Martin Kuchen
Music from One of the Provinces in the Empire
Confront Collectors Series
CCS 3
With solo sax improv sides suddenly appearing more frequently than Cedric the Entertainer in bad movies, here comes yet another, an exposition for alto and soprano by Martin Kuchen. He’s a member of Exploding Customer, a band I’ve not heard but am told can be roughly compared to the AALY Trio, so I take it that his work therein might bear some resemblance to Gustafsson’s in that context. There’s a tinge of Mat’s more experimental approach in this collection of fifteen fairly short pieces (all between one and five minutes long). Going in, one is suspicious of a “catalog” set-up, a pyrotechnic extravaganza where you might expect to hear every extended technique the musician has mastered laid out for appreciation and the dropping of jaws. I tend to find this approach uninspiring, although way back it was essentially the avenue Braxton took: each piece being an explication of a given technique. At his best, of course, Braxton used it as only a starting point, digging in well past the surface. There are several other ways, at least, around this problem. You might, a la John Butcher, simply possess the inherent musicality to, often enough, subsume any notion of technical prowess into the wider and abstract idea of “song”. Or, like Stephane Rives in his fine Potlatch disc, “Fibres”, you can plunge into things with such a degree of obsession that you (at least occasionally) transcend the digital manipulations and land on some whole other plane. Kuchen pretty much opts for presenting a catalog, not unfascinating here and there, but lacking the cohesion of concept I’d like to hear.
The first track (titles range from Imperial Music I to Imperial Music XV) is one of the strongest, a juxtaposition of rushed breath tones with a furious clacking that sounds as though Kuchen removed the felt pads from his keys and went nuts (it sounds overdubbed, as do some other cuts, but I’m assuming it’s not). When some inquisitive growls and mumblings enter in, the music takes on an interesting imagistic character, the clicks and wheezes suddenly acquiring a feeling of place, the vocalizations implying a narrative. The next enters shakuhachi range (as do several others) while III sounds like Greg Kelley adapted for soprano, a thin sheet of metal set abuzz near the bell if I’m guessing correctly. VIII locates the water barrel, spittle retained for uses elsewhere, and XII is an accurate evocation of a blowtorch. Again, fine in and of themselves. Every piece is solid and played with an impressive degree of command but, after listening, I find I want more in the way of context, of ideas. The last couple of tracks begin to gel and hint at something greater than the sum of their techniques. On XIV, Lacy-like arabesques swirl very attractively through the bubbles and mist; I wouldn’t have minded this one going on a good bit longer. XV, however, is the winner of the bunch for these ears, a sequence of overlaid breath tones and burrs possessing an odd quasi-regularity that gives intimations of circuitry and backwards tape. Here, Kuchen gets into an area I’ve heard explored most successfully by Butcher but makes something of his own well worth further inquiry. I’m curious to hear how things develop with Kuchen, to see if he can put some of the ideas touched on here to wider, more thoughtful use.
More info at: http://www.confront.info/
At the risk of merely echoing Brian’s points above, I have similar feelings about this disc. The first thing that grabbed me was the sheer width of the sonic range conjured out of what I normally consider to be one of the least interesting instruments about.
This clearly is a set of recordings by a very talented person that has spent a great deal of time delving deep into the possibilities of his instrument and extracting some very interesting sounds that indeed lead you to suspect overdubbing or digital manipulation but are merely the result of carefully researched preparation of the instrument.
At a purely technical level Kuchen breaks real ground in several places with this release. In the couple of weeks I’ve had the disc I have come back to it several times in an attempt to figure out how on earth some of the tracks are executed. Track 1 is my personal favourite, sounding something like a rusty old clockwork mechanism set running for the first time in years whilst someone drags a grumpy old horse back and forth in the background...(!)
But I do agree with Brian that the fifteen tracks squeezed into the disc come across almost like a CV for Kuchen’s technical prowess rather than a more satisfying body of work. I would have personally preferred less tracks, taking perhaps three of the best miniatures here and allowing them the space and time to go beyond their current existence as short studies and take on a more narrative form.
