A new collaborative album from electronic duo The Grid (aka Richard Norris & Dave Ball) and Robert Fripp, combining Fripp Soundscapes with synth, drums, programming and effects by The Grid.
‘Robert (Fripp) turned up with a truck load of amps and effects, two great big stacks including delay units with a 76 second delay and played and played and played.’
Fire Tower
A few years ago, The Grid rediscovered tapes from [several recording] sessions, including unreleased tracks they’d worked up but never completed or mixed. A set of long solo drone pieces from Fripp was discovered along with a lost track that was then remixed to become ‘A Cabala Sky’ by The Grid / Fripp and released as part of Bill Brewster’s acclaimed ‘Late Night Tales’ compilation series in 2014.
Further Fripp Soundscapes from the same period were added to the mix by DGM’s David Singleton, which inspired The Grid to add new synths, drums, programming and effects to create the album ‘Leviathan’ a CD/DVD-a set.
Inspired by the mythical whale ‘Leviathan’, the biggest prehistoric whale that ever lived, Norris adds ‘I like Philip Hoare’s book “Leviathan”, which is about his obsession with whales and whale watching and the awe of coming into contact with such massive creatures. They are quite mysterious. Their brains are enormous, and we don’t quite know what all the brain power is doing… A bit like Robert, really’.
Having completed the album’s stereo mixes, DGM suggested the music as ideal for a full 5.1 surround mix by The Vicar. Electronic music lends itself very well to Surround Sound mixing as the listener has no fixed notion as to where any sound should emerge from. This mix features on the CD/DVD-a edition (alongside the stereo mix) and while Surround Sound is sometimes regarded as “niche” in terms of audience, the same would have been said about any form of electronic music when Fripp turned up, guitar in hand, at Eno’s place in 1972.
But then inquisitive musicians, even (perhaps especially) when they approach music from very different perspectives, often arrive at places that are as intriguing to an audience as they were to the participants.
‘La Mer’ is the second riverrun album, and it was originally released in the spring of 2011.
Like the first record, ‘Pentimento’, it was made by layering new experimental pieces with a range of old four-track tape recordings that I had in my archive.
I spent most of Christmas 2010, back home in Devon, looking through boxes of my old tapes. In the process I discovered a recording of the sea at the North Somerset coast, from the mid 1990s, when I was a teenager, and when my family had a holiday place at Doniford Bay (a piece also referred to in one of the better pieces from ‘Pentimento’).
I used this tape and a some other old recordings to piece together a series of tracks that referred to Doniford, and to various other seaside places I’d known in my life.
In the Summer of 2019 Greig Baird and his family moved home and into a new area of a city they have lived for many years.
The layers and layers of history in this new locale were palpable and inspired Baird to create this small collection of music, ‘Once Hallowed’.
This new area was home to a Franciscan Friary established in the 13th century and later home to a church, Allhallows-on-the-Wall built in the 19th century. This church was later a corset factory, then later a parachute factory during war time. The last burials in this place were conducted in secrecy by the light of a midnight moon during the cholera epidemic of 1832. The wall outside Baird’s home dates to Roman times and was once the south-western city limit.
The burial grounds now deconsecrated and long abandoned are also home to the catacombs of the city. Again abandoned long ago, bodies long removed, tales of stolen skulls and grave robbing, and the stone of which they are built are all that remains. The areas wildlife, dog walkers, children playing, students hanging around, drunks falling asleep on abandoned tombs and the city’s drug dealers plying trade all make the place what it is. Often beautiful as the light changes and Falcons fly above, the sounds of the day city form into the nocturnal; sometimes sad as the desperation of people’s modern situations becomes abundantly clear.
The relics of the past experienced in our present creates something else. Something deeply inspiring, creating an atmosphere deeply felt and not entirely understood. —GB/MCT
“Presence”
– the natural, silent, transparent state of mind, nonconceptual and not
identified with any mental content, entirely and effortlessly awake and
lucid, in total peace.
Quiet ambient soundscapes for piano, electric guitar, electronics,
livelooping, and field recordings. The music was entirely improvised and
recorded during several recording sessions in Rome between 2010 and
2018. There are no overdubs (except for the field recordings).
Releases December 20, 2019
Michael Peters (Germany) played guitar in punk bands, ambient projects, avantgarde jazz/rock bands, and open improvisational groups. His guitar is usually extended by electronics, software, and livelooping techniques, sometimes using the classical “Frippertronics” method based on tape delay. His solo ambient/experimental guitar music usually relies on improvisation and often involves sound collages and field recordings. He has performed at festivals in Europe and the USA. www.michaelpeters.de
Fabio Anile (Italy) is a classically trained pianist and composer. Over the years, he has developed his own unique approach to combining electronic tools and live playing. He defines his music as a “a work on the theme of time”. In this regard, there is a continuum between his ambient and his polymetric minimalist pieces. Fabio has worked with many ensembles and artists. He has created audio-video installations and film soundtracks. As a soloist, he performed at many international festivals both in Europe and in the USA. www.eterogeneo.com
Michael Peters – guitar Fabio Anile – keyboards Mastering by Erdem Helvacioglu Cover image by Philippe Paulus Jacobus Smeyers
A minimalist-to-slightly-noisy post-jazz, experimental project fueled by aural components from TONUS’ ‘A New Wave of Jazz‘ — along with several classic chestnuts from ECM (tracks 3, 6, 8 & 11). The goal was/is to bring TONUS’ unique & eclectic offerings to a larger audience.
