Tamtam’s “Rheingold†reviewed by Bad Alchemy
SÃria’s “Cuspo†reviewed by African Paper
Manchmal entstehen umfangreiche Arbeiten aus kleinen Impulsen. Für Diana Combo, die Frau hinter dem Soundprojekt SÃria und außerdem Sängerin, beginnt ihr Tape „Cuspo“ mit einem Auftrag. Ein Autor hatte sie gebeten, Patti Smiths „Gloria“ und einen eigenen Song für eine Theaterproduktion einzusingen. Während ihrer Suche nach passenden Stimmungen, Melodien und Texten entstand recht schnell ein ganzer Songzyklus, und als sie später vom Lissaboner Crónica-Label zu einem Auftritt eingeladen wurde, stand längst fest, dass das Material reif für ein Album war.
Vielleicht war es die Verwunderung darüber, wie selbstläuferhaft das ungeplante Werk zustandekam, die die Musikerin dazu bewog, eine ganze Reihe an Arbeiten z.T. befreundeter Kollegen (u.a. Svarte Greiner, Lemures und Antoine Chessex) zu sampeln und so noch ein paar Schichten mehr draufzusetzen – am gelegentlichen Knistern erkennt man noch die Herkunft vieler Spuren vom Vinyl. Wie zu erwarten steht Combos Stimme bei den meisten Stücken im Vordergrund und kommt in unterschiedlicher Form zum Einsatz: als mal kräftiger, mal anheimelnd schöner Folkgesang ohne die sirenenhafte Süßlichkeit mancher Kolleginnen, als beinahe gehauchtes Echo eines entrückten, ambienten Dreampop, als Spoken Words in großen Lettern und mit Ausnahme des Patti Smith-Covers immer in ihrer portugiesischen Muttersprache.
Die ihren Gesang untermalende, einhüllende und in wenigen Momenten in sich auflösende Musik ist trotz subtiler Spannungsmomente meist sanft, lässt Raum und kommt weitaus weniger opulent daher als man es bei einem so großen Aufgebot an Musikern erwarten könnte. Vinylknistern und die wohligen Wellen eines Harmoniums schaffen ein gemächlich gleitendes Fundament, rauschende Becken und plötzlich auftretende Gitarrenfiguren stören die Ruhe immer wieder auf, aus unterschiedlichen Quellen summt und dröhnt es, und ab und an geben eingearbeitete Aufnahmen des Meeres, der Straße und zirpender Grillen dem melancholischen Setting zusätzliches Kolorit. Es wäre falsch, die Momente, in denen solche Sounds in den Vordergrund treten, als Interludien abzutun, denn in ihnen offenbart sich die feinsinnige Kompositionsstruktur der Musik noch am ehesten.
Neben dem Tape in angemessener Limitierung ist das Werk über die üblichen Download-Formate zu bekommen. (U.S.)
via African Paper
“Sound†reviewed by Fluid Sonic Fluctuations
I’m onto the second review on Fluid Sonic Fluctuations of 2019 already and I’m also introducing a new easier way of finding reviews of specific fields of music or labels on my blog by labelling all reviews with a specific “series†This review falls under the Fluid Label Focus series, which is focused on an independent / underground music label that I find particularly interesting and over the months features a selection of releases from its discography both new and old. Aiming to showcase record labels also as archives of sonic art and inviting listeners to rediscover old releases as well. Today however I’m focusing the series (which is still focused on CRÓNICA) on the newest release on this Portuguese label. This is the album SOUND by LUÃS ANTERO & DARIUS ÄŒIUTA. Released on New Year’s Day, this two track album of very quiet minimalist lowercase music is a download that features the two album tracks in 16-bit/44.1kHz CD quality, as well as the album cover in good resolution and a PDF with an additional extension of the album cover, the tracklist, album description and credits. The album is available as a free download but as always you can also donate 1 or more Euros to the artists and label through Bandcamp’s pay what you want option.
