bruitage et mon cri dans l'escalier

2012-01-20T01:13:00.001+01:00

Seltene Erden - Northern Rae (Germany, 2011)

1 Northern Rae; 2 Bayan Obo; 3 Kvanefjeld; 4 Hoidas Lake

2011-11-10T21:04:00.002+01:00

Bill Dixon / Matthias Bauer / Klaus Koch / Tony Oxley
- Berlin Abbozzi (1999)

1 Currents; 2 Open Quiet/The Orange Bell; 3 Acrolithes

2011-10-25T21:47:00.002+02:00

Andy Stott - We Stay Together (UK, 2011)

1 Submission; 2 Posers; 3 Bad Wires;
4 We Stay Together (Part One); 5 Cherry Eye; 6 Cracked

2011-10-25T21:41:00.008+02:00

The Bill Dixon Orchestra - Intents and Purposes (USA, 1967)

1 Metamorphosis; 2 Nightfall Pieces I; 3 Voices; 4 Nightfall Pieces II
(get the flac at we like it lossless)

2011-08-08T01:04:00.001+02:00

Polvo - Today's Active Lifestyles (USA, 1993)

1 Thermal Treasure; 2 Lazy Comet; 3 My Kimono; 4 Sure Shot; 5 Stinger (Five Wigs); 6 Tilebreaker; 7 Shiska; 8 Time Isn't On My Side; 9 Action vs. Vibe; 10 Gemini Cusp

2011-08-04T03:06:00.002+02:00

Here's a track David Letellier composed for the Soul Aid project in support of Japan.

2011-08-01T21:54:00.003+02:00

Andy Stott - Passed Me By (UK, 2011)

1 Signature; 2 New Ground; 3 North or South; 4 Intermittent; 5 Dark Details; 6 Execution; 7 Passed Me By

2011-07-21T15:04:00.001+02:00

Luciano Berio - Sequenzas 1 / 2 / 3

01 Sequenza I for Flute (1958)

02 Sequenza II for Harp (1963)
03 Sequenza III for Woman's Voice (1965)
04 Sequenza IV for Piano (1965)
05 Sequenza V for Trombone (1966)
06 Sequenza VI (a) for Viola (1967)
07 Sequenza VI (b) for Cello (1981)
08 Sequenza VII (a) for Oboe (1969)
09 Sequenza VII (b) for Soprano Saxophone
10 Sequenza VIII for Violin (1976)
11 Sequenza IX (a) for Clarinet (1980)
12 Sequenza IX (b) for Alto Saxophone (1981)
13 Sequenza IX (c) for Bass Clarinet (1980)
14 Sequenza X for Trumpet in C and Piano Resonance (1984)
15 Sequenza XI for Guitar (1987)
16 Sequenza XII for Bassoon (1995)
17 Sequenza XIII for Accordion (1995)
18 Sequenza XIV (a) for Cello (2002)
19 Sequenza XIV (b) for Double Bass (2004)

2011-07-21T00:33:00.006+02:00

Here's the third installment of the Complete Takemitsu Edition, courtesy of Enter the Mirror, where you will also find most of the first box. Many thanks to him/her and to Abelian as well for the notification. As you may remember, he provided links for the second volume.

2011-07-17T23:22:00.000+02:00

Congratulations, 日本!

2011-07-17T01:14:00.001+02:00

Fluxion - Bipolar Defect (Greece, 2000)

1 Bipolar Defect; 2 Multidirectional I; 3 Bilateral Motion; 4 Friction Pulse; 5 Omnibus; 6 Stream I; 7 Stream II; 8 Interlock; 9 Aviation; 10 Multidirectional II

2011-07-17T01:11:00.000+02:00

Giacinto Scelsi - Incantations: The Art of Song (Italy, 1960-73)

Sauh I-IV (1973) Liturgy for Voice with Magnetic Tape
Taiagarù I-V (1962) Five Invocations for Female Voice
Hô I-IV (1960) Four Melodies for Female Voice

2011-07-17T01:10:00.003+02:00

Maschinelle Strategeme (Various, 2000)

01 Thomas Meinecke's Framus Waikiki – Jukebox
02 Autopoieses & Peter Fey – 5m³ Circles
03 Kim Cascone – Three Parasites For Deleuze
04 Taylor Deupree – Place
05 Øivinø Idsø – Shmmr
06 Stilluppsteypa – Unpredictable Drunkness Of Elves
07 Sony Mao – The Nature Of Operational Research
08 Ambarchi, Fennesz, Pimmon, Rehberg, Rowe – Untitled
09 Dean Roberts – The Cold Clear Surface
10 Terre Thaemlitz – Aunty Eddies's Pussy
11 Akira Rabelais – Saiyan Etude No. 6
12 Christophe Charles – Verena
13 Albrecht Kunze – Motion Control
14 Full Swing – Flimmer
15 Achim Wollscheid - All

2011-07-17T01:04:00.000+02:00

WipEout HD (Various, 2008)

1 Booka Shade - Steady Rush
2 DJ Fresh - X-Project (100% Pure Mix)
3 Ed Rush, Optical & Matrix - Frontline
4 Kraftwerk - Aero Dynamik
5 Mason - Exceeder (Special Mix)
6 Move Ya! & Steve Levers - Chemical
7 M.I.S.T. - Smart Systems
8 Noisia - Seven Stitches
9 Stanton Warriors - Tokyo

2011-07-17T01:02:00.000+02:00

Ancient Methods - Second Method (Germany, 2008)

2011-06-19T22:14:00.001+02:00

Das synthetische Mischgewebe - Frequency Conquistadors (Germany, 2009)

(as requested by red_lipstick)

2011-06-13T01:09:00.001+02:00

Appendix: Here's the individual tracks from the Kangding Ray mix, in case you, like myself, would want to experience some of them separately, and in their entirety.

2011-06-02T12:36:00.008+02:00

I'd like to bring your attention to this mix (a real one, this time!) which Kangding Ray's David Letellier put together for MNML SSGS. Has anyone listened to OR yet? It's a beast of beats.

01 Steve Reich "Come out" + Rhythm & Sound "Outward"
02 Oneohtrix Point Never "Returnal feat. Antony (Fennesz Remix)" + Mark Fell "Multistability 1-B"
03 Deadbeat "Loneliness and Reverly" + These New Puritans "Drum Courts - Where Corals Lie"
04 CoH "Andante Facile" + Pole "Alles Klar"
05 Nam June Paik "My Jubilee ist unverhemmet" + Alva Noto "Future"
06 Ben Frost "Leo Needs A New Pair Of Shoes" + Ricardo Villalobos "Fools Garden (Black Conga)"
07 Ø "Ionos" + Emeralds "It Doesn't Arrive"
08 Richie Hawtin "00:24" (1.14 from Concept 1) + Deaf Center "Lobby"
09 Various Production "Infinity (xx cover)" + Senking "Breathing Trouble"
10 Pomassl "Tandem Distiller" + Lissom "Bask"
11 Fever Ray "If I Had A Heart (Fuck Buttons Remix)" + Ital Tek "Tokyo Freeze (Remix)"
12 Codes in the Clouds "The Distance Between Us (Nils Frahm Remix)" + Vex'd "Slime"

2011-05-04T23:27:00.007+02:00

ΣLCTRNC MX 7, mostly

01 LALI PUNA Micronomic

02 VENETIAN SNARES Banana Seat Girl
03 JOY ORBISON Hyph Mngo
04 Ø Ilta
05 KANGDING RAY Or*
06 VLADISLAV DELAY Demo(n) Cuts E
07 AUTECHRE Drane
08 UNDER BYEN Batteri Generator
09 PJUSK Flyktig
10 SENKING Death by Drowning
11 LUCY Eon
12 POM POM Untitled (CD001/8)
13 GESCOM Cicada
14 AUTECHRE Qplay
15 BOARDS OF CANADA Alpha and Omega
16 AKIRA TAKEMOTO Purototaipu I
17 AUTECHRE Piezo
18 UUSITALO Kalajuttuja
19 BROADCAST Long Was the Year

*Audio track extracted from this video for KR's upcoming album OR to be released on May 23rd, hurrah!

2011-05-04T23:04:00.001+02:00

Oneohtrix Point Never - Blue Drive (USA, 2009)

(from the split with KGB MAN)

2011-05-04T23:01:00.003+02:00

Alfred Schnittke - Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 (Russia, 1978)

1 Largo; 2 Presto; 3 Largo

2011-05-03T14:51:00.003+02:00

(Just a quick note for one of my readers who's been requesting the Kenrimono record (and anyone who's interested in it, for that matter): I assume you've already seen this by now since it's in your blogroll, but you can find it over at Corrupted Delights. Had no luck with the Frequency Conquistadors so far, though. I'll try and get some new music up of my own by tomorrow; apologies again for the lack of updates.)