“Thanks” & a “Shout-Out” to Dirk Serries for allowing us to preview the new releases (tracks 1, 7 & 9; all releasing on May 3th); listening to them helped me in the underground TONUS vault & in selecting the accompanying compositions.
TONUS keeps sharpening the improvisational Jazz blade — we aim to help keep that edge . . . bleeding! ;- )
01 Jürg Frey – Eyot (excerpt) 02 Pierre Gerard – Spécimen Dans Les Tons Proches 03 Jacob Bro – Morning Song 04 Christoph Schiller & Anouck Genthon – der Meidingersche Fullofen 05 Daniel Thompson – Improvisation Four (excerpt) 06 Terje Rypdal – What Was I Thinking 07 Arvind Ganga & Riccardo Marogna – Kzans 08 Art Ensemble of Chicago – Folkus 09 Alan Wilkinson & Dirk Serries – In the Here and Now 10 Dirk Serries & Colin Webster– Switch 11 Dave Holland Quartet – Q & A 12 Ornette Coleman & Pat Metheny – Compute
“A masterpiece of glitchy solitude & quiet causticity — already captivating our attention, spinning via ear-buds & included on our upcoming 4’33” podcast. Beautiful!” ~Ambient Landscape
“A positive nothing, eternally waiting to bloom into the everything of the universe, a sort of primal spring of being.” ~Vladimir Sergeevic Solov’ev
1. 7’30” 2. 8’35” 3. 9’23” 4. 8’14” 5. 10’52
FORMAT: CD + DIGITAL CAT. N.: 9ED016 EDITION: 200 RELEASE DATE: 23 MARCH, 2021 DESIGN: MOTE STUDIO
Liner Notes
“Un Fiocco Di Neve” (Italian word for snowflake) is one of the possible crystallisations of an ongoing project called “Nucleazione” (Nucleation), started in 2017 and consisting of the accumulation of over 200 sound files and silences pulled together and randomly overlapped with no control. The five compositions of this album originate from a series of auto-generative methods, which I found brought me to new listening experiences in the process of composing. I trace my steps back to a decentered, limited presence as an author becoming a detached listener. While “Un Fiocco Di Neve” is presented here as a CD release, “Nucleazione” is exhibited as an online project where listeners can themselves experiment the non-linear creation of unstable, undefined compositions with no predetermined beginning nor end.
In November and December of 2017, I toured Japan, during the peak of autumn colours. Knowing my passion for tea, my friend Makiko invited me to her parents’ house for a tea ceremony held by her mother in an informal tea room filled with tools and objects belonging to the tradition. Among those, I was stunned by a kakejiku (hung scroll) of Japanese calligraphy displaying the kanji 紅 kou (red), 炉 ro (hearth), 一 i (one), 点 ten (point), and 雪 yuki (snow). While apparently illogical, Makiko’s mother explained the poem’s meaning roots in the concept of impermanence: a single fragile snowflake falls until it touches the fire pit and instantly disappears. Since that day, this image of Zen white delicacy, full of Japanese poetry, has never abandoned me and continues to resonate in my mind from time to time.
In May 2019 I visited Zen monk Toryo Ito at Ryosoku-in Temple in Kyoto, where I had performed in 2017 as part of the event Hodokeru Mimi. Between a bowl of matcha and discussions about travel, design, and religion, he laid out his philosophy of objects having their own meaning or energy that spreads toward us. I shared my idea of objects’ solitude as non-living entities and their intrinsic power to take on different meanings. Sound has its own organic flow in the world, which exists regardless of our connection to it. We encounter its complexity, give it a name, store it as a weightless memory, share its inconsistency. While walking back to the Higashiyama area, my thoughts reminded me of a YouTube interview with David Toop when he said, “You could argue that sound doesn’t actually exist: it’s always in a state of emerging or decay, it’s never actually there.” For me, this is an irrefutable truth. Why do we ‘fix’ sounds to precise forms, progressions, starts, and ends? Fused within this indeterminacy, I experience the beauty of listening.
In the mountain, a humble tea house. Snow forms outside. Between these states and the tension of opposites, density vanishes into sparsity, weight defies lightness, shadow intersects light, heat meets cold, in a continuous play of illusory forms generated out of empty spaces.
A snowflake disappears. Memory fades away, sometimes it lasts.
Credits
Created (2017—2021) in Italy and Japan. Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi. Pantings and photos by Fabio Perletta. Calligraphy by Kumaki Takahito. Designed by Mote Studio.
