From: owner-zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (Zorn List Digest) To: zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: Zorn List Digest V2 #790 Reply-To: zorn-list Sender: owner-zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk Zorn List Digest Monday, November 15 1999 Volume 02 : Number 790 In this issue: - Music Unlimited report (part 1) Re: Music Unlimited report (part 1) Re: Music Unlimited report (part 1) Taboo and Exile Music Unlimited report (part 2) Re: Taboo and Exile / Masada live in Anaheim CD ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 20:56:07 EST From: JonAbbey2@aol.com Subject: Music Unlimited report (part 1) the Music Unlimited festival occurs annually in Wels, Austria, a midsize town about two hours west of Vienna. when I saw a few months ago that Otomo Yoshihide was curating this year's festival, and that many of my favorite musicians would be present, and Otomo himself would play in five separate bands over the course of the evening, I decided to attend. I arrived with my friend Jessica in Vienna on Thursday morning, the day before the festival began. I happened to know of a good show in Vienna that night, Radu Malfatti and Werner Dafeldecker (I learned later that this was their first duo performance in three years, and only their second ever), so we went down and checked it out. it was at a school, and took place in an auditorium. attendance was ridiculously low, totalling six (myself, Jessica, a couple, Radu's girlfriend, and the promoter). the program consisted of three long pieces, the first two compositions by Malfatti and the third an improv. Malfatti's recent composing style is incredibly sparse, with intermittent silences continually interrupting the music. I had asked him before the show why he was no longer in Polwechsel, and he told me that he had been asked to leave because his compositions were too sparse. I found this hard to understand before the show, but not after the show. the first piece, thorough composed for trombone and contrabass, started with both musicians clicking stopwatches simultaneously. this piece was so sparse and elegant, with so many extended silences, that it makes Polwechsel sound like Last Exit. it was compelling, though, and reminded me somewhat of the approach of composers like Thomas Koner, Bernhard Gunter, and Francisco Lopez, although from a much more musically schooled background. the second piece was for solo trombone, although there was almost no recognizable trombone sound. the music mostly consisted of different kinds of breath through the trombone, long silences, and Malfatti's rubbing a mute up and down his pants leg. you know a piece is quiet when you can hear your friend's stomach growling over the music. the third piece, the improvisation, was gorgeous. it was in the same minimal style, but there were no pauses, and both musicians used a much more varied palette of sounds. Dafeldecker bowed all over his bass, less on the strings than on other parts. it all worked really well, and afterwards Jessica and I went out drinking with Radu and Werner, which was also pretty fun, partially because for the first time all day, we knew what was on the menu at the restaurant. the next afternoon, after more sightseeing, we took the train to Wels. we arrived and checked into our hotel around 3:30. I went over to the venue a few hours later, for the concerts which started at 7. the way that this festival runs is with two adjacent stages, a large auditorium seating about 300, and a smaller room off to the side of the main stage, which stands about 100 people. acts alternated between the two rooms, with the small stage shows starting 2-3 minutes after the previous main stage show ended, and the main stage sets starting 5 or 10 minutes after the previous small stage set. so each night consisted of 5-7 hours of essentially nonstop music, an incredible amount to intake. altogether, there were 20 hours of music in a 53 hour period. the first night began appropriately with a solo electronic set by Otomo. it lasted about 50 minutes, subtly overwhelming music, with samplers and multiple turntables creating a repeating wall of music which Otomo added different eelments to each cycle through. one repeating element is a cymbal which he suspended above a turntable, and presses into the rotating record below in a rhythmic fashion. it was a very good set, but it probably could have ended ten minutes earlier and achieved the same effect. next on the small stage was Takeshi Fumimoto on turntables, who I'm not familiar with. the start of this set was fine, but I ended up talking to musicians and missed most of it. next up on the big stage was Otomo's My Dear Mummy project. there's a record of this (on Creativeman Disc, I believe) which I haven't heard in a long time. there's a long narration (in Japanese on the album, translated to German for