2011-04-23T17:47:00.003+02:00

Autechre - Untilted (UK, 2005)

1 LCC; 2 Ipacial Section; 3 Pro Radii; 4 Augmatic Disport; 5 Iera; 6 Fermium; 7 The Trees; 8 Sublimit

2011-03-04T01:10:00.000+01:00

Vladislav Delay - Live @ MUTEK, June 9th 2000

01 .D/Kompiila; 02 Kohde; 03 Ele; 04 Prostitute/One's Groove; 05 Heille ei Annettu Mitään; 06 Untitled #2 (from Entain); 07 Summer (They Can't See Us in the Dark) Delay Configuration 1; 08 Dutchwallpaper; 09 Sample from Wim Wenders' "The End of Violence"; 10 Lunni (Bring the Voodoo Down/Social Children/Big Hearts Come Later)

2011-03-04T01:04:00.003+01:00

Autechre - Quaristice (UK, 2008)

01 Altibzz; 02 The Plc; 03 IO; 04 plyPhon; 05 Perlence; 06 SonDEremawe; 07 Simmm; 08 paralel Suns; 09 Steels; 10 Tankakern; 11 rale; 12 Fol3; 13 fwzE; 14 90101-5l-l; 15 bnc Castl; 16 Theswere; 17 WNSN; 18 chenc9; 19 Notwo; 20 Outh9X

2011-03-04T01:01:00.001+01:00

Gas - Oktember (Germany, 1999)

2011-03-01T15:42:00.003+01:00

(Excuses for my prolonged absence. I was unsure whether to continue at all. I may start posting again more often, no promises though.)

2011-03-01T15:41:00.004+01:00

York Höller - Schwarze Halbinseln,

for large orchestra, vocal and electronic sounds on 4-channel tape

In Schwarze Halbinseln ("Black Peninsulas", 1982), Höller sketche[s] in dark hues a large tableau of oceanic-atmospheric sound landscapes. He orient[s] himself here on structures of speech rhythm, expressive gestures, and poetic images from the poem Die Nacht ("The Night") by the impressionistic lyricist Georg Heym. At the beginning, above a cluster-like pedal point of electronics and low strings, lies the poem, whispered and modified to the point of unintelligibility by a woman’s voice, along with eerie women’s choruses and irreal bell sounds seemingly from distant islands. The linguistic material of the text is consistently musically transformed into a “sound poem,” and becomes intelligible only toward the end. In a letter to Höller, Karlheinz Stockhausen, the work’s dedicatee, showed himself impressed by the “rich coloring” and “broad temporal shaping.” (source)

2010-12-17T01:04:00.004+01:00

These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid (UK, 2008)

1 ...Ce I Will Say This Twice; 2 Numerology (AKA Numbers); 3 Colours; 4 Swords of Truth; 5 Doppelgänger; 6 C. 16th ±; 7 En Papier; 8 Infinity Ytinifni; 9 Elvis; 10 £4; 11 MKK3; 12 4; 13 Navigate-Colours; 14 H.; 15 Costume; 16 I Will Say This Twi...

I dunno, this has grown very dear to me as of late. Britspeak's a soft spot. Not sure if it will meet the acquired taste of this blog's readership (wink) but it's a temporary mood enhancer that I'm more than open to self-prescribe these days. No really, it's brilliant but I can see that this record is some sort of singularity amongst my previous postings. Whatev's, enjoy, enjoy or don't. Also, regardless of whether you're celebrating something or not during these next few days, I'd like to thank you for having stopped by, for having listened and commented. See you next year! Maybe- (not)

2010-12-17T01:02:00.002+01:00

Autechre - Garbage (UK, 1995)

1 Garbagemx36; 2 PIOBmx19; 3 Bronchusevenmx24; 4 Vletrmx21

You may have heard the fourth track as part of this abomination of a mix, in truth it belongs to a collection of material (with a tongue-in-cheek title) that supposedly didn't make the final cut of Autechre's Amber release. While retaining the warm synthy sound of Amber in places, Garbage also tentatively hints at the more beat-oriented full-length successor Tri Repetae. Atmospherical, trippy, brooding, hypnotizing, postapocalyptical, et cetera perge perge. I'm sure you can come up with something more eloquent to describe this.

2010-12-01T14:24:00.001+01:00

Byetone - Death of a Typographer (Germany, 2008)

1 Intro Bios (Intro); 2 Plastic Star (Session); 3 Straight; 4 Rocky (Soft); 5 Black Is Black; 6 Capture This (I); 7 Capture This (II); 8 Grand Style; 9 Heart

In case you're, like me, late to this. Highly recommended if you fancy the stuff of his Raster comrades Senking and Alva Noto. A bit poppish at times.

2010-11-30T21:34:00.000+01:00

Richard Chartier / Boca Raton - Kapotte Muziek (USA/Netherlands, 2005)

1 Untitled (Chartier); 2-5 Tables 1-4 (Boca Raton)

This is release #13 in a series which has artists such as Asmus Tietchens, Merzbow and Thurston Moore remixing source material of Dutch group Kapotte Muziek.

2010-10-29T13:04:00.000+02:00

Vladislav Delay - Multila (Finland, 2000/2007)

1 Ranta; 2 Raamat; 3 Huone; 4 Viite; 5 Karha; 6 Pietola; 7 Nesso

2010-10-22T14:29:00.000+02:00

Merzbow - Vibractance (Japan, 1998)

1 Vibrating Sand; 2 Sonar; 3 Flame; 4 Wind / Reactance

2010-10-17T13:04:00.002+02:00

Venetian Snares - Moonglow / This Bitter Earth (Canada, 2004)

2010-10-04T00:21:00.002+02:00

Vladislav Delay - The Kind of Blue EP (Finland, 1997)

1 Siru; 2 Kenno

2010-10-04T00:13:00.000+02:00

ΣLCTRNC MX 6, mostly

01 HTRK Hate Rock Trio

02 CELER Mouthfeels of Capreae
03 PJUSK Rav
04 UUSITALO Nokkonen päiväunilla
05 RICARDO VILLALOBOS Bahaha Hahi
06 GOLDFRAPP Hairy Trees
07 ASMUS TIETCHENS Hertzlicht
08 KIM CASCONE Spectral Space II
09 MLADA FRONTA Mn 54.94
10 SENKING 9'59"
11 KONX-OM-PAX II
12 ALVA NOTO R/Re/Repeat (+ I-Sound)
13 SISTOL Fucked-up Novelty
14 GESCOM Interchangeable World II
15 FRANK BRETSCHNEIDER & PETER DUIMELINKS Fax
16 FARMERSMANUAL/XANOPTICON kTXt-3.6r4.in/Hhova
17 COH 71:00
18 DETTINGER Puma A1
19 RICHARD CHARTIER Puls
20 SOLAR FIELDS Mirror's Edge 'Kate' Puzzle Theme (Edit)
21 UUSITALO Social Children/Big Hearts Come Later*
22 STEPHAN MATHIEU & EKKEHARD EHLERS Herz
23 HTRK Fascinator

2010-10-03T23:54:00.003+02:00

Big Black - The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape (USA, 1987)

1 Jordan Minnesota; 2 Passing Complexion; 3 Big Money; 4 Kerosene; 5 Bad Houses; 6 Fists of Love; 7 Stinking Drunk; 8 Bazooka Joe; 9 Cables (Live); 10 Heartbeat; 11 Things to Do Today; 12 I Can't Believe; 13 My Disco; 14 Grinder; 15 Ready Men; 16 Pete, King of the Detectives

2010-09-24T00:14:00.006+02:00

Einstürzende Neubauten - Malediction (Germany, 1993)

1 Blume (French Version); 2 Blume (English Version); 3 Blume (Japanese Version); 4 Ubique Media Daemon; 5 3 Thoughts; 6 Ring My Bell

2010-09-24T00:10:00.002+02:00

Hildur Guðnadóttir - Mount A (Iceland, 2010)

1 Light; 2 Floods; 3 Casting; 4 Shadowed; 5 Self; 6 Growth; 7 In Gray; 8 My; 9 Reflection; 10 Earbraces; 11 You

I'm afraid I cannot not post this. Recently released reissue of her 2006 debut LP (whose original cover artwork is displayed here).

2010-09-24T00:04:00.002+02:00

Sonic Youth - Washing Machine (USA, 1995)

1 Becuz; 2 Junkie's Promise; 3 Saucer-Like; 4 Washing Machine; 5 Unwind; 6 Little Trouble Girl; 7 No Queen Blues; 8 Panty Lies; 9 Becuz Coda; 10 Skip Tracer; 11 The Diamond Sea

2010-08-29T23:17:00.005+02:00

Frank Bretschneider - Aerial Riverseries (Germany, 2002)

42 untitled pieces based on photographs by Olafur Eliasson

2010-08-29T23:14:00.002+02:00

Hildur Guðnadóttir – Iridescence (Iceland, 2009)

2010-08-28T16:14:00.001+02:00

Alvin Lucier - Still Lives (USA, 2001)

1. Music for Piano with Slow Sweep Pure Wave Oscillators, for piano
2. On the Carpet of Leaves Illuminated by the Moon, for koto
3. Still Lives, for piano (I. Sunlight Diamond; II. Hammock; III. Barbecue Grill; IV. Lamp Shade; V. Two Floor Tiles; VI. Ferns; VII. Bread Knife; VIII. Chopsticks)

2010-08-27T14:49:00.004+02:00

Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain (UK, 2000)

1 Lovely Head; 2 Paper Bag; 3 Human; 4 Pilots; 5 Deer Stop; 6 Felt Mountain; 7 Oompa Radar; 8 Utopia; 9 Horse Tears

2010-08-27T14:42:00.002+02:00

Madlib the Beat Konducta - Vol. 1-2: Movie Scenes (USA, 2006)

