No need to apologise for grouping these together Brian. I think you've been quite charitable towards Studer / Yoshida (Clive Bell in the latest Wire is much more unforgiving). No, it doesn't work, frankly. I'd like to know what made Yoshida agree to do this. And I'd like to know why For4Ears chose to put it out. I like the Akiyama Khan after a couple of listens, haven't had much time with Samartzis yet.

(Just realized I misspelled the label name each time in the listings....well done)

Aside from Cosmos, I've found all the Yoshida releases I can think of to be spotty at best. I generally end up wanting to like her work much more than I actually end up liking it.

Brian O: "I generally end up wanting to like her work much more than I actually end up liking it."

Brian M: That's the problem I have, too. To my mind, the Cosmos CD on Erstwhile is the best thing she's done (apart from a mini, oblong, 'calling card' CD, a solo effort). In performance she can be mesmerising, as she was during the Cosmos performance at AMPLIFY 2002: balance. (In fact, the festival was mesmerising throughout.) But she gave a dismal performance in London three years ago with Seymour Wright and John Tilbury; it was just horrible, utterly boring (and not in that potentially interesting Cagean way), quite the worst concert I've ever sat through. Wright didn't acquit himself terribly well either, and only an exquisite Tilbury solo saved the day. So . . . Ami . . . well. Let's just say that her disc with Fredy Studer is pretty much my idea of hell, I've no idea what either party thought they were likely to achieve. Now, Studer with Hans Koch and Martin Schutz on 'Life Tied' (Intakt) - yep, that's where he excels.

Wright didn't acquit himself terribly well either

He had been violently mugged the day before the show, so I give him a break on that one. May not mean it was the best set, but I credit Seymour for having enough guts to stick with the gig.
M

Still, I'm curious to hear what happens with the projected duo with Kurzmann on Erst. Is that in the can, Jon?

Given Schnee_live, I wonder if maybe she'll do a "song" or two....?

"Still, I'm curious to hear what happens with the projected duo with Kurzmann on Erst. Is that in the can, Jon?"

Ami and Christof spent a couple of days recording at Amann Studios in Vienna last spring, but I have yet to hear any of the results, so tough to say, really. there were some communication (language) issues during the session that could have been aided if Yuko and myself had been able to attend as originally planned, but because of where we were at that point in the fiancee visa application process, it was impossible to travel outside of the country then.

but it does seem that progress is being made, so maybe it will be part of the next set of Ersts, around March, we'll see. pretty sure there are no "songs" involved, but then again, as I said, I haven't actually heard any of the material yet.

Actually, I'm partial to a song (or even "song") or two, so yes, I hope she does.

You're right, Michael, Seymour made the gig despite that terrible mugging, but are we to credit him merely for turning up or for the music he made? The audience turned out to hear music, not to wince sympathetically at the sight of his bruises. I have absolutely nothing against Seymour or his music, I'm just saying that the gig in general was poor, and Ami acquited herself least well of all.

So who was the wag Clive Bell mentioned who went up to Yoshida after the gig and said "we should do something together" (or words to that effect)?

Brian, I was mainly pointing that out for some folks who might just read the dismissal at face value. As I said, that does not mean it was the best set (I wasn't there, so I can't say myself). Though in terms of acquittal, I would say that given the circumstances, Seymour acquitted himself rather well by managing to play at all. His physical limitations (not being able to blow) acquit him of certain obligations (playing on top form). ;-)

I recall something Dicky Barrett said once on stage in Memphis: "I heard Courtney Love was in town and cancelled her gig because she had a cold. Let me tell you something. There isn't a single motherf***er on this stage that doesn't feel sick as hell, but we're here to play for you!" Hmmm, maybe Seymour should have stage-dived, or waggishly hurled a glass across the church hall...

Dan, names come to mind, but I wasn't there so I'd have no real idea...

M

I have in the past slated that show at St Cyprians elsewhere also Michael, as it really was pretty bad. I didn't realise that Seymour had been through such an ordeal though, so perhaps I should have cut him a little slack.

To be honest though if my memory serves me well he was the most interesting of the three performers that night, the fact he pretty much used the sax as a percussion instrument impressed me. I had no idea this situation was forced on him.

And as Brian hints above, that night included a fantastic Tilbury solo improvisation. (see adjacent thread...)

I should also point out that, as always I rushed out of that gig pretty fast when the music ended so I could catch a train... at no point did I speak to Ms Yoshida!

Nor me!

i know the exact identity of 'the wag'. i think he wanted to remix some of ami's material. on the night he told me of the brush-off he'd just received from her!

also, the tilbury solo from that evening is featured in the upcoming dvd chapter of the soon to be published book/dvd project, 'blocks of sound and the unbroken continuim'.

I was at that gig too and it wasn't me.

