De l’enregistrement comme matériau. Pour cet artiste sonore britannique, l’utilisation de l’enregistrement dans tous ses états, même les plus extrêmes, est un credo. Allant jusqu’à leurs défauts, et l’échec de leur reproduction. en plus de leur utilisation dans un cadre artistique, il lie son travail à la pédagogie et réalise de nombreux ateliers d’écoute et d’enregistrement, ainsi que de construction de microphones, notamment avec des enfants à travers le monde (Colombie, Corée du Sud), ou avec des mineurs “non accompagnésâ€, dans un centre pour migrants en Allemagne, par exemple. Ici, toutes les sources proviennent d’enregistrements réalisés lors d’une résidence en Norvège en 2013. Et nous sommes confrontés à un univers “au bord du presque rienâ€, comme pour mieux fixer l’écoute, où le moindre son prend soudain la prestance d’un monument. Tout démarre sur une trame de vent, chargée de légers battements/cliquetis, en une vibration, comme projection de particules dans l’atmosphère. Cut brutal à mi-parcours, suivi de tronçons bruitantes et de sautes de volume, lardés de quelques fritures denses, de bruits sourds. La seconde piste est du quasi silence: juste une petite fréquence miaulante, qui va et vient. Le troisième morceau consiste en enregistrements ambiants, en déplacements d’objets sur une parquet: impacts, roulades. Suit un silence (presque), et ne reste que la rumeur. Le presque rien, donc: quelques tintements parcimonieux, un sifflement, un archet, et puis soudain vient une densification des couches, pour un final presque rock (doom) un peu saturé. Une courbe. Quatrième chapitre: du scratch, des attaques, un liquide qui bout sur fond de crépitements, certains à ras la membrane; un peu d’eau, puis de craquements, une porte claque, bruits de citernes, un son continu de 50 herts (grand frigo) avec des feedbacks, des sons très concrets, bruits de chauffe-eau, et fin sur de petites fritures feulantes. Le CD s’achève en un bourdon gris, avec uns mince pulsion, auquel succèdent son de tunnel, buzz roulant, ondes courtes, dotés d’un son sale à souhait, étouffé, qui retourne au silence… Soit une bande sonore des instants gris, dans l’infra de l’écoute, avec de petits signes de vie du monde sonore, en un rappel du délaissé. Radical. Emmanuel Carquille
Soon in Crónica: Arlene Tucker and Guy Dowsett’s “Hypnomaticâ€
Futurónica 177
Episode 177 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, October 14th.
The playlist of Futurónica 177 is:
- Raffaele Mariconte, Alcoholic Fermentation (2016, So(E)nology, Galaverna)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Raffaele Mariconte, Wires and Winds (2016, So(E)nology, Galaverna)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Raffaele Mariconte, Decanting (2016, So(E)nology, Galaverna)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Raffaele Mariconte, Crematogaster Scutellaris (2016, So(E)nology, Galaverna)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Raffaele Mariconte, Tank (2016, So(E)nology, Galaverna)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Raffaele Mariconte, Malolactic Fermentation (2016, So(E)nology, Galaverna)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
- Gary Burton, Solo Guitar Improvisation (2006, SuperTexture, Sijis)
You can follow Rádio Zero’s broadcasts at radiozero.pt/ouvir and Rádio Manobras at radiomanobras.pt.
Vitor Joaquim interviewed by Amusio
Amusio has just published a lengthy interview with Vitor Joaquim on his work, particularly the latest “Geographyâ€, recently released by Crónica. Read it (in German) at amusio.com
“Urban Dialog†reviewed by Sigil of Brass
I have to state that I am a little bit in love with this album. Fusing Found Sound and composed media, Tamtam’s work “Urban Dialog†is a series of compositions that have a common thread of being based on field recordings from different urban situations. For each piece a set of sounds is chosen and defined, containing between 5 to 10 long flows of field recordings as well as a set of bass sounds and playing techniques.
After this process all chosen materials are understood as pure musical material with no meaning whatsoever. During an experimental process in the studio, musical structures are then worked out, with the piece considered finished at the moment it can be performed in one take.
Playing out over fifty one minutes this sparsely populated piece simply works. There is an effortless conveyance of the artist expressing their conclusions about the situations from which the field recording have been lifted.
Extremely minimalist in nature. Extremely beautiful in execution.
via Sigil of Brass
New release: TAMTAM’s “Urban Dialogâ€
Crónica is elated to present the new release from Sam Auinger and Hannes Strobl’s project, TAMTAM, “Urban Dialogâ€, now available as a free download.
