some strident sounds you might expect from a carpentry shop or a maze of pipes used in fluid mechanics. On many occasions the contributions of the two musicians comingle, as when, for example, a cloud of white noise arises that could be either formed in the bell of the trombone or come out a shortwave radio. There is plenty of movement, but without any unnecessary gestures. In the bat of an eyelid we go from chaos to control and back, as when a scraping trowel threatens to break a contemplative pause, or the passage about 15 minutes in when the pace stops suddenly and passion dissolves into serenity. Perhaps this flow without any dead time is explained partly by the fact that this very coherent 38 minutes is actually the result of the (skilful and imperceptible) editing of two performances, one with an audience, the other not.\"  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJean-Claude Gevrey\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003escala tympani\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400746664250,"sku":"at33","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at33pie_n_mash.jpg?v=1749127376"},{"product_id":"cage-four4","title":"Chris Cogburn, Bonnie Jones \u0026 Bhob Rainey","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eChris Cogburn\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003epercussion\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eBonnie Jones\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eelectronics\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eBhob Rainey\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003esoprano saxophone\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e1  Govalle\u003cbr\u003e2  Marfa\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eRecorded in Austin and Marfa, Texas, April 2010\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Bonnie_Han_Jones_Headshot_square-2671473359_480x480.jpg?v=1751880930\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e'Arena Ladridos' was released as part of a series of 5 CDs under the title \u003cstrong\u003eSilence and After.  \u003c\/strong\u003eYou can read reviews of the whole series \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-silence-and-after-cds-in-point-of-departure-by-stuart-broomer\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages%20%E2%80%BA%20review-of-silence-and-after-cds-in-point-of-departure-by-stuart-broomer\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (Stuart Broomer in Point of Departure)  and \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-silence-and-after-series-in-the-wire-julian-cowley\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages%20%E2%80%BA%20review-of-silence-and-after-series-in-the-wire-julian-cowley\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (Julian Cowley in The Wire).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e“Synergies exist within group performance, whereby each individual voice is augmented by another, doubly so in group improvisation. An obvious statement, I know, but what may be less apparent is how this interaction resembles what one might call a nonlinear dynamical system. Here, voices coalesce together into a meshwork, feeding back into one another. This happens either on a purely physical level, where the sounds emitted by each performer interact in harmonic wave patterns; or on a cognitive level, where the decisions of player x influence those of player y (and then y back onto x). The former phenomenon is well-studied — from Bach's counterpoint to Grisey's spectralism, the notion that harmonics behave in a nonlinear fashion has long been entrenched in musical theory — but the latter is a far less understood and applied process, even among social scientists. Fortunately, the group documented by Arena Ladridos are world-class, providing an excellent example of a nonlinear dynamical system.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eFrequently brought together through Austin's No Idea Festival, the trio of Chris Cogburn (percussion), Bonnie Jones (electronics), and Bhob Rainey (soprano saxophone) toured Texas and Mexico in 2010. Arena Ladridos is the recorded document of shows in Austin and Marfa, Texas, with each set comprising a 20-plus-minute track. Each member's credentials are unimpeachable, all having played with premier free improvisers. Jones is a Korean-born, Baltimore-based electronic improviser who makes up one half of English (with Joe Foster) and has played with such luminaries as Andrea Neumann and Toshimaru Nakamura. An instructor at Loyola University of New Orleans, Rainey ought to be familiar to most, as one of the principles of nmperign alongside Greg Kelley. The Austin-based Cogburn might be the least well-known, though his background is equally sound — as curator of No Idea Festival and having played with Vic Rawling, Tetuzi Akiyama, and Annette Krebs, among others.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eSo what then would be the most effective tool for understanding how a nonlinear dynamical system applies to an improvisational work like Arena Ladridos?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eThat would be the language of such a system's limiting behavior. On the opener \"Govalle,\" for example, the trio quickly settles into what would be called a restrained 'attractor,' i.e., a stable point or cycle at which the variables sort of hover around (up to minor perturbation). For much of the first half of the track, the three are caught in this quiet, yet menacing cycle, aptly evoking the rough translation of Arena Ladridos, 'barking sand.' Jones' drone faintly hisses while Rainey and Cogburn emit sparse sounds of airy notes and delicate scratching, respectively. Just over four minutes in, the group attempt to dislodge the muted aesthetic, with each crescendoing simultaneously. But this perturbation is weak, resulting in a regression back to the original, minimal attractor. It isn't until around 12 minutes that the group breaks free of their initial state: Rainey's sax oscillates wildly while Jones introduces an intrusive feedback more akin to Nakamura's troublesome no-input mixer, thus disturbing their environment enough to evolve the system. As a result, for the remainder of \"Govalle,\" Cogburn, Jones, and Rainey bifurcate rapidly between a loud and soft attractor, until finally the system disintegrates.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\"Marfa,\" on the other hand, evolves in a drifting manner as opposed to bifurcation, proceeding sequentially as soft, loud, soft, loud, etc. Instances of unaccompanied 'lowercase' sax quickly transition into a troika of noise and just as swiftly back into near silence. Each quieter moment resembles \"Govalle's\" first attractor, but in no way could any be considered a derivative of another. The outbursts too are varied, ranging from a cacophonous flutter to a radiant drone reminiscent of nmperign's best. These basic components of volume comprise sections of drift, each an incremental development from its associated predecessor.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eFrom the listener's perspective, especially the uninitiated, Cogburn, Jones, and Rainey's improvisation might seem chaotic and formless, but the best players always employ some sort of logic, whether that be agreed-upon heuristics or a player's internal theories. This 'logic' is actualized here through their performance and yet subsequently distorted by one another until they reach an obfuscated, bizarre structure: an instantaneous, complex meme. If this group were of the non-idiomatic persuasion, their aim would be to continually destroy these new memes they've established for themselves. But here the trio seeks to evolve in a novel, seemingly unforeseen way, dodging both exogenous idioms and a reliance on any one endogenous meme. This dismantling of attractors may border on the clinical, but Arena Ladridos is an aesthetic delight, an album that invites both overwrought analysis — as I have done here — and passive splendor — which I recommend you experience.”                   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMatthew Horne\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eTiny Mix Tapes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e‘At the same time, there is silence, a silence which is not an absence of sound but which is the object of a positive sensation, more positive than that of sound. Noises, if there are any, only reach me after crossing this silence.’\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eThere is, often, a gorgeous sense of calm about this record, not a loss of focus or laziness but a willingness to let little happen, for however long it takes, for however long it needs; not imposing, not leading, following the sounds as and when they ask to be heard or made. Though it’s by no means a particularly silent listen, one feels that the lines quoted above, from Simone Weil, do somehow fit: each sound is filtered through a corresponding quietness, each sound is coaxed out of silence and falls back into it, like a wavering fleck of light suddenly emerging, then disappearing back into shadow again. This shouldn’t imply the monastic discipline or asceticism that Weil might have at the back of her mind; rather, the sense is of something relaxed, not casual exactly, but un-worried about grabbing attention or creating something that screams ‘I am important! Listen to me now!’ As time passes, not much might have happened, and so what? Spaces are filled enough, more than enough, so much of the time, and a genuine contemplative quietness can do no harm. To some, this may come across as aimlessness; and, true, compared to the composed or partially-composed work in this area, there is less obvious ‘focus’, less of a clear structural framework. But for me, that’s quite an attractive respite; listening to ‘Arena Ladridos’ allows one, free of overt structural considerations, to quite clearly imagine oneself into a physical space, to imagine the musicians sitting there, in front, perhaps, of a small audience, inhabiting the small room for forty-five minutes, sometimes filling it with sound, sometimes easing back and letting the room itself have a say in matters. There’s something about the logic with which things unfold that means this could be nothing other than a concert recording: the presence of hesitancies, even meandering moments – the imperfections which prevent things from having a surface’s that’s too shiny, that’s ‘just-so’.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eThe first piece begins with tinkling bells, maybe just jiggled or shaken or knocked slightly with the tips of fingers, electronic crackle, and wisps of breath amplified\/modified through saxophone bell and keys. My somewhat whimsical way of listening to this opening minute or so is to imagine that the three musicians are ‘introducing’ themselves, in overlapping fashion. Here is percussion; here is electronics; here is a saxophone. But the separation is really less clear-cut: though it’s normally fairly obvious which sounds are percussion, the concentration on vague or merging tones from electronics and saxophone tend to create a grey area in which anyone could be creating any particular sound. At one point, the sound of a passing car seems to sub for Jones’ electronics, replacing her drone tone with something remarkably similar. It’s not all subtlety and hush, though: Jones’ playing is, at times, quite deliberately harsh, generating sudden beeps that sound like a warning signal, an electrical malfunction, an alarm, and Cogburn’s playing can be quite assertive, though he generally treats his drums as a surface to rub and scrape rather than one to strike and beat.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eIndeed, there’s quite a variety of incident on display: there are a large number of events, however unhurried the pace, and one never feels that the players are holding anything back, practicing an overly studied reticence or aloofness; instead, they are using patience as a general method of working, and the results are to make gestures which elsewhere might seem small or un-dramatic (a surging consonance of crescendo – a half-choked wail rising and falling on intake and outtake of breath – the sound of almost conventional rhythms from drums) possess intense power and concentration. Equally, though, things could go the other way, all three musicians temporarily silent, while a dog barks, or a car distantly passes – where a sine tone sounds like a sucking in of breath or a tiny, suppressed whisper – sounds, sometimes, that seem to come from outside human agency, like those eerie screeches and rumbles one hears from on high in railways stations and near building sites. This or a swelling drama, a concord\/concourse, not rising to shared climax, surging only to swell down again. Matthew Horne, in his review of the album for ‘Tiny Mix Tapes’, describes the process as a group aesthetic in which all three players hover around a particular area for several minutes, attempting, and failing to break out, before eventually moving away in quite dramatic form: “The trio quickly settles into what would be called a restrained 'attractor,' i.e., a stable point or cycle at which the variables hover around (up to minor perturbation). Just over four minutes in, the group attempt to dislodge the muted aesthetic, with each crescendoing simultaneously. But this perturbation is weak, resulting in a regression back to the original, minimal attractor. It isn't until around 12 minutes that the group breaks free of their initial state: Rainey's sax oscillates wildly while Jones introduces an intrusive feedback more akin to [Toshimaru] Nakamura's troublesome no-input mixer, thus disturbing their environment enough to evolve the system.” It’s a nice formal encapsulation of a music that seems to avoid formal systems in the moment of listening, of unfolding: but perhaps it belies the actual lack of overt tension (so often a driver of improvised music) that I feel when playing the CD back; despite abruptions from Jones or from Cogburn, despite intricacies of flow and of incident, the overall impression is unforced, unhurried, unharried. Here, as Weil puts it, noises have to cross the silence before they can be heard.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e                                                                        \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Grundy\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eEartrip\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e“The opening scene in director David Lynch's movie Blue Velvet (1986) shows a placid neighborhood scene of a man watering his lawn. As the camera zooms closer and closer to the grass, the serenity of the landscape is peeled away to reveal a tumultuous battle of tiny insects in a life-and-death struggle that goes on outside of our familiar perspective.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eThe same can be said of these two minimalist improvisation pieces on Arena Ladridos. Recorded in Austin and Marfa, as a part of a Texas and Mexico tour, the trio presents a smoldering and at times an almost imperceptible array of sounds that focus on the possibilities of silence (or near silence).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eA master of minimalist improvisation, Bhob Rainey can be heard in the company of today's free jazz superstars like Axel Dorner, Jack Wright, Jon Mueller, Alessandro Bosetti, and Greg Kelley his partner in Nmperign. This trio presents equal doses of improvisation and environmental tones, spreading an ambient construction, instead of structured tunes.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eThis is not music for the impatient, nor for Dick Clark's dance party. It is about the exploration of the minutia, but not the trivial. Cogburn's percussion is focused more on scrapings than the beat, and Jones' electronics makes use of her circuits' buzz and flutter to complement Rainey's breath. On the surface, nothing is happening here. Such is the verdict if played at low volumes without closer inspection., but at the micro-level the activity is blazing. Rainey is listening and reacting to the slightest movement by Cogburn and Jones' nerve synapses firing repeated instructions to alter pitch and tones. The rise and swell of energy is a tsunami for those living here close to the ground. It's just not apparent to anyone not scrutinizing the minimal.”                                                       \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Corroto\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e“The trio of Chris Cogburn, Bonnie Jones, and Bhob Rainey provide a perfect complement to the other two recordings. The two live sets that make up the recording were captured live at the 2010 No Idea Festival in Austin and Marfa, Texas. There’s a markedly transparent sound to this trio with silence and ambient sound a distinguishing element to the unfolding improvisations. The character of each of the musicians makes a specific and discrete mark on the music; Rainey’s fricative overtones and sibilant use of breath, Jones’ burred and cracked circuits, and Cogburn’s gesturally abraded percussion. Their music is a tightrope display of careful listening as the three explore a dynamic sense of elastic balance. Over the course of these two sets, the trio evolves a potent collective vocabulary. Gesture plays a much stronger role here than in the previous two releases but each of the members eschews the use of conversational activity, instead, pursuing vectors of countervailing lines that coalesce around velocity and dynamics while creating a mutable tension. The three can drop down to near silence with wisps of detail or erupt in boisterous crescendos, but they emerge in a natural progression rather than any forced sense of formal arc. Rainey is fairly well documented, but Jones, and particularly Cogburn, have not recorded as frequently; this is a particularly welcome release and one I’ve been going back to often.”                                   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMichael Rosenstein\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eSignal to Noise\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400795423034,"sku":"at35","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at35arenaladridos.jpg?v=1749128513"},{"product_id":"wunderkammern-rhodri-davies-lee-patterson-david-toop","title":"Rhodri Davies, Lee Patterson, David Toop","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\" class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eCD sold out\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eDavid Toop\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003elaptop, steel guitar, flutes, percussive devices\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eRhodri Davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eharp, ebows, electronics, preparations\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eLee Patterson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eamplified devices, field recordings\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e6 tracks totalling 57:40\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003erecorded in London, July 2006\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Lee-Patterson-does-the-Table-1073389196_b07c9c14-bd72-492f-8af4-0aa8aa5351ed_240x240.jpg?v=1751879941\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e        \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/rhodri-davies-musician-b4458955-adfc-48e8-a455-f80c5791df5-resize-750-1892178282_240x240.jpg?v=1751880068\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e'Wunderkammern' was released as part of a series of 5 CDs under the title \u003cstrong\u003eSilence and After.  \u003c\/strong\u003eYou can read reviews of the whole series \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-silence-and-after-cds-in-point-of-departure-by-stuart-broomer\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages%20%E2%80%BA%20review-of-silence-and-after-cds-in-point-of-departure-by-stuart-broomer\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (Stuart Broomer in Point of Departure) and \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-silence-and-after-series-in-the-wire-julian-cowley\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages%20%E2%80%BA%20review-of-silence-and-after-series-in-the-wire-julian-cowley\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (Julian Cowley in The Wire).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eBelow are some individual reviews of 'Wunderkammern':\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“Listening to this CD made me think a little about how improvisation groups seem to work these days, in this country at least. A few musicians will play together, usually in a concert setting at first, enjoy working together, maybe play some more, and somewhere along the line a CD will appear. Sometimes it feels that, once the CD is recorded, the group can stop playing, at least for a while, as if what they were working towards has been completed. Then, if they record a second time at some point in the future, the musicians will take on the title of the first album as the group name. Such is the tradition. Wunderkammern translates roughly I think as “Wonder room” but the word in German seems to relate to some kind of cabinet of curiosities affair, an image that certainly suits the music recorded herein.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eSo anyway, how does it sound? Well its quite a hard to one to describe really. there is a degree of Buoy in there, a lot of textures and mysterious, hard to attribute sounds. Patterson’s work is possibly the easiest to identify, to me at least as I managed to hear Lee play a great deal around the time this album was recorded. Rhodri Davies plays his electronic hard set-up, so with the exception of the ringing of eBowed strings there isn’t much here that sounds like a harp. David Toop plays a variety of instruments, the primary one listed as laptop, but as flutes, steel guitar and percussive devices also in there his output is perhaps at once the least and most obvious to spot, depending what he has picked up at any one moment in time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eThere is a lot of music here. The album lasts the best part of an hour and stretches across six gloriously titled tracks. Nothing really flows as you might expect it to however, though I’m still undecided if this is a good thing or not. The general feel to all of the pieces is a dark, murky one, as a kind of murmured, gloomy detritus sits at along the bottom of each of the tracks, made up of the contributions of all three musicians, as if the sounds had all come to settle behind the more immediate activity, a layer of rich detail and strange, unidentifiable knocks and cracks and fidgeting. The long fourth track here, named In the dead body of the calf are generated bees (they are all like that!) has a strange, disjointed feel to it. In theory everything is there- the slow textured background, the smaller incidental events on top, but this music is hard to penetrate at times as often the sounds we hear do not seem connected to each other, floating around colliding into things rather than merging seamlessly.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eIts very much a slow, brooding set of music, so everything seems to unfold gradually and each new sound gets the time to be enjoyed slowly and considered against what is nearby before anything new arrives. Toop provides enough in the way of unusual, non-electronic sound to stop the music becoming too soupy and slow, and while on occasions his flute, guitar etc feel a little too out of place they make for an interesting listen that doesn’t conform to expectations. Wunderkammern then is one that will probably need more than the four or five plays I have been able to give it so far to truly reveal all that it has to offer, but it is certainly an enjoyable, subtle listen by three of the UK’s most mature and skilled exponents of this area of improvised music. “                 \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“Patterson's use of field recordings and amplified devices (presumably, those burning and bubbling liquids which he manipulates rather as a professor handles chemicals in a science lab) gives the music a tactile quality amidst the more dominant e-bows and laptop drones that overlap, build up, fade down, move in thickening and thinning cloud masses. Toop's more generally acoustic set-up – he's credited with flutes, steel guitar and percussive devices, as well as the laptop – isn't as fidgety as in the genre-hopping days of Alterations, the group he shared with Steve Beresford, Peter Cusack and Terry Day, but the occasional blown flute tone adds an element to the sound mix that’s more directly traceable to human origin – the sound of breath. In his review of the album for Point of Departure, Stuart Broomer puts it this way: \"There are instants when Toop plays flute in a way that’s so direct and traditional that it’s possible to associate the sound with an ancient pastoral diversion, even the invention of melody.\" It's an attractive proposition, and the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003ecombination of Patterson's labyrinthine rumblings (like being encased in thick masses of earth, crawling with roots and insects and shifting geological movement) with the 'ancient' sound of the flute – the origin of music as imitation of nature (wind, water, air, earth) – and Davies’ less ‘naturally’-based electronics, might be viewed as a union of the most ‘cutting-edge’ musical technology with the most atavistic of suggestions, the most primal and minute of natural processes and settings. Indeed, the track titles (taken from a poem by fifteenth-century alchemist George Ripley,26 amongst other sources) suggest mythology, occult investigations, gnosis: an intersection between magic and science, the new and the old; a cabinet of curiosities (‘wunderkammer’) – a memory theatre in which knowledge is not so much systematised (as it was in the cabinets’ successor, the modern museum) as dramatized, in a bric-a-brac juxtaposition of art, intellectual disciplines and religion. While this alchemical strain is not exactly a ‘sub-text’, a direct thematic parallel with the music herein, some comparisons do suggest themselves– objects changing from one thing into another, as when, say, one sound sets up a drone, others joining, merging with, and eventually subsuming it; and the transformation of base matter (field recordings changing into music, solids dissolving into liquids in Patterson’s glasses). Rather than be too programmatic or extravagantly metaphorical about this, though, it would perhaps be best to take the disc for what it is – a high-quality document of improvised sound. A\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e very strong release.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e“   \u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C-C0\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Grundy\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Emphasis-C-C1\"\u003eeartrip magazine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“In every unforced sonic setting, a thin line divides incident and plan. In fact, the best improvisers are usually those who let their behaviour presume an envisaged impression, despite the autonomy granted by the lack of a score. But there are exceptions, of course. It happens, for example, when a group of performers – obviously talented and aurally attuned to the inherent laws of acoustic transformation – gathers without even imagining the outcome. They only trust perception, conscious of something that inevitably will happen and, just as inescapably, lead to a revealing experience or – as in the case of this splendid work – to a series of events that justify someone’s transitory belonging within a given space.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eBuilt upon an array of instruments that includes harp, eBow, preparations, electronics, amplified devices, field recordings, laptop, steel guitar, flutes and percussion, Wunderkammern probes the waters of the narrow sea that exists between mere corporeality and superior discernment. A wealth of “ringing-metal-or-electronic?” nuances seriously affects the mind, courtesy of a dedicated arrangement of concretely resounding matters and intuition. Toop’s ability in blending understated scents of ritualism inside the resonant textures generated by Davies’ harp and Patterson’s applications represents an added value to a stirring concoction of suggestions. Feels like being pervaded by the echoes from hundreds of different pasts, morphed into the failure of directing that emotional burst elsewhere. The memory acts as if flooded by previous experiences, from last week or two hundred years ago. A wonderfully daunting commotion, exalted by the balance between the amplification of tiny details and an all-inclusive sense of isolation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eTreating these six tracks as a contingent harmonization of our impermanence would appear offensive. However, do give them a try also according to that method, playing the CD at adequate volume. The malleability and extreme naturalness of each emission, and the way in which the musicians permeate the room of “positive spirits” through a conscientious openness give the indication of a special kind of authenticity. That which explains the following postulation: if “silence” speaks volumes, the sum of vibration and awe equals Silence.”    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eTouching Extremes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“When starting to review, one first has to play the music, well, obviously of course. Usually that starts with the inspection of the cover, press text, website etc, so that I know what I am hearing and I'll be writing about later on. But this doesn't always happen. Sometimes I just pick random a CD from the pile and start playing it. This happens with the first of these three new titles on Another Timbre, UK's fine house for improvised music. I tried to write down what I heard and found myself writing such words as 'electro-acoustic', 'surface scanning' and 'electronics?', but not any specific instrument. Later on I learned that I was listening to Rhodri Davies (harp, ebow, electronics, preparations), Lee Patterson (amplified devices, field recordings etc.) and David Toop (laptop, steel guitar, flutes, percussive devices). So perhaps my sparse notes weren't far off the mark? They recorded these six improvisations already in 2006 in a studio (not in concert, like many other releases on this label) and they put on display their skills in crafting some extraordinary improvised music. What I especially liked about it is the fact that it sounded so without instruments and so much very like electro-acoustic. Davies' harp as big sounding and resonating object and everybody playing small objects on likewise resonating surfaces. Its a fine mixture of improvised music and electro-acoustics.”  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrans de Waard\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eVital Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400813150522,"sku":"at36","price":8.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at36Wunderkammern.jpg?v=1749128640"},{"product_id":"fields-have-ears-pisaro","title":"Michael Pisaro","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e1  \u003cstrong\u003efields have ears 1\u003c\/strong\u003e       for piano and tape (2009)          \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003ePhilip Thomas\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003epiano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e2 \u003cstrong\u003e fade\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e for piano solo  (2000)                                              20:16\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e                                            Philip Thomas\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003epiano\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e                                             \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e3  \u003cstrong\u003efields have ears 4\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003efor four or more players  (2010)       27:40\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e   Philip Thomas,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003epiano  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e  with 10 members of edges ensemble and\u003cbr\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003ePatrick Farmer,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eobjects    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eSarah Hughes, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003ezither\u003cspan\u003e  \u0026amp;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003e Dominic Lash,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003edouble bass\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/michael_pisaro-2650605056_480x480.jpg?v=1751878930\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFields Have Ears \u003c\/strong\u003ewas released as part of a series of 5 CDs under the title \u003cstrong\u003eSilence and After.  \u003c\/strong\u003eYou can read reviews of the whole series \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-silence-and-after-cds-in-point-of-departure-by-stuart-broomer\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages%20%E2%80%BA%20review-of-silence-and-after-cds-in-point-of-departure-by-stuart-broomer\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (Stuart Broomer in Point of Departure)  and \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-silence-and-after-series-in-the-wire-julian-cowley\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages%20%E2%80%BA%20review-of-silence-and-after-series-in-the-wire-julian-cowley\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (Julian Cowley in The Wire).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBelow are some individual reviews of \u003cstrong\u003eFields Have Ears\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e“Ah, so beautiful!   A great release.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“Ah, so beautiful. Three pieces by Pisaro, two more recent works (\"fields have ears\" 1 \u0026amp; 4) bracketing a decade old composition, very well sequenced here.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\"fields have ears 1\", for piano (Philip Thomas) and tape is disarmingly simple, its subtlety and depth yielding to this listener only after repeated listens and absorption. There's the tape, very rich (not sure if there's more than one layered in), with bird and insect sounds up top, moving air in the middle and a heady, deep thrum beneath, redolent of distant highways or miles high airplanes. Between these sounds, the piano appears at intervals, the chords fairly bright sometimes, tinged with doubt or melancholy others, spaced irregularly, dabs of relatively vivid color against the complex welter of the soundscape. It's the spacing and shift in dynamics of the piano that's so winning, even heartbreaking at times, very much like a lone hiker's thoughts, questioning and intensely personal, radiated into the forest for lack of someone else to listen.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\"fade\", for piano (again, Thomas) dates from 2000. The music is a series of single notes, each slice the same note repeated (I think) between five and ten times, generally (not always) fading during the sequence, the notes ranging across the keyboard. At first, each segment floats alone, suspended between ample and varying lengths of silence but soon there's a wave where two or three exist simultaneously, not heard as \"chords\" (at least by me) but superimposed one-note patterns. That shift of larger forms, which occurs throughout, in a cycle of a few minutes, coexists wonderfully with the jewel-like effect of the individual series. It's very calm, very surface-of-water-like, with slight shimmers that gather in a kind of natural manner, almost random but somehow purposeful. Like something from Feldman's even more serene cousin.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eFinally, \"fields have ears 4\", for four or more players, here by the Edges Ensemble plus Thomas, Patrick Farmer (natural objects), Sarah Hughes (zither) and Dominic Lash (double bass). It's extremely difficult not to envision a door being gently opened and closed, allowing one to momentarily hear this quiet flurry of activity, then not. These small bubbles of sound, emerge and quickly recede, like smoke signals. These musical puffs are delicate, the piano heard among the fluttering instruments in a semi-similar regard as it was in \"fields have ears 1\", single chords wafting through the lovely fog. Really a stunning piece of work, a new favorite of mine among Pisaro's increasingly impressive recorded catalog. A great release.”                              \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“This was the first disc of the ‘Silence and After’ series to which I listened, and it proved so compelling that I chose not to play any of the others until I’d really dug (into) it, acclimatised myself to it, let it form a part of my listening habits for the next few weeks at least. Perhaps I didn’t pay it as much close attention as I’d convinced myself I had, for I actually still find it quite hard to write about; but perhaps, also, the fact that this music can resist analysis after being lived with for a certain period tells you more than any lengthy critical spiel would have.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eIn any case, what we have here are three compositions by Pisaro (I’m assuming that the first two, at least, are fully notated, though the final, ensemble piece, would seem to allow more space for a certain amount of improvisation, within certain, fairly strict parameters, especially given that it’s credited as a ‘realisation’ of the original work). ‘Fields Have Ears 1’ is for piano and tape (a fairly sparse field recording which features birds, the occasional distant rumble of a passing plane, and the hiss of the recording device). One might say that the tape functions in much the same way that silence does on the other two pieces – i.e. as the actual substance of much of the piece, often seeming to take precedence over any notes that are played. (I’m reminded of Pisaro’s comments in the liner notes to last year’s Terry Jennings\/John Cage release, ‘Lost Daylight’, along the lines that even the sounds in Jennings’ piano pieces have silences in them.) What piano we do hear reminds me, a little, of the way that Jennings’ work emerges from European serialism and the La Monte Young\/ Cageian turn to Oriental philosophy with what one might call a softer side – being unafraid to use consonant, ‘pretty’-sounding chords. As I noted in a previous review of the Pisaro\/Taku Sugimoto duo album on erstwhile, this is a risky policy to adopt – the shock of the pretty in an avant-garde context can wear off into mere gloopiness if not done exactly right – but the note combinations Pisaro asks for on these works are actually less up-front in their prettiness than Jennings’, particularly given the way that they’re strung out between such long silences.