this is Bart Knol’s, aka Bartois, first solo piano album. Appropriately titled Solo Piano, it is somewhat sparse and slow, slightly minimalist, highly melodic and quite beautiful. The 13 tracks begs you to relax and just listen. This is the type of album to which I can only say; download, listen, and let it speak to you. Nothing else needs to be said.
The Orchestra Eclettica e Sincretists (E.O.S.) is an international ensemble/collective of musicians who make experimental music. On this album titled Moondoggin’, the members take a single composition, “Love Song”, by the legendary and eccentric American composer Moondog and creates ten quite different versions of the same song. There are vocal and instrumental executions, samples and remixes contributed by Hidekazu Wakabayashi, Harold Nono, Roberto Corsini, Marco Lucchi, Giampaolo Violi, Antonio de Braga, Cometa, Eerohz, Massimo Croce, iN2Ni, Jean Montag and Steve Layton. The compositions uses vocal and instrumental performances but are also sampled, remixed and are creatively “played with” to create unique interpretations. While each track is spearheaded by one performer, the general director of E.O.S. is Marco Lucchi. This is a beautiful album that I play over and over and never get tired of. It is brought to you by Webbed Hand Records.
Spanish composer Jose Travieso has an eclectic style that includes minimalism, neo-classical and jazz elements. He even has a metal project which I will explore in a later post. For now, we can feast on seven of his compositional albums. Here is a list of the albums with the composer’s descriptions.
No More Faith: “a mix of neo-classicism, post-minimalism and avant-garde showed along a collection of pieces for different chamber ensembles, since flute + harp until eight different instruments.”
Tunguska: “String quartet in three movements inspired in the mysterious Tunguska event.”
De Luces y de Sombres: “Romantic and nostalgic suite for solo piano divided in six movements and written with an important improvisational component.”
Tres Pieza para Oidos Dustuinctas: “EP collecting three recordings for piano revising very different styles: jazz-fusion and avant-garde (Jazz en Clave Mínimo-Andalusí), romanticism (Raymond Blue) and minimalist music (Música para 18 Pasos y 2 Pianos Desfasados).”
Musica para una Guitarra sin Voz: ” Complete recordings for piano written for the Hipnotica project, a jazz-fusion duo for guitar and piano that José Travieso founded with the guitarist José Luis Cabeza.”
Huvia de Mayo: “two unreleased pieces, one for piano and with a romantic style (Lluvia de Mayo) and another one (El Juego de las Atracciones) for several instruments and a minimalist and sporadic nature.”
Ensayos Sobre Musica Esporadica: “Avant-garde stuff, mixing crazy jazz with more crazy minimalism and experimentation.”
All of Travieso’s freely released music can be found on his music page. Enjoy!
Download
No More Faith
Tunguska
De Luces y de Sombras
Tres Pieza para Oidos Distinctas
Musica para una Guitarra sin Voz
Huvia de Mayo
Ensayos Sobre Musica Esporadica
The cover for Aaron Siegel’s three part composition, Preparing The Past is highly appropriate to the sound of the music. While classifiable as drone music or minimalism, the work played by four-hand piano, two vibraphones and two glockenspiels is more like the effect of watery ripples or waves. There is a light sense of fog in this music and it is best heard in a relaxed state with little distractions. One other composition has been previously featured on this site and it is evident that the composer has a propensity for meditative minimalist music. Those interested in post-classical modern composition should enjoy this.
Hox Vox is from Venice, Italy. He is a composer of complex electronic compositions that can be vaguely categorized as progressive rock but chiefly defies musical classification. The eight albums featured here can also be found on his Jamendo page and they are interesting conceptual efforts that will keep you entranced.
The Dada EP is a sort of an electronica symphonic suite titled after artists of the Dada art movement. The four tracks, while certainly experimental, are quite accessible to the ear. A very enjoying short album.
The Wanderer is a bit more hectic. It is an aural journey of a killer looking for its victim. While you might not like the premise, the soundtrack is exhilarating, especially the Latin-jazz “La Posada de Joaquín Ortega” and the three minutes of manic energy titled “Gotcha”.
