New Crónicaster: Loïs Laplace

Chords, by Loïs Laplace
“This is a seven part piano recording made in 2005, a short time after I saw a free jazz concert during which Tony Oxley was playing drums. I was intrigued by Tony Oxley’s relaxed attitude, the fluid and easy way of movements of his hands and arms in the mean time of a high energy music creation — at these moments notes were accelerated and the time seemed suspended.”

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Arturas Bumšteinas releases “Heap of Language”


Arturas Bumšteinas has just released a new CD, “Heap of Language”, in Polish label Bôłt records.

Creating music out of nothing is simply impossible. It’s better, then, to consciously “re-write history” rather than pretend to be some kind of demiurge […] An interesting example is the cycle “Five Songs” which includes “Nasdaq” and “Malcowa”. Each singer sent me his favorite song which ranged from pop to real folk-music. The recordings of these pieces have been then re-composed and transformed in many different ways. I used spectral analysis to come up with harmony material for the instrumental ensemble. I re-organized the original vocal parts using graphic and number notation; I also made use of the so called “audio scores”, which are model recordings, imitated later by the performing musicians […] Open forms are introduced in order to make more space for the creativity of performers. This increases the possibility that the music will become some kind of communication, that the meeting with the musician becomes a meeting with another man, and not only a performer. And pretty much everyone can understand the language of numbers I used for the notation to approximate the pitch and rhythm intervals in my “Antiradical Opera”. Anyone can interpret my “sound scores” by simply imitating the prototype recording. This entails the concept of shared responsibility for the overall effect.

More info on boltrecords.pl

Stephan Mathieu and Caro Mikalef at Sónar Barcelona


Created especially for the Cosmocaixa Planetarium, Constellations is an audiovisual project by Stephan Mathieu and Caro Mikalef inspired by the music of Antonio de Cabezón, one of the most important Renaissance composers of keyboard music, who was born 500 years ago this year. The roots of the project lie in Stephan Mathieus Virginals series, a set of works to be performed with historic media and early instruments using contemporary methods.

For Constellations, Mathieu and Mikalef will utilize electromagnets to set the strings of a harpsichord into continuous vibration. By expanding the natural sound of the instrument using magnetic fields, the resonating strings generate harmonically rich sonorities that gradually fill the planetarium space with overtonal patterns.

To frame the piece with a prelude and coda, the harpsichordist Carles Budó will perform special interpretations of original music by Antonio de Cabezón (who composed by applying theories of astronomy) on a second instrument, to create a surprising dialogue between the work of the Renaissance composer and Stephan Mathieu and Caro Mikalef’s take on sound.

Another protagonist of the performance is a slowly spinning, purpose built mobile, constructed with optical lenses, mirrors, acrylic and metal discs, which projects, illuminated by spotlights, a series of subtle “light forms” onto the planetarium dome. Spectral light, reflections and shadows will constantly reconfigure, alluding to the constellations that give the piece its name.

June 17. 18. + 19.2010 @ SONAR 2010
CosmoCaixa Science Park
C Isaac Newton, 26
Barcelona
Spain

This month with The Wire magazine: Exploratory Music from Poland vol. 2


“Exploratory Music From Poland vol. 2” is a CD produced by AudioTong.net and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of Polska! Year. Polska! Year aims to present the most interesting achievements of Polish culture to the British public in the fields of visual arts, theatre, music, film and literature. Among others, this CD presents a track from Piotr Kurek, “Go Up” previously published in his CD “Lectures”.

More info at thewire.co.uk

Only one copy left of Janek Schaefer and Stephan Mathieu’s split 5″ vinyl

Fifty Inner Spaces (for JG Ballard) / Girl
Only one of the 50 copies of “Fifty Inner Spaces (for JG Ballard) / Girl” 5″ vinyl by Janek Schaefer and Stephan Mathieu is still available for sale at its original price of 30 Euro. This was a unique pressing of 50 different discs that will never be republished.

If you want to purchase it please send us an email to sales@cronicaelectronica.org and we will instruct you how to pay via paypal! As with all other orders from Crónica, and while supplies last, we will offer a copy of the “Crónica L” compilation.

Reminder: get a free CD of “Crónica L”

Crónica L
The “Crónica L” is freely distributed to all the subscribers of Neural magazine (issue #36, May 2010) and is not sold through any of the usual distribution channels. We have some copies to offer with all the orders of other Crónica releases from out website. Please check how to get one here.

“Apparatus” sound installation


Marc Behrens shows a new sound installation in Copenhagen, at IMO gallery, Ny Carlsberg Vej 68, May 28 through June 10, 2010. An artist talk took place on May 31.

The work is featured in Phonebox, a series of 12 exhibitions. Phonebox is located in a former phone cabin, which will serve as an intimate exhibition space with room for only one person at a time.

Behrens’ new work APPARATUS is heard from two distinct sources at once. While the public is invited to listen to the sound over the headphones, a different layer of sound is at the same time transmitted over speakers installed in the small room. This technique creates a sonic and spatial dynamic where different layers blend and overlap. The work explores parallel perception, multiple viewpoints, displacement and asymmetric sound spatialization. [Rune Søchting, IMO]

http://www.marcbehrens.com/proj/apparatus.html