Time to discuss a musical collective -- the term band hardly seems apposite -- perhaps more heard-of than heard. Yet the notion can't be too shocking. After all, Reynols' 1995 debut, Gordura Vegetal Hidrogenada, was a "dematerialized CD": an empty jewel box (having never seen a copy, it would good to know if the case still featured artwork, tracks listings, liner notes, acknowledgments [shout-outs]... you know, all the necessary appendages of contemporary record releases). Their reasoning: "That CD is everything, everywhere... You see, everybody has that record, even people who haven't been born yet. Napoleon has that record, Plato has the record, Jim Morrison has the record." [Interview with Dan Warburton / March, 2003].
Reynols has played street guerilla gigs with their guitars plugged not into amps but (non-smashing) pumpkins and given performances for an "audience" consisting of (presumably sublimating) dry ice. Their drummer and "spiritual leader" is Miguel Tomasin, a differently abled individual (Down's Syndrome) who is also a former pupil of Reynols founders / special educators Alan Courtis and Roberto Conlazo. They've collaborated with Pauline Oliveros as well as the residents of a pollo ranch. They've "written" a piece for "baritone, tenor, contralto and soprano whistling kettles" that does in fact have some relationship to String Quartet literature. They've made field recordings of places imaginary -- a Márquez-esque outpost in Tomasin's imagination over which the banner of "Minecxio" flies (shades of Christian Vander's prog-sludge Magma...) -- microcosmic -- the forces of attraction binding magnetized particles to spooled strips of plastic polymers (Blank Tapes on Trente Oiseaux) -- and vastly banal -- the installation of a hole in a street in Buenos Aires (Rampotanza Ronil Rempelente).
More than anything, though, artists like Reynols cause me to sort out a nice long list of questions related both to conceptualism in music and pranksterism in art. Can one appreciate the intentions behind some of these Reynolian endeavors while, at the same time, being of the opinion that the instantiation of said notions is only utterly unlistenable racket? Talk about your cognitive dissonance -- or maybe even divided loyalties. Try to close the distance between what Reynols describes when they talk about their music and the actual sounds that they produce. What is really being represented when Reynols "records" NASA -- not at NASA, mind you, but the essence of actual agency itself? Is all the teleological talk generated by Reynols more in the vein of P.T. Barnum than Marcel Duchamp?
We can talk about art as a kind of container for ideas, but, to me, that leaves the relationship between form and content too ambiguous and too enervated. Isn't it fair to cry "bullshit" when you perceive that the ostensible significance of a given piece of music is not bound within the work itself, but tacked on outside. Like some lame excuse, a, "What I MEANT to say was..." Then again, where does the experience of art begin, and where does it end? Demarcations are permanently established neither by the will of the artist nor by decisions made by the auditor / reader / viewer, etc. So-called environmental art from Walter De Maria's "Lightning Field" to a piece of music such as Weather Sky requires a certain revision of how we understand the interface of natural materials, fundamental principles and human intent in aesthetic experience. But I would also say that when we talk about some works of art as being "haunting", we are still making reference to this issue.
Meanwhile, cultural pranks -- examples of Zizek-ian kynicism -- usually have a leveling effect, and effects perhaps more powerful and lasting than anything the old-fashioned avant-garde has ever produced. It was not long before the Impressionists were running the Academy. Of course, the belief that jokes, as well as the various butts of those jokes, can be considered works of art may be avant-garde in and of itself. Ponder this too (or not): the members of Reynols inhabit an environment shaped by the forces of globalization: rapid exchange of commodities, permeable borders, information overload. Psychedelic rock bands that have turned nearly 40 years of jamming into lofty profit margins made a sham of shamanism long before these Argentines did. Stunts, put-ons, antics, leg-pullings, raspberries: these are acts of inclusion and exclusion. What if everyone is in on the joke? The only music, maybe, is to be heard in massed laughter.
Posted by joe on February 2, 2004 7:25 AMjoe, are you aware that reynols dissolved as an entity some time in late january? they will be missed. i can dig up and post the letter distributed to announce thir dissolution, if anyone would like to see it and has not.
their first 'remix' of pauline oliveros, called 'pauline oliveros in the arms of reynols', is one of my favorite recordings ever. i have yet to hear their second collaboration.
m
Posted by: Mark F at February 2, 2004 8:43 AMyeah, I'd like to see that.