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e‘Fade’, a work that is by now ten years old, is more immediately stark: the pianist plays a repeated (pedall’d) note, slowly, before pausing and playing a repetition of a different note, pausing again, playing another note, and so on. There’s a kind of lag here that’s implied in the title – not in the sense of “echoes, dying, dying, dying”, but as something vaguer, a slight blurring at the edges, repetition of the note not so much emphasising it as enclosing it in a kind of haze (a consciousness emerging from the use of delay effects that’s been enabled by electronics). I’d concur with Yuko Zama, who writes that, “in Pisaro’s piano pieces, the composer and performer’s personal voices are not on the centre stage” [1]; but this does not make the piece in any way ‘mechanical’, ‘cold’, ‘impersonal’, etc: rather, we approach an egolessness that is at the heart of much post-AMM ideology, and that has something akin to the communal approach which western classical music forgot about for a couple of centuries, but which the rest of the world managed to retain and partially teach us back once we began to realise our mistake. I’m not saying that Pisaro’s music really has make in common with any of these communal musics – in terms of sound it’s very much part of a particular western lineage (the piano being the ultimate symbol of western classical music, even) – but it does approach similar insights from a different angle, particularly on this disc’s third track.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e‘Fields Have Ears 4’, the most recent piece, expands things right out, to include an ensemble of fourteen players (in which Thomas’ piano is the most prominent and recognisable sound), but it manages the feat of making the large group sound incredibly delicate and small. Here we have exhalations, indentations, modifications of silence; slight change, but no ‘development’ as such. And yet something is changed; as the ensemble musically breathe together, as they repeat the process of unison sounds followed by silences, those sounds and those silences start to change, to shift. Whilst one is first conscious of Thomas’ chiming chords – a kind of early signal at the start of the sounding sections – and can just about pick out a clarinet from the quiet cloud of players, one gradually comes to recognise other elements in the texture; in particular, at the prickling edge of stereo picture (preventing things from becoming too smoothly ‘pure’), the rustle\/crackle of Patrick Farmer’s natural objects. How a large ensemble controls itself to such quietude is quite astonishing, and lends the piece something which a small group playing at the same level could not have achieved – and something which is more than just a trick or an example of human dexterity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eIn both ‘Fade’ and ‘Fields Have Ears 4’, one might visualise the sounds as having physical presence – sculpturally or architecturally, as objects that hang in space – sound as such being material in space. Let’s say, somewhat fancifully, that silence functions like the air between the columns of a colonnade; or perhaps it would be more apposite to reverse the metaphor, so that the sounds are the air, the silences the actual structural that intersects and defines it. Then again, let’s just ditch the analogy altogether, for the relationship between sound and silence is more symbiotic than it allows. Sound modifies silence modifies sound (and the subsequent sound\/silence of life after you listen). That’s the great legacy of 4’33”, as explored in Kyle Gann’s recent book ‘No Such Thing as Silence’ – a listening awareness expanded beyond the conventionally musical to include one’s environment as a whole (which is an expansion outward but also an expansion inward, into the ‘minute particulars’ of a particular moment or location or space – “the \/ flight back\/ to where \/ we are” [2]; “the original experience of now and here and this; […] not […] to look at a different world, but to look at this same world differently.”[3]) Thus Pisaro’s use field recordings – listening back to the world and incorporating it into the music, not so much in a ‘chance’ manner, but with structural intent. If the aim is not to introduce natural sounds for aleatory effect, neither is it to mimetically replicate anything as a kind of hyper-realist version of programme music, a couple of stages beyond Respighi’s or Hovhaness’ decorative incorporation of bird- and whale-song into otherwise fairly conventional orchestral works. [4] In point of fact, the sounds we hear on ‘Fields Have Ears 1’ are not pure field recording – there are a couple of unobtrusive sine tones in there, I believe, though they take up a smaller part of the sonic picture than the tape hiss which is up-front throughout (and yet doesn’t give a lo-fi impression at all, perhaps because Thomas’ piano playing is so lovingly recorded). The danger, nonetheless, is still that one will be tempted to say ‘oh, nice bird song, that’s pretty’ and leave the music on the level of a BBC sounds effects cassette tape with some added piano chords here and there.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eFurther, one might argue that the use of field recordings is an established technique for Pisaro now, and is perhaps even in danger of becoming a tad hackneyed at times (I wasn’t too keen on the ocean waves that appeared in the third piece of his duo recording with Taku Sugimoto). On the evidence we have here, though, I don’t think that at all; I find it impossible not to admire the care of shaping, refining, honing this aesthetic of silence in a way that extends beyond initial theoretical generalisations and into the fabric of the work’s construction and execution. Perhaps it’s the compositional framework that imposes a necessary rigour on what could become unfocussed, random, or meandering in improv contexts when everyone’s having an off-day – though that said, Sugimoto’s turn to ultra-ultra minimalism in his recent composed work doesn’t, for me, have the same rigour in its translation to disc (live, it may be wonderful, the creation of a specific kind of shared experience). I don’t think I could pin-point exactly why this is, but, somehow, the recordings of Pisaro’s pieces that I’ve heard do work as discs, as albums separated from their live moment of creation; they do still function as compelling experiences.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e‘Fields Have Ears,’ then (the album as a whole), possesses a spareness which is not emptiness, and a real clarity – each note is weighted and considered and placed, each pause judged, each element considered. In a way, one can’t distinguish too easily between whole and parts because it’s not developmental (apart from that it occurs in time; as music, it is necessarily linear on the most basic level). Close focus is, then, on the moment, though the music is generous enough to allow for moments of inattention too, occasional drifts in concentration, without severely harming one’s ability to pick up the thread again when one zones back in. That lack of distinction between episodes, that lack of build and climax might seem like mere flatness to some, but it’s actually pretty hard to achieve, especially on a long, large-ensemble piece like ‘Fields Have Ears 4’; a state that cannot be conjured without real dedication, on the part of both composer and performers, to the particular aesthetics which enable and prompt it.”     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Grundy\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eStreams of Expression\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400818360634,"sku":"at37","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at37Pisarofieldshaveears.jpg?v=1749128784"},{"product_id":"dying-sun","title":"Martin Küchen \/ Nikos Veliotis \/ Ingar Zach","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eLooper:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMartin Küchen\u003c\/strong\u003e  saxophones\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNikos Veliotis\u003c\/strong\u003e cello\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIngar Zach\u003c\/strong\u003e percussion\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e1.  grand redshift\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e2.  hazy dawn\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e3.  near eternity\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003erecorded in Albi, France, January 2010\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eDying Sun was released as part of a series of 5 CDs under the title \u003cstrong\u003eSilence and After.  \u003c\/strong\u003eYou can read reviews of the whole series \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-silence-and-after-cds-in-point-of-departure-by-stuart-broomer\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages%20%E2%80%BA%20review-of-silence-and-after-cds-in-point-of-departure-by-stuart-broomer\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (Stuart Broomer in Point of Departure)  and \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/review-of-silence-and-after-series-in-the-wire-julian-cowley\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages%20%E2%80%BA%20review-of-silence-and-after-series-in-the-wire-julian-cowley\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (Julian Cowley in The Wire)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThe following are two of the individual reviews that \u003cstrong\u003eDying Sun\u003c\/strong\u003e received.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“Dying Sun is a superb effort that must be absorbed in total stillness – and, possibly, loneliness – throughout lots of listening sessions. Even a beloved family member interrupting the flux with mundane matters is going to damage the experience. This is the kind of substance that defines a moment of a person’s life very precisely, either implying different mental stances or reinforcing the pre-existing ambition to a salubrious isolation. It’s not for everybody. This lack of democracy should be a rule to follow for artists interested in fusing themselves with the quintessence of vibrational matter rather than getting recognized at all costs.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“Grand Redshift” starts with an underlying hum broken by percussive\/abrasive insertions and a slow tolling. A Radigue-like mass expands, the ears begin to adapt, the skull is gradually saturated. The load is augmented by occlusive low frequencies, a basic pulsation and calculated dynamic fluctuations. A few harmonics seem to adjust to the room, the accumulation becoming gently invasive. It changes noticeably depending on the position you’re in. Dissonant whispers appear, the cello growls mutely, mixed with classic mouthpiece-and-tube activities. A circular snoring of sorts materializes, followed by more humming. Patterns – albeit atypical – exist, electronics (or whatever it is) acting subliminally on the perceptive mechanisms. Quiet elements that elicit sensations of impending disaster. Cyclical creaking camouflaged within the reeds, a regular rhythmic tapping subtending a lengthy stretch. No one seems willing to come to the forefront, the single components measurable nonetheless. Dropping drones, think “fragments of engine”, get highlighted by a rough whirr underneath. Ineluctability reigns without openings to light, evoking pessimism. An engrossing listen, anyway.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“Hazy Dawn” is introduced by a cymbal (gong?) resonance accompanied by an irregular buzz, faint overtones materializing shortly thereafter. It justifies feelings of involvement, preoccupation and alertness, its reverberating halos taking command little by little. The piece is so beautiful, a restrained composition picking the “right” inside strings; we have always belonged herein. And, unfortunately, it is too short. “Near Eternity” is even simpler: fixed pitches akin to controlled feedback, the repetitiveness of a remote bump, the gradual diminishing of already weak signals ending the segment by leaving a huge question mark hanging over our heads.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eOne of the top three releases in Another Timbre's catalogue, simple as that.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eTouching Extremes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e“This is a fused trio. Their music is vibrant and gentle, like the sounds of the sea that can be heard on old boats navigating an  archipelago. Low puffing noises, swaying and splashing sounds. And it evokes a sense of ancient power, which I mean as a compliment.  It is a music of great depth which reminds me both of the Djurgården ferry and a journey of death on the river Styx. It has the same captivating natural pulse, as if you’re listening to someone's breathing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eThe music settles near the existential experience of pain, fear, desire to escape, confinement. The end is near at hand, since these three musicians are so successful in getting the music to throb as if it wanted out. They circle it and created a place for it as if it is an unruly animal that they have to keep in check.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eSo I listen only to the trio, before I try to trace the special sounds of the instruments: Veliotis on cello, Küchen’s saxophone or Zach's drums. It is so slow, as if all the players are happy to hide within the sounds, which sometimes become almost too fluid, and furtive. Then I get impatient and think, come on, come forward, and then sure enough you’ll hear some unexpected undulating sounds from the drums, or a stubborn sliding sound, perhaps derived from nervous abrasive bowing on the cello, or a sound that  mixes a little taste of metal and air, so must be Küchen. The music has a quality of  such thinness  that it feels like a sky from which the clouds have disappeared. Over there I sense Zach's cymbal sounding and music that has passed through an electronics mixer and  turned into floating objects, vague in outline but with the nucleus of each instrument as a clue.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eThis is a music without sharp outlines, but also a music that remains at the centre rather than hanging round the edges. There is a willingness to gather in a common desire or thought.  If this has meditative or even religious connotations, I cannot confirm or deny.   The third track begins with a vague tone that is punctured by Zach's muffled timpani.   \"Near Eternity\" is wetted gently by Küchen’s lips pressing against the reed so that we find ourselves inside a large reverberant tone. It is highly effective, dramatically - and creates a sense of mystery. I do not want to be seduced in this way, and yet I give in to it.  It is so peaceful but never mawkish. The music has a strong spatial sense, an impression of walls and boundaries being created by a seeping black gas that comes from the musicians’ closed eyes. A drone emerges from the disorder near the end, then fades away leaving only a slight hissing noise.  The last thing that decays is a fading pulse.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eThis is something much more than the usual reductionist Improv. For me it is a visit to the space that John Cage called ‘silence’.  But perhaps a little more varied, as the three musicians examine sounds beyond the usual, listening to the pulse beats. As if they were recalling that most  well-known of Cage’s stories, when he enters an anechoic chamber - and hears his own nervous system and pulse.  So although I don’t depend on Cage, it is appropriate that it is part of Another Timbre’s Silence and After series, as it inevitably recalls the famous American’s book ‘Silence’. ”    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e  \u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThomas Millroth\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eSound of Music\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400824193338,"sku":"at38","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at38Dyingsun.jpg?v=1749128825"},{"product_id":"spiral-inputs-sophie-agnel-bertrand-gauget-andrea-neumann","title":"Sophie Agnel, Bertrand Gauget, Andrea Neumann","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSophie Agnel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003epiano\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eBertrand Gauguet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003ealto and soprano saxophones\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Neumann\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003epiano frame \u0026amp; electronics\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e4 tracks    total time 51:20\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003erecorded in Mulhouse, February 2010 and Le Garric, June 2008\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/bertrand-gauguet_Gre_ugory_Henrion_480x480.jpg?v=1751876789\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eInterview with Bertrand Gauguet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eI sent a copy of ‘Spiral Inputs’ to someone without telling him what it was.  He was very enthusiastic, and said that “from the first moments you know you’re in safe hands”.  By this he meant that there’s a confidence and cohesiveness in the interplay between the three of you that is remarkable. So when and how did the trio come into being, and – given that you all live in different cities - how much have you worked together as a group?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eSophie and I originally had a duo, but we wanted to develop it into a trio.  As we wanted the music to be oriented towards electronics, we contacted Andrea.  We first worked as a trio during a residency at GMEA d’Albi in France and had our first concert there in June 2008.  The central feature of this residency was that we should work with the sound technician Benjamin Maumus, in order to carry out explorations using amplification and the experience of listening in a playing situation.  Benjamin set up a system whereby our sounds were distributed more or less randomly across 15 speakers, and so our sonic sources were being widely diffused in a way that modified our processes of listening.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eLater we had another residency which was organised by the Festival Météo in Mulhouse, where we did two concerts. So we haven’t played together all that often, but when we have, we’ve had both the time and space to explore together.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eTell me a bit more about the electronic diffusion of your sounds. Was it a strange experience to hear ‘your’ sounds coming from elsewhere? And did it change the way you played and listened?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eYes, very much.  For example, there was a speaker under the piano frame which only broadcast the sounds of the alto saxophone, and another underneath that which carried Andrea's sounds.  And there was another right next to me which only broadcast the piano, and so on.  Benjamin worked with the spatial diffusion while we were playing, which had the effect of troubling our sense of the sound sources and the sound balance so that a different sonic image was produced.  Listening to and playing in this way drew you into a sense of losing control, forcing us to de-centre our methods of playing and listening.  It was a truly enriching experience.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eIn ‘Spiral Inputs’ melodic elements are used to an extent that’s unusual in improvisation. It’s not that there are any tunes, but there are certainly places where melody is used alongside more customary ‘abstract’ textural sounds. Was this something that you decided to explore, or did it just happen?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eIt just happened !\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe melodic elements, together with the cohesiveness of the music, made me wonder to what extent these pieces are ‘free improvisation’. Did you prepare or rehearse the music in any way?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eSome of the pieces were improvised without any prior discussion. But others were the end result of a process of research into our different ways of playing, the different materials we use, and into the ways in which we listen and react to each other.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eTell me a bit about yourself. When did you start playing improvised music?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eI became committed to this area of music after meeting Michel Doneda in 1999, and then Barre Phillips the following year.  As a result of these encounters I was able to see more clearly what areas I wanted to focus on, areas that I was already exploring intuitively both with the saxophone and with electronics.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eIt was at this time that I also began organising concerts in Rennes and founded a group for working in interdisciplinary arts\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eWho are the players who have affected you the most?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eAside from the two musicians I mentioned before, the players who stand out for me (and for very different reasons) are probably: Archie Shepp, Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, John Butcher\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eAxel Dörner, Lê Quan Ninh, Otomo Yoshihide and John Tilbury.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eWhat direction do you see yourself following in the near future?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eI want to continue the work I’ve done with electronics, which is something I’ve let slip a bit recently, so this year I have a residency at Muse en Circuit where I want to produce an album.  As for improvisation, there are lots of new pathways that I’m exploring, but I’d rather not talk about them until they’ve become more concrete….\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eExplain a bit more about your work with electronics.  I’ve only heard you on saxophone, and didn’t realise you’ve had a long-term involvement with electronics as well.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eIt's a part of my work that's remained fairly obscure up to now.  I produced some electronic pieces for artists' \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003efilms, for choreographers and also for the radio.  It's a music that you could describe as lo-fi but which is also \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eabstract and has narrative elements.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eFrom outside, France appears to offer a lot more state support for experimental musicians than most other countries. I’m sure the reality probably isn’t so rosy, but does the system there make it viable for people like to you make a living from the music?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hps-C\"\u003eIn France there’s a mechanism whereby if an artiste can prove that he or she has a certain number of professional engagements, then they are entitled to a monthly allowance from the state on which you can live.  But this system has been dramatically tightened in recent years and many artistes have lost that status.  For musicians involved in experimental work such as improvisation, it’s often particularly difficult to maintain your status because of the commitments and pressures of the area. But it is true that in France arts and culture are funded overwhelmingly by the state.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Sophie-Agnel-1722143753_240x240.jpg?v=1751877023\"\u003e       \u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Andrea_Neumann_240x240.jpg?v=1751877066\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eReviews:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e“the trio’s music attains a truly remarkable limpid beauty”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e“Recorded in two sessions in 2008 and 2010, Spiral Inputs brings together three great explorers in four hallucinating improvisations. One disc, two sessions, three musicians, four improvisations, five instruments for only one result: a very singular dream voyage, neither anxious nor calm, navigating through strata that are autonomous and fluctuating, but according to a certain logic and never gratuitous.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe first thing that strikes you in these improvisations is the singularity of the timbre (probably largely due to the originality of the instrumentation), but also its expanse and its richness. The meeting of these three musicians is alchemical: while the musical personalities are clearly distinct, they couldn't be better coordinated or balanced. The delicacy and attention to detail of Sophie Agnel allows Bertrand Gauguet space to deploy his discrete gentleness, while the infinite creativity of Andrea Neumann enriches the wealth and depth of these four improvisations. At first sight each player seems to be exploring and employing only one single parameter and instrumental timbre, independently of the others, but they are listening and take account of each other in ways that bring together their experiments into a homogenous and coherent sonic landscape. The experimentation forms layers and strata which overlap, interlock and unfold in a simple but organic architecture.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eIf the ensemble sound is coherent and homogenous, the sonic landscapes are extremely diverse and heterogeneous. Spiral Inputs navigates between different biospheres governed by different laws (differentiation, opposition, symbiosis, etc..) and within multiple environments. These creation of these musical territories contain multiple energies composed of cold, abstract levels, obsessive repetitions, disturbing arpeggios and abyssal resonances. As many soft sounds as violent form this strange and unreal musical cosmos, ghostly, almost evanescent as each phase seems ephemeral and precarious. I say \"almost\" because this evanescence is rather dream-like: if each landscape seems volatile, it has nevertheless the consistency of a dream-scene, guided by the inaccessible logic of the sleeper.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eSpiral Inputs unites three musicians who know how to explore the deep foundations of their collective unconscious, and that of their instruments, and who can thus lay bare the creative process. An introspective and poetic journey which leads the listener into the abysses of a creativity that is at once rich and minimalist, as reduced as it is profound. Four electroacoustic pieces, dreamy, captivating and bewitching.” \u003cstrong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eJulien Heraud\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eimprov-sphere\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003e‘\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003e”Spiral Inputs possesses all the qualities of a masterpiece”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe different levels between performers working in comparable sectors of the musical area concerning with the atypical exploitation of the acoustic properties of instruments inside a room derive from the ability of repeatedly causing what in recent years has instead practically disappeared. The kind of emotional, visceral response to a sound – alone or in a combination – that brings the listener to mentally exclaim “a-ha” if he\/she’s particularly cold-blooded, and to perceive veritable goosebumps, or get a glimpse of something within ourselves connected with a past experience, in relation to the manifestation of such a type of sonic circumstance.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eSpiral Inputs possesses all the qualities of a masterpiece, becoming evident since the initial spin. The palette is shaped by two pianos (a “regular version” with preparations, a second deprived of the insides whose frame is used with electronics) and two saxophones. The sounds appear, first softly tapping our attention’s shoulder, then establishing a silent authority given by the peculiar mixture of incisiveness and delicacy that the musicians concoct. Occasionally one distinguishes “roles” – Agnel, for example, is the engenderer of occasional monochrome patterns or, if you will, the most noticeable rhythmic component in the general texture – but there’s no question about the fact that the tapestry weaved by the artists does not imply compartments. It’s a wonderful wholeness, made of natural-sounding diversity, a resonant heterogeneity whose constituents make a responsive audience richer, willing to abandon a customarily passive role of mere receivers. We feel like wanting to materially participate in the performance in a way or another. This is the sign of a capacity to involve that not many musicians own.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eShould I be forced to pick a favourite amidst the four tracks the choice would fall on “Spiral #3”, gifted with an additional dose of mystery, a fragmented eeriness that, after a while, opens up to a repeated cluster by Agnel; its beauty is literally aching, bringing back memories of childhood in a flash. But the whole album deserves a plaque in the Hall Of Fame of the last decade’s best improvisation. A mature statement that leaves the doors open to throbbing hearts while still walking along the ear\/brain gratification axis.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003eTouching Extremes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C31\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C31\"\u003eI’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony,”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003e the New Seekers sang in that old Coke commercial, giving voice to a toxic musical platonic ideal. How much music is rendered unlistenably bland by the search for perfection? Sophie Agnel, Bertrand Gauguet and Andrea Neumann not only embrace the impossibility of perfect harmony, they go out of their way to foster confusion.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Body-Text-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Body-Text-C\"\u003eAlongside these three (who play piano, saxophones, and piano frame, respectively), there is a fourth member — engineer Benjamin Maumus. His unique speaker setup during the recording ensured that the musicians rarely were certain of the origin of the sounds they heard. He scattered speakers throughout the recording and performance spaces, and routed sounds so that the speaker nearest a musician might exclusively play someone else’s sounds. Combine this with the presence of two pianos (albeit one that is unboxed) and you’ve got a fine mess that keeps the players off balance. Everyone in the group had to really listen to figure out whether the sounds they heard first were their own or someone else’s.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Body-Text-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Body-Text-C\"\u003eIronically, this off-center strategizing has yielded some admirably balanced improvisation. All three players come from a generation that has embraced extended technique as an essential. Gauguet plays more rasps and moans than recognizable notes on his horns, but is more overtly expressive than, say, Bhob Rainey or Stephane Rives. Neumann matches his lower pitches with e-bow hums, and Agnel spends plenty of time rummaging inside her instrument’s innards. But even musicians devoted to the extraction of unfamiliar sounds can amass a familiar vocabulary. While Maumus’s spacialization doesn’t mess with the musicians’ sounds, it does oblige each one to work hard in order to be aware of the group context. They respond to the uncertainty with both attunement and quiet abandon, which yields music that is constantly changing yet well paced, at once detailed and immersive. Their playing eschews conventional harmony, but the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Internet-link-C\"\u003ecomplementarity\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Body-Text-C\"\u003e of the action is so harmonious that they establish a Platonic ideal of their own.”        \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Body-Text-C-C0\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBill Meyer\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Body-Text-C-C1\"\u003eDusted\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400833139002,"sku":"at39","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at39SpiralInputs.jpg?v=1749128899"},{"product_id":"horsky-park","title":"Thomas Lehn \u0026 Tiziana Bertoncini","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\" style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003eCD copies nearly sold out\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e1. Galaverna   29:56\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e2. Moss agate   12:52\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eTiziana Bertoncini \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eviolin\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eThomas Lehn\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eanalogue synthesiser\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e(1) recorded in Milan, Italy in July 2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e(2) recorded in Heidelberg, Germany in November 2006\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/lehn_bertoncini_480x480.jpg?v=1751876348\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eReviews:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e“Really great stuff, my favourite improvised album of this year so far.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e“Horsky Park is the title of the rather fine new album by Thomas Lehn and Tiziana Bertoncini, one of yet another new batch of discs on the seemingly infatigueable Another Timbre label. Lehn’s music I know very well, his work on analogue synth is, in my opinion unrivalled. Bertoncini however, an Italian violinist is a new name to me, though about of googling around informs me that she has been working in various ways with Lehn for almost a decade now. This is the fortieth AT release ‘proper’, but Lehn also appeared on one my favourites from the label, the Obdo duo with Frédéric Blondy. This one follows hot on the heels, but, as we might expect from Lehn, who is one of the most versatile and yet still consistent improvisers working today, this CD is quite different.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThere are two tracks, an opening piece named Galverna that lasts half an hour and is a straight improv recording, and then Moss Agate, clocking in at thirteen minutes and apparently recorded during a “dance-installation-media festival” in Germany, the two musicians performed in separate “open containers” that faced each other, with Bertoncini’s sounds fed into an input on Lehn’s synth, and as other events took place in other nearby “containers” so some external sounds creep in. The CD begins quietly and cautiously, but quite soon the amplified violin can be heard confidently thrusting sounds at us, rasping bow strokes and firm, almost violent sounding wrenches across the strings. Around and between these attacks Lehn very cleverly drops a wide variety of sounds, from soft purrs and whines to sudden aggressive splashes and one or two thoroughly angry explosions. The violin reminds me of Luigi Nono’s composition so often, in places I hear Fragmente-Stille’s tormented struggles with language present, but it is probably the sense of harsh, vibrant musicality that pushes me that way the most, reminding me often of Nono’s more troubled, upsetting music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eGalaverna is a work of some power. It isn’t clear if the recording was made in front of an audience or not, but if it was then anyone in attendance probably witnessed something quite spectacular as the music here really bursts from the stereo with real urgency, and live this would have been amplified further. Lehn is excellent on this first track. His range, and also his choices in what sounds to choose and when is so impressive. Violin wrenches will fill the foreground for a few seconds, but when they cut away they invariably leave a synth sound completely at aesthetic odds with the bowed sound, a deliberate ploy to push the music into more uncharted territory perhaps, and often in this recording there are moments when Lehn’s sounds will suddenly rise from behind something and take you completely by surprise. Galaverna isn’t quiet music, the sounds we hear literally burst from the speakers but it also sounds controlled enough and responsive enough to make the amount of consideration given to each sound one of its strongest points.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eMoss Agate is quite different. If Galaverna sounds aggressively forthright and energetic then the second track seems to tone much of this down, shifting to small pops and crashes, mostly from Bertoncini with Lehn laying a seemingly harmless and faintly watery composition down behind the violin. This piece is a nice counterpoint to the opening track, but it also has a slightly more spacious feel to it as sounds bounce about and reflect from one of the ‘containers’ to another. This element doesn’t always work for me and isn’t an improvement over the straight improv of the opening track, primarily because it feels like some of the raw edge of the music has been flattened a little, but its a small quibble when everything else is so addictively listenable here.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eHorsky Park is an intense affair. Both musicians push at each other, challenging either with the sheer force and surprise of a sound or often the complete reverse. The interplay between the duo is both fascinating and engaging however and listening to this CD it was these elements, the tussles, the surprises, the understanding of how it all fits together on a mutual level that kept bringing me back. If Horsky Park were a book, someone would have written somewhere that it just couldn’t be put down before its ending. Really great stuff, my favourite improvised album of this year so far.”    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e, The Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e“Tiziana Bertoncini is a young violinist specializing in contemporary art music, improvisation and interdisciplinary events, whose musical activity is still poorly documented on disc. Thomas Lehn needs no introduction in my opinion, his projects and collaborations within the European and American improvised music scenes are as well-known as his rudimentary ‘old school’ approach to music. There are practically two different musical worlds meeting on this disc: a young Italian artiste and an old German geek German (or extraterrestrial being, I still have my doubts).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA surprising and intriguing encounter, then, which manages to overcome and integrate these two different worlds, creating a new one which is equally rich and creative.  On Horsky Park interest resides primarily in the concept of equilibrium: intensities, timbres, silence, analogue and acoustic, microtonality and tonality.  There are countless alternations, numerous pauses, sensational eruptions, and various intentions and energies. Alternately or simultaneously, the violin becomes harsh, aggressive, serious, light, brital, sensitive, silent or noisy, and Thomas Lehn has to balance these different modes of playing with interruptions that are sometimes uncouth or dirty, sometimes pure and synthetic, decorative, rhythmic or melodic and so on, unless I have inverted everything.  The balance is very well managed between synthesiser and violin, which oppose and confront each other whilst in the process of  becoming assimilated (sometimes with a certain apprehension).