November 24th, 2011 § Comments Off on yannis kyriakides, airfields – by musikFabrik § permalink
yannis kyriakides “airfields” composition in twelve parts for ensemble and electronics, performed by musikFabrik
(CD-digipack || 16pp booklet)
Airfields is a large scale work in 12 moverments for ensemble and electronics.
“I use satellite images from various sources and rendered them into electronic soundscapes, fascinated by the idea that one could translate an aerial image into sound, as a way of mapping space onto time and then back again. I have often thought of my compositions as a musical environment where one can wander through in a relatively open time scale, so the idea of using a map of a physical space as a direct analogy to a musical score became the starting point for the work. The instrumentalists are put into a metaphorical orbit. The idea was to trace some kind of movement with varying speeds through the sonic landscape, as if they were floating across it. The result being that the material which is played by the musicians, is characterized by differing velocities and rates of change, as if each instrument is orbiting around the material. Harmonies dissolve into one another and the musicians trace the contours of the sonic landscapes as if scanning the world below.
Airfields, uses brass placed on the balconies of the concert hall to echo and feedback from the ensemble of 11 remaining musicians on stage. The structure of this work oscillates between movements for the whole ensemble and movements for particular soloists; violin, bass clarinet, piano, cello, flute, in which the off-stage brass contribute at various times. This version of the piece was premiered at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam, with Köln based ensemble musikFabrik in February 2011, and the recording presented here is of that performance.” Y.K.
October 16th, 2011 § Comments Off on manuel mota + jason kahn § permalink
manuel mota + jason kahn “espírito santo”
Manuel Mota || electric guitar
Jason Kahn || percussion, analog synthesizer
Recorded October 23, 2009
(250 copies limited edition, digipack)
“Espírito Santo” was recorded one October day in Lisbon in the cellar of the “Espírito Santo” building. Formerly a bank, this building had been empty many years and was recently opened again for artists to use as studio and exhibition space. The room we recorded in, resembling at first glance more a cave than a cellar, is remarkable for its acoustics. With eight-meter high ceilings, brick walls and concrete floor we found ourselves dealing with a very responsive space. In addition to this, the local subway line ran adjacent to the building and its vibrations could be felt (and heard) during the recording.
Manuel suggested we record in this space. In the end, as much our musical interaction as our relationship to the acoustical qualities of the space shaped how we played and how these recordings ultimately sounded. It would be an exaggeration and perhaps a cliché to once again invoke the name of Fernando Pessoa with reference to Lisbon, but for me there is definitely something to the pace and feeling of these recordings which reminds me of Pessoa’s endless lifetime opus “The Book of Disquiet”. The music progresses slowly and at times verging on a dreamlike momentum. While recording these pieces I soon lost my sense of time, floating in the catacomb of sound we were creating.
August 16th, 2011 § Comments Off on tom johnson § permalink
“I have two good minimalist composer friends who have been writing drone music for many years, Phill Niblock and Eliane Radigue. When I told them I had finally left my metric melodies and harmonies and was writing a one-note piece, they were quite surprised and pleased. So am I. This came about because of that amazing four-organ situation at Orgelpark, and it probably won’t happen again.” T. J.
tom johnson | orgelpark color chart
for four organs
June 15th, 2011 § Comments Off on david maranha and gabriel ferrandini – a fonte de aretusa § permalink
david maranha and gabriel ferrandini – a fonte de aretusa
150g LP, 3mm 400 gr carton cover
“A fonte de Aretusa” is the convergence between the legendary organist David Maranha and the free-form young revelation drummer Gabriel Ferrandini. Based in Lisbon, Portugal this duo started in 2010, with regular rehearsals and concerts that lead to this first album that captures a bloody free live act where the music is pulsing and vibrating over a droning flow of sound. 42 minutes (here divided in two, due to vinyl restrictions) of a massive attack to the listener among free percussive frames and brutal organic drone merging together into a powerful and permanent movement of vivid music captured in one of their first live performances at ZDB venue.
side a – 21’36”
side b – 20’11”
david maranha – hammond organ
gabriel ferrandini – drums and percussion
May 18th, 2011 § Comments Off on upcoming june… § permalink
david maranha / gabriel ferrandini – A FONTE DA ARETUSA
150g LP, 3mm 400 gr carton cover
Latest collaboration of the acclaimed minimalist portuguese musician David Maranha with the talented free-form drummer Gabriel Ferrandini in a 42 minutes of a virulent organ+drums out-jazz drone improvisation
“[…] Foremost in my mind was the idea of being able to manipulate some compositions for flute, that were not original or were “extremely free ” in their conception, personalizing them to the extreme with the use of multitrace or electronics. Only a work conceived in this way has led me to reflect on this music from its inside, introjecting the point of observation in order to discover a new projection of the sound. In a certain sense the two discs represent the two ends of the repetitive element, Loops4ever is as valid as its homologous and antithetic Drones4ever.[…]”M. Z. (from CD’s notes).
The restless experimentation and creativity of Manuel has resulted in a brilliant series of collaborative works with legendary composers such as Luc Ferrari, Alvin Lucier, Arvo Part, John Cage, Morton Feldman, László Sáry, Louis Andriessen, Gavin Bryars, Stefano Scodanibbio, Salvatore Sciarrino and Jonathan Harvey. He was invited to many international festival and he recorded for RAI, Dutch radio, Radio France e SudWestfunk Baden-Baden and for Capstone Records, EdiPan, Stradivarius, Die Schachtel, Megadisc and Touch.
CD1 – 74’49”
1 Giacinto Scelsi CASADISCELSI (11’52”)
2 Pauline Oliveros PORTRAIT (10’22”)
3 Alvin Lucier ALMOST NEW YORK (24’17”)
4 Alvin Curran MADONNA AND CHILD (10’55”)
5 John Duncan THE CARNIVAL (17’05”)
CD2 – 75’13”
1 Jacob TV THE GARDEN OF LOVE (7’16”)
2 Eve Beglarian I WILL NOT BE SAD IN THIS WORLD (6’30”)
3 Jacob TV LIPSTICK (9’43”)
4 Clarence Barlow …UNTIL… (8’18”)
5 William Basinski VARIATION#6: A MOVEMENT IN CHROME PRIMITIVE (12’09”)
6 Frederic Rzewski LAST JUDGMENT (9’06”)
7 Terry Riley DORIAN REEDS (21’45”)