Reynols aren't (weren't) so easy to pin down, no matter how much leeway you give them. contrary to the first sentence here though, they most certainly are (were) a band.
I've seen them live twice, and once was an incredible psychedelic jam in a small room in a pirate radio station in Williamsburg. the singer didn't tour with them, but there were videos of him going, and huge pictures of him on the wall, and the guitarists was staring at them and just totally kicking ass, very memorable, nothing ironic about it (except maybe that the singer wasn't actually present in the room, but for me that really didn't matter).
I also saw them when they were in the No Music Fest in NYC, and that was much more abstract, I didn't think it worked at all, I might have even left before the end.
Posted by: Jon Abbey at February 2, 2004 8:51 AMhere is the email:
........................
Hi, everybody
Hope all is fine there. We would like to let you know that Reynols'
life-cycle has come to its natural end, as the members of the bands now have
steady girlfriends.
Anyway, there are still some forthcoming records under that name, with
stuff we recorded in 2003 and before. And we have around 100 or 200 hours
of recorded stuff that will appear sooner or later: enough for anybody not
to miss the band too much in the coming years.
This is not a traumatic decision, we are all still friends and we feel that
to end a project in the right moment is the best way to keep its spirit
alive... We will go on playing with Miguel Tomasin on the Sol Mayor
Project, playing classic rock covers only in benefit gigs for schools and
disability institutions. And we will probably develop some other different
projects in the future.
We want to thank all the people that supported us over the past years:
labels, magazines, bands, journalists, musicians, venues, festivals,
radios, TV shows, web-sites, foundations, universities, sound technicians,
producers, photographers, record shops, distributors, audiences, and
friends in general. We also want to thank our detractors because they were
also part of this meaningful learning experience.
And mind we are talking about Reynols' terrestrial death: the band will
always be alive in Minecxio. So head that way whenever you feel like
paying them a visit.
Reynols
Buenos Aires, January 2004
........................
Mark -- no, I missed that announcement and would love to see it. Particularly given the putative existence of a putative "No-Reynols", a kind of anti-band which, in the words of WIRE reporter Chris Moss, was / is meant to "challenge [Reynols'] own hegemony in absence of other worthy candidates."
just today, after reading and responding to this article, i've received through a mailing list a second letter from the band, where they suggest the word 'transmutation' instead of 'dissolution' and hint that the band may return some day. i'm starting to wonder if the entire event may have just been Reynols being, well, Reynols.
should i post that letter as well? i don't want to litter the comments section with material that doesn't really respond to the article.
i've heard the reynols/no reynols split on freedom-from, but i'm not sure if i'm ready to comment on the music therein. i should give it another listen.
Posted by: Mark F at February 2, 2004 9:31 AMI say the more letters from Reynols, the better.
Posted by: Jon Abbey at February 2, 2004 9:35 AMvery well, jon:
>From: "Reynols ^"
>Subject: REYNOLS "HOLYDAYS"
>Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:53:16 +0000
>
>Hi, Everybody
>
>In the past few days, we have received an overwhelming amount of messages
>from institutions, fans & friends from all over the world expressing their
>sorrow for our announcement of
>cycle-ending. That's why, in order to avoid any possible misunderstanding,
>we would like to explain some points.
>
>First of all, we would like to make clear that we are still together as a
>human group and we are in our best condition, both personally and
>artistically.
>
>After many years working with Reynols, the thing was growing really big. In
>then years we have made over one hundred records, gigs, works on TV, long
>tours in US and Europe, benefit shows, workshops, etc. This proved very
>intense for us, and hence our decision to take a some time „off‰. Our
>"holiday" will give us enough time to evaluate past experiences and gather
>strength for our coming cycle. In this context, using a name or not using
>it is but a detail. In a sense, the whole process can be conceived of more
>as a transmutation than as a dissolution.