1 The Comeback (Madlib); 2 The Payback (Gotta); 3 Face The Sun (Africa); 4 Open (Space); 5 Tape Hiss (Dirty); 6 Sir Bang (Bounce); 7 Third Ear (More); 8 Stax (Strings); 9 Electric Company (Voltage-Watts); 10 Left On Silverlake (Ride); 11 Painted Pictures (Art); 12 Gold Jungle (Tribe); 13 Offbeat (Groove); 14 Pyramids (Change); 15 Eternal Broadcaster (Authentic); 16 Spanish Bells (High Dreams); 17 The Rock (Humps); 18 Box Top (Cardboard Dues); 19 West Zone (Coastin); 20 Filthy (Untouched); 21 Friends (Foes); 22 Toe Fat (Ghettozone); 23 Money Hugger (Gold Diggin); 24 The Comeup (Come Down); 25 Two Timer (The Pimp); 26 Chopstyle (Suey Blast); 27 Black Mozart (Opus II); 28 Understanding (Comprehension); 29 Snake Charmer (Heads Up); 30 Old Age (Youngblood); 31 Fukwitus (The Eights); 32 African Walk (Zamunda); 33 Whutkanido (Can Do It); 34 The Forest (Greens); 35 Outerlimit (Space Ho)

2010-08-08T21:14:00.005+02:00

Conoco - Kemikoski (Finland, 1999)

1 Keppi; 2 Ventola; 3 Koski

2010-08-08T21:09:00.003+02:00

CoH - Super Suprematism (Russia, 2007)

tracks labeled 1 to 10

"More than past albums, “Super Suprematism” demands silence and patience. It sounds like [Ivan] Pavlov is taking cues from his one time collaborator Richard Chartier (see 2005’s “Chessmachine”) or label mate Ryoji Ikeda. Pavlov seems to have tired of the simple, metric pulses that dominated his earlier work. Rhythm seems spontaneous and subconscious… It is not consistent enough to say there is a ‘tempo’. The buzzing energy and life found in much of his early work is not here. It could not be played as a noise record. It might piss someone off, but there is no aggression. Where past work would sometimes disorient the mind with chaotic density, this album gently and slowly drags you into an ordered yet truly bizarre world. The transitions and movements of the songs are slower. 2005’s “Post-pop” was already moving in this direction.

One gets the impression that the placement of each sine wave drone, bell and sub bass wash is more perfect than ever. It evokes surfaces and worlds impossibly smooth, clean and polished like the sounds themselves. The drones still possess the familiar warmth that made his piece for Raster Noton’s “20′ to 2000″ series, “Into Memories of S-tone”, so great. “08″ is a perfect example of this.

Certain human emotions have a way of creeping their way into COH, despite it being the purest of avant garde. Anticipation is one. Other albums contain fear, sadness, loneliness, blissful peace, calm. On this album, though, a sensation of emptyness, clearness and stillness, which is not exactly ‘emotion’, seems to be the real point." (quoted from dreary patterns)

2010-07-24T14:00:00.003+02:00

Uusitalo - Vapaa Muurari Live (Finland, 2000)

"This album of [Vladislav] Delay's (here going by alias Uusitalo) is a reinterpretation of previous work, in a "live" format. One of the interesting things about this album is that it's not just a set of remixes, but music that is a refreshing and yet logical outgrowth of his work to date.The pieces themselves carry recognizeable passages from his previous compositions, though the album as a whole ebbs and flows in and out of new ideas and older textures, constructing a kind of unfolded imaginary narrative. Tones and textures meld into rhythms, and back, but with a consistent dream-like sensibility. The rhythmic structures of Vapaa Muurari/Live certainly make this one of Delay's more accessible works, but no problem: it's nice to see the versatility of Delay's ideas. Those looking to get interested in this Finnish artist's work will find this album a good place to start; Vapaa Muurari/Live should pave the way for the more complex and conceptually deeper soundscapes of Multila (on Chain Reaction) and Entain (Mille Plateaux). Those already familiar with Delay will find this work a satisfying addition to his/her own collection." (via)

2010-07-18T23:43:00.004+02:00

Senking - Tap (Germany, 2003)

1 Stand
2 Settle
3 Sort
4 Maybe
5 Fletcher
6 Emergent
7 Exhausted

2010-07-18T22:44:00.001+02:00

Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing (UK, 2008)

1 Sweet Love for Planet Earth

2 Ribs Out
3 Okay, Let's Talk About Magic
4 Race You to My Bedroom / Spirit Rise
5 Bright Tomorrow
6 Colours Move

2010-07-09T14:24:00.020+02:00

Hildur Guðnadóttir - Without Sinking (Iceland, 2009)

1 Elevation; 2 Overcast; 3 Erupting Light; 4 Circular; 5 Ascent;
6 Opaque; 7 Aether; 8 Whiten; 9 Into Warmer Air; 10 Unveiled

I saw her opening for Karin Dreijer Andersson's Fever Ray project in December. I didn't know what to expect and deliberately didn't do any research beforehand. Reading a bit up on her now tells me that she's part of múm and also appears on the final track of Ben Frost's Theory of Machines. Anyway, there wasn't any snow in Hamburg back then, but Hildur, sporting a pair of white feathery antlers on her head, still managed to create a distinctly Scandinavian atmosphere, reflecting the whole antithesis of emotional discharge in a cold, desolate environment (of course, I speak prejudiciously, with exaggeration, seeing as I've never been to Iceland or Sweden, which I'm sure are not that cold and desolate all the time as common foreign conception dictates). Pieces like Erupting Light and Opaque almost overwhelmed my little meagre heart, although we could partly attribute this to my anticipation of and excitement over this specific concert (and the volume although I didn't mind the loudness, it greatly added to the intensity). I'm not sure if it was the best possible introduction to Karin's set, considering the difference in mood and emotion. While Fever Ray is more concerned with deep, organic sound (that bass was pleasantly physical, markerschütternd), Hildur's cello play is brooding, sharp, devastating. It's more real in a way, if we think of Karin's music as, well, feverish and oneirological.
For some inscrutable reason I hadn't listened to the whole of Without Sinking until now, when someone indirectly reminded me of it, having brought my interest to the two previously posted works as well.

2010-07-08T16:29:00.006+02:00

John Zorn - Chimeras (USA, 2003)

2010-07-08T16:24:00.004+02:00

Autechre - Anvil Vapre (UK, 1995)

2010-06-29T20:24:00.002+02:00

Senking - Silencer (Germany, 2001)

1 Upbeat
2 Bateau
3 Rachel
4 Cups
5 Run
6 Scatt

2010-06-29T15:47:00.005+02:00

CoH - Patherns (Russia, 2006)

1 Path #1
2 Path #2
3 Path #3 [Dynamo Baby, Bore Me Numb]
4 Path #4

2010-06-29T15:41:00.005+02:00

György Ligeti - Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet (Romania, 1953)

1 Allegro Con Spirito
2 Rubato - Lamentoso
3 Allegro Grazioso
4 Presto Ruvido
5 Adagio - Mesto (Béla Bartók In Memoriam)
6 Molto Vivace - Capriccioso

2010-06-24T00:41:00.009+02:00

Yellow Swans - Mort aux Vaches (USA, 2009)

(link courtesy of bleak bliss)

2010-06-24T00:40:00.004+02:00

Giacinto Scelsi - Music for Wind Instruments and Percussion

1 I Riti: Ritual March, "The Funeral Of Achilles" for Percussion (1962) (Fragment)
2 Ko-Lho, for Flute and Clarinet (1966): I, II
3 Pwyll, for Flute alone (1954)
4 I Riti: Ritual March, "The Funeral Of Achilles" for Percussion (1962)
5 Ixor, for Bb Clarinet (or other Reed Instrument) (1956)
6 Rucke Di Guck, for Piccolo and Oboe (1957): I, II, III
7 Hyxos, for Alto Flute, Gongs and Cowbell (1955): I Tranquillo, II Con Moto, III Tranquillo
8 Quattro Pezzi, for Trumpet alone (1956): I, II, III, IV
9 I Riti: Ritual March, "The Funeral Of Achilles" for Percussion (1962) (Fragment)

2010-06-11T18:14:00.011+02:00

ΣLCTRNC MX 5, mostly

1
01 ASOBI SEKSU Nefi+Girly
02 PARA ONE Sunless
03 GLIM Sloth
04 LALI PUNA People I Know
05 ELLEN ALLIEN Secret
06 VENETIAN SNARES Make Ronnie Rocket
07 DJ SHADOW Monosylabik
08 ASMUS TIETCHENS & RICHARD CHARTIER Fabrication 2.2
09 KANGDING RAY Downshifters/The Distance
10 CHICAGO UNDERGROUND TRIO Slon
11 DIE GOLDENEN ZITRONEN FEAT. HANAYO The Bird
12 PUZZLEWEASEL FODHØVL
13 NOTO Kristallgitter
14 AUTOBAM Telemetry

2
15 POM POM #33/A1
16 RIVAL CONSOLES Electorate
17 KIM CASCONE Polygon Witch
18 FRANK BRETSCHNEIDER Multimath duplex, polycopter, memory
19 ELLEN ALLIEN & APPARAT Floating Points
20 SENKING Mist
21 COH In Spaces Between
22 FAT SEGAL Tenthousand Needles
23 ALVA NOTO Autoshape
24 EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN Draußen ist feindlich
25 BJÖRK Pluto
26 COH Heitkamp
27 VENETIAN SNARES Pressure Torture
28 AUTECHRE Vletrmx21

2010-05-06T17:04:00.004+02:00

Vladislav Delay - The Four Quarters (Finland, 2005)

2010-05-06T17:01:00.002+02:00

Vladislav Delay - Anima (Finland, 2001)

2010-03-20T00:29:00.007+01:00

Grachan Moncur III - Some Other Stuff (USA, 1964)

01 Gnostic

02 Thandiwa
03 The Twins

04 Nomadic

2010-03-12T13:57:00.017+01:00

Asmus Tietchens & Richard Chartier - Fabrication (Germany/USA, 2007)

Fabrication 2 is available over here! :-)

2010-03-12T13:56:00.009+01:00

Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares I

At times, reminiscent of Kenji Kawai's soundtrack for the original Ghost in the Shell film.

