Latest Experimental Music News
Latest Experimental Music News
Latest Experimental Music News |
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ThinkToy - Dance Sessions 11/24 Posted: 23 Nov 2007 11:23 PM CST ThinkToy began as an experimental music project centred around mixing fragmented media and music samples for the purpose of finding new ways to use music for positive change, general mental reflection or just plain stupid fun. ThinkToy adopts a Fair Use approach to music-making. Broadcast: RTE 2FM, SAT. Tracklist: (more…)  |
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Posted: 24 Nov 2007 04:42 PM CST Hey everyone, This is a call for submissions for a compilation album called "Shreds". Basically, it's going to be a collection of pretentious wanky guitar
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Carnascialia-st.,LP,1979,Italy Posted: 24 Nov 2007 10:18 AM CST  A sort of supergroup formed by Pasquale Minieri and Giorgio Vivaldi with help from Carlo Siliotto, all of them being past members of Canzoniere del Lazio, an interesting folk group born near Rome in the early70's that released five albums between 1973 and 1978.The Carnascialia project, including such famous names as Mauro Pagani and Demetrio Stratos among others, just lasted for an LP and a few concerts, but the LP is a very good example of progressive italian folk music, much in the same style as Mauro Pagani's debut album. The six tracks it contains vary between traditional inspired folk-rock numbers (Canzone numero 1), vocal exercises in Area-style (Fiocchi di neve e bruscolini, with the distinctive voice of Demetrio Stratos) and are generally much influenced by an interesting mediterranean folk feeling, being an early example of "world music" from Italy. The group also appeared in 1979's tribute concert for Demetrio Stratos, with a remake of a song from the first album of Mauro Pagani. From :http://www.italianprog.com/a_carnascialia.htm Excellent proggish folk experimental LP in the known Cramps label quality!A truly mutant recording! get it here  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Archives for the experimental-music news feed Posted: 24 Nov 2007 12:08 AM CST If the Hollow Tree Experimental-Music Newsfeed has been flowing too fast for you to keep up with, then you may want to take a peek at the Google group that I've set up to archive the feed. I set up Feedburner so that each night, at approximately 5 am UTC, everything that's been posted to the feed gets bundled up and shot over by email to the Google group.
The first such email came in a few minutes ago. I can't say it's the most beautiful thing on the internet, but it meets the basic needs. Perhaps in time I'll be able to figure out a way to include pictures and html in the posts, but I kind of doubt it. Without having looked too closely, it appears that this is as good as it gets for now. But I'll scrutinize Feedburner and Google groups at some point in the future just to be sure if there's not something I can do to improve the look. And both services get upgraded fairly often. Who knows? Also, if you feel the need, you can subscribe to the Google group's RSS or get an email subscription. The feed itself has been getting a few hits, which is encouraging. If you find the feed useful, please take a moment to tell a friend about it won't you? Or if you like, you can post the feed on any website. (Contact me for the javascript.) The more views this feed gets, the more likely I'll be to keep it alive. Hollow Tree experimental-music newsfeed archives.
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Latest Experimental Music News
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Posted: 25 Nov 2007 04:19 PM CST Hi everyone!
If you are having problems while downloading these tracks or your download speed is too slow you can get the whole release in .zip archive at RapidShare.com |
 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Interesting New Releases at Forced Exposure Posted: 25 Nov 2007 03:09 PM CST A best of? If they got this right it would be really, really good. If not, it would still be just fine, I'm sure. Sounds interesting enough for at least one listen. I've always thought Alice Coltrane records needed a little something extra, maybe she's got it? The sound samples for the Uton & Valerio Cosi record sound really good, almost like a modern day Ariel Kalma Osmose. Been meaning to check out his work for a while. Fire Museum, who released the Sondheim discs I wrote about a few posts ago, put these out. Achim Reichel is one of my favorite of the more obscure Krautrock acts. I'm not a fan of Lucifer Rising, but I can appreciate it enough to think a warped retelling of it might be a good listen. Also not a fan of Whitehouse, but I'd give this record another shot.  |
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Cat fugue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Posted: 25 Nov 2007 06:00 PM CST On one occasion, according to the story, Scarlatti wrote down a phrase from one of these "improvisation sessions", and used it as a lead motif in a fugue:  bookmark this on del.icio.us
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Posted: 25 Nov 2007 06:02 PM CST
We cannot continue without your help. We MUST raise $25,000 by December 31, 2007. If you are one of the thousands of people who regularly visit Turbulence, Networked Performance, Networked Music Review and / or New American Radio ; are one of the hundreds of teachers who use Turbulence works in your new media / digital art courses; are an artist who has received a Turbulence, Networked Music Review or New American Radio commission; have presented at or attended Upgrade! Boston (Art Interactive or Massachusetts College of Art and Design), Floating Points (Emerson College), or Programmable Media (Pace Digital Gallery) … now is the time to give something back. WHAT WE’VE ACCOMPLISHED IN 2007 In addition to an exceptional year of supporting artists through commissions, public events, and our world-renowned resource, Networked Performance, we started a second blog called Networked Music Review (NMR). On it you will find in-depth interviews with sonic artists and musicians; world-wide events highlighted in real time; a “Weekly” post spotlighting interesting works, artists and conversations; a monthly newsletter which summarizes each month’s activities; and much more. WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IN 2008 On November 15, NMR began launching fifteen commissioned works, several of which will premiere live at Programmable Media II: Networked Music, a 2-day symposium at Pace University, New York City in April 2008. In addition to launching 20 commissioned works, other upcoming highlights include Mixed Realities, an exhibition and symposium at Emerson College, winter 2008; and Re(Connecting) the Adamses, a major exhibition co-presented with Greylock Arts (Adams, Massachusetts) and MCLA Gallery 51 (North Adams, Massachusetts), summer 2008. Please make a cash tax-deductible (for US residents) contribution. No amount is too small! Pay via the PayPal button on the Turbulence homepage. Or send a check to New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., 124 Bourne Street, MA 02131. Thanks. Kind Regards, Jo-Anne Green and Helen Thorington  |
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Posted: 25 Nov 2007 02:07 PM CST Ek is hindi rock band from Bangalore. “Simplicity is the Ultimate sophistication” they say,and this is motto behind this Bangalore based band,named ‘Ek . The band was formed 8 months back by a bunch of 5 Bangalore techies,aspiring to explore the mystery behind the gods own creation,“Music”. The genre of the ‘Ek is primarily Hindi Rock,the orchestration mainly a western one (with a sweet acoustic sound) with a topping of Hindi lyrics and songs sung with a tinge of Indian classical music. Now,the band aims at composing some original music,a blend of energetic riffs and an Indian classical leads,with deep lyrics,and a soothing aura. The band has been sticking to performing covers in the first few shows,with some ‘Own Compositions under the belt which it plans to be presented soon. Download Track:- Contacts :-  |
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Isglem - Fire (NORCD, 2003) ****½ Posted: 20 Nov 2007 07:49 AM CST  I borrowed this CD two weeks ago, and it was an instant revelation. I had heard things from Norwegian percussionist Terje Isungset, but this album really is something else. Karl Seglem plays sax, ram's horn, voice and electronics. The two musicians create a kind of music you've never heard before : tribal, intense, furious, melodic, mad, frantic, explosive, rhythmic, intimate, expansive, hypnotic, joyful, sad, ... and all that in a very compact format. The whole CD consists of 12 tracks of which only two last longer than 5 minutes. The major feat of this music is that it is absolutely impossible to classify, yet extremely coherent and unique in it's own approach. All pieces are totally different, but they all speak the same (new) musical language. It is so utterly creative and at the same time so accessible and avant-garde and out-of-this-world that it's hard to compare to anything I know. All I can say is : get your copy of it! Listen and download from Musiconline.  |
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Avant Garde Project 83: Berio Conducts Berio Posted: 24 Nov 2007 03:06 AM CST From AGP:
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Talk Slated on Experimental Music - iBerkshires.com Posted: 25 Nov 2007 11:25 AM CST
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You recall the way her breath sounded when she came Posted: 25 Nov 2007 01:13 PM CST  The more I go through the Camera Obscura site, the more I find some absolute gems. Camera Obscura, I should say, is nothing to with the Glasgow Indie band from the 90s, but is an independent label passed in Australia. I’ve always been rather dismissive of Australian music but I’m going to have to give it another look, if this label is anything to go by.Kiefer-Pitcher The album they seem to be plugging right now is called “To All Dead Sailors” by Christian Kiefer and Jefferson Pitcher. Camera Obscura describe it thus: “A collection of songs, instrumentals, and sonic experiments, this is an album that explores the mystery of the sea: its violence, its beauty, its grace.” (Which now I’ve pasted it here seems a little on the pretentious side, but having heard the freebie from the site, “Carpenters and Sailors”, I’m prepared to put it down to understandable over-exuberance…) Anyway, if these things impress you, it turns out that I’m not the only one going on about this record, as it goes, Pitchfork have posted this 7.5 review: “To All Dead Sailors, mirroring the singers' tone, is dense with longing. Each song seems to strain against the boundary of its simple instrumental palette, as if the depth of feeling contained inside exceeds the size of the well.” (These things do, of course, impress me.) Both of these guys seem to have a fairly decent collection of previous albums which I shall do some exploring of in the next few weeks, and from what I can tell most of their music is quite moody and formless (I’m struggling to avoid saying “ambient”) – sonic experiments, if you will. Can’t find any downloads available for Jefferson Pitcher - his site seems to be a bit of a work in progress. There are, however, a couple of Christian Kiefer songs for download from Camera Obscura, (one of which I’ll put up here), which are rather ethereal-sounding but still pretty attractive. They obviously do write ordinary songs, however, because there is one download from the joint album, which is an absolute blinder. As I’ve said, it’s called “Carpenters and Sailors”, and it’s just beautiful – the Pitchfork phrase “dense with longing” seems really appropriate, and is of course one I wish I’d coined myself. Unfortunately, the album hasn’t turned up on Emusic yet, but it’s surely only a matter of time… It’s one I shall definitely be getting. Have a listen Carpenters and Sailors – Kiefer-Pitcher Kalmykov (Poppies) – Christian Kiefer  |
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Red Hot Chili Peppers: Flea's home 'burnt to a crisp" Posted: 25 Nov 2007 12:45 PM CST
By the end of yesterday morning, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael Balzary, popularly known as Flea, sent a text message saying his home "had burnt to a crisp," according to the LA Times. Michael Balzary, a.k.a. Flea, had purchased a home for more than $10 million in Malibu last year, but the house that burned was another he owned in the hills west of Corral Canyon. That French country-style home is listed for sale for $4.8 million on the website of real estate firm Pritchett-Rapf & Associates. The listing includes this description: "Set in a botanical paradise, this private 2.4 acre compound also features a newly refinished pool and spa, private alcoves and pathways throughout the grounds." It's nice to have have a back up house or two. As terrible as it is to lose a home, we thank the gods that it was not what Flea has made home to many kids -- The Silverlake Conservatory of Music. Previously on LAist with the Red Hot Chili Peppers Photo (not of Flea's home, but of yesterdays aftermath) by Jonathan Alcorn/Sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr   |
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Posted: 25 Nov 2007 06:00 PM CST I've uploaded the second edition of "It's Too Damn Startling," my (hopefully) regular contribution to Tony Youngblood's ~ORE~ Theatre Intangible radio show. Of course, I recommend you catch the broadcast live from 2-4 AM this November 25th on WRVU-FM-- but if you miss it, or just want to add my every sonic leaving to your archive of DaveX-y goodness, you may download it here. This edition is a little over 12 minutes long, and features portions of the following: Sarah Peebles -- Fast Kitchen  |
Latest Experimental Music News
Latest Experimental Music News |
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Fayetteville Sonic Arts Festival Posted: 26 Nov 2007 09:53 AM CST The University of Arkansas department of music and the Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences will host a three-day music festival Dec. 7-9. Billed as “A Weekend of Free Improvisation and Experimental Music,” the free event will feature musicians from Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville and Fayetteville. Performances and workshops will take place mostly at the Stella [...]