I also would very much like to hear Kuchen play with this extended technique in a collaborative arrangement. I also know nothing of Exploding Customer (great name though!) or if he plays in this manner in that outfit, but I would love to hear him bring the level of ingenuity shown on this disc into a duo or trio set up, the musical conversations possible could be very interesting.
Hey, nice coincidence: I just turned in a piece to Dan on this one last night. More or less makes the same points--damn interesting & original soundmaking, but it's still a bunch of isolated etudes. Have you heard Kuechen's work with UNSK or the Unsolicited Music Ensemble, Brian? I liked both those.
Posted by: ND at April 17, 2005 10:57 AMI think I've heard Kuchen on some compilation or another, but essentially this is my first real exposure to his work.
Posted by: Brian Olenwick at April 17, 2005 11:04 AMNate, your comment
"but it's still a bunch of isolated etudes"
perplexes me. Kuchen's CD may well consist of, as you say, a bunch of isolated etudes, but I can't see how that in any way detracts from the overall cohesiveness or coherence of his programme - and, to be honest, I don't think it does.
Posted by: Brian Marley at April 18, 2005 2:26 AMMartin Küchen can be also heard in collaborative effort on Absurd label release of trio Looper along with cellist Nikos Veliotis and percussionist Ingar Zach. Record is called ''Squarehorse''. Looper is sort of multimedia project combined with visuals. You could check them also on their website:
www.loopersite.com
For me "Squarehorse" is one of the (few) best releases from 2004 and I can't stop myself to recommend that cd to all my friends and even strangers. I wish I was able to see them playing live. Did anybody witness their show ?
How does it look like ?
Probably not much to look at unless Nikos projected his own video art at the same time! (Very haunting superimposed images of Greek icons gently moving on top of each other..) Yep, couldn't agree more about Squarehorse, but as we've said many times before, it's on Absurd so jolly good look getting hold of a copy! Check the Absurd website to see if there are any still available but last time I looked at
http://www.anet.gr/absurd/releases.htm they hadn't even announced the album I released last August with Reynols!
I too was a little suprised at your "bunch of isolated etudes" line Nate (which I'm happy to report didn't find its way into your forthcoming review of this album for Paris Transatlantic), for two reasons: firstly, the Etude (as opposed to "five finger exercise" or "scales and arpeggios" etc) is a perfectly respectable established form in its own right - witness Liszt, Chopin, Debussy, Ligeti et al., and also because several notable solo improv releases of recent times - Bertrand Gauguet's "Etwa" on Creative Sources, Stephane Rives' "Fibres" on Potlatch to mention just the saxophones - could also in my view be legitimately described as "etudes" in their systematic exploration of one or more technical problem.
"...and land on some whole other plane."
Well I've not listened to it yet,
eager to go tho this new... plane(t) :-)
Jacques Oger
Dan: "the Etude ...is a perfectly respectable established form in its own right ..."
I am not a musicologist as Dan is :-), but I like "etudes" form (Ligeti). Very much indeed.
It's a way a musician can focus on some details in order to create music.
I've talked with Stephane Rives. Of course, there is a work on so-called extended techniques in his playing. But he is looking for new ranges of musicality too. These new techniques, focusing on even narrow details of the instrument, can open wide musical spaces.
Just listening to the Rives at the moment--that's still a terrific cranium-scorcher of an album. As the title suggests, there's a "thread" to the (mostly pretty long) tracks--often quite literally (a thin, reedy wail that runs like a thread through the piece). & it does have a "getting from point A to point B via points a1, a2, a3" feeling which makes it, for me, more of an "improv" disc than the Küchen.
Well, I did say the Kuechen (hey, does no-one pay attention to umlauts anymore? Küchen if you prefer) was "damned interesting & original"! -- Yeah I was using "etudes" loosely, not really thinking of the disc in the same bracket as Chopin or Ligeti--but I guess my point is that the gesture is a bit different: don't Chopin & Ligeti, so to speak, "set in motion" the particular technical difficulties that they're dealing with, while on a solo disc like the Küchen is more statically focussed?
As coincidence would have it the Barnes/Wastell CCS disc just turned up in the mail--I look forward to getting a handle on it. Thanks Mark!
