Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Saturday, January 16, 2021
Cucina Povera & Els - (2020) The Oystercatcher
Editions Mego – EMEGO 284
The Oystercatcher is the first collaborative LP from Cucina Povera (Maria Rossi) and ELS (Edward Simpson)
Recorded in London over two days, hours’ worth of improvisations have been edited down to form these six tracks.
A fragile interplay is at work between Maria’s drifting vocals and the
ominous churn of Edward’s modular synth. Each sonic element takes a turn
at leading the way.
The opening track ‘Mantle’ is formed from sparse, monolithic
electronics, woven gently with a thread of vocals. In the closing track
‘Eon’ Maria’s voice shepherds spontaneous bursts of sounds, almost
Rave-like if order were imposed, through 15 minutes of turmoil and
resplendent until the end.
Maria’s vocals make their own trails amongst the noise, bringing to mind
the the exploratory language from Ursula K. Le Guin’s album ‘Music and
Poetry from the Kesh’, recalling the same understated mystery.
The overall effect of this collaboration is a completely unique creation albeit within a recognisable lineage of predecessors.
The artwork reflects the vision of these two artists, collaged together.
Both images are from a trip to Helsinki. Edward’s photograph of Tulips
caught after dark are reviled by a flash. Maria’s seemingly abstract
drawing is a graphite rubbing taken from a granite slab of a pavement
somewhere in Kallio. Together the two images represent two different
methods for capturing a city’s haptic landscape.
The album moves with a feeling of transience, which is no surprise given
that the idea to collaborate was formed in Helsinki, realised in London
and edited together in Rotterdam.
The Oystercatcher tells a fragile tale, one that spins out into the
unknown. A cold union of voice and machine, still tentative and probing,
learning to co-exist. A kind of fundamental shift whereby shared
moments have been turned to sound.
The Oystercatcher is a bird that can freely travel between the earth,
sea and sky. The motif is taken from a Tove Jansson short story. A dead
bird washes ashore, two different versions of events are presented to
how the bird came to die. The album feels like two different stories
being presented on top of one another but ultimately coming to the same
tragic conclusion.
Claudio Rocchetti - (2019) Island Within An Island 7''
Zen Hex – ZX009
In the second act of Panorama, Claudio Rocchetti idealize
self-discovery, embarking on a journey through a land once thriving and
now stripped of every meaning.
Like a silent observer, he wanders through the meanders of a pale and
intangible non-place, witnessing the residual memories of an urban
cemetery: abandoned and decrepit structures, whose skeletons remain as a
symbol of a lost daydream. Imperceptible frequencies of deafening
silence leak the images of the last inhabitants abandoning the island
under a thunderous storm; the wind carries the howling sound of a horn,
the very last ship leaving that deserted land.
The journey concludes in feeling even more lost, alone in solitude, like an island within an island.
Claudio Rocchetti - (2019) Syrian Edge 7''
Zen Hex – ZX008
Syrian Edge is the first act of Panorama – a triptych investigating the work of Claudio Rocchetti, his thorough research on sound as a profound medium to memory. It guides the listener – like in a long cinematic take – through imaginary Suqs crowded with undefined chattering, spices scents and abrupt Lauds, a sequence of scenes clashing and crashing on each other, demanding attention. Sound becomes memory, with its own tone, rhythm and timbre, alive, vivid and throbbing in its surreal normality.
Catherine Lamb - (2019) Atmospheres Transparent / Opaque CD
New World Records – 80806
I have been attempting to describe, in more elemental terms, the
perceptual roles between musicians who are activating interactions in
harmonic space. Overlays Transparent/Opaque (2013) was an initial
attempt towards showing forms aside phenomenological clarities in which
to enter from relational and therefore parallaxical points, in this case
through shifting overlays. As though to place individual crystals, one
by one, amongst the musicians, and to have them find their place of
vibrancy or shadow due to the angle in which they are seeing the form.
Rather than terms like loud/soft or foreground/background, opaque might
suggest a tone that is filled, dense, and vibrant, whereas transparent
might indicate a tone that is losing its fundamentality, becoming fused
into the intensity of opacity; or that one might see through its sound,
becoming atmospheric. The seven overlays are in constant flux, but the
forms are synoptic, placed on their own and in their own space, as
objects.
Prisma Interius IX (2018), in contrast, would be one large crystal
placed amongst the musicians, rotating with filtered light. So that each
unfolding of the tonalities illuminates the form that is always
present, allowing for a feeling of constant expansion…. Prisma Interius
IX is the culmination of a series of pieces written between late 2016 to
summer 2018, examining particular (perhaps archaic) musical roles, and
how they situate within the phenomenological/perceptual space my work
has been growing into for the past 14 years. Elemental questions have
been important in the series, like how is one tone a pivot between
activating a total harmonic space as well as expanding a contour in
time? There were many threads in the series, such as how to create
structural changes through various conceptual shifts of a prism, the
role of the voice, but the most obvious was the development of the
secondary rainbow synthesizer, in collaboration with Bryan Eubanks since
2014, named after the faint shadow to the more brilliant primary
visual. The instrument filters the adjacent environment to the listening
space by literally fusing harmonically with chaotic atmospheric
elements being picked up by the microphones outside. The role becomes a
kind of highlighting continuo or tanpura to the more clearly
articulating musical activity played by the ensemble, while also
attempting a bridge for the listener towards an infinite, expanding
space (in ideal terms).
Bill Ding - (1997) Trust in God, But Tie Up Your Camel CD
Hefty Records – HEFTY05
As part of the '90s Chicago indie scene, you can bet Bill Ding were
familiar with musical elements as divergent as jazz, industrial grind,
and jarring electronics, and indeed, the band mixed and matched those
elements better than most, in the process throwing in all manner of
other musical and emotional concoctions. All these elements came to a
superlatively realized confluence on the band's second and, sadly, final
full-length effort. Without ever sounding contrived or labored, Trust
in God But Tie Up Your Camel touches upon myriad sources and pulls them
seamlessly together as if they were meant to be that way. In fact,
"labored" was the farthest concept from the band's mind. They give
little impression that they push anything very hard, everything simply
falls into place whether it is sonically harsh or hushed and insular,
and they leave well enough alone. John Hughes III provides whiplash
electronics to Dan Sazelle's guitar and bass, Rick Embach's vibes, and
Pat Kenney's drumming, and the band is equally at home whipping up an
avant frenzy or unraveling gentle ambience, orchestral washes, or
delicate folk. When Hughes adds his Beck-like slack vocals, it ties all
the contrasting musical elements together so that it sounds neither
agitated nor sleepy; rather it is supremely laid-back and enveloping and
inclusive, if self-consciously experimental and deconstructionist. It
never, though, comes off glibly clever. There is so much going on that
the album requires repeated listening, but once its initial jolting
impact sinks in, it is easy to take in the beatnik-like vibe that comes
through on songs like "Goddamn Your Thing" and "Make It Pretty," the
brilliant, intense, hard trip-hop ("Waterway Systems Two"), playful dub
("Outbreak"), kinetic drum'n'bass ("WCNI?," "Vaporize") and pretty
acoustic balladry ("Short Strings," "The Beat of Murmur") all sprinkled
with jazz. It all comes together as a single music from a single band
with a single impulse, and it is all wonderful.