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe strange fact, however, is that the element that gives this duo its strength is also what constitutes its weakness, especially on the first piece Galaverna.  I’ll explain:  as soon as Lehn and Bertoncini achieve a balance, they do little with it; it’s constantly being broken, fractured and interrupted in the search for a new dynamic – which is sometimes frustrating and often removes the intensity of each moment of equilibrium.  \u003cbr\u003eBut seen from an overall perspective, this game of multiple short dynamics and intensities forms a sort of rhythmic energy which reinvigorates and gives a kind of consistency to the improvisations.  Moreover, this multiplicity of dynamic interruptions is hugely reinforced by the extreme diversity of the two instruments and two musicians:  Lehn with his unique timbre and energy (like an extraterrestrial on acid playing Pacman), and the idioms of composed music and the sonic research of Bertoncini, together create a singular and original universe, which is both new and refreshing.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eEach came equipped with their instrumental baggage, and past music, with their research and its findings, and Horsky Park manages to preserve all of these histories while creating from them something new that arises from their encounter, a third universe in which connections which may seem improbable can be interwoven without difficulty.  Two pieces which are rich in sonorities and dynamics, focusing on an interaction that is marked by urgency and spontaneous reactions; two pieces full of desire and vitality.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJulien Heraud\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eImprov-Sphere\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e“As becomes quickly apparent, Italian violinist Tiziana Bertoncini is classically trained.  Her pool of gestural contours are rooted in string practices that date back centuries, which makes her capacity for reverse-engineering the technical knowhow engrained inside her fingers and muscular memory all the more refreshing – technique throwing her violin to the lions, not exploited to replicate the music she already knows how to play.  The last thing needed in this context would be a second layer of instrumental pyrotechnics.  MIMEO and Konk Pack keyboardist Thomas Lehn sticks to his analogue synthesiser and about ten minutes into the half-hour opening piece “Galaverna”, the duo confront that stylistic elephant in the room: the structure snaps as Bertoncini's figurations chance on some explicitly neo-Baroque arpeggios and Lehn reboots the momentum with voluble, purring glissando shapes.  But I wouldn't want to give the impression that\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eHorsky Park\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis only about stylistic disjoints.  In fact Bertoncini sounds happiest when manipulating her technical dexterity to make the violin unstable – messing with transitory, flaky notes in the unpredictable upper register and scooping sound-masses from her violin's midriff by pressing the bow down 'too' hard.  Lehn responds with sounds that are purposefully synthetic and nothing to do with the instrumental grain: not so much a duo of instruments, as of traditions and cultures honestly played out.”      \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Clark\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003e“What first stands out about \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C0\"\u003eHorsky Park\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space-C\"\u003e is how stellar both Tiziana Bertoncini's and Thomas Lehn's playing is. Their performances on violin and analog synthesizer, respectively, are so notable that each could stand alone as a solo affair. Yet on \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C0\"\u003eHorsky Park\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003e, the listener is confronted by a duo, a setting wherein virtuosity is neither necessary nor necessarily admissible. Despite the pitfalls that individuality presents in group improvisation, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C0\"\u003eHorsky Park\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space-C\"\u003e in whole is as laudable as Bertoncini's and Lehn's 'solo' contributions, if not more.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003eRecorded at Festival Pulsi, Triennale Bovisa last July (\"galaverna\") and the festival Art Ort in 2006 (\"moss agate\"), Horsky Park is the documentation of two sonically and technically distinct pieces that are nonetheless thematically akin. In both \"galaverna\" and \"moss agate,\" Bertoncini's violin asserts an aural leading role, often evolving in directions that allude to composed\/notated idioms. With Bertoncini's direction, Lehn's synthesizer frequently interjects in a reactionary role, engaging in call-response motifs and direct re-appropriation of Bertoncini's sounds. But contrary to the subservient possibilities of this dominance, there is a balance between the two instruments that suggests a heftier engagement on Lehn's part than intimated by an aural glance. Indeed, Lehn's manipulations in \"moss agate\" provide much of the separation between the two sets.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003eThe chronological first track \"moss agate\" is characterized by Lehn's reinterpretation of Bertoncini's violin, hijacking the audio signal from the violin, \"rout[ing it] into the synthesizer's external input to achieve a cross-effecting realtime sound processing.\" Lehn's technique is used to great effect, generating an eerie cyclic structure that perfectly complements Bertoncini's percussive approach and the festival ambiance captured in the recording.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003eContrasted by the Lachenmann-esque plucking of \"moss agate,\" Bertoncini's playing on \"galaverna\" employs longer durations and melodic contours. Still stylistically indebted to notated music, Bertoncini's playing instead resembles Berio's Sequenza VIII, a refreshing departure from the sorts of string playing often found in improvised music. Supporting and subverting these violin manifolds is Lehn, who, while often dormant, deftly prods with his synthesizer. Sometimes inserting near humorous tonality, sometimes bursting with violent shouts, Lehn's instrument is rich in character on \"galaverna.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003eBut it's the equal-tempered fullness of their instruments that equilibrates Horsky Park, allowing two big personalities to co-habitate. And, as marvelous as each performance is, what might be most striking about this album is the duo's commensurate coexistence in sets four years apart, both temporally and aurally.”   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C1\"\u003eMatthew Horne\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eTiny Mix Tapes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Lehn_bertoncini_2_480x480.jpg?v=1751876428\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003e“At around the ten-minute mark of \"Galaverna\", the opening half-hour-epic of Horsky Park, something extraordinary suddenly occurs: Using a tiny island of silence as her home ground, violinist Tiziana Bertoncini first paints a few emaciated brushstrokes of cool, Webern-like sparsity on the all but empty canvas of the piece, then throws herself into an extended harmonic cycle which sounds as though it had been lifted straight from a Bach partita. Even Thomas Lehn, who'd until then countered each and every of her figures with an equally witted response, seems dumbfounded by the audacity of the move, remaining silent for the entire duration of the solo, which increasingly turns into an objet trouvé, an acoustic anachronism within a sonic space spanned up by electronic crackle, subsonic swells and pingponging rhythmical synth patterns. For a full one and a half minutes,  Bertoncini's web grows tighter and tighter, her fingers flying across the fretboard as the speed of her arpeggios is attaining dizzying levels. Then, as if awaking from a deep slumber, Lehn re-enters the arena, fighting fire with fire and extinguishing his partners increasingly frantic spins with a ferocious blast of analog noise. It isn't the first time their ardent personalities are coming to a passionate collision on Horsky Park and it won't be the last either. And yet, it may well be the most striking one, turning the logic of the encounter upside down and suggesting that this, their first album after an almost ten-year long release gap, is one of grand gestures and big postures.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003eIt is true that sentiments can occasionally run high with the duo and Horsy Park has undeniably turned into a work which doesn't just offer a clear sense of dramaturgy, but of drama as well – if the movies left you cold of lately, this album could turn into the cinematic revelation you've been waiting for. But it leaves just as much space for subtlety and the quietude between the notes, for moments of delicacy, refinement and even tenderness. At times, Lehn will dive into the darkest depths of his synthesizer, pitching tones down towards the borders of perception and restricting his operations to sculpting and bending their waveform. In others, he is creating translucent atmospheres made up of short-wave pulse-emissions, almost weaving together the emperor's new symphonies from all but intangible materials. Bertoncini, on the other hand, isn't just capable of strikingly mediating between the 21st century and the romantic era, of translating emotions into abstractions and back again. Sometimes, a single sustained note will be enough for her to significantly change the mood and impact of a particular scene, to support Lehn in his processings or to question, confuse and counterpoint him. Although their conflicts are almost certain to leave the most lasting memories on the first few listens, what makes their interaction so addictive for their audience are the instances which initially seem sidethoughts - but which keep haunting one long after the piece has ended.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003eIf, then, Horsky Park, as many have already reported and to which this author will readily testify as well, is a record with almost addictive qualities, then not so much so because it is immediately pleasing, but because it keeps disturbing its audience. There doesn't seem to be a clear-cut modus operandi, let alone a goal, a development, denouement or a „meaning“. Even the companion piece to \"Galaverna\" - \"moss agate\" - performed in an action-packed environment of twenty-four containers at the Art Ort festival - never amounts to fully fledged concept art. And yet, one can distinctly sense that these two experienced performers are not just working from \"the moment\", but building long suspense archs instead, sometimes replying to each other or reworking their motives from a couple of minute's distance. On more than just one occasion, it isn't quite clear who is doing what – one of the strongest passages involves Bertoncini mimicking Lehn, who in turn seems to be mimicking an aeroplane. Which may be down to two important qualities of their duo: On the one hand, a congenial fusion of characters, as part of which Lehn is drip-fed from a infusion of Italian blood, while Bertoncini's red-hot wounds are cooled with Swiss ice packs. On the other an approach as part of which each protagonist isn't merely interacting with the other, but with himself as well – Lehn, especially, has a preference for entering into call and response games with his analogs, spreading his themes out across the stereo image and then creating constantly shifting feedback loops.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C\"\u003eThroughout, there's a fine line between reticence and holding back one's power, between talking straight and in metaphors. Importantly, however, there never seems to be a case of meta-art. The Bach-sequence mentioned in the first paragraph isn't so much a quote as it is an organic response to the challenges at hand, as much a part of the duo's vocabulary as a series of rhythmical pluckings or a chain of glistening crackle. So, too, is the opening sequence, which has an almost Mahler'ean grandeur to it, resembling the opening bars of the latter's first symphony in their otherwordly elation. Apparently, Bertoncini and Lehn are equipped with a pair of uniquely different ears, answering rough blocks of sound with lyrical melodies or a moment of rhythmical propulsion with static harmony.  The most surprising feat, then, is that the music never sounds disjointed, but in fact perfectly coherent and natural. Which may explain the ongoing allure of the album: If there's a system at work here, it isn't revealing itself easily.”     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTobias Fischer\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eTokafi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400841101626,"sku":"at40","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at40HorskyPark.jpg?v=1749128966"},{"product_id":"choices","title":"Lucio Capece \u0026 Birgit Ulher","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e1.  physical   9:13\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e2.  chance  28:09\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e3.  orbital     4:51\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003etotal time:  42:14\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eLucio Capece\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ebass clarinet, soprano saxophone, preparations, mini-megaphone\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBirgit Ulher\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003etrumpet, mutes, radio, speaker\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/birgit_ulher_300dpi_480x480.jpg?v=1751875068\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eInterview with Birgit Ulher\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eListening to Choices there seems such a similarity between your and Lucio’s approaches to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eyour respective instruments, that it’s almost surprising that this is your first disc as a duo. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eWhen did you first play with Lucio?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eIn September 2008 I shared a concert with him at Alberto Ukebana in Berlin, where we both \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eplayed with other musicians. As we liked each other’s playing we decided to try playing together, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eand did this the next time I came to Berlin. I felt an affinity with his approach straightaway and it \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eworked musically from the beginning.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eYou both use preparations to great effect, and at times Choices sounds as close to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003epercussion as it does to wind or brass music. Have you made a conscious decision to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003edistance yourself from the ‘natural’ sound of a trumpet?  Or do you sometimes play \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e‘pure’ notes in an improvising context? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eI always had an affinity with percussion and used to play it for several years, though mostly just \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003efor myself. I rarely play 'pure' notes in an improvising context because I think everything in this \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003earea has been done already. I’m more interested in the subtle tonality and fine gradations \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ebetween sounds than in the obvious one, which is generally called tonality. The sounds have an \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003einternal structure, and the preparations are used as resonating systems. For me this is the result \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eof many years working on the sound of the trumpet and not a question of how far I can get away \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003efrom its 'natural' sound. But it’s also been a conscious decision to work in the field which interests \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eme most. I’d describe this field as material research and the placement of sounds in a time \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003estructure.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eYou trained as a visual artist, and are largely self-taught as a musician.  Does your background in the visual arts affect the way you approach your instrument?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eAbsolutely. As a visual artist I have been into material research as well. In the visual arts it is much more common to work in very specific areas, while in music it is still common to play different styles of music. Maybe it has to do with the different tasks of composers and interpreters, which never existed in the visual arts. Morton Feldman has a great point on this in his essay 'The Anxiety of Art'.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eLucio has frequently been linked with the term ‘reductionist’, and on Choices your playing is very similar to his.  But I know it’s a term that you’re not altogether happy with.  What are your reservations about the concept?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eMy playing on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eChoices\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eisn't that far from my playing on my solo CD 'Radio Silence No More' and the CD 'Tehricks' with Gregory Büttner. I have always been interested in reductionism, but I don't like to be categorised by any 'ism'.  What I didn't like so much about the early Berlin reductionism was the strict concept and rules that came with it. On the other hand it might have been important at that time to make a radical break for creating something new. But I’ve always been suspicious of categories and somehow I don't care whether something is ‘reductionist’ or not as long as I’m convinced by the music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eDo you feel that in general there’s been a gentle stepping away from the extremes of ‘reductionism’ within improvised music in Germany over the past five years?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eYes, it’s quite a while since the term reductionism was established and the work of the musicians who were mainly involved has developed in many different directions. Also the improvised music scene in Berlin has changed a lot.  Many musicians have moved there from all over the world and brought their own approaches, so there are lots of different approaches at the moment. In Berlin there’s currently a tendency to dissociate from the term ‘improvised music’ and work more on conceptual or composed pieces.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eBerlin has historically been the centre for improvised music in Germany, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eyou went there to record two of the tracks on Choices in Lucio’s studio.  But \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003ethe long piece on the disc was recorded at a festival in Hamburg, where \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eyou’ve been based for nearly 30 years.  Do you think being outside Berlin has \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eadvantages as well as difficulties for an improvising musician in Germany?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eYes, it does. Now I’m quite content living in Hamburg, but for many years I \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ethought about moving to Berlin, and would have for sure if Hamburg wasn’t so \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eclose.  I’ve always played with Berlin musicians like Chris Heenan \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e and Ute Wassermann, to name just those I work with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eregularly.   What I like about the Berlin scene is that improvised music is taken \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eand discussed really seriously, which isn't always the case in Hamburg. And \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ethere are certainly many more interesting musicians in Berlin. But there are \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eso many musicians there that there’s more of a separation from other musicians, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ewhich doesn't happen so much in Hamburg, because the scene here is very \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003esmall. Sometimes there’s a hype about certain ideas or concepts in Berlin, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ewhich is quite uncritically taken over.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eI’d be afraid of getting stuck in Berlin; you can play a lot of gigs there, and great \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003emusicians come to town all the time, but I guess that while this would keep you \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003every busy, maybe you’d forget about working outside the city.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eIf you live in Hamburg you really have to work on getting around, otherwise you’ll \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ebe stuck there with very small input. But the advantage of living in Hamburg is \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ebeing able to concentrate on your own work without the distraction of hundreds \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eof concerts happening every month.  And since the improvised music scene is \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003every small you get in contact much more with other scenes like electronic or \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003enew music.  There’s been a lot going on here in the last few years, since we \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003efounded an association for sound art, improvised, electronic and composed \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003emusic.  We found new ways of organising concerts like the ‘blurred edges festival’, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ewhere one track of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eChoices\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas recorded.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/be37c2a4-cdd2-4d38-9222-e7d9a14afabf_luciocapece_-1335426847_0694b12f-63a6-472d-a147-449b820ac46f_480x480.jpg?v=1751875491\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003e“On this album Lucio Capece plays bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, as well as various prepared things, and Birgit Ulher can be heard on trumpet and radio. Among many musicians Capece has collaborated with Radu Malfatti, and this may give you a hint of the approach – no firm conventions. The shimmer of the minutest sound is examined.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003eMore and more Ulher proves to be one of the most remarkable trumpeters in the new generation of reevaluating instrumentalists, and when the two play together remarkable things happen. It is a music that comes in dense structures. For start, it can be heard clearly who is who. Actually, it can be heard all the way, but not in the way we are used to.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003eInspired by each other the playing becomes a kind of echo-game. A call is matched by a truncated response. Where are you? - are you ... Affinities of sounds arises, captured and processed by the qualities and possibilities of their instruments.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003eThe result is a slow and snaking stream of sound that also is remarkably rhythmic. Yet, how does this shimmer? It is streaming as a flow of light, where mirror images are complementing the reflections. The result is undeniably irresistible. It is an impressionistic art of sound without impressionism, where the only thing that is left is the light. The music of this duo is so dense that it reminds of the tension in the air that arouses by unexpected pauses. It sounds incredibly fresh and clear.”    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThomas Millroth\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003eSound of Music\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003e“Choices\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003e features two wind instrumentalists who are clearly affiliated to the reductionist scene: Birgit Ulher on trumpet and Lucio Capece on saxophone and clarinet, both players also using numerous objects and preparations.  Many landscapes emerge, indeterminate sounds occur, while notes and orthodox instrumental techniques are suppressed; in short, Ulher and Capece open a vast universe of sounds.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003ePhysical\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003e, which opens the disc, is based on a drone played alternately by Ulher and Capece, a drone which is as mechanical as organic, and which lets us hear wood, metal, breath and internal mechanisms.  Birgit Ulher imposes herself on this unstable drone (which evolves minimally) and spits, burps, whistles, coughs and splutters across the mouthpiece.  In short this is a relatively traditional duo, where one player is grafted onto the base, except that the tempo is bizarrely striated, and pitches give way to an indeterminacy of sound.  Ulher and Capece in fact demonstrate that a style of music is possible that exists beyond the chromatic scale while retaining past forms, even if the structure is a little heterodox on account of the numerous alternations, fractures and unexpected silences.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003eOn\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003eChance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003e, which at almost 30 minutes is by far the longest piece, the soundscape has something desolate about it on account of the ubiquitous breaths which recall the winds of the apocalypse, and irregular metallic resonances that suggest abandoned industry.  The perception becomes more acute and it becomes very difficult to know who is doing what and how, and if the sounds are prepared or ‘purely’ instrumental, organic or mechanical.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003eChance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003einvolves a vast horizon of unheard creative timbres which are assembled and interwoven, opposed and confronted, but always seeming to connect with the intentions of the playing partner.  The players’ listening is extremely attentive and sensitive, so that the partnership is very successful, this duo knowing how to seize chance opportunities (while using certain choices) and deploying all the qualities and talents of each player in such a way that one single musical personality is formed by the end without either player losing their personality in the musical dialogue.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003eBirgit Ulher and Lucio Capece conclude with a short 5-minute piece,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003eOrbital\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003e, which completely assimilates instrumental and electronic sources (using radiowaves).  Capece discretely and affectionately allows certain unstable, fluctuating notes to emerge from his soprano onto the aggressive montone drone of the radiowaves in order to rebalance and harmonise the ensemble. A beautiful electroacoustic piece where the acoustic element knows how to tame the electronic, where the balance between the two becomes music, and which opens up and holds in suspense a new world made of new energies and timbres.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003eChoices\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eonly rarely varies its level of intensity, but energy levels are constantly modulated according to the equilibrium created both by the duo and by the qualities of the timbres themselves (be they essential or accidental).  The three pieces stretch across very different durations, and this temporality also contributes to the diversity of the music’s energies.  These varying temporalities allow many aspects to emerge, from a sense of urgency to the slow, serene development of different timbres and a variety of energy balances.  Three strong, coherent and rich pieces which together install a new regime of sounds, of complex and lush timbres, a regime whose advent is desirable and even preferable.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJulien Heraud\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C35\"\u003eImprov-sphere\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400858632506,"sku":"at41","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at41Choices.jpg?v=1749129134"},{"product_id":"grapeskin","title":"Michel Doneda | Jonas Kocher | Christoph Schiller","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003efirst membrane       17:29\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003esecond membrane   21:33\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003etotal time:               39:30\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eMichel Doneda\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003esoprano saxophone \u0026amp; radio\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eJonas Kocher \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eaccordion \u0026amp; objects\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eChristoph Schiller\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003espinet \u0026amp; preparations\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003erecorded in Ligerz, near Biel\/Bienne, Switzerland in June 2010\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/jonas_kocher.jpg?v=1751873625\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eInterview with Jonas Kocher\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eThe title '\/\/\/ Grape Skin' is rather unusual. What lies behind it?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eThe title has to do with the location where we recorded: a church surrounded by vineyards. The church was a striking venue which affected our playing and became a kind of skin around the music. It was Michel who suggested the title, and the three slashes remain a mystery to me.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eYou'd played with both Michel and Christoph before, though in separate contexts, so this was the first time you'd all played together as a trio. What strikes me immediately about the music is that it feels very assured and confident. Where do you think this quality came from?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eFor me this trio was a quite natural thing and I too felt a sense of assurance, both at the time \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eand when I listened back to the recording. Everyone knew each other’s playing, and which qualities \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eeach of us were likely to bring to the music.  And we knew that we shared the same kind of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003emusical understanding.  From the moment the trio was proposed I was convinced that the music \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ewould be interesting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eYou said in a recent email that you felt that the location gave the music “a poetic feel”. What did you \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003emean by this?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eFor me the church in Ligerz where we recorded has a very special atmosphere. Its location is amazing, up on a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ehillside in the middle of a vineyard and with a great view over the lake at Biel and the island where Jean-Jacques \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eRousseau lived for some weeks in the summer of 1765. The feeling you have there is one of great openness. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eWhen you’re inside the church, you don't see any of this but the feeling stays strong in your perception. And \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eI think that you can hear that in our music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eThe generous acoustic of the church influenced our playing too. We had to deal with space and silence.  At the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003esame time the environment around the church wasn’t completely quiet, and sounds from outside entered our \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003emusic. At various times you can hear birds, passing trains and even a boat siren on the recording. Theses sounds \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eare totally integrated into our playing and are the elements that link us with the amazing surroundings outside \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ethe church. These outside sounds give the music another kind of reality and for me a strong poetic feel.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eMost of the music on ‘\/\/\/Grape Skin’ is quiet, and a lot of it is very beautiful.  Yet there’s an \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eedginess and unpredictability about it too that for me makes it much more interesting than placid \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e“music for meditation”.  Is this sense of ‘edge’ something that you consciously aim for?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eThe sense of 'edge’ that you refer to is something that all three of us share as musicians. When I play in duo \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ewith Michel, this is a very important part of our music. I think it creates something that’s really fragile but also \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003every much alive at the same time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eOn your excellent solo cd ‘Materials’ (on Creative Sources) you played both accordion and electronics, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003ebut on ‘\/\/\/Grape Skin’ you just use accordion.  Why did you choose not to use electronics in this \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003esituation?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eThe reason is simply that after recording '\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003eMaterials\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e' I stopped playing electronics. Now I prefer to play accordion \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ein an ‘electronic’ way, as you can hear on '\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003e\/\/\/Grape Skin'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e, rather than adding electronics to my work.   I stopped \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eplaying electronics simply because I came to feel that the accordion is my instrument, the one I feel really close to, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ephysically and emotionally.  I never felt that kind of bond, or the potential to develop a truly personal language with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eelectronics.  And there are so many other people out there playing electronics that I didn't feel I needed to add my \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003evoice to them.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eSo when did you first play accordion, and how long ago did you start improvising with it?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eI started as a child and afterwards studied accordion classically. I only began improvising with it seriously in 2005. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eBefore that I improvised almost exclusively with electronics.  I somehow found it difficult to improvise with the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003einstrument that I’d studied with. I think I needed time to digest all the years of classical training. Playing electronics \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ehelped me come back to the accordion with new eyes, ears and visions for the instrument.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eFor a long time there weren’t many people in improvised music playing accordion, but in recent years \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eseveral players have emerged (Alfredo Costa Monteiro, Luca Venitucci, Ute Volker, Esteban Algora, to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003ename just a few).  Do you think it’s an instrument that’s well suited to improvisation?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eIt's certainly an interesting instrument to work with in improvisation but it also has strong limitations.  The main \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eone is that you can't work directly on the mechanics by which it produces sound in the way that you can with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003emost other instruments.  You can use the body of the instrument, but it’s not very resonant; the sounds produced \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eon it are mostly dry.  But despite these limitations I love working with the accordion.  I think it’s a really interesting \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003emix between something human (it ‘breathes’ and is like a body) and something industrial (like a machine with lots \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eof buttons and electronic sounds that are like sine waves). And last but not least, the accordion has a very strong \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eand particular image in musical history that is interesting to play with.  So for me the accordion’s a huge field of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eexperimentation, with lots of playing techniques still to be developed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/jonas_2_480x480.jpg?v=1751874597\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003eA particularly strong one from a trio with Doneda, accordionist Jonas Kocher, and spinet player Christoph Schiller. The session was recorded in June, 2010 at a church in Ligerz, Switzerland located on a hillside in the middle of a vineyard. Like the two releases above, the instrumentation is integral to the way this session unfolds. While Kocher had previously augmented his accordion with electronics, he's now sticking solely to the acoustic instrument, creating whispered drones and pulsing dark chords colored with the patter of keys and buttons. I'd not heard of Schiller before his stellar duo with tuba player Carl Ludwig Hübsch (part of Another Timbre's recent brass series), and his spinet, extended through the use of preparations and eBow, adds a steely, percussive resonance to the mix. Doneda sticks to soprano here, moving between multiphonic overblowing, pinched and clipped attack, and breathy exhalations. The two extended improvisations are models of collective listening, and as always, Simon Reynell captures the way that the musicians interact with the performance space with salient clarity, allowing ambient sounds from outside the church to drift and mix naturally into the music as it unfolds. Another winner from the ever-reliable Another Timbre, well worth searching out.