Hox Vox labels Mjolnir as “avantprog”. It is a series of musical portraits of the Norse gods.
Hurry Up Harry Part 1 is also a bit manic. It appears to be a sort of musical travelogue of a rebellious character named Harry. There is plenty of funk, urban breakbeats and trip hop for the intrepid listener. There doesn’t appear to be a part 2.
The artist describes Etoulie as a “concept album about stars - both intended as prima ballerinas and celestial bodies - and their issues.” there are elements of math rock, avant rock, and neo-classical all rolled together. While this is not my favorite of the albums, it is certainly one of the more involving and unpredictable.
“Das Chamäleon” is a short EP of 18 minutes duration. There no real concept here but these five tracks are quite good and gives the listener a good idea of the eclecticism of Hox Vox.
Outskirt is a geographic journey ranging from Reidsville, N.C. to Antares. It’s a bit spacey in part with a rock fusion center.
Finally Eight-Bit Deboned looks to be the earliest of the albums. It’s a bit lo-tech but it is really interesting to see what Hox Vox can do with lo-tech.
As mentioned, you can find all of these album on Jamendo. Just follow the links below.
Download
Dada EP
The Wanderer
Mjollnir
Hurry Up Harry Part 1
Etoile
Das Chamaleon
Outskirt
Eight-Bit Deboned
The interaction between vocalist Agnes Heginger and electronic sound artist Karlheinz Essl can be called haunting, beautiful and slightly ethereal. Heginger’s voice reminds me a little of Meredith Monk with post-modern Joan LaBarbara sensibilities. The album Out of Blue is a four track excursion into minimalist improvisation. I especially like the almost spiritual chanting of “Action Riteulle: Duo”. This is a exceptional album for those who want something on the experimental but still calming side. Out of Blue is available onXS Records as a free and legal download which you can get at the Internet Archive from the link below.
Cooper-Moore is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer. He originally started as a jazz pianist but now creates his own instruments and plays outside the boundaries of any one genre. Recently he placed a three volume retrospective of his previously unreleased music from 1990 to 2010 on the Free Music Archive. The works range from solo pieces (”The Forest” and “In The Morning”) to vocal experiments (”I Know How”) to experimental suites ( “Anyone Seen Marie Laveau”). I like the artist best on his compositions for piano. Set three includes three exceptional duos with Cooper-Moore on flute and Clayton Thomas on bass. Overall, A Retrospective 1990-2010 is a fine introduction to this amazing musician.
While you are at WFMU’s Free Music Archive, you can also find two live performances by Cooper-Moore. CM Live at the Brecht Forum 11-7-2009 is an over 30 minute exploration with the artist on many of his unique instruments. There is also a improvisational duo track with Elliott Sharp. CM Live at the Issue Project 9-8-08 is actually a performance of his composition “Music: Old and New Paths” which is played on his homemade instruments. the 39 minute duration gives you an excellent look at the totality of the artist’s talents.
As mentioned, all three albums are housed at the Free Music Archive. They are freely and legally available in MP3 format through Creative Commons licensing.
Download
A Retrospective 1990-2010 Set 1
A Retrospective 1990-2010 Set 2
A Retrospective 1990-2010 Set 3
CM Live at the Brecht Forum 11-7-2009
CM Live at Issue Project 9-8-08
Haunting, beautiful, and distinctly modern is Garth Knox’s solo viola effort titled Viola D’Amour. It is another excellent release from the unique SHSK’H net label which is always good for top quality post-classical music . Knox explores the outer boundary of his instrument and keeps the listener both in wonder of what he will do next. The album has both structured compositions and improvisations although it is a challenge to identify which is which. However the virtuosity of the artist is unquestioned and this is a good bet for those who enjoy classical, modern compositions or simply interesting music.