Hefty Records – HEFTY05
As part of the '90s Chicago indie scene, you can bet Bill Ding were
familiar with musical elements as divergent as jazz, industrial grind,
and jarring electronics, and indeed, the band mixed and matched those
elements better than most, in the process throwing in all manner of
other musical and emotional concoctions. All these elements came to a
superlatively realized confluence on the band's second and, sadly, final
full-length effort. Without ever sounding contrived or labored, Trust
in God But Tie Up Your Camel touches upon myriad sources and pulls them
seamlessly together as if they were meant to be that way. In fact,
"labored" was the farthest concept from the band's mind. They give
little impression that they push anything very hard, everything simply
falls into place whether it is sonically harsh or hushed and insular,
and they leave well enough alone. John Hughes III provides whiplash
electronics to Dan Sazelle's guitar and bass, Rick Embach's vibes, and
Pat Kenney's drumming, and the band is equally at home whipping up an
avant frenzy or unraveling gentle ambience, orchestral washes, or
delicate folk. When Hughes adds his Beck-like slack vocals, it ties all
the contrasting musical elements together so that it sounds neither
agitated nor sleepy; rather it is supremely laid-back and enveloping and
inclusive, if self-consciously experimental and deconstructionist. It
never, though, comes off glibly clever. There is so much going on that
the album requires repeated listening, but once its initial jolting
impact sinks in, it is easy to take in the beatnik-like vibe that comes
through on songs like "Goddamn Your Thing" and "Make It Pretty," the
brilliant, intense, hard trip-hop ("Waterway Systems Two"), playful dub
("Outbreak"), kinetic drum'n'bass ("WCNI?," "Vaporize") and pretty
acoustic balladry ("Short Strings," "The Beat of Murmur") all sprinkled
with jazz. It all comes together as a single music from a single band
with a single impulse, and it is all wonderful.
Bonnie Baxter - (2019) Axis CS
Hausu Mountain – HAUSMO 95
Hey, didn’t Björk get some attention for exploring the iPad’s music
production capabilities a while back? Apps in that vein have certainly
progressed since 2011’s Biophilia, but puritans of every nationality
have to be rethinking these technological advancements now that Bonnie
Baxter’s discovered their utility in creating music that strips you of
your innocence about as quickly as a priest with extra wafers in his
quarters.
Baxter released her debut solo album Ask Me How Satan Started last year
after gaining some industrial attention via the Kill Alters project
(w/Nicos Kennedy and Hisham Bharoocha), and that release proceeded
naturally in terms of Baxter’s wayward vocals and the claustrophobic
percussion that limited any escape potential. Parts were downright
uncomfortable. Are you into that sort of thing? If you are into that
sort of thing (+ continued iPad usage), please read on.
AXIS is set for release October 11 on Hausu Mountain; and even though
the claustrophobia is still there, replace the noise of her previous
effort with an attempt to let her vocals breathe, and suddenly Baxter is
really allowing you to absorb the apparent mania. The sound seems less
dissonant overall compared to Ask Me, and shockingly, you’d be forgiven
for mistaking the track “SPIRIT ENEMA” with a remix of a 90s lounge
song. It seems we’ve entered the mushrooms phase of this adventure.
Jim O'Rourke - (1992) Scend CD
Divided – DIV01
First released on CD by Divided in 1992 and reissued on vinyl 11 years later by Three Poplars, Scend is a beautiful piece of field recordings, very different from Jim O'Rourke's other albums (which already display a wide variety of styles and approaches). Field recordings of various nature are combined into a loose narrative. It sounds simple, but giving sense to the construction is where the art resides, and O'Rourke nails it with impressive results. In the first half of the piece you mostly hear water sounds and bowed metal. An accordion lets out a lone winding note, answered by the passing siren of an ambulance. Traffic noise is replaced by falling water drops in the very end of the first part. This assemblage runs smoothly and seamlessly, retaining the feel of field recording throughout (i.e., if electroacoustic transformations are involved, it doesn't show). The first half could be described as cold or devoid of human presence (save for the traffic sounds) compared to the second half. It begins with a playground recording. A passing airplane buries the children's laughter, soon abruptly cut by something (crate? door?) shut close. This sudden move introduces a section of electronic sounds, startling at first considering what came before but interesting and pertinent nonetheless, adding more human presence as the hand of the composer is felt for the first time. Church bells seep in for the finale. Recommended. [The LP edition is pressed on clear vinyl .except tis' the CD by one of the usual suspects , who doubtless will pay dearly one day.
Jim O'Rourke - (1997) Bad Timing CD
Drag City – DC120
Released in 1997, Jim O'Rourke's Bad Timing is the first in a trilogy of
solo releases to be named after films by British director Nicolas Roeg.
O'Rourke's significance as a guitarist and experimental composer had
already been well established, and by the time of this solo outing his
work with David Grubbs in the post-rock group Gastr del Sol had begun to
show elements of the organic, fingerpicked guitar style he explores
more deeply on these four lengthy tracks. Entirely instrumental and
mysteriously packaged with no track titles, Bad Timing was a bit of an
enigma for its time. The most obvious influence is that of American
Primitive guitarist John Fahey, whose spirit imbues O'Rourke's wayfaring
compositions with a strange but good-natured folksy charm, especially
on the front half of the wonderful second track. Also present are
avant-garde fragments of the Chicago indie scene to which he was closely
associated. Tracks that take five or six minutes to develop suddenly
change on a dime with an audible tape splice, dramatic rhythmic shift,
or the addition of a horn section. Tortoise drummer John McEntire makes a
guest appearance, as does ace steel guitarist Ken Champion, whose long,
breezy parts act as a perfect foil to O'Rourke's staccato punctuations.
Tempos and rhythms wobble and flutter, varying from one moment to the
next and suggesting a good deal of improvisation on the initial guitar
tracks, which often receive warm layers of organ, piano, bells, and
accordion, as in the midsection of the near-mystical third track. Each
track acts as its own little suite with sections that are as
unpredictable as they are enchanting, hanging together in a sort of
cerebral level that feels loosely organized yet beautifully
orchestrated. For all its eccentricity, it seems like it should be more
of a challenge to enjoy, but the wonderful thing about Bad Timing is how
surprisingly palatable it all is. By the time the final marching
band/Western swing collision winds to a close on track four, the natural
reaction is simply to press play and begin the record again.
Jim O'Rourke - (1999) Eureka CD
It's a good bet to expect the unexpected with Jim O'Rourke -- no matter
which hat he's wearing (solo artist, bandmate, producer, remixer, etc.),
each of the endlessly prolific projects that bears his name takes on a
shape and identity all its own while retaining the originality and
ingenuity that have become the hallmarks of his singular body of work.