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New music premiere for internet radio Posted: 26 Nov 2007 03:07 PM CST  Inner Cities are where you go to get debriefed, to watch Trisha Brown levitate on Bach in San Francisco; to help Cage squeeze lemons into his fresh taboule on 18th Street and watch David Tudor mix chili peppers and lasers at the Grand Hotel des Palmes; to play the Sydney Harbour like a bandoneon; to teach advanced-orchestration in the Greek Theater at Mills College with Pauline Oliveros and the ghost of Harry Partch; to shake Stravinsky's hand in the American Sector-Berlin and Varese’s in New Haven; to watch Kosugi dance his electric violin around Marcus Aurelius; to get thrown off stage in London as a warmup act for the Pink Floyd; to meet Stockhausen at a strobe-light show in Düsseldorf; to open windows on Cage’s cue for adding real cold air to his Winter Music; to camp out with Teitelbaum and Rzewski for Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point; to hear Terry and LaMonte’s landmark concerts at the Attico in Rome ...Inner Cities is a twelve part cycle for solo piano that lasts for four hours twenty-four minutes and twenty-two seconds. Its composer Alvin Curran studied with Elliott Carter, and founded Musica Elettronica Viva with Frederic Rzewski and Richard Teitelbaum. The notes above and below are by Alvin Curran. Inner Cities 10 is dedicated to the Belgian pianist Daan Vandewalle. His repertoire includes Ives, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Cage and Clarence Barlow, and he has had works written for him by Fred Frith, Chris Newman, and Frederic Rzewski as well as Alvin Curran. Daan has played Inner Cities complete in concert, and has recorded it on the Long Distance label. Inner Cities has never been broadcast complete to our knowledge. But on December 5th Future Radio is letting me go where others fear to tread. The four and a half hour cycle will be broadcast complete on that day without any announcements or advertisements, and Daan Vanderwalle will be introducing the performance with me. The programme starts at 12.01am on Wednesday December 5th, which is afternoon or evening the previous day in North and South America. Convert to your local time zone here. Inner Cities described by Daan Vandewalle can be heard as a podcast from iTunes. If you do not have iTunes installed click here to download it. With iTunes you can subscribe to future On An Overgrown Path podcasts. Inner Cities photographs are by me, and show the Cité du Livre and the Pavillon Noir in the Avenue Mozart in that most musical of cities, Aix en Provence. Alvin Curran has the last words ... Inner Cities contain no "drive-by" anything; there’s merely back alleys, empty lots full of stubborn weeds and clear sky, trails of memory which may or may not lead anywhere or even have relevance to the music at hand. The bottom line: these pieces are a set of contradictory etudes - studies in liberation and attachment, cryptic itineraries to the old fountain on the town square whence flows all artistic divination and groping for meaning in the dark.  Inner Cities complete continues the proud tradition established by WHRB's classical music 0rgies. Yet more confirmation of the importance of the long tail of radioPhotos (c) On An Overgrown Path 2007. Listen by launching the Radeo internet player from the right side-bar, or via the audio stream, on Wednesday December 5 at 12.01am UK time. Convert time to your local time zone using this link. Windows Media Player doesn't like the audio stream very much and takes ages to buffer. WinAmp or iTunes handle it best. Unfortunately the royalty license doesn't permit on-demand replay, so you have to listen in real time. If you are in the Norwich, UK area tune to 96.9FM. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk  |
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Universal Reps The DMCA and Tells Trent Reznor To Take His Remix Site Down Posted: 26 Nov 2007 07:52 AM CST Not long after releasing this year's Year Zero album, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails decided to release a remix album on November 20. However, this isn't a traditional remix album, as it contains all of the multi-track master recording files on a DVD so that fans can remix any of the songs on their computers using Ableton Live or Garage Band. That's right, Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D (in all its leetspeak glory) is a remix album that encourages fans to upload their remixes to the internet. Reznor (...)
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INDUSTRY NEWS
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Posted: 26 Nov 2007 09:23 AM CST --------------------------------------------------- the kooltronica continues... --------------------------------------------------- friday, November 30 Food For Animals Velvet Lounge 9:30pm / $6 --------------------------------------------------- saturday, December 1 Soft Pink Truth Floristree 9:30pm --------------------------------------------------- sunday, December 2 Great Noise Ensemble presents: "1-2-3" The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts 6pm / $25 General / $15 Students & Seniors --------------------------------------------------- sunday, December 2 The Electric Possible presents: Caustic Castle George Washington University 8pm / $5 (all money goes to the artists!) --------------------------------------------------- monday, December 3 OCDJ The Talking Head $7 / 9pm --------------------------------------------------- tuesday, December 4 Gil Mantera's Party Dream The Red & The Black $10 / 9:30pm --------------------------------------------------- friday, December 7 http://www.firstfridaysrichmond.com/ presents: Caustic Castle Sound of Music Studio 6pm - 10pm / FREE --------------------------------------------------- friday, December 7 Jakuta and Carl Lo-Fi Social Club 7pm --------------------------------------------------- saturday, December 8 The Red Room presents: Matmos The Red Room at Normals 8:30pm / $6 --------------------------------------------------- sunday, December 9 Lucky Dragons Floristree 9pm --------------------------------------------------- sunday, December 9 CARS WILL BURN Lo-Fi Social Club 7pm --------------------------------------------------- sunday, December 9 ACRE Ghost Print Gallery (next to Lift Coffee) 7pm (SHARP) / $3-$5 suggested donation --------------------------------------------------- friday, December 14 MORPHIUS RECORDS presents: CEX The Talking Head 9pm / $12 --------------------------------------------------- saturday, December 15 Aligning Minds X - Bebar 9pm / $5 --------------------------------------------------- saturday, December 15 Layne Garrett House Show 5$ / 9:30pm / BYO --------------------------------------------------- sunday, December 16 Layne Garrett Current Gallery $6 --------------------------------------------------- friday, December 28 DICK NEFF Beef Eagle 9:30pm --------------------------------------------------- sunday, December 30 CYTOPLASTIK presents: THE MEGADRIVES The Belvedere --------------------------------------------------- sunday, December 30 Taint presents: Lesbians On Ecstacy DC9 Doors: 9pm / Show: 11pm / $ 5 --------------------------------------------------- NEED A RIDE TO THAT OUTTA TOWN SHOW? DC/BALTIMORE CARPOOLING BOARD! mainly for improvised subscribe by sending mail to: moderator approval of messages, so no spam. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dc_to_baltimore/ also... RICHMOND/DC/MD CARPOOLING BOARD mostly for Richmond is roughly an hour or two away from http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/804noise_here_to_there/ -------------------------------------------------- not feelin very kooltronic? just email me and i'll --------------------------------------------------- *reminder to promoters* please write to jahhoo@y... well in advance of ---------------------------------------------------
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 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Posted: 26 Nov 2007 09:34 AM CST New York interviews the fan video auteur Luminosity, with a conversation that covers copyright enforcement, feminism, and the history of visual remixes:
Vids are fan-made music videos. We create them using scenes taken from our favorite TV shows and movies, pairing them with a particular piece of music and imposing our own video-editing choices and style....Caveat: That may be the history of vidding as a self-conscious community of fan producers, but the practice itself is actually older than that. Go here and here to see what one acclaimed remix artist created in 1936. Go here to see Luminosity's contributions to the tradition.  |
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REVIEW: Eno, Waits present historical music lesson Posted: 25 Nov 2007 11:00 PM CST If nothing else, music can offer a bit of a history lesson; its power as such is something that should not be underestimated, though if it was, I doubt much harm would come. Rather, one would merely be surprised, which is never really a bad thing to have happen, especially in measure of expectations.
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Posted: 26 Nov 2007 06:24 AM CST A small but growing group of musicians are the vanguard of new music in China.
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Chinese avant-garde makes noise Posted: 04 Nov 2007 06:00 PM CST  |
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Posted: 25 Nov 2007 10:00 PM CST A piece from the 1970's followed by a Bach chorale in church this morning got me to thinking about "classical" music. I'm not talking about actual classical music, composed between 1750ish to 1810ish. I'm talking about what Joe Normal probably thinks of as classical music. That is, stuff you hear in church, at the symphony, or at the opera.