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C35\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMichael Rosenstein\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C36\"\u003eParis Transatlantic\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C37\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C38\"\u003e“The flux and reflux of this water, its continuous sound, swelling at intervals, struck ceaselessly my ears and my eyes, responding to the internal movements which reverie extinguished in me, and sufficed to make me feel my existence with pleasure, without taking the trouble to think.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C38\"\u003eSubstitute music for water and you've got a pretty good description of these two spacious, colourful and beautifully paced improvisations.  Doneda (soprano sax), Kocher (accordion) and Schiller (prepared spinet) perform in the warm acoustic of the tiny church of Ligerz overlooking St Peter's Island in Lake Biel in Switzerland, where Jean-Jacques Rousseau penned the words about two and a half centuries ago.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C39\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDan Warburton\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C40\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003e\"A fascinating act, divided into two comprehensive improvisations for soprano sax and radio (Doneda), accordion and objects (Kocher) and prepared spinet (Schiller). Crepuscular tones abound, the musicians picking ways of emitting sounds according to a “let’s-put-this-in-and-see-how-it-works” approach rather than simply letting the instrumental unrest move around. The sections in which the three superimposed voices try to show some fangs – for example, after the third minute of “Second Membrane” – are indeed succinct outbursts immediately returning to the original dimness. The actual pitches are scarcely definable, a considerable part of the action happening in areas where hush, environmental resonance and treatment of the instrument’s intrinsic technicalities meet. Acumen and self-discipline are applied throughout, causing the music to turn away from typical EAI routines just in time. The accordion – more than the saxophone – shows a tendency to exhale heavily, and Schiller’s economical utilization of an uncommon resource makes sure that the quantity of percussive luminosity and scratchy details remains completely tolerable, never invading zones where those features are redundant. At the end of the day, this record fuses communication and painstaking investigation almost flawlessly. Love at first sight is unlikely, but several of its values are unarguable, substance systematically prevailing over aesthetical appearance.”     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C41\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C42\"\u003eTouching extremes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400861811002,"sku":"at42","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at42Grapeskin.jpg?v=1749129197"},{"product_id":"tierce-caisson","title":"Tierce","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eCaisson     (58:40)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTierce:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eJez riley French\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e field recordings, zither, salt, paper, contact microphones, electronics\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eDaniel Jones\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eturntable, electronics\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eIvan Palacký\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eamplified dopleta 180 knitting machine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eConcert performance recorded in Hull, November 2010\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/jez_4_480x480.jpg?v=1751873016\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eInterview with Jez riley French\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C1\"\u003eFirst of all could you tell us how the Tierce trio came into being.  Geographically it’s not a natural unit insofar as you all live in different cities.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eThe trio came about when I invited Ivan to the UK in 2007 for a performance at the concert series I run – ‘seeds \u0026amp; bridges’ in East Yorkshire. Originally the idea was for me \u0026amp; Ivan to perform a duet (as we did on another concert during Ivan's visit \u0026amp; when I visited the Czech Republic) \u0026amp; for Daniel to provide the opening set of the night. However in the end we performed a private set during the afternoon (which became the basis for the first tierce release on the ‘. point engraved’ label) \u0026amp; two sets at the evening event.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eSince then I have collaborated with Ivan \u0026amp; Daniel on several occasions but the tierce trio has only had the opportunity to perform together again once - as part of seeds \u0026amp; bridges 2010. We are all keen to perform further as a trio when opportunities arise - to spread out, to engage \u0026amp; reflect in a live setting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C1\"\u003e‘Caisson’ is in a sense a fairly traditional cd insofar as it's a recording of an improvised concert.  But this is increasingly unusual these days.  Can you describe the range of your current practices in music, and how does the ‘caisson’ disc fit in with this?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eActually the fact that 'caisson' is based on a recording of a live event wasn't pre-planned. The event itself was slightly unusual for all members of the trio as we performed whilst moving images were shown - though we did not 'soundtrack' the film itself. Some time after the event we all began to feel that a section of the performance was a piece in itself.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eIn terms of current music \/ sound related practices most of my time these days is spent exploring (as has been the case for some time) within the realm of listening, field recording and preparing \/ performing \u0026amp; installing photographic scores. I myself haven't really used the term 'improvised' in relation to my live performances for many years now. I prefer to say 'intuitive composition'. With the tierce trio \u0026amp; the ‘caisson’ cd I think we all feel that this meeting between intuitive composition, sound \u0026amp; improvisation has a language of its own. Certainly one thing I like about it is that  the aspect of listening is constantly shifting in a forward motion. Moments are at the core of what fascinates me \u0026amp; tierce seems to be able to find those naturally within the emerging frame of the piece. I for one would like to get the chance for tierce to perform over a long duration, to see how those moments amplify the space around them in an extended period of time. In that sense there is a direct link to the way other areas of my creative interests have developed: time, space, stillness, quietude - even in the midst of a detailed audible field.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C1\"\u003eYou mention \"time, space, stillness, quietude\", but one of the things that strikes me - and indeed appeals to me - listening to ‘caisson’ is that at times it is quite abrasive.  I really like its unpredictability in that sense; it's not by any means the stereotype of a post-reductionist improvisation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eWell, for one thing, what I've come to know \u0026amp; deeply enjoy with listening in terms of field recording is that all of those things (time, space, stillness, quietude) exist even in the most densely populated sounds or sound fields. It's a question of detail - getting ones ears, ones listening in closer \u0026amp; closer - micro-listening perhaps. It’s perfectly possible to sense stillness \u0026amp; quietude in the middle of a busy city for example or indeed surrounded by a natural environment. Likewise if one sits \u0026amp; listens in an empty building, what begins seemingly 'quiet' is soon perceived, in its true state, as very richly embroidered with sound, with its own music. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003e'Post-reductionist improvisation' - hmm, not sure about that one. Whilst I understand what you might mean by that term I'm lucky enough that I don't really feel part of or involved in a process that bases its path on things like this. I guess there are folks out there whose work is ‘post’ this or that, but I've never been comfortable with these ways of marking time or the evolution of any creative practice. It can have a tendency to sometimes distort history (\u0026amp; therefore the present \u0026amp; future too) \u0026amp; draw attention away from as many important areas as it can throw a spotlight on. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C1\"\u003eCould you say a bit more about your use of field recordings, because for me it’s certainly one of the most distinctive features of the ‘caisson’ disc?  Your recent solo cd ‘Four objects’ presented four recordings in their raw, unedited state in a way I found really interesting, but on ‘caisson’ you are using a variety of field recordings in a far more ‘composerly’ way, as elements within the overall flow and structure of the music. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C4\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C4\"\u003e‘F\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eield recording’ is something I do, \u0026amp; have done, for the sheer joy of it for a long time. In that respect using them in a live context is simply me making use of elements I find pleasing, the same as if I use a certain approach on a conventional instrument. The use of them also alters whether it’s in a solo performance or in an ensemble. For example on ‘caisson’ some recordings I use add texture - they are used as an instrument within the trio - \u0026amp; then they also can create moments of rest or space - in a similar way as a conventional composition might use ‘silence’.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eI never really process the recordings I make - for me the fascination \u0026amp; subtle power of these discoveries is in their unaltered state - however presenting them as I do on ‘four objects’ for example is something I see as more than mere documentation. I’m not sure I can really put into words why it isn’t but perhaps it’s close to say that the choice of when to press record, when to press stop \u0026amp; how much the minute detail \u0026amp; overall vista contained within a recording becomes composition - intuitive composition that is as in the field I am simply in the moment. At least I am when I manage to get recordings that prove to be the most interesting to listen back to. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eI’d also say though that although this thing called ‘field recording’ exists, really what I do is listen - I listen in different ways \u0026amp; this has, I’m sure, a pivotal effect on any performance I’m involved in. I think also this is what makes tierce such a great trio to be part of. Both Daniel \u0026amp; Ivan listen (to others \u0026amp; themselves) in ways that are quite different from the mainstream of current improvisation. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C4\"\u003eYou've been engaged in various ways - musically and photographically - with the music of the Wandelweiser composers.  What is it that has drawn you to their work, and how has if affected you?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eI happen to like some of the work of some composers within the Wandelweiser group but no more so than a huge range of other music, sound, visual art, cooking, eating....life etc. I might listen to a piece by Antoine Beuger for example but in any one day I'll also listen to music by any number of other composers such as Herbert Howells or Takemitsu or Delius \u0026amp; of course other forms of music \u0026amp; sound. I've only got to know Wandelweiser in the last couple of years anyway \u0026amp; even then not all of it. I guess the pieces I like have tended to be the ones with very clear lines but I don't feel it's a big enough part of my listening landscape to have an effect that can be discussed in this way. I always find these sorts of question tricky to answer - it always seems to me that there is so much to listen to, to engage with \u0026amp; if we're lucky we'll perhaps get to experience about 0.0001% of it, so to have an effect on ones own work it seems to me one would need to have a rather narrow way of thinking, of listening. The very best thing I can say at this point is that retaining, naturally, ones sense of wonder when it comes to exploring music is fantastic. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C4\"\u003eI find that eclecticism, of being open to a wide variety of experiences and musics refreshing.  It feels that sometimes people in the arts like to build barriers separating them off from other artists or genres.  Is this something you’re aware of within improvised and contemporary musics? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eAh - now, this is a question that’ll open a can of worms, so I shall try to be succinct in my response. I think the issue you raise is certainly a major one here in the UK at least \u0026amp; has been for some time. The ‘art world’ has in recent years used the term sound art to re-write the history of artistic \u0026amp; explorative music \/ sound. The almost total lack of knowledge of these forms by the art establishment (curators, writers etc) means that very often work is given credit \u0026amp; exposure that is either of a low quality in terms of its originality, all be it often with a whitewash of dense hyperbole added, or in other ways seems like a step backwards to those with an active interest \u0026amp; enjoyment of these forms The effect is then circular - musicians \/ composers find that in order to access funding or certain creative spaces, they have to use the same language as the art world does, to apply the same terms \u0026amp; to frame their work in a way that will be understood by people who very often would have no interest in their work otherwise. It is a sad truth that the majority of people with an interest in contemporary visual art have a wide ranging \u0026amp; very open attitude to those forms, but, when it comes to music \/ sound things can be different \u0026amp; the mainstream, commercial forms tend to still dominate. People are of course free to like whatever music they want - it’s more that there is this huge divide between people’s expectations \u0026amp; passions for visual arts \u0026amp; their exploration of music \/ sound. Many folks will go to see a ‘sound art’ exhibition now of course, but there is a disconnect between that \u0026amp; explorative music, fostered (I believe) by the art world lack of knowledge or interest in non-mainstream music. Oh \u0026amp; don’t get me started on the fact that 99% of art openings will feature third rate ‘indie’ bands or DJ’s hammering out the most banal ‘music’ . For me there a rather arrogant or perhaps lazy assumption there that everyone wants to listen to that kind of thing (in whatever context). It means that what you end up with this constant circular dumbing down of the culture \u0026amp; no engagement by the curators \u0026amp; therefore the audience, with music that is valued with the same range of criteria as the visual arts. Of course this disconnect can be traced back to the time when music became increasingly about entertainment rather than ‘art’ - the way it was separated from the term ‘the arts’ \u0026amp; instead came to be a commercial industry. Having said that, explorative music has always been a true art form if one used the same definitions that one would apply to the other arts. Sadly it’s the art establishment that hold the keys to doors \u0026amp; the purse strings \u0026amp; so it seems, for now at least, the work that will benefit from better access to performance spaces \u0026amp; opportunities \u0026amp; indeed to funding (private or public) will mostly be the work curators know of - \u0026amp; that will be defined by their own listening tastes \u0026amp; dedication to ‘looking beyond’ - rather ‘listening beyond’\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C2\"\u003eIt’s also fair to say that ‘other’ music scenes have their own sets of blinkers which are sometimes in evidence. It’s possible to perceive a mainstream \u0026amp; conservative outlook amongst those involved at times. The odd thing is that it’s often the most conservative people who seem to believe they aren’t at all. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/jez_1_480x480.jpg?v=1751872751\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-_Web_-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-_Web_-C-C6\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e“Tierce is an international trio of electroacoustic musicians which has existed since 2007:  first Jez riley French (electronics, objects, field-recordings, zither, contact mics, etc..), Daniel Jones on turntables and electronics, and finally, Ivan Palacký on amplified knitting machine (... yes you read that right). The performance that gave rise to the disc\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eCaisson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas a single piece lasting an hour at a concert recorded in an art gallery in Hull in November 2010.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo imagine a fairly large box  or cabinet ('caisson') of any sort, the important thing being the space that it contains rather than its function.  Because space seems essential for these three musicians: the electroacoustic music offered here is a kind of sound design in which the sounds define and individualise the space as they fill it.  What sounds then?  It's difficult to say; it navigates constantly across DIY electronics, field recordings of all sorts (bells, various background soundscapes, birds etc...) and strange sounds that are unrecognisable.  All this is mixed together and merged into a single fluctuating, shifting field, which is both light and corrosive, aggressive and calm. No hierarchy is established between the various sound sources, they all belong to a single stratum.  And this stratum carves a space out of time, a space that is created at the same moment as it is inhabited by the music.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOf course, there is a particular form of sonic exploration at work in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eCaisson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e; each of the three musicians trace a soundworld that is strictly personal, but timbre doesn't seem to be their primary concern.  They all seem more interested in the spatial properties and characteristics of the sounds:  how will such a noise fill the space?, how will the hearing of some other sound be experienced within the spatial environment?  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eCaisson\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eplays above all with sensory perception (\"micro-listening\" as Jez riley French says in his interview for Another Timbre), the trio plays with the possibilities of changing our perception (which is auditory in one sense, but also visual, and – why not? - olfactory and taste-based) through a careful listening that evolves in a global environment whose objectivity and solidity are  here put in question.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHowever, despite the tranquility that characterizes it, this music is also rather tense, doubtless because of these constant shifts and fluctuations, partly as if any form of stasis was feared, but also because of the often abrasive sounds that are used, which progressively fill the space in an apparently ineluctable process.  A space that is filled, but not only by sounds: silence also has a prominent place across the spaces of this piece, a silence so pervasive that it becomes the equal of the sounds with which it interacts.  Silences of a frighteningly heavy substance.  A music that is above all not static, nor linear, but which evolves across an unstable terrain that is in flux, across spaces that are sometimes saturated with noises, or else with silences, but also across airy regions that would be suitable for meditative contemplation. An approach that flirts with the infinite (time as well as space), so calm and poised that no border would be able to delimit this universe.   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI haven't heard Tierce's first album, which was released on Jez riley French's label, but\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eCaisson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003et, despite some difficulties in approaching it due to the considerable attention it requires, takes us on a unique micro-sensory journey across a space that the musicians have brought into being and in which they are fully invested. Their approach to sound and its 'intuitive' unfolding is radical, and this creates a music that is bizarre, unexpected and unprecedented, but once you have overcome your cultural reticence,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eCaisson\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003ehas the ability to take the listener inside some fantastic spaces where the Kantian categories of perception are annihilated at the same time as they are exacerbated. A supernatural music seems to allow the opening, maturing and fulfilment as much of perception itself as of the things perceived (especially sound, and space and time).”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJulien Heraud\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eImprov-Sphere\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400864694586,"sku":"at43","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at43tiercecaisson.jpg?v=1749129249"},{"product_id":"divisions-that-could-be-autonomous-but-that-comprise-the-whole","title":"James Saunders","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e1  imperfections on the surface are occasionally apparent  (2009)                        11:50\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eedges ensemble\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ecoffee cups on various surfaces\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e2  PART OF IT MAY ALSO BE PART OF SOMETHING ELSE   (2009)                          11:40\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003ePhilip Thomas\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003epiano, melodica, harmonica, radio\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e3  components derive their value solely through their assigned context  (2009)   13:46\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e   Tim \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eParkinson \u0026amp; James Saunders\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ebowed wood \u0026amp; radios\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e4  materials vary greatly and are simply materials   (2010)                                       4:13 \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eRhodri Davies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eharp and objects\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e5  although it may appear to vary by the way in which units are joined   (2010)     6:43\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eStephen Chase\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eguitar, melodica, radio\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e6  any one part can replace any other part   (2010)                                                10:10\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eAngharad Davies, Tim Parkinson, James Saunders\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  violin, bowed metal, cup on brick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/saunders_5_71dee956-9d51-4504-9141-f63dee02d5e8_480x480.jpg?v=1751871339\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eSleevenotes by James Saunders\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eMy \u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003einterest in multipart series follows an extended period of working on a modular composition,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e#[unassigned]\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e, which resulted in making 175 versions of the piece between 2000-9. Since 2009, I have begun to expand this idea through the composition of multipart series, where groups of pieces sharing similar processes and materials have a demonstrable relationship, drawing on my interest in equivalent practices in visual art.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003edivisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(2009 - ) is a series of pieces which use the same score format: single pages containing sound events spread across a variable duration of between 40” - 1’20”. The pieces in the series are performed as self-contained compositions. Any pages from the series may be combined and performed under the overall series title.  The title comes from a text by Sol LeWitt in which he explains seriality in his own work:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e“Serial compositions are multipart pieces with regulated changes. The differences between the parts are the subject of the composition. If some parts remain constant it is to punctuate the changes. The entire work could contain sub-divisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole. The autonomous parts are units, rows, sets, or any logical division that would be read as a complete thought. The series would be read by the viewer in a linear or narrative manner even though in its final form many of these sets would be operating simultaneously, making comprehension difficult.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e                                    Sol LeWitt, ‘Serial Project No. 1 ABCD’,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eApsen Magazine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e, 5\/6 (1966)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eThe title of the individual pieces are all excerpts from artists’ statements. Each title was selected to describe a particular situation found in the piece. In some cases, the title came first, helping to generate a way of working with the available instruments, whilst in others it came after the piece was completed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eimperfections on the surface are occasionally apparent\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(2009) was written for Michael Pisaro, and first performed by him with the Experimental Music Workshop at the wulf, Los Angeles, 16 October 2009. It is for ten players, each with a cardboard takeaway-coffee cup and five different surfaces. The cups act as resonators when dragged across the surfaces. The performers must each source different surfaces (e.g. glass, brick, felt, sandpaper) such that there are 50 different surfaces in total. As with all the pieces in this series, the score pages may be played in any order, and each comprise a time structure which determines when sounds are to be made. The title is taken from Sol LeWitt’s text\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eWall Drawings\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(1970).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003ePART OF IT MAY ALSO BE PART OF SOMETHING ELSE\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(2009) was written for Philip Thomas, and first performed by him at BMIC Cutting Edge, London, 5 November 2009. It explores the similarities between decaying piano sounds and sustained tones on the melodica and harmonica, and between radio static and breath. The title is part of Robert Barry’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eArt Work\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e, 1970 and references the interchangeability of pages within this piece with others in the series.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003ecomponents derive their value solely through their assigned context\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(2009) was written for this recording, and subsequently performed by Parkinson Saunders at the Soundwaves Festival, Brighton, 16 July 2010. It uses bowed wood and radio static, both played at low volumes. Its title, taken from Jack Burnham’s essay\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eSystem Esthetics\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(1968), refers to the way each sound is subtly coloured by other sounds which may be present, and that the particular combinations that arise in performance are made without prior agreement by the players.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003ematerials vary greatly and are simply materials\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(2010) was a wedding gift for Tim Parkinson and Angharad Davies, and written for Rhodri Davies, who first performed it in Portmeirion, 22 October 2010. It uses ten different materials placed in a harp, and then bowed. The materials are drawn from the list of traditional gifts given for the first ten wedding anniversaries, and may be freely selected within this constraint by the performer. The title is taken from Donald Judd’s essay\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eSpecific Objects\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(1964).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003ealthough it may appear to vary by the way in which units are joined\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(2009-10) was written for Stephen Chase and first performed by him at Bank Street Arts, Sheffield, 21 April 2010. The ordering of pages is constrained by the requirement that the end of one page and the beginning of the next share a common sound, and the title is taken from Mel Bochner’s essay\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe Serial Attitude\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(1967). It is scored for radio, melodica, and guitar, which is bowed with a pencil.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eany one part can replace any other part\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(2010) was also written for this recording. The three players each have an identical sound-producing action which is repeated in a recurring time structure. The resultant sounds – a violin noise harmonic, bowed metal sheet, and cup on a brick – are all unstable and subject to small amounts of change. The title is taken from Carl Andre’s statement\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eAnaxial Symmetry\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e(1970).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eFor information about other pieces in the series, please see\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/james-saunders.com\/\"\u003ewww.james-saunders.com\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/saunders_7_2_480x480.jpg?v=1751871906\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eInterview with James Saunders\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eA lot of the sounds you're using in '\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003edivisions...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e' seem to be pointedly 'unmusical' and defiantly unromantic - coffee cups scraping on surfaces, radio static, bowed wood etc.  Are you deliberately challenging conventions of what sounds are 'beautiful'?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eNo, I don't see it like that really, although it is possible to read it in that way I agree. For me, the starting point is a particular quality of sound. I am attracted to unstable sounds, where there is a lot of internal and unpredictable change. I'm interested in working with actions which can control the sound to a certain degree, but past that the materials take over. So for example, when bowing a violin string with a very slow, almost static bow, there comes a point where the interaction between the bow hair, rosin, and string creates an uncontrollable sticking, resulting in a series of clicks, noise, and whispered pitches. This is also the case with a lot of the found materials I use (wood, metal, everyday objects), as well as in certain uses of electronic equipment such as radios and dictaphones. There's an internal life to these sounds that have a particular kind of freedom, one which we can't control as performers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt's also worth saying that this is one of the reasons why most of my music is relatively quiet, and uses held sounds. At low volumes, it becomes harder to discern the differences between sound sources as there's often less evidence of the sonic characteristics you associate with say a clarinet or viola when it is played on the edge of silence. They tend to blend together more, and this is something I try to exploit. But in answer to your question, I find these sounds beautiful, particularly with regards to their fragility, and try to present them as such.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eAs I understand it, the series of compositions is in some way based on the work of Sol LeWitt, who I don't know a lot about, but think of as a conceptual artist.  But you describe the starting point for the music as being your attraction to the 'beautiful' and 'fragile' nature of certain sounds rather than any conceptual schema.  So what were you taking into the compositions from LeWitt, and is it in some sense 'conceptual' music?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eWhen making new pieces, I look for ways to frame the sounds that interest me. So although the material is central to the way pieces develop, there's always a process, idea or shape which determines how the sounds are presented. Following an extended period of work on one composition series,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e#[unassigned]\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e, from 2000-9, I began making a number of different series, of which\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003edivisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis one. For this series, my starting point was part of a text by Sol LeWitt which comments on the autonomy of individual parts within a series. My aim with this group of compositions was to make individually performable pieces which share similar structural principles, and from which pages could be extracted to perform as a separate piece that draws on the total pool of material. The principle here is that each piece comprises a number of A4 landscape pages lasting between 40\" - 1'20\", mostly consisting of single sounds (although occasionally there is more than one sound, or a sound which repeats). This creates a simple interface, allowing pages to be combined. The individual compositions may have other rules which determine what to do with the pages.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe titles of the pieces are all drawn from statements by artists,hence their slightly wordy quality. It's awful I know, but I struggle to remember them accurately – not a good feature of a title! They all relate to something that happens in the particular piece though, so aren't just abstract labels. So for example in materials vary greatly and are simply materials, which takes its title from Donald Judd's\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eSpecific Objects\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1964), the harpist selects ten different materials to insert between the strings of the harp and then bows them. There are particular categories of material specified, but within that the choice is free, hence the title.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMy interest in LeWitt has grown in parallel to working on the series. A lot of his work operates in this way, and I've been researching how other visual artists and composers develop series. I'm interested in the (potentially) exhaustive quality of series, and the way in which constituent pieces all point to central principles without necessarily stating what those principles are. In the course of the research I'm undertaking, I was struck by something that Michael Pisaro said about how he makes series. He feels that they exist either as 'a process which can be applied to a variety of instruments or situations', or as 'an open-ended investigation which, after the first work, seems to need to continue - and whose trajectory is thus created on a case-by-case basis'. For me,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003edivisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis an example of the latter, and I'm enjoying seeing where it leads.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eAs performer, you have a long-standing duo with Tim Parkinson - Parkinson Saunders - which appears on a couple of the tracks of 'divisions...', and which you describe as a duo for non-standard instruments.  How did this come about, and why the particular interest in 'non-standard instruments'?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C\"\u003eIt has emerged from both performance and compositional starting points. The composition link stems directly from my interest in noise sounds and approaches to finding points of contact between sounds, as explained above. Inserting non-standard instruments into ensembles which comprise regular instruments like violins or clarinets provides another way to bridge the gaps between them. Some objects make very specific sounds which are useful in this respect, such as bowing pieces of wood or metal, and I've tended to supplement ensembles with these kinds of auxiliary sounds. More recently with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C-C0\"\u003edivisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C\"\u003e, there has been an increased focus on their sole use in a piece, mainly due to the circumstances surrounding performances and a desire to work more closely with the kinds of properties these resources have.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI think their use in my work began around the time Tim and I started performing together as a duo (in late 2003). We decided quite early on that the setup would involve the two of us seated at tables using found instruments and objects, principally because it lent itself to the repertoire we wanted to play, which was mainly openly-scored pieces. We like the variety created by each of us sourcing sounds from what is available, and using them when realising pieces.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eIn addition to the qualities already mentioned – the fragility and quietness of the sounds, and the use of non-standard instruments – the other feature that strikes me about the soundworld you’re creating in the ‘divisions…’ series is that it’s overwhelmingly acoustic.  With the exception of radio white noise, there are no electronic elements at all.  Is this a conscious choice, or might you use electronics more in other pieces in the series?