Eureka is perhaps his most stunning and surprising detour yet, a
full-blown excursion into lush, melodic pop; granted, there's something
inherently perverse about the very notion of O'Rourke and Chicago
underground cronies like trombonist Jeb Bishop and cornetist Rob Mazurek
tackling such classicist stuff, but instead the album is short on irony
and long on affection -- in fact, its most subversive dimension is its
very real mainstream appeal. What's most fascinating about Eureka is
that its big, bright pop is actually the perfect showcase for O'Rourke's
mastery of sound -- highlights like the epic opener "Women of the
World" and a joyously schmaltzy cover of the Bacharach/David chestnut
"Something Big" are crafted with remarkable care and depth, the former
in particular building and blooming in truly majestic fashion. On a
conceptual level, of course, it's easy to view Eureka as another in a
long line of deconstructionist experiments, a reading more overtly avant
songs like "Movie on the Way Down" and "Through the Night Softly"
certainly bears out; on a deeper level, however, it's a true labor of
love, and its sheer exuberance and creativity go further in re-shaping
the pop aesthetic than any pure intellectual exercise ever could.
Jim O'Rourke - (2001) Insignificance CD
All pretensions of modesty -- and allusions to Nicholas Roeg films --
aside, Insignificance, Jim O'Rourke's third solo album for Drag City,
reaffirms that he is not only a fine composer, arranger, and producer,
but a gifted, creative songwriter as well. As with Eureka and the
Halfway to a Threeway EP, O'Rourke continues to find as many
possibilities in singing and songwriting as he does experimenting with
pure sound. However, this time O'Rourke adds a few twists to the formula
he pioneered on those two efforts. He sings on each of Insignificance's
tracks, his frail voice providing a sharp contrast to the lush
arrangements and sardonic lyrics of songs like the wryly titled opener,
"All Downhill From Here," where he observes, "If I seem to you just a
little bit remote/You'd feel better if you call me a misanthrope/Or
whatever floats your boat/But as for me, I'd rather sink my own." On
songs like "Get a Room" and the finale, "Life Goes Off," which, like
"Halfway to a Threeway," are twisted yet poignant odes to the strange
things we will do for intimacy, Insignificance recalls the sweet sonics
and sour sentiments of O'Rourke's work with Smog. Beautifully arranged
pop epics like the title track are clearly descended from Eureka's
breezy brilliance, but the surprisingly insistent, crunchy rock guitars
on the excellent "Therefore I Am" and "Memory Lame" add an extra bite
and urgency that O'Rourke's pop-oriented work has lacked previously.
Though each of the album's tracks is meticulously crafted, none of them
feel overworked. That's probably because Insignificance was recorded in
just under a month; it has the warm, immediate feel of an album that
only took as long as necessary to make. Fans of O'Rourke's more
avant-garde material may dismiss the album as too mainstream, but its
endlessly listenable songs are just as significant as any of his more
experimental work.
Jim O'Rourke - (2018) Sleep Like It's Winter
NEWHERE MUSIC – NWM-002
Sleep opens with delicately stretched horns, which give way to a methodical piano line that wanders in and out of gradually sharpening drones with enough drama to discourage background listening. Put this on while you’re cleaning the house, and it will unsettle your subconscious; a focused listen, however, reveals subtle tension mounting throughout the piece. A conspicuous crescendo suggests that, even when working with such a vast canvas, O’Rourke never loses sight of its structural frames. Around the 16-minute mark, these sounds give way to silence, save for some buzzing cicadas and a few calling birds. For several minutes (though not quite 4:33), the environment surrounding O’Rourke becomes the only instrument, a solo of sorts that serves the structural purpose of bridging the record’s two halves.
Jim O'Rourke - 2019 - Side A / Side B 12''
In a dream hook-up for Diagonal, Jim O’Rourke reimagines material from
the vaults of Alessio Natalizia AKA Not Waving and turns in a
magisterial kosmiche synth-scape, backed with a sprawling slab of mazy
rhythmic brilliance. O’Rourke has been a long-time admirer of Not
Waving, and what started out as more of straight remix project quickly
turned into a collaboration-at-a-distance, with Natalizia sending extra
material and pushing O’Rourke to stray as far from the original material
as possible.
In both parts, he does him proud. ‘Side A’ renders an original chromatic
synth knot into a spiralling, heavenly superstructure worthy of
comparison with Popol Vuh, before the flip envelopes listeners in a
hyper-baroque rave hall of mirrors — all iridescent arps and irregular,
automated pulses that refract palatial imaginary spaces.
O’Rourke is, of course, a huge hero to Natalizia and the label, for his
work with Sonic Youth, his countless collaborations with everyone from
Keiji Haino to Tony Conrad, and the breath-taking breadth of his solo
material. It’s something of a coup/blessing/honour, therefore, for
Diagonal to present this release with art/packaging from Guy
Featherstone that does justice to this meeting of minds.
Jim O'Rourke - (2019) To Magnetize Money and Catch a Roving Eye 4xCD
Sonoris – sns-16
A four-hour work, recorded at Jim O'Rourke's studio, Steamroom, between
2017 and 2018. Detailed and delicate electronic layers, processed
instruments, and ambiguous field recordings come together in a
slow-moving, fascinating kaleidoscope with multiple reflections and
wrong turns, always in a constant state of flux. The finely crafted art
of subterfuge. The four-CD set To Magnetize Money and Catch a Roving Eye
is a hypnotic, multi-faceted, labyrinthine piece which flows as slowly
as a river while speeding back through memory. Composer, performer, and
multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke was born in Chicago in 1969. He is a
veritable chameleon working at the frontiers of very diverse musical
genres.
Jim O'Rourke - (2020) MMXX-07: In All Due Deference
Matière Mémoire – MMXX-07
In anticipation of the year 2020, Matière Mémoire asked 20 great artists to create an original 20 minutes piece and an artwork.
Throughout this year, each quarter will see the release of 5 new vinyls, available individually or as a bundle.
Each record is limited at 500 copies and comes as a crystal clear vinyl
featuring an original track of 20 minutes on one side, and a laser
engraved artwork on the other.
Each contained in a transparent sleeve, and each coming with a print of the artist artwork.
Kassel Jaeger & Jim O’Rourke - (2017) Wakes On Cerulean LP
Editions Mego – Editions Mego 223
Timely outing from two grand masters of exploratory electronics. Kassel
Jaeger is the moniker of French musician François Bonnet who works at
the GRM and has released a number of books including the highly regarded
The Order of Sounds, A Sonorous Archipelago published by Urbanomic in
2016. Jim O’Rourke is known to most through his explorations of the song
and shapes, the high and low, the east and south.
Wakes on Cerulean is a joint adventure where process folds upon process
and the operation of procedure remains unknown. Amongst a mysterious
cloud of excited high frequencies tiny whistling howls. Frog leaps in
technique lay out a thrilling and uplifting journey that runs from the
soothing to ecstatic and back to the buoyant again.
Wakes on Cerulean is a staggering feast of the joys found in electronic
process. A malleable bubble of hovering excitement, melody and joyous
refrain.