I've been thinking about how inaccessible modern classical music is. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of modern classical music that I love. It's just that unless you've grown up on it and trained your ear to hear what's good about it, a lot of the time it's just so much noise. The problem is that it's virtually impossible to tell the good noise from the bad unless you know what you're listening for. On top of that, there's a lot of jokers out there who think they can write good classical music who frankly can't. What I can't figure out is how we got to this point. Classical music written from around 1600 or so up to the early 20th century was the popular music of the time. Bach was well known all throughout Germany. Mozart was a child star that could have put Macauley Culkin to shame. Thousands lined the streets of Vienna for Beethoven's funeral. Puccini was as close to a rock star as late 19th century Italy could have. And hundreds protested Stravinsky's Rite of Spring when it was first performed. So what the heck happened? I suppose it could be that the music has simply gotten too complex. There a very few people who can sit through a contemporary classical performance without being completely turned off. Even someone with a fair amount of training like myself has to concentrate extremely hard to appreciate contemporary music. And part of me doubts that music you have to concentrate on is really worth listening to. But another part of me laments the loss of the fabulously intricate music that requires massive amounts of skill to compose. Obviously I love rock music, and I appreciate the art form very much. But let's face it: it's pretty straightforward musically. What happened to the multitudes being able to enjoy the intricacies of a Bach cantata, or be transported by a Beethoven symphony, or cry at a Puccini opera? It's probably the fault of the composers themselves. There's something of an attitude that if you can't get it, you're just dumb. To my mind a perfect example is Michael Nyman. His soundtrack for the movie The Piano was fabulously popular. It was just as difficult in many ways as his other works, but infinitely more accessible. Does that mean he wrote more music like that? No, he continued with his esoteric, avant-garde music. Another good example is the novel Amsterdam by Ian McEwan, which shows how a supposedly great composer can become so fundamentally self-centered that he loses touch with reality. I guess all I can do is keep listening to the great works and hope that others will hear it too and try to find out more. There's got to be a way to satisfy both the artists and the people.  |
Latest Experimental Music News
Latest Experimental Music News |
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Posted: 28 Nov 2007 01:46 AM CST Experimental collage using the sound ting. No other sounds used. |
 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Environmental issues (The Phoenix) Posted: 27 Nov 2007 11:03 PM CST The Sound Works of Jed Speare For the better part of the last 15 years, local artist, organizer, and composer Jed Speare has been an integral member of Boston’s artistic community.
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Posted: 27 Nov 2007 07:29 PM CST Experimental-music presenter Lampo returns on December 15 at a new space.
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Posted: 27 Nov 2007 10:30 PM CST
The albums were created in collaboration with 18 makers from all over the US (and one a cappella group from Detroit). Famous mixes like Gimme the Mermaid, No Business, Time Zones, Guns, Christianity Is Stupid, Drink It Up, Truth in Advertising, and U2: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For serve as audio ground for new visual collages from the likes of Tim Maloney, Harold Boihem, Mike Cousino, RRoom, and James Gladman. Some band members will be in attendance for a short LIVE performance on “boopers,” their homemade feedback oscillators. PLUS the debut of Kembrew McLeod’s Freedom of Expression, a critical doc on intellectual property issues in the contemporary corporate mediascape.*$7 Earlier post from August 9, 2007: From Fanatic Promotion: Legendary culture jam-band Negativland announces upcoming release of Our Favorite Things DVD.
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Francis Plagne live (in a most unusual circumstance) Posted: 03 Aug 2007 04:20 PM CDT |
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Posted: 28 Nov 2007 02:00 AM CST Learning to Bend with Beatrix*JAR
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11-30-2007 - CCRMA Modulations, Live Experimental Electronic Music from Stanford Posted: 30 Nov 2007 02:00 AM CST
CCRMA Modulations Live Experimental Electronic Music November 30, 2007, 8pm—midnight (doors 7:30) CELLspace (2050 Bryant Street, Mission District San Francisco : http://cellspace.org) Admission: $$5 more info: http://ccrma.stanford.edu/concerts/modulations Music from the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA, said 'karma') at Stanford University. CCRMA is a multi—disciplinary facility where composers and researchers work together using computer—based technology both as an artistic medium and as a research tool. This event features mostly experimental music by composers, researchers, musicians and technologists from CCRMA working with their hand rolled systems. All pieces will be performed live, many in native 8 channel speaker diffusion format. Performers (not necessarily in this order): Ge Wang : 'TBD' : Live coding with the Chuck programming language. (8 channel piece) Fernando Lopez—Lezcano : 'El Dinosaurio Speaks' : Looped and layered live analog electronics. (8 channel piece) Juan—Pablo Caceres : 'Give a man an orchestra and he doesn't become us' : Laptop : A real—time improvisational distillation of a previous project, 'orquesta', where I 'pieced together zillion little orchestral instrument samples.' This time I am using the same idea, but real—time and sound processing (forbidden ingredients of the previous project) are permitted and most welcome. Michael Gurevich : Dolphin sythesis : Laptop Maladies Sexuellement Transmissibles : 'Collage' : Ensemble Bruno Ruviaro : 'Malleable' : “Able to be hammered or pressed permanently out of shape without breaking or cracking”. Malleare means “to hammer”, and that may remind of the word “mallet”; the composer, this charlatan percussionist, works in a forge, hammering old sounds at high temperatures, beating them gently into new shapes, and sweating. Music, in the end, is all forgery. (8 channel piece) Luke Dahl : Live beat—based electronic music DJ interludes: steinunn (Iceland) jeffcoop (Texas) skizzy (SF) Installations by: Sasha Leitman, Michael Gurevich, Stephan von Muehlen, and Reed Anderson Video Projections by: Hiroko Terasawa plus an auction of the 'Interactive Installation' by Stephan von Muehlen and Michael Gurevich |
   
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Public radio has always operated under the "pay wh... Posted: 26 Nov 2007 03:08 AM CST  Public radio has always operated under the "pay what you want" model (we're so forward-thinking in that regard! :^) but the rock band Radiohead recently adopted a similar philosophy and offered to let their fans pay what they wanted for a download of the band's most recent album. While millions of people took the music for free, the average payment appears to have been around $8. Now classical artist Barbara Hendricks is getting into the game. She, too, is now allowing fans to download her latest album at any price. I love that this idea is catching on. How about you? What do you think of "pay what you wish"? And beyond the pay-what-you-wish scheme, do you generally enjoy downloading music? While I like the convenience, I do miss holding the liner notes and tangible CD in my hands.  |
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DOPO - Crossing Birds (foxglove172) Posted: 27 Nov 2007 09:29 AM CST DOPO - Crossing Birds (foxglove172)
 Described by Eduardo Chagas as "one of the most interesting and original projects of the unclassifiable experimental music" from Portugal, DOPO explore psychadelic folk, drones, cheap electronics and any other ways that their multiple instruments point to. Their debut EP, "Last Blues, To Be Read Someday" (digital release - Test Tube, 2005), was compared to the improvised ritualistic music of Sunburned Hand of the Man and to the melancholic quietude of Boxhead Ensemble. People and critics like Patrick Best (Pelt), Rui Eduardo Paes, Jose Marmeleira and Helder Gomes praised the record. This EP was followed by "For the Entrance of the Sun" album (CD-R Lovers & Lollypops/digital release - Test Tube, 2007), in which DOPO began to explore other elements, such as their own voices. "Crossing Birds" (2007) was released by respected United States' label Foxglove (Keijo, North Sea, Hush Arbors). DOPO "Crossing Birds" (foxglove172, 100 copies)  |
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Posted: 25 Nov 2007 09:05 PM CST i should probably start to integrate the package sent to me by ballard, washington's levi berner. this is from the first batch of his new wasting imprint.
untitled 3" cd-r [2007, wasting] ground tissues is the latest solo project of seattleite shevaun thomas. perhaps some of you remember her last as mad eyed screamer. this is an interesting disc of experimental noise from ms. thomas. larval parasites is  all about the distortion. where some, or maybe i should say most, would tend to flip that distortion into something more overbearing, it seems like shevaun's taking it completely the opposite route as it sounds tiny and fragile, like you're trying to get an a.m. station to come in on a real cheap alarm clock radio. the onset is marked by multiple unique stereo channels of distortion with a high-pitched interference that weaves in and out of the noise. once the legitimate noise starts (after several minutes) she'll continue to make the most out of each stereo channel while a dominating layer of hum and chirping electronics preside over everything, constant in both speakers. the dynamic noise that she's making is really great, but i have no clue what it is that she's doing. it almost has a skipping record needle over a piece of vinyl sound, but i know that's not it. that's the best way i could describe it. really scratchy and dripping with distortion. it sounds killer. parasites will ease itself out on the same far away sound that it began with... ... which is also how hatching and feeding begins. shevaun will retain the electrocuting buzz from the first track, but chooses to go with a denser base. i really feel like one of the most important things in making enjoyable dense noise is panning. there just needs to be something dynamic to keep the momentum moving forward and that's exactly what's happening with this track. i also love how the electric hum becomes a drone amidst all of the crackling and rumbles; it's very grounding. my favorite part of hatching and feeding will come near the end when a piercing tone will be panned and phased between the speakers. it's hell on the ears, but in the best way. i've been really stoked on the few things of thomas' that i've gotten to hear. she has a unique sound and despite the fact that it's not particularly harsh, it's also not easy listening. what i found most impressive with this disc was how she was able to use a rather trite noise element (static) and via manipulating, panning and pairing it with better sounds, made something engrossing. it seems like an easy enough thing to pull off, but sometimes i wonder.Hatching and Feeding  |
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Merzbow & Carlos Giffoni & Jim O'Rourke - Electric Dress Posted: 27 Nov 2007 02:09 AM CST  Recorded Live At Uplink Factory In Tokyo, September 30 2006. Tracklisting: 1. Electric Dress (52:16) Download from here.  |
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Posted: 27 Nov 2007 01:14 AM CST Experimental music software for live improvisation. (Free)
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Latest Experimental Music News |
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12-01-2007 - Negativland's Our Favorite Things Posted: 01 Dec 2007 02:00 AM CST Comes now the launch of Negativland's DVD/CD project, co—produced by Other Cinema Digital and Seeland Records. The albums were created in collaboration with 18 makers from all over the US (and one a cappella group from Detroit). Famous mixes like Gimme the Mermaid, No Business, Time Zones, Guns, Christianity Is Stupid, Drink It Up, Truth in Advertising, and U2: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For serve as audio ground for new visual collages from the likes of Tim Maloney, Harold Boihem, Mike Cousino, RRoom, and James Gladman. Some band members will be in attendance for a short LIVE performance on “boopers,” their homemade feedback oscillators. PLUS the debut of Kembrew McLeod's Freedom of Expression, a critical doc on intellectual property issues in the contemporary corporate mediascape. |
   
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Topics in Advanced Facemelting (excerpt) Posted: 28 Nov 2007 10:57 PM CST Topics in Advanced Facemelting was a live performance of experimental beat-based music in a 19th century Gasholder building in Troy, NY. For sixty-six minutes the Gasholder became a mind-altering, transfiguring structure that few will forget. As the audience amassed and drifted throughout the dome-shaped building, overhead LED sculptures fired like nerves suspended in the air. Arrays of light on every surface shuddered like electric skin as sound blasted off the circular walls and ceiling in devastating tides and waveforms. Jesse Stiles with his hacked electronic briefcase. Todd Reynolds with a wired violin. Kevin McCormick running LED's like an Incan priest. This unrepeated, epic performance has only now become available to a general audience. Recorded with the highest precision, using a surround formation of microphones, the exact feel of the extraordinary Gasholder building has been captured for the first time playing host to what many have come to regard as a "definitive electro-acoustic performance." Kevin McCormick - LED lighting, Todd Reynolds - Violin & Electronics, Jesse Stiles - Customized electronic music performance instrument ("Hacked electronic briefcase"), Video documentation directed by Penny Lane & Jesse Stiles  |
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Marco Lucchi - The Structure of the Wiki [wh085] Posted: 28 Nov 2007 11:44 PM CST  Marco Lucchi concludes his "Radure" series of conceptual releases with this fourth installment, centered on the Japanese word "iki" - a term (like the more familiar wabi-sabi) that is uniquely cultural, lacking a direct translation in our tongue.... This item belongs to: audio/webbed_hand. This item has files of the following types: 128Kbps MP3, 160Kbps MP3, 192Kbps MP3, JPEG, Metadata  |
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Posted: 15 Nov 2007 09:53 AM CST Thirteensongs, which is a sub-label of 12rec and publisher of mix tape releases, came to the end last week.