Download (click on “Vol. 5)
Aaron Spiegel’s experimental compositions combine instrumentals, performers and sometimes even the audience into musical works that question the relationships of the three components. His compositions have the minimalist base of Philip Glass and Steve Reich yet adds the performance art sensibilities of Laurie Anderson. The Free Music Archive has a free and legal performance of his work titled Science is Only a Sometimes Friend which is written for eight glockenspiels and organ. Thew original public performance , which can be heard here, was for eight glockenspiels and public performers. The composer say this about the work on his web site…
Science is Only a Sometimes Friend was originally conceived as outdoor performance piece for eight glockenspiels and public performers. This version of the piece is inspired by the challenge of creating a specific sonic environment with live performers and, at the same time, inviting casual observers to contribute sounds of their own. The glockenspiels pulse together in steady time throughout the hour-long performance as individual pitches enter and exit the thick texture, like characters walking on and off a stark geometric stage.
The constant chiming of the glockenspiels creates a halo of harmonic activity around the performers that shifts depending upon the location of the listener. This mysterious whistle is anticipated, yet oddly vague, sometimes more present and other times hidden. The piece tests the science of attention and the counterpoint of daydreams.
…The downloadable 45 minute work that is available below with glockenspiels and organ is the concert version that was performed live on Dec. 15, 2009 at The Issue Project Room. It is available in 256kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artist by buying his albums.
Custer and Sitting Bull is the most interesting work to me. It is a solo work and makes ample use of both Native American music and microtones. The narrative is by the composer.
Sunken City is a concerto for piano and winds and was written in memory of the Katrina disaster in New Orleans. There is some nice use of New Orleans jazz coupled with an atmospheric dissonance in the later parts. It is performed by the Orkest de Volharding at De Doelen with Jussi Jaatinen conducting. Geoffrey Douglas Madge is the pianist.
Transcendental Sonnets is written for chorus, two soloists and orchestra. The 35 minute piece is based on the poetry of Jones Very (1813-1880), a protege of Ralph Waldo Emerson. This recording is of the October 19, 2002, premiere by the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and Orchestra conducted by Eric Stark. The soloists are Kathleen Hacker and Christopher Paul Aspaas. It is a monumental work of beauty.
Last Chance Sonatan is a sonata for clarinet and piano. It is Gann’s farewell to the 20th century. It feels very much like Hindemith to me , perhaps even Barber?.
I’itoi Variations is a work for two pianos and , if the author’s description is to believed, has influences from Beethoven, Brahms, Busoni and The Papago Indians. Did I mention that the author is eclectic?
There are a lot of other works on his page but this will give you more than a good start. The files are in 160kbps MP3.
Windowbox Ensemble’s sparse original compositions resemble classical chamber music. While listening to these tracks, I am reminded of Satie and Faure with a late 20th century post-modernist bent. These compositions may sound deceptively simple yet repeated listening brings out complex layers and nuances. Acoustic and piano oriented, the six tracks have a otherworldly appeal that I find fascinating. Will of The Wood is a bit short at its 20 minutes duration but it keeps my interest after several listens and continues to enthrall me. Highly recommended.
The album is from the Clinical Archives and is available in 320kbps MP3.
When the words “experiment” and “music” are used together I usually know what to expect. An experiment is just that, an attempt at something in which the actual results are not totally known. It may be interesting, even groundbreaking, or it may be a failure. Australian avant-garde violinist Jon Rose loves to experiment. His album Fringe Benefits is a two disc, 29 tracks collection of experiments from 1977 to 1988 ranging from brilliant to “WTF!”. Fortunately for the listener, very few of these tracks can be called boring.
The tracks tend to fall into not-so-well-defined areas. Many of them are played on prepared instruments such as a 19 stringed violin or complex installations involving violins and other apparatus. Others can be loosely called field recordings but are essentially duets with nature. A couple of the more interesting are “Cattle Train and Violin” or “Fly trapped in violin”. I was especially amused with “Chinese 1:4 violin with 50 feeding parrots”. Some tracks are more conventional, as if that word can be used regarding the eccentricities of this artist. One cut, “The Relative Band 1984″ involves Rose’s continuing collaboration with other like minded improvising musicians. The string trio might actually be considered a conventional composition at least by post-classical standards. Finally I enjoyed Rose’s rendition of Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” reminding me of the tongue-in-cheek “America Drinks and Goes Home” by Frank Zappa. Rose shows some good jazz chops but Ray Nance and Stuff Smith need not be worried. Overall, this large collection will bewilder some and dismay others but hopefully some will be fascinated by the wide range of ideas that are explored in this avant-garde retrospective.