01 Pilentze Pee (Pilentze Sings)
02 Svatba (The Wedding)
03 Kalimankou Denkou (The Evening Gathering)
04 Strati Na Angelaki Doumasche (Haiduk Chant)
05 Polegnala E Pschenitza (Harvest Chant From Thrace)
06 Messetschinko Lio Greilivko (Love Chant From The Rhodopes)
07 Beri Yvane (Dancing Song)
08 Erghen Diado (Song Of Schopsko)
09 Sableyalo Mi Agontze (The Bleating Lamb)
10 Pritouritze Planinata (Chant From The Thracian Plain)
11 Mir Stanke Le (Harvest Chant From Thrace)
12 Schopska Pesen (Diaphonic Chant)
13 Polegnala E Todora (Love Chant)

2010-03-12T13:54:00.007+01:00

Tomáš Dvořák - Machinarium

Suffice it to say that, if you have a few hours to spare, you should get your hands on the actual game to fully appreciate the music.

OST
01 The Bottom
02 The Sea
03 Clockwise Operetta
04 Nanorobot Tune
05 The Mezzanine
06 Mr. Handagote
07 Gameboy Tune
08 The Furnace
09 The Black Cap Brotherhood Theme
10 The Prison
11 The Glasshouse With Butterfly
12 The Castle
13 The Elevator
14 The End (Prague Radio)

Bonus EP
01 The Robot Band Tune
02 Pipe Wrench Dubstep
03 Game In The Brain
04 Defusing The Bomb
05 By The Wall

2010-02-28T15:09:00.006+01:00

Tusco Terror - Scummer (via)

2010-02-28T15:04:00.007+01:00

Farben - Textstar (Germany, 2002)

1 Live At Sahara Tahoe, 1973
2 Farben Says: Love To Love You Baby
3 Suntouch Edit
4 Beautone
5 Farben Says: So Much Love
6 Bayreuth
7 Ff
8 Silikon
9 Farben Says: Love Oh Love

2010-02-27T15:56:00.002+01:00

Kit Clayton - Nek Sanalet (USA, 1999)

1 Nuchu
2 Purpakana
3 Kalu
4 Aspoket
5 Nele
6 Nia-Ikala
7 Surba
8 Inapiseptili

2010-02-27T15:50:00.011+01:00

Abe Vigoda - Skeleton (USA, 2008)

01 Dead City/Waste Wilderness
02 Bear Face
03 Lantern Lights
04 Whatever Forever
05 Animal Ghosts
06 Cranes
07 Live-Long
08 The Garden
09 Hyacinth Grrls
10 World Heart
11 Gates
12 Visi Rings
13 Endless Sleeper
14 Skeleton

2010-01-19T17:08:00.004+01:00

(1942/01/27 - 2010/01/17)

2010-01-18T22:38:00.010+01:00

Vladislav Delay - Entain (Finland, 2000)

1 Kohde; 2 Untitled; 3 Poiko; 4 Notke; 5 Ele; 6 Untitled

2010-01-05T00:29:00.009+01:00

Alva Noto - Xerrox Vol. 2 (Germany, 2009)

01 Xerrox Phaser Acat 1; 02 Xerrox Rin; 03 Xerrox Soma; 04 Xerrox Meta Phaser; 05 Xerrox Sora; 06 Xerrox Monophaser; 1 07 Xerrox Monophaser 2; 08 Xerrox Teion; 09 Xerrox Teion Acat; 10 Xerrox Tek Part 1; 11 Xerrox Monophaser 3

Quoted and translated from an interview Carsten did with German magazine art:
Could you explain this [Xerrox] project to us, seeing as Xerox is actually a copier?
Exactly! The copier is a metaphor. I've altered the name by adding another "r", so that it contains the word "error". In a way it has become corrupted by an error, a mistake. The idea behind this is digital copying. By changing formats, for instance when I rip an mp3 from a CD, I change the file format, everything gets converted into another environment and this entails a change of sound as well. For the common listener this may not even be audible at times, but when I choose a low bitrate, it's instantly recognizable. I think of copying from one format to another as a creative opportunity. You produce a copy of a copy and then copy the copy. This results in a sort of blur, there is interpolation, fragmentations, and errors creeping in. In the digital world it's called "glitch" when bits get squished to the extent that the bitrate of the files ends up so low that they barely know what they're supposed to play. It results in a data noise which still, however, contains the copied melodies.

2010-01-04T00:13:00.006+01:00

Toru Takemitsu - Waterscape Cycle

(image from mem'ry)

With the help of Abelian's magnificent post of the second installment in the Complete Takemitsu Edition, I was able to compile the pieces in the so-called Waterscape cycle as described in Peter Burt's The Music of Toru Takemitsu (cf. 177). Additionally, I've included those from James Siddons' list "Works in the Waterscape Series" (in Toru Takemitsu: A Bio-Bibliography, p. 28). Siddons also details to some degree the development of this cycle and the S-E-A motif as the unifying feature of the works it encompasses:

"Takemitsu grouped many of his instrumental compositions into thematic series. Most of the themes come from literature or nature, and some compositions are included in two series. [...] The musical meaning of such themes for Takemitsu is not the verbatim portrayal of rain drops or tree leaves on a primary level as visual images; rather, Takemitsu deals with some aspect of the theme-item that makes an emotional, or intellectual, or sensual impression on the viewer-listener. [...]

A unifying theme in the rain series is the image of the rain running into rivers, which in turn empty into the ocean, creating, in Takemitsu’s own English expression, “a sea of tonality.” The image of flowing water in these works goes back to an idea Takemitsu got while in a subway train in Tokyo in 1948. The roar of passing trains caused Takemitsu to think of sound as a flowing continuum, like flowing water; his Japanese term for this is “oto no nagare" [literally "stream of sound"]. This concept appeared in Takemitsu’s creative work in 1960 when he wrote in a program note for W148 Water Music, “When I see and listen to flowing water [it reminds me of an old Japanese word, Tao [‘the Path’]…. I may have received some influence from Voltaire’s thought. My image of Tao (road) is not a continuous road but many disconnected dots. Listeners will experience a feeling of stillness, motion, time and space. These spaces and times are not the same as those in physics. They are rhythm of nature and time of mind.]”; but it took on more importance in 1983 when this program note appeared in the score of W98 Rain Coming: “It is the composer’s intention to create a series of works which, like their subject [rain], pass through various metamorphoses, culminating in a sea of tonality.” Thus the works in the rain series are preludes to those in the waterscape series, about rivers and the ocean [...]. Another observation about Takemitsu’s theme-ideas that may be made in the foregoing quotations is his interest in how things change over time. The phrases “gradation in coloration” and “pass through various metamorphoses” indicate this interest in mutability, as does the program note for W112 Seasons that explains that the work is not about the four seasons themselves but the change of seasons between them. Many other examples of Takemitsu’s interest in change, mutability, borders [...], and time/space relations are found in his titles, program notes, and essays on his compositions.

About 1980, the “sea of tonality” in the waterscape works was defined by Takemitsu as the three-note ascending motif Eb-E-A (conjunct semitone and perfect fourth); when the E-flat is read in the German pronunciation, ‘Es,’ the English word ‘sea’ results. Takemitsu extended his sea motif upward: (two major thirds and a minor third above the A of ‘sea’). “Into that sea of vibrations,” wrote Takemitsu of W52 Far Calls. Coming, far!, “pours the solo violin.”

An important companion theme within the waterscape works is the imagery of the novel “Finnegan’s Wake” by James Joyce. When Takemitsu turned his attention to the novel in the early 1970s, its themes of life, death, and time flowing like a river into the ocean were consonant with his already-developing ideas of “oto no nagare,” and thus the novel easily slipped into an influential position in Takemitsu’s creative thought. The most easily seen aspect of this influence is the several titles that are words or phrases from this novel: W21 A way a lone (and W22), W52 Far Calls. Coming, far!, W107 riverrun (the opening word of the novel, uncapitalized), and possibly W54 For Away." (quoted from Siddons' Toru Takemitsu: A Bio-Bibliography, p. 14f)

As a prelude to the following, you might want to listen to "Water Music," a link to which one of my readers kindly left in the comments.