All high quality mix-tapes focused on experimental music and hosted on the 13s website will stay online. For the occasion, Filippo Aldovini's 'Modulating Docks' will be streamed on Systrum Systum radio during the month of November. Another important piece of news is that Ten and Tracer has just released a new EP on Bitlab records called 'Desert Book' and you can buy it digitally or on cd. Support our artists!  |
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Total eardrum annihilation - Los Angeles Times Posted: 28 Nov 2007 07:42 PM CST
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Posted: 28 Nov 2007 10:49 PM CST Music industry/tech collision blog Hypebot has open nominations for music blog awards right now, in four categories. Since nobody sent me any presents to commemorate the one-year anniversary of STARTLING MONIKER some thirteen days ago, I will safely assume you’re all broke. That’s why I’ve decided you can nominate me for “Best Niche Music Blog” in lieu of sending expensive gifts. Hypebot prefers that you leave your nominations in the comments area– and I’ve even made it easy for you– just copy-paste the text below and fill in your other 3 nominations. If you enjoy reading my blog, I’d really appreciate it if you could do this. THANK YOU! –DaveX ———–copy-paste———- Best Music Discovery Blog: Best Niche Music Blog: STARTLING MONIKER Best Band Or Fan Blog: ———-thankyou———–  |
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Total eardrum annihilation - Los Angeles Times Posted: 28 Nov 2007 07:42 PM CST
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Posted: 28 Nov 2007 09:40 PM CST The story of early American music keeps unfolding.
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<br><br>GREAT SHOW @ KRIYA STUDIO - NEXT FRIDAY 12/8!!!<br><br>Greg Davis, Posted: 28 Nov 2007 05:01 PM CST GREAT SHOW @ KRIYA STUDIO - NEXT FRIDAY 12/8!!! An Evening of Experimental Music: Duane Pitre "The Ensemble Chord in Eb with a Minor 7th and a Pump Organ Base" Christian Wolff "Stones" (1969) James Tenney "Swell Piece No. 2 (for Pauline Oliveros)" (1971) kriya studio 333 n. winooski burlington, vt saturday, december 8th, 2007 7:30 p.m. $7 Duane Pitre (with Ensemble) The ensemble will consist Duane Pitre, Craig Colorusso, Greg Davis, and UVM students, playing violin, cello, contra bass, oboe, alto saxaphone, bowed guitars, electric tone generator, and organ. "The Ensemble Chord in Eb with a Minor 7th and a Pump Organ Base" This composition varies from the traditional sort as it is rule-based with the score consisting of a set tonic, set pitch classes, playing methods, technique restrictions, and spontaneous conduction. The score is a structure for the performing ensemble to improvise onóorder spawning chaos producing order that is different on each occasion of a performance or recording. Ensemble Drones is discipline and freedom, both within each other, the first major focus of the work. Variance is the second major focus of the composition; with instrumentation, ensemble performers, tonic, pitch classes, and the physical space varying from performance to performance, the results can never be the same. One way to view Ensemble Drones is like a compositional "body," as in the composition taking human form. The score is the skeletal structure that gives the "body" its general shape and feel. The pump organ, for instance, could serve as the circulatory system, the bass clarinet as the muscles, cello and saxophones as the internal organs, the electrically generated tones as the nervous system, guitars as the flesh, viola as the skin, violin as strands of hair, and the the listener acts as the eyes. Not in the sense of vision, though each listener will "view" the same compositional body differently, and, in return, the body will view itself differently with each new set of eyes. This helps to analogize the last major focus of the Ensemble Drones score/composition, which is perception. http://importantrecords.com/sounds/154_pilotram_1.mp3 http://importantrecords.com/sounds/154_pilotram_2.mp3 http://www.myspace.com/duanepitre http://www.duanepitre.com Christian Wolff Wolff was born in Nice in France of German parentage. His family moved to the United States in 1941, and he became an American citizen in 1946. He studied classics at Harvard University (he is a specialist in the work of Euripides) and upon graduating took up a teaching post there which he kept until 1970 when he began to teach classics, comparative literature, and music at Dartmouth College until his retirement in 1999. His early work includes a lot of silence and was based initially on complicated rhythmic schema, and later on a system of aural cues. Wolff innovated unique notational methods in his early scores and found creative ways of dealing with improvisation within his written music. Later pieces also often give a degree of freedom to the performers such as the sequence of pieces entitled Exercises (1973-). Some works, such as Changing the System (1973), Braverman Music (1978, after Harry Braverman), and the series of pieces entitled Peace March (1983-2005) have an explicit political dimension responding to contemporary world events and broader political ideals. At the age of sixteen Wolff was sent by his piano teacher Grete Sultan for lessons in composition with the composer John Cage and quickly became a close associate of Cage and his artistic circle which included composers Earle Brown and Morton Feldman, pianist David Tudor, and dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham. During the 1960s he developed associations with the composers Frederic Rzewski and Cornelius Cardew who spurred each other on in their respective explorations of experimental composition techniques and musical improvisation, and then from the early 1970s in their respective attempts to engage with political matters in their music. For Wolff this often involved the use of music and texts associated with protest and political movements such as the Wobblies. Wolff recently said of his work that it is motivated by his desire, "To turn the making of music into a collaborative and transforming activity (performer into composer into listener into composer into performer, etc.), the cooperative character of the activity to the exact source of the music. To stir up, through the production of the music, a sense of social conditions in which we live and of how these might be changed." James Tenney Tenney was born in Silver City, New Mexico, and grew up in Arizona and Colorado. He attended the University of Denver, the Juilliard School of Music, Bennington College (B.A., 1958) and the University of Illinois (M.A., 1961). He studied piano with Eduard Steuermann and composition with Chou Wen-chung, Lionel Nowak, Paul Boepple, Henry Brant, Carl Ruggles, Kenneth Gaburo, Lejaren Hiller, John Cage, Harry Partch, and Edgard VarËse. He also studied information theory under Lejaren Hiller, and composed stochastic early computer music before turning almost completely to writing for instruments with the occasional tape delay, often using just intonation and alternative tunings. Tenney's notable students include John Luther Adams, Larry Polansky, and Peter Garland. He performed with John Cage, as well as with the ensembles of Harry Partch, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. Tenney's work deals simply and artfully with perception (For Ann (rising), see Shepard tone), just intonation (Clang, see gestalt), stochastic elements (Music for Player Piano), information theory (Ergodos, see Ergodic theory), and with what he calls 'swell' (Koan: Having Never Written A Note For Percussion for John Bergamo), which is basically arch form. His pieces are most often tributes and subtitled as such. Tenney wrote the seminal Meta (+) Hodos (one of, if not the, earliest applications of gestalt theory and cognitive science to music), the later Hierarchical temporal gestalt perception in music : a metric space model with Larry Polansky, and other works. Nearly a quarter of a 657-page volume of the academic journal Perspectives of New Music was devoted to Tenney's music (Polansky and Rosenboom 1987). Tenney also wrote the in-depth liner notes to Wergo's edition of Conlon Nancarrow's Studies for Player Piano. (Nancarrow, as a favor, punched the roll for Tenney's Spectral Canon for Conlon Nancarrow). He taught at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, the California Institute of the Arts, the University of California, and York University in Toronto. He died on 24 August 2006 of lung cancer in Valencia, California. BE THERE!!!!! Music & Movie Musings From Burlington, VT |
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Posted: 28 Nov 2007 11:00 AM CST The Nine Inch Nails remix site is live, in beta mode.