The lute is not exactly the first instrument I think of when someone says “avant-garde” or “contemporary music”. Yet Jozef Van Wissem uses his lute virtuosity to create exactly that. His compositions are clearly minimalist with the use of musical palindromes or mirror structures rather than precise compositional forms. Hearing a Jozef van Wissem compositions is a hypnotic trip down a rabbit hole. I think it is safe to say that most people have never heard the Renaissance minded lute in such a modern yet beautiful way.
A Priori is freely available through Ubuweb and is an excellent introduction to the the composer and lute virtuoso’s odd and quiet world. Very accessible yet very meditative, these tracks lulls you into a calm. Yet this is not casual listening but the kind that pulls you into the structure and gives rewards with every listen. While Van Wissem does work with electronics on some albums this is a pure acoustic effort and, in my opinion, the best way to experience his music.
The album is available in 192kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artist by buying his CDs.
At slightly more than 10 minutes, this recorded performance by soprano Jody Pou is shorter than I usually allow for posting. However, the song cycle Lettres a des amies-enfants is an extraordinary piece of music. The music is composed by Igor Ballereau and is based on letters to young girls by British writer Lewis Carroll who is best known for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The five songs are arranged for voice, flute, clarinet, violin, viola and cello. They are post-modern miniatures that exude a delicate balance between innocence, love and melancholy.
The work is available through the permission of Ballereau and Pou from The Free Music Archive. It is in 256kbps MP3 format.
Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Aus den Sieben Tagen is a large composition of fifteen pieces. Rarely played, it asks the performers to improvise under rigid written direction from the composer. Supposedly the direction for the last section reads “Play, you do not need me anymore, everything you will do from now on will be right and good.” It is music that Stockhausen described as being from the performer’s intuition rather than his intellect. Certainly, it is an unusual piece even from a seminal 20th century composer who remained ahead of his time.
Le Car de Thon is a large contemporary music ensemble from Switzerland and is exactly the type of artists that would take on a monumental work like this. They have been playing and recording the fifteen pieces for quite a while and collected their four favorite performances, mostly from a concert in 2008, on this free and legal album Nos Meillurs Stockhausen from the Insubordination netlabel. I listened to this album from beginning to end in one sitting and to say it is mind altering is an understatement. It is truly a masterpiece of contemporary music and my only regret is that the do not have the other eleven pieces of music from this work to listen to. This is one of the best online albums of contemporary music on the internet.
The album is available in 320kbps MP3.
Iranian-American composer and instrumentalist Dariush Dolat-shahi is adept at both contemporary electronic music and traditional Persian music. He is also a master at the tar and setar, which are Persian stringed instruments related to the lute. His five compositions on the album Electronic Music, Tar and Setar, released in 1985 and now offered as a free download from Ubuweb, is a fascinating amalgamation of both the contemporary and the traditional. The pieces are surprisingly percussive and somewhat minimalist yet has a strong folk influence that will appeal to many. I especially recommend a listen to “Sama” which I think brings the contemporary and traditional together in a most appealing way. Those interested in the setar can hear an exceptional performance of the instrument on “Shabistan”. This is an interesting album that will appeal to those who wish to widen their listening experience.
Another album titled Otashgah is available. It was released in 1986 and is a more modern work with little sign of the traditional. It appears by my ears to be written for an ensemble that include some acoustic instruments but is primarily electronic. It is an atmospheric piece that easily keeps your interest for its 35 minutes. Both albums offer a look at the two sides of an unique instrumentalist and composer deserving of more attention.
Both albums are available in 192kbps MP3.
