reviews
phroq [x 2]
In his recent review of a Daniel Jones/ David Papapostolou disc for Signal To Noise, Brian Marley refers to EAI as a “fading genre of improvised music.” It’s a curious quote, and for reasons that go beyond breakdowns of the troublesome necessity to assign labels. Statements such as this are faithful cause for issue and debate, and though I don’t wish to incite the heat here, the quote merits some mention.
As writers and chin-strokers increasingly step up the rhetoric on the death of EAI, Francisco Meirino, aka Phroq, quietly places two new releases on the shelf for our consideration, both of which are reminders that lateral thought benefits music, be it through the formulation of new techniques or the exploration of tonal relationships.
Meirino’s been around for a while, and in his 15 years of sound dissection he’s certain to have seen a thing or two, not least the occasional emergence of debates around the viability or general health of certain music. These days, Meirino is primarily interested in something akin to a Cageian environment. While he doesn’t seem married to the concept of environment-as-accompaniment, he has some excitement about the ghosts in the machines themselves. For instance, it could be argued that a failed disk drive is a casualty brought on by its surroundings, but we’re not so interested in the why here as much as the what.
On Connections, Opportunities for Mistakes (Shiver Sounds), Meirino explores and exploits the relationship between programmable material and the potential for its failure. Any improviser can tell you that the best riffs are often found by accident — perhaps resulting from the failure of others to keep up. A relay within a circuit is commonly placed to allow for electronic continuity in the event of component failure. Often a system’s continuity succeeds with glitches undetected. One of the most interesting tracks is the shortest — at roughly 20 seconds, “Minidisc Failure” is amplified n times to expose a device’s aural characteristics on a bad day. The disc’s ruling effect is its harsh ambiance, cleverly crafted using sources that would not have a place in music otherwise.
Magnetic Ghosts (Sentient Recognition Archive) consists of minimalistic play with a 1970’s cassette player, some antiquated audio gear, damaged tapes, and contact mics. The questionable predictability of tape — by way of hidden artifacts — has been cause for study for decades. Ilhan Mimaroglu was bisecting and overdubbing before extensive comparative studies could even be launched. Meirino is more overt in his exposition, as the track titles say (“Head Cleaning,” “Auto-Reverse and End”). Like the other disc, Magnetic Ghosts renders preconceptions of the material futile. The tracks consist of variations on mechanical repetition with little recognizable sound — tape hiss features prominently in a few spots, which, in tandem with the other components, comes off surprisingly structured. Elsewhere Meirino transforms the tape player’s tiny motors as makeshift drone sources, interspersed with the faint clicks of second-stage moving parts and tape heads. It’s an examination of the potential of discarded materials, which may or may not have been music documents in themselves, and it works.
Before we riff on the demise of specific areas of music, a further examination of the music’s boundaries might be useful. A dialogue could begin with Meirino’s own words about the process of recording, which is “…all about the listener [involvement] to make his own choice about how he is listening to [music] and questioning the act of making sound itself.”
~Alan Jones
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Points of Interest
The quote Al has lifted comes from a double-header review of CDs by Jones/Papapostolou and Lacey/Vogel, both EAI, both of which I liked very much. Al tipped me off that he would be mentioning this statement in his phroq review. To open it up slightly, here’s what I sent him in an email earlier today:
“… in 2008, up to the point of writing that review, I didn’t hear much in the realm of EAI that seemed of major interest. Of course, it stands to reason that I haven’t heard everything that was released in that year, so maybe I just didn’t get to hear the best music on offer. Conversations with one or two knowledgeable friends seemed to suggest, however, that my disappointment was shared. But the year ended on a high. Even though Jon Abbey knew I wouldn’t be able to review them, he very kindly sent me his two latest releases - Rowe solo and Rowe+Unami - both of which are excellent/challenging/intriguing. And as you’ll see in the upcoming issue of StN I’ve given a big thumbs up to the second release by Trio Sowari on Potlatch, so I continue to be keen on EAI and the best it has to offer. If my comment in the review is inappropriate or just plain wrong, strike it down, that’s fine.”