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eFor this series, the tactile quality of the sounds is important for me. The act of, for example, drawing a cup across a surface creates nuances that derive from the movement of the hand, the texture of the surface, pressure, speed, and so on. Again, it’s a way to introduce instability. That’s not to say there aren't equivalent unstable sounds with electronic sources  - the use of irregular radio static is one such example – but for these pieces it didn’t seem so pressing.  I’ve used simple electronics in the past in various versions of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e#[unassigned]\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e. In addition to using radios, I made quite a few pieces using dictaphones which record and playback sections of the music, and walkie- talkies for creating feedback. It’s possible that these resources might end up in this series, but so far it’s not been the focus.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eYou’ve recently composed pieces for symphony orchestras. Do you work with a very different soundworld there, or are your aesthetic concerns similar to those underlying \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003edivsions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C\"\u003eWith larger ensembles, I'm interested in working with the way groups interact and work as a collection of individuals. The pieces I've written so far mostly involve the musicians making decisions about when they play the material. In\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C-C0\"\u003egeometria situs\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C\"\u003e, the orchestra \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C\"\u003epiece I wrote for Donaueschingen in 2010, the players select the order of pages and decide when to play them in relation to the conductor's cues. I also wrote a piece for London Sinfonietta called\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C-C0\"\u003eeither\/or\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewhich, although it's scored for a group of ten players, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C\"\u003erequires the musicians to determine when to play based on a series of rules which are contingent on the actions of other ensemble members. This idea has been expanded in the piece I'm writing at the moment for Basel Sinfonietta, where players select other orchestra members and try to play sounds as quickly as possible after the chosen player, resulting in a kind of flock-like behaviour. I've been very interested in how reciprocal networks operate, and the way in which situations emerge from relatively \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C\"\u003esimple processes. The material I use in these pieces is similar to everything else I do, but recently I've been asking players to source objects so as to create a wide variety of sounds. If you have 60 people all sourcing eight sounds each, then the resultant \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C\"\u003ecomplex mass of sounds is rich, yet homogenised by the density. Both this and the contingent aspects of the pieces are attempts to see how large groups can self-regulate their actions.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/saunders_7_1_480x480.jpg?v=1751871740\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eAs over recent years the music of the Wandelweiser composers, and their peers has begun to be played a lot more by musicians often better known as improvisers, one of the most interesting elements of these developments has been how the role of the composer has changed somewhat from it historical position. As much of this area of music leaves some room, in one way or another, for the musicians to leave their mark on it, the composer’s traditional position of being in complete control of how the music might sound has become eroded, so perhaps taking the idea of composed music a little closer to the communitarian sensibilities at the heart of improvisation. As improvisers have embraced the opportunity to play within structures every so often, many of these composers have experienced the opposite- stepping back from dictating everything. While in general this development has been empowering for all, I am interested to take a look at how this has affected the composer’s body of work as a whole. How does a composer in this area keep everything linked together as a consistent body of work when the potential is there for his\/her music to be played in any number of ways by any number of musicians spread about all over the place?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eJames Saunders, a British composer who has been working in this vague area of contemporary composition for a number of years now has always been able to unify his works by relating them all to each other in very clear modular manner. Between 2000 and 2009 he pretty much worked on a single compositional idea, his #[unassigned] works which saw him create 175 versions of essentially the same piece. Since 2009 he has expanded his thinking into the creation of a series of pieces that relate to each other through shared processes and materials. These works, collected together under the title divisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole (2009-) all utilise the same score format, single pages that last between forty and eighty seconds when performed. The series of works contain many pieces that consist of several of such pages, and the idea is that each of these smaller works can be played as works in themselves, or their pages can be mixed with any others from scores within the Divisions series to create further works again. Saunders took inspiration for this collection of works from the use of series of works in the visual arts. Tonight’s CD release, named  divisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole collects six of the smaller works together into one album released recently on Another Timbre.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eAlthough Saunders plays on two of the tracks here, and includes pieces performed by close friends and collaborators otherwise, he has retained only a certain amount of control over how the works may end up sounding- mostly general controls over dynamic, duration and some timbre. By relating all of these works back to one central theme however, he somehow seems to retain more of an overall control of the work- or is this just my perception of it all given what I know about how it all links together? Certainly the pieces here do not all sound exactly the same, and without the added information you would be hard pushed to definitely link them together, but since we have the information, provided by Saunders in the sleeve notes, it all somehow coalesces together. So we hear coffee cups drawn across various surfaces on a couple of the pieces here, radios on others and melodica in more than one place elsewhere. The general mood is a quiet one, and sounds mostly consist of slowly drawn muted textures, though splashes of colour appear, primarily via Philip Thomas’ decaying piano notes in the piece PART OF IT MAY ALSO BE SOMETHING ELSE. Thomas appears on the first two tracks, one of which is as director of a ten piece Edges ensemble performing imperfection on the surface are occasionally apparent for ten cardboard coffee cups on various surfaces. Saunders’ frequent playing partner Tim Parkinson plays on a couple of pieces, one a duo for bowed wood and radios alongside Saunders and another in a trio that adds Angharad Davies’ violin to bowed metal and coffee cup. Two other pieces are solo works for harp and objects (played by Rhodri Davies) and for guitar, radio and melodica played by Stephen Chase.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eI feel drawn towards commenting on these six pieces as one rather than trying to describe them individually. They are all quiet, often extremely quiet, and all explore soft sounds. The radios that appear often play only gentle white noise, most sounds are continuous, and when shorter sounds do appear then they do so as repeated items. Saunders’ area of exploration is quite small, resulting in some very, very beautiful music to these ears, though it will be construed as quite ascetic and passionless to many. The real value of his work perhaps lies in his overall wider approach to composition however.  Taking such a focussed approach to things, spending several years exploring one set of closely linked ideas seems rare in this day and age. This kind of approach is not unfamiliar with visual artists, but even if you look at the work of some of today’s great composers in this area; Beuger, Pisaro, Frey, while they often retain a similar style to their work they don’t all focus on one idea for such a long time over many scores. Malfatti maybe has done similar things, but not uniformly over all compositions and not to the same tight degree of structure.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eIts not that I would advocate Saunders’ close consideration of a small area of ideas as the only way a composer should work- far from it- life would get very boring very quickly if this was to be a regular way for people to work. However James Saunders’ current approach to his musical explorations is refreshing and produces a framework within which many interesting ideas and questions arise. His commitment to such focussed thinking is laudable and indeed does remind me of the work of someone like Rothko or Martin, artists who developed what at first appear to be small strands of work out into large, protracted series over a long period of time. This CD takes a snapshot along the way maybe, and a thoroughly enjoyable and resoundingly beautiful one it is too.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eSaunders is interested in penetrating into the superficially monochrome to tease out the multitude of vibrantly coloured threads that lie disguised within. Saunders has recently looked for inspiration in a different form of serialism – namely that of the minimal\/systems\/conceptual developments in the visual art of the 1960s and 70s. All the pieces on the Another Timbre disc have titles derived from artists' statements from the period, in which Saunders discovers a stark beauty.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eSuch a description could also be applied to the music on the disc. The first composition,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eimperfections on the surface are occasionally apparent\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e, features ten players dragging cardboard coffee cups across various surfaces. The sounds change from rubbing, to rustling, to stridulating, with occasional little squeaks or low rumbles of pitched noises. A strongly tactile quality is evoked by Simon Reynell's beautiful, unfussy recording, capturing all the tiny grains of difference in the various sounds. The piece is in a sense easily described and yet it would be all but impossible to capture in words the myriad of variations and developments going on at the microlevel – there is a disjunction between microstructure and macrostructure in this music that is extremely beautiful: sounds start and stop, that's all... and yet it isn't all, by any means. Throughout this CD (as in his earlier work) Saunders focuses on simple sound-producing actions that result in unstable sounds; an extreme economy of means to explore the diversity of colour available from singular, or at least similar, sources.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eThe \"orchestra\" in this first piece is used for diversity, not mass: we seem to have only 2 or 3 players playing at once most of the time. The sound of all 10 could have been overwhelming, but it would also have added up to something else: here, although the players do not individuate themselves as \"characters\" somehow they always remain \"one\" and do not really blend into each other. Similarly, each surface is only used for one page, by one player and so effectively only appears once (though sometimes there are two \"blocks\" of sound on one page). Hence there is a linear progression – sounds once finished do not return, and and we also constantly get new sounds. There is freshness and surprise (within a very narrow compass) and yet neither teleological movement nor circularity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eThe second piece on the CD is\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003ePART OF IT MAY ALSO BE PART OF SOMETHING ELSE\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e. This is a solo work, but one in which Philip Thomas plays piano, melodica, harmonica and radio simultaneously. The presence of sounds with definite pitch is surprising and refreshing after the first track. Here Saunders really seems to explore different continua, expressed through apparently binary contrast. For example, the difference between the \"non-pitched\" sounds of radio static and breath (though the first track has taught us to hear the pitch in such sounds), or the contrast between mechanically produced and sustained sounds (radio\/piano) and those controlled by human breath (breath\/melodica\/harmonica). This last element breath brings the body of the performer emphatically to our attention, as well as retrospectively emphasising the role of the body in imperfections on the surface are occasionally apparent. In that piece the body seems at more of a remove, and yet the directness with which the contact between two surfaces is translated into sound in that piece more approaches the erotic than the solitariness and vulnerability of PART OF IT MAY ALSO BE PART OF SOMETHING ELSE.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eIn\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003ecomponents derive their value solely through their assigned context\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e, for two performers playing radio static and bowed wood, as with the three solo pieces on the CD, the performers are required to do more than one thing at once. These are often simple actions but performing them well simultaneously requires great poise and focus. In contrast, the performers in imperfections on the surface are occasionally apparent and any one part can replace any other part (the final piece on the CD) get to focus on a single action at a time. In the latter piece, three performers (playing violin, bowed metal, and coffee cup on brick) each have only one action, which they perform for 25 seconds at regular intervals, 15 times. So in a sense (conceptually) the piece consist of an identical 40 seconds of music, repeated 15 times. And yet, of course, it is never the same at any one point – but neither is it radically different. In this it puts me in mind of a recent composition I performed by Antoine Beuger, one of Saunders' favourite composers, which specified only that sounds should be either similar or different to the other sounds going on concurrently, or which had been heard previously. In the final analysis, however, every sound is in some way similar to every other sound, and also in some way different even from the most superficially similar sound. Really getting into these similarities and differences, finding one where previously you heard only the other, is one of the great pleasures of monochromatic music, whether produced by \"building-up\" or by \"paring-down\".”    \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDominic Lash\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C29\"\u003eForce of Circumstance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400867578170,"sku":"at44","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at44JamesSaundersdivisions.jpg?v=1749129314"},{"product_id":"lash-droplets","title":"Droplets","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e1   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eTaylan Susam\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003efor maaike schoorel\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e(realisation #1)                      5:30\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e2   Elusion\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e (improvisation)                                                                   21:09      \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e3   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eTaylan Susam\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003efor maaike schoorel\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e(realisation #2)                      6:05\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e4  \u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eEva-Maria Houben\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eNachtstück\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e(outdoor realisation)                 33:37     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eDominic Lash\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003edouble bass\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003ePatrick Farmer\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003epercussion\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eSarah Hughes\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003ezither \u0026amp; piano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e1-3 recorded at Oxford Brookes University, January 2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e4 recorded in a wood near Hathersage, Derbyshire, September 2010\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/ATDom1_480x480.jpg?v=1751869847\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eInterview with Dominic Lash\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe music on Droplets includes both improvisation and realisations \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eof scores.  As a player how does your attitude vary across these two disciplines?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe answer to this depends, of course, on the musicians one is improvising with or the score one is performing. I'm not sure I could explain exactly why but recently, when working in more pared-down contexts, I have found it preferable to have the discipline of a score rather than to improvise. I usually like to have a certain openness in free improvisation, whereas in a \"reduced\" musical situation a score can provide a focus and prevent the music becoming geared mainly towards the production a particular type of soundscape or mood; such situations can quickly result in my losing interest.\u003cbr\u003eThe single group with which I've done the most freely improvised concerts in the last year or so (which doesn't mean that many! - most performances are still with more transitory combinations of musicians) is the trio with John Butcher and John Russell. I don't know of any scores which I think would be more productive for that group to engage with than to improvise freely. I don't have the right background or training to perform densely notated music, so that isn't part of what I do; the closest I get to that at the moment is Alex Ward's quartet Predicate, for which he writes some relatively thorny themes, but the emphasis is still very much on improvisation. It does seem that I'm now playing scores with musicians with whom I might in the past have improvised in a more minimal fashion - such as Angharad Davies or Patrick Farmer. I don't know if that marks any kind of trend or just a shift of interest on my part, though I think Patrick has had similar feelings. Certainly it meant that the improvisations on this CD were an unusual thing for me to do at the present time, which made them interesting to me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe scored pieces are by Wandelweiser composers, who you have performed a lot in the past couple of years, and that ethos seems to affect the improvised piece as well..... And yet at the same time for me much of the music on the disc doesn't correspond to the popular stereotype of Wandelweiser music - i.e. small sounds amidst oceans of silence.  Do you think of yourself as a \"Wandelweiser musician\"?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI think there are 2 questions here. The popular stereotype of Wandelweiser music is, as you say, a stereotype. Certain pieces written by the composers that make up the collective, both in the past and now, would more or less fit that stereotype. Many others wouldn't... There might have been a move away from such music (comparing Michael Pisaro's releases on his Gravity Wave label to some of his earlier compositions, for example) but I'm not confident of a general trend: Jürg Frey's music has never fitted such a characterisation, while Radu Malfatti's often still does. So the diversity of music in what seems at first glance to be a very narrow compass is a big part of why I continue to be interested in and excited by it. It certainly gives one things to think about, but it is first and foremost wonderful to listen to - not that I believe, of course, there is any such thing as \"just music\"! My continued involvement with the music produced by the group has come about because it is stimulating and beautiful, and also because I have found the people involved a very welcoming bunch indeed. But many other people have a far longer and deeper involvement than I have. If I'm thought of as in some way part of a Wandelweiser \"family\", that would make me very happy, but I wouldn't myself want to claim any particular status by declaring myself to be a \"Wandelweiser musician\".\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eEnvironmental sounds obviously feature to a huge degree in your realisation of the Houben piece 'Nachtstuck', but are also present - though less dramatically - in the improvised piece 'elusion'.  Does this embracing of surrounding 'noise' as part of the music go back to Cage, or does it have a different history for you (field recording, Michael Pisaro's work or whatever)?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eIn a concert presentation of this kind of music extraneous noise is absolutely inevitable. Clearly on a recording, one has a range of options, either attempting to minimise it, to accentuate it, or something in between. Cage is an important part of the conceptual background here, and field recording must come into it as well, though I don't actually know a great deal about contemporary field recording (beyond Chris Watson) - certainly nothing approaching Patrick and Sarah's knowledge of the subject. The idea that most resonates with me, actually, is Antoine Beuger's concept of cutting into the continuum. He talks about it in an interview in the Ashgate Companion to Experimental Music that James Saunders edited. Inspired I suspect by Alain Badiou, Beuger takes the mathematician Richard Dedekind's idea of defining a real number by \"cutting\" into the continuum of all possible numbers, and applies it as a metaphor for the creation of music (a metaphorical use of what is already a metaphor, which appeals to my English literature background!). The continuum becomes the whole of all possible sound, a kind of white noise I suppose, and any musical composition or performance is \"cut\" out of this material: music is made by a kind of carving out, rather than a building up from basic materials.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e(It occurs to me that this might be a fundamental philosophical difference between the Wandelweiser composers and many of those usually classifed as Minimalist, despite the fact that in ordinary language Wandelweiser music is clearly \"minimalist\".) Hence environmental sounds are just another part of the continuum and in no way in conflict with the musical sounds - nor, I hope, are they merely atmospheric cushioning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eThe outdoor performance of 'Nachtstuck' involves a rather extraordinary sonic narrative, as the sound environment goes through a number of dramatic changes while you are playing.  Could you describe this for us, and how it felt at the time as you carried on playing?  Had you anticipated \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003ethat this sort of thing might happen, and at the time were you aware of how it would sound?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe most obvious and dramatic event, both sonically and in general, was the rain. It certainly wasn't part of the plan to capture the piece during a rainstorm! As I mention in the liner notes, rain doesn't do good things to wooden instruments... The plan was simply to record the piece outdoors; we were hoping for a rain-free window. But when the rains came, some way into the piece, they weren't especially heavy so I decided to keep on playing, hoping it would just be a brief shower. It turned out to be a little bit more than that, but never quite got heavy enough to make me decide to abandon the performance. I had some idea of how it would sound, but only vaguely... in fact, that was the main tension during the recording for me: balancing wanting to look after my instrument with being really curious as to how the recording would sound!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eIn addition to your interest in Wandelweiser and minimalist music, you are also involved in several quite fiery jazz-based improv groups with the likes of Alexander Hawkins and Alex Ward.  Does this make you schizophrenic, or do you feel a connection across these very different areas - do they seem to you two aspects of a single passion?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe short answer to the last part of your question is \"yes\". I've never felt any real difficulty moving between these different areas, they're all just things that excite me. As I said in one of my earlier answers, the main question for me is how to get the best music out of the different musical situations I find myself in. It's par for the course nowadays for musicians to have very diverse interests,  which often overlap only partially even between musicians who work together often. Asking Alexander Hawkins to play Wandelweiser music just isn't going to be the best application of his talents and interests (though actually he did play with the Set Ensemble once, and did so beautifully of course). I would, if you don't mind, like to pull out a couple of implied things in your question: that the difference between these areas is one either of \"firiness\" or the proportion of \"jazz\" in the music. Both these things may sometimes be true but to an extent after the fact. The only band I'm in that is explicitly set up to be full-on and noisy is Alex Ward's Predicate, and that draws just as much on rock as on jazz for its inspiration. (I should perhaps say here that Alex Ward, besides being one of the most remarkable musicians I know, has a knowledge of music that is probably the widest and most unclouded by fashion or prejudice I've ever encountered.) Alex Hawkins does think of himself as very much in the jazz tradition, but that for him is a tradition that includes the work of groups like the AACM from Chicago bang in the middle. And of course the AACM's music, back in the day, was not infrequently criticised in terms that sound rather familiar to those applied to the Butcher\/Durrant\/Russell group fifteen or twenty years ago, or to the work of improvisers inspired by Wandelweiser and related musics more recently: that it was unemotional, cerebral, not enough rhythmic momentum, bafflingly quiet and uneventful, etc, etc. Michael Pisaro in fact notes hearing the work of the AACM as an important influence on his development. I suppose what I'm getting at is that, while I don't deny that there is sometimes a feeling of two (at least!) \"camps\" in which I operate, the musical inter-relationships are many, and it's never as simple as \"quiet\" versus \"loud\" music. Another way of putting it might be that it goes back to my early listening to experimental music (which wasn't actually that early, I mean late teens\/early twenties) where the most important musicians to me were Derek Bailey, Anthony Braxton, John Cage and Iannis Xenakis. I think the combination of those four names still pretty accurately describes the shape of the musical area I wish to be involved in.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eYou rightly refuse to categorise the Wandelweiser and non-Wandelweiser sides of your activity as \"quiet\" versus \"loud\", and that sets me thinking about the ways in which the world of 'post-reductionist improv' (for want of a better phrase) and Wandelweiser music are coming together.  There's been a fair amount said about the ways in which Wandelweiser is affecting contemporary improvisation, but little said about how the influx of players from an improv background may be affecting the Wandelweiser composers. But for me this coming together is having positive effects both ways.  I think improvisers bring a quality of edge and unpredictability to the table when they play Wandelweiser, which I welcome.  Do you see it like this at all?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eI think I do see it like this. I'm not really qualified to talk about what effect the increase in numbers of improvisers playing Wandelweiser music might have had on the composers because I wasn't aware of the music before that point. But I certainly think it's something that they recognise - I spoke to Manfred Werder about this recently. He commented on this very fact, how for years it had only been classical musicians and the composers themselves that had played the music, but that now there were all these improvisers interested in it... For myself much of the interest, as a performer, lies in two, apparently opposed, areas. On the one hand it is exciting to play this music because of its\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003edifference\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efrom improvisation, the satisfaction of being given specific tasks to carry out and attempting to do so to the best of one's ability, rather than always worrying about \"should I play now?... what should I play?... should I stop playing?\" and all those other thoughts that, for me, are crucial to improvising. But on the other hand a large number of the pieces (increasingly so with more recent compositions, I think it's fair to say) call upon exactly those kind of decisions, but in a radically reduced way. In a piece by Stefan Thut that the Set Ensemble played recently, each musician simply had to play one pitch and one noise over what we decided would be a 20 minute duration. The pitch, and whether the pitch or the noise should come first, were specificed, but that was all. And so the question of when to play was given a hugely magnified significance. Which one could also subvert but deciding to play at predetermined times, regardless of what else was going on (which is also a strategy that can be fruitful in improvising). All of this is a slightly roundabout way of saying that this music appeals to me as an improviser both because it can at times be a relief from my usual thought-procedures while playing, and because it can also intensify those kinds of thinking.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/dom_woods_480x480.jpg?v=1751870213\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Normal-P-P0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\"Named Droplets, the disc is credited to Dominic Lash, Patrick Farmer, Sarah Hughes, Eva-Maria Houben and Taylan Susam. The last two names there, obviously are the composers of three of the four tracks, with Lash performing on all four of the pieces here, playing double bass, and with Farmer (acoustic turntable) and Hughes (chorded zither) on the first three. The first and third tracks then are different trio realisations of Susam’s score For Maaike Schoorel, the second is a group improvisation, and the fourth and final track, clocking in at a little ever half an hour and half the CD’s total running time is a remarkable solo realisation of Houben’s Nachtstück for solo bass. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe Susam score performed twice by the trio is particularly wonderful in its simplicity. It is a fairly open work that presents the musicians with little clusters of numbers, which they are free to choose from, that dictate the dynamic and frequency that each musician should make a sound of their choosing. The dynamics indicated range from fairly soft to extremely soft, sounds can last no longer than three seconds and Susam, while asking ideally for ‘discrete events’ requests that musicians play together and overlap their particular clusters of sounds as much as possible. So the work will then pull the music made into small swells of extremely quiet sounds, some of them repeating slowly within little windows of time. Its a fascinating score in that it manages to control how the overall feel and shape of the music will sound without ever dictating instrumentation, particular sounds or the number of performers. On the day, the trio made two versions, both of which appear here, but both quite different. For the first realisation, somebody (I forget who but I seem to remember it being quite a spontaneous decision) suggested that instead of ‘playing’ their instruments in a manner that might be expected of them, they each chose to blow directly into them, one way or the other, so creating little clouds of whispery exhalations, each one slightly different as the air was captured differently, the bass sounding unsurprisingly deep, the turntable (which had a contact mic attached I think) quite bright and plasticky, and the zither full of the humming resonance caused by blowing on the strings. The end result is a lovely piece, very simple, extremely elegant and thoroughly human in its realisation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe second version of For Maaike Schoorel here is equally refined and beautiful, but more familiar sounds are heard, slowly bowed bass notes, the scratch and scrape of items softly rubbed over the turntable and the gentlest of zither tones, from the harsher (yet always very soft) squeal of a glass tumbler being turned on the strings, to other more familiar bowed sounds. This music, typical of the Wandelweiser collective of composition that Susam is a member of alongside Houben has a wonderful stillness to it, and yet the little islands of soft sounds that do appear, as simple as they are, seem to harbour whole worlds of sound and timbre. The lengthy silences that span out between the clusters seemingly cleansing the ears afresh each time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe trio improvisation is also a very quiet, subdued affair, with Farmer resisting the urge he has often had of late to throw the music off at more disruptive tangents. Things trickle and creak and hum away, and for this track the door to the drama studio space used for the recording was deliberately opened, so the gentle sounds of a leafy part of Oxford on a Sunday afternoon- passing aircraft, distant cars, the wind on the trees, the odd bird creep in and innocently flood the silences in the music. This track stands out from the others here simply through its improvised origins, sounding much freer and obviously open to wider possibilities. The recording, and particularly the mastering here is exceptional, with the external sounds sitting precisely where they belong, distant but present, and the mix between three quite intimate sets of instrumental sounds beautifully balanced.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe recording of Houben’s Nachtstück then, is something else again. This piece is very lovely in itself, a kind of slow meditation on the double bass perhaps, collections of softly bowed notes in small groups separated by lengthy silences. I have heard Dominic Lash perform the piece a couple of times, the most recent in Glasgow but a little earlier last year at an intimate performance given in the conservatory of his Oxford home, an event that had a strong impact upon me and which I wrote about here. Simon Reynell was also at this performance, and was moved enough by the mix of Dom’s playing with the sound of rain and wind bustling around the small glass conservatory to suggest that Lash record a version of it outdoors, which the pair set out to do in September last year, in a small wood in rural Derbyshire.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eRight from the outset of this wonderful recording it is clear that the elements are determined to play a part in the recording. The wind roaring in the trees above and around bursts into the piece and remains present throughout. The bass has again been captured beautifully though, and when its little group soy harmonic clusters appear they are always clear, often competing with the weather, and particularly after a few minutes when the heavens open and rain hammers down, but always fully present. So Lash stood in the pouring rain and continued to play this extremely demanding half-hour long piece. On the recording we hear the bass, the wind and rain in the trees, and the rain splattering the floor all around, hitting the bass, interfering a little with the microphones but not enough to spoil the enjoyment of the recording. Also present are birds twittering, despite the inclement weather, aircraft passing, the horns and roars of nearby passing trains, insects buzzing close to microphones and, quite wonderfully, the occasional calls of nearby sheep. We often hear the sound of wind, rain and nature layered together with separate recordings of instrumental sounds on CDs these days, probably far too often, but very rarely do the sounds exist together in the same recording naturally. This version of Nachtstück then becomes a collaboration between the composer, the musician and the environment, which in theory every recording of the piece will be, but here the environment really makes its presence felt. Its a stunning work,  superbly composed, studying harmonic and melodic progressions, performed wonderfully,  and all together a remarkable feat of endurance as much as anything, but also a beautifully complex, detailed mass of sounds, whose presence together feels both absurd and perfect in the same moment. If, like me you just take huge joy from the act of listening, from discovering the sense of place in recordings, from allowing your imagination to run wild this piece, and this album as a whole is an essential purchase. So, so very good indeed.”  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003eRichard Pinnell,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C31\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eDroplets\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e brings together three musicians from the Set Ensemble for three trios and a solo, or one improvisation and three interpretations of scores by composers from the Wandelweiser collective. The musicians are Dominic Lash on double bass, Patrick Farmer on percussion, and Sarah Hughes on piano and zither, and the composers are Taylan Susam and Eva-Maria Houben.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eTaylan Susam wrote 'for maaike schoorel' in 2009, and the three musicians here offer two different versions of that short score, lasting around five or six minutes. Very quiet, gentle sounds take place, interspersed with light, airy silences, in a way that is certainly minimalist, but above all natural and serene. Strange, unexpected sounds, often extremely quiet, are rubbed, blown or scraped across surfaces in ways which are hardly conventional or expected. A truly unusual sonic material emerges, forming a unique and serene soundworld which is both meditative and airy. It is also profound and intense, in spite of the very low volume of these interpretations, something which augments the feeling of relaxation and poetry which this very delicate piece contains. The second realisation of the Dutch composer's score is probably less repetitive and minimalist, though the sounds are just as strange, and the silences just as long and significant, but the lack of strict, mechanical repetition somewhat dilutes the power of the first realisation. Nonetheless there is more relief and variety, and a richer soundworld is created.