While I enjoy exposing the unwitting public to experimental music, I occasionally get strange e-mail that basically states “”WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?”. I understand that music created solely from rubber bands or chaos may not be some people’s idea of the perfect concert. However I often find this extreme music quite intellectually challenging and even entertaining. Experimental music opens the ears and minds.
I said all that just to say this. Not all experimental music need to “hurt the ears” as one perplexed person stated, or even challenge your limits. Take the Italian music collective Zero Gravity Toilet as an example. ZGT is certainly experimenting but their sound is quite melodic and easy on the ears. It also is flooded with imaginative ideas, odd time signatures and other things that tells you this is no ordinary band. The three “Toilet Jams” (I’m sure the pun was intended) are the best examples of this casual improvisatory journey. Actually I’m not really sure how much is improvised and how much is structured which I consider a compliment for this type of music. This is not easily classifiable music borrowing from rock, jazz, and even the avant-garde (see Toilet Jam #3) yet there are very few “fillers” and very little waste (pun is intended). “Morning Comes” is the track that I tend to play over and over. If there is any minor complaint it is that I find some of the playing and especially the vocals a bit tentative at moments but this may just attest to the exploratory style. Overall the musicianship is strong and creative.
Antidotes for imaginary Friends is available from Jamendo in VBR MP3 format.
Composer Inna Breeze’s composition titled Stairway To Heaven is unusual in that it is one of the very few, if not the only, symphonic work to be released on an internet record label. The symphonic poem, which has no connection to the Led Zeppelin song, was performed in 2008 at the Moscow Composers Centre by The Russian Philharmonia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sergey Kondrashev. The soloist on pipe organ is Tatyana Karamysheva. It is a lush work that should please all ears. Inna Astakhova aka Inna Breeze, unlike many modern composers, has eschewed cacophony for “beautiful melody, positive mood and lack of internal conflicts”. Her focus appears to be in awakening the soul of the listener. In this sense, her music could be called new age. Whatever it is classified the artist has a distinct talent in orchestration and a knack for creating a sense of spirituality out of an array of sounds. This is an interesting and beautiful composition.
Stairway to Heaven is available from the Top-40 net label in 160kbps MP3.
Guitarist John Ellis appears to have been around a while having recorded with name artists like Peter Gabriel and The Stranglers. Yet this 23 minutes of instrumental solo compositions has a sound that doesn’t sound much like rock or punk. Ellis calls it a “Car crash of guitar and electronic” yet it is more like rush hour on the L.A. interchange. There is a sense of urgency and tension in most of these tracks that does not let up but the melodies are well executed. “Stuttergun” has an interesting mixture of disco and post-punk. “Pedalo” is a parade of musical desperation that threatens to fall apart but never does. All the tracks, except for the carousel sounding “Fall Down Screaming”, has a lot of this tension. However it is made palatable by distinct melodies and clever arrangements. This is a worthwhile listen for those who like tight but different instrumental music.
Map of Limbo is available from Clinical Archives in 320kbps MP3.
American poet and composer Jackson Mac Low is best know for his readings that incorporated systematic chance operations and random elements, a method uninfluenced by musicians like John Cage. He often collaborated with colleague and partner Anne Tardos. These three albums, all offered by Ubu and posted with permission from Tardos and the Mac Low estate, give a fascinating perspective on his life work.
Doings is a good place to start. The performance pieces on this album falls into three categories; spoken works, instrumental works, and compositions that involve both voice and instruments. The opening excerpt from “Merxmix 2000″ is a nice introduction to the artist’s use of fragmented speech. It is followed by a short but pleasant flute quartet. The album offers both Mac Low’s solo compositions and those performed in collaboration with Anne Tardos. The artists’ spoken works are certainly odd. They are often electronically altered and have a “word association” quality. “Free Gatha 1 and Free gatha 2″ is a nice example of Mac Low and Tardos performing together.
Music by Jackson Mac Low and Anne Tardos is a live performance from November of 1999. Besides the voices of Mac Low and Tardos, the performance features Andrew Bolotowsky on flutes, soprano Mary Hurlbut, and Violinist Theresa Salomon. There are three collaborative works by the composers and one solo composition by Tardos. These are long pieces with the shortest one being slightly over ten minutes. It makes for involved and fascinating listening. This album also gives you a good look at Anne Tardos’ talent especially on her piece “Three Cycles”.