01 Garden Rain, for brass ensemble (1974)
02 Waterways, for piano and orchestra (1975)
03 Waves, for clarinet, horn, two trombones and bass drum (1976)
04 Bryce, for flute, 2 harps, and 2 percussionists (1976)
05 Marginalia, for orchestra (1976)
06 Far Calls. Coming, far!, for violin & orchestra (1980)
07 A way a lone I, for string quartet (1981)
08 A way a lone II, for string orchestra (1981)
09 Toward the Sea I, for alto flute and guitar (1981) - 1. The Night
10 Toward the Sea I, for alto flute and guitar (1981) - 2. Moby Dick
11 Toward the Sea I, for alto flute and guitar (1981) - 3. Cape Cod
12 Toward the Sea II, for alto flute, harp and string orchestra (1981) - 1. The Night
13 Toward the Sea II, for alto flute, harp and string orchestra (1981) - 2. Moby Dick
14 Toward the Sea II, for alto flute, harp and string orchestra (1981) - 3. Cape Cod
15 Rain Tree, for three percussion or keyboard players (1981)
16 Rain Coming, for chamber orchestra (1982)
17 Rain Spell, for flute, clarinet, harp, piano and vibraphone (1982)
18 Rain Tree Sketch I, for piano (1982)
19 Star-Isle, for orchestra (1982)
20 Wavelength, tape (1984)*
21 The Sea Is Still, tape (1986)*
22 Rain Dreaming, for harpsichord (1986)
23 riverrun, for piano and orchestra (1987)
24 I Hear the Water Dreaming, for flute and orchestra (1987)
25 Toward the Sea III, for alto flute and harp (1989) - 1. The Night
26 Toward the Sea III, for alto flute and harp (1989) - 2. Moby Dick
27 Toward the Sea III, for alto flute and harp (1989) - 3. Cape Cod
28 Quotation of Dream - Say Sea, Take Me!, for 2 pianos and orchestra (1991)
29 Rain Tree Sketch II, for piano (1992)
30 Archipelago S., for 21 players (1993)
31 Between Tides, for violin, cello & piano (1993)

*unlocatable; if anyone has these (you're obviously one of the few lucky souls in possession of the fifth volume of said Takemitsu edition), feel free to leave a comment :-)

2009-10-04T14:29:00.012+02:00

ΣLCTRNC MX 4

00 ANNA KARINA Qu'est-ce que je peux faire? J'sais pas quoi faire!
01 THE KNIFE Silent Shout
02 ELLEN ALLIEN Open
03 SUTEKH Unstabile
04 SLEEPY TOWN MANUFACTURE So Twenty One
05 FARBEN Farben Says: So Much Love
06 JAN JELINEK Drift
07 LADYTRON Destroy Everything You Touch
08 PIXEL +40° 11 35.63 -112° 52 31.90
09 ST KILDA You Are In Every Dream
10 WILLIAM BASINSKI Melancholia VII
11 FEVER RAY If I Had A Heart
12 PARA ONE Blank
13 HERIBERT FRIEDL 0.3
14 BONOBO The Fever
15 ALEPH-1 1 C A b 05
16 TALVIHORROS The Blue Cathedral
17 TUJIKO NORIKO / LAWRENCE ENGLISH / JOHN CHANTLER I Can Hear the Heart
18 AUTOBAM Wave O
19 KOMET Licht
20 ELLEN ALLIEN & APPARAT Bubbles
21 AKIRA RABELAIS M25 M75 (fragmented)

In the beginning, there was a certain music that I wished to make. It was this particular music and no other.

2009-10-04T14:21:00.004+02:00

It's like looking at the surface of a river. There's an iridiscence around the reefs, but it's never completely the same, according to the way in which you look, you see the golden flashes of the sun or the depths of the water. In a swimming pool you can see the reflection of the ripples on the bottom or have a vision of the whole and let yourself be carried away by what I call "dream gazing," or fix on a detail and make your own landscape. There you can make your own soundscape.

A portrait of Eliane Radigue, produced by the Austrian IMA (Institute for Media Archeology), which observes Eliane in her workspace, operating the ARP and talking about the process of composing and recording. Her stopwatch is nicknamed "nounours" :-)

French audio with English hardsub, 15 minutes

"Her music is a slow flux of dense sounds subject to imperceptible mutations. A timeless architecture of deep vibrations speaking not to the intellect or to hearing, but to the entire body. A music which is unsettling if one submerges oneself in it. A music that possesses the monumental subtlety of the movement of oceans." (source)

ETA 11/13/09: a reader of this blog, lurker, has kindly provided links to two of Eliane's recent releases, Triptych (1978) and Vice Versa, etc. (1970) Whoever uploaded these, thank you!

2009-09-15T14:38:00.007+02:00

By request here are two of the installments in the Obscure Tape Music of Japan series which I hadn't posted yet.

#8 Toshi Ichiyanagi: Electronic Field

#9 Toshi Ichiyanagi: Drip Music

As one of my kind readers has informed me, you can also find volumes 1-11 at exp etc. (thanks Josef!)

2009-08-07T14:41:00.018+02:00

ΣLCTRNC MX 3

01 AUTECHRE Windwind
02 ELICA Όμορφοι Άνθρωποι
03 SHUTTLE358 Broom
04 NOTO code
05 ELLEN ALLIEN & APPARAT Turbo Dreams
06 AIR FRANCE Collapsing At Your Doorstep
07 NIBO 25461604859430853501412845836947
08 GOLDFRAPP Meeting In the Moors
09 BEN FROST Stomp
10 ELLEN ALLIEN Sehnsucht
11 AKIRA RABELAIS Palinode II
12 SIGNAL Malimo
13 VLADISLAV DELAY Stand-Alone (Reprise)
14 SIGNAL Vibra-Lab
15 ELLEN ALLIEN & APPARAT Jet
16 STEVE STOLL Deep Substance
17 LAWRENCE ENGLISH Swan
18 ESTER BRINKMANN Wenn du nicht mehr lachen kannst
19 GLOBAL COMMUNICATION 5:23
20 CRYSTAL CASTLES Tell Me What to Swallow
21 ILPO VÄISÄNEN 0'51"

2009-08-01T14:52:00.002+02:00

Nosei Sakata (*0) + Richard Chartier - 0/r (Japan & USA, 1999)

This collaboration was realized in 1999 via mail between the US and Japan. Raw tones and sounds were sent on minidisc to Chartier and returned to Sakata with new and altered material made from the original sounds. This exchange continued several times, as indicated by the track titles. The CD also includes two tracks "r" and "0" which are original solo works by each artist. Here's a slightly more illustrative review of the record. 0/r is also mentioned in Kim Cascone's essay "The Aesthetics of Failure," a recommendable read on the stylistic origins and development of glitch and microsound with references to the Italian Futurist movement of the early 20th century and Cagean silence. Find it here.

"Nosei Sakata, who records under the moniker *0, is from Tokyo, Japan. He is part of the new wave of japanese minimalists exploring computerized anti-music and the conceptual aspect of implied silence. *0 means “multiplied by zero” hence all answers to such a calculation are zero, and as a result *0 means “nothing”. The main concept of *0’s works centers around the Japanese thought of “mu”(nothing)... creating all things from an implied nothing.

Richard Chartier, minimal sound artist/composer and graphic designer, has recorded critically acclaimed recordings for Trente Oiseaux (Germany), LINE (USA), Meme (Japan), Fallt (Ireland), as well as collaborative works with [William Basinski] and Taylor Deupree, and has been featured on a number of international compilations including [the] comprehensive Clicks & Cuts 2 (Mille Plateaux, Germany). [...] Chartier’s work explores the relationship between sound, silence and the act of listening." (quoted from 12k)

Quality ranges from 128 to 160 kbps, sorry. Headphones are still mandatory, though. ;-)

01 0r
02 0/r
03 r/0
04 0/r/0
05 0/r/0
06 r/0
07 0/r
08 0/r/0
09 0
10 0/r/0
11 r/0
12 r
13 0/r/0/r

2009-07-27T23:29:00.004+02:00

Pierre Boulez - Dialogue De L'Ombre Double
(for clarinet and electronics, 1982-85)

01 Sigle Initial
02 Strophe I
03 Transition I à II
04 Strophe II
05 Transition II à III
06 Strophe III
07 Transition III à IV
08 Strophe IV
09 Transition IV à V
10 Strophe V
11 Transition V à VI
12 Strophe VI
13 Sigle Final

2009-07-21T00:27:00.006+02:00

By way of a change, some aural stimulation provided by Signal, the collaborative collective of Carsten Nikolai (more prominently known under the alias of Alva Noto), Frank Bretschneider, and Olaf Bender (both former members of AG Geige, and all of them founders of the Raster-Noton label).

Signal - Robotron (Germany, 2007)

01 Intro (Monsator)
02 Ermafa
03 Naplafa
04 Robotron
05 Malimo
06 Wismut
07 Rawema
08 Datasette
09 Sporett
10 Epirex Motor
11 Wismut (Version)

Out 1: Noli me tangere (Jacques Rivette, 1971)

2009-07-03T14:01:00.013+02:00

This request, as voiced by one of my readers, was partly sparked by that post of Garrel's La Cicatrice Intérieure, and constitutes another outstanding example of 1970s French experimentalism. So much for vacuous introductions.

ETA 07/29: All done.