SOUND is described as a kind of sonic experiment in which the two sound artists were looking to create a new sonic experience produced digitally using unconventional methods and combining sound and the graphic representation of the pieces as being the same. The results are two extended pieces totaling 1 hour 3 minutes that are very subtle, quiet and minimal but also strangely effective to create some really special experiences from this sound in your mind. First track G is the most subtle of the two pieces, starting off very soft and with mostly very low frequencies. In fact both pieces feature quite some more sub bass than mid or high frequencies, making this music you can only actually experience on a good sound system or on headphones and it’s something you feel more than hear. On G a cloud of very intensely filtered sound just about in the midrange moves around somewhere around the middle of the sound field while very low frequencies rumble through the ground. It’s a piece that feels quite like listening to various mixed thoughts in your mind from the outside of your head, like listening to another room or environment while the sound also occupies space in the place where you are listening to the album. Very cloudy and subtle moving, the sound both triggers a kind of meditative state as well as enables you to let your thoughts drift but also creates new ones for you. On second track S the music comes a bit more to the foreground and the sub bass frequencies become more audible. S features more manipulations in the low-mid frequency cloud of sound that are again very subtle but noticable on close listening and the sub bass also pulsates nicely at times. The piece also interestingly features one short moment of a little wash of white noise in the left channel, surprising and unexpected when it happens. On S the sound seems to tell a bit more of a complex abstract story or creates fictional fragmented memories in a way. It’s the kind of cross of sound art and experimental music that is very extreme in its subtle sound but also creates unique and intriguing experiences in the mind of the listener. SOUND is an album you discover on listening the two pieces for the first time and afterwards explore in the little details within the sounds that float around in these spaces.
SOUND by LUÃS ANTERO & DARIUS ÄŒIUTA is a curiously minimal and introspective album of unique lowercase sonic material that inspires not just through listening but also by the experiences created in the mind by these clouds of sound. It’s an especially unique release in CRÓNICA’s discography, a great start of 2019 as another great year full of experimental and creative sonics and a recommended album for people looking for a deep listening experience to pause nowadays noisy life and discover new sonic abstract stories through the subtlest of crafted sounds. Orlando Laman
“For Pauline†reviewed by Ambient Blog
A few months before Pauline Oliveros passed away (November 2016), Edu Comelles commisioned a concert by accordionist Isabelle Latorre meant to be a free musical interpretation of Oliveros’ ‘Deep Listening‘ theories. The
Latorre’s performance takes up side A of this cassette release on Crónica. It’s a single 22 minute piece that starts with quiet prolonged notes but slowly builds up to an emotional climax and then slowly releases its grip again. Not often you will hear the accordion played this way – unless you are already familiar with Oliveros’ work, of course.
For La Isla Plana, the second piece on this cassette, Edu Comelles sampled Isabel’s instrument and arranged the samples into a completely different composition. He connects the recorded samples using a Shruti Box to create a background drone La Isla Plana sounds organic (because of its sound sources) and detached at the same time.
A very honest, heartfelt tribute to a legendary artist, who taught us the art of ‘deep listening’. Peter van Cooten
via ambientblog.net
New release: LuÃs Antero & Darius ÄŒiuta’s “Soundâ€
Crónica is proud to greet 2019 with its first release for the year, LuÃs Antero & Darius ÄŒiuta’s “Soundâ€. This album is the outcome of an exploratory process that searched for a new sonic experience in digital form, created without resorting to conventional sources. It is the outcome of a dual process that expresses the metaphysical nature of sound. As such it is a piece that is two forms: a sonic and a graphic instantiation, containing the same information.
Tracklist:
- G (29:00)
- S (33:36)
LuÃs Antero is a sound artist that captures and documents the acoustic heritage in Portugal. Darius ÄŒiuta is a sound artist living and working in Kaunas, Lithuania.
“Sound†is available as a free download from Crónica.
Soon in Crónica: LuÃs Antero & Darius ÄŒiuta’s “Soundâ€
Soon in Crónica: LuÃs Antero & Darius ÄŒiuta’s “Soundâ€
“For Pauline†reviewed by Fluid Radio
Valencia’s accordionist and composer Isabel Latorre and sound artist Edu Comelles met in 2016. A couple of months down the line, and Comelles had commissioned a concert for Latorre: an interpretation on the Deep Listening philosophies and principles of Pauline Oliveros. The commission was scheduled to be premiered at the Ensems Festival in 2017, of which Comelles was the curator. But later on in the year, on 24 November 2016, Oliveros sadly passed away; the composition and commission became a eulogy. A central figure in the development and exploration of experimental music, Oliveros was one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. For Pauline has much of the same ethos and spirit.