Posted by: ND at April 18, 2005 8:45 AM"Yep, couldn't agree more about Squarehorse, but as we've said many times before, it's on Absurd so jolly good look getting hold of a copy! Check the Absurd website to see if there are any still available"
I've bought it at Metamkine and I think it's still available there.
"solo improv releases of recent times - Bertrand Gauguet's "Etwa" on Creative Sources, Stephane Rives' "Fibres" on Potlatch to mention just the saxophones - could also in my view be legitimately described as "etudes" in their systematic exploration of one or more technical problem."
I suppose Wade Mathews' "Aspirations and Inspirations" (also on Creative Sources) is another example of that trend - if really there is the one (btw: I do like that cd and recommend it to you)
"the Etude...a perfectly respectable established form in its own right...witness Liszt, Chopin, Debussy, Ligeti et al....could also in my view be legitimately described as..." (Dan Warburton)
rights, witnesses, legitimacies...ok, so we got the guy handcuffed, now what's the crime?
Posted by: c.l. at April 18, 2005 6:48 PMHaha! Don't know about the crime, but the sentence is a year's hard labour writing great reviews for my little webzine! Still not too clear on what you're saying about Chopin above, Nate, but never mind. And, Mr T (used to love the A Team), the Wade Matthews has been steadily approaching the top of the "To Listen" pile, but hasn't made it yet. Have you heard the Stefan Keune solo? (Also on Creative Sources.. the man Ernesto doesn't stop!)
Posted by: Dan Warburton at April 18, 2005 9:40 PMYes, I have heard "Sunday Sundaes". I think (most of) the tracks are great, but - for me - together they don't make a great record. It's a good music when you listen to chosen tracks ( I don't think that cd is too long, but...).
There are some new cds on CS I like much better
(Istmo, Amber, Kenon to mention a few).
"don't Chopin & Ligeti, so to speak, 'set in motion' the particular technical difficulties that they're dealing with, while on a solo disc like the Küchen is more statically focussed?" (ND)
Another reminder of how difficult it seems to move past certain notions of classical sonata form and its derivatives in post-Charles Rosen music. Reminds me of Nabokov's 'definition' of a piece of literary narrative:
"The story goes like this: mumble, mumble, lyrical wave, mumble, fantastic climax, mumble, mumble, and back to the chaos from which they all emerge."
Yes, I'm always ready with a helpful reminder.
Posted by: ND at April 19, 2005 2:34 PM"mumble, mumble, lyrical wave, mumble, fantastic climax, mumble, mumble, and back to the chaos from which they all emerge"
Sounds like a pretty good description of most improvised music to me. Nice to see Charles Rosen namechecked here. I say, what with Marcel Proust Bags is getting pretty heducated. Looks like we need some more air guitar features or mindless "you worthless piece of f*cking shit you don't know what Black Metal is duuuuuh" interventions to balance things up. Meanwhile, wrong thread, welcome back Al. And for those missing Joe Milazzo, he makes his PT debut next month with a HUGE (well, that's Joe..) review of the No Idea fest in Austin TX. Rien que de bonheur, motherfuckers.
And for those missing Joe Milazzo, he makes his PT debut next month with a HUGE (well, that's Joe..) review of the No Idea fest in Austin TX.
A debut & swan song all rolled into one; I'm looking forward to it & wishing it weren't the latter.
Methinks we should make room on the Bags homepage for a PT ticker, might be a good way to consolidate the various heads-ups ;)
Posted by: derek at April 20, 2005 9:53 AMDerek wrote: "Methinks we should make room on the Bags homepage for a PT ticker, might be a good way to consolidate the various heads-ups ;)"
Can we combine it with a live Dan-cam?!
Posted by: Adam Hill at April 20, 2005 1:09 PMHonestly there's bugger all to look at, except me staring unblinkingly into the computer screen.. Back to the music: someone above mentioned Exploding Customer.. Apart from their fine CD on Ayler (recommended) - aylCD-030
"Live at Glenn Miller Café" has that group released anything else? Worth checking out (as is the Glenn Miller Café).
Ah, my prayers were answered.. just when Bags was getting all intellectual, back comes Phil with Metal T shirts. Great stuff.
. . .supposedly 'Live at Tampere' due out pretty soon but don't quote me on 'soon'. Their first remains one of my favorite jazz records of the millenium.
