@Greg, I just ordered a couple of the older SFJazz sets - Their organization is about to open a wonderful new theater on the Embarcadero (I think) in SF, which is where my brother's office is. A plan begins to form in my mind...
@Doofy - I tried to find out yesterday if any others are available in the UK - I've already downloaded the one prior to this from emusic but that is all they have. Amazon UK had a couple of their early CDs, quite expensive, but that is all. I 'm planning to continue the search!
Just downloaded this from Jonah's Jazz Picks for this week and now playing
A repost from the N&N thread, Apr 10th 2012: Fenn O'berg - In Hell
- "Superb collection of Fenn O'Berg jams from their 2010 Japan tour, in which they forged further west for some wild sets in Beppu and Omuta. While maintaining the sophistication of the In Stereo sessions and tour, these recordings hark back to some classic 20th century Fenn O'Berg fare, complete with the odd cheeky samples. Fenn O'Berg are: Christian Fennesz, Jim O'Rourke and Peter Rehberg. Assembled by Jim O'Rourke at Steamroom Tokyo, 2011. Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, 2012."
- Editions Mego
ETA: - "'In Hell' is a collection of jams from Fenn O'Berg's 2010 Japan tour. Bearing a notable resemblance to the 'In Stereo' sessions and tour, the recordings hear brooding atmospherics and darkly muted tones. Yet moments gloriously hark back to classic Fenn O'Berg fare and their deranged and spontaneous black-magic. All this makes for a unique stopover in the Fenn O'Berg canon of material striking and wholly memorable."
- Bleep.
- And a superb 5 minutes clip of track 2 @ Soundcloud.
Thanks for the reminder BN - I downloaded in July, played it once and then promptly forgot it. I followed your link, got as far as finding it on emusic and saw that I had already purchased it!!
Edit - the second track Three Steps Above is IMO brilliant, with superb sax playing, maybe baritone, but I am sure someone more knowledgable will know
- "To some, the argument for keeping music and technology distinct and apart is nearly as contentious as that concerning the separation of church and state. But while bringing together the latter arguably creates, at the very least, a moral dilemma about freedom of choice, the concept of integrating conventional musical instruments with modern technological advances only becomes a problem for those who believe that there's something inherently purer about an unadorned, untreated acoustic instrument.
Turkish guitarist/electronic composer Erdem Helvacio?lu clearly faces no such predicament. The only thing more remarkable about the music on Altered Realities is that it was created with a single acoustic guitar and live electronics. There's no overdubbing, no post-processing, no editing and no previously recorded material. Hard though it may be to believe, every note on Altered Realities was recorded in real time, and these seven original compositions can absolutely be recreated in live performance.
The only guitar recording in recent times that approaches the same degree of innovation is Dominic Frasca's Deviations (Cantaloupe Music, 2005). But where Frasca, no stranger to electronics himself, largely builds his music around specially designed instruments, Helvacio?lu uses a conventional six-string acoustic guitar. It's the live electronics, and a keen compositional aesthetic that views texture as an equal partner to melody, that makes Alterered Realities such a unique recording.
The album is not entirely without precedents. While the processing is generally more extreme and the textures more varied, there are times when Helvacio?lu sounds like a guitar alter-ego to ambient composer/pianist Harold Budd, especially on the hauntingly lyrical "Bridge to Horizon and gently melodic "Frozen Resophonic. But while Budd invariably looks to create "eternally pretty music, Helvacio?lu isn't averse to angular music possessing sharper edges, although the results are rarely anything less than beautiful. While the electronics of "Bridge to Horizon and "Frozen Resophonic work in concert with the unmistakable sound of acoustic guitar, "Sliding on a Glacier is more abstract, more quirkily electronic, and there's little of the natural instrument to be heard.
Helvacio?lu's music is too intrusive, too demanding of attention to be placed in the same category as seminal ambient artists like Budd and Brian Eno, but their influence is felt, as is soundscape guitarist Robert Fripp a factor in his overall vocabulary. There is, however, greater compositional complexity and depth, with Helvacio?lu's music often finding its way into unexpected territory. The ethereal opening of "Dreaming on a Blind Saddle builds gradually, but gives no indication of harsher extremes to come at its halfway mark."
- John Kelman @ All About Jazz - 2007.
ac2 . . . I know I know, that was very impermissible. I apologize !
"Sung by a lovelorn psychologist, the songs in Lonely Motel are about perception, self-delusion and ultimately about the isolation created by the attachments we develop to our own fuzzy, personal views of reality.
The music is a dish by and for musical omnivores and while the ingredients have been diced quite finely (and there is no quotation), the songs are seasoned with homages to Dowland, Mozart, Stravinsky, Piazzola, and The Beatles."
- Steven Mackey.
- Nominated for 4 grammies including Best Contemporary Composition and Best Small Ensemble Performance.
Comments
Streaming from Bandcamp, prompted by the latest post on the Bento thread:
- Hmmm ?
From the Folk on a Summer's Day compilation (no longer available for download in US).
Hell yes.
@Greg, I just ordered a couple of the older SFJazz sets - Their organization is about to open a wonderful new theater on the Embarcadero (I think) in SF, which is where my brother's office is. A plan begins to form in my mind...