Isabel Latorre has studied Pauline’s music to such an extent that she performs in a similar vein, with a great deal of maturity and concentration but never forgetting the stunning magic of its creation. Latorre, already deep within her philosophies and submerged in the moods of the music – both physically and emotionally – kept on going, and her live performance is a heartfelt dedication. From the moment of its inception, and as a reaction to her passing, the music veered away from its original intention, and this has resulted in a very different work. The live performance, recorded at the end of May 2017, is at almost twenty-two minutes a long-form piece where, after a quiet opening, elongated tones gradually begin to stir, stretching their limbs in a high, bright, and sharp register before overlapping, evolving over the course of the first five minutes to produce a range of quiet gymnastics.
It’s gloriously playful, as all experimental music should be, but it’s edged with a serious intention. After simmering for some time, the music’s distant, occasional percussion and laser-like tones begin to bubble and froth, rising up, pulsing, building strong dynamics and engaging the listener with the strobing electronics. The electronics wash in and out of sight, demanding one’s attention while swaying like a pendulum. Benevolent or threatening, the intent is never made clear. One thing’s for sure: they come close enough to touch, invading the listener’s personal space before backing up, rocking from side to side with a tight, robotic functioning. An accordion blares inarticulate chords. Its screeching sounds are on the verge of leaving rationale behind. That’s the crest of the piece. Everything else becomes quieter after that, retreating back into silence and winking out of existence.
The second piece, ‘La Isla Plana’, was completed a little later, at the end of 2017. Comelles took inspiration from Latorre’s earlier recordings, and the two are somewhat symmetrical. The drone is similar, but the two pieces exist in alternate dimensions. Latorre’s drone is lighter, while ‘La Isla Plana’ is stronger, dripping a dark-red or a metallic crimson, throbbing instead of pulsing. Drones cut a little deeper, and when it comes to volume tampering there’s a little more in the way of variety. The two pieces could be sisters, and they’re both equally playful.
The drones occupying the second side seem to be more aware of their surroundings, their eyes blinking as they look around at the world. As it progresses, the drone moves into the range of a slow melody. And as the track ends, the sound of something like surf enters, foaming white and pushing its thunderous roar into the heart of the drone. This twenty-minute island cleanses the listener, but For Pauline has a much larger message: one of thanks, deep appreciation, and the utmost respect, wearing its influence proudly on its sleeve. James Catchpole
via Fluid Radio
Natal dos Experimentais 2018
SÃria’s “Cuspo†reviewed by The Wire
Vinyl records, recordings and vocals combine in Portuguese artist Diana Combo’s latest work. I know this, because when you visit SÃria’s Bandcamp page, the process of recording is explained. Artists, especially those coming from a visual world before they get engaged in music, love explaining what they do, how they do it, why they do it. How I wish Combo had kept scrum. Totally selfish reasons – self-promotion has to be informative, has to reveal things you’d ordinarily only guess at – but I wish total mystery had been maintained about the means of Cuspo’s creation (it was recorded after its first live performance at a Porto experimental festival in 2017).
The haunting steadiness of Combo’s vocals is key – emotional movement less important than populating the soundscape with a half-human, half-ghostly voice. The way Combo layers the sounds underneath her voice is interesting – sometimes overwhelming the voice in rushes if traffic noise ad city heat (the stunning “A Lua da Evaâ€), sometimes absconding to a place not quite tranquil, flooded with water, perhaps not even with land underfoot at all. The fact I don’t speak Portuguese is also key – there’s a suggestiveness to the words in a purely phonetic sense that means every moment the voice gets dubbed or echoed (which is often) you’re pulled along its syntactical shape without getting anchored in any frame of reference. That fluidity extends to the sequencing – tracks flow in and out of each other to the point where apertures into other realities seem to open up in your consciousness.
Trippy as fuck but entirely unpsychedelic, this is more like the true unhinged depths of extreme sleep deprivation turned into sound, where lighting seems to always flash from behind you and your peripheral vision hums with life. Freaky in extremis. Neil Kulkarni
via The Wire