First issue of the Corollaries series of works from Active Crossover: Mooste, to be published during 2016.
“Gamelan Descending a Staircase†reviewed by Whisperin And Hollerin
It seems appropriate that Cronica’s 100th release should be something that’s as unique and as arty (for wont of a better word) as Arturas Bumšteinas’ ‘Gamelan Descending a Staircase’. Its title is a reference to Marcel Duchamp’s 1912 classic modernist painting ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’, while its composition and formulation – a development of a surround-sound performance / sonic exhibition using a large collection of Indonesian Gamelan orchestra instruments (which resemble lidded cooking pots) – corresponds with the avant-garde associations forever tied to Duchamp.
It’s an intriguing work. The album consists of a single track with a running time of some fifty minutes (the download includes an additional track in the form of the 12-minute ‘Sad Young Man on a Train’, but lacks the magnificent gatefold cover of the CD release).
Chanking chimes clatter and clang, rhythms fleetingly conglomerate and disperse. Moments of charming musicality flicker and fade into discordance, and the track gradually shifts in tone and texture. Incidental sounds – drones, hums, clattering percussion and crashing gongs – add dimensionality to the sound as it transitions to a blunt metallic clang by the 40-minute mark, the soft tones having shifted toward abrasion. The piece finally resolves with a diminishment, and finally, slowly, a dissipation, and, ultimately, silence. Christopher Nosnibor
Soon in Crónica: Against Nature
“Positions†reviewed by The Sound Projector
Position is both key and title to this satisfying collection consisting largely of deep, tone/drone-based improvisations instigated by Dutch composer Martijn Tellinga in locations as disparate as Australia, Argentina and the Netherlands. Titles such as ‘Three Modulators, for Trombones’ might inform us as to the apparatus in use, but the performance (or listening) is explicitly defined by the acoustic space in which the novel combination of three trombonists make their foray throughout the performance. With similar inquisitiveness, two musicians circulate the venue for an unannounced performance in ‘Truth, Exercises For a Listener’, handheld recorders brimming with the sounds of chattering audience members.
Correspondingly, the music veers from immediate and involving to frustratingly distant, the exploratory nature of the performances demanding a willingness to tune into the delicate relationship between sound and space, which isn’t always easy: the closer ‘Positions for those involved’ – an interactive piece for audience members – lacks any of the excitement one might have intimated from such a spontaneous arrangement. Fortunately, virtuous editing shears these recordings of the painful emptiness of space and purpose that often leaves improvised performances dull and directionless. Stuart Marshall
EmÃdio Buchinho and Carlos Santos live at Casa da Música, Porto
Next Saturday, January 16, EmÃdio Buchinho and Carlos Santos, from whom Crónica has just released The Venus of Pistoletto, will perform at Casa da Música, in Porto, presenting three electroacoustic pieces.
Starts at 22h30 at Sala de Ensaios 2. Entrance is free.
New release: “The Venus of Pistolettoâ€
Does God exist?
Yes, I do
Michelangelo Pistoletto
This collaborative performance was developed from everyday sounds and objects, lo-fi technology and computer, and has its roots in Arte Povera, in a special homage to Michelangelo Pistoletto.
Besides the microphones and computer, the use of motorized or electronic tools, as well as found objects (leaves, twigs, paper, marbles, vegetables, bicycle, screws, etc.), is essential for creating the sounds that make up The Venus of Pistoletto, a mixture of concert, performance and installation, where small mechanisms embody an almost “factory-like†activity, enveloping the audience in sound.
The Venus of Pistoletto was created between 2006 and 2011, and was commissioned by the Granular Association. It was premiered at “Der Gelbe Klang†cycle in 2006, curated by Granular at the Museu do Chiado, Lisbon. It was also presented at the “CreativeSources Fest#2†at Galeria Monumental, Lisbon, in 2007 and at Espaço Avenida, Lisbon, in 2008. This recording was made at the public performance of April 13, 2011, at Culturgest, Lisbon, in the “27 Senses†cycle, also organized by Granular.
EmÃdio Buchinho: Conception and composition, found objects, bicycle, board of Pistoletto, microphones, audio cassette combo amplifiers and recorders, computer and sound processing; production, sound mixing and mastering; photography.
Carlos Santos: Conception and composition, found objects, bicycle, board of Pistoletto, piezo microphones, computer programming, sound processing and multi-channel electroacoustic diffusion; production and sound recording; photography.
The Venus of Pistoletto is now available as a free download from Crónica or cronica.bandcamp.com.
Video review of Natal dos Experimentais 2015
Natal dos Experimentais 2015 from cronicaelectronica on Vimeo.
Last December 11, in Porto, the 11th Natal dos Experimentais, featuring Pal, Hugo Paquete, Christian Faubel, Eosin and InC++. Footage by Pedro Almeida, Pedro Tudela and Maria Do Carmo Louceiro, edited by Pedro Almeida.
Soon in Crónica: Everything Emanating from the Sun
First issue of the Corollaries series of works from Active Crossover: Mooste, to be published during 2016.
Futurónica 157
Episode 157 of Futurónica, a broadcast in Rádio Manobras (91.5 MHz in Porto, 18h30) and Rádio Zero (21h GMT, repeating on Tuesday at 01h) airs tomorrow, January 8th.
The playlist of Futurónica 157 is:
- LuÃs Antero & Darius ÄŒiuta, Antip (2015, Antip, Mimi)
You can follow Rádio Zero’s broadcasts at radiozero.pt/ouvir and Rádio Manobras at radiomanobras.pt.
Soon in Crónica: The Venus of Pistoletto