Nicolas Bernier will present his “frequencies (a)†performance at the Elektra Festival in Montreal on May 2,3 and 4, 2013.
“eins bis sechzehn†reviewed by Neural
A hotel in ruins, burdened with memories and environments evocative of fascinating decadence. Here are spaces that became uninhabitable, now only remotely reminiscent of the splendour of the 60s through 80s, during which period the tourist industry embraced an approach that leaned on a depersonalized and “modernist†sensibility. The location is, however, more than just a pile of rubble, re-appropriated by weeds, animals and insects. The spaces still “breath†and screech and murmur, appearing to persist as an independent entity. In Eins Bis Sechzehn Ephraim Wegner and Julia Weinmann present a work that transforms the surroundings through photos and live recordings, weaving together identities and relationships between the transitory groups of people who stayed there. In this sense the artist is not anymore a simple on-site correspondent limited to recording the ‘actuality’ of the sights and sounds of a particular moment in time. Some recordings have been treated in post-production with FTT techniques (Fast Fourier Transform) and granular synthesis. Finally, a special mention should go to Miguel Carvalhais for the highly calibrated mastering and to Clovis Vallois for the packaging; a minimal and refined 6” box, which includes a number of very high quality photographic images. Aurelio Cianciotta
via Neural
New release: “Half-Life, Still Life†by @c
Crónica is proud to announce a new release by @c, “Half-Life, Still Lifeâ€, collecting three pieces composed over the span of as many years by Pedro Tudela and Miguel Carvalhais. “Half-Life, Still Life†is now available as a free download directly from Crónica or from Bandcamp in a variety of formats.
“82†was initially composed in Ljubljana during a residency promoted by MoTA – Museum of Transitory Art. It was premiered in the Sonica:Post festival at the Galerija JacopiÄ on 25 June 2009 and further developed until 2011. The stereo version included in this release was created from a 4-channel original.
“83†was commissioned by Marcus Gammel, composed from the Ljubljana sessions and premiered on Deutschlandradio Kultur, Hörspiel/Klangkunst in late 2009.
“84†was premiered at Gear (Covilhã) and developed over performances at Museu de Serralves (Porto), Sonicscope (Teatro Maria Matos, Lisboa), Next Festival (A4, Bratislava), Electric Spring (University of Huddersfield) and Sonores (Fábrica ASA, Guimarães) from 2010 to 2012. The stereo version included in this release was created from a 4-channel original.
“Half-Life, Still Life†was composed, recorded and mastered by Miguel Carvalhais and Pedro Tudela in Ljubljana, Porto and Furnas, from 2009 to 2012 with collaborations by Gustavo Costa (percussion in 82 and 84), Jonathan Uliel Saldanha (percussion in 84), and Neja TomÅ¡iÄ (voice in 82). The cover photo is of Golden Skull by Júlio Dolbeth, photographed by Colönia.
You can download “Half-Life, Still Life†as AIFF or MP3 files directly from Crónica and free of charge. Donations are very welcome! :)
“Never So Alone†reviewed by Chain D.L.K.
I’m pretty sure that the great majority of people, who experienced jams when the soot from the notorious elfin barbecue inside Icelandic volcano with unpronounceable name Eyjafjallajökull in February and March 2010, countered with a fine selection of cuss words and complaints against powerless air company’s ground crews and imaginary underground deities or devils, who caused the closing of European airspace. The skittish English sound-artist Simon Whetham, compelled to outstay his stay in Lisbon for the above-mentioned occurence, preferred to explore the fascinating Portuguese capital city and surrounding countryside in order to grab sounds and match them with his own feelings by his paraphernalia of microphones he kept in his luggage together with razors, deodorant, socks and underwear, so that he started to collect sound material by means of a Sennheiser shotgun microphone, a pair of Tram lavalier mics, contact microphones, hydrophones, an electromagnetic coil transducer and a radio receiver. Simon’s decision to turn hassles into a creative opportunity generated this interesting album where the reference to experienced loneliness in the title “Never So Alone” should not be interpreted as a negative factor, but as an essential condision for the creation of this work: the electric flurries on creaks, tweets, trampling and crumpling sounds of the initial track “Inertia, Rising” immediately imbibes the sonic space by evoking a certain sense of isolated dismay of the receiver, whose amplified perception acts like an imaginary sentient marble which rolls on metallic smooth surfaces by creating occasional dissonances and blurring with other external resonances on “A Metallic Aftertaste” before the first interlude “The Suspension of Time”, where a web of tintinnabulations gets gradually overshadowed by rasps, amplified sinister echoes and plastic rubbing from recesses of material world. The regular stepping on planking level and trickles over flowing streams of spooky interferences on the following “Shifting” is almost cathartic, while the membrane between inner and outer world seems to thin and disappear in the following “A little Faith”, where any stimulations from the surrounding environment look like moving inside streams of bodily fluids. Whereas the second interlude, “Lifesigns/Ashcloud”, refracts urban traffic, the high-spirited chit chat of a Portuguese woman, distant playing kids and other resonating plaster casts from lively settings, immersed in a volatile sonic wave, look like unexpected appearances on a scuba mask on the final “Accentuate the Positive”. Vito Camarretta
via Chain D.L.K.