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe second piece, 'Elusion', is an entirely acoustic improvisation played by all three musicians and lasting twenty minutes. Bass, zither and percussion are superimposed, creating a variety of delicate, sensitive strata in ways that are always measured, but often quite intense. If silence is less prevalent in this piece, and the volume a little louder than usual, the influence of Wandelweiser is still felt in the powerful, quiet, calm and intense attention that characterises this improvisation. Not to mention the technical reproduction of sounds and noises which were part of the recording environment, and which are preserved in the mastering of the piece. There is a very assured kind of spatial equilibrium between the superimposition of different starta (the rubbing of drumskins, the bowing on the bass strings, the timbral exploration of the zither) and a radical silence. This contrast doesn’t take the form of a confrontation between “the full and the empty \", but of an endless continuity in which the transitions are achieved across passages of solo or duo improvising. 'Elusion', which lasts twenty minutes, pulls us into an extraordinary and as yet unheard universe characterised by a sense of unreality that is similar to that of many compositions by the Wandelweiser musicians. A world where time is abolished, where sound becomes space, and where composition is more akin to architecture (whether the music is composed or improvised, I don’t think this distinction makes much sense in so-called reductionist music). In short, this is a very beautiful improvisation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eSo now to the main course: because if I very much enjoyed 'Elusion', the most beautiful piece on this disc is undoubtedly the magnificent realisation of 'Nachtstück', a work written in 2007 by the German composer and organist Eva-Maria Houben. 'Nachtstück' is originally a piece for solo bass, but for this realisation, Dominic Lash and Simon Reynell decided to record a half-hour version in a wood in England, in the rain. The rain, as well as the wind and the rustling of leaves which it provokes, have a huge importance and acquire a gripping emotional power. To this are added sporadic interventions of cars, insects, birds and sheep. For his part, Lash, with the help of his bow, explores the full range of the bass’s strings; every register is deployed with short notes that rise out of the potential silence and the actual rain. Correspondences seem to emerge between the registers of the instrument and the intensity, with each bass note becoming stronger, and similarly the double-stops, while the treble notes become quieter until the harmonics are lost amidst the wind and agitated leaves. In any case, if the sound environment of the wood is in itself quiet and serene, the environmental context appears well-suited to exploring the emotional properties of the double bass. Each note moves the body of the listener in its entirety, and sets off numerous unexpected emotions and sensations. This is the best work I've ever heard by a member of the Wandelweiser collective, but this is certainly not just due to the score itself. Because if the composition knows how to deploy an extremely rich emotional terrain with a singular warmth, depth and intensity, then the outdoor realisation and the virtuosity of Dominic Lash unlock all the possible emotions, passions, humanity and poetry that can be found within the score.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe wonderful interpretation of 'Nachtstück' seems accessible even for those who aren’t used to the works of the Wandelweiser collective. The Set Ensemble, which Dominic Lash founded, certainly creates unique spatial soundworlds, and rich and delicate poetic sonorities throughout\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eDroplets\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e, but it’s the fantastic long piece 'Nachtstück', with its dramatic and lyrical power, which really captured my attention and completely overcame and overwhelmed me. Highly recommended, Droplets seems to me to be the most successful in this new series of discs released by Another Timbre in the wake of John Cage’s music. Moreover\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eDroplets\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e, with its radical use of silence and extended techniques, and its use of an open-air recording environment, seems to be the most fully representative descendant of the famous American composer.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJulien Heraud\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C31\"\u003eImprov-Sphere\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C31\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e“\"Droplets\" is even better, containing an improvisation, two versions of a piece by Taylan Susamm (\"For Maaike Schoorel\") and Eva-Maria Houben's \"Nachtstuck\". The first realization of the Susam work involves soft, rushing sounds that seem wind-driven though I take it that's not the case. They kind of zip by, almost like sped up versions of car sounds (though maintaining a deep pitch), interspersed with silences. The second take features each musician's instrument as a recognizable element filling more or less the same \"portions\" of the score with sound. In both instances, a lovely, somber mood is generated. This is, I believe, my first exposure to Susam's music; would like to hear more.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe improvisation, titled \"Elusion\", is just wonderful. From the initial airplane hum to the steely rustles like metal shavings being disturbed, through delicious low tones and on. Really every moment seems vital here. I saw Dom a few times in the last couple of weeks performing Pisaro's music and was, as always, very impressed; perhaps I focus on him unfairly here, but his playing sounds great, really gluing things together. I guess you could say there's a \"wandelweiser\" feel in play--it's quiet, spacious and rather linear--but there's also something very flexible here, a certain give and pull that's very enticing. Hard to describe! But great.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eHouben's 33 minute piece (an extract) is performed outdoors, through the rain, by Lash. The downpour is there from the get go, the deep arco drones welling up from the wet in almost stately fashion, like a slow, slow marche funebre, before transforming into sets of scale-like patterns interspersed among others. I'm not sure how I would have felt about the piece sans precipitation; perhaps other plein air sounds would have sufficed. But the rain really does s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eound fantastic and swathes the bass wonderfully. Whatever, it's lovely to listen to, as is the entire disc. Highly recommended.”     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400871248186,"sku":"at45","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at45Lashdroplets.jpg?v=1749129376"},{"product_id":"no-islands","title":"Patrick Farmer, Kotis Kilymis, Sarah Hughes, Stephen Cornford","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e1  Improvisation #1           09:21            \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e2  Improvisation #2           17:10\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e3  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eJohn Cage\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  Four6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e       30:10              \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e                   Total time:   56:41\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eStephen Cornford\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eamplified piano\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003ePatrick Farmer\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eturntable \u0026amp; electronics\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eSarah Hughes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003echorded zither\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eKostis Kilymis\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eelectronics\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eRecorded at Oxford Brookes University, March 2011\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/sarah_hughes.jpg?v=1751868792\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eInterview with Sarah Hughes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eFirstly could you explain how you came to this kind of music?  Are you musically trained, and how would you describe your current engagement with music and art?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eI initially found this kind of music by trial and error, I wasn't satisfied by what I was listening to, but didn’t really know where to look, or what I was looking for. I bought the Looper\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eSquarehorse\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003edisc shortly after its release in 2004 and that interested me quite a lot, and some documentation of an installation Alfredo Costa Monteiro had done in Barcelona directed me towards his music. I think I just looked until I found things I liked and was sometimes rewarded with something great, and inevitable one finds links and names though names and eventually I could filter out more and more to find the stuff I was interested in. In 2007 I met Patrick (Farmer), and he was already quite involved with a lot of musicians and was promoting this kind of music, he played me Wolff's\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eStones\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eshortly after we met and I was really happy; it’s a recording that certainly holds a lot of significance for me in terms of composition, space and material. Around this time I was also reading a lot of David Dunn and the two seemed to relate a lot to what I was doing with installation, there is definitely a reciprocity between my installation and performance and drawing and listening, if in a more cognitive sense. Externally I think the two, music and art, have remained quite autonomous, perhaps because I find sound a difficult material to work with, but in terms of space and compositional intrigue the two are part of the same practice.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eI was taught violin when I was younger and have retained some music theory, and can read music, but I was taught to pass exams and found it a rather detached way of learning and stopped at grade six when I was around 13 (with some regret) and took up guitar, which I still play now. I was given the zither a few years ago, and didn't really know what to do with it for a while, I'm still working it out.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eWhen I've seen you perform, you mostly play very quietly and with frequent long pauses.  These are both qualities often associated with Cage's late music, but in the recording of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eFour6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e on '\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C27\"\u003eNo Islands\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e', you are actually really busy - and the music as a whole is really beautiful but has a quality of wildness.  How did you approach the score, and was it challenging to perform?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eThe relation to listening, improvising and structure is very intriguing in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eFour6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand I find the framing quite impish, in knowing that the other performers have set brackets for set sounds, and thus a somewhat limited response to your own sounds does give it, as you say, a quality of wildness, but at the same time, there is a massive opportunity to listen and a sensitivity to what, in that moment, one can hear. I first played this score in Brussels with Patrick, Kostis and Julia Eckhardt, and I approached it in a similar way to my usual manner of playing little and quietly and I restricted the times at which I could play to a very limited period. The value of this score is the freedom to make those decisions, and in the recordings with Stephen, Patrick and Kostis on “No Islands” I wanted to try it differently, and felt it much more successful as it freed up the listening and the improvisation elements. I also wanted to make some noise, I like making noise occasionally, and am not a particularly confident performer, so the brackets seemed to allow for a bit of recklessness on my part. The challenge of the score is knowing it, and in knowing becoming more malleable, your description of beautiful and wild is I think a testament to that.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe recording of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003eFour6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e is also striking because of the wholehearted way in which you embraced chance as a constitutive element in the music.  In addition to the chance-derived structure of the piece, your realisation introduced other chance elements that I \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003ethink add to both the interest and quality of wildness.  Can you tell us about this?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eThe drama studio at Oxford Brookes, where the album was recorded is set between Headington Hill park and some allotments, so the spring birds were apparent to us as absent figures throughout the recording, as was the frequent passing of light aircraft and the occasional passer-by. Before recording the Cage piece we opened the double doors of the drama studio, which back on to the allotments, and so added an extra dimension to the realisation, a spatial quality which opened out the recording. For me the notion of external sound is at the forefront of this realisation, as each player can be considered autonomous, or not, and the external, environmental sound can to be considered as situational cues, or not, it toys with the varying levels of the reception of sound, and the value given to each, and its perceived quality. It becomes an aesthetic response to an acoustic environment, the brackets allow for this, and the score as a whole frames a period of attention. I think Michael Pisaro’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eOnly [Harmony Series #17]\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eworks in a similar fashion, when he asks of it \"What, in the sum of things occurring now, do I hear, and how do these things harmonize themselves?” Of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eFour6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eone could ask - \"how do these things relate to one another?\", which could be disjunctive, and often is.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C26\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eI believe you first played with Kostis Kilymis at the residency you mentioned at Q02 in Brussels.  Can you tell us a bit about that residency, about how it worked  and how it affected you musically?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003ePatrick and I spent two weeks at Q02 in March, with Kostis joining us for the final four days and then returning to Oxford with us to record. Q02 is a wonderful space, and really affords a lot of opportunity for experimentation. Julia and Ann are very accommodating, and open, and honest, which is a fabulous combination. For the first week Patrick and I worked on a duo that he'd written for zither, piano, bass drum and feedback,  I also took the time to do some drawings, and Patrick some recording. When Kostis arrived we spent the time on Michael Pisaro's\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eA discrete reconciliation\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003ebetween balance and flux\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e, which he'd written for the residency and we also played a lot of improvisations. It was great introducing Kostis to the residency as Patrick and I know each others playing rather well and it was good to have someone we were both quite unfamiliar to change the dynamic. We went to Q02 with the intention of  allowing the situation to dictate what we did, the space became integral to the residency for us, an instrument in many cases, such as the duo and the Pisaro score and the improvisations tended towards a bricolage of found material, forks and glasses, paper, postcards from around the space. The residency lends itself to a mode of working that is very site responsive, the degree to which was made apparent when recording the same pieces,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003efour6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eA discrete reconciliation between balance and flux\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ein the Drama Studio the day after we returned from Brussels. Spending the time at Q02 before hand undoubtedly informed our realisation, both in my wanting to move away from a sparse realisation, and also in the site responsiveness, which is why it seems so fitting to have the bird song so apparent in four6. This is also the reason the Pisaro score was unsuccessful in this instance. The instrumentation, which we had kept the same in Brussels and Oxford, didn't respond so well and the score was somewhat deadened in the Drama Studio, and the environmental sound became an intrusion,  the richness of the acoustic in Brussels was central to how we'd chosen to realise it. This is an element of recording and playing, and field recording,  that I find relates very strongly to how I approach installation and drawing, in how one articulates a space as a material, and how the volume of a vacancy can inform, and is integral to a piece. The performative\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003esilence in composition and improvisation is paralleled, for me, by the exhibition space of an installation, the space that allows one to recognise the relation between objects and their material quality.  In Brussels I tended to act as a mediator between Patrick's and Kostis' playing,  so when we were joined by Stephen on our return to Oxford the dynamic  inevitably changed again, with the various degrees of familiarity making apparent the quality of each of us, dependent on the quality of each other, dependent on the quality of the room.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eThe qualities or practices that you describe in the playing situation - such as mediating between different musical personalities or responding to\/using the particularities of the room etc - have in a way been staples of improvised music since the 1960's, though I feel that a number of younger players like yourself are currently giving them a new twist. But I'd be interested to know if you feel yourself as being part of that now rather long tradition of improvised music?  Is it something that you are conscious of - whether positively or negatively - in your practice?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eI’m certainly conscious of the context in which I play, and the context in which I make work, I think that its integral to how I approach what I do, though I’m more aware of the visual art context than the music side of things, I certainly know more about the arts, but they parallel each other a lot of the time, and in my mind are often interchangeable. Do I feel myself part of that tradition? In many respects I do, the artists and musicians that I've met though Compost and Height and through playing appear indicative of a certain zeitgeist with which I feel an association and with which  I share a common approach. The recurrent discussions around this music, on and off line, are indicative of the general awareness and respect that people involved in this sort of music have for one another and for the music being made, and that is continuing to be listened to.  I think unless there is an attempt at replication, being aware of the context in which one is working, both historical and contemporary, can only be a positive thing, as is extending that context as far as one can, which is also something i find prevalent in this sort of music, and something\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.wolfnotespublication.blogspot.com\/\"\u003eWolf Notes\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eattempts to respond to. I see a lot of similarities in reading Lucretius and improvisation, for example, and in something like making good coffee - how the physical characteristics of a substance affects another, that’s everywhere, all the time - its an obvious correlation, but one which continues to intrigue me.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Sarah_2.jpg?v=1751869054\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C32\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e“As purveyors of the Compost and Height website\/label and untiring makers of things, Patrick Farmer and Sarah Hughes have high profiles of late, and this little disc won't do anything to diminish that. With Farmer on turntables and electronics, Hughes playing chorded zither, Kilymis on electronics and Cornford with his amplified piano, this quartet tackles John Cage's \"four6\" and a pair of short improvisations. Their usual stock in trade is a mostly quiet carpet of crackle, hum and fizz, often mimicking natural sounds, as in the first few minutes of the first untitled improvisation which sound much like rain on a flat surface. Squeaking and ominous rumbling then accumulate and threaten to get out of control. There's a definite feeling of chaos just beyond, as hums grow and divide and electric pops intrude, which are peeled away to reveal a skipping, skittering plasticity with an electronic pulse with odd bell-like sounds. It's often difficult to imagine how these sounds are being made, and that's half the fun.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eThe second improvisation has an odd metallic cloud hanging in it, and a wall of squeak and wail gives way to a quiet chord with low bass hum and delicate feedback. Way underneath I can hear birds. The changes then come a bit too quickly to describe in detail. There's an awful lot going on and things happen very quickly. Textures appear, shift and rub against each other in a myriad of ways. Sonic surprises and an occasional LOUD crash or bang keep the attention from wandering.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003eLastly they work with one of John Cage's \"number pieces\". These late compositions were all written in a similar way, with timed brackets indicating when and for how long a sound is to be played. Each player gets to choose what sounds they will be using and where they will enter and exit within their allotted times. There is usually a time limit to these pieces, and many players have chosen to present them as loops, repeating the structure a set number of times. I believe that is what's happening here as well, as events seem to repeat over time, but shift slightly in relation to each other. Overall, this piece is a bit more subdued, with events following one after another over a bed of birdsong and occasional quiet voices. Spare piano notes hover and turn into quiet feedback, crackles like fire arise and dissipate, and odd metal brushings hang about in the corners. On headphones this is a feast of detail. No wonder it's made so many people's 2011 'best of' lists.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C33\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJeph Jerman\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003eSquid’s Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e“This disc captures well, I think, something I really enjoy in the playing of Farmer, Hughes and Cornford, certainly – I'm not really familiar with Kilymis' playing, though Organized Music from Thessaloniki is indeed a fine enterprise – which is the balance between an almost tentative stillness and quietness (the potential, at least, for that to be there) and an almost visceral wildness – as when, on the first improvisation, a sudden blart of feedback rudely blares out like a mistake, is ignored, and doesn't recur; or the fact that, at the end of that improvisation, everyone else's gentle electronic ebbings away are overlaid with Farmer's loud and physical and tactile turntable-surface frictions. It's an aesthetic a million miles away from capital n Noise Music – though bits are noisy, and many of the sounds produced would be considered 'noises' by most 'straight' listeners – but it's not in the least prissy or monastic in its restraint, delighting in the rasps and whirrs and burrs of its ugly beauties before settling into a kind of contemplative ambience in which the distant, twittering frequencies of birds or passing planes act as spectral, barely-registered presences, sitting there waiting for the musicians to stop dropping things on zithers or making whooshing noises with electronics or manipulating the insides of pianos. Maybe that's partly a quality of the room itself – I've seen Farmer and Hughes, this time as part of the Set Ensemble, with Bruno Guastalla and David Stent, perform a different version of the Cage piece which makes up half of 'No Islands', once in rehearsal, with the door open on a balmy spring afternoon, and once again in the evening, where a different focus or tension (and the presence of audience) was brought to bear on proceedings. In both cases, though, the room – a square black box, quite tall in relation to its width – seems to inspire a kind of openness, a relaxed focus, perfect to the simultaneous focused activity of both Four6 and improvised music: set away from the main body of the Oxford Brookes campus, on the side of a hill, above allotments and trees, inside it feels as if one could create a safe and sequestred world of focussed experiment, and yet at the same time feel open to what occurred outside, in entirely un-cloistered freshness. I guess this information is anecdotal, but, after all, Keith Rowe is always stressing the importance of the room, or space, in which one performs, and it's that combination, of person and environment, that allows music like this to breathe. As too you should listen to it in a space where you can breathe, to let the many wonderful things here soak in – for there's a delicious and perverse richness at times, as when (this on the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003esecond improvisation) a generally sober drone is packed over with all sorts of strange and wonderful little interventions: a rumbling stomach imitation; someone (Farmer no doubt) emptying something out of a bag; a whoop-wailing theremin-like sound which actually made me laugh out loud on first hearing, at its voice-likeness, its incongruity, its near-parodic yet curiously touching emotional tint. 'Four6' is the quietest thing on here, though the door to the studio is now open and the birds outside are in full and frequent voice; and maybe I prefer the (relatively) wilder territory of the improvisations, but, as the disc rides out on those continuing birds, a piano-belltoll, a siren (outside intervention), a bowed zither zing, a turntable scrunch, another piano strum, and a fade-out, all this making its way into the otherwise silent living room here at 1AM, I'll take the Cage piece too. This is, as they (who?) might say, a\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003esweet\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003erecord. “      \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C33\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Grundy,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C34\"\u003eeartrip magazine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C31\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e“It's difficult for me to figure out what to write about this release, other than to say I like it a lot. The quartet (electronics, turntables, chorded zither and amplified piano) occupy the kind of quiet-yet-scurrying territory that's not so uncommon but do so exceptionally well, breathing air and vitality into an area that often gets overcrowded. They perform two improvisations and then Cage's \"Four6\", the latter in a bird-heavy environment and beautifully paced. The entire recording bristles with intelligence and care--I'll leave it at that. An excellent job--listen.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C35\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400875049274,"sku":"at46","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at46Noislands.jpg?v=1749129453"},{"product_id":"threads-annette-krebs-anthea-caddy-magda-mayas","title":"Annette Krebs, Anthea Caddy, Magda Mayas","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C2\"\u003eAnnette Krebs\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eprepared guitar, tapes, mixing desk\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C2\"\u003eMagda Mayas \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003epiano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C2\"\u003eAnthea Caddy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ecello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e1. Sands        9:55        recorded in Berlin 2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e2. Shore       26:00       recorded in Boston 2009\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/magda_2_480x480.jpg?v=1751838843\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eInterview with Magda Mayas\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eBerlin is clearly the starting point for your trio, but could you explain how this trio came about as I suspect that some people will be surprised by the combination of players?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eYes, we all met in Berlin at different times. Anthea and I had been playing as a duo since about 2006. Anthea also developed a performance\/installation project with Annette I think around 2008. About a year later, I organised a house concert and we decided to play as a trio, which seemed very organic and easy immediately.  We recorded parts of the album shortly after that.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eYes the music does sound organic, but at the same time has a kind of cut-up, disjointed quality that I find appealing.  Was there a lot of post-production editing, or are the sudden changes of direction part of the group’s style?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThere was not much editing involved in either of the recordings, just minor changes. As for the general style - we actually never really talked about the pieces we played beforehand, but I think we are all interested in fast changing structures, so that´s rather a compositional element each of us brings into the group to a different extent.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eBerlin has become a major centre for experimental music, and has attracted scores of musicians from outside – including yourself and Anthea.  Could you tell us a bit about why you decided to go to Berlin, and how the music scene there has affected your music?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eI grew up in Münster in Germany, moved to Berlin in 1999 and have lived there since, more or less continuously. I began my studies (Jazz piano) then and knew there was a scene for all kinds of music in Berlin and people to play with.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThere were always a lot of people moving here although it seems now more than ever, which surely also has to do with the fact that you can still live here quite cheaply, compared to other big cities. And it’s easy to work with other musicians, try things out and present them to an audience quickly and easily. I love the fact that there are so many \"venues\", places to play, and so many concerts on every night. That has surely influenced my music, being able to listen to all kinds of music every day.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eCould you tell us about some of the techniques you use inside the piano?  Are there things that you have ‘discovered’ yourself? And what draws you to work so much inside the instrument?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eI started playing classical piano as a kid, then around 15 I got interested in jazz and then (free) improvising at the instrument. Playing inside the piano came quite naturally after some time, I heard other musicians use extended technique (on piano as well as other instruments) and I was interested in creating sound and the fact that that was an area I could explore on my own and still can.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eI think a lot of the sounds, or how I use them, came from exploring it myself. Of course I am and have been inspired by other pianists and use some of the same techniques. I was aware of the John Cage prepared piano, when I started using the inside of the instrument, but have never played his pieces or prepared the piano in that way.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eI am currently researching the influence of Cage’s music on pianists today for a workshop. Most of the pianists in the improvised\/ new music scene that I asked said they feel they have explored the inside piano on their own - I think that is a great deal of the value and excitement of it initially.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eAt the moment I use objects that I can remove quickly or use my hands and fingers to play the inside, so I have a natural piano sound if I want to.  I use mallets, tape, plasticine, different metal and rubber objects, on the strings and soundboard to dampen strings or create overtones etc. I also use fishing line or bamboo sticks between the strings for more resonant sounds.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eAt the moment I spend more time playing inside the piano than the keyboard. I like the tension and variety of using both, the possibilities to alienate the instrument at times and use all of it, changing sounds and colours constantly.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eIt struck me listening to your solo playing on \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eHeartland\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e that the effects you create sometimes sound as if you’re using electronics, so it seemed natural that you should collaborate with someone like Annette who actually uses electronics.  Do you work a lot with people using electronics, or are most of your collaborations with acoustic instrumentalists?  Also, I wondered if have you tried using electronics yourself to extend the piano still further, as, for instance, Sebastian Lexer does?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eI haven’t worked a lot with electronic musicians, or at least not continuously, but for no particular reason - I think I usually choose to work with specific people rather then look for instruments that might fit. I also don´t use electronics myself, though I’m interested in experimenting with different kinds of amplification and pick ups.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eAlso, I started playing clavinet\/pianet about 2 years ago (an electric piano from the 60s with strings and metal chimes) and likewise extending it with different devices, preparing the strings etc. At times it sounds more like an electric guitar than a keyboard.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThat is a great discovery for me, engaging with noise and more visceral sound material and it opens up possibilities in many ways. I have combined clavinet and piano in concerts when possible (it’s quite heavy to travel with) and made recordings in the last years that will be out soon.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/magda_trio_1_480x480.jpg?v=1751838883\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e“Two cuts, one studio, one live, recorded in 2008 and 2009 respectively, by this very interesting trio: Krebs (prepared guitar, objects, tapes, mixing desk), Caddy (cello) and Mayas (piano). While I'm far more familiar with the work of Krebs than that of the others (though I've seen both perform), it's safe to say that the music fall into an area in which fans of the former will feel at home. The 10-minute first track, \"Sands\" contains all but unpredictable variations in almost every conceivable musical aspect--volume, density, timbres, much else. Quite rich, very compact, Caddy's deep arco gluing together the more far flung escapades of the others.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe 26 minutes of track two, \"Shore\", is far more expansive, event-packed but airier and spacious. The trio functions as just that, seamless, each element fitting--Krebs' taped snatches of voice, Caddy's scrapes and plucks, Mayas' inside piano work. There's a tidal feel, a soft ebb and flow that is entirely satisfying. It's simply one very strong improv session, solid and gracefully awkward.”   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e“Here we find three women from the improvised music scene: Annette Krebs (prepared guitar, objects, tapes, mixing desk), Anthea Caddy (cello) and Magda Mayas on piano. One ten minute piece from 2008 and a twenty-six minute piece from 2009. Improvised music of some refined nature. Piano and cello stay natural, scraping, scratching, plink and plonk, but it’s Krebs’s contributions that lift this up into a more abstract work, using sounds of spoken words from her tapes. The two pieces are vibrant, dwelling on improvised pieces on their acoustic instruments, as well as electro-acoustic sounds, bouncing from very soft to quiet loud, although it’s never noise or full-on immersive sound. The trio piece seems a bit 'fuller' to me, but at the same time, at times, more empty, when it comes to silence. But there’s never a dull moment; as a listener you always stay focused on what’s happening next.  Great CD!“         \u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrans de Waard\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eVital Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400881832250,"sku":"at48","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at48Threadcover.jpg?v=1749129639"},{"product_id":"pinna-taus-tim-blechmann-klaus-filip","title":"Tim Blechmann \u0026 Klaus Filip","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C2\"\u003eTaus:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C2\"\u003eTim Blechmann\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003elaptop\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C2\"\u003eKlaus Filip\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003elaptop\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eOne track  51:00\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eRecorded live in Vienna, July 2010\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/taus_240x240.jpg?v=1751838059\"\u003e        \u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/8jahre_klingt_240x240.jpg?v=1751838118\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C2\"\u003enterview with Tim Blechmann\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-style-span-C\"\u003eWhy 'Taus'? What does it mean?