It’s happened more often than I’d like to admit that I will read the artist statement of a sonic work and be disappointed in its dated ideas. The odd time I’ve ever engaged in debate with a sonic artist I have usually been astonished by the gulf between current visual art theory and behind-the-times sonicContinue reading “Seth Kim-Cohen. In the Blink of An Ear: Toward a Non-Cochlear Sonic Art.”
Genre Archives
Jorge Lima Barreto. Zul Zelub.
Melding inside-and-outside piano explorations with the pulsations of a randomly tuned shortwave radio or with pre-recorded ambient sounds issuing from four CD players, Jorge Lima Barreto creates an altogether unique, double-barrelled program here. A veteran Portuguese pianist, academic, and sonic conceptualist, who helped found Telectu, his country’s pioneering experimental musical ensemble, Barreto does more thanContinue reading “Jorge Lima Barreto. Zul Zelub.”
Chris Abrahams and Clare Cooper. Germ Studies for Guzheng and DX7.
As befits its name, Germ Studies for Guzheng and DX7 is a series of 198 miniatures, most ending in mere seconds, improvised on guzheng and the DX7 synthesizer. Partly intended, it seems, as a lark—the two-disc set comes with humorous illustrations of each germ, drawn by fellow musicians—the music still holds attention as an intriguingContinue reading “Chris Abrahams and Clare Cooper. Germ Studies for Guzheng and DX7.”
Spring 2010
Strotter Inst. Minenhund.
Christopher Hess’ Strotter Inst. is a hybrid project that plays between the realms of visual and sound arts. The sounds from this CD are produced by installations Hess builds out of five manipulated Lenco turntables that he has deconstructed in a variety of ways. Photo documentation of his gallery installations reveal turntables with styluses replacedContinue reading “Strotter Inst. Minenhund.”
Cyrill Schläpfer. Die Waldstätte.
Steam-powered engines appeal to the imagination. As an energy source steam is definitely a thing of the past, and compared to sources developed after it, it is inefficient, noisy, and smelly. Maybe that is exactly what the appeal is based on. That, and the design of the engines themselves—bulky, but full of incredible implements andContinue reading “Cyrill Schläpfer. Die Waldstätte.”
Pichelin, Charles, Grydeland. North of the North.
Creating an imaginary aural landscape from an existing geography, Marc Pichelin, Xavier Charles and Ivar Grydeland mutate and reconfigure sounds collected on Norway’s Skjervøy and Arnøy islands using their own instruments, electronics, and phonographies. The result reflects the landscape without zeroing in on any exact time or place. French clarinetist Charles and Norwegian banjoist GrydelandContinue reading “Pichelin, Charles, Grydeland. North of the North.”
Toshimaru Nakamura and Mark Trayle. Stationary. Miguel A. Garcia. Armiarmak.
A pure representative of what can be done with less, Toshimaru Nakamura has got an incredible amount of mileage out of the simple innovation of plugging a mixer into itself. Much of that is due to his ability to find complementary collaborators with whom to improvise. This recording with Los Angeles-based sound artist Mark TrayleContinue reading “Toshimaru Nakamura and Mark Trayle. Stationary. Miguel A. Garcia. Armiarmak.”
Gen Ken Montgomery. Drilling Holes in The Wall. Gen Ken Montgomery. Balls (3″ CD-R)
Drilling Holes in the Wall and Balls are the first releases of sound artist Ken Montgomery’s work since Pondfloorsample. The sounds on Drilling derive mostly from modified toy synthesizers, hooked to a variety of electronic devices such as a film projector or a lamination machine. With these, he constructs pieces that move freely between theContinue reading “Gen Ken Montgomery. Drilling Holes in The Wall. Gen Ken Montgomery. Balls (3″ CD-R)”
Annette Krebs and Rhodri Davies. Kravis Rhonn Project. Max Eastley and Rhodri Davies. Dark Architecture.
British improviser Rhodri Davies has created a singular niche for himself in improvised music. A master of the harp, he has expanded its sonic palette with a host of extended techniques: amplifying it, preparing it in ways common to the piano and guitar; and plucking, striking, and bowing it with a host of foreign objects.Continue reading “Annette Krebs and Rhodri Davies. Kravis Rhonn Project. Max Eastley and Rhodri Davies. Dark Architecture.”