Kassel Jaeger & Jim O'Rourke - (2020) In Cobalt Aura Sleeps
Editions Mego – EMEGO 272
Second outing from Jaeger and O’Rourke following the release Wakes on
Cerulean on Editions Mego in 2017. Covering a vast terrain with delicacy
and poise this new release unveils a spectral showcase for all manner
of deep abstraction. The first side positions itself somewhere between
stoned komische synth and more nuanced electroacoustic tactics, all
weighted by a melancholic undertow. The second side builds on the
tension of the former as an undulating drone teases all variety of
matter to rise and fall amongst the foreign space it inhabits. The
effect creates an enormous sense of deep space before subsiding into a
smaller more anxious flickering world. All manner of machines fold into
play; digital machines, industrial and analogue machines. The seemingly
random yet ordered nature of events is reminiscent of the behaviour of
the natural world providing this machine driven release a convincing
organic feel. Whether invoking mirrors, distant galaxies or a pond of
frogs it is a delightful challenge to focus and locate what is nature
and what is nurture. To play this loud is to immerse oneself in a
fascinating journey which carries the listener through an array of
dizzying emotional states.
Loren Connors & Jim O'Rourke - (2009) Two Nice Catholic Boys CD
Family Vineyard – FV59
These two nice Catholic boys, Loren Connors and Jim O'Rourke, met at the
crossroads each night during a 1997 European tour. By this time
O'Rourke already reissued Connors' seminal heartbreak album In
Pittsburgh on his Dexter's Cigar label and produced the guitarist's
big-band mash-up with Alan Licht, Hoffman Estates.
Together, they unravel slow motion ghost blues across three extended
pieces that evolve from Connors' martian style to the thundering,
feedback splattered lead grooves of O'Rourke. The spontaneous melodies
shift from devastating, country road intimacy to hypnotic overamped
rock. It's ferocious, epic, and utterly beautiful. This live CD is only
the second duo release by these musical partners. During the past
decade, O'Rourke has repeatedly returned to hours of recordings captured
across Europe to select these 47 minutes.
" ... a beautiful collaborative effort between two closely tied musical
experimentalists. Somehow these two, whose typical musical pursuits
often differ widely in nature, have managed to form a musical
relationship that allows each to expand their standard repertoire in a
creative and enriching way." -- Henry Smith, Brainwashed
"The last piece, 'Most Definitely Not Koln' starts with distant,
haunting, shimmering, chords. Power chords like sunspots exploding with
the occasional screaming, note-bending cries. The distortion is so thick
that it nearly blinds us if we get too close. There is a sigh of relief
when it finally calms down to a more peaceful conclusion. Notes
drifting delicately like a lost lullaby at the end of an apocalyptic
battle. Good vs. evil? Loud vs. soft? The dark vs. the light? You
decide. Me? I'm still weighing the odds."
Oren Ambarchi / Jim O'Rourke - (2011) Indeed LP
Editions Mego – EMEGO 021
Following their work together on remixes and in trio with Keiji Haino,
'Indeed' is the first proper full-length collaboration between Oren
Ambarchi and Jim O'Rourke. Recorded in Tokyo, January 2011, the piece
takes form as one long electroacoustic meander with both artists
operating at the more meditative and reserved end of their respective
abilities and disciplines. The label compare the session to "...the warm
post-minimalism of composers like Alvin Curran, David Behrman and
Luciano Cilio" and "...the collective textural and melodic personality
of their respective solo albums filtered through the highpoints of the
Lovely Music catalogue", which we'll happily concur. Side A opens though
a passage of frictional electro-acoustics before calmly coursing along
rich, humming subbass tones joined by quietly rippling marimba-like
rhythms and dissolving into languorous drones and deft spatial
detailing. Side B continues to meditate on these drones before more
playful, high-pitched dissonance carries to the end. Marvelous.
Oren Ambarchi / Jim O'Rourke - (2015) Behold LP
Editions Mego – EMEGO 176
Behold is the second collaborative release from Oren Ambarchi and Jim
O'Rourke following on from the 2011 release 'Indeed'. Seamlessly
blending field recordings, electronics, guitar, drums and other acoustic
instruments into a subtle combination of Krautrock, minimalism and
classic free flowing electronics.
Side A takes the listener into the Fourth World adventures pioneered by
Jon Hassell whilst the flip seems like an unlikely pairing of Krautrock
aesthetics and the slow building repetitive structures of The Necks.
This is sharp, focussed contemporary music, one where minimalist motifs
meet maximalist tendencies. Behold is another landmark recording made
by two of the most enthusiastic experimental explorers active today..
Jim O'Rourke, Lasse Marhaug & Paal Nilssen-Love - (2013) The Love Robots
PNL – PNL017
The trio of Jim O'Rourke on guitar, Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and Lasse
Marhaug on electronics in an album of beautiful psychedelic noise
recorded at Gok Sound Studio in Tokyo.
"The most interesting of their latest collaborations is the one with
guitarist Jim O'Rourke, who contributes classic Sonic Youth guitar noise
to the duo's [Paal Nilssen-Love & Lass Marhaug] excesses. At the
start, Nilssen-Love is a very economical: his usual velocity is
reluctant, almost coy. The three musicians blend excellently with each
other, Marhaug's electronics and O'Rourke's guitar effects are a perfect
match - a combination of early Pink-Floyd-psychedelia and new music in
the tradition of Stockhausen and Mario Bertoncini. Side A end with a
magical moment that could go on forever. The flipside is rawer and more
disruptive, Marhaug's evil static is a constant presence: the
disagreeable and disturbing side of noise [...]"-Martin Schray, The Free
Jazz Collective.
Oren Ambarchi & Jim O'Rourke with special guest U-zhaan - (2018) Hence LP
Editions Mego – EMEGO 249
Hence is the third collaborative release from Oren Ambarchi and Jim
O’Rourke, following on from 2013’s Behold. Building on the refined
combination of electronics and acoustic instrumentation found on their
previous releases, Hence presents two side long pieces combining
synthesizers, heavily effected guitar tones, and tabla rhythms played by
special guest U-zhaan. On the first side, an explosive opening chord
sends out ripples of sparse, irregularly pulsing guitar and synthesizer
tones, aleatorically changing in pitch and jumping around the stereo
image. Combined with the tabla, which gradually builds in busyness
throughout the side, the piece is like a dream collaboration between
David Behrman and the Henry Kaiser of It’s a Wonderful Life, gradually
overtaken in its second half by a swarm of lush live electronic sizzle.
The second side begins in a similar area, combining tabla, shimmering
Leslie cabinet guitar tones, and a wandering melodic line. Undergoing a
series of subtle variations, this initial area eventually builds to a
climax of twittering synthesized birdsong reminiscent of Alvin Curran’s
70s work. As on the first side, Ambarchi and O’Rourke craft a piece that
is both comforting and subtly strange, as the constantly shifting
dynamics and changes of focus (which recall the flow of improvised
music) refuse to allow the music to settle into any one moment for too
long or to build in too linear a fashion. Combining influences from
post-minimalism, the pioneers of live electronics, and eastern music
into a unique sound world, Hence is a seductive work from two of the
most singular sensibilities in contemporary music.