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKlaus and me first played together at the fund-raising concert for the klingt.org webserver. Dieb13 (who runs klingt.org) asked for a name and suggested `Taus' as a combination of Tim and Klaus. A similar name was used by the duo of his girlfriend Billy Roisz with Silvia Fässler, who performed as `Silly' before renaming to `Skylla', and Dieb13 and Billy sometimes use the name `Dilly'.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003ePinna\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e sounds very different from your earlier duo on L'Innomable.  Can you describe what you see as the differences between the two discs?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOur first release `The Organ of Corti' was a digital studio recording. We spent a few days at Kleylehof, Klaus's atelier\/farmhouse on the border between Austria and Hungary, playing and recording every night. The sound is very clean, because everything is digitally generated and recorded. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e`\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003ePinna\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e' was a recording of a concert that we played in a small church in Vienna. It is a microphone recording of a ‘real’ sonic space: we used 5 or 6 speakers distributed in the space, e.g. one speaker was laying on the gallery facing the ceiling. The microphones captured the sound from the speakers, the reverberation of the space ... and all kinds of environment sounds like birds, audience movements, people passing by, etc, which cannot be separated from the music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eYes, I really like the fact that you hear the space in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003ePinna\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e; it seems to me that any improvisation is specific to the context in which it was played, and it's often good to hear something of this in a recording.  But could you tell us more about the instrumentation for this church concert? What exactly were you both playing?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKlaus and I were using laptops. Klaus uses only sine waves, while I am playing noise textures and crackle sounds. These sounds are very easy to distinguish, because they don’t mask each other. We always hear precisely what the other musician is playing, so we can react very directly to the situation.  However, the computer itself doesn't produce any sound, so we need loudspeakers to transform the electrical signal into vibrations. When playing a concert, it’s always a question, which speakers?, how many?, and where to place them? For Klaus's sine waves, it doesn’t really matter where you place the speakers, but he always likes to have a subwoofer to be able to play very low-frequency sounds. But for my noise textures, the placement of the speakers matters a lot because they are very easily locatable, and I try to play different sounds on different speakers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eMusically the piece is mostly very quiet, and yet the sound seems really full and rich.  I suppose that comes from the spatial aspect. Was it evident to you at the time that the set you were playing was very strong, or did you only think it was worth releasing on disc once you’d heard the recording?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was probably one of our most relaxed concerts. As it was a rather hot weekend in July, not so many people came to listen to the concert and therefore the situation was very concentrated. Bob Ostertag once wrote that John Zorn refused to play for too many people because it ruined the music. He has a good point there, as it is much more inspiring to play for an attentive audience. Playing with Klaus in such a situation is almost a form of meditation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eWe actually didn’t think of a recording, but Thomas Grill, one of the organisers, brought a mobile recorder. When I heard the recording, I was pretty surprised that it really captured the atmosphere of the concert. There were actually some rather loud parts towards the end of the concert: in fact I had to reduce the volume of the final part for the CD to avoid listeners having to adjust the volume themselves when the quiet part is too quiet or the loud part is too loud.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eYou say that playing with Klaus is almost a form of meditation, and that really hit home today when I was trying to select a short extract from the piece to use as a taster on the label website.  It was really hard, because the pace at which the music moves is glacial.  It’s like waiting for New Zealand to bump into Chile.  This isn’t so evident when you’re in the flow listening to the whole piece, but picking out a 2 or 3 minute extract feels meaningless; it tells you next to nothing about the music in its totality.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eTo quote Morton Feldman: \"All we composers really have to work with is time and sound - and sometimes I'm not even sure about sound\". I suppose this applies to almost any music. When the music is performed, it is always in a context: a specific event does not come on its own, but it is preceded and followed by other music. When taking a small snippet, this context gets lost.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eCould you say a little about the improvised music scene in Vienna?  You’ve mentioned Dieb13 and Billy Roisz, as well as Thomas Grill – and Katharina Klement and Angelica Castello are credited on the sleeve – all musicians who I rate very highly. There seem to be a lot of active and interesting players.  Do you think there are any distinctive features about the scene in Vienna?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThere are quite a few interesting musicians in Vienna, although I am not sure if they consider themselves mainly as `improvising' musicians. However one common aspect of many Viennese musicians is the use of electronics. One reason might be the electronic music course, `Elak', that many Viennese musicians attended in one way or another, and where Austrian computer music legend Günther Rabl taught for many years.  It’s also where Thomas and Katharina are currently lecturing. At the moment all my regular collaborators from Vienna use electronics: Klaus is using a laptop, Manuel Knapp plays analogue feedback devices, and Conny Zenk uses a computer to do video projections.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eCould you tell us how you earn your living?  Is it possible to make money from musical activities in Austria?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eI am definitely not able to make my living from music. And I know only very few musicians who can make their living from their own music. I mainly earned money from developing software. Some of my projects are somehow related to music, although it doesn't happen very often that they are related to my own music. Currently I am looking for a way to do a PhD somewhere in the field between computer sciences and computer music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eIn general I suppose it is really hard to make one’s living from music, unless the music is suitable for the mass, institutionalised or you are extremely lucky.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eYes, it’s the same in the UK, but I suspect there’s even less state support for this kind of music here.  But then people like Seymour Wright argue that in some ways it’s better if your music is totally separate from the business of earning your living, because that way commercial factors don’t affect your aesthetic choices at all.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eOne can probably distinguish between making a living from arts, making a living from something related and doing something completely different.   However it is double-edged: if you try to survive with arts it is possible that you adapt it. Or even worse: you could change the focus from developing \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eyour work to promoting it. But on the other hand you have much more time to focus on your own works, if you don't have a day job. When doing something related to arts, you at least use the same tools\/techniques and it is not \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003ecompletely detached.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003ePersonally, I like to have the distinction between my work\/research which is more of an intellectual challenge for the brain, and my music\/art that is for the heart to make life worth living.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/ruprecht_1_240x240.jpg?v=1751838162\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e“I have been admirer of the work of Tim Blechmann, the German (but long time resident of Vienna) laptop improviser and very much enjoyed the CD he released a few years back on the L’innomable label as one half of the duo Taus alongside Klaus Filip, also from Vienna, and also a laptop improviser. I was then, exceptionally pleased to hear that the duo were to release their second album on the Another Timbre label. Pinna is that album, a fifty minute long unedited live set recorded in July 2010. Both of these musicians have always impressed me for their singular, very focussed vision for their music. Both work with a very minimal palette, Blechmann usually with a finely tuned array of muted grey fields of fuzzy white noise, Filip most commonly with sinetones. They both also are completely comfortable with the technology they use and their music is rooted entirely in the discourse of the laptop as instrument. They make no attempt to mimic other instruments or to throw firework displays of technological possibility. For me both of these musicians utilise a methodology in their playing as simple as someone like Radu Malfatti (with whom Filip regularly plays) or Sean Meehan. They make powerful music with very simple gestures.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eFrom the outset of Pinna another key element to the work of these two is apparent, the presence and feel of the room in which they perform. I had never managed to see Blechmann play live, though have seen Filip a few times, but both musicians I think it is fair to say seem to feed off of the tone of the room around them. Their music seems to grow out of the hum of air conditioning, the murmur of an audience trying to be quiet, the city outside of the recording space, the murky, featureless detritus that we leave behind as a human race. The first hiss of Blechmann, the first honeyed swell of Filip rise out that familiar sound of a hushed concert space, the early sounds they make, at very low volume and almost inseparable from the sounds of the room. The duo’s sound grows into a dense swell, as happens often throughout the album, but somehow dissipates in ways that seem almost imperceptible. One minute we are hearing a deep grey rumble and a rich tone, the next both have slipped to vitally nothing, or Blechmann has moved to small, nearly inaudible prickly sounds and Filip’s glassy tones may had become transparent. The music is constantly shifting, glacially slow, to the point that when things disappear you don’t notice, and often only when there are sudden dilations of the sound as one or the other musician might expand their contribution. Brilliantly, in an interview with Tim Blechmann for the Another Timbre website, Simon Reynell describes the pace of the music as “like waiting for New Zealand to bump into Chile”.  Despite the way the music seems to become a natural, if very gradual flow out of the environment the interplay between the two is still apparent, and there is a tension to the way the two sounds come together, often mushrooming together into deathly slow motion drama. Listening closely to the music, the interconnections between the two musicians, as I have quite often over the past week or so is greatly rewarding, you can get lost in the clouds of grainy tone or you can follow their threads through each other and hear them as two conversing voices.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003ePinna is great. It appeals so closely to my own personal preferences in music, a lightness of touch, a sense of restraint rather than busyness, the strands of musical conversation left open on the surface and yet all done with an understated humility. The inside sleeve of what is maybe the nicest example of Another Timbre packaging yet also sums it up, a dense mass of scribbled lines, at first seemingly chaotic, but at closer inspection neatly distributed and containing some sense of order, albeit perhaps only a perceived one. Lovely, lovely music then.”     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e“Pinna is the outer part of the ear, by the way; fine title. And a fine recording. But fine in a way that always causes me to be at pains to quantify. Two laptops, a live 50+ minute performance of the general type that I think of as \"steady state\" rather than drone, though don't ask me to differentiate. It does take the shape of a crescendo though it's long enough in coming that the dramatic effect is felt before consciously perceived.  Although on the one hand there's an evenness here, a \"smooth\" shifting of planes, a continuity of action, I sense grain everywhere. It may be fine-grained (!) to the point of sublimation but it's there.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eIt idles beguilingly for a good bit at the start, several layers biding their time, gathering energy; it's very much like standing near an extremely subtle motor, gradually realizing how much stuff is happening, how well integrated it is to fool you into thinking, for a moment, that it's one thing. It gestates for a good while, circling, softly rumbling, high, sine-like tones coasting atop, splitting apart, isolated bangs heard in the distance. Those keening tones almost take on a melodic aspect at points, quite beautiful. Second gear doesn't kick in until some 4\/5 pf the way through but it's timing feels just right. Gentle, sonar-like blips manifest, the whole thickens and grows woolly. The crest is mild, not overblown, the subsidence relatively quick.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003eIn sum, just a very, very satisfying experience and a seriously enjoyable hunk of music.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C25\"\u003eJust outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400892449082,"sku":"at49","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at49BlechmannFilip.jpg?v=1749129941"},{"product_id":"atto-osvaldo-coluccino","title":"Osvaldo Coluccino","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C2\"\u003eOsvaldo Coluccino\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eacoustic objects\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eAtto 1     4:54\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eAtto 2     9:03\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eAtto 3     8:56\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eAtto 4     4:42\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eAtto 5    10:58\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eTT          38:38\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eRecorded near Milan, February to May 2011\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Osvaldo_Coluccino_photographic_portrait_2007_ff7ca216-bbcf-4f81-9091-c9a0cdb2a52a_480x480.jpg?v=1751837267\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eInterview with Osvaldo Coluccino\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eTo compose an acoustic music that explicitly refuses to use musical instruments is a strange decision for a composer in the classical tradition. Where did the idea for Atto come from, and why did you want to explore non-musical sound sources?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eThis refusal is an attempt to go to the heart of the matter, to look for the essence, stripping away clichés – even when they are honest clichés – to expose the centrality of creation (of the ‘act’ itself), and to emphasize its autonomy. In my case at least, this doesn’t come from a conceptual propensity, but from a concern with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003esensation\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e: every formal micro-detail of the music is part of a sensitive expressive will that attempts to permeate the receptive apparatus, and to induce deep emotions, even at an unconscious level.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eMy path as a composer has always been characterised by two different methods:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e(1) traditional music production (which starts as composition by an individual, who is of course isolated, but who then delegates the realisation of his intent to the interpreters).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e(2) the work of a loner, a creator-performer, who conducts research in sound, whether using electronic or electroacoustic or fully acoustic sounds. Since the early 80’s I have also begun to follow this second path, as one who isolates himself fully (I’d say becoming\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003emore like a magician with his rituals than a musician).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eIn the case of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eAtto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e, the situation is even more specialised, because the acoustic sounds that occur are neither the result of musical instruments, nor recognisable sounds that can be associated with a particular object (as happens in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eMusique Concrète\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand with field recordings). I wanted to escape completely from the limitations imposed by the cages of our cultural habits, and to look for independence from existing methods. For me the situation is, both as a composer and a listener, a vivid, natural and necessary situation; it is the bread of our time and yet classical at the same time, not just a provocative gimmick to attract attention.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eI can add about the origin of the idea, that the title – ‘Atto’ (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eact\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e) – is emblematic. Philosophically speaking, through the act we renounce virtuality and bring something into being. So in the music\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eI try to capture abstract or invisible or parallel elements, and then make them concrete\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e. ‘Atto’ is an austere but charming word which – like the English word ‘act’ – has many meanings, all of which are valid. Among other personal meanings: ‘act’ as an intervention (of art) on things in order to develop a ‘new side’, therefore an act that generates  new things rather than mimicking existing things; or think of the phrase “a tragedy in 5 acts”, this work consists of 5 tracks; the prefix in the Italian word – ‘AT’ – is a tribute to this rigorous label.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C22\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eI’m interested in the emphasis you put on being a ‘loner’ musically. What attracts you to this hermit-like existence, and would it not be possible to create similar ‘acts’ in collaboration with other musicians?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eIt’s the only way in which I can have total control of my ‘vision’. Moreover, I confess, I need to be alone to produce certain\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eobjects\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e, just like the painter or poet who knows that his vision will not be mediated by others. I need to enter into the silence, into the darkness of existence, so, theoretically, I also need to get rid of myself. I am already too much.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eBut when using the other, traditional method of composition, in fact I’ve worked with hundreds of musicians, from when I was 13 years old until now, when I’m almost fifty. Though even there, fundamentally, I’m using the hermit’s way.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eCould you describe the process behind Atto in a bit more detail? Were you, for instance, simply recording the sounds of everyday objects you came across, or did you actively ‘play’ various objects by striking, rubbing or scraping them? And were you thinking of the structure of the pieces before you found the sounds, or did the sounds themselves suggest the musical structure of each piece?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eOn a practical level, it was as you say: I struck or rubbed the objects, I breathed onto them etc.  I never left them in peace in their (false) status of amorphous objects, or with their forced function, or with a univocal voice. I provoked them so that the ‘new side’, which I wrote about above, springs out from them and resounds. It doesn’t matter what category of object it is; what matters is the aesthetic outcome of its ‘singing’. Ethic-Aesthetic. Those sounds will then “suggest the structure of”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003ea space\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e, which is a fact of great importance for me.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eI said above: “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eI try to capture\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e…”, indeed I can actually say the opposite: “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eThese elements try to capture me\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e”, by using me as a sounding board. In fact one of my greatest satisfactions is when, after long and exhausting work, I can say: “Here is something I don’t know, even if it feels familiar. I don’t know how to make it. It\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003edoesn’t belong to me.” However, beyond personal perceptions, the reality is somewhere in the middle: in all my compositions – for example a piece for ensemble, or choir, or a performance of our type, etc. –\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003ealmost\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eeverything is playing inside me in advance of the realisation. Fortunately there is this ‘\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003ealmost\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e’ that saves the operation: it’s wonderful when the composition under construction flows in its own freedom,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eand in unexpected ways compared to the original plan, and when it mixes itself with those plans in a fascinating way. Obviously in my case it’s not improvisation, but there is a splitting of the senses; it is sometimes vertigo, sometimes a temporary overflow across formal boundaries. It is precisely to let myself be invaded (captured) by instances from those external elements.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eIt’s interesting that the way you talk about music and composition is far more romantic than with most musicians I talk to. And in fact part of what I like about Atto is that it somehow creates a kind of lyricism out of the most mundane, everyday materials that you use. Do you think this is a fair description?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003ePerhaps because for me music, to begin with, is a strongly inner experience, with visceral ears, ears that can hear perfumes... My experience with art is totalising. We know that a lot depends on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003ethe ability to listen\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e, and also on the diversification of these listenings, insights and discernments, so I\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003ethink that you’re right: my testimony probably is passionate. I don’t know, maybe because I was also a poet for many years, and so it’s all-encompassing, totalising; this is a journey that I have completed, finished.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eCould you tell us a little about your background? I understand that you were better known as a poet originally, so how and when did you first start composing?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eLately, when someone asks me for a biographical note, I make it shorter and shorter: 9 or 10 lines of selected events (a bare list), from among the most recent events. It’s like saying: if others really need to know about me, those 10 lines are enough.  I would like that intangible elements such as ignitions, commitments, feelings of being abandoned, ideals etc arrive to them, intangible elements that follow a certain path, rather than the story of a man, my story.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eHowever, I can say that I started as a musician, studying classical guitar when I was twelve, then musical composition (classical music and rock) and then writing poems immediately after. Already in 1979 and 1980, when I was sixteen, I performed in concert halls in Northern Italy. Artistic creation has always been a need for me since childhood, and I have put it into practice. When I wrote poetry, I could not write music, and vice versa. Speaking just about music: in me the musician and the composer are two separate entities, two different parts of the brain that occasionally wink at one another.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eBut returning one moment to the story, I could get passionate about the life stories of other artists, the classics: how can I not be moved by them, by the misunderstanding and mistreatment that they suffered, the stories of Cézanne, Rimbaud, Schubert, Lautréamont...? But I also enjoy reading, for example, Francis Bacon when he says that he was a domestic worker-cook, a stenographer etc, thereby disappointing those who expected ostentatious qualifications instead.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eBut a great part of my background has been occupied with Beethoven, Schubert, Webern, Nono.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eYour mentioning Nono doesn’t surprise me: although I don’t feel that there’s any similarity in the soundworlds of Atto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eand Nono’s music, I feel that there is a connection at some level. His music too is very passionately felt. How do you think his music has affected yours?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eI like the formal aspects of his music, the revolutionary centrality he gave to the sound, the culmination of his last period, and more. With regard to my case – without wanting to make comparisons – you could listen to some of my works for traditional instruments. By chance at almost the same time as\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eAtto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e, two other discs of my music have just been released –\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eString Quartets\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(on Neos) and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eStanze\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(piano works, on Col legno).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eAbout the artists I love, I sense an innate expressive power, which makes their work ‘resonate’ in a special way: this is the basic connection that I see between my favourite artists.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eDo you think Atto opens a new direction in your work – a third thread in addition to your electronic compositions and your pieces for conventional instruments? Or is it a one-off experiment?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eTen years ago at the Chamber of Labour of Milan a short electroacoustic piece of mine was performed, the sources of which were all acoustic, that is, the results of performances with conventional objects, which were then edited, electronically processed and mixed. Before and after that date, the sound on my other electroacoustic compositions has sometimes also come from acoustic sounds that I produced.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eSo my experience with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eAtto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis not a whim of the moment but a true passion, or, rather, an artistic necessity. Though it’s true that\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eAtto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas the first time that I have dealt with material that was entirely acoustic.  I intend to produce other similar works (a few, you’ll be able to count them on the fingers of one hand; I'll never be a redundant author), and in fact I’m already planning to start work on another piece for acoustic objects in the coming months.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eYou spoke earlier about the sounds in your work \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e‘\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003esuggesting the structure of a space\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e’.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e What did you mean by this?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eA few years ago, a philosopher who had been listening to a long composition of mine, asked me: “What is music for you?” Nobody before had asked me a question that was so dry or ‘cheeky’. In an equally sharp and dry way I answered:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003efor me, music is a place\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003e“Osvaldo Coluccino is a self-confessed loner with an eclectic history as a musician, poet, and composer. As a composer, he has employed conventional acoustic instruments and\/or electronics, the latter exemplified on Neuma Q (Die Schachtel, 2010). For Atto, recorded near Milan between February and May 2011, he took the role of sole creator-performer and opted to make music using neither instruments nor electronics. Instead he struck, rubbed or breathed into everyday objects to generate sounds that cannot be associated with any particular object. As Coluccino has said, \"I wanted to escape completely from the limitations imposed by the cages of our cultural habits and to look for independence from existing methods.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eThe recorded sounds were then used to construct the piece, which consists of five parts that play together seamlessly without any jarring transitions. In its entirety, the piece lasts just under 39 minutes. Its most immediate characteristic is a sense of space and tranquility. Coluccino has not overcrowded the soundscape nor allowed any sound to linger for too long; there are no prolonged drones or barrages of sound. On occasion, two sounds are heard in parallel, but throughout, each component of the piece can be heard clearly and savored.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eColuccino was successful in producing sounds the source of which cannot be identified, thus keeping Atto fresh and cliché-free. The majority of them are covered by the term \"small sounds,\" which includes scrapings, rattlings, tappings and breathy tones. Most were clearly recorded in a resonant space; they resound in ways that others achieve electronically rather than physically, giving the music presence and immediacy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eAltogether, Atto sits at the overlaps between ambient, EAI, improv and modern composition and should find favor with devotees of any of those musics. It is music that will stand the test of time and be richly rewarding for years to come.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C31\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C31\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003e“Quite inexplicably, not only I had never heard the music of Osvaldo Coluccino prior to Atto but even the name was completely foreign to my memory. Not that knowing better would have helped this time, as previous opuses by the Italian have been published and performed as scores with defined instrumentation and notation, whereas this is another type of proposal altogether.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eColuccino chose seclusion in remote places to seize the essence of undetermined objects – exclusive of any proper instrument – which he mostly struck, rubbed and in some way enlivened using his hands and breath. Affirming a necessity of being alone during the creative impulse, the performer tried to establish a connection between himself, the sonic items and the (unquestionably large) environments, looking for answers that a regular compositional process could not give him at the moment in which these tracks were conceived.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eA single artist was loosely coupled by yours truly while coming to terms with this receptacle of ringing rattles, collapsing masses and assorted leftovers improved by vast reverberations: David Jackman (Organum, if you like). Not because of excessive similarities in the acoustic outcome – there aren’t many extensive drones herein, although the booming ambiences do ring a bell – but primarily for the introverted exploration of a rough palette that, upon repeated attempts, reveals surprising truths disguised amidst the relative normality of unprompted gestures.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C28\"\u003eThe nonexistence of standard musical components – no harmony, no melody, no rhythm, at least in the conventional acceptation of these definitions – constitutes an incentive for fine-tuning our listening abilities through what appears as a collection of echoes from an historically neglected long-ago. Not composition, not improvisation: just snapshots of states of mind, translated into substantial clatter and gentler cracks in a charged silence.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C30\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMassimo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C31\"\u003eTouching Extremes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400896577850,"sku":"at50","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at50ColuccinoAtto.jpg?v=1749130069"},{"product_id":"outwash-angharad-davies-tisha-mukarji-dimitra-lazaridou-chatzigoga","title":"Angharad Davies, Tisha Mukarji, Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAngharad Davies\u003c\/strong\u003e   violin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTisha Mukarji\u003c\/strong\u003e   piano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga\u003c\/strong\u003e   zither\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e1. Glacier        10:41\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e2. Meltwater   11:05\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e3. Moraine      16:02\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e             TT:     40:48\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eRecorded in London, December 2011\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/DSC01926_480x480.jpg?v=1751836517\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eInterview with Tisha Mukarji\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eFirst of all could you tell us something about your background: how you came to music, and to improvisation in particular?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI started with the piano at an early age, and soon after the point when I could sit properly on a bench without the aid of a phone book, and with the encouragement of my piano teacher, I went on to start a classical training. My arrival into experimental music (since in retrospect I see it as a musical journey) has followed a rather circuitous path.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI was always curious about how the piano works and excited when the piano tuner came to visit. Later I reflected that pianists, compared to other musicians, are the most removed from their instruments and have little, if any, knowledge of how the piano works. So this gap pushed me to pursue an apprenticeship with a piano tuner.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eSo now I had some knowledge of fooling around inside the piano and one day in a practice room someone who had overheard me mentioned John Cage and from that day onwards I pursued independently a study of Cage and his contemporaries.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eAt that point in my life I was moving around a bit, and had landed in Damascus where I was trying to find people to make music with. One thing led to another and I met up with the people from Irtijal  (The Free Improv Festival in Lebanon):  Sharif and Christine Sehnaoui, and Mazen Kerbaj in Beirut.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI think they were in their fourth year of the festival and they invited me to come and play. It was a great meeting and since Damascus isn't far, I went on quite a few musical trips to Beirut to meet and listen, play and enjoy their company, as well as the other players who were present there.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eSo I definitely see my time in Beirut as an entry into this improv scene, one that opened up a lot of other meetings.  The second kind of defining improv moment was when I left Damascus for Lisbon and met and played with Ernesto Rodrigues....but that's another story.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eA compact version of this would be that I started listening to and reading about contemporary music and then met practitioners, which was an important point because personal study needed to be activated by encounters with improvisers (who actually all had different sorts of musical backgrounds).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eI hadn’t realised that you’d entered the improv scene through such a circuitous route.  It’s great that a scene that is so marginal (geographically, not musically) was able to kickstart your interest in improvisation.   And now, just a few years down the line, you’re based in Berlin, which is like Improv Capital.  That must be quite a contrast.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eYes it’s a bit strange when I think of it, but then again it fits me. It couldn’t have been any other way. I had this practice room at the French Institute in Damascus and I was working on music and improvising with very limited access to what other people were doing, and then I met Mazen and we talked about concrete music (which I was very interested in at the time) and he introduced me to the rest of the “crew”, and although they were mostly self-taught musicians and really coming from a jazz scene so to speak, we were all excited about the possibilities of practising music and playing music differently. I think this story really highlights one of the beauties of a community that goes across borders. Today if I were to go to Tokyo or Brno I would be connected to a group of people through this music.  Another historical parallel would be the Fluxus movement, which perhaps was one of the first truly international communities of artists, musicians, poets and so on.