the concert, neither of which I understand almost at all, so that was something of a barrier), and eight musicians improvising behind the text very quietly. Otomo was conducting, although he hid behind a large black box in the middle of the stage, and Dafeldecker told me later he didn't do much at all. it still would have been nice to see him, though. the musicians included Dafeldecker, Taku Sugimoto, Gunter Muller, Sachiko M. among others, but they all stayed in the background. the music consisted of burbles, crackles and pops and was relaxing, but all in all, I wasn't so excited by this set. next on the small stage were Dieter Kovacic (turntables) and Oliver Stotz (guitar), who have a CD out on Rhiz under the name c (circled like a copyright symbol) which is called Pop Concrete. when they perform live, they call themselves r (also circled). there was a third member controlling some pretty cool video output behind them. the music was pretty good, although Kovacic is better than Stotz, and I'm looking forward to his solo turntable set later in the festival. I should add here that there's usually not as much to say about the sets on the small stage, because they're typically shorter, 20 or 25 minutes, and pretty straightforward. next on the main stage were Radian, who I was really looking forward to to see if they could play live. I really enjoy their debut EP on Rhiz, and they have a full-length ready to go for Mego. it's three memebers, bass, drum and synth, and the first thing I noticed when they came out was that they were all wearing headphones. I learned later that all of their pieces are fully composed, no improv elements at all. there was one piece from the EP which they played note for note. it was still a nice set, more abstract and less propulsive and bass-driven than the EP. I'm still looking forward to the new CD, but this set wasn't as revelatory as I had hoped for. next on the small stage was Seiichi Yamamoto, guitarist of Boredoms and Omoide Hatoba fame. he started with a feedback-drenched solo, and was attacking his amplifier physically during it. after about five minutes, he yanked his plug out violently, and walked off stage. it didn't seem as if he was angry, just that he thought that was enough. I thought it was pretty cool. last show of the first night, main stage, was the Incapacitants, a Japanese noise band consisting of two pudgy guys in white t-shirts with giant homemade synths, throttling and torturing them to produce a shifting wall of noise. I didn't find it especially compelling until the end. about thirty minutes in, one ofthe duo left the stage. the other guy continued for a few minutes then leaped on the table with his synth, toppling it and sending him and it crashing to the ground. he then ran offstage, leaving just the still pulsating (barely) synth going through the speakers. after a few minutes, he ran back on, pulled the plugs, and ran off. then the lights came up. not an amazing set, but a dramatic ending to a compelling night of music, which turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg. Saturday and Sunday to follow... Jon www.erstwhilerecords.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 18:55:09 -0800 (PST) From: Tom Pratt Subject: Re: Music Unlimited report (part 1) Thanks for the report, Jon. I'm a little jealous... > Malfatti's recent composing style is incredibly > sparse, with intermittent silences continually > interrupting the music. Malfatti didn't mention any upcoming recordings of this sort of stuff, did he? I've been really impressed with everything I've heard from this guy, and I'm a total sucker for really quiet music. > it was compelling, though, and reminded me somewhat > of the approach of composers like Thomas Koner, > Bernhard Gunter, and Francisco Lopez, although from > a much more musically schooled background. I know you're not a huge fan of either Gunter or Lopez, but do you like Koner's stuff at all? Of the few albums I've heard, his stuff has sounded like pretty boring dark ambience. Am I missing something? Now that I think of it, I actually like the recent Porter Ricks / Techno Animal well enough... It's interesting that you'd compare Malfatti's music (acoustic) to Gunter, Lopez and Koner (electronic). This recent brand of minimalism doesn't seem too prominent in the acoustic world of new music. I really wish that weren't the case. Thanks again for the post, Jon. -Tom Pratt ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 00:22:22 EST From: JonAbbey2@aol.com Subject: Re: Music Unlimited report (part 1) In a message dated 11/14/99 9:56:27 PM, tpratt9@yahoo.com writes: << Malfatti didn't mention any upcoming recordings of this sort of stuff, did he? >> I don't think I asked him, actually. too busy discussing his potential Erstwhile project. :) he has at least two examples of this on disc already, though. the self-titled Edition