“Praxis” reviewed by Tapage nocturne @ France Musique

Praxis' cover
Autre nouveauté discographique qui utilise l’art du son mais cette fois ci non pas en Angleterre ou aux Etats Unis mais au Portugal avec Cem Güney, un compositeur d’origine turque, né en 1973. Après de sérieuses études musicales en Californie Cem Güney s’est intéressé de très près à l’art du son, aux rapports entre phonétique, langage et forme musicale. Le label portugais Crónica vient de publier sur un album intitulé Praxis quelques unes de ses plus récentes compositions. — Eric Serva

Ben Frost’s “Music for 6 guitars”

Pedro Almeida (aka paL) will be one of the six guitar players to perform on Ben Frost’s “Music for 6 guitars”, for the TRAMA Performance Arts Festival, today, October 26 2008. This piece, “is very much about the performance and the ability to play a single melodic structure, repetitively, with extreme intensity continuously”. Frost “is probably most widely recognized for an uncompromising form of experimental music drawing widely on influences of Minimalism, Post-punk, Black metal, Sacred Minimalism, and Noise”. The guitar players for tonight will be Paul Corley, Carlos Lobo, Francisco Silva, Leonel Sousa, Pedro Almeida and Vitor Santos.

“Praxis” reviewed by Rockerilla

Praxis' cover

A meta strada tra il collage dada, I’esercizio di musique concrete e I’opera acusmatica, le 9 composizioni di “Praxis” possono spaventare I’avventore impreparato. La messe di suoni raccolti e prodotti con laptop, live electronics e radio é cosi ingente e variegata che la prima reazione non puo che essere di stordimento. Se poi Güney, sound-artist, trombettista autodidatta e dj turco, evidentemente calatosi troppo seriamente nel ruolo del compositore extracolto, vuole spiegare come dietro a “Praxis” si celi un rigoroso lavoro di rireca su composizioni algoritmiche, continuum spazio-tempo e tecniche nada-yoga, ecco che altri potenziali ascoltatori vedono bene di tenersi alla larga da un disco che invece ha nei saliscendi emotivi che sa provocare la propria unica forza. (7/10)

Martijn Tellinga live at TAC, Eindhoven

Next Wednesday, October 22nd, Martijn Tellinga will perform three of his works for computer and 4 speakers. This performance is part of a three day DNK-amsterdam program, which takes place at the TAC in Eindhoven on October 22, 23 and 24. The event has been realised on kind invitation and in collaboration with Axes, organisation for new music, and lines up in a row of events that make the anual Dutch Design Week. Also featuring on the 22nd is the Wandelweiser ensemble performing work of Antoine Beuger. Wandelweiser ensemble is Antoine Beuger (flute), Taylan Susam (clarinet), Markus Kaiser (cello) en Koen Nutters (double bass).

Thursday 23rd holds 2 performances by Tape That (Christophe Meierhans and Koen Nutters) playing The Catalogue (100 short pieces) and James Beckett playing 4 bass guitars. Friday 24th presents 2 shows by RnGdS (Gert-Jan Prins (electronica), Koen Nutters (double bass) and Raed Yassin (double bass)) featuring Andre Avelas on stove, and MoHa! (Morten J. Olsen & Anders Hana).

More info: www.tac.nu

Pedro Tudela at TRAMA 2008

Next friday, the 24th October, Pedro Tudela will be at “TRAMA – Performance Arts Festival” .Trama is third edition of a festival that takes place at several places and venues across the city (Porto). The festival aims at presenting experimental forms of contemporary creation in music, dance, and performance. TRAMA is curated by the Serralves Foundation, MatériaPrima, brrr_ Live Art and Lado B producers. Some artists and projects at TRAMA2008: AUDIOBOMBER; BEN FROST; CATHERINE BAÿ; DIDI BRUCKMAYR; FABRIZIO PALUMBO & ERNESTO TOMASINI; FEDERICO LEÓN & MARCOS MARTÍNEZ; GD LUXXE; GISÉLE VIENNE; LUCKY DRAGONS; MÄUSE; MORITZ VON OSWALD [rhythm & sound, basic channel] feat. TIKIMAN; OSSO EXÓTICO; PEDRO TUDELA [dj]; PHILIPP QUEHENBERGER; REBEKAH ROUSI; RONALD DUARTE; SHIT & SHINE; SILVERIO; TÂNIA CARVALHO; WIPEOUT; YOU GO! [dj]

“Praxis” reviewed by Freistil

Eine wissenschaftliche Arbeit mit viel Poesie: Das schafft Cem Güney, wenn er das Phänomen der Phonetik als algorithmische Komposition verstanden wissen will. Elektronik, die sich vor allem den Vokalen widmet und auf ein so genanntes, mir gänzlich unbekanntes “Nada Yoga” rückgreift. Ist hier das Nichts alles ? Ich nehme jedenfalls stark an, es handelt sich um ein antimodernes Instrumentarium, das sich “für Menschen jeder Religion”, wie Güney schreibt, aber nicht für ihre Gegnerschafft eignet. Bei aller ideologischer Problematik generiert Güney Sounds, für die er sich nicht ganz zufällig bei jenem Janek Schaefer bedankt, der seit Jahren verlässlich die Speerspitze experimenteller Elektronik verkörpert. Güney leitet leider daraus eine Persönlichkeitsesoterik ab, die freiwillig hinter das Stadium der Aufklärung tritt. Skurrilerweise gelingt gerade ihm, bezeichnenderweise in “Undulations”, die er Schaefer zuschreibt – ein großer Schritt vorwärts. Widersprüche gibt’s, frage nicht.

Gilles Aubry performs in Madrid

Next Sunday, the 12th October, Gilles Aubry will be presenting his piece “Stralau 68” at the Teatro de La Escalera de Jacob, in Madrid. If you’re around, don’t miss the chance to hear a performance of Aubry’s most recent work, based on field recordings recorded at the empty rooms of Stralau 68, a former venue in Berlin dedicated to experimental music. From Madrid, Aubry will proceed to Valencia, San Sebastian and Bilbao.