Biography
Fabio Perletta is a sound artist and curator living and working in Italy.
His work encompasses recorded compositions, performances, site-specific interventions, text scores and installations, appearing worldwide at festivals and art spaces like A×S Festival (Pasadena), Human Resources (Los Angeles), Pollinaria (Civitella Casanova), BlueProject Foundation (Barcelona), Arts Santa Mònica (Barcelona), Museo De Arte Moderno (Medellín), Musee National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet (Paris), Ftarri (Tokyo), Ochiai Soup (Tokyo), Kid Ailack Art Hall (Tokyo), Ryosokuin Temple (Kyoto), Museum of Modern Art (Wakayama), Café OTO (London), O’ Art Space (Milan), Saturnalia Festival (Milan), TOdays Festival (Turin), Eufònic Festival (Ulldecona/Barcelona), E-fest Cultures Numériques (La Marsa), roBOt Festival (Bologna), Acusmatiq Festival (Ancona), Flussi Festival (Avellino), Krake Festival (Berlin), Auditorium Parco della Musica (Rome), AlbumArte Gallery (Rome) and others.
He has participated in various artists residencies including Aequusol MMXX (Civitella Casanova), EMS Elektronmusikstudion (Stockholm), VOLUME (Los Angeles), Aqua Matrix (Bagnoli Irpino) and mAtter (Japan).
Perletta’s solo and collaborative recordings are documented on LINE, Dragon’s Eye Recordings, aufabwegen, Dinzu Artefacts and his own imprint 901 Editions. Founded in 2008, his label has since released more than 50 close-to-silence, immersive and experimental music editions by internationally renowned artists like Akio Suzuki, Asmus Tietchens, Nicolas Bernier, Richard Chartier, Adam Basanta, Yann Novak and many more.
Since 2014, he has co-curated Lux, an artistic program dedicated to presenting visual artists working with sound. In its 7 years of activity Lux has collaborated with museums, curators, exhibitions, festivals and contemporary art galleries, promoting solo and group exhibitions of artists like William Basinski and James Elaine, Thomas Koner, Arnold Dreyblatt, France Jobin and others.
He collaborates with sound designer Pierluigi Scarpantonio for the impro project Cygni.
He is currently a professor of sound design at ISIA University in Pescara, Italy.
Since 2011, Foundations has been honoring the works of artists that have had an notable impact on the direction of Dewtone’s long-standing broadcast. Collectively, these compilations encompass a set of shared values that have helped shape and define the boundaries of our programming.
Steady shifts you hear in the stream are thanks largely to individuals like this passing through and providing us with fresh approaches to formulas we’ve grown to love. It’s a privilege to bring a group of talented music makers together again to help mark a 15 year milestone for this independently funded platform.
Special thanks to Archives, Moshitaka, Home Assembly Music, Dreiton, Monography, Sutemos, Untitled & After, Nephogram, Halftribe, Liquid Delay, Textural Being and all the artists for their individual offering. .
D E 5 I G N 2 | an Ambient/Experimental sound assembly | 78:10
Part 2 of 3 (part 1) More aural design work, driven by the duo Minamo; off the beaten path & down the experimental wormhole . . .
Longer fades & segues render it compositional (as opposed to merely “mixed”). Diligence in listening is strongly advised as well as a strong grip upon reality (lest the listener become an eternal guest of said wormhole).
Courage! ;- )
Download via Bandcamp
01 Miki Yui – Vibra 02 J. Soliday – Untitled 200613 (edit) 03 Morimoto Naoki – Light 04 Minamo – Conceal 05 Pleq – The Lost 06 Robert Fripp – Time Promenade 07 Ümlaut – The Blue Field 08 Donato Wharton – A Thousand Miles of Grass 09 Neuro..No Neuro – I’m Just Pretending 10 Bruno Sanfilippo – Subliminal Pulse 11 Minamo – Sym 12 Strom Noir – The Weight of it All 13 Minamo – Yarn 14 offthesky – Undoing Us 15 Mike Bullock – TREAD
I visited Taiwan in the spring of 2019. Over the span of 10 days, and from the back seat of a bus that slowly rumbled around the island, I recorded the sounds that shaped this album: sonic traces of the endless mountains, gorges, beaches, and forests visible from the windows; ancient and imposing geological forms, immune to the human forces at play there. The island of Taiwan has been repeatedly subjected to cultural whiplash and regime change at the hands of various nations since its settlement by indigenous groups over 6,000 years ago, including the Chinese, Japanese, and Dutch, but it was the colonial Portuguese term “Ilha Formosa” – meaning “beautiful island,” and coined at their first sighting of the island in 1542 – that seemed most capable of describing the place, and most capable of transcending all those man-made barriers, borders, and governing articles.
Released November 29, 2019
Music by Andrew Tasselmyer Mastered by Ian Hawgood Cover photo by Yong Chuan Cassette j-card layout by Steven Kemner Shimmering Moods Records 2019
Ambient Landscape 