Various Artists - Musicworks 48 - Warren Burt, Rhys Chatham, Susan Frykberg -1990- (Cassette, Musicworks), Canada

Here's another Musicworks cassette compilation. Musicworks was a journal that focused on Canadian avant-garde music as well as music recorded during music meetings in Canada by foreign musicians. It was founded by Andrew Timar and John Oswald in Toronto. Numerous cassettes were released and accompanied by background information and different articles on music.

This volume includes:

France based American composer Rhys Chatham known for his orchestral works for electric guitars and compositions with guitar, trumpet, keyboards and electronics. He studied under electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick and minimalist icon La Monte Young and was a member of Young's group, The Theater of Eternal Music, during the early seventies. Chatham also played with Tony Conrad in an early version of Conrad's group, The Dream Syndicate.

Composer, ethno-musicologist and percussionist Don Wherry who was also part of the improv outfit The Black Auks. Didgeridoo player, flutist and sound sculpture creator Susan Rawcliffe. Composer, performer, video artist, sound poet, writer and instrument maker Warren Burt and electroacoustic composer Susan Frykberg from New Zealand. 

More info on the different pieces in the included liner notes.

Kindly donated by Matthew

Get it HERE

13 - 11 - Temporization -1988- (Cassette, TN/N 001), Poland

13 - 11 were a one-off improvisational outfit from Warsaw that consisted of Monika Szczecińska (Percussion), Bolek Błaszczyk (Cello and Keyboards), Michał Rollinger (Saxophone), Sernik (Tape, Guitar) and Jarek Siwiński (Keyboards). The group was named after the date on which they played this live-opus in Warsaw on the 11th of November 1988 at the Riviera-Remont Klub. Simultaneously, the 11th of November is the Polish National Independence Day on which Poland gained autonomy from the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires in 1918. Whether that plays a role on this cassette is unclear.

When looking at the members of this group the name of Bolek Błaszczyk provides the most context for me. Błaszczyk is a cellist that played in several important Polish underground groups like Legendarne Ząbki. He also played together with the magical Rock In Opposition outfit Cukor, Bila Smert' (Цукор Бiла Смерть) from the Kiev underground scene (Ukraine). You can hear their collaboration on their beautiful album called Selo from 1993.

13 - 11 is a project that can be placed in the light of the Polish experimental underground of the 80's, the extensive Polish jazz and improvisation history and in the larger context of the Eastern European Rock In Opposition tradition. Even though the sound fidelity of this obscure tape is not very high the band displays a wonderful interplay of improvisational jazz, ambient electronics and cinematographic sound collage all subtly based on the city of Warsaw and the temporality of different places and their atmospheres. It's almost a soundtrack to a non-existing film at times. The music was recorded live as a continuous opus of which the compositions flow into each other. Because of that it was not easy to index this tape, so I left some tracks to transition into the following track. The music reminds me of their peer-band Kirkut-Koncept that also played in a similar style. Somehow the 90's project Kaddish by Towering Inferno also comes to mind, maybe because of its thematic approach.

A lo-fi sound quality cassette from behind the iron curtain again, but this truly is another masterpiece of the Polish underground of the 80's.

This tape was limited to 40 copies.

Highly recommended!

Kindly donated by the Y Create Archive

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Various Artists - The Meridian Crossings -1995- (CD, Hermit Foundation), Czech Republic

This is a CD only compilation around the music and arts symposium The Meridian Crossings that took place in Plzeň, Czech Republic in 1995. It is a varied release containing Czech folk musician Pavel Fajt, a.o. known of the amazing Czech group Dunaj, Cellist Vojtěch Havel who also did many ethereal folk and avant-garde world music soundscapes with his wife Irena Havlová and also many more improvisation musicians from the country I know less about.

Then present on here is English Rock In Opposition hero Tim Hodgkinson, known ofcourse as member of the pioneering RIO band Henry Cow. Also Dutch and Scandinavian artists are compiled (like Ad van Buuren) with art-installation sounds and improvisation pieces. Drummer Jim Meneses is also featured on the compilation, who played in the Berlin based band Stan Red Fox which I posted before on the blog. Lastly present here is Australian sound-art poetess Amanda Stewart.

The Meridian Crossings is a nice historical sound document of a manifestation of experimental music. A moment in which people from different countries exchanged musical talent in a post-socialist country that always had a very strong experimental underground scene in which music played a pivotal role. Within Eastern Europe, Czech Republic was always musically ahead with legendary groups like The Plastic People of The Universe, DG307 or Extempore. Their sounds concealed critical politics, poetry, art and philosophy in a context of the darker realms of folk and progressive rock experimentation to fight repression and to share state-forbidden information in order to uplift generations of people who were fighting to change the system. On The Meridian Crossings we can hear a new time that is still rooted in this past, but already merging with a global contemporary art-world representing a new transnational unity through the serious but also light-hearted musical avant-garde.

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Zorah Mari Bauer & Tilman Küntzel - "Stipendiaten 1991" -1992- (Split-Tape), Germany

Since there is some catching up to do with regard to the frequency of uploads on the blog here is an obscure tape that I picked up by chance recently in Berlin:

Zorah Mari Bauer and Tilman Küntzel are both artists that are still active today in the realms of new media, cross media, art theory and sound. Apparently this cassette was released to accompany a catalogue for an exhibition they did at K3, part of the art center Kampnagel in Hamburg in 1992. It was released in an edition of 100 copies.

Zorah Mari Bauer takes one side of the cassette and plays two abstract pieces where musique concrète and voice experiments are the main components. It actually reminds me somewhat of the music of Laurie Anderson or the voice experiments of Dutch artist Moniek Toