Wednesday 1 December 2010

new releases on gruenrekorder




[1] Fire and Frost Pattern by Andreas Bick Field Recording Series 2 Tracks (52:50) CD (500 copies), MP3, 5.1 surround download [listen] http://www.gruenrekorder.de/?page_id=2727 Reading Andreas Bick’s fascinating technical descriptions of his twin compositions Frost Pattern and Fire Pattern, one could be forgiven for believing these were sound recordings made as part of a scientific research project. In an earlier piece entitled Windscapes (Deutschlandradio Kultur, 2001), he used the natural phenomenon of “singing dunes” – recorded in the Namibian desert. But Klangkunst, the weekly hour-long programme on Deutschlandradio Kultur for which all these pieces were produced, is not about science. It offers plenty to listen to, but there is little talk or explanation. People often ask who is served by scientific research. In this (rare) case, since the composer Andreas Bick uses the results of scientific research, as well as produces recordings under essentially scientific conditions himself, one may answer that science serves art, the art of sound composition. A curious listener scanning Bick’s pieces for the sounds of natural phenomena like “singing flames,” “singing icebergs,” “ice sizzle” or the eruption of volcanoes and geysers, will certainly be fascinated. But such a listener will only hear the skeleton of the composition, not the composition itself (like someone using Messiaen’s Oiseaux exotiques to identify bird calls). Although Bick is sparing in his use of sound-processing techniques, the composition is an “alchemical” process of transformation. As a result, the mighty bass sounds of calving icebergs or volcanic eruptions take on a mythical quality fitting for a work on the primal elements (and primal fears) of humanity. The artistic process here is concerned primarily with making audible the “secret” sounds hidden in nature, liberating the music held in fire and ice. (Götz Naleppa)
Field Recording Series Gruenrekorder / Germany / 2010 / Gruen 074 / LC 09488 / GEMA With kind support of Deutschlandradio Kultur, Fielax & Alfred Wegener Institute.


[2] Mumbai Diary by Bettina Wenzel Soundscape Series 9 Tracks (44:10) CD (500 copies), MP3 [Info] http://www.gruenrekorder.de/?page_id=3722 VOICE as Instrument of Affection Sound diaries have their seductive appeal. Unlike written memoirs, sketches, cartoons and photo journals they share a common feature with film documentaries – the temporal sound-image. Deprived of visual information (and of predominance of sight), sound-image attracts listeners’ ears, penetrates their bodies, permeates through their minds, initiating the process of imagination and articulating lived as well as imagined experiences. No escape; intrusive meanings are always present. In contrast to moving images that reduce space and vision to the surface and depth of a screen, sound-images are capable of not only extending the listeners’ universe but also making them aware of and signifying the impulses within their bodies. If combined with appropriate musical expression, as in the case of Bettina Wenzel’s Mumbai Diary, the ambition to represent the unique artistic intention in correlation with genius loci and intimacy of a place where one finds oneself in a particular moment succeeds in producing interaction.....(Jozef Cseres)
Soundscape Series by Gruenrekorder Gruenrekorder / Germany / 2010 / Gruen 086 / LC 09488 / GEMA SPONSORED BY KUNSTSTIFTUNG NRW


[3] kdi dctb 146 [e] by Cédric Peyronnet 1 Track (54:47) CD-R (50 copies), MP3 [Info] http://www.gruenrekorder.de/?page_id=3091 This work is one of the results of three years of sound recording around the sound Valley Taurion / Thaurion (France); it could be seen, in a way, as an immersion in the sound world of this valley: rhythms and textures of water, sound events that marks the time.An underlying theme of "kdi dctb 146" is to question the apparent banality of such a sound environment and finally the unsuspected depth of an "active listening act" of such a place. Ultimately, it would be like, throughout this kind of fictitious soundwalk, to be « à la recherche du Presque rien » (in the search for almost nothing). Each original recording, often very minimalist in form, may seem at first glance trivial or very stereotypical. They even includes a certain amount of confusion, linked to the context of the on site recording, and I did not sought to erase what is generally perceived as a disturbing external signal (aircraft, road traffic ..) but my idea was in most of the cases to reveal it. (Cédric Peyronnet)