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404 Festival Open Call [Rosario] Posted: 28 Nov 2007 11:39 AM CST
404 is a independent non profit project whose main goal is to promote and spread artistic productions around the world in field of Electronic Art, creating also a production environment in which authors can exhibit their works and interrelate. Starting from an annual international calling and the subsequent selection of works, 404 supports artists whose proposals are based on originality and research. The Festival, open to the public and free of charge, is endorsed by cultural organizations from Europe, North America and Latin America. 404 is an artistic event created by Astas Romas located in Rosario (ARG), which is an urban and cultural center with more than one million inhabitants.  |
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Nordstrom will bench its piano players Posted: 28 Nov 2007 12:29 AM CST |
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Call for Nordic Artists [Jyväskylä] Posted: 28 Nov 2007 09:49 AM CST
All Nordic new media artists are invited to submit new media art works of all genres, including sound, digital prints and workshop proposals to an open new media art exhibition. Live Herring €’08 exhibition searches for Nordic new media art of all genres from net art to installation and from computer generated art to sound works. Theme for the entries is open: Live Herring ‘08 exhibition aims to give an overview on Nordic net art in all levels. Nordic artists are all eligible: all artists living permanently in Denmark, Faeroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden and the citizens of these countries living abroad. A list of selected work / artists will be announced on the Live Herring website on June 15, 2008.  |
Latest Experimental Music News
Latest Experimental Music News |
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Helena Espvall - Nimis & Arx (Pax Recordings, 2006) *** Posted: 29 Nov 2007 05:24 PM CST  My son forced me to listen to some rock music he liked, saying it was close to the free jazz I listen to. Truth be told, it was less close than he expected, but while jointly browsing the internet, we came across Helena Espvall, a Swedish guitarist and cello-player, who moved to Philadelphia in the year 2000. She currently plays with the psych-rock band Espers. But she also released a solo album "Nimis & Arx", which incorporates cello, guitar and electronics. It's not jazz, it's not really free improv either, but the musical tonality and freedom are pretty close. In terms of technical and instrumental skills, she is not in the same league as other female cello players as for instance Maya Beiser, Jane Scarpantoni or Peggy Lee, yet her music is quite interesting, mixing ambient with prog rock and free improv. Some of the pieces she plays here, with lots of overdubs, are really strong. Technical skills are the basis, musical vision is the essence. And she clearly excells in the latter. With a little more experience, she may become an artist of real importance. Clearly someone to follow (and to encourage).Listen to sound samples Kretslopp Av Blod Och Stjärnor Nimis & Arx Mar Amarga Purgatory Chasm Vortex  |
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Warner Music profit drops but beats Wall Street view (Reuters) Posted: 29 Nov 2007 05:17 PM CST
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Posted: 29 Nov 2007 06:14 PM CST sacred arrow c36
[2007, arbor]  oklahoma's brad rose doesn't just talk the talk with his foxy digitalis webzine, or his foxglove and digitalis labels, he can walk it too with his own musical projects. there's at least: alligator crystal moth, corsican paintbrush, eastern fox squirrels, autumn galaxy, the golden oaks, the greenlanders, jade emperor, the juniper meadows, ocasek, rura'pente, akhet and now ajilvsga, which is a duo with nathan young. i'm going to go ahead and assume that it's that nathan young. take one guy who's known for noisy electronics, put him together with someone known mostly for folky (maybe i should just say organic) music and the results are... electronic! to elaborate a bit more: stunning electronics. i popped this tape in having no clue who was responsible for ajilvsga and came out from the experience blown away.  out of every musical genre, i'd have to say that drone is one that's most in need of brilliant albums every now and then to grab and shake you out of that lull and make you realize that it's capable of being amazing. granted, by design, drone isn't the most dazzling form of music; hell, even the word itself sounds boring. it ultimately rewards those with patience and while it's always great to throw on as background music when you're reading, or want to take a nap, a track like taurpis tula's november 9 (on sparrows) opens your eyes to how phenomenal this music can be when its potential is maximized. for me, sacred arrow is one of those epiphanic releases.with that in mind, to simply call the music on sacred arrow drone would be to sell it drastically short. it's really an album about balance. rose's psychedelic leanings being counterbalanced by young's darker urges. the first track, salt plains, is their most harmonious pairing. the background is haunted by light, flowing, atmospheric and celestial sounds while the darker synthwork establishes itself as the more dominate force. that main sound is an amazing piece of electronics which will alternate between a deep drone and a quivering sputter. the most important thing about it is that it's not completely monotonous, there are changes in its tone, making it a lot more memorable than it could've been. also, as killer as that layer is alone, it's definitely enhanced by the airier elements encircling it as the mood of salt plains can change quite a bit depending on which unique sound you choose to focus in on, and that's a nice added bonus.  wolves standing in water is less about contrasting (as complimentary as it was) and more about using enhancing sounds that won't depart much from the great main fluctuating drone. just as previously heard, there's an emphasis on slight tone variation, making repeated listens a much more enjoyable experience. wolves is a predominantly drone track; what i want you to take from that is that the drone isn't the most captivating element. it serves as the foundation (albeit, an extremely solid one), and what might be thought of as accoutrements will provide the subtle dynamic that it needs to make a lasting impression. the most noteworthy of those is a wisely underused electronic ringing sound (sort of). what i like the most about it is that when it's not producing that exact sound, it exists as a higher pitched droning counterpart to that main low-end lurcher.the sixteen and a half minutes of the lone b-side track, fire builder, is sacred arrow's least immediately gratifying piece of music. i'm not saying that it's a lesser track, but on this particular one, ajilvsga spends more time building towards something, whereas salt plains had me hooked right from the opening seconds. one thing of note is that this is the only track where i can perceptibly hear a guitar. brad's delayed drone adds a unique texture to the synthetic drones witnessed all throughout the tape, and even more so in conjunction with the lighter ambient drones on this track. it's mostly repetitious lulling throughout the first five or so minutes, but then it gets a bit more interesting once the guitar drops off as the focus shifts from drone to heavy atmosphere and some beeping electronics. once past the ten minute mark, the wide-open feel is abandoned for a bit more cohesion. that centering aspect comes by way of catchy tonality; there's nice back and forth between higher and lower tone pitches amidst swirling ambiance and various benign synth effects. one of the reasons that i think i didn't take to fire builder as much as the others is that, well, it's a departure from both of them. after taking more time to soak it all in, i appreciate this one more because it's so different. both of the a-side's offerings had at least one key part that you pick out and say "this is what i'm drawn to". you didn't have to think about it so much since it was right there in the forefront. side b was more dynamic. the sound continually evolved until it got to that lucid moment where everything came together for you, and even once it got there, the music continued to transform around it. get this tape. p.s. will someone please put out an ajilvsga and ahlzagailzehguh split for my amusement? plz? 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Posted: 29 Nov 2007 01:47 PM CST SIGNAL to NOISE is a nationally distributed, quarterly publication focusing on the confluence of avant-garde jazz, electro-acoustic improvisation and left-of-center modern rock, with an emphasis on independent production and promotion DEVENDRA BANHART is on the front cover SIGNAL TO NOISE - THE JOURNAL OF IMPROVISED & EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC issue #48 | winter 2008 available 12.14.2007 featuring ... DEVENDRA BANHART BLACK DICE JAPANESE UNDERGROUND HIP-HOP GRAHAM LAMBKIN ALAN SONDHEIM JOE GIARDULLO plus CARLOS ZINGARO HIS NAME IS ALIVE HAYES BIGGS and High Zero 2007 in Baltimore Jazz a Mulhouse in France Variously Indeterminate in Delaware Eric Roth & the Clark Street Bridge Percussion Ensemble in Chicago Electric Eclectics in Meaford Ontario Guelph Jazz Festival in Guelph Ontarios and reviews of over 200 of the season's key releases and reissues in CD / DVD / LP / MP3 format |
  
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NEW YORK NOISE - Art & Music From The New York Underground 1978-88 Posted: 29 Nov 2007 02:08 PM CST  "New York was a scary and legendary place and downtown was like a bohemian living museum, which was pretty thrilling for an aspiring artist and musician ..." NEW YORK NOISE - Art & Music From The New York Underground 1978-88 (Soul Jazz) Comentários: For anyone in the slightest bit interested in New York's vibrant art and music scenes in the 1980s, this is an essential book brought to you by Soul Jazz Records! “DAVID BYRNE - This is a unique, luscious large format book from Soul Jazz Records and our first publication. New York Noise features amazing photographs of the New York music and art scene during the 1980s alongside text from some of the most important musicians and artists of the period. With hundreds of stunning photographs of everyone from Andy Warhol, Africa Bambaataa, Martin Rev, Richard Hell, Lou Reed, Keith Haring, Patti Smith, John Cage, Michael Stipe, Liquid Liquid, Julian Schnabel, Futura 2000, Madonna, Jean Michel Basquiat, ESG and many more the book is a who’s who of New York’s downtown scene during this period.. The book shows how Hip-Hop,Punk, No Wave, Free Jazz, Underground Dance and Experimental music scenes collided with the art world over a ten-year period and captures the vibrancy of this era when everyone in a band was also an artist, every artist was also a film-maker and every film-maker in a band. Accompanying text by the likes of David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Cindy Sherman, Suicide, Liquid Liquid and many others brilliantly evoke the vibrant New York scene in its heydey and make this a unique product of great beauty and unlike anything else you have seen! With over 400 images, most of them previously unpublished, this is an essential document of a fascinating era in New York’s music and art scene – a must have for everyone! Hurry, limited quantities. in souljazz  |
Latest Experimental Music News
Latest Experimental Music News |
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Vic Rawlings and Tim Feeney at No Radio Records, November 30th, 8pm Posted: 27 Nov 2007 02:53 AM CST  We are thrilled to announce that the duo of Tim Feeney (percussion, electronics) and Vic Rawlings (cello preparations, electronics, open circuits) will be performing this Friday at No Radio Records at 8pm, on Seneca Street in Ithaca.We are particularly proud to host this event, as Feeney & Rawlings are one of the finest improv duos working today. Together the two released one of the most exciting recordings in electroacoustic music this year: In Six Parts (Sedimental Records). For those who may not be familiar with this style of playing, it should be stressed that this a music that explores acoustic resonances as much as it does electronic circuits, while fundamentally remaining an improvised music—though 'improvisation' here means something closer to 'composition in performance' than 'soloing' (which it certainly is not). As for the qualifier, 'electroacoustic,' the accent falls on both words: Feeney and Rawlings are as devoted to the sonic possibilities of acoustic properties and reverberations as they are to electronic devices. This concert will be a rare opportunity for Ithacans to witness not only a compelling and eye-opening musical approach but to do so in the presence of two masters. Both are established performers in their own right, with numerous recordings and performances. As a duo Rawlings and Feeney have been playing together since 2005, and they've toured the northeast extensively. If you have even the slightest interest in new music in the classical vein, electronic music, 'noise', or free improv—or are merely curious to hear something entirely refreshing and new—then this show is for you. You won't hear anything else like it this year, I promise. If you've never come out to one of our 'Ithaca Experimental' shows, or if you've never heard exploratory music played live on traditional instruments (percussion and cello), then this event furnishes the perfect chance to try something new. We want you to come, first and foremost, because we care about this music and believe in it. Plus, Feeney is a newly settled Ithaca resident and Cornell music instructor, so please consider stopping by in order to hear one of the most promising young experimental musicians in the country. Ithaca's own Norman William Long, who also goes by the name Differance Engine, will be opening. We'll have more to say about Rawlings and Feeney in upcoming posts.  |