Finally, Open Secrets has some repeat tracks from Doings but over-all it is a better perspective of the composer’s output. Again Tardos plays a significant role and the tracks are fairly evenly divided among multi-track vocal pieces and instrumental chamber works. I especially like “Lucas i to 29″ and “Wind/Instruments”. Jackson Mac Low and Anne Tardos are new artists to me but these three album makes a good case for viewing these experimental musicians as important to the contemporary music scene in the last part of the 20st century.
The three albums are available in 128kbps MP3. if you enjoy the music and poetry, you might want to check out the books and CDs that are available to purchase from the estate’s web site.
Download
Doings: Assorted Performances Pieces
Open Secrets
Music by Jackson Mac Low and Anne Tardos
The Voices of Paul Bowles is a very unusual entry in the Tellus audio-cassette series of the 1980s. Born in 1910, Paul Bowles was an American composer and author. He composed film scores and incidental music until the age of 40, then redirected his rather prodigious talent to writing innovative fiction until his death in 1999. I have loved Bowles’ short fiction for quite a while but did not realize he was also a composer. This 56 minutes album of stories written and narrated by the author, plus brief examples of his musical compositions, is the perfect introduction to this important literary figure. I especially recommend listening to the short story “Allal” which, like much of his work, is an eerie psychological allegory. There are two brief instrumental compositions by Bowles. The other musical tracks are field recordings of Moroccan musicians collected by Bowles in 1959. This audio project for Tellus is one the best in the series and is clearly a labor of love.
The album is available in 192kbps MP3.
One of the most delightful aspects of running this blog is finding out about under-rated composers that would never enter my radar if not for a few individuals who champion their cause. In the past two years I’ve featured reviews of web sites that introduced such talented but over-looked 20th century composers like E. J. Moran and Alexander L. Lokshin. Another name to add to this list is Robert Linn, an American composer who taught at the University of Southern California and created a significant body of work that, in my opinion, stands up to the best in American contemporary music.
I find his works to be in the American tradition of Ives and Barber. It is usually tonal but not afraid at times to press the limit. Most will find this music to be on the conservative side for later 20th century music. Some of his music is witty and fun like the “Antipasto for Clarinet and Violin”and the Baroque pastishe “Interventions for Oboe, Violin, Viola, and Cello”. In fact , he seems to have a strong liking for Baroque and medieval music which influences many of these pieces. Full-bodied “serious” orchestral works also abound in his concertos and “Sinfonia for String Orchestra” . Fifteen CDs, which represent the totality of his output, are available for purchase at his web site but they are also available as free and legal mp3 downloads. The fifteen albums are sorted by types of compositions and titled as such:
Chamber Music, String Instruments
Chamber Music, Wind Instruments (3 CDs)
Chamber Music, Winds and Strings Together (3 CDs)
Music for Solo Piano / Film Score
Vocal Music (2 CDs)
Orchestral Music (3 CDs)
Symphonic Winds (2 CDs)
I am partial to the chamber music albums but that just reflects my bias for small intimate ensembles. It is good to see so much music available from an obscure but immensely talented composer and I appreciate the care and attention that his friends and relatives has taken to see that he is not forgotten.
The albums are available in VBR MP3 at less than 128kbps MP3. Of course, I would have preferred a higher bitrate but this is one of those times you should not let that deter you from this fascinating music. If you like the music, you can purchase the higher quality sound CDs individually or as a set.