Posted by: Michael Schaumann at April 20, 2005 10:01 PMjust when Bags was getting all intellectual...
Oh, that's just Nate. (He's currently reading Plato's Timaeus to his daughter.) Most of the rest of us are doofi.
Posted by: walto at April 21, 2005 5:36 AMNope, just The Princess and Curdie & Laura Ingalls Wilder, but it's probably not too long till she's tackling the major works of the Western canon....
Posted by: ND at April 21, 2005 7:23 AMLaura Ingalls Wilder is the BOMB! Beverly Cleary too... Ramona & Beezus, baby! w/ a little Henry Huggins & Ribsy on the side.
Posted by: derek at April 21, 2005 3:30 PMas expected, nate, richard, brian and dan comepletely miss the music on the disc ostensibly being reviewed/ discussed here.
if by any chance someone found this page while looking for info/ music by Martin Kuchen, just get the disc. It's better than anything Butcher's done in the last 5 years.
And there's no other saxophonist making such a strong individual path for himself.
(The Rives disc is fine and all, but give me a break - one disc!?! and his focus/ technique is way too narrow, and not as wholly original compared to Kuchen. Kuchen's also got a lot of releases with a bunch of different kinds of players too - looper is not to be missed, as mentioned, etc.)
oh bagatellen, i can always trust you to miss the mark.
and then form a false online consensus with everybody missing the mark.
Mr. Crow may pleased (or not) to learn that, at least before the release of "The Room" and "Sight", Looper's "Mass" was my favorite release of 2007. Despite the video even!
"as expected, nate, richard, brian and dan comepletely miss the music on the disc ostensibly being reviewed/ discussed here."
Oh shit sorry were we supposed to discuss MUSIC here? Damn.
"It's better than anything Butcher's done in the last 5 years."
If I were Martin I'd be pretty embarrassed to have a fan such as you making such wild statements. You need to back them up with some evidence, Mr Scare.
"And there's no other saxophonist making such a strong individual path for himself."
See above.
"The Rives disc is fine and all, but give me a break - one disc!?!"
Here I agree with you - Rives hasn't (yet), followed up with anything remotely as good. Nice bits on that Creative Sources album from Lebanon, but nothing as extreme. Maybe he's mellowed out in fatherhood.
"and his focus/ technique is way too narrow"
Here I disagree with you. The whole point of the disc is it's MEANT to be narrow. Comparing it to the Kuchen is as dumb as saying Kline isn't colourful enough compared to de Kooning.
"oh bagatellen, i can always trust you to miss the mark. and then form a false online consensus with everybody missing the mark."
Oh Bagatellen I can always count on you to dredge up some half-baked crap by some character who hasn't even got the balls to sign his own name.
All I'm going to say is that I love the Kuchen CD and don't give a flying sax whose chops are better than anyone else's, which is really irrelevent anyway. Either you like it or you don't. That's been one of my philosophies behind deciding what to release on my own label and it matters not so much how original the artist's approach is as long as it stirs something inside of me more than the countless other demos that slide across my desk (well known and respected or otherwise).
And for me, this collection features work that was not only fun for the artist who created it, but it is also fun and interesting for ME to listen to as well. Too much improv tends to fall into the "more fun for the musicians than the audience" category, so for me this one really hits the mark.
Oh, and Dan's "Metro Pre Saint Gervais" CD on Chloe with Eric La Casa and Jean-Luc is another all-time fave as well... Absolutely brilliant in my opinionated opinion.
Cheers, Dale
Posted by: and/OAR at October 9, 2007 10:54 PMfwiw, I'm currently enjoying Kuchen's new one on Sillon very much (review to come)
Posted by: Brian Olewnick at October 10, 2007 5:12 AMMe too!
Posted by: Dan Warburton at October 10, 2007 8:13 AMOh for god's sake you two. stop making me buy things
Posted by: Richard Pinnell at October 10, 2007 9:24 AMI'm loving the new Kuchen package. Due to time constraints, had no time to put the disc inside the player. Is it as good as it looks?
Posted by: Tom Sekowski at October 10, 2007 2:35 PM.................................................. © 2003 - 2006 bagatellen ..................................................