"Out 1 has been accurately described as a “film-fleuve,” and though its current may be slow, its volume is massive; one could easily follow any one of its many tributaries to vast thematic territory: a documentary portrait of its era (so much of the film is shot in the open streets of Paris), individualism versus group dynamics, play and performances in and of the film, its use of mirrors as a dominant visual motif, its cinÈma vÈritÈ [sic] and handheld camera techniques borrowed from Jean Rouch, improvisational structures versus traditionally scripted execution, etc.

On first viewing, the film struck me as a deep meditation on the mythology, rehearsal, and excitement of groupmaking (acting troupes or political alliances) that envision changing the world but in the end find themselves abstracted and disorganized to the point of disintegration. It came as no surprise when Koehler compared the movie to Eustache’s equally absorbing The Mother and the Whore (1973) and other post-1968 films in which the dreams of political revolution are seen to fizzle and sputter into inactivity, personal tragedy, and even blithe denial. Out 1 is about the excitement of discovery and subversion, which is why it’s so well served by its formal system and mode of production. But as preparation, performance and seduction gradually drift into betrayal, lucidity and abandonment, its protagonists find themselves on the downward trough of a receding wave. “We laid out the principles but we never got further,” one conspirator confesses to another. “We committed without knowing our goal.” That the film wholly succeeds in being about–and an entrancing example of–that ebb and flow of unpredictable communal energy makes it an indelible cinematic adventure."

(as quoted from Doug)

Credit shall go to whoever originally digitalised and distributed this. Technical data of this release can be consulted here. The english subtitles are a little hard to follow at times because they overlap with the Italian hardsub. Download:

Episode 1: De Lili à Thomas (01:24:40)
Episode 2: De Thomas à Frédérique (01:44:53)
Episode 3: De Frédérique à Sarah (01:43:38)
Episode 4: De Sarah à Colin (01:41:39)
Episode 5: De Colin à Pauline (01:25:31)
Episode 6: De Pauline à Emilie (01:36:24)
Episode 7: D'Emilie à Lucie (01:33:45)
Episode 8: De Lucie à Marie (01:09:49)

2009-06-27T16:16:00.002+02:00

Anton Webern - Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 10 (1911-13)

1 Sehr ruhig und zart
2 Lebhaft und zart bewegt
3 Sehr langsam und äußerst ruhig
4 Fließend, äußerst zart
5 Sehr fließend

2009-06-21T12:42:00.004+02:00

Kim Cascone - cathodeFlower (USA, 1999)

1 cathodeFlower

2 vortexShedding (simplex)
3 nb2e_vortex
4 rotationalBeacon
5 nullDrift

2009-06-02T09:26:00.008+02:00

Eliane Radigue - Geelriandre & Arthesis

1 Geelriandre (1972)
2 Arthesis (1973)

"Pianist Gérard Fremy, in his liner notes - in French only, so you'd better invest in a good dictionary - recalls the story of the world premiere of Eliane Radigue's "Adnos" in the Musée Galliera, Paris, on November 10th 1974, an event at which all the important music journalists of the time were present, and not one of them wrote about. A kind of anti-Rite of Spring, if you like. Fremy seems somewhat baffled at the (non) reaction, but it seems clear that the reason for their silence was that they were confronted by a music that was literally decades ahead of its time. Back in the early seventies the first musicians who worked with ARP and Moog synthesizers were more interested in sci-fi bloops and swoops, but Radigue was one of the few composers (perhaps even the only composer) who recognised and exploited its potential for extremely slow transitions of pitch and timbre. Though she'd long been associated with the French musique concrète establishment through her work with Pierre Henry, her music revealed no apparent interest in Schaefferian solfège or the jump / cut aesthetic of standard slice'n'dice electronic music. Filing her away in the minimalism drawer might be inevitable, given her long association with various American institutions and enthusiastic champions of her music such as Phill Niblock, but the mystery and magic of Radigue's music occupies a twilight zone of minimalism between the static drone world of Young, Conrad and Niblock and the gradual process aesthetic of Reich and Glass. With the former, we're presented with great blocks of sound that occupy the listening space, redefining our perceptions of its architecture - the music itself is unchanging (until the often abrupt transition to the next drone), but we are free to explore its inner nuances; with the latter, once the process is set up and loaded, to quote Reich, it's more a question of following its gradual development, as musical material changes either incrementally (Glass's linear additive and Reich's later block additive processes) or at a regular rate (Reich's phase pieces). Radigue's elusive music sits squarely between the two perceptual worlds - it is forever on the move, albeit very slowly (try loading one of her pieces into some music software and speeding it up fivefold, and you'll be surprised), but constructed so meticulously that it somehow slips out of time: change is perceived as having taken place rather than taking place. However many times you listen - and this is music you will return to on many occasions - you'll probably never quite figure out how she did it.
The release (at last!) of these two works dating from 1972 and 1973 is another major event in the (re)discovery of Radigue's music, after Table Of The Elements' landmark triple CD issue of "Adnos" last year. "Geelriandre" features Fremy on piano, gently inserting beautifully poised sonorities into Radigue's seamless textures - John Tilbury's work with AMM comes inevitably to mind. Originally premiered in Paris in 1972, this particular recording was made in Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum seven years later, and a few distant Dutch hacking coughs unfortunately manage to make themselves heard. "Arthesis", realised on a Moog synthesizer during Radigue's residency at the University of Iowa in 1973, is heard here in a recording of its world premiere in Los Angeles' Theatre Vanguard that year. It's utterly useless to describe either of these works: they simply must be heard to be believed. French musician and Metamkine label boss Jérôme Noetinger, who released Radigue's "Biogenesis" on his Cinéma Pour L'Oreille Collection a while back, has indicated that there remain several other pieces her early 1970s music that have so far not been released. It surely is only a matter of time: the world might not have been ready for "Adnos" in 1974, but thirty years later, Eliane Radigue's time has come. Anyone who seriously claims to be interested in new music simply cannot afford to pass this by. " (Dan Warburton for Paris Transatlantic Magazine, issue of July 2003, via)

On a related note, I was unaware of the fact that she is part of a girlgroup (;p) called "The Lappetites", or as some people prefer to call it, a "forum, a meeting place, a concept within which to make and exchange new music via digital and sonic linking games in remote and local places within a multispeaker playground." Other members include Antye Greie who some of you might know from her collaboration (under the pseudonym of AGF) with Finnish electronic musician and partner Vladislav Delay; English live sampling performer and violinist Kaffe Matthews; and London-based artist Ryoko Kuwajima who runs the Melange label for videoart and experimental electronic music.

2009-06-02T09:17:00.006+02:00

Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles (USA, 1964)

1 One Finger Snap
2 Oliloqui Valley
3 Cantaloupe Island
4 The Egg
5 One Finger Snap (Alternate Take)
6 Oliloqui Valley (Alternate Take)

2009-05-16T13:09:00.016+02:00

ΣLCTRNC MX 2

Disk 1

RADIOHEAD Kid A 01
PLAID Choke and Fly 02
FEVER RAY When I Grow Up 03
KIT CLAYTON Deadlock 04
KANGDING RAY Dadaist 05
ALVA NOTO J 06
MICHAEL ANDREWS Boy Moves the Sun 07
MIKKEL METAL Hemper 08
A GUY CALLED GERALD Voodoo Rage 09
FRANK BRETSCHNEIDER & TAYLOR DEUPREE Vertical Invader 10
KIM CASCONE Three Parasites For Deleuze 11
THOMAS FEHLMANN Making It Whistle (Album Mix) 12
AUTECHRE Pen Expers 13
AKIRA YAMAOKA Resting Comfortably 14

Disk 2

01 XLOPING PLASTIX Tripwire
02 POLE Modul
03 FREELAND Big Wednesday
04 BASIC CHANNEL Radiance I (Edit)
05 SQUAREPUSHER I Wish You Could Talk
06 AMON TOBIN Natureland
07 FRANÇOIS BAYLE Énergie libre, énergie liée (1) & (2)
08 VENETIAN SNARES Második Galamb
09 STEWART WALKER Cocoa
10 LALI PUNA Alienation
11 KIT CLAYTON Reins
12 KANGDING RAY Visible
13 BROADCAST Minim
14 AARKTICA You Have Cured A Million Ghosts From Roaming In My Head

ETA: The second disk has been taken down twice by now, without any explanation whatsoever, so a re-upload is rather pointless. If you're still interested in this, feel free to leave a comment.

2009-05-16T13:04:00.003+02:00

Iannis Xenakis - Anaktoria et al.

(©)

1 Anaktoria (1969)
2 Oophaa (1989)
3 Charisma (1971)
4 Mists (1981)
5 Mikka et Mikka 'S' (1972, 1975)
6 Morsima-Amorsima (1956-62)

2009-05-16T13:01:00.002+02:00

Iannis Xenakis - Choral Music

(©)

1 A Colone (1977)
2 Nuits (1967)
3 Serment (1981)
4 Knephas (1990)
5 Medea (1967)

2009-05-13T16:51:00.006+02:00

Claude Debussy - La Chute de la Maison Usher

(Opera fragment, 1908-17)

(illustration by Harry Clarke for "The Fall of the House of Usher)

Without the highest expectations, I looked for this again on slsk today, and there it was. Alas, only 128 kbps but I was so slaphappy to finally get my ears on this. Thanks to that nice Mexican fellow with whom I happened to enjoy a small morning chat before setting off to my class on "philosophy and music," ha!

