★Choose
Modular Organ System
Begun in 2017 and developed and refined over the six years since, the Berlin based artists, Phillip Sollmann and Konrad Sprenger, deliver their first LP, via Choose Records, documenting their remarkable Modular Organ System. Comprising a single, long form composition divided into two parts, “Modular Organ System” is a sublime and masterful work of drone, imbued with immediacy and emotion, that culminates as one of our favourite experimental organ records to appear in recent years.
States of Rushing
Microtonal articulations and noise concretions form the expressive stylistic elements of this extremely organized network of audio emergencies. They include the spurious frequencies apparently produced by hissing devices and the hypnotic patterns with almost industrial textures that have been calibrated according to mechanical envelopes. In “State of Rushing” it does not seem immediately evident that these sounds are the result of manipulating traditional instruments, such as the tuba.
Just attr…
Choice
Restocked: outstanding reissue, Choice finds Arnold Dreyblatt making his instruments and chosen musicians sing and chime from minimalism to moments of forthright completeness over two sides of vinyl which demand an honest listen and are ultimately rewarding when given such. Curated from more than thirty years (1981-2007) of live recordings, the LP is all the more remarkable for not sounding like a compilation of music made over such a long time-frame at all. Often characterized as the most…
Ort
'Truly an exercise in shifting contexts, Ellen Fullman's haunting voice blends eerily with the sonorities of her 'Long String Instrument', which seems to function as a kind of cosmic fiddle. Sprenger has created a wall of sound behind Fullman with a potpourri of acoustic instruments, including Arnold Dreyblatt's own 'excited strings bass', a zither, violin, electric bass and even tympani along with the Long String Instrument. The pieces on Ort range from covers of Woody Guthrie and the t…
Miniaturen
“Miniaturen” or in English: “Miniatures” is Konrad Sprenger’s first solo album. The dictionary defines a miniature as “a representation or image of something on a small or reduced scale”. Sprenger worked for over two years to find a “grand form” in which to represent his myriad bagatelles; drawing from hundreds of finished and unfinished recordings recorded over the last ten years with a diverse palette of musicians, artists and friends.The result is an unlikely juxtaposition of 32 abbreviated s…
The Labyrinth Scored For Eleven Different Cats
The legendary American artist Terry Fox is known for his pioneering work in performance, sculpture, drawing and installation. Throughout his career, Fox (who died in Cologne in 2008), focused on sound as a fundamental artistic material. Many of his most important sound works were realized long before terms such as "sound art" or "audio art" became widely known.This recording, The Labyrinth Scored for 11 Cats (1977), is now recognized as an early classic of the audio art genre. It is one of Fox's…
October 25th, 2001. Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
In 2001 Thomas Buckner organized a series of concerts at the Merkin Hall in New York City asking contemporary classic composers to perform together with another artist of their choice. When Robert Ashley – already one of the most anticipated guests – decided to invite his old friend Walter Marchetti to perform together, the peak event of the series was set. It was the first concert of Italian composer Marchetti in the States for more than 30 years.The night of October 25th, 2001, the audience at…