Wandelweiser disc, and the Fringes disc with Thomas Lehn and Phil Durrant. <> Koner's stuff is either hit or miss. I think Permafrost and Kaamos work well, but those are the only two that do. <> yeah, they all seem primarily currently concerned with the relationship between audibility and inaudibility and flipping in and out and between the two. certainly Malfatti is coming from a different perspective. FWIW, when I asked him if he'd heard the music of those musicians, he said no, but he said I wasn't the first person to bring up Gunter to him. <> well, Malfatti is definitely at the extreme end of it, but a little ways down the spectrum lie Polwechsel, VHF, and arguably even Nmperign. I definitely thought during the concert, though, that no one else is working in such extreme minimal territory in acoustic music. it borders on too minimal at times, I'd say, but to each their own. <> no problem. the last two days are more exciting. Jon www.erstwhilerecords.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 07:41:39 -0500 From: Steve Spangler Subject: Taboo and Exile I bought a copy of Taboo and Exile this weekend, but Tzadik and cdnow don't list it as released yet. Does anybody know if there's a stoey behind this, or did my local record store just jump the gun on putting the cd out. Steve Spangler - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 09:02:45 EST From: JonAbbey2@aol.com Subject: Music Unlimited report (part 2) I spent a lazy day walking around Wels on Saturday. it was pretty cold and rainy, so that wasn't too fun. at 3 PM, there was a screening of a movie called History Ground Zero which consisted of pretty short sequences of the band playing live over the years, filmed in jumpy black and white, switching back and forth in random chronological order, and cutting in and out of pieces at unusual times. I think it was about 75 minutes long, and with a few exceptions, not too compelling. I do believe that my legs were visible in the audience in the NYC 1995 show segment though. whoo! Saturday night at 7 PM the music started again. there were 11 acts scheduled this night, as opposed to 7 each of the other two nights, so I was ready for a real marathon (which it turned out to be, ending around 3 AM). first band on the main stage was the much-lauded Kaffe Matthews, with Andrea Neumann and Annette Krebs, two names previously unfamiliar to me. I missed the first part of this set, because I was talking to musicians, but I moved into my seat about 15 minutes in. Matthews originally played the violin, but over the past few years has moved more and more to pure processed violin sounds, distorted so much as to become unrecognizable. Neumann plays something she calls an inside piano which is literally the guts of a piano on a bench, which I'd never seen before. and Krebs plays guitar, but processed so much as to also render it fairly unrecognizable. this set was pretty good; Matthews is definitely talented, more so than I had previously thought from her first two CDs, and the other two were holding their own. nothing earthshattering, but a nice beginning to a long night. next was Werner Dafeldecker and a woman with the last name of Akoasma who was a club DJ who Werner found and was playing only her second or third gig anywhere ever. she had dyed short blond hair, tattoos, and was probably the most exuberant fan at the festival, pushing her way up to the front at almost every set, and dancing even when the music didn't seem remotely danceable. anyway, this was a great set. Dafeldecker miked and bowed the tops of glasses with a pickup attached, and she mixed in electronic sounds. very musical, accomplished and satisfying. next, back on the main stage, was Martin Tetreault and Diane Labrosse. both from Montreal, they're on a really nice Ambiances Magnetiques CD along with Ikue Mori. I was looking forward to this one also, having only seen Martin once previously. it was a long, solid set. Tetreault had two turntables going, but didn't play many records, preferring to get his sounds out of the turntables themselves. Labrosse definitely held her own, stirring jarring computer textures into the mix. full of ideas, constantly progressing, but rarely breathtaking. next on the small stage was Erik M. playing solo. he's a young French turntablist who's becoming more prominent in the scene. he has a very good solo CD on Sonoris, a new 3 inch disc on Metamkine which I haven't heard yet, and he's on the superb new For 4 Ears disc (not available in the US quite yet) along with Voice Crack and Gunter Muller, a combination which was one of the showcase bands the final night. he also played a fairly lackluster set at Victoriaville this year, with Jean-Marc Montera and Michel Doneda, so I didn't have too high expectations for this set, but he rocked my world. 