"The Fall of the House of Usher is among the finest short-stories that Edgar Allan Poe has written. Till today, it fascinates readers with its fantastic atmosphere of the dread which springs from the human psyche. The story is centered around Roderick Usher, the last descendant of an old nobility, who lives together with his sister in an old, gloomy and reclusive mansion. The activities taking place in this house possess symbolic meaning and touch on some of Poe's preferred subjects such as the margin between life and death, human delusion, isolation and detachment from the world.

Debussy took notice of the story fairly early on, in the version as translated by Charles Baudelaire. The material fascinated him at once. Today we don't know for certain when he started working on translating the story into music. The idea must have been in his head as early as 1890 as some of his letters indicate. Initially, he seems to have had a symphony in mind, however. The actual work on the opera probably started in 1908 and continued to solicit his attention until the final years of his life. Similar to "Pelléas et Mélisande" he seems to have struggled for every single note. The opera, however, never reached completion, impeded both by Debussy's exhausting compositional work and his suffering from cancer intensifying throughout the years. About half of the opera - the complete first act and two scenes of the second act - had been finished, and some of it had also been noted down on sketch sheets."

(translated from jochenscheytt.de)

1. Prélude - Scène I (9'39)
2. Scène II (13'06)

2009-05-12T22:15:00.006+02:00

Back in December, I had curtly spoken about "Labirynt", a shortfilm by Polish animator Jan Leniča which until then had only been available via youtube. Now I was approached by fellow blogger vespucci who was kind enough to upload a version of much higher quality, i. e. crisper image and larger aspect ratio. So here's the link he gave me (I hope it's alright to spread this).

2009-05-12T22:09:00.005+02:00

Eliane Radigue - L'Île re-sonante (France, 2005)

"For 'L'Île re-sonante', Eliane Radigue conceived her inspiration from an image: An island in a lake, in the water of which her face is being reflected. This is both a "real" image and an optical illusion. The sounds refer to the depths - the water of the lake - und the heights - the island which rises above. The composer stresses the transparency from which this piece essentially sprung and at the same time, she provides another source of inspiration: that special moment in classical music when our ear ceases to hear the preceding notes but does not yet hear those notes to come. This transient fraction of a second which is located in a "not yet" becomes considerably prolonged here. But nothing - no explanation, no meaning - is forced upon the listener, on the contrary: Everything invites him to hearken the resonance of his own interior. [...]

A tone is born from silence and slowly swells from a deep bass while a little while later, the highs emerge and play their part in a whole range of oscillations. In a shimmering chime, this high tone starts to open, seemingly alive and curling, in swelling movements. The key to the secret of this electronic tone which is literally being made alive, is the gradual addition of further frequencies to the original note, slowly giving shape to that hint of sound - until suddenly, you get the impression of hearing some kind of lullaby, a human melody, far off in the distance, shifting from one sonar summit to another."

(translated from Ars Electronica)

Serial Experiments Lain (Japan, 1998)

2009-05-04T09:02:00.010+02:00

“She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called petites madeleines, which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim's shell. And soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate than a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place…at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory…”

Granted, quoting this much-addressed passage from Proust's In Search of Lost Time testifies a certain lameness on my part, and why is this extract which stems from one of the greatest achievements in literature (according to popular belief, as I haven't read the whole bloody thing) here anyway, in the vicinity of what is supposed to be a fervently propagandistic sort of summary of a dubious animated series from Japan?
The madeleine issue, for one thing, is alluded to in the very last episode. And the concept which said madeleine issue itself alludes to - memory, in Proust's instance memories which are connected with, unearthed really from a person's mind by some sensuous experience with a certain object, such as the taste of a madeleine biscuit soaked with tea triggers a memory of his childhood - looms large in Serial Experiments Lain. Here, it is put in juxtaposition with questions of existence and identity,

"What isn't remembered never happened. Memory is merely a record. You just need to re-write that record." / "If you aren't remembered, then you never existed."

and subjects such as God, psychotropic drugs, our individual perception and definition of reality and certainly, communication in this age of highly advanced technology. Infact, a frequently used shot in pretty much every episode is that of high-tension wires producing a permanent whirring noise, signifying that "everyone is always connected."

Lain, the eponymous protagonist of the series, is an adolescent girl who lives with her clinical mother, technology-obsessed father and her typically irritable older sister in suburban Japan. Some schoolmates tell her that they've received e-mails from a girl who has just committed suicide, and when Lain herself sees the message in her computer at home, the apparently dead girl Chisa contacts her, saying that she has "just abandoned her flesh" and has found God in the Wired, a global communications network similar to but slightly more extreme than the internet.

Visually, although a little dated by today's standard and not exactly as impressive as Mononoke, the style of Lain is still incredibly striking and atmospheric, alternating between landscapes bleak and gloomy, psychedelically colourful, and luminously bright. The omnipresence of the Wired is symbolized by red moving patterns in the shadows of buildings, and at times the creators make use of Godard-influenced onscreen typography (see his Week-end as an exemplary display of this technique). The "bruitage" of Lain fluctuates between simulations of sounds of machines and urban infrastructure on the one hand and pieces of both harsh and melancholic electronica on the other which emphasize the solitude and confusion of Lain herself. The opening theme ("Duvet" by British band Bôa) seems antithetical but effectively adds to the whole and gently resonates Lain's state of mind.

Hopefully I managed to ignite some interest in some of you despite my lack of reviewing abilities and didn't just make this sound like a shitload of Cyberpunk mindfuck. It's 13 episodes à 20 minutes, and as such tremendously dense and at times a little frustrating to follow, but it's still a rewarding experience.

d/l
(upload courtesy of Syphin / Spiral Nine)

Format: .ogm
Language: Japanese / English
Subtitles: English softsub

Episodes:

Layer 01: Wired
Layer 02: Girls
Layer 03: Psyche
Layer 04: Religion
Layer 05: Distortion
Layer 06: Kids
Layer 07: Society
Layer 08: Rumors
Layer 09: Protocol
Layer 10: Love
Layer 11: Infornography
Layer 12: Landscape
Layer 13: Ego

2009-05-02T10:30:00.014+02:00

Diaspora: Cottage Industries 5 (UK, 2008)

1
1-01 MXM - The Untitled Deep
1-02 Move D - Anne Will (Benjamin Brunn Remix)
1-03 Tilman Ehrhorn - Supernova
1-04 Remote_ - Public Service
1-05 Pridon - Vidiomo
1-06 Move D - Spacerckr
1-07 Plexus Instruments - Jean Luc Cannard
1-08 Deer - Closet Gap
1-09 Dimitar Dodovski - Aluminium Bend
1-10 Fluxion - Dpoles
1-11 A Made Up Sound - Density
1-12 A.K.A Dings - S...like(s)talker
1-13 Relapxych.0 - Medicadhyana (Edit)

Sense - Rain 5 01-2
Build Buildings - Letter Codes 02-2
Kangding Ray - The Orange Song 03-2
Plexus Instruments - The Setup 04-2
Benjamin Brunn - If 05-2
Maps & Diagrams - A Fractious Apparition 06-2
7 Fell - Put Your Hand In The Fire 07-2
Pridon - Slower And More 08-2
Soundhacker - Weata 09-2
Palac - On Arianne And Francois, Montalivet, France 10-2
Climnoizer - Ser Doc 11-2
Seven Ark - Version 2 12-2
Room - Wooden Mouth 13-2
NQ - Maiz Linkholm 14-2
Andrey Kiritchenko - Speading Comets 15-2
Honey Sacrifice - Patine 16-2
Nacht Plank And Shintaro Aoki - A Conversation At Sea 17-2

2009-05-01T16:20:00.002+02:00

Pierre Boulez - Anthèmes II, for violin and electronics

(©)

Wired at last

2009-04-29T09:19:00.016+02:00

Hullo everyone,

after about a year and a half I finally received internet access at my apartment, and to celebrate my permanent return to the age of modernity, I deemed nothing more appropriate than to post the score to one of my favourite animations, Serial Experiments Lain, which comprises most of the background music used in the series. If there's a general interest (and there absolutely should be), I shall post the thirteen episodes as well.

