ONE SOUND EACH DAY: AUGUST 29 + 30 August 31, 2009
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AUGUST 29
Suffield, CT, around 5pm
small rattles made of seeds and gourds that were leftover from our teenage years at my parents house.
AUGUST 30
Suffield, CT, 11am
an old “electronic message taker” from the 80’s that had some talking on it left by my nieces at some point in the last few years. great static textures mixed in the broken voices. in the background my son plays with a slide whistle
VITAL WEEKLY REVIEWS “SOLO ANDATA” August 29, 2009
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SOLO ANDATA – SOLO ANDATA (CD by 12K)
Does anyone reminder the series ‘Heavenly Voices’, compilations by Germany’s Hyperium? Mid to late 90s, this series had a whole bunch of humming and chanting female voices, set in electronic and gothic music. Half way through ‘Ablation’, the opening piece on Solo Andata’s third album ‘Solo Andata’ (which means ‘one way’ in Italian), there is all of a sudden such a humming choir of voices. Or perhaps a digital keyboard? I am now sure, but the press text talks about the almost absence use of electronics and the use of acoustic guitar, piano, cello and ‘natural resonances of organic materials’. I can see the two members of Solo Andata, Paul Fiocco and Kane Ikin, humming in a tunnel, picking up the resonances of the voices and placing this back into the music they create at home. Its absolutely great that 12K notes this thing about all of this being acoustic, because I could have easily believed something else: computers, electronics, field recordings and such like. Its quite nice to hear this all acoustic music that sounds (almost) all electronic. This one shows that it is possible to change the station when it comes to microsound. Perhaps the outcome is close to other music (that thing about heavenly voices was merely a side remark to get the review started; it has nothing to do with that kind of music), modern classic music perhaps, chamber music or ambient, and thus builds on a tradition, deepens that tradition further. Rich textured music. Great stuff. (FdW)
Address: http://www12k.com
OTHER MUSIC REVIEWS “TRANSCRIPTIONS” August 29, 2009
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Stephan Mathieu bombarded ’08’s year-end lists with Radioland, and I wouldn’t be the least surprised to see this excellent collaboration with Taylor Deupree topping quite a few ’09 lists as well. In the recent mire of mediocre drone records, Transcriptions is too good to be true. So good, in fact, that it neatly demonstrates how the depth of modern classical composition is broadening the potential and setting the bar for ambient musicians. Mathieu’s approach in affecting sound from wax cylinders and 78s provides a warm, crackling, and enveloping depth at the foundation of this collaboration, and Deupree’s acoustic ambient work jumps off the charts the way John Butcher’s compositions defy the ear to distinguish between electronic and acoustic. Originally, this was going to be a solo Mathieu recording on Deupree’s 12k label but luckily for us, these two preeminent electronic artists organically melded their sounds in an utterly engrossing feat of composition. Transcriptions embeds tactile noise deeply within each track, giving the record a hospitable familiarity in an otherwise alien soundscape. The album establishes momentum through motifs of shimmering and oscillating high end and drones that leap and undulate like threads weaving together a dense and comfortable atmosphere. Not a dull moment passes as the scope of the entire record is enthralling. Highly recommended! [BCa] (Released 2009)
ONE SOUND EACH DAY: AUGUST 23-28 August 29, 2009
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AUGUST 23
Pound Ridge, NY, 11pm
tapping the side of our water heater.
AUGUST 24
Pound Ridge, NY, 11:16pm
looping and ebowed acoustic guitar.
AUGUST 25
Pound Ridge, NY, late morning
more Eventide Eclipse noodlings. ukelele, outdoor microphone noises and various sound bits.
AUGUST 26
Pound Ridge, NY, 7:26am
various percussions looped through the Eclipse. mostly two bells i had picked up in Santa Fe the other week. this loop is nice, sort of watery. reminds me of an ocean late at night, perhaps on the deck of a boat, masts and ties squeaking to the sway of the waves.