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Zoskia Meets Sugardog - That's Heavy Baby Posted: 30 Nov 2007 01:26 AM CST  Eagerly requested by Princess Sparkly Pony and dropped into my mailbox by the ever so kind paphio 23, many thanks for this, so here it is. for Zos Kia see previous post. Sugardog are a band /production team from London releasing high-quality canine dance music. After meeting Gila over a pair of lederhosen in her funky Amsterdam clothes shop, London brothers 'Sugar T'(aka Tim Whelan) and 'Here Boy' (aka Jim Whelan) kidnapped and brought her back to London to form Sugardog. This original line-up included 'Fritz C' (Ronin/23 Skidoo) and 'John Gosling' (Mekon /Agent Provocateur). This was way back in the day, when Warehouse jams ruled the underground London scene. Working from a Hackney basement, Sugardog developed into one of the only live breakbeat acts of the time. That's Heavy Baby was released as a 12" on Temple Records (TOPY 021) in 1987. This crappy picture is the only one I could find. Tracks : 1.J.G. 2.Smile 3.J.G. Smiles That's Heavy Baby enjoy.  |
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Posted: 01 Dec 2007 04:27 PM CST The glaciers are melting. And when I say glaciers, I don't mean actual, literal glaciers; I mean something else entirely more vast, cool and unsympathetic--the record industry. Yes, those stalwart champions of atavism at the various music conglomerates seem to be ever so gradually coming to terms with the inevitability of mp3 distribution. The process has been drawn out, of course, because the recorded-music industry can't wantonly enter new territory until they have proven to themselves with rock-solid conclusiveness that there is some kind of profitability in this new world. And as these megalopolies experimented with DRM and such, the smaller mammals at their feet have filled the niches left unattended, proving for all to see that yes indeed, you can make money with the mp3 format. So here we are. It looks like the mp3 is about to go mainstream. The benefits of this trend are apparent enough, but what of the single-most important downside to the standardization of the mp3? The fact that they sound like hell. When CDs first hit the market, all kinds of hyperbole was used to describe the sound. “Perfect,” “too good” and even “audio cocaine” were descriptions aimed at Compact Disc sound reproduction. But, little is said about the jangly aliasing at the high end of the mp3, that irritating digital distortion that never seems to go away no matter what you do to with your EQ sliders. As things stand right now, mp3s are the perfect form for music distribution. They're light-weight, for one thing. And they sound just fine coming through small speakers such as those built into a laptop, or in earbuds or cheap computer speakers. But run an mp3 through an ordinary stereo receiver to a decent pair of speakers and the inkly sizzle of the mp3 becomes unmistakable. My fear is that with mp3s taking on an official status, we'll all develop a tolerance for this noise. No doubt there are many worse things going on in the world right now, but still it's unfortunate that we may be about to take a step backwards here. The adoption of CDs over vinyl and magnetic tape carried its own difficulties, for sure. The sound quality, though, was not worse in that case, only less “warm.” Mp3s sound positively worse that Compact Discs. And despite the cultural revolutions that they have stimulated, they also diminish the listening experience. This is an unfortunate fact that we will have to endure for the foreseeable future. |
This is the Hollow Tree Experimental Music Report atom feed. |
     
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Dorkbot Valencia presentation / S5 Posted: 01 Dec 2007 02:12 PM CST I gave a presentation last night at Dorkbot Valencia. The presentation was called “Performing Music with PureData,” and it included some discussion of my ideas about performance with laptops and why it so often is uninspiring, as well as a little demonstration of my PureData patches, and last a little demonstration of some computer vision tracking used as music control. The presentation was built using something I found called S5 which calls itself A Simple Standards-Based Slide Show System. It’s basically the entire functionality of PowerPoint in a single HTML file, with CSS to control the look and JavaScript to handle the navigation. Very, very nice. Have a look at my Dorkbot Valencia presentation for a demo…  |
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Partch’s Delusion of Fury to be Performed Posted: 01 Dec 2007 01:59 PM CST In a rare event, the second ever performance of this piece is scheduled:
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Posted: 01 Dec 2007 02:09 PM CST Here are two different Projects Composed by Alphacore |
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Posted: 01 Dec 2007 11:18 AM CST For the most part I resist writing about the actual music on eMusic, because I’m really not a very good musical critic. However from time to time I do feel the urge to recommend something, and this is one of those times. Courtesy of eMusic I’ve been listening to a lot of Many people find listening to early minimalist works as unattractive a preposition as a trip to the dentist, but I think I’ve found a way to make them more palatable to those getting their first taste: Minimalist works go down surprisingly well as an accompaniment to long drives at high speeds. The typical pronounced beat encourages you to keep up with traffic, the music unveils new features at about the same rate as the landscape, and the relative simplicity of the musical concept allows you to reserve a large part of your attention for the basic tasks of driving. So without further ado here’s a list of albums for a minimalist road trip, all available on eMusic and all road-tested by yours truly:
Here are some additional tips for rewarding listening:
If your trip proves enjoyable, you can try exploring eMusic for similar works. In this respect, note that the “Minimalism” eMusic Dozen contains lots of works that are really not minimalism per se (i.e., belonging to the 1960s movement and its continuation) but rather are music of the past that is sort-of-minimalist in nature (and some at least of which influenced the early minimalists). A better approach is probably to search eMusic for particular composers identified with the minimalist movement. See the Kyle Gann posts previously linked to for names, as well as another post in which Gann compiled a personal list of the top five minimalist albums in reaction to some rather conventional (i.e., Glass/Reich/Adams-dominated) New York Times lists. (One of those albums, Eliane Radigue’s Trilogie De La Mort, is available on eMusic, along with the Tom Johnson work mentioned above. I didn’t include Trilogie De La Mort on my list because I haven’t yet road-tested it; however at nearly three hours it is definitely of suitable length for long-distance driving.) One final thought: minimalism is usually conceived of as a reaction to serialism and related trends in 20th-century music. However given the (to me at least) great affinity between minimalist works and the interstate highway system, I find it interesting that the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act was signed in 1956, while La Monte Young’s Composition 1960 No. 7 (the beginning of the minimalist era, according to Kyle Gann’s definition) appeared only four years later. Coincidence or causality? You be the judge. |
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<br>*Amagnon Koumagnon Musique Traditionnelle Du Benin*<br><br>*Face A* Posted: 02 Dec 2007 01:30 PM CST  Amagnon Koumagnon Musique Traditionnelle Du Benin Face A Aya Obakiwe Lodo Face B Gbessou Sublime polyrhythms and snappy vernacular for the year's first snowy Sunday.  |
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Ambient Sound<br>A few days ago I was attending a tw... Posted: 02 Dec 2007 03:05 AM CST  Ambient Sound A few days ago I was attending a two-day seminar in San Francisco, which is one of my favorite places. It was fun staying in a small boutique hotel and climbing the hill(s) to the posh Nob Hill marble palace (also known as a swank hotel) for the seminar.
While at the Castle on Nob Hill I enjoyed a harpist playing for the early evening diners. Coincidentally, I had just read of a large upscale American department store’s decision to discontinue using in-store piano players; and moving instead to continuous recorded music for shoppers.
In the frenetic holiday season as we are subjected to – some might say bombarded with – musical sounds of the holidays, I am at a quandary. Are harp players serenading hotel diners, or pianists performing in bustling department stores, remnants of our past as they play quaint relaxing melodies to ease stressful moments? Are these expensive luxuries whose days are numbered?
I can’t help believe there’s still a place for live music in our workaday world. But then I always was a romantic about such things. What about you?  |
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A Bit Of Noise On, The Rest Is Noise: The Book Posted: 02 Dec 2007 03:44 PM CST At this late date there’s little of critical value to be said about Alex Ross’s splendid book, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth...
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Album Review: Oh Astro - Champions of Wonder Posted: 03 Dec 2007 08:36 PM CST Oh Astro are a married duo composed of Jane Dowe and Hank Hofler, and their new disc Champions Of Wonder is a blissful glitch-fest that must be heard. The record is composed completely of sampled material, but it’s not a rough-edged nostalgic trip as with Illegal Art labelmate Girl Talk. No, the sounds Oh Astro cuts and pastes together produce something better, something that transcends the original pieces from which the work was born. Take for example, one of the album’s stand-out tracks “Hello Fuji Boy.” The song has the inevitable quirkiness that’s almost unavoidable in mash-ups like this, but the individual sound elements are not just stapled together, but glued, sanded, buffed and painted with great attention to detail. The result is warm ambient pop that stands completely on it’s own, without any help from novelty. Lionel Richie’s “Hello” is sampled here, and the fact that no giant clay Lionel Richie head appeared in my mind’s eye for the duration of the track’s 3 minutes and 17 seconds speaks a great deal to the craftsmanship of Dowe and Hofler. Oh Astro were born from experimental musical sludge, but whether they like it our not they’ve evolved (devolved?) to a point where their art has real pop appeal. Mp3s: “Snow Queen“, “Hello Fuji Boy“, “Candy Sun Smiles“, “Journey To The Center” (more…) |
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New Orleans is still the birth canal of tomorrow's sound Posted: 03 Dec 2007 12:12 PM CST One aspect of the fun of being a music fan is tracking the trends. In practically every genre, things change and novelty is pursued. It's this continuing flux that adds elements of surprise and keeps the ancient art form fascinating. New Orleans, once the birthplace of Jazz, is still a crucible of novelty for music--not to mention a handful of other cultural forms. The city is less a global crossroads than it was in the early 20th century. Nowadays it is more a national crossroads, a waystation for the various transient and fringe communities that do the hard work of keeping the United States weird. Even since the Storm, NOLA is a part time home for neo-carnies, pseudo-hoboes, professional vice enthusiasts, musicians and every other type of folk artist that this great nation spawns. Each year at the New Orleans Voodoo Music Festival, while bigger names grace bigger stages, the Noomoon Tribe hosts a side stage chock full of local music acts. The names of the bands tend to change, but those who watch from year to year will notice that many of the same painted faces return over the course of time. It's possible that one or two of these dedicated artists may rise to higher levels in the music scene, but for many this is as good as it gets--a moment pushing the limits of their art on stage before a crowd that may not be large, but is most definitely appreciative. Watch this video and see that there are many diamonds-in-the-rough in the mud of the flooded city. They pour their guts into what they do, and they always will, because it's New Orleans, shadow of America, the place where our culture is made every day, even if the fact is not always recognized. |
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New Orleans is still the birth canal of tomorrow's sound Posted: 03 Dec 2007 02:12 PM CST  |
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Wal-Mart, Amazon up anti-DRM pressure Posted: 03 Dec 2007 01:20 PM CST Both Wal-Mart and Amazon have already made their positions on DRM pretty well known, but it looks like each are now taking some further steps to ratchet up the pressure on the remaining hold-out record labels. For its part, Wal-Mart has reportedly told the record labels point blank that they must offer DRM-free MP3 versions of all their music, a matter that Sony BMG is apparently still the biggest hold out on. Amazon, on the other hand, is looking to give its download service (and, in turn, DRM-free downloads) a boost by giving away up to a billion free downloads in a promotion with Pepsi that's its set to launch during the Super Bowl in February. You'll need to guzzle quite a bit a Pepsi if you want to get your quota of those MP3s, however, as you'll apparently need to collect five bottle caps for each download. According to Billboard, Amazon has approached all the major record labels about participating in the promotion, but some are apparently balking at the 40 cents per track Amazon is willing to give 'em, which is a sizable cut from the 65 to 70 cents they currently receive.
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"Age of Relativity" by Memoirs of a Fallen Bomb.... Posted: 27 Nov 2007 02:41 PM CST Hello, Here is a four track EP by Memoirs of a Fallen Bomb entitled "Age of Relativity". It features all that we've come to know and love - manipulated musique concrete, ambience and drones. It is an enjoyable concise listening experience, have a listen for yourself: "Age of Relativity" by Memoirs of a Fallen Bomb Good Night...  |
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Metrocide/Pedestrian Deposit split CDR<br>This is Hell radio show Posted: 02 Dec 2007 10:27 PM CST Metrocide/Pedestrian Deposit split CDR
This is Hell radio show on WNUR Endless - Stacked Decks CDR Pandit Pran Nath - India's Master Vocalist mp3s Grateful Dead - 3/23/75 Kezar Stadium Had to drive in the car for the first time in weeks and quickly grabbed a couple discs from the 23 Productions label of Madison, Wisconsin. These had recently been unearthed after sitting at the bottom of a 'to be reviewed' mail bin for probably four years. As far as new noise/experimental/underground/drone/psych labels that over-record and over-release floods of short-run product go, 23 has put out a decent share of gems since approximately 2002-ish, most notably a good four or five excellent spaced-commune jam discs from the band Davenport aka The Davenport Family. Metrocide was the harsh noise project of Davenport/23 ringleader Clay Ruby, but I don't know if harsh noise was really his thing because the project didn't last too long and he has gone on to more psych/jam and maybe black/beard metal territory. His half of the split is good, decent, etc. but really doesn't hold a candle to Pedestrian Deposit, who is a harsh noise lifer and turns in two excellent tracks........on the way back home I was stoked to find that This is Hell was on the radio (WNUR 89.3 FM, Northwestern University), hands down my favorite 'political' radio show of all time. It's more of a 'world systems' show than a 'politics' show, y'see. They were talking to some guy who has written extensively about Nigeria being the next target of imperialist oil/resource wars. I listened for awhile but the greatest world system of all time is music, so I put in the Endless disc, another good one from 23, Endless being a guy, not a band, who is/was also in Davenport. Stacked Decks is an hour-long piece performed live at a gallery or something, on 5 broken turntables with broken records and a broken effects box, no samplers. It's waaaay too long but really in any place has a nice gloomy/dreamy vibe, with little music-box loops that come and go in fields and flurries while evil turntable static constantly threatens to overwhelm... put the iPod on shuffle and it was giving me nonstop noise and punk and I had to chill the kids out so I spun it to the first album that seemed like it might work: India's Master Vocalist by Pandit Pran Nath. It did work, we listened to the whole thing, but Claire was imitating his singing style and I think she was making fun of him because she sounded just like grownups do when they make fun of stuff like non-Western music and free jazz, etcetera. Phil asked what the guy's name was, at least, but then asked "Why does he sing funny?" I told him that it wasn't funny where he was from and that he was singing a prayer. That shut him up! (For about 10 seconds.) The Dead show is the Blues For Allah one in Oakland, CA that they played for Bill Graham's SNACKS benefit, right in the middle of their hiatus. It's a totally killer oddity in which, after a showbiz Bill Graham introduction, they come out (augmented by Lagin and Saunders) in front of 50,000 people and play a progged-out 30-minute suite of the atonal "Allah" riff into a nutzoid/fusoid take on "Stronger Than Dirt" into a drumz section and then back out through more "Dirt" and finally into a wordless and bedraggled doo-wop farewell, the first vocals of the night. The crowd roars and live radio DJs chatter with a wtf glee, and then the Dead come back out and do the usual lame "Johnny B. Goode" encore, and that's it, possibly the shortest set they've ever played, first or second. Point this set out to your average avant-rock Dead-curious skeptic, especially if they're into anything prog. Awesome, goofy, ragged, weird, and ultimately laid-back always.  |
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Returning to a Hobby Horse I’ve Ridden Hard Posted: 01 Dec 2007 05:47 PM CST In an earlier post, I argued a culture which values ugliness signals a deeper discontent neither passionate nor rational (though it may feel it is, mistaking irrationality for passion and will for rationality). Discordand modern art pushes away its audience, reflecting a certain dissonance with itself. Henry Adams saw this rejection coming on in his ironic and predictive autobiography as the century began. No longer honoring the sexuality of procreative woman but turning to the harsh noise of the dynamo. My post was response more than thoughtful position. Still, we appreciate the beauty of a landscape or of a woman in ways often related to health. That fact comforts me: I’ll never be a fan of Miss America pageants, but I didn’t scoff when a winner argued the bathing suit contest tests endurance. Yes, there are bettter tests, but vibrant health is uncovered as the body is. We value beauty’s harmony and order, health and fecundity. But others have been thinking more seriously about this. And, as so often, evolutionary poetics explain instincts. A&LDaily, guided by Dutton, often links to pieces such as Natalie Angier’s “The Dance of Evolution, or How Art Got Its Start.” Submit this post to del.icio.us or other social-networking sites.  |
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Posted: 02 Dec 2007 07:04 AM CST ORIGINAL LABEL DESCRIPTION: TWO 15 MINUTE SIDES OF SCREECHING, SQUELCHING HIGHS COMPLIMENTED BY GROWLING DEEPS, NEVER FULLY FOCUSING ON ONE SOUND IN PARTICULAR LONG ENOUGH TO KEEP YOU SATISFIED...THIS ONE IS FOR THOSE OF LITTLE ATTENTION SPAN WITH A HEALTHY DASH OF A.D.D. THE COVER IMAGE IS OF THE MOON AND SUN WITH FLAMES IN BETWEEN. AGAIN I THOUGHT IT CAPTURED MY IMPRESSION OF THE RELEASE TO A "T". THE ORIGINAL 50 CAME IN A SCREENED BLACK "RECYCLED" T-SHIRT CASE STAPLED TOGETHER. SPRAY PAINTED FLAT BLACK WITH BROWN ACCENTS FROM UPPER LEFT, AND TWO DIFFERENT COLORED GREEN DRIPS. KINDA LIKE SOME WEIRD BIO-ACCIDENT HAPPENED, OR MORE APPROPRIATE SOME VOMIT HAPPENED... BASEMENT APT. REVIEWS: http://basementaptreviews.blogspot.com/2007/06/kassette-kult-iv-cs30-earthspacenoise.html 2 sides of spastic, attention span reduction harsh noise. No artists, done as an anonymous release. Not a bad idea. Heavy as all hell, and the sounds of doom. No drone here. Random high frequencies crash in and crash out, and the low end crushes and destroys everything. Complete destruction, albiet with some breaks and almost ambient splats and burps of squarewave tones and clicks. Only problem I have is the loss of pace towards the end of side one. But the relaxation is over once the second side kicks in. Nice black on black packaging with medival style artwork, with splattered yellow/green on a black cassette. Recommended. FROM SMOOTH ASSAILING REVIEW BLOG: http://smoothassailing.blogspot.com/2007/07/kassette-kvlt_17.html yeeeaah! this is more like it. less screwing around, more power. this is some real nice noise which makes it a pity that we won't know who's making it. i'd imagine that that's the real bummer to anonymous tapes, when you find something that you really dig, but won't be able to check out the artist any further. oh well, all you can do is enjoy it while it's here. with this fourth installment we're getting quite a bit of noise which has a very invigorating sound to it. side a is killer, lots of synth noise, tone modulation, frequency shifts, high pitch whines. there's a thickness to the sound at times, but they occur more as brief passages, in between some of the tone work. seriously dynamic noise that gets better and better until the end, which will provide a surprising change of pace. side b starts off with a sound not too dissimilar to that of a passing jet, and that'll bounce back and forth between your stereo channels creating a very pleasing effect. additionally, there's some staticy noise happening underneath it, joined by some high pitch sounds. there's affected vocals too, maybe. so far, there's less going on in this track than there was on the other side, but the culmination of sounds is getting the job done. alright, in the vein of side a, this one will also change up quite a bit, it just takes a little longer (at least it seemed that way). the jet noises will cease, but the love for channel panning, thankfully, won't. from this point on they get more into the noise making with electronic squeals and plenty of shrill tones. FROM OUTER SPACE GAMELAN REVIEW BLOG: http://outerspacegamelan.blogspot.com/2007/07/earthspace-noise-kassette-kvlt-iii.html Got a rad package in the other day/season from the Earth.Space Noise Research Laboratories containing two of their Kassette Kvlt tapes and a 3" disc from a duo known as Cave Dudes. The tapes were of particular interest at first glance, with their cases housed inside screenprinted cloth stapled together (which turns out to be an inside out Megadeth shirt. Nice!) with sexy cardstock inserts, paint spattered tapes, and all that other good stuff. Have a look. Paying obvious homage to black metal, the idea behind ESN's Kassette Kvlt series is, and I quote, "an ongoing tribute to the history and future of noise, featuring devoted worshiper's of noise in it's various forms, whom for the sake of noise have cast aside their ego's and proclaimed anonymity". So, they're not compilations as I had originally thought. They're full length noise tapes recorded specifically for the project, only released anonymously. I'm not really sure how going incognito is a way to pay tribute to the genre while keeping it sacred, but I'll leave that question to the philosophers. It's a neat idea, in any event. The Cave Dudes disc boasts a nice package too, colour printed foldover paper and cardboard...nice of the label to go the extra yard for the oft-maligned 3" format, instead of sticking it in one of those flexi sleeves with a Xerox slipped in. "Kassette Kvlt IV" is also a coupla side long pieces sounding like solo synth/pedal/oscillator mayhem, all very well done and executed but pretty well by the books so nothing really sticks. The destroyed vocals looming over most of side one were a nice touch, and there were a few heavy sparks on side two that hinted at greater things to come, but on the whole I was underwhelmed. I'm sure you can recognize the irony in me saying it, but after a while all that kind of electronic napalm and scramble doesn't even register like it used to. Not even in terms of quality, but even in so-called harshness - it scarcely makes a dent despite such aspirations, unless you turn it up to 30 or what have you. I guess it's that whole bludgeoning to the point of desensitization thing, which I'm sure has a name and I'm too daft to know it. Heck, I certainly don't hate this or anything, but I just don't think it brings anything new to the table. Sometimes anonymity has it's perks, I suppose! FROM THE CASSETTE GODS WEBZINE: http://cassettegods.blogspot.com/2007/08/earthspace-noise-kassette-kult-iv.html The liner notes state that the composers of this tape have “cast aside their egos and proclaimed anonymity.” Too true. Though the tape looks beautiful; comes in a nice black on black screened pouch made from old shirts and a black on black screened tape cover, (It even feels good, like its of the earth), its contents are rather disapointing. The idea sounds good, but the tape is very anonymous – and not because it’s a harsh wall of noise, but because it’s intensity falters. It has few distinguishing features or points of reference. It is tape squeal, static, distortion and pedal pounding. Only in very limited phrases does any single portion stand out. Once at the end of each side something interesting will poke its head out – once in a vague field of static where silence suddenly appears…Once in the thrall of feedback overlaid and overlaid. If I was to be particularly generous I could say that this tape’s lack of specificity or personality is because it is intended as a tribute to “the history of noise.” But let us switch genres completely: In 1999 Chemical Brothers (yeah that’s right) release the album Surrender which accomplished the same purpose for electronic music – but it was seriously good. It reproduced sounds from the past, using old gear, but they went the extra mile and brought the sounds of the past into the present. Though that record may have passages that sound dated eight years on, at the time however, that record sounded like an incandescent history lesson. If Earth.Space Noise is supposed to be a history lesson – it’s the type that puts you to sleep. Why? Because it fails to apply its lessons to the present. FROM BLOOD TIES WEBZINE: http://existest.org/bloodties/viewtopic.php?t=269&sid=b1d98b8d402f18d4fd121604170283c7 Overall Rating: A- Composition: A- Sounds: A- Production Quality: B+ Concept: A- Packaging: A- The ante has officially been upped, not just for the remainder of the Kassette Kvlt series but for noise in general. Here we have a brutal offering of harsh noise with a heavy dose of sickened free-form power electronics. In case you don't know yet Earth/Space/Noise Research Lab's Kassette Kvlt series is a line of black cassette tapes where artists have cast aside their egos sworn a vow of secrecy as to their identities, and it seems that this series is attracting the right kind of artists! I really have absolutely no idea who the hell this artist could be, mainly because of the originality of the recording. It's dynamic as hell experimental harsh noise with some power electronic influences. The first side (it appears to be all one track) a beating, phasing, squiggling ass fuck of (dare I say wanky?) noise ranging from pedal fuckery to crunchy subdued rhythmic noise loops and even a smattering of sickened spoken vocals. Side A is a long one but one of my favorites here. The first part being more power electronics with the second meandering through various harsh textures. The frequencies range from high-end feedback to motor-like mids and crumbling lows. The whole of side A is pretty minimal in that it seems to only deal with a few tracks (often only one) at most, but that one track is extremely varied and constantly shifting to produce tones that are even uneasy in their resistance to stay at rest. The start of the B side is a bit thicker, farther from the one crazy line of harsh fuckery and closer to a claustrophobic harsh assault. The style of noise here perhaps reminds me most of Putrefier and that's probably the only thing I could really compare it to. It doesn't seem to use a lot of found objects or samples, but the nature of the sounds very much remind me of the U.K. Artist. It's not long however until things are once again broken down and moments of almost-silence are featured among what sound like tortured radio frequencies. Once again yet even further into the track the crunchy walls are back, joined again with detailed interludes and squealing feedback that sounds excellent. The production quality is what I like to hear, very clear crisp sound, but very warm as well. The obvious use of pedals and at least some analog gear adds to the overall (strangely due to the nature of the music) organic sound. There are moments that would definitely be helped with some stereo separation and effects editing, but there's something to be said for the rawness of the one-track improvisations about half-way through each side. It's great to hear this kind of quality material being released purely for the spirit of noise and the presentation of these tapes is excellent and consistent as well with black on black subtle artwork and a simple D.I.Y. aesthetic this is the true spirit of noise. PICTURES:SCAN OF CASE:  SCAN OF SLIPCASE (FRONT):  SCAN OF SLIPCASE (BACK):  SCAN OF TAPE:   |
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Posted: 02 Dec 2007 01:30 PM CST |
Near the Parenthesis’ label N5md aptly describes his work as “spiraling piano sonnets…juxtaposed against sweeping cascades of grainy synth washes and agile, yet carefully executed, beat work,” and his history sheds some light on the origins of his style. Currently based in San Francisco, Tim started his musical career in experimental bands like Urban Needle playing conventional instruments—piano and guitar—which explains his acute sense of melody as well as his penchant for taking chances with music. With his early projects serving as a foundation for his solo work, Tim has managed to carve out a distinct niche that pairs experimental sound design with emotional resonance in a mind-blowing manner. DJ Chris Widman similarly wades out across diverse stylistic influences while at the same time stands bravely in the stream of quality contemporary electronic music. Opening for such heterogeneous acts such as Ulrich Schnauss, The Orb, Monolake, Unkle, John Tejada, M83, Matthew Dear and Plaid, Chris proves time and again his ability to deftly sculpt a set to suit the vibe of each particular night. And with his long-running affiliation with the Abstract Science crew and associated 88.7 FM WLUW radio show, he’s sure to both surprise and elicit approving head-nods with his sets. Residents Emulsion and Liz Revision contribute DJ sets featuring melodic IDM, gorgeous-yet-clickly ambient, and blippy, increasingly-techno beats as the night progresses.
Near the Parenthesis (San Francisco) supports his new album Of Soft Construction on n5md, artfully combining an finely-tuned orchestra of clicks and whirrs with majestic melodies, and Chris Widman DJs a broad spectrum of quality electronic music while residents Emulsion and Liz Revision DJ IDM, ambient electro and glitchy techno throughout the night. Look out for guest visualists Videojanitor and Amputeenie along with resident VJ spiderback.  |
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Live Stage: Live_Coding [Rotterdam + online] Posted: 03 Dec 2007 09:38 AM CST
A relatively new programming paradigm called Live Coding is redefining the way in which software can be applied in live performances. While improvisation has a long history in the arts, the traditional edit compile run programming model limits software use to predetermined procedures running alongside a performance; allowing a programmer very limited improvisation, live alteration, or adjustment of the software during runtime. In contrast with this traditional model, Live Coding provides expressive control over software code during runtime, which allows for live (artistic) improvisation by programmers. In Live Coding, programmers no longer technically assist performers; they are (co-)performers, using code as an interface to improvise with either different types of performers (ranging from dancers to DJs) or in networks with other live coders. Test_Lab: Live_Coding will feature debates and presentations on Live Coding, a networked code jamming performance, live coded music, introductions and hands-on experiences in Live Coding programming languages for code improvisation, and a live coded Augmented Reality experience. | ||||||
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LMC 16th International Festival of Experimental Music - Day Two Posted: 02 Dec 2007 09:13 AM CST Assuming that what one expects from a Festival of Experimental music is to be surprised, then Friday night didn't disappoint from the very start. The first act was a duo of two women, Billy Roisz and Angélica Castelló on "recorders and video", "Recorders" somewhat stretched the definition from the things we tooted on at primary school, as one of them was a boxy tube about six foot long - when blown into it produced eerie wheezing, ghostly sounds as the player's breath was routed around the internal catacombs of this monstrous thing - the "video" was pretty arcane too, an old telly and various bits and pieces of electrical equipment (placed on doilies I was pleased to see) produced crackles and noise whilst a projection on the wall seemed to freeze sound waves. It was enigmatic and decidedly peculiar, but more importantly rather wonderful and evocative. There was an interplay between these two divergent sounds - one the very human sound of breath, the other the fractured noise of obsolete consumer electronics, that was baffling, witty and full of unexpected turns. I liked it.
The following duo of Robin Hayward and Matt Davis on tuba and trumpet respectively was a masterclass in extended brass technique. Hayward has been exploring silence and tiny sounds for over a decade now, and despite this reductionist background his new music seems to be a progression away from the aridity of the style. Davis too has matured into a trumpeter of enormous precision - not just using the avant-trumpeters arsenal of gargling and growling but pure tones and astonishing control. Hayward sat (head obscured by the enormous bell of his instrument) and produced sighings sound and sudden valve clunking thuds, while Davis held sustained slowly evolving sounds. Occasionally the two would coalesce into a single thread of ambiguous harmony. It was delightful, and utterly spell-binding. It seemed like a lot of the audience were there to see Charlemagne Palestine demonstrate his astonishing "strumming" technique on a couple of harpsichords. We did get to see that, eventually, but first a flamboyant and possibly slightly inebriated Palestine decided to share his cognac (stirred by his finger) and his wisdom with us. He'd noticed the amount of silence on the previous evening and seemed to be trying to lay claim to being responsible for Morton Feldman's move into sparse lengthy pieces. He wished he had a five hour performance to share with us....the minutes ticked by has he wandered about the theatre giving audience members sips of cognac, and the amount of time left for a musical performance started to slip away. Finally after an age, he came back to the harpsichords and performed short bursts of the strumming style on each one in turn. These "potpourris" (his term) were OK, but compared with the long sweep of his piano pieces they were disappointing - the harpsichord lacks the sustaining clouds of harmony, and the pieces were too short to really appreciate the technique and stamina required to perform them. He finished by hammering away at both of them simultaneously until bits of wood started flapping, and alarming clunking noises started emerging. Then he stopped and amongst the applause invited the man who'd made the harpsichords on stage - the gentleman seemed remarkably relaxed as he examined the damage done to his pride and joy. The protracted performance of Palestine meant I couldn't catch all of the performance of Norbert Möslang, a former member of the extraordinary "cracked everyday electronics" duo Voice Crack. He started with a flashing light which set up a thumping bass note over which the characteristically grainy blur of radio waves and cheap, knackered electronics wafted over on waves of deafening feedback...I'd like to have seen how it developed - it was a pretty confrontational opening, but I had to flee. EDIT: Brighton readers may be amused to know I was in seat no B12  |
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Posted: 02 Dec 2007 11:24 PM CST  Maximum Arousal presents: BEN FROST (Iceland) 'THEORY OF MACHINES' CD LAUNCH + GRAND SALVO + HELMET HEAD (Rod Cooper + Anthony Magen) Sun Dec 9 The Toff Level 2 252 Swanston St Melbourne 8pm Maximum Arouasl is proud to present the CD launch for Reykjavik-based composer/producer Ben Frost's "Theory Of Machines", a challenging and invasive sonic experience of digitally manipulated litany via minimal, guitar-oriented compositions. The scale of Ben Frost’s music is enormous, exploiting every extreme of pitch, volume and timbre, recalling the unbounded enormity of the natural world. The changes in the music sometimes seem as gradual as changes in the weather—and sometimes as violent. As the music changes it changes only in texture, color and intensity so that the sense is not of something being created, altered or even developed, but of something already present being slowly illuminated. This will be Frost's only Melbourne performance! Also appearing: Helmet Head - an audio visual live performance featuring Rod Cooper & Anthony Magen, where expanded cinema, noise and body art transmute. Hand held images and found objects are combined with a relentless stream of dvd driven stills. Cooper's costume combines a helmet with a projection screen and he provides a fast chaotic blanket of audio. Not to be missed! Grand Salvo - Melbourne songsmith Paddy Mann creates quiet and soulful odes to broken bones and sorrowful homes, played and recorded with a beauteous aesthetic and filled with a lamenting sense of heartbreak and loss. --------------------------------------- Upcoming Arousals: Sun Dec 16 - BETA ERKO + AGENTS OF ABHORRENCE + ROSKOPP Sun Dec 30 - MANI NEUMIER (Germany) of GURU GURU Sun Jan 13 - Hi God People/Zond 12" launch with: Hi God People + Zond + Mutual Loathing (Adelaide) + Kynan Lawler (Adelaide)  |