I should have mentioned that it was a positive review, Brian. Thanks for keeping me straight.
Besides the fact that I think 2008 was one of the best years for a long time for new music, my problem with Brian’s statement is the idea that the Jones/Papapostolou and Lacey/Vogel discs can be placed easily into one category, or even worse one review.
One disc is made up of minimal, quiet improvisation, the other is grainy, filmic musique concrete, composed over the best part of a year using some fragments of improvisation.
Both fine discs but to me incomparable, and thus not belonging to any easily definable genre that may or may not be fading.
I have to say I had some hesitance to quote Brian, for concern that comments might concentrate on it more than the music itself, but it’s to be expected. The theme here is half of what Richard says in his last sentence, and half my own position that there is plenty of intriguing, original music happening that goes well beyond the sound coming out of the speakers. Brian’s comment was the fourth or fifth of its kind I’ve read/heard in the last couple months, fwiw.
You guys should definitely check out the Phroq discs if you get the chance. Very highly recommended.
The discs were placed in a single review because Signal to Noise requested that, where possible, discs should be grouped. As for EAI, it’s a particularly broad church, at least as I see it.
Well, if EAI is fading, I can only say it’s fading very well. Amen on the discs Al, very good stuff.
I’m the eternal optimist, that much is true, but I genuinely don’t understand where all the doom and gloom comes from. There was some fantastic music released last year. Sorry for the self-promotion but my thoughts on this subject are here.
Anyway if nothing else its good to know that Al and Dan share a taste in nice Phroqs. ;)
brief macro perspective:
EAI had a couple of retrenching years in 2006-2007, with many of the first generation of strong voices hitting one kind of wall or another (or losing interest) and not quite enough of the next generation able to make serious and strong statements yet. 2008 was I think a step back towards overall strength, and I hope and expect 2009 to be stronger still. as always, the world of recorded documents is a year or so behind the actual world.
I think is also reasonable to imagine EAI changing with both technology and our general relationship with technology.
Especially if we take the term at face value to include all versions of electro-acoustic improvisation from Evan Parker to Unami.
At this point it seems strange for a computer literate person with an interest in experimental music NOT to explore the role of the computer in their music.
In any case, there is no real sign of it fading.
“as always, the world of recorded documents is a year or so behind the actual world.”
This is a crucial point often forgotten.
“as always, the world of recorded documents is a year or so behind the actual world.”
Two recent favorites (discs from the last month or two) were from 2006 and 2007. I found this frustrating, but can’t really say why, other than a desire for the norm to be more current.
Sometimes things sit around for years waiting for release. Perfectly normal - one or two years is about average, it seems to me. Not all labels are as quick on the draw as Erstlive (bravo for the speedy release of the AMPLIFY discs). Good things are worth waiting for, though: the Rebecca on Esquilo, for example.
Sometimes you know right away something needs to come out, or it was recording project from the start. Other times you need to live with a recording for a while. Chances are if the recording is still interesting to the artist after a year or two, it is worth hearing for the public.
“I’m not ahead of my time. Most people are behind theirs” - attributed to Edgar Varese.
Good quote that. Welcome, Graham - and thanks for YOUR Esquilo release, which I’m enjoying very much. What happened to the trio with Mark and bernhard, by the way? Haven’t heard anything from bg for ages, what’s he up to?
thanks, Dan. I couldn’t resist sharing the Varese quote, although I guess I should have placed it on the IHM thread regarding CD labels being ahead of their time.
+minus folded for reasons I can’t go into here. Bernhard Gunter and I were talking about a new project a couple of years ago, with Bernhard using live electronic processing - something I’d have found very interesting, especially from him. He was investigating some new software he’d discovered, as he loathes Max. But since that date we have lost touch, so I’m afraid I can’t bring you up to date on his activities.
Looking forward to checking out phroq.
Thanks for the info, Graham. Yes, I remember bg being pretty scathing about what he called “the Max factor” in new electronic music..! Will be interested to see what he comes up with. Enjoy the Phroq! Nice and loud before breakfast.