Fall program at Mercedes, curated by MANA


Mana‘s residence at O Meu Mercedes É Maior Que O Teu, in Porto, will return with performances by Tropa Macaca (October 5), Loosers (November 2) and a new formation with Pedro Gomes, André Abel and Gabriel Ferrandini (December 7th)! If in Porto, stay tuned for these! Tickets are available at Matéria Prima (Porto) e Jo-Jo’s Music.

“Five Years on Cold Asphalt” reviewed by Freistil

Five Years on Cold Asphalt
Die Idee zu diesem Quarz-Projekt stammt von Alexandr Vatagin, von dem in dieser Gazette schon mehrfach zu lesen war (siehe u.a. das valeot-Labelporträt), und seinem Tupolev-Bandkollegen Lukas Scholler. Zweiterer hat sich inzwischen daraus zurückgezogen, Vatagin hält Quarz seither allein am Leben. Für diese bewusst offen konstruierte Combo lädt er gerne Gäste ein, vorwiegend aus der Elektronik/Synthesizer/Sampler-Belegschaft. Auf der vorliegenden Platte sind das u.a. das einstige Radian-Mitglied Stefan Németh und sein direkter Nachfolger Martin Siewert. Dazu gesellen sich für „Fünf Jahre auf kaltem Asphalt“ die zwei prächtigen Perkussionisten Bernhard Breuer & David Schweighart, wovon letzterer sich auf field recordings beschränkt. Wir hören hier ein einziges, gut halbstündiges Stück, das kurz vor der Finalisierung heftig zu schwingen beginnt und mit einemmal abhebt wie ein Heißluftballon. Es ist eine außerordentlich eindringliche Musik, eine „mit scharf“. Fesselnd wie ein Thriller, hart wie Quarz. Und glänzend! (felix)

Futurónica 071


Episode 71 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, September 21st.

The playlist of Futurónica 71 is:

  • Brian Eno, An Ending (Ascent) (1983, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, EG)
  • Sun Ra, The Satellites are Spinning (1971, The Solar-Myth Approach, BYG)
  • Iannis Xenakis, Pléïades: Peaux (1978, Pléïades)
  • Machinefabriek, Apollo (2011, Apollo)
  • György Ligeti, Adventures (1968, 2001 — A Space Odyssey)
  • Iannis Xenakis, Pléïades: Mélanges (1978, Pléïades)
  • Brian Eno, Always Returning (1983, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, EG)

You can follow Rádio Zero’s broadcasts at radiozero.pt/ouvir.

New podcast: Phonic Psychomimesis


“Riga Walkthrough” is a dreamlike sound collage, a mental constructions of the city representing sonic urban colorfulness. The work consists of ingredients as: traffic, public transport, crowds (bars, cafes, markets, stations, shopping malls, supermarkets), sport games, amusement parks, concerts, cinemas, theaters, kindergartens, fireworks, street musicians, airplane drones, church bells, footsteps, halls, hangars, birds, rain, bicycle and skateboard sounds, flagpoles, movements of security cameras, suburban night-time ambiences and other details.

Recorded and composed by Raitis Upens and Rihards Bražinskis, 2012.

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Download here or subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

An uncompressed surround WAV version is also available for download.

Two @c performances this weekend in Ljubljana


Pedro Tudela and Miguel Carvalhais will present two performances in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Sunday, September 9, a live performance preceded by an artist talk will take place in Bikofe at 21h.

Monday, September 10, a trio performance with André Rangel at ICMC2012, where they will present the multimodal performance object OAV. This performance will be part of the afternoon concerts at the Španški Borci in Ljubljana.

Futurónica 070


Episode 70 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, September 7th.

The playlist of Futurónica 70 is:

  • Quarz, Five Years on Cold Asphalt (2012, Five Years on Cold Asphalt, Crónica)
  • Janek Schaefer, The Ghost Road (2010, “Asleep at the wheel…” Ghost Road Soundtracks)
  • Christian Vogel, Sora Tobu Black Swan (2010, Black Swan, Editions Mego)

You can follow Rádio Zero’s broadcasts at radiozero.pt/ouvir.

“Five Years on Cold Asphalt” reviewed by Boomkat

Five Years on Cold Asphalt
‘Five Years on Cold Asphalt’ is a debut album by Alexandr Vatagin’s Quarz. Like his solo work on self-run labels Valeot Records and Liska Records, and in parallel to his membership of the Tupolev & Port Royal ensembles, the Viennese native uses electronic-affected cello and bass to create creaking electro-acoustic soundscapes rooted with a kinship to dark, experimental jazz music and modern composition. This 34 minute piece is a miasmic trip through filigree electronic microtones, clangourous sonorities, field recordings and gloaming drone, all held together with subtle percussions and an intimate feel for texture, which, even during the quietest moments infers a constant sense of movement and unpredictability recalling works by Francisco Lopez, Steve Roden or Philippe Petit.

via Boomkat