AUGUST 27
Pound Ridge, NY, 4:10pm
ukelele noodle, scraping the strings….
AUGUST 28
Pound Ridge, NY, noonish
walking down the driveway to check the mail, carrying the larger of the two Santa Fe bells. a pleasant rain is falling.
PILLOWDIVER PROFILE ON TEXTURA August 27, 2009
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http://www.textura.org/reviews/sixstring_alchemists.htm#pillowdiver
Birth Name: René E. Margraff
Currently Located: Berlin (Neukölln)
Background: Born in 1975, currently living and working in Berlin
Personal Style, Philosophy, or Approach: I am not sure how to answer the question about my personal style. I guess you can call it drone, experimental guitar music, or whatever. The main sound source of my music is the guitar. This allows me the biggest variety of sounds. I also love the directness of the guitar, as opposed to pressing a key on a midi-controller or even a synth. The light touch of a string or the wonderful world of noises picked up/created by the guitar keep me fascinated. It is definitely the easiest tool with which to express myself although virtuosity never rang my door. Pillowdiver started with the idea to focus on the guitar in my music, but not in a restrictive way. However I am not interested in overloading my tracks and always try to find the essence in simple motifs. If a note does not add anything, don’t play it. Or to cite one of my heroes, Mark Hollis: “Before you play two notes, learn how to play one note—and don’t play one note unless you’ve got a reason to play it.”
Gear and Working Methods: a Fender Jazzmaster (62 RW, made in Japan), some hardware loopers (EHX 2880, Line 6 DL4), some effect pedals, fed into an old Line 6 Pod and/or a small Fender Tube Amp. Sometimes recorded directly into Ableton Live, processed further with delay, reverb, and distortion plug-ins or recorded onto some old Fostex cassette 4-track. There is no rule and no fixed work flow.
Influenced By: I am not so sure if I am influenced by other guitarists. I would rather get stopped by my non-virtuosity.
Favourite Guitarists: Lee Renaldo, Michael Karoli, Ash Bowie, some amazing Marks: Mark Hollis, Mark Clifford, Mark Nelson, Charles Bullen, Ian Crause, Kevin Shields…
Desert Island albums:
1. Seefeel’s Quique, because it combines lots of things I love and does not show its age at
all…
2. Ben Frost’s Theory of Machines, because of its great balance of noise and
melancholy/darkness
3. Belong’s October Language, because it still sends shivers down my spine and creates a
fuzzy wall of sound
4. Dinosaur Jr.’s You’re living all over me, because of the energy and the angst; J. Mascis
is the only guy who I can stand playing a Wah-Wah pedal
5. Sonic Youth’s Evol, because it is their best record, a more stripped-down sound and
beautiful harmonies
6. Hood’s silent 88, because I grew up on this.
7. Autechre’s LP5, because they know how to impress me with complexity…
8. New Order’s Ceremony seven-inch, my favourite song ever…
Dream Collaborator: Lee Renaldo!
Life-Changing Concert Experience: Polvo in 1993, because of the amazing tunings and energy on stage; Long Fin Killie, sometime in 1996, because of their tightness; Ben Frost in 2008 as he knows how to translate his music into a live gig.
Proudest Accomplishment: Regarding my life as a recording artist the answer is clear: releasing on 12k
Take on Experimental Music in its Current Form: I listen to lots of current releases; however, it is usually not more than five records a year that become long-time favourites. I cannot say if experimental music has become better or worse…
Currently Promoting / Latest release:
Sleeping Pills on 12k
Tony on a bike on Under the Spire (later this year)
Currently Working On: Currently I am breaking my head over a good approach how to present my music on stage and still keep the gear necessary rather small. I’ve also started recording new tracks.
textura review: Sleeping Pills
SOLO ANDATA “LOOM” FREE TRACK DOWNLOAD August 25, 2009
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Other Music is featuring “Loom”, a track from the forthcoming Solo Andata CD as this week’s free download of the week. grab it now while it’s still there.
Look for Solo Andata’s self-titled full-length out on September 8th on 12k.