Russian keyboardist and composer Anton Batagov is clearly influenced by the minimalist school of post-modern music but he has a highly individual style that borrows from several genres. His album Passionate Desire To Be an Angel has been released as a free and legal online album by the Electrosound net label and has four tracks of intense and emotional music. All of the four compositions are impressive but the first two, “Can You Feel The Rhythm?” and “Conjunctio” are simpl;y stunning. “Rhythm” start with electric guitarist Theophrastus belting out a punk riff that is soon overlapped by Batagov’s ascending piano lines. By the time trombone,. vibraharp and a soulful vocal emerges you have a mesmerizing mixture of modern classical, rock and soul. “Conjunctio” is a 28 minutes piano and organ piece that is very reminiscent of Terry Riley’s keyboard work and, like Riley, is influenced by Buddhist chants and philosophy. The other two tracks are also exceptional works of post-modern minimalism. “Opus Alchymicum” has a somewhat grand melody in which Batagov’s treatment teeters between Phillip Glass and Vangelis. I don’t know why but every time I hear it I think “Chariots of Fire”. “Umbra Solis” has spiritual overtones in its use of organ and chorale. Throughout the album guitarist Theophrastus and vibraphonist Peteris Shuniatis add excellent assistance. This is an unique and inspiring album.
Passionate Desire To Be an Angel is available in 320kbps MP3
No longer available
Joseph Nechvatel is a digital artist who creates computer-assisted paintings that are often formulated from specially designed computer viruses. You can view a number of his visual works on his web site. He also occasionally delves into the audio realm using a similar process. Ubuweb, with the permission of the artist, has two of his audio works freely available; Viral SymphOny and Murmuring tOngue Of Ovidwhich is described as the “second movement” of the viral symphony.
Viral SymphOny like “Ovid” is derived from the custom-made viruses that he uses to create his paintings. Mathew Underwood and Andrew Deutsch reworked and reprocessed these viruses to create these sound sculptures. Murmuring tOngue Of Ovid is derived from source materials of a 1985 reading of Ovid’s poem Metamorphosis by Jane Smith. Frankly, the entire process eludes my understanding so I am left with simply hearing the final results which is a haunting and mesmerizing collection of sounds weaving in and out of themselves. How much is random and how much is controlled is uncertain but the works do have a distinctly structured sound to it. These are audio compositions that lend themselves to attentive listening in a quiet environment so you can relish all the subtleties and nuances.
The two pieces are available in 160kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artist by buying the CD with an extra 50 minutes of audio and field recordings at CDeMusic.
Tellus was a bimonthly audiocassette “magazine” devoted to promoting new and experimental music. It was published from 1983 to 1992 and featured many of the most innovative artists in music, spoken word, and performance arts. Ubuweb has almost all 27 issues available as free downloads. Much of this music has rarely been heard while some tracks have been accepted as seminal works in this post-modern era. I will be featuring many of these albums through the year and I will start with the first two issues of this important “publication”.
Tellus 1, as with the second issue, spotlights artists and musicians from the New York area. For an album that promotes the avant-garde, the music is surprisingly diverse. It starts with a funky soul-jazz number by no-wave guitarist Jody Harris. However it isn’t too long before Sonic Youth shows their more extreme side on the live “Scream” while contemporaries Live Skull and Rat-at-Rat-R play a more typical version of Noise Rock. Brenda Hutchinson contributes a classic work of vocal manipulation in “Wordplay”. Joseph Nechvatal represents the state-of-the arts in the 80s electronic music scene with “Ego Masher” and Rhys Chatham, a regular contributor to this series, plays minimalist guitar music on “Guitar Trio” which is reminiscent of the work of Glenn Branca who can also be heard on this track. The other works are quite interesting if not always successful.
Tellus 2 continues this look at the music scene in New York of the 1980s. The Scene is Now’s “Bugged Out, Wigged Out” may be your only chance to hear avant-garde jug band music. Tony Papa’s “Water Works” is a clever and amusing mixture of moisture and melody. Spoken word is well represented by Mitch Corber’s “Budge, Budge, Budge The Budget” and Cardboard Air band’s “Little Rabbit”. Other favorites include David Garlans “No More Misty Night”, the hip hopish “2-4-7-9-11″ by John Fekner, and Dr. Telecom’s electro-funk “Phone is My Clone”. The rest of the tracks range from entertaining to incomphrensible.
The albums are available in separate tracks at 192 MP3. If you like these two issues of Tellus, make sure you check out the rest.