>
>In fact, we will keep on working together, now firstly with Sol Mayor, a
>project integrating more special musicians that gives benefit concerts for
>schools and other institutions related to disability. And will also
>continue developing new projects that will be announced and released in due
>time. However we don't discard the possibility of using the name Reynols
>again for any particular activity we embark on after our "holiday".
>
>Your reaction to our announcement made us realize what our music means for
>many people, specially for all those related to the field of disability. We
>really value the importance you people attribute to our work, and would
>like to thank everyone for all the support and the kindness received.
>
>
>All the best
>
>Reynols∑
>
>Buenos Aires
>February 1st 2004
yep, sounds like Reynols being Reynols, thanks for that. having passed on releasing their recordings, I'm evidently not on their mailing list any longer.
Posted by: Jon Abbey at February 2, 2004 9:56 AMWell, let me throw my hat into the ring on this one. I think for a start that Alan (or Anla) has been a bit taken aback by the wave of emails he's received since he announced the "Reynols Holyday" a couple of weeks ago, hence the second email. But, as I pointed out to him, as Reynols "never existed anyway" (his phrase) they can't really split up..
It's true that the band came to the attention of the alt.music community thanks to the Pauline Oliveros collaboration (which, I'll agree with Mark above, is one of my favourite albums of recent years), and sustained that attention through the persona of Miguel Tomasin, and his amazing pronouncements (thanks Joe for linking the interview, hope y'all will enjoy reading it). It's also true that Miguel has rarely (if ever?) toured with the band, due to his disability. When I met Alan and Roberto (quite by chance one day last Spring when I stopped into the Bimbo Tower record shop here in Paris) I was surprised that Miguel wasn't there. "But he is!" exclaimed Roberto, unfurling a life-size poster of Tomasin (!) I duly invited the lads round to my place for an impromptu interview, of which more later, and quickly came to conclusion they were certifiable. I couldn't have been more wrong: read between the lines of the interview and I think you'll see there's a healthy dose of self-deprecation, a thorough knowledge of that wonderful parallel history of 20th century art that cuts through Satie, Duchamp and Dada and ends up with the Sonic Catering Band and Misha Mengelberg, and a genuine sense of mysticism and awe. True, the Reynols discography is a vast and sprawling thing (and I have barely two dozen of their albums out of several hundred, if one counts compilations), and it's not all wonderful (you can say the same for the Sun City Girls), but their finest achievements - the Oliveros disc, the Blank Tapes album on Bernhard Günter's trenteoiseaux label, the early raw cassettes on Matching Head, are among the most vibrant and exciting new music I've had the pleasure of coming across these past few years.
By way of postscript, you may be interested to know that I took the cassette recordings of the Reynols interview, rerecorded them twelve times into the same room and processed them with some basic software and superimposed the result on a fabulous live concert of Reynols recorded in Lille last March, and the resulting psychedelic headfuck will be released shortly on Absurd Records as an album entitled "I Am Not Sitting In A Room With Reynols". I'll let you know when it's out. Since then, I've exchanged violin recordings with Alan (who plays a one-string Toba violin with wonderful results) and we're working on a follow-up collaboration together. We also mentioned a possible Reynols gig live in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas if you prefer) in the hopes that the Brits might finally pull out altogether and leave the island to the sheep (who are far more musical), but I seriously doubt the Arts Council of Great Britain will fund my trip.
Anyway, enjoy the music - the 10,000 Chickens Symphony has been reissued too; Blank Tapes is superb; let's all go to Minexcio
Posted by: dan warburton at February 3, 2004 12:44 PMFascinating band and people, so full of great and colourful ideas and concepts and of course, great music! "Blank Tapes", "10,000 chickens symphony" and "Pauline Oliveiros in the arms of reynols" are ambient masterpieces, some of the better music made in the last years, in my opinion.
I'll miss them so much.
Long life to reynols in Minecxio!
Well they're still not officially "dead" - and there's lots of Reynols stuff still to come out (including the one I mentioned above). Have you heard the Whistling Kettles album on Sedimental?
Posted by: dan warburton at April 26, 2004 9:40 PM.................................................. © 2003 - 2006 bagatellen ..................................................