Field Recording Series by
Gruenrekorder Gruenrekorder / Germany / 2010 / Gr 078 / LC 09488 / SACEM


[4] Playing with Words : an audio compilation by Various Artists 41 Tracks CD (500 copies), Free MP3 [Info] http://www.gruenrekorder.de/?page_id=3927 Contributors include: abAna/David Toop, Tomomi Adachi, Caroline Bergvall, Ansuman Biswas, Jaap Blonk, Lars-Gunnar Bodin, Alessandro Bosetti, Brownsierra, Angus Carlyle, Viv Corringham, Lawrence Upton & John Levack Drever, Thomas Gardner, Iris Garrelfs, Sten Hanson, Dirk HuelsTrunk, Sianed Jones, Mikhail Karikis, Brandon LaBelle, Leigh Landy, Cathy Lane, Language Removal Services, Paul Lansky, Lina Lapelyte, Majena Mafe, Ellen Moffat, Ekrem Mülayim, Katharine Norman, Julien Ottavi, Nye Parry, jörg piringer, Amanda Stewart, Imogen Stidworthy, Barry Truax, Michael Vincent, Salomé Voegelin, Julian Weaver, Claudia Wegener, Charlotte White, Trevor Wishart, John Wynne and Pamela Z. The work on this audio compilation is part of an intermittent ongoing tradition of artistic investigation of spoken language. The pieces included here negotiate potential oppositions such as semantic play and abstraction, musical and narrative structures, speech and song, one voice and many. Influences have been drawn from many sources including poetry, music, song, theatre, typography and graphic art, philosophy, radio, performance art, linguistics, fine art, literature and of course the keen observation and experience of the very many varieties of human communication that we all encounter and participate in every day. The concerns of these contemporary artists in many cases relate back to their historical antecedents such as the poets, performers and other artists working with sound in the early part of the twentieth century, including the Futurists, Zaum poets, Dadaists and Lettristes who sought to invent new languages and new words in order to express their vision of reality and to deconstruct and reduce the power of language. Other featured artists are examining and revealing the experiences and complexities of contemporary society by engaging with how spoken language works and manifests itself. These works reflect more recent developments in linguistics and the psychology and philosophy of language revealing how meaning is negotiated and transmitted between individuals and groups, across cultures and through languages and their translations.
Sound Art Series by Gruenrekorder Gruenrekorder / Germany / 2010 / Gruen 065 / LC 09488 Funded by the AHRC


[5] Playing with Words : Live by Various Artists 6 Chapters (100:03) DVD (500 copies) [Info] http://www.gruenrekorder.de/?page_id=3095 Kulturnetz Frankfurt e.V. presents: International SoundArtFestival Gallus-Theater, Frankfurt am Main 2009 / A film by Bernhard Bauser Joerg Piringer (A), Ansuman Biswas (GB), Dirk Huelstrunk (G), Sianed Jones (GB), Nye Parry (GB), Jaap Blonk (NL) The festival “Playing with Words – Live” presents six internationally renowned artists who put voice and spoken word into the center of their performance. Listen to sound poetry, Celtic world music, electronically processed voices, or hear about the fascinating Indian rhythm language “Konnakol”. All artists create interdisciplinary work between poetry, music, dance, visual arts and science. They also use their diverse cultural backgrounds to connect ancient traditions with the newest technical innovations, or to mix Eastern and Western philosophical concepts. “Playing with words: the spoken word in artistic practice” is also the title of an anthology of works from over forty leading contemporary sound artists and composers who use words, particularly spoken words, as their material and inspiration. The book is edited by Cathy Lane and published by CRiSAP, London.

Sound Art Series by Gruenrekorder Gruenrekorder / Germany / 2010 / Gruen 083 / LC 09488

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