“Queendom Maybe Rise†reviewed by RNE3
Hace tiempo que no escuchábamos un larga duración de Marc Behrens, asà que estamos expectantes. “Queendom Maybe Rise” es un disco de dos piezas, una lo suficiente larga para ser un álbum en sà mismo y que responde a la segunda parte de su tÃtulo: “Maybe Rise” y una segunda pieza menor, “Queendom”, cuya naturaleza es completamente distinta. Las dos caras de este mismo disco, parecen no relacionarse muy bien, sin embargo, que las dos compartan un mismo tÃtulo es un extra para los fans de Beherens. “Maybe Rise” es el punto de entrada claro para el disco, una mediación reflexiva con infinitud de contrastes entre los elementos naturales y humanos en la selva costera, mesetas e interior Tropical de North Queensland en Australia. “Queendom” en cambio, es una bestia diferente, grabado para la ceremonia de inauguración de un consulado alemán y compuesto por capas con la voz de Yôko Higashi.
“Never So Alone†reviewed by Rif Raf
Toujours du côté de Porto et de Lisbonne, SIMON WHETHAM a un jour profité des effets secondaires (un vol annulé) du volcan islandais en éruption pour se balader dans la capitale portugaise et ses alentours – ça se nomme ‘Never So Alone’. De retour à la maison, il a intégré ses field recordings dans un minimalisme ambient qui aurait gagné à davantage de concision. Non que les échos étrangement calmes soient mal torchés, juste qu’en des circonstances similaires, on a déjà entendu bien plus passionnant du côté de Chris Watson, Jana Winderen ou Thomas Köner. Fabrice Vanoverberg
Soon in Crónica: “Half-Life, Still Lifeâ€
“Five Years on Cold Asphalt†reviewed by Rif Raf
Au départ du projet QUARZ, on trouve Alexandr Vatagin, musicien autrichien actif dans les projets Tupolez et Port-Royal. Aujourd’hui rejoint par Nicolas Bernier, Stefan Németh (alias M. Radian et M. Lokai), sans compter les autres compagnons d’aventure, notre homme dévoile au long des 34 minutes de ‘Five Years On Cold Asphalt’une très belle unité de vues, en dépit du nombre élevé d’intervenants – sept au total. Une seule plage durant, aux contours jazztronica à l’écart de toute monotonie, les divagations de Quarz s’imprègnent d’éléments free improv à la viennoise – on songe plus d’une fois à Kapital Band 1 ou Radian – mariés dans un continuum réfléchi et paradoxalement sensuel. Merci qui ? Le label Crónica bien sûr. Fabrice Vanoverberg
Miguel A. GarcÃa and Durán Vázquez interviewed by Loop
Loop.cl interviewed Miguel A. GarcÃa and Durán Vázquez about their recent release in Crónica, Monnom / Hertz, Gigahertz.
“Five Years on Cold Asphalt†reviewed by Neural
His debut album on Crónica Electronica, a Portuguese label well known to the lovers of the experimental scene, Five Years On Cold Asphalt is the beginning of the solo career of Alexandr Vatagin, aka Quarz, already famous for his collaborations with Valeot and Liska Records, and for his commitment to the Tupolev ensemble and Port Royal. The Viennese artist realizes refined scans, blending field recordings and drones, electronics and electroacoustics, microtones and pulsing audio emergencies, creating passages that are always mellow and mysterious, involving and animated by passion. Vatagin’s mixes seem to combine many different stylistic approaches: as a result, he makes possible a coexistence between free improvisation and abstract jazz influences, the digital contributions of Alexandre Schubert and Nicolas Bernier, Martin Siewert, Stefan Nemeth and David Schweighart’s guitar, synth and samples and Bernhard Breuer’s drums. We are presented with a very personal cosmogony, filled with textures that are full of life and supported by a complex musical plot. As if by magic, passages with no apparent shape gradually find their own way. The record leaves a strong impression on the listener for a number of reasons, including the sensitivity and the linear progression of the harmonic characters and the alternation and mutual transformation of opposing elements. Due to this meeting, something coherent and complete comes to life, underpinned by the creation of elegant, reactive and changeable synthonies.
via Neural