Rainier Lericolais - 12 bruits de fond(s)
- This album also features : David Sanson, Aya Sumino, Lili Kim, Geoffroy Montel, Miho-Line, S
Just downloaded this from Jonah's Jazz Picks for this week and now playing
A great release from them, this one a more upbeat and fuller sound than before.
There is also a Noisetrade sampler which has tracks from all their releases, well worth a listen
followed by
- Nimbus Records 2001
A repost from the N&N thread, Apr 10th 2012:
Fenn O'berg - In Hell
- "Superb collection of Fenn O'Berg jams from their 2010 Japan tour, in which they forged further west for some wild sets in Beppu and Omuta. While maintaining the sophistication of the In Stereo sessions and tour, these recordings hark back to some classic 20th century Fenn O'Berg fare, complete with the odd cheeky samples. Fenn O'Berg are: Christian Fennesz, Jim O'Rourke and Peter Rehberg. Assembled by Jim O'Rourke at Steamroom Tokyo, 2011. Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, 2012."
- Editions Mego
ETA:
- "'In Hell' is a collection of jams from Fenn O'Berg's 2010 Japan tour. Bearing a notable resemblance to the 'In Stereo' sessions and tour, the recordings hear brooding atmospherics and darkly muted tones. Yet moments gloriously hark back to classic Fenn O'Berg fare and their deranged and spontaneous black-magic. All this makes for a unique stopover in the Fenn O'Berg canon of material striking and wholly memorable."
- Bleep.
- And a superb 5 minutes clip of track 2 @ Soundcloud.
Thanks for the reminder BN - I downloaded in July, played it once and then promptly forgot it. I followed your link, got as far as finding it on emusic and saw that I had already purchased it!!
Edit - the second track Three Steps Above is IMO brilliant, with superb sax playing, maybe baritone, but I am sure someone more knowledgable will know
- Cooking Vinyl 1978
- Apparently no longer @ music . . .
Very mixed.
Yup ! Those were the days . . . ;-)
- Yes you must ! . . . VERY powerful album. Over My head takes my breath away !
ETA:
So good.
NYOP at Bandcamp
- "To some, the argument for keeping music and technology distinct and apart is nearly as contentious as that concerning the separation of church and state. But while bringing together the latter arguably creates, at the very least, a moral dilemma about freedom of choice, the concept of integrating conventional musical instruments with modern technological advances only becomes a problem for those who believe that there's something inherently purer about an unadorned, untreated acoustic instrument.
Turkish guitarist/electronic composer Erdem Helvacio?lu clearly faces no such predicament. The only thing more remarkable about the music on Altered Realities is that it was created with a single acoustic guitar and live electronics. There's no overdubbing, no post-processing, no editing and no previously recorded material. Hard though it may be to believe, every note on Altered Realities was recorded in real time, and these seven original compositions can absolutely be recreated in live performance.
The only guitar recording in recent times that approaches the same degree of innovation is Dominic Frasca's Deviations (Cantaloupe Music, 2005). But where Frasca, no stranger to electronics himself, largely builds his music around specially designed instruments, Helvacio?lu uses a conventional six-string acoustic guitar. It's the live electronics, and a keen compositional aesthetic that views texture as an equal partner to melody, that makes Alterered Realities such a unique recording.
The album is not entirely without precedents. While the processing is generally more extreme and the textures more varied, there are times when Helvacio?lu sounds like a guitar alter-ego to ambient composer/pianist Harold Budd, especially on the hauntingly lyrical "Bridge to Horizon and gently melodic "Frozen Resophonic. But while Budd invariably looks to create "eternally pretty music, Helvacio?lu isn't averse to angular music possessing sharper edges, although the results are rarely anything less than beautiful. While the electronics of "Bridge to Horizon and "Frozen Resophonic work in concert with the unmistakable sound of acoustic guitar, "Sliding on a Glacier is more abstract, more quirkily electronic, and there's little of the natural instrument to be heard.
Helvacio?lu's music is too intrusive, too demanding of attention to be placed in the same category as seminal ambient artists like Budd and Brian Eno, but their influence is felt, as is soundscape guitarist Robert Fripp a factor in his overall vocabulary. There is, however, greater compositional complexity and depth, with Helvacio?lu's music often finding its way into unexpected territory. The ethereal opening of "Dreaming on a Blind Saddle builds gradually, but gives no indication of harsher extremes to come at its halfway mark."
- John Kelman @ All About Jazz - 2007.
(url=>amz)
Wow, this is great. I think I got this as an emu Tompkins Square giveaway.
@bn: you're headbanging when you should be pogoing (and maybe gobbing)...
"Sung by a lovelorn psychologist, the songs in Lonely Motel are about perception, self-delusion and ultimately about the isolation created by the attachments we develop to our own fuzzy, personal views of reality.
The music is a dish by and for musical omnivores and while the ingredients have been diced quite finely (and there is no quotation), the songs are seasoned with homages to Dowland, Mozart, Stravinsky, Piazzola, and The Beatles."
- Steven Mackey.
- Nominated for 4 grammies including Best Contemporary Composition and Best Small Ensemble Performance.
http://www.eighthblackbird.org/ - http://stevenmackey.com/ - Cedille Records
Craig