Oren Ambarchi - guitars etc
Jim O'Rourke - synths etc
+
U-zhaan - tabla
Recorded & Mixed at Steamroom, Tokyo 2016
Additional recording at SuperDeluxe, Tokyo, Nov 10, 2015 by Masahide Ando
Cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin, September 2017
Photos by Traianos Pakioufakis
Sleeve/type design by Stephen O'Malley
VA - (2019) Black Truffle at 10
Black Truffle – Black Truffle Digital 001
Oren Ambarchi celebrates his 50th birthday and a decade of
uncompromisingly brilliant, diverse releases on Black Truffle with this
mixed compilation of cherry-picked label highlights covering the gamut
from Keiji Haino to Annea Lockwood and Oren’s classic rock-riffing
zingers
The mix simultaneously gives and removes context from the material in a
smart way by conjuring unforeseen connection between genres, eons and
vibes, craftily connoting links between their mutual idiosyncrasies and
disparate coordinates.
With an emphatic focus on bringing work by older, pioneering artists to
new light, Black Truffle has become an invaluable, educational service
with its myriad reissues of seminal (if niche) classics by the likes of
AMM, Annea Lockwood, Keiji Haino and Giancarlo Toniutti, while also
providing space for new work by pivotal figures such as Alvin Curran
(last year’s ‘Criss-Cross’ is a blinder) and a platform for obscure gems
such as the Paul DeMarinis archival dive ‘Songs Without Throats’ and
the work of his close peers, cry cole and Joe Talia.
This 3 hour long, 27 track wide mix covers the full wingspan of the
label and its owner’s immaculate tastes, with highlights in the likes of
Ruedi Häusermann’s gunky jazz freak ‘Susanna I’m Blade’, the
deliquescent touch of ‘Burrata’ by cry cole & Ambarchi, or Arnold
Dreyblatt’s nerve-jangling ‘The Odd Fellows’ forming peaks in the mix
and label’s wonderfully wild and expansive musical panorama.
Tracklist
1. Eiko Ishibashi & Darin Gray – Ichida Part 2 (excerpt) (05:37)
2. Alvin Lucier – Criss-Cross (excerpt) (07:47)
3. Keiji Haino – Milky Way (excerpt) (07:03)
4. Max Eastley, Steve Beresford, Paul Burwell & David Toop – Suffolk (B) (05:06)
5. James Rushford – The Body's Night Side B (excerpt) (08:09)
6. Massimo Toniutti – Lento & Antico (05:20)
7. Oren Ambarchi, James Rushford & Kassel Jaeger – Face (excerpt) (06:57)
8. Oren Ambarchi, Keiji Haino & Jim O’Rourke – Only Wanting to Melt... Part 1 (excerpt) (13:37)
9. David Rosenboom – Piano Etude I (Alpha) (13:42)
10. John Duncan – Mass (02:43)
11. Ruedi Häusermann – Susanna Im Bade (03:32)
12. Paul DeMarinis – Kokole (06:39)
13. Arnold Dreyblatt – The Odd Fellows (04:11)
14. Will Guthrie – Creeper (03:07)
15. Oren Ambarchi – It Ain't Humid but It Sure Is Hot (excerpt) (05:41)
16. Crys Cole & Oren Ambarchi – Burrata (07:00)
17. Annea Lockwood – Tiger Balm (excerpt) (09:15)
18. Crys Cole – Layna (excerpt) (05:53)
19. Alvin Curran – Natural History Part 2 (excerpt) (09:45)
20. Oren Ambarchi, James Rushford & Kassel Jaeger – Calling (excerpt) (10:11)
21. Giancarlo Toniutti – The Tree (excerpt) (06:58)
22. Eyvind Kang & Jessika Kenney – Thoughts on Being Exiled to the Frontier, for Lord Wei (05:15)
23. Oren Ambarchi, Phew & Jim O’Rourke – Patience Soup Part 1 (excerpt) (07:23)
24. AMM – After Rapidly Circling the Plaza (excerpt) (06:32)
25. Oren Ambarchi, Keiji Haino & Jim O’Rourke – Only Wanting to Melt... Part 2 (excerpt) (06:27)
26. Joe Talia – Clouded Night Part 1 (excerpt) (06:41)
27. Francis Plagne & Crys Cole – Two Words (excerpt) (10:32)
Jim O'Rourke, Keiji Haino & Oren Ambarchi - (2016) 君は気がついたかな 「すみません」 という響きがとても美しいことに それ以上悪くしないように = I Wonder If You Noticed ”I’m Sorry” Is Such A Lovely Sound It Keeps Things From Getting Worse
Medama Records – mr07
The remarkable series of releases from the trio of Keiji Haino, Jim
O'Rourke, and Oren Ambarchi continues with I wonder if you noticed "I'm
sorry" Is such a lovely sound It keeps things from getting worse, which
presents the entirety of an 80-minute set performed at Tokyo's
SuperDeluxe in March 2014. While the trio's 2012 performance was divided
into two releases (BT 011LP (2014) and BT 012LP (2015)), the single
extended performance presented here ranges widely over terrain both new
and familiar, from acoustic strings and collective chants to thunderous
power trio moves. Throughout all of its transformations, the music here
is some of the riskiest and most abstract the trio have yet committed to
record. Beginning with chiming percussion reminiscent of Haino's 1995
classic Tenshi No Gijinka, the first side is dominated by Haino's
impassioned vocals and performance on the bulgari, a traditional Turkish
string instrument. The end of the second side presents a special treat:
Haino's first recorded outing on the contrabass harmonica, from which
he coaxes bizarre, wheezing textures against a backdrop of spacious bass
and percussion. O'Rourke and Ambarchi rarely adopt here the classic
rock roles essayed on earlier releases. O'Rourke's bass, which takes
center-stage surprisingly often, is sometimes so heavily processed by
his array of pedals that it becomes a shifting electronic mass; at other
times his roving chromaticism suggests a sort of fuzzed-out free jazz.
Ambarchi spends much of the set exploring areas of tumbling free pulse;
and even when he locks into a constantly repeated figure on the set's
third side, he gestures as much toward Ronald Shannon Jackson's
stuttering marching band funk as toward any classic rock moves. When the
trio finally moves in the final quarter of the performance into an
extended passage of rock riffing, the payoff is immense, as they craft a
thudding one-chord epic reminiscent of some of the early Fushitsusha
classics before Haino returns to the bulgari, bringing the set back to
where it began. Continuing to explore new instrumental and dynamic
possibilities while remaining grounded in the trio's previous work, this
set also brings with it a unique pleasure for the non-Japonophone
listener: for the first time Haino sings many of his metaphysically
brooding lyrics in English. Gatefold sleeve with gorgeous photographs by
Jim O'Rourke, designed by Stephen O'Malley. Cut by Rashad Becker at
Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.
Peter Brotzmann, Jim O'Rourke, Keiji Haino - (2015) Two City Blues 1 LP
Peter Brötzmann: alto/tenor-saxophone, tarogato, clarinet, Jim O‘Rourke:
guitar, Keiji Haino: guitar, voice, shamisen. Recorded by Yasuo
Fujimura, 23/11/2010, Shinjuku Pit Inn, Tokyo, mastered by Martin
Siewert, photos by Mark Rappaport Drawing & Artwork by Brötzmann. A
giant two day meeting of three outstanding musicians! German legend
Peter Brötzmann is one of the outstanding saxophone players in the
current international free jazz scene, continuing to go on tour and
release with various musicians.
————————
One of two different sets, along with Two City Blues 2 (TROST 128CD),
recorded on one intense night at Tokyo's Shinjuku Pit Inn. A trio of
three towering figures, German free jazz legend Peter Brötzmann,
Japanese avant-garde wizard Keiji Haino, and wildly versatile American
composer and musician Jim O'Rourke, recorded by Yasuo Fujimura on
November 23, 2010. Brötzmann: alto and tenor saxophones, tarogato, and
clarinet; Haino: guitar, voice, shamisen; O'Rourke: guitar.
Haino Keiji, Brötzmann Peter, Jim O'Rourke - (2015) Two City Blues 2 CD
Trost Records – TR 128
Two City Blues 2 draws together three musicians of outstanding class:
Keiji Haino is a Japanese vocalist and guitarist who has worked in a
range of genres and with Derek Bailey, John Zorn and Fred Firth, to name
just a few. Jim O’Rourke is a composer and guitarist who has made an
impact on the U.S. improvisation scene. He has played with, amongst many
others, Mats Gustaffson, Derek Bailey and Thurston Moore. Finally,
Peter Brotzmann needs little introduction and remains one of the key
players of improvisational music.
There are just two tracks listed on Two City Blues 2 (due January 22,
2015 via Trost), and they provide sections in which the themes are
developed, stretched and thrown back and forth between the musicians.
The first section, “Two City Blues,” starts off with recurrent themes,
all deceptively calm. Each musician trials riffs and themes, largely set
by the saxophone of Brotzmann before they merge and the piece develops.
At times, the guitar sounds countrified and at others, metallic and
eerie.
Over this, Peter Brotzmann instills order to some degree with repeated
riffs and then, just when you get a little comfortable — about two
minutes in — the voice of Haino screeches over the top of the
instruments like a banshee. After a few wails and gut-wrenching, however
the voice becomes as much part of the musical development as the
instruments. Before long, all players are enmeshed in a bizarre
interaction involving rapid thrumming on the guitar, manic overplaying
by Brotzmann and occasional vocal interjection by Haino.
The middle section is largely led by Peter Brotzmann, soloing over the
guitar and sometimes alone with ethereal echoes in the background. The
use of the shamisen, a three-stringed Japanese instrument, and the
Taragota both enrich the sounds — even as Haino’s voice acts as the
backboard in many sections. There is a lovely talking section between
sax and voice, as Peter Brotzmann creates his now-standard “pic-a-pic”
voice, making the sax sound like Mr. Punch on a good day even as Haino
continues interspersing vocals. By this time, the latter have developed
into almost recognizable tunes. Then, of course, “Two City Blues”
develops further and a maelstrom of sound is created using all
instruments and a certain amount of electronic tweaking.
Part 2 is titled “One Fine Day,” and starts with a Peter Brotzmann solo
interspersed with guitar. This develops into a free-for-all section, led
by the sax and punctuated with Brotzmann’s characteristic long notes —
which introduce a tag onto which the others hold and fly. Beautifully
developed, this is short at just over six minutes but very, very sweet.
Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, Oren Ambarchi - (2013) まだ 暖かい内に この今に 全ての謎を 注ぎ込んでしまおう = Now While It's Still Warm Let Us Pour In All The Mystery
Medama Records – mr04
Like the meme says, punctuation saves lives; likewise, crediting order
clues you to process. The alphabetical name order on this trio’s first
album, Tina Formosa, implied a non-hierarchical collaboration, and the
sound-blending they sustained during that record’s instrumental passages
bore this out. But let’s face it -- anytime Keiji Haino sings, he’s
king, and he’s definitely first among equals throughout Imikuzushi.
The trio’s third annual collaboration is, once more, excerpted from a
live performance in Japan. But instead of prepared pianos and
electronics, they used the primary colors of rock: guitar, bass and
drums. And while any combo that lets Haino’s sobbing, roaring,
terrifying voice into the mix can never be just a rock band, these guys
rock out quite formidably.
Whether your favorite power trio is the Minutemen or ZZ Top, part of
what makes ’em great is their ability to simultaneously exploit the
format’s simplicity and transcend its limitations. These guys do both.
Each knows exactly what is required of his instrument. O’Rourke’s bass
is often massive and monolithic; he spends most of the first piece –
entitled “still unable to throw off that teaching a heart left abandoned
unable to get inside that empty space nerves freezing that unconcealed
sadness I am still unable to fully embrace” -- pounding out one note
with unwavering precision and absolute brutality. But he also delivers
gently exquisite counterpoint to Haino’s intricate, almost
harpsichord-like guitar on the third piece, “invited in practically
drawn in by something facing the exit of this hiding place who is it?
that went in coming around again the same as before who is it?”
Ambarchi’s drumming veers between precise beats and big clouds of cymbal
smashing, but it’s always propulsive, and his shifts of attack exercise
the same mastery of long-form dynamics as his recent, rigorously
constructed solo album, Audience Of One.
O’Rourke and Ambarchi don’t always play it straight, though. Much of the
enormous tension on “still unable…” comes from their careful shifts in
and out of synch, which they manage and sustain with exacting
discipline. And if you’ve been waiting for Haino to get his rock-god
ya-yas out, you’re in luck here; there are plenty of stark, single-note
solos blowing through this joint like dust devils down a ghost town’s
widest thoroughfare. Turn the corner and they blossom into chords that
contain orchestras. Whether it’s the djinn unleashed by massive volume
or simply judicious marshaling of pedals, Haino usually seems to have
several things happening at once inside every down stroke. He commands
everything about him like some thunderbolt-wielding god atop a mountain,
abetted by pitiless angels who know that their power comes from keeping
him at the peak.
Keiji Haino / Jim O'Rourke / Oren Ambarchi - (2015) ここに 与えられた この身体 全部 使い切てやる という者の お茶の 時間 = Tea Time For Those Determined To Completely Exhaust Every Bit Of This Body They've Been Given LP
Medama Records – mr06
"At this point, it can justifiably be said that Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi have become one of the leading groups in experimental music. This, their sixth release, presents the entire second set of the trio's March 2013 concert at SuperDeluxe (the first set is available on Black Truffle as Only Wanting to Melt Beautifully Away Is It a Lack of Contentment That Stirs Affection for Those Things Said to Be as of Yet Unseen). While the first set of the evening saw the trio branching out into new instrumental configurations, here they return to their signature line-up of guitar, bass and drums. The LP begins abruptly, with one of the finest performances by the trio captured on record thus far already in full swing. Throughout the course of this 12-minute piece, O'Rourke and Ambarchi lay down a thudding, meterless pulse, the impossible midway point of Milford Graves and motorik Krautrock, over which Haino unfurls a number of distinct strategies developed in his work since the 1980s: formless blurs of reverb-drenched guitar noise, looped pointillist fragments and wandering, dissonant lines obscured in clouds of distortion. Continuing Haino's habit of naming albums with phrases that seem to obliquely comment on the music they contain, it could definitely be said that this is music made by three people 'determined to completely exhaust every bit of this body they've been given.' Showing the trio at new heights, this track carries on in the spirit of some of Haino's greatest work: music made with the ingredients of rock that somehow manages to sidestep all of its forms and traditions while retaining and amplifying its fundamental power. If this track alone lays to rest concerns about whether the trio has exhausted the guitar/bass/drums format, the remainder of the record serves as a demonstration of the multitude of possibilities still available for their continued exploration. The three are now so in-tune with one another that almost anything can be integrated into their improvisations: in the slow-burning second piece, O'Rourke's heavily effected bass wanders from anti-music thuds to an almost funky passage with Ambarchi sounding not unlike Buddy Miles circa Hendrix's Band of Gypsys -- it bespeaks the hours of listening to fusion and classic rock that continue to form an important part of O'Rourke and Ambarchi's musical personalities. The final piece is a continuous side-long performance that moves through a number of discrete episodes, from vocal and flute solos by Haino delicately accompanied by O'Rourke's sparse bass and Ambarchi's sizzling cymbals, to a final stumbling dirge over which Haino unleashes a stunning torrent of in-the-red guitar skree." --Francis Plagne; Design by Stephen O'Malley with high quality live shots by Ujin Matsuo and stunning artwork by Norwegian noise legend Lasse Marhaug.