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eAs for Berlin, it’s true it is an “Improv capital” but strangely enough I hardly ever play with people here, perhaps only once or twice a year...go figure. But I certainly do soak up the concerts. It was a necessary move for me as a musician, an artist, and just someone who wanted to stand still for a moment without falling into isolation. I’m very happy I don’t have to travel so much now to meet people or listen to concerts.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eThat’s interesting because I was talking to another musician recently who moved to Berlin a few years ago, expecting to be really active and busy, but actually found it quite difficult to fit in and build connections with the hundreds of other improvising and experimental musicians there.  Perhaps sometimes- or for some people - it’s easier to work productively in smaller communities:  Barcelona, Beirut, Bueonos Aires or Boston rather than Berlin.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eAnyway, we should be talking about ‘outwash’:  of course I know that you’ve worked with Angharad before, but what about Dimitra?  How did you come to meet and work with her?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI met with Dimitra two years ago. She was in Berlin for some days and Lucio Capece was organising a haus konzerte and asked me to play. I think the set up was Dimitra, Robin Hayward, Lucio and myself....it was a nice gig. During the evening I started to talk with Dimitra and invited her to come and do a recording session with me. Actually at that moment I was recording some material and working on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eunbalanced in (unbalanced out)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e. So I had this space free and thought it would be nice to do a duo....\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI would say that this is a typical Berlin kind of meeting between musicians. You contact people for a coffee and well why not a little session of playing....\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eOK, so what about Angharad.  I know that you'd played together a bit before you produced 'Endspace', but how and when did you two meet up, and why did you decide to work together more?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI think this was in 2006 - although I first met Angharad when I played in the LMC Festival in 2005 -  but it was on my second trip to London (Mark Wastell had invited me to join him in a quartet for 2 concerts) that I met Angharad and also gave her a copy of a self-released solo CD called Short Pieces. This was May 2006, I believe.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThe idea of recording together was Angharad's.  I think she liked my CD and wanted to try something out, so I said I’d come to London for the LMC festival that year for a visit and that we should combine the trip with some recording days. Sebastian Lexer was also quite important since he organised a space at Goldsmith's and all the recording set up, which was brilliant.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThat was the first day of recording and playing together as a duo - later the same day we also recorded a quintet with Nikos Veliotis, Rhodri Davies, and Andrea Neumann, which was fun - lots of strings...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI don't think that the decision was made to really go for a record together at that time, everything was still quite open.  But then a few months later Angharad invited me to play in a trio with her and Andrea Neumann so that allowed us to play again, and I think at that point it was becoming clear that we had two languages that combined well together, and also that we both were happy with a playing style that left a lot of space to one another, and left a space open for sounds to develop.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eFollowing this,we decided to meet again in a few months to do a second recording session, out of which came Endspace.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eYou talk about a playing style ‘that left a lot of space to one another, and left a space open for sounds to develop’.  That’s a pretty good description of both ‘Endspace’ and ‘Outwash’.  There’s a quality of openness and a relaxed feel to the music in both albums.  But do you find any significant differences in style or feel between the two?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eHmm…you know I had played both with Dimitra and Angharad separately so I felt quite relaxed doing the recording. It’s true that at some moments I felt completely in sync with Angharad and it was rather like our duo plus a guest, but as the session continued I think we went somewhere else. With Angharad I have developed, or rather we have developed, an understanding of each other’s music which creates a certain freedom of playing.  It’s a freedom not to make music or not to play so much, to allow sounds to decay.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThe trio gave me more space in the sense that the pieces didn’t have to be so compact. With Endspace I felt that our playing (and the way we edited it) had a lot to do with punctuation and phrases, whereas with Outwash I think it’s more about sentences. There’s more time taken to follow through musical ideas.  I think the structure and playing on Outwash has a lot more fluidity to it; there are hardly any breaks or sudden changes in it, although there are shifts. Perhaps this is inherent in having three voices- I’m not sure.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eSo aside from music, what else do you do there in Berlin?  Are there other art projects you're involved in?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eWell, I'm also an artist and although I consider it a completely separate activity most of my work deals with an exploration of silence. I think here I can mention that I'm not so interested in having a discourse around music, that music shouldn't say anything. To clarify, music - especially the music that is happening now - should definitely have a critical discourse that deals with it, that is concerned with listening to  it. But music itself should never hold a message, since music never does. It is always perhaps the gathering around music, the commissioned compositions that generate a type\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e But with art one can deal with concepts and ideas in a more explicit manner. So silence in my art work is more a question of absence in all of its senses.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/DSC01918_50192dbc-35fd-4084-b56d-5a9b4f0c5aee_240x240.jpg?v=1751836670\" alt=\"\" style=\"float: none;\"\u003e        \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/dimitra_240x240.jpg?v=1751836763\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\"This trio seems to work as a natural extension of Davies and Mukarji’s long standing duo, who released an earlier album on Another Timbre as well as a barely distributed, self made CDr last year. The music is all essentially acoustic, with Lazaridou-Chatzigoga adding eBows to her zither to give an additional warmth and slight electronic feel to the music. It is beautiful music too. It ranges between the quietly pointillist, almost percussive sprays of the opening Glacier to the more laminal, spacious expanses of Meltwater and Moraine. Throughout there is a clean, exceptionally well recorded clarity to the three instruments, with all three always recognisable and a sense of sharp, precise definition between the various sounds. The feeling is often of  contemporary composition, perhaps because of the string based instrumentation and Davies’ familiar violin sound, but also perhaps because the music, which is all improvised, does have a feeling of confident precision about it, albeit one that has a definite fragility. I am reminded of spider’s webs- beautifully, expertly crafted with never a strand left in the wrong place, held together with perfect balance and yet so delicate that it could all fall apart with the minimum of disruption.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eThe balance in the trio is wonderful, with each taking it in turns to add rhythmic parts, with patterns often appearing in the music as it gradually revolves, but with each of the group choosing their moment to disrupt things. Mukarji’s piano adds a wonderful depth to the music, often dipping into deep, booming wooden strikes to offset the lighter touch of the shorter strings, and Lazaridou-Chatzigoga adds a glowing warmth to proceedings, her sounds softer and rounder than the grainy textured masterstrokes of Davies’ violin. It is never too busy, never too talkative or aggressive and yet also never drifting into unnecessary white space. I am reminded of The Sealed Knot in their prime, pre-electronic guise. Like the best illustration, nothing is overworked, few lines are used, and yet none of the vital details are missing. There is little more for me to say. Outwash is just a very beautiful, expertly crafted forty minutes of music, as good as any improvisation I have heard yet this year.”    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Pinnell\u003c\/strong\u003e,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe Watchful Ear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eI suppose one of the \"fears\" I have when slipping in a disc like this, with this kind of instrumentation (violin, piano, zither) is that it might be overly plinkety-plonkety (forgive the technical term) and, at the very beginning of the first track, I thought that indeed might be the case. Foolish me. The trio executes a fine balance between the kind of thin, airy sound I might have expected and a rich layering of extended tones, a very beautiful interplay with the shorter, spikier offerings surfacing like pebbles (or irregular gaps) in the kind of moraine flow alluded to in the disc's title. That image is actually quite effective, I find: \"material carried away from a glacier by meltwater\". The references to tonality posses just the right tartness so as not to become overly lush, the structures, that \"laminar flow\", are very well laid out, occupied in always intriguing and varied proportions by the scratch of the violin, the insides and outsides of the piano (deeply tolled every so often, acting as a base current) and the rubbings, pingings and buzzings of the zither. The more I listen, the more I'm impressed by simply the array of sounds, the almost bewildering variety and apposition, all within a calm, serenely flowing environment.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eSomething about this works for me on every level--I could listen for far more than the 40 minutes presented here. Excellent recording.”     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eJust Outside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e“Lately I’ve been reading Seth Kim-Cohen’s excellent book In the Blink of an Ear, which argues that post-Cagean sound art has been short-changed by an unwavering adherence to Pierre Schaeffer’s “sound-in-itself” approach, and that the discourse surrounding the sonic arts should more appropriately be placed within a larger social, philosophical, and political context.  Another Timbre is a label that seems to be heading in the “expanded” direction that Kim-Cohen advocates. They’ve released countless above-average recordings, most in the quiet, detail-oriented vein of modern free improvisation. A lot of this music shares characteristics with the “EAI” genre, but it is often much more than that, thoughtful music that it would be unfair to pigeonhole into one arbitrary subgenre or another. Outwash continues in this tradition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eThere’s a cool, late-night atmosphere to Outwash, something fragile about its constitution, like the careful formation of icicles. And perhaps ice lends the right idea: “Outwash”–as well as the glacier-themed track titles themselves—are perfectly suited to the music within, slow fingers of sound that seem to reach out tentatively from something big and still just outside of earshot or awareness. Violin, piano, and zither both make the music and don’t, so far removed are they from typically safe musical deployments. Davies’ violin is a sparse but crucial component, a presence that never really dominates the music but would leave an enormous void if it were missing.  Lazaridou-Chatzigoga is reminiscent of Davies’ brother Rhodri in many ways: she approaches the zither much as he does the harp, plying unnatural sonorities from the instrument using objects on the strings or e-bows. Both seep around the murky din of Mukarji’s prepared piano, its hollow resonances ringing like struck pillars of ice.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eIn an interview on the label website, Mukarji likens the music to full sentences, as opposed to the clipped punctuation or phrases of some improvisation. It’s a metaphor that ties in nicely with Lazaridou-Chatzigoga’s Ph.D. in theoretical linguistics and her interest in how we glean meaning from combinations of signs and symbols. But in what at first seems a strange turn, Mukarji later states that music “should never hold a message.” Maybe in the context of Lazaridou-Chatzigoga’s day job this is true—it takes a whole different realm of semantics to address Outwash. But a lack of some linguistic message doesn’t equate to a lack of meaning, and this is where Mr. Schaeffer gets tossed out the window: music may not be a language, but it’s also not just sound and sound alone. There’s something rich and meaningful and wildly difficult to articulate about improvised music; maybe some warm and revealing thing about our humanity that we understand at the gut level. We feel these convergences of sound to be rife with meaning, that they are inextricably entwined in our webs of culture and experience.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eCold as this glacial music may be, these three ladies have truly conjured that ineffable, soul-warming something, and Outwash is one of the most captivating records of the year.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDan Sorrells\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eFree Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400904376634,"sku":"at51","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at51outwash1.jpg?v=1749130182"},{"product_id":"kolk-christoph-schiller-birgit-ulher","title":"Christoph Schiller \u0026 Birgit Ulher","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChristoph Schiller\u003c\/strong\u003e   spinet \u0026amp; preparations\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBirgit Ulher\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003etrumpet, radio, speaker, objects\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e1. Auflast       5:33\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e2. Sediment    6:38\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e3. Geröll        10:12\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e4. Kolk             7:42\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e5. Bult             4:23\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eRecorded in Hamburg, October 2010\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/P1010079_480x480.jpg?v=1751836064\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eInterview with Christoph Schiller\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eFirst of all, why the spinet?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI used to play the piano, the spinet came later. I’d always been unhappy with the fact that as a pianist you can’t usually play concerts on your own instrument, or sometimes there’s no instrument at all. Maybe ten years ago, I got a spinet so that I could play baroque music on a more or less appropriate instrument, and after a while I started trying it for improvised music too. Having taken the decision to develop it for my own purpose, I spent almost a whole year adapting my inside-piano techniques to it, and developing new techniques. It worked well. My first thought was to use it as an alternative to the piano, but soon I abandoned piano completely. As I was interested in ‘small’ sounds, I’d also been unhappy with the massive body of the piano. The spinet is a much lighter, smaller instrument; I can even travel with it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eAlso there’s less tension on the strings, and this provides other possibilities, for example when working with an e-bow. I generally like the light sound of the instrument. Even though I play it in a way that’s far removed from its ‘original purpose’, it keeps its character, and funnily enough it works very well with instruments that it \"knows\" from the baroque world: viola da gamba, violin, recorder. But it also sounds good in electronic contexts. The strings are plucked (when played from the keys), and this makes it much easier to mix inside techniques with keyboard playing, as compared to the piano.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eWith the piano I always felt aware of the history of piano music behind me. I don’t think this is just an intellectual thing, it also has to do with the way sound is produced in a piano. This is a very special technique. The spinet is simpler in its sound production, and perhaps this is why I feel much freer with the spinet. I know its history (baroque music), but I can still use it as if there was no history at all, as I was inventing the instrument completely anew. The spinet and harpsichord didn’t play any role in the music history of the 19th and half of the 20th century.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThe spinet might be exotic in improvised music; but my instrument isn’t just the spinet, but also the preparations and the way I play it. Looked at from this angle, it’s no more exotic than a guitar or a laptop or a trumpet.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eSo can you tell us a bit about the preparations you use? When I’ve seen you play, you seem to use quite a variety of objects.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI use some small stones, a piece of metal and a glass for either putting on the strings (to shorten or open them), or for placing on the bridge to create distortion effects.  And a larger stone for putting on the lower keys to open the strings (‘pedal’), as well as some forks, a piece of polystyrene, and various little objects - amongst others, a chopstick, a small cymbal attached to the instrument, and an egg-slicer which holds a ruler. I use a cello-bow for playing on the attached objects and the wooden body, and sometimes even on the lowest string. Also I have two e-bows. I play the strings via the keys or directly with my fingers, plucking or rubbing. For some time I’ve also placed a Zoom Hn4-recorder inside in the instrument, for recording and immediate playback, over the little built-in loudspeaker. I usually mix this with the same or similar sounds ‘live’, so it's not always clearly recognisable. On the recording with Birgit I also had a very good cheap kind of fan, but it didn't last very long, and I couldn’t find the same model again. I’m always working on varying the combinations of all these and finding new aspects.  It is indeed a large variety.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eCurrently I’m working on a new set-up using some electronics: a pick-up, a microphone, the Hn4 again, and a mixing board. So it’s even more stuff! But things come and go, and some objects might disappear after a while, if I find that I don't use them. The spinet itself is one of the objects in a way, even though the most important one.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eOK, now onto the disc.  Before the music, what about the titles:   Kolk, Auflast, Sediment, Geröll and Bult.  What are these referring to, and why?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThey’re all geological terms, referring to the formation of landscape. ‘Kolk’ is the basin that is washed out under a waterfall, or even under very small \"waterfalls\". ‘Auflast’ is a term referring to the process in this situation. ‘Bults’ are small grass \"islands\" which occur in a marshy landscape. In a way it's the opposite of Kolk, as it’s a positive form, while Kolk is a negative one. Sediment is a geological shift (material sinking to the ground and forming a layer) and ‘Geröll’ means boulder. All those terms describe landscape features in a certain state, as result of a long-term \"sculptural\" process, a process that may not be finished, but which is going on very slowly. We don't claim that the process of our music making is as slow as geological developments, but we bring the terms and the music together to achieve maybe a certain point of view. Birgit and I have known each other for a very long time, although we have not always played together during this time. But there are, for example,  common \"sedimental shifts\" in our artistic history, and the music on the disc is the culmination of a long-term development - but as with the geological features too, it’s certainly not the end of the process, but a statement of \"now\".\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eIt strikes me that 90% of your music that I've heard has been in a duo setting.  Is that a form that you particularly like, and if so why?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThis is not a concept, but yes, I like playing in duo very much. Maybe because it’s intimate, and the system of communication is simple and clear. But there are also practical reasons: it's easier to find dates, and it's easier to find possibilities to play concerts, whereas trios and of course larger groups are always more difficult to organise. I play a lot with different people, and duo-playing is the easiest way to be flexible inside the network. But I do also play in other constellations, larger groups, and I like that too! There are even some very large ones, like the IMO improvising orchestra in Switzerland, as well as my vocal ensemble Millefleurs and Carl Ludwig Hübsch’s Ensemble X in Cologne. Then I also play solo, but not so much. I really want to do a solo CD as well, but I haven’t yet, because I always think I can do it later... it's like visiting tourist spots in your own town: you never do it, because you think you could go there any time. So you only go there with friends from abroad - and then it's a duo again!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYes, I certainly hear those qualities of intimacy and clear communication in your duo with Birgit.  But I think there's also something else in play that I like: a kind of integrity.  While, as you say, your music has undergone geological shifts over the years, neither you nor Birgit seems to follow fashions in music.  You're both clearly aware of current developments in improvisation, but engage with them in ways that retain your particular history or personality intact.  It's an approach that I like very much, but I wonder if it has led you into being a more marginal figure than you might have been if, say, you'd embraced 'Reductionism' as a disciple in an evangelical way? \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI think what you call integrity is essential in any artistic work or career. Maybe you're right when you say that I am a rather marginal figure, but I don't know if there is a choice - artistically. There are always many possibilities, but are they really serious possibilities? I think the \"freedom\" in improvised music is mainly the freedom of finding one's own way, or own solution.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI was and am very aware of, for example, reductionism; it is very important music and there are extremely important ideas in it, that have of course also influenced me. But I think that none of the main protagonists has \"followed the style\" in order to achieve these results; rather the results are the outcome and consequence of an artistic development. I'm not explicitly trying to \"keep distance from stylistic trends\", I just don't copy them. There is no point in copying the styles, and I mistrust any rules which pretend to offer a final solution.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eFor a long time my work was much more marginal than it has seemed in the past couple of years. I learned to do my own stuff, and to follow my artistic instinct and conscience, because I wouldn’t have been tempted by any \"success\" whatsoever. I am quite content with my situation as it is now. I can do my work, and that's fine.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eYes, that makes sense.   I’m curious to know exactly how the pieces on ‘Kolk’ were made.  Were they totally improvised, or did you agree to work in certain areas prior to recording each piece, and were they shaped later on through editing? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eAll pieces are freely improvised. We had recorded a lot of material in one session from which we selected the takes we liked. After this we worked on the order and chose some pieces with regard to a through form (of the cd).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThe pieces were all played as they appear on the disc - except that sometimes we edited out sequences before or after the piece. But there was no post-production work except for this selection and putting the tracks in an order. However, there was quite a lot of work mixing some small details, and I am very grateful for the help of Boris Vogeler, our sound engineer.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Birgit_Speaker_480x480.jpg?v=1751836008\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400910143802,"sku":"at52","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at52Kolk.jpg?v=1749130307"},{"product_id":"unbalanced-in-unbalanced-out","title":"Unbalanced In (unbalanced Out)","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eA 45-minute piece created by six musicians across great distances, using a method explained below in the interview with Barry Chabala, who co-ordinated the project. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eBarry Chabala\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eguitar   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBonnie Jones\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eelectronics\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eLouisa Martin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003elaptop    \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTisha Mukarji\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003epiano\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eToshimaru Nakamura\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eno-input mixing board   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGabriel Paiuk\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003epiano  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/barry_chabala.jpg?v=1751835615\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eInterview with Barry Chabala\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eI know that \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eunbalanced in (unbalanced out)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e isn't a piece of group improvisation in the conventional sense.  Could you explain what it is, and how it was made?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eYes, this piece was not created in real time, nor did any of us play together. It was done ‘at a distance’, as several of my other recordings have been. Previously for myself, this process had involved just one or two other artists, and we either played compositions or improvisations in our own home studios, or contributed previously performed live tracks (in the case of Daniel Jones), and then combined the tracks to make an album.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eUnbalanced in (unbalanced out)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eapplies this method on a much larger scale, and with more of a plan as to how it was to be done.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eI put together a list of musicians that I greatly admire and would always want to play with and much to my surprise, they all agreed! I then put together an order that I thought would work with each musician’s strengths and set about having everyone record. The plan was this: The piece would be roughly 50 minutes long and each musician was able to play up to 20 minutes, any way they wanted. So they could play one 20 minute continuous section, or break it up into 20 one minute parts, or anything at all as long as it added up to no more than 20 minutes. And, rather than having everyone just record a part separately and stack them up at the end, this was done one at a time, following the order that I came up with, with each subsequent player having one more track to listen to. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eSo player number one played solo, player number two had a duo, and so on. The way it worked was that as each musician completed their recording, they sent it to me and I prepared a rough mix of available tracks and then sent it on to the next person. They recorded their contribution and told me where to place the parts if necessary within the 50 minute time frame. I played my part at the end, and then assembled the piece. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eOK, so as you heard each new part added, did the piece change a great deal?  Or was a certain mood set by the first player, and everyone else followed suit?  And are you allowed to tell us who played in which order?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eI’m not sure if it changed as it went along so much as it grew and ‘became itself’ over the course of the year that it took to compete. Does that make sense? From the choices I made in creating this particular combination of players, I did have some idea in my head how it was going to sound, or rather how I HOPED it was going to sound, but I must say that I was really nicely surprised several times along the way. I really wanted Toshi to start it off and talking with him, he really wanted to go first as well. As it turned out though, due to him being on the road for extended periods right when this project was starting, he relinquished his number one position in the interest of time. Gabriel, also very interested in going early, went first. Toshi then went second and I’m pretty sure that he chose not to listen to Gabriel’s part, which of course was his option.  Next up was Tisha. The two piano combination was something that I was really excited to try and I knew that Tisha would be a great match to Gabriel as they both play inside as well as traditionally. After that was Louisa. I liked what she brought to the Midhopestones CD, (or at least what I assumed to be her) and felt that her subtle electronics would be a nice contrast to Toshi’s more bombastic moments. Next was Bonnie. I really love Bonnie’s work both solo and in English and, well, pretty much anytime I’ve ever heard her play. She did some great playing here, to say the least. Lastly, I finished it up with some acoustic guitar.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eAs you say, you’ve worked with this kind of long distance file-exchange before, and it’s now a fairly well-established method in the global village of improvised music. But did the way this project was organised make it feel different from other file-based collaborations, where presumably you’ve had the chance to re-work and refine your contributions at different times in the process.  You went last, so I wonder if you were you itching to get in there each time you heard a new layer being laid in the piece?  And conversely, do you think those who had gone early were longing to get back in there and add something or re-work their material in the light of what the later musicians were bringing to it? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eI have to admit that I did feel the urge to join in probably every time I received a file! I think the biggest difference between this one and the others I’ve done was the time it took to complete. I work pretty quickly generally so this was a big change for me. Dealing with five very busy musicians spread throughout the world, there were bound to be understandable delays between contributions. As far as control goes, I usually don’t edit the tracks I’m sent to play with, and that was one of the rules of this piece as well. The contributions are all unedited. All I did was some mixing and a little EQing to get everything sounding good together as a whole. As far as my part goes, when it was finally my turn to go, I treated it the same as I would any other project as much as possible. I don’t generally listen to the tracks I’m going to play against much so that I can react to it much as I would a live improvisation partner, but of course in this instance that wasn’t totally possibly because I had just spent the last year dealing with the tracks as they came in. I did add in Bonnie’s part and then put it away for a while so it wasn’t quite so fresh, had my go at it and then as I generally do, went in and took out a few of my nonessential notes. It’s probably natural to want to go back and change things after the fact, but that wasn’t allowed!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eSo the music itself:  I find it fascinating because while parts sound pretty organic, as if it could be a ‘live’ improvisation, a lot of it sounds slightly ‘wrong’ in a disconcerting way.  I already knew roughly how it was produced when I first heard it, but I think that even if I hadn’t, it would have sounded ‘unnatural’ somehow– though in a challenging\/thought-provoking way!  And structurally, it’s so odd; I guess you would never produce a structure like this in a ‘normal’ improv situation, but then that’s what makes it so interesting to listen to.  What do you think?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eTo me it sounds very episodic. One thing follows the other, some things overlap, and nothing is every repeated exactly again. I think that it's a piece that doesn't give up the goods too easily and requires repeated listens for the \"odd\" structure to begin to be not so odd. I don’t actually find it odd but it is certainly unusual.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eIt’s easy to assume that making music through file-sharing is just a convenient (and economical) substitute for playing together in real time, but \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eunbalanced in (unbalanced out) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003emade me think that it’s actually becoming a genre in its own right, which could develop its own particular aesthetic.  Do you think this is true, and is it a direction that you’re consciously seeking to explore, or if you had the resources would you simply get on a plane to collaborate with Daniel Jones or Jez riley French, or whoever?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eObviously, there is no substitute for being in the same place at the same time, but depending on the project, I think there is room for both ways of working. For the pieces I took part in for Michael Pisaro’s Gravity Wave label, for example, there would have been no reason for everyone to be all together playing. Michael took all the music played by the musicians involved and carefully constructed the pieces over several week or longer. My duo recording with Gosia Winter ‘ananke’, benefited from a series of back and forths that would not have occurred had we gotten together for a traditional recording session. So given the resources, would I like to get on a plane and meet face to face with Dan Jones or Jez French to work on a project? Of course I would, but the outcome of such a project would certainly differ from what we did at a distance; not better or worse, but just different.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eCan we talk about you for a bit?  I know that you haven’t always been involved with experimental music, so can you say, as it were, where you’ve come from musically, and how you got here?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eWell, being born in 1961, I grew up when music was really exploding and I became aware at a really young age. I was taking guitar lessons by 5 years of age and already extremely affected by The Beatles. From there it was all the music of the late 60’s and through the 70’s. I had my first band by the time I was 12 or 13 and spent my teens and twenties in rock bands, first at school dances and later in the New Jersey bar scene. So, yeah, I come from a definite rock background. From there I discovered Jazz and by the mid-80’s the NY downtown improv scene which of course lead me to Derek Bailey who was my first major experimental influence on the guitar. I was just blown away by what he was doing and he took my playing in an entirely different direction. I don’t quite remember exactly how but around 2004, in search of new sounds, I bought a few discs by people like Keith Rowe, Axel Dörner \u0026amp; Sachiko M and I discovered ’Electro-acoustic improvisation’. I loved this new music I’d found but I couldn’t, for the longest time, find a way into playing it. Keith Rowe certainly seemed to have everything covered as far as extended techniques on the guitar were concerned in this music based on sounds rather than notes and everything I tried just seemed to me to be copying him. Finding Michael Pisaro and the rest of the Wandelweiser composers changed that. Here was a group of guys playing ‘notes’ in an experimental way involving composed and improvised elements. Michael’s piece ‘Mind is Moving I’ was pivotal in helping me find my way into all this great music (by then also including Cage, Feldman \u0026amp; many others). I was now able to play notes in experimental music and this has pretty much been my focus to date. Whether played with fingers or a pick, excited with an E-bow or a mallet or whatever, playing notes is more or less where I’m at.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eThat’s interesting because by sticking with ‘notes’, you are in a way going against the flow in contemporary improvisation – which is admirable, I think. Certainly on \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eunbalanced in (unbalanced out)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e you play the cleanest, clearest notes – even more so than the pianos - and again the contrast between that and the electronics seems central to the piece.   Do you think that in the improv world there is more room for ‘notes’ than there was, say, 6 or 8 years ago?   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eIt’s just really where I’m comfortable on the instrument. It’s where I feel I can bring the most of my ‘self’ to the music. Taku Sugimoto, also a big influence, does amazing things with just a few notes. I also listen to piano players quite a lot and that’s why I liked the idea of blending my acoustic guitar with the two pianos so much. Having the contrast between the acoustic strings and the electronics was really important to me. I was going for a real electro\/acoustic blend, quite literally. As far as the improv world and the need for notes, I can only speak for myself. I think after Derek Bailey and free Improv, there had to be a clearing away of all those notes to make some well needed breathing room and so now so much can be said with just a few well- placed notes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51400913191226,"sku":"at53","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at53unbalancedin.jpg?v=1749130410"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.anothertimbre.com\/collections\/all\/erik-blennow-cal%c3%a4lv.oembed","provider":"Another Timbre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}