DOWNLOAD “LOOM“ (registration @ other music required)
ONE SOUND EACH DAY: AUGUST 21 + 22 August 22, 2009
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AUGUST 21
Pound Ridge, NY, mid-afternoon
another looping jam with the Eventide Eclipse. i love this thing… also posted a high-res, and longer, version on Soundcloud at: http://www.soundcloud.com/12k
AUGUST 212
Pound Ridge, NY, 2:52am
awoken around 2:45 this morning by torrential downpours outside. incredible. staggered into the living room half-asleep to grab the recorder. this recording doesn’t capture the heaviness of the rain, but definitely the steady volume can be heard drenching the surrounding forest.
ONE SOUND EACH DAY: 17-20. UPLOAD PROBLEMS August 20, 2009
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my web server has a problem right now and i’m unable to load the sounds that i just posted about. i hope they should be up by the morning. sorry for the delay.
ONE SOUND EACH DAY: AUGUST 17-20 August 20, 2009
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ok, wanted to get the Santa Fe trip sounds all up and in their own post before continuing on. waiting for me when i returned from the trip was a wonderful Eventide Eclipse effects processor i bought on eBay while i was away… did some playing with it right away.
AUGUST 17
Pound Ridge, NY, 11am
first experiment with the Eclipse. didn’t realize it was a looping algorithm. i was playing a guitar through it and then realized this wonderful jumble of sound was actually looping. very nice.
AUGUST 18
Pound Ridge, NY, morning
some more Eclipse. this one a bit more raw and sparse. just noodling around.
AUGUST 19
Pound Ridge, NY, around 3:40pm
more ukelele… sort of like the imperfections of this progression and my less-than-stellar playing.
AUGUST 20
Pound Ridge, NY, 10:49pm
we try to avoid it, but sometimes we can’t, especially when it’s 85 degrees in the house this late at night. this is the sound of the HVAC cooling system in the utility closet at home…. yes, air conditioning… the sound of relief.
ONE SOUND EACH DAY: AUGUST 8-16 August 20, 2009
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after spending a week+ in Denver and Santa Fe, i’ve finally organized the sounds and done my best to remember where they were all recorded! some neat stuff in here….
AUGUST 8
Denver, CO, afternoon
off in a quiet alley in Denver in the afternoon
AUGUST 9
Arvada, CO, around 9pm
in a friend’s driveway prepping the return of the rental car. the sounds in the beginning are zaps from a bug-zapper across the street. dogs bark, and general suburban ambiance prevails.
AUGUST 10
Santa Fe, NM, late night
just an amazing bed of crickets and insects. different here than the dense woods of home. a great sound to fall asleep to every night.
AUGUST 11
Santa Fe, NM, around 9am
banging on a rusted steel table on the patio of our casita. rather bell-like, and strong.
AUGUST 12
Cochiti Lake (?), NM, around 1pm
making humming sounds and walking around inside an early native-american cave dwelling.
AUGUST 13
somewhere along Route 14, NM, near 5pm
stopped at a roadside pulloff of an old, graffiti-covered, giant metal cistern. there was was a hole in the side and i was able to throw rocks in at the broken bottles and listen to the metal-drum reverb. unfortunately, my sound recorder was out of battery power and i had to resort to using the iPhone as a recording device which did not come out so well.
AUGUST 14
Sandia Park, NM, around 2pm
an amazing wind-up scene of carved wooden musician dolls playing “back in the saddle again”. the fact that the sound of the mechanical device itself is practically louder than the music is fantastic. was recorded at the TInkertown Museum, one of the most fascinating places i’ve visited in a while. strange, eccentric place!
AUGUST 15
Santa Fe, NM, late night
another late-night insect lullaby on our last night in Santa Fe.
AUGUST 16
Santa Fe, NM, around 8am
shaking a tree, whose leaves sound wonderfully paper-like. unfortunately some close-mic contact spoiled the gentle leaf-rattling…. but, still OK i suppose.
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