| SLW Burkhard Beins: Selected percussion, Objects. Lucio Capece: Soprano Saxophone, bass clarinet. Preparations. Rhodri Davies: Harp. Electro acoustic devices. Toshimaru Nakamra: No- input mixing board. |
"Following on the critically lauded IJ, Formed Records is pleased to announce SLW, a quartet featuring Burkhard Beins, Lucio Capece, Rhodri Davies, and Toshimaru Nakamura. The album captures these improvisors at their finest, blending their unique approaches to improvisation into a dynamic field. The great creative range of these performers gives the single improvisation an episodic feel, with layers of interaction and frames of sound moving around each other." Formed Records Buy this album now CD: £12.00+ p&p |
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| Tracks | ||
| 1. | SLW | 56:27 |
SLW = sound like water
Recorded live by Ludo Engels at Les Halles, Brussels,
Belgium.
Sound Engineer : Erwin Sampermans.
16th October 2006.
SLW worked in residence supported by Les Halles
and Q - 02 between the 12th and 16th of October 2006.
Cover Image : Echse by Andrea Ermke
Layout and Design : Chris Dilts
Thanks to Yves Poliart, Q - 02, Julia Eckhardt, Leen Driesen, Els Van Riel, Marie Helene Elleboudt, Les Halles, Andrea Ermke, Ludo Engels, Erwin Sampermans, Ben Drew, Lee Patterson, Sergio Merce, William Benton, Chris Dilts, Conny Maiwald, De Ultieme Hallucinatie and Gasama's Bar.
SLW
Burkhard Beins: Selected percussion. Objects.
Lucio Capece: Soprano Saxophone, bass clarinet. Preparations.
Rhodri Davies: Harp. Electro acoustic devices.
Toshimaru Nakamra: No- input mixing board.
From Germany, Argentina, Wales, and Japan, an international super group no less! Just reading the participants' names raises one's hopes about this music and sets the pulse racing. Although this foursome has not recorded together before, through various collaborations too complex to detail here (including Elektro-Akoestisch Ensemble, The Sealed Knot, Q-O2, and the 2008 release on Formed Records; they are like a complex overlapping Venn Diagram) the participants have enough common history to ensure that they will be using a mutually understood musical vocabulary that draws on eai, drones, and the importance of restraint and silence. It is that mutual understanding that makes this album mouth-watering.
Recorded live in Les Halles, Brussels in October 2006, this is one continuous piece lasting fifty six minutes. At the recording, the audience sat in the centre surrounded by speakers. Apparently, the whole space was meant to be considered a swimming pool (the gig was originally intended to be held in a unused pool). The title SLW stands for "sound like water". This title helps put the recording in context, because it often does sound like water - falling, flowing, lapping, gushing, pouring...
Unsurprisingly, given the prevalence of electronics,
the piece opens with a high frequency electronic drone, which is practically
the signature sound of eai and of Toshimaru Nakimura's no-input mixing
board. Gradually, that is overlaid with other sounds, many electronic,
to produce a multi-layered collage. Rhodri Davies' harp is linked to
electro acoustic devices and used as a sound source for a range of complex
sounds. Lucio Capece's reed contributions are occasionally audible as
the upper layer, although they sometimes sound as if they have struggled
to the surface; when below the surface, they often provide a percussive
effect that effectively combines with Burkhard Beins percussion, giving
the piece an underlying pulse. Despite the water motif throughout the
piece, there are prolonged passages of sustained tones that act as interludes
and add drama and tension. As originally intended, this is music designed
to totally immerse the listener, music that relies upon listeners to
surrender to it and immerse themselves. It is richly rewarding and repays
repeated listening.
- John Eyles, All About Jazz -
| Instruments: | Harp, Electronics [Electro Acoustic Devices] |
| Genre: | Contemporary / Experimental |
| Format: | CD |
| Our Ref: | A0280 |
| MCPS: | Formed 108 |
| Label: | Formed Records |
| Year: | 2006 |
| Origin: | USA |