Sam Auinger (sonic thinker, composer, and sound artist) and Hannes Strobl (bass player, composer, and sound artist) refer to their work as a practice where the sound environment becomes the instrument, and the instrument becomes the sound environment. Their instrument is, for all purposes, not only a sounding object that we are well familiar with but it is also the space where the sound lives: the acoustic and psycho-acoustic fields that enable us to extend our accepted senses to hear the habitual and the everyday as something extraordinary.
TAMTAM’s work series “urban dialog†are compositions which have in common being based on field recordings from different urban situations. For each piece a set of sounds is choosen and defined, containing between 5 to 10 long flows of field recordings as well as a set of bass sounds and playing techniques. After this process all chosen materials are understood as pure musical material with no meaning whatsoever. During an experimental process in the studio, musical structures are then worked out, with the piece considered finished at the moment it can be performed in one take.
Composed, performed and produced by TAMTAM in 2016.
Sam Auinger: electronics, field recordings.
Hannes Strobl: electric bass, field recordings.
Mastered by M. Carvalhais.
“Urban Dialog†is now available as a free download from Crónica’s website and from cronica.bandcamp.com.
“X-RUN-4 Prismatique†reviewed by Chain DLK
Background noises get typically considered a disturbing element of live recordings, but I won’t say the same for this output, capturing a solo improvisational session by German (even if he resides in Lisbon since a long time) cellist and composer Ulrich Mitzlaff in a spacey hall nearby the motorway close to Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon under commission of the Portuguese National Civil Engineering Laboratory over two different days (November 30th and December 21st 2014). Besides the typical reverb added by vast spaces, the hissing noise generated by traffic as well as more or less distinguishable sounds of departing and landing airplanes seem to have been fully integrated in the recording as they were (without any treatment), and I’d rather say you could have the feeling that Ulrich’s beloved instrument, as well as the stylistic shaping he evokes by means of it, got sometimes synched to the aural manifestation of human transportation. Covering an almost indistinct range between polka to skronk of free jazz till occasional episodes that could vaguely remind the prodigious counterpoints of Bach’s Cello Suite 1 or even Beethoven’s final parts of some of his more dramatic scores (resurfacing in particular during the central piece, the 20-minutes lasting “4-one”, featuring Beethoven’s just mentioned phrasing between 13th and 14th minute) features occasional percussive elements (mostly found objects and materials), highlighting the feeling of an authentic real-time recorded improvisation together with the performative fits of madness resulting into sudden accelerations of chord tapping and squeaking scratches (almost rendering the image of Ulrich while using his nails on his cello till they begin bleeding) as well as unexpected sparks of harmony. The instrumental eruptions, as well as their bizarre clutching with surrounding noises, could let you imagine that the composer/performer is just putting on an act a sort of dramatic fight between a forgotten cello and the rest of the absent-minded/absent-minding world; they are akin to two aural inputs or attractive poles that could vividly stage a struggle between emotion and apathy in the somehow alienating society we often could experience. Vito Camarretta
via Chain DLK
“Geography†reviewed by Rockerilla
Continua la sequenza di interessanti pubblicazioni della lusitana Cronica che per l’occasione propone il nuovo lavoro di Vitor Joaquim, ispiratissimo artista portoghese che compone anche per documentari, video installazioni e altro ancora. Quando poi dal vivo non è supportato da immagini, Joaquim ama esibirsi completamente al buio proprio perché vuole stimolare la fantasia e i sensi dei suoi spettatori. Vitor guida nel suo mondo fatto di rarefazioni glitch, ambientazioni isolazioniste con importanti dilatazioni melodiche, proponendosi come l’anello di congiunzione tra Murcof e gli esperimenti melanconici alla Bvdub e Loscil. Questa è proprio una geogra a del suono nel quale perdersi tra rigore cerebrale ed elementi altamente emotivi. UN SIGNOR DISCO. Gianluca Polverari
Soon in Crónica: Tamtam’s “Urban Dialog”
“6 Elementosâ€, a new installation by Pedro Tudela and Miguel Carvalhais
“6 Elementosâ€, a new work by Pedro Tudela and Miguel Carvalhais (aka @c) is opening tomorrow in Porto, in the exhibitions room of the Rectory of the University of Porto. This new piece was commissioned as a part of the program of events for “Espaço, Corpo, Bem-Estar†and will be shown until November 4th.