Jim O'Rourke, Keiji Haino & Oren Ambarchi - (2017) This Dazzling, Genuine “Difference” Now Where Shall It Go? 2xLP
Medama Records – mr08
Oren Ambarchi’s Black Truffle label coughs up the eighth live document
of his nonpareil trio with the legendary Keiji Haino and Jim O’Rourke.
All considered, these guys are pretty much the tightest/loosest avant
instrumental group out there right now, blessed with a time-and-space
bending dexterity that allows them to fuse some half century of research
in free jazz, out rock and kosmiche electronics into blinding new
forms.
On the A-side they prowl like a pack of predatory animals hunting down a
noble but tired old prey, methodically and precisely attacking and
breaking down the lumbering body of rock music in an increasingly
ferocious whirlwind of fanged guitar slash and tearout percussion until
they’re bathing a strangely tranquil bloodbath. With the B-side they
lock into a martial distortion drill around Ambarchi’s steady, Wold-like
snares rolls and sky-collapsing harmonics with stoically unrelenting
force.
Side C brings the trio at their most abstract, moving from near silence,
perforated only by the shivering chimes of toy piano, spookily signing
into he ether where Haino exclaims in English from somewhere deep in the
unfathomable mix, and O’Rourke petrifies the air with ungodly, alien
EMS synth voices that speak to us in the uncanniest way. All change
again on Side D, as they broach the 4th wold thru some back door
entrance, scanning its undergrowth with Haino’s flute, vox and guitar
urged on by pouring tribal toms until hey lay waste to the scene with
pure guitar napalm.
Jim O'Rourke, Keiji Haino & Oren Ambarchi - (2014) ただ美しく溶けてしまいたいのに まだまだ満ち足りていないから まだ見えてないはずの ほうが愛おしく 思えてしまう = Only Wanting To Melt Beautifully Away Is It A Lack Of Contentment That Stirs Affection For Those Things Said To Be As Of Yet Unseen LP
Medama Records – mr05
"Begun as a one-off collaboration in 2009, the trio of Keiji Haino, Jim
O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi has now become a solid working group,
refining its craft through a series of annual concerts at Tokyo's
legendary SuperDeluxe. Much of their recorded work has focused on their
intense, ritualistic take on the rock power trio of electric guitar,
bass and drums. Presenting the entire first set of the trio's March 2013
concert at SuperDeluxe (the second set will follow on Black Truffle
later this year), Only Wanting to Melt Beautifully Away Is It a Lack of
Contentment That Stirs Affection for Those Things Said to Be as of Yet
Unseen is their fifth release and blows the instrumental palette wide
open for a single continuous piece focused on acoustic strings, synth,
flute and percussion. Featuring one of Haino's most delicate and moving
recorded vocal performances, the opening section of the record takes the
form of a spare duet between O'Rourke's 12-string acoustic guitar and
Haino's kantele (a Finnish variant of the dulcimer), behind which
Ambarchi provides a hovering backdrop of wine glass tones. While on
previous releases the listener has often sensed that Haino was firmly in
the driver's seat, here O'Rourke takes center stage with an acoustic
guitar performance that takes the lyricism of John Abercrombie or Ralph
Towner and refracts it through the free improvisation tradition of his
mentors Derek Bailey and Henry Kaiser. The atmosphere of meditative,
abstracted song is reminiscent of some of Haino's greatest recordings,
such as the legendary Live in the First Year of the Heisei volumes
recorded with Kan Mikami. After this stunningly beautiful opening
sequence, the performance moves organically through a number of
episodes, including a dramatic central passage in which Haino moves to
synth and drum machine, crafting a current of raw electricity that
unfurls slowly over the gently pulsing foundations of Ambarchi's cymbals
and builds to heights of manic intensity. When Haino later turns to
wooden flute, Ambarchi answers him with nimble hand-drummed percussion
in a passage that calls to mind Don Cherry's liberated combination of
free-jazz improvisation and non-Western musics. The trio's move away
from the power trio dynamic bespeaks a risk-taking and questing spirit
that refuses to be satisfied with repeating past glories, and yet the
organic, immersive flow of this single improvisation attests to the
intuitive bond that has formed between them over the last five years.
Exuding the signature mystery and emotion of Haino's greatest works,
this release is perhaps the strongest statement yet from this acclaimed
trio, and holds out a tantalizing promise for everyone hooked on their
continuing exploration of 'those things said to be as of yet unseen.'
Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, Oren Ambarchi - (2019) In the past only geniuses were capable of staging the perfect crime (also known as a revolution) Today anybody can accomplish their aims with the push of the button
Alongside showcasing the steady development of a unique language for the guitar-bass-drums power trio, the group’s succession of releases over the last decade has demonstrated a constant experimentation with new instruments, which continues here with O’Rourke use of Hammond organ (played at the same time as his roaming, sometimes knotty basslines). On the album’s second piece, the organ plays a key role, furnishing a harmonically rich shimmer over O’Rourke’s angular six-string bass chords, Haino’s distant, chirping electronics and Ambarchi’s crisp cymbal work; arriving somewhere halfway between Albert Marcoeur and Terje Rypdal, this piece is undoubtedly a highlight in the trio’s catalog so far.
The second and third sides are slow-burning, multi-part epics that range from spacious reflection to furious tumult. Where the trio’s previous double-LP set — This Dazzling, Genuine “Difference” Now Where Shall It Go? (BT 030LP, 2017) — was primarily instrumental in focus, here you find Haino’s voice taking the spotlight on the expansive third side, intoning, wailing. and exhorting in Japanese and English over a backdrop that moves from hushed bass and organ atmospherics to rolling toms and cymbal crashes before arriving at an ecstatic finale of searing guitar, tumbling drums and reverb-saturated bass. The fourth side returns to the hypnotic grooves of the opening piece, fixing on a relentless riff and riding it into oblivion under Haino’s roaming psychedelic soloing and jagged chordal slashes.