Serial Experiments Lain Bootleg (Akira Takemoto)

01 Toukou (Attending School)

02 Ekutopurazumu (Ectoplasm)
03 Densha (Train)
04 Saiberia Tekusuchua 1 + 2 (Cyberia Texture 1 + 2)
05 Kurofuku 1A (Black Suit 1A)
06 Kurofuku 2A (Black Suit 2A)
07 Kurofuku 3A (Black Suit 3A)
08 Kurofuku 4A (Black Suit 4A)*
09 Hitoribotchi 1B (Solitude 1B)*
10 Hitoribotchi 2 (Solitude 2)*
11 Onigokko (Gaccha!)*
12 Fantoma Kidou Gamen (Phantoma Starting Scene)
13 Fantoma Geemu Gamen (Phantoma Game Scene)
14 Deiusu No Teema (Deus Theme)*
15 Ningyou (Doll)*
16 Shinzou (Shinto Image)
17 Kuzureru Bi Ko (Scent of Crumbling Beauty)
18 Kyodai Rein (Enormous Lain)*
19 Chisha Neko (Cheshire Cat)
20 KIDS System
21 Kachou Fuugetsu (Enjoying Nature)
22 Taipogurafi - 1 (Typography - 1)
23 Adaruto Saito (Adult Site)
24 Bukiyou Na Repurikanto (Clumsy Replicant)
25 Tsumetai Shisen B (Cold Line Of Sight B)
26 Saiberia Tekusuchua 5A (Cyberia Texture 5A)
27 Saiberia Tekusuchua 5B (Cyberia Texture 5B)
28 MJ-XX*
29 Zoruge
30 Track 44
31 Rein to Eiri (Lain and Eiri)
32 Complications*
33 Captured Ghost
34 Dreadful Eiri
35 Rasuto (Last)*
36 Purototaipu A (Prototype A)
37 Purototaipu B (Prototype B)*
38 Purototaipu C (Prototype C)
39 Purototaipu D (Prototype D)
40 Purototaipu E (Prototype E)
41 Purototaipu F (Prototype F)
42 Purototaipu G (Prototype G)
43 Purototaipu I (Prototype I)*
44 Purototaipu J (Prototype J)*
45 Purototaipu K (Prototype K)

* indicates track picks, should you not desire to listen to the whole thing

2009-04-05T17:12:00.014+02:00

ΣLCTRNC MX 1

Disk 1, 65:06

FAT SEGAL Skins Theme (Extended) 01
MODESELEKTOR The White Flash 02
JUSTICE Waters of Nazareth 03
THE KNIFE From Off to On 04
KIT CLAYTON Aspoket 05
VLADISLAV DELAY Viite 06
JENNIFER CARDINI & SHONKY Tuesday Paranoia 07
PORTISHEAD Machine Gun 08
CHRISTIAN BLOCH Dawn 09
SOLAR FIELDS Mirror's Edge Menu Song 10
KID606 - Sonqizzmaster 11
THE FLASHBULB Mellann 12
AKIRA YAMAOKA Claw Finger 13
ALL Überall 14

Disk 2, 51:38

01 SYNCOPIX Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy
02 KID606 - Something's Not Right
03 RØYKSOPP What Else Is There
04 DIGITALISM Homezone
05 BELONG I'm Too Sleepy...Shall We Swim?
06 PORN SWORD TOBACCO Cubical Fever
07 XANOPTICON Indec
08 APHEX TWIN Xtal
09 VITALIC Trahison
10 AKIRA TAKEMOTO Purototaipu B
11 OKKYUNG LEE Home
12 PARA ONE Tape
13 YOU LOVE HER COZ SHE'S DEAD Superheroes

2009-03-28T10:54:00.004+01:00

Alex over at Querbeet has posted the record of Asakawa Maki's Tokyo concert on December 31, 1971. (rslink)

2009-02-08T11:21:00.007+01:00

Rural Psychogeography (Ukraine, 2004)

01 Geoff Dugan - No Trespassing
02 Francisco López - Untitled #151
03 Anla Courtis - Latencia De Viento De Puna
04 Jason Kahn - Kreis5
05 Andrey Kiritchenko - Babai
06 Tomas Korber & Günter Müller - Beijing Crossroad
07 Lunt - Double Strapontine
08 Moglass, The - Koktebel
09 Radian - Unje
10 Tom Carter & Vanessa Arn - Mojave
11 Martin Tétreault - D'Apres Gaycre #3
12 Rosy Parlane - Nica
13 Steinbrüchel - Distanz
14 Kim Cascone - DMZspace
15 Kotra - Lost River
16 Freiband & Kouhei - (Under The) Waalbrug, Nijmegen

Psychogeography as a socially critical art practice could reveal itself only in the city. Psychogeographers of the sixties searched for the secret territories, where suppressed desires were particularly intense, expecting to find them primarily in the points of concentrated sociality. In these points sociality reached critical mass and broke out between the disciplinary realm of the city and a spontaneous self-actualization of an individual. As a result, the events that were provoked and captured by psychogeographers, turned out to be transgressive evidence of "the holiday of revolution". The locales where turmoil and confusion, demonstrations of madness and mental play and other "curious occurrences" were the most frequent, held pride of place on psychogeographic maps. However, the time when the philosophy of schizy-analysis and the aesthetics of situationalism spurted out to city streets, has passed. The post-coital depression that followed the orgy discouraged and upset the participants, and they left city streets.

The resistance remains important and actual, although its methods change. It is no longer a strike; it is rather a partisan movement, "resistance through escape". Those who are unable to accept this fact turn into terrorists, blow art up or start revolutions and rebellions in their own minds. However, the real partisans retire and hide, secluding themselves from everyone, confining themselves to external and internal country roads and wood trails, and staying off the beaten tracks where the solitude in crowd and garish sameness await the creator. The lost simplicity and naturalness are in provincial marginalias, not in carnivals of barricades.

The message/transmitter corresponds to the location of transmission. This is neither a manifest nor a general discourse; it is more of an attempt to convey the meaning in the most compressed way, for instance, through free musical improvisation. The message/transmitter itself gives an impression of the situation on the certain road or trail, and, moreover, an immediate and clear one. But what is more important, since psychogeography here is valuable by itself and does not have to pursue any other objectives, the transmitter is also valuable per se, and the message about the event that takes place within the secret territory is considered as the event itself. Herein a partisan can use the latest achievements of the civilization for the demolition of this same civilization. The result comes through as a laptop in the woods serving as the most mobile psycho-prosthesis which creates, captures, stores and transmits meanings.

City partisans keep in touch with rural psychogeographers and readily adopt their experience. As a result, an underground station in Paris all of a sudden becomes reminiscent of a country backyard filled with sounds made by domestic animals, insects, people attending to their chores, and even power supply lines. Generally speaking, any psychogeography that allows finding a valuable method of personal expression that previously seemed impossible, can be considered rural. We cannot say that the realization of personal expression is getting back on track in postmodern era, but the impossibility of realization turns into its possibility which can be carried into effect far from semantic highways and avenues. Moreover, since any expression, whether it is signed or not, is personal in one way or other, and the signed but unmade one is personal twofold, a lot of secret spots reveal themselves on country roads.

This is why the path of a rural psychogeographer is long. He will not encounter the Minotaur in the labyrinth of country roads because this labyrinth does not have a center where the Minotaur could have taken up his residence. This is why the labyrinth looks like a rhizome of surface; having entered it once, one can wander about for ever, endlessly discovering new liaisons between the well-known locations. This is why the wayfarer must take care about the durability of his footwear and take a die knife with him. The handle of this knife is located in Europe and North America, the cutting blade passes through Ukraine, and the blade end is directed towards New Zealand which is one of the most distant and at the same time most impressive secret points.

Natalia Zagurskaya (via)

Mononoke (Japan, 2007)

2009-02-07T13:25:00.023+01:00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
(Japanese with English subtitles)

Mononoke is a 12 episode-spanning animated series which follows a nameless medicine seller (pictured above, I'd like to call him Link) in his travels and the various people — and monsters, so-called "mononoke" — he ends up encountering. A mononoke results when an "ayakashi", a spirit that simply comes into being, unites with strong human emotions such as vengeance, sadness or fear. The medicine seller is capable of defeating these spirits by using the sword of exorcism, but in order to unsheathe the sword and slay the mononoke he must find the shape ("katachi"; its true form), truth ("makoto"; the reason for its existence), and regret /reasoning ("kotowari"; what it hopes to accomplish) in order to defeat it. This exorcism technique is based on the Mikkyo Buddhism concept of "San Himitsu," which translates to "The Three Secrets."

Apart from the most striking feature, its highly experimental and unconventional visual style which juxtaposes and combines the traditional Japanese art of "ukiyo-e" with elements of Western art movements such as art nouveau, surrealism, expressionism and cubism (read more about this here and here), the series clearly serves as a great demonstration of Japanese mythology and culture. For instance, I had read about the "ko-kwai" in Lafcadio Hearn's In Ghostly Japan which he translates as "incense-party", a meeting of people with the object of playing a curious game which depends upon the participants' ability to remember and name different kinds of incense by the perfume alone (read the respective chapter here). I was, then, delighted to see a slightly altered version of this procedure visualized in the 4th of Mononoke's five story arcs where the female heir of a famous school of incense has to marry one out of four guys vying for her hand. The lucky person is to be determined by a game called "genjikou," where everyone needs to smell different scents and try to discern which are the same. As the word might indicate, this game refers to a chapter from the Tale of Genji where five "kiki-gouro" (incense cups) are prepared by covering lit charcoal with ash and placing a mica plate with incense wood on top to be passed among the contestants.

If you want to give this a try, I suggest you could start with the last arc (episodes 10-12) which is set in what appears to be the 1920s rather than historical Japan. I certainly thought these to be the most astonishing episodes, as far as style is concerned at least. The landscape is predominated by a bleak and I'd say expressionist tone in comparison to the rest of the series. For me, it was partly reminiscent of Angel's Egg and Serial Experiments Lain, and I really love the style of setting in both of these works. The fourth arc (8-9) which I've already mentioned is also one of my favourites and is mainly monochrome with selected parts being tinged with colour (a feature which has already been put to some prominent use in Sin City). The first and second arc, most of all, are studies in space, geometry and perspective, and probably the most colourful in the series. There's an interesting article on the interior design in Mononoke at Iwa ni Hana, a blog I've already mentioned when I happened upon the Leviča short, Labirynt. She's also uttered some interesting and more elaborate thoughts on the episodes here.