electronic improv recommendations

[gg <gg2g4ink@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

JonAbbey2@xxxxxxx wrote:
>if you're just talking about laptop improvisers, then I'd have to agree
that  many of the best are from the Vienna scene, but >once you talk about
"electronic improv", you should investigate musicians like Thomas Lehn,
Kevin Drumm, Günter Müller, >Voice Crack, Otomo Yoshihide, Martin Tétreault,
to name a few.

a few specific listening suggestions...

E-Rax - Live at Bimhuis 1999 (X-Or Field Recordings)
[Thomas Lehn, Gert-Jan Prins, Peter van Bergen]
animated and entertaining. Bergen puts aside his bass clarinet for a
wind-controlled sampler; Prins manipulates a short-wave radio and other
electronic appliances; analog synth player Lehn produces a spectacular range
of synthesized whines, whoops, burbles, burps, and frizzled frequency
modulations. the playfully sparring interaction of abrasive, non-musical,
and arrhythmic emanations suggests a laboratory-studio full of apparatus in
electromagnetic overdrive. Unlike much improv - electronic or otherwise -
this mad sound-science is as much fun to listen to as it must have been to
make.

Kevin Drumm & Martin Tétreault - Particles and Smears (Erstwhile)
Drumm treats his guitar as a sound-making implement rather than a musical
instrument. Tétreault refuses even to be classified as a musician. their
first meeting challenges notions of interactive performance and improv
protocol. the guitarist and turntablist find fertile, common ground in the
vocabulary of responsive noise. Tétreault wields his tone arm, grinding out
rough chatter; Drumm answers and exhorts with rattling, rumbling guitar
gabble, harmonic asides, and sonorous arcs.

poire_z (For 4 Ears)
[Günter Müller, Voice Crack, Erik M.]
Perhaps the best all-around intro to electronic improv. busy, immediately
engaging three-way tussles between Müller's resourceful percussive
spontaneity, VC's gritty electronic noise-making, and Erik M's turntable
trickery.

Filament 2: Secret Recordings (For 4 Ears)
[Otomo Yoshihide, Sachiko M., Müller]
a successful extension of Yoshihide's ambiguous "Filament" project,
featuring Müller in a series of "secret recordings" produced during the
latter's visit to Tokyo. Müller's ballasts the duo's tinkering (Yoshihide on
"records and CDs," Sachiko on empty sampler), lending free-improv weight and
purpose to the proceedings. get poire_z first, but don't overlook this gem.

I.S.O. - Live (Zero Gravity) and self-titled (Alcohol)
[Otomo Yoshihide, Sachiko M, IchirakuYoshimitsu]
same core as Filament, but Yoshimitsu is a down n' dirty homemade-electronic
improviser in the Voice Crack vein. I.S.O. is just beginning to converge on
the Zero Gravity disc (live performances in Japan and France, circa 1998),
and the delicate chemistry of the group isn't quite resolved. but the
Alcohol CD (a later, live-in-London recording edited/post-produced by the
enigmatic Xentos) finds the trio in top form - a supremely sensitive set.

Sachiko M. - Sine Wave Solo (Amoebic) and "Debris" 3" (F.M.N.)
you should hear Sachiko's solo work to appreciate just how vital she is to
the success of the above ensembles. Sachiko works wonders with just the sine
tones generated by an empty sampler or a pick-up mic. the 3" is especially
stellar, possibly on par with the headphonic fantasias of Ryoji Ikeda's
_+/-_.

Ichiraku Yoshimitsu - Music for Surround Panner (Zero Gravity)
a relentless exercise in various shades of electronic-noise improv,
presenting Yoshimitsu's talents in an autonomous capacity that I.S.O.
doesn't allow. call it "headache-phonics," and file this future classic with
your Koenig, Xenakis, Parmegiani, etc.

Yasuhiro Otani - Brain-Wash (P@ale Blue)
true digital improvising. Otani works with a computer and a guitar, creating
free-associative sound collage. if you felt that Fenno'berg lacked focus,
try _Brain-Wash_. Otani's deployment of live sampling is more personal than
ironic, alluding to memories and wandering thoughts. a swim in the stream of
consciousness. because his point of reference is so introverted, Otani's
infrequent sparrings with other musicians (such as Otani/Tatsu Aoki - _Dial_
(Asian Improv Recordings)) tend to be less satisfying.

Four Focuses (Amoebic)
[Tétreault, Sachiko M., Yoshihide, Otani]
a showcase for Tétreault and a fine general introduction to electronic
improv. Tétreault pits his turntable technique against each of the Japanese
improvisers. all four also offer solo pieces. the brilliant duo between
Tétreault and Sachiko M. bodes especially well for their upcoming European
tour.


we should probably regard instrumental+electronic improvisation and
straight-up g3/laptop improv recordings as separate categories, deserving of
separate surveys. if there's interest, i'll oblige.

gg/
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