Richard, if I recall correctly Seymour played in a similar style the only other time I've seen him, with The World Book, so it wasn't a reaction as such to his mugging.

I quite enjoyed the St Cyprian's gig, and thought Tilbury was magnificent. I remember that I'd expected an entirely acoustic concert but Ms Yoshida chose to be amplified through a guitar amplifier.

Seymour was actually mugged at about 2.30am on the morning of the gig, and taken to hospital by ambulance where he spent a long time getting stitched up and checked before being released later that day. What the musical result of such a fatefully-timed chance intervention might be, fascinated us, and was a major reason why after discussion, we went ahead with an unchanged line-up. But I knew he’d do the gig anyway. He’s from up north and an ex-rugby player, like myself.

But it was the sound quality in the space that most affected me that night. St Cyprians is made of a fairly crumbly kind of brick and its walls are covered in the old-fashioned plaster that uses horsehair as a binder and strengthener, so I was taken with the difference between this sound and that in Ongaku’s usual venue, the 291 Gallery, a de-consecrated church built from heavy Portland stone with a long reverberation time and dominant acoustic.

One of the reasons why Nat and I originally started using The 291 Gallery for the Ongaku:enjoy_sound concerts was because of the way that such an acoustic, forces musicians to be unusually self-aware and mindful of the interactive results of their process and playing partners. It doesn’t really allow the more…..solipsistic, shall we say, approach to be used successfully, and it’s not the place for busy-ness or loudness, unless that’s done with some care.

I think I rabbited on about this during my announcements for the concert.

I do remember you mentioning Seymour's condition, but only after he had played IIRC.

I found the external noises really annoying at that place. Maybe I was having difficulty focussing.

There was some unpredictable traffic noise and stuff happening at times - a bit like the Prevost/Tilbury/Sachiko M gig in that way.

That's always the best thing.. like the distant trains on that Mattin album with Sugimoto. Wonderful! I also remember the highspot of the gig I played with Radu was when a police car went past. That and Patrick Boeuf snoring in the front row..

Dan: "like the distant trains on that Mattin album with Sugimoto"

Ah, but what I've never managed to figure out is whether the train sounds - which are, by the way, for those who haven't heard the CD, hugely compelling - were sounds experienced at the site of the recording or samples taken from elsewhere. Can anyone enlighten me?

By the way, the CD in question is 'Training Thoughts' (w.m.o/r 09) by Taku Sugimoto, Mattin and Yasuo Totsuka.

This is like the anti-Joe Morris wank/Mat Maneri's baby thread. . .so informative, rife with first personal accounts of the sounds, milieu and such. Especially Ross' larger post with the horsehair and "he's from up north," priceless.

Glad you're having fun MRS (Mrs Who?) - if you get bored you can always go watch TV or something.. Brian, I suspected the trains were sampled too but apparently they're not..
Meanwhile Mrs, feel free to talk about the albums reviewed above :)

I only have the Samartzis/Mueller/Voice Crack and it's the best for4ears recording featuring Philip.

I think you should get back to Donald Fagen, Dan.

Yours,

Mrs. Schaumann

Ah, the return of the mighty Schaumann, using a peusodonym, as Humphrey Littleton used to call them! Welcome back, and congrats on your sex change! Yep, I certainly should get back to the old Steely Dans, but I've been sidetracked yet again - you're right, the M/S/VC disc is really splendid. If you feel like reviewing it for the other rag, Michael, go ahead :)

. . .just wanted to say that I love "Oystered". I don't really love "Strange Love". Philip was amazed at how different "Oystered" and "Wireless" turned out being recorded so close together with that personnel.

I *need* to get back into writing again--almost through a big mess of a move and, I trust, a slower winter at the workplace. That recent "Shang" disc from xing-wu is calling for my pen indeed.

Man, if you want to review Shang for PT I'm 100% for it! Send me a mail to the usual address..
I agree with you about Oystered & Strange Love too.

Michael, I also agree with you on Oystered and Strange Love. I like the latter OK, but Oystered knocked my socks off.

I'm sticking to my guns with the Studer/Yoshida - even if I'm all alone. I've enjoyed listening to it a few times and I find the rather extreme contrast quite interesting.

I guess there's something to be said for listening to albums that fall slightly outside the expected target area (I think of Keith Rowe's Potlatch release with Urs Leimgruber and Michel Doneda a while back), but I can't see myself coming back to this one very often to be honest. And even though Fredy's taken most of the flak, Yoshida's rather limited sound palette is part of the problem too.

the discussion may have passed this topic by, for those wanting to hear ami yoshida sing, she has a project called "California Dolls." I saw them live, and in my opinion Yoshida can't cut it as a "real" singer. and, the material left a lot to be desired. in fact, it was probably one of the worst shows i've been to.

Yeah, the California Dolls disc isn't very good either, though arguably worth it for the postcard...