1. In the past only geniuses were capable of staging the perfect crime (also known as a revolution) Today anybody can accomplish their aims with the push of the button Part 1 (13:49)
2. Decorously decorously decorously decorously decorously Decorously decorously decorously decorously decorously To make something beautiful and then to smash it decorously (09:45)
3. Head-on collision If it still has bones it shall move forward (which is different to progress) (19:01)
4. In the past only geniuses were capable of staging the perfect crime (also known as a revolution) Today anybody can accomplish their aims with the push of the button Part 2 (17:53)
5. I always walk around with a "tranquil void" in my pocket one that I may pull out at any given moment (17:01)
Total length: 1:17:29
Jim O'Rourke - (2012) Old News #7 2xLP
Side One & Two recorded 96-97 Steamroom, Chicago
Side Three recorded live in Nagoya at Tokuzo April,2011.
Thanks to Carlos Giffoni
Side Four recorded 93-94.
Originally released on These Records. Thanks to Andrew & Howard Jacques
More archival works from Jim O’Rourke seeing the light of day.
‘Welcome To The Django’ is 2 sided mid 90s excursion of O’Roukes first exeperiments with a Serrge modular system.
‘Natural Born Killers’ is a recent live jam recorded in Nagoya.
‘Tacere Fas’ is legendary early 90s piece finally available again.
Orginally appearing on the compilation ‘Unentitled’ (THESE 011CD),
released by These Records in 1994.
Jim O'Rourke - (2020) Shutting Down Here
Portraits GRM – SPGRM 001
ReShutting Down Here is a special work. Symbolically, it covers a period of thirty years, between two visits by Jim O'Rourke to the GRM, the first, as a young man fascinated by the institution and his repertoire, the second, as an accomplished musician, influential and imbued with an aura of mystery. Shutting Down Here is a piece shaped like an universe, a heterogeneous world in which collides the multiple musical facets of Jim O'Rourke: instrumental writing, field recordings, electronic textures and cybernetic becomings, dynamic spaces, harmonic spaces, silent spans . This variety of approach, strangely, does not in any way weaken the coherence of the whole and this is the talent of Jim O'Rourke, a talent, properly speaking, of composition, where all the sound elements compete and participate to stakes that exceed them and of a common destiny, that is to say of an apparition.
Sote - (2020) Parallel Persia Remixes
Diagonal – DIAG057
Cutting edge innovators Rashad Becker and Mark Fell re-work material
from Sote’s extraordinary ‘Parallel Persia’ album alongside a killer
non-album track by Ata Ebtekar aka Sote himself. Highly recommended if
yr into the complex tunings and arrhythmic geometry of Dariush
Dolat-Shahi, Autechre, Xenakis...
Last year’s ‘Paralell Persia’ album took the trajectory of his preceding
‘Hardcore Sounds From Tehran’ (2016) and ‘Sacred Horror In Design’
(2017) to thrilling new heights for Diagonal. Turning traditional
instrumental music inside-out with computers and modular synths, he
arrived at a thrilling mix of sound that stood out as one of the year’s
most original and striking releases.
Wrapped around the incendiary core of ‘Artificial Neutrality’ which
features Pouya Damadi’s Tar and Arash Bolouri’s Santour sculpted into
fiery folk futurism by Sote, the remixes by celebrated mastering
engineer and improvising composer Rashad Becker and minimalist
rhythmatist Mark Fell exert incredible new spins on Sote’s originals
that remain faithful to the material in their inimitable styles.
Rashad Becker’s Dramatic Reenactment of ‘Pseudo Scholastic’ combs and
curdles the original into 7 segmented minutes of squirming tones and
melted rhythms that, through twists and turns, come to recall Korean
classical court music and Florian Hecker as much as they recall the
original.
Mark Fell, meanwhile, impresses with his quadruply extended 20 minute
Parallel Yorkshire mutation of ‘Modality Transporter’, where he unravels
its syncopated flex in endless permutations of laser-guided pulse
drops, puckered strings and choral stabs that come to sound like
Autechre letting off fireworks at a Dariush Dolat-Shahi show.
Celer + Forest Management - (2018) Landmarks
Constellation Tatsu – PURR 0089
Collaborating for the first time, Will Long and John Daniel combine their methods using tape machines, loops, and computers to score a reimagining of Peter Weir's film and Paul Theroux's novel "The Mosquito Coast". Sourcing inspiration from a view of the film and book as a historical pendulum, the musicians found that these reinterpretations left them nostalgic for a different time, something that's only partly imagined, and without the defined predictions about the life cycles of mass culture based on our limited understanding of current events.
Shira Legmann, Michael Pisaro - (2019) Barricades
Elsewhere – elsewhere 009
This album contains LA-based composer Michael Pisaro's recent
composition 'Barricades,' a 63-minute piece for piano and electronics.
Consisting of thirteen studies (piano pieces, some with electronics) and
two electronic interludes, the piece is performed by Israel-based
pianist Shira Legmann, with Pisaro on electronics.
"Barricades has a distant but decisive relationship to the keyboard
music of Louis and François Couperin. The title refers to 'Les
Barricades Mystérieuses' by François Couperin – and to the technique of
overlapping, interlocking voices, creating a thicket or web-like
texture. I have loved the music of the Couperins since college, but it
was when Shira sent me some of her favorite music to play, and 'Les
Barricades Mystérieuses' was among the scores, that the idea for this
piece began to crystallize. The process of writing and working on the
piece with Shira was one of watching the barricades, which I pictured as
a network of twisted vines, unravel." (Michael Pisaro)
Legmann's clean, supple yet solid piano sounds, employing a wide dynamic
range, add a sense of organic life to the composition. Her whispery
nuances and mysterious atmosphere, intertwining with Pisaro's underlying
sine tones, create a compelling balance between coolness and emotion,
distance and closeness, and result in a tranquil yet captivating
contemporary work with an echo of the French Baroque.
Long Distance Poison - (2020) Technical Mentality CS
Hausu Mountain – HAUSMO 101
Operating as Long Distance Poison, Nathan Cearley and Erica Bradbury
manipulate modular and analogue synths into sustained drone explorations
lasting just a few ticks shy of 20 minutes per track. Steadily
releasing albums since the 2010s, Long Distance Poison combine a
post-rock ethos with ambient drones and sequenced algorithms.
Technical Mentality is an affirmation of much of their previous work.
The tracks manoeuvre from glassy sci-fi soundscapes to gritty machine
electronics, all designed to suck out any free quiet space from our
consciousness. Fans of ambient drone will appreciate the mostly
relentless atonal forms that are subtly interrupted by harmonic
complements.
In particular, "Sunset In a Server" simulates the inner workings of the
machines that seemingly run our lives. The track finishes with a
crescendo of harmonic content and sustained bell notes, only to return
to the gloomy hum of electronic rpms.
Technical Mentality unfolds like a live improvisational performance. For
the most part, the textures happily guzzle up frequencies, but remain
fairly pleasant to the ear. There are a few moments where the longevity
and amplitude of the notes seem almost unbearable, but noise and drone
fans might just be looking for that kind of cerebral assault.