20 minutes, which seemed to fly by in an instant, of fresh, invigorating, abstract DJing with multiple turntables, always keeping a funky beat going, while layering crazy, musical sounds on top and scratching all the while. breathtaking, and I wished it had lasted three times as long. one of my three musical highlights of the festival. next on the main stage was Kazunao Nagata, who's a prominent behind the scenes player in the Japanese electronica world, as well as having numerous solo synth CDs. I think he runs Zero Gravity, and maybe some other labels, and I know he's in the final incarnation of Ground Zero, documented on the Last Concert disc. I'm not a fan of his records, and I didn't like his set at all, leaving after ten minutes (it's a small venue, though, and I could still hear what was going on while I was outside). it got a bit more interesting near the end, but he's too wanky for my tastes. the first total dud set, a sentiment later confirmed independently by a couple of musicians. tough to be upset long, though, because next in the small room was a solo set from Keith Rowe. unsurprisingly, it was superb, pushing his guitar to the max, and mixing in occasional shortwave radio signals. he used springs, a tiny fan, pieces of wood, all to coax every conceivable sound out of his much-battered strings. as good as I had hoped for. next in the main room was the one act on the bill which stuck out from the rest of the program like a sore thumb, Fanfare Ciocarlia, a Romanian 12-piece jazz/dance band featuring three trumpets, two tubas, five other horns, and two percussionists. they pulled all the seats out of the main room between Nagata and Fanfare, but the place was still jammed with fans who had seemingly come just to see Fanfare. after a few minutes, I decided to take a much needed break. they played endlessly to much applause. one of the funnier moments of the festival was the few of us waiting in the small room for these guys to end and Sachiko M. to start her solo set. every time they would start another piece, everyone in the room would roll their eyes and shake their heads, wanting to get on with the rest of the festival. anyway, after what seemed about seven years, they finally ended, filing offstage, playing all the while, going back on, playing more songs, filing back off, on and on and on. next was Sachiko, who I was looking forward to and was pretty disappointed by. it was much less varied than her solo CD on Amoebic, a static set of sinewave sounds. it did do the job of clearing out the tuba music from my head, though. back to the main stage for Novo Tono, a rock ensemble of Otomo's (one CD on Creativeman, and I think another in the works somewhere). he played guitar, Phew sang, plus there was keyboard, guitar, bass and drums. (for a bit more personnel info on this whole festival, there's a web site at: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/4782/unlimited/deutsch-unltd99/prgvorlmain.htm) some moments were nice, the intricate arrangements were impressive, the crowd loved it, but not one of my favorite projects of Otomo's. next was Dieter, the Viennese DJ who played in duo on the previous night. he's in Orchester 33 1/3, and Shaboptinski also. he spun a compelling set, while the same woman flashed really well-done computer-generated visuals behind him. a nice, relaxing, late-night set (it was 2:30 to my evening) and a good capper to the evening. Sunday still to come... Jon www.erstwhilerecords.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 16:12:30 +0100 From: patRice Subject: Re: Taboo and Exile / Masada live in Anaheim CD hi there taboo and exile: in the "upcoming releases" section on the tzadik site it says that the release has been pushed back due to printing problems. but i've also seen copies of "taboo and exile" in my local record shop (in europe). they told me at that shop that there is actually an agreement that all the tzadik cds are first released on the european market, between 3 and 6 weeks before they are available in the us. which i found pretty unbelievable. masada: has anyone on the list already seen the new masada live cd on sale anywhere? patRice Steve Spangler wrote: > > I bought a copy of Taboo and Exile this weekend, but Tzadik and cdnow > don't list it as released yet. Does anybody know if there's a stoey > behind this, or did my local record store just jump the gun on putting > the cd out. > > Steve Spangler > > - - - ------------------------------ End of Zorn List Digest V2 #790 ******************************* To unsubscribe from zorn-list-digest, send an email to "majordomo@lists.xmission.com" with "unsubscribe zorn-list-digest" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "zorn-list-digest" in the commands above with "zorn-list". Back issues are available for anonymous FTP from ftp.xmission.com, in pub/lists/zorn-list/archive. These are organized by date. Problems? Email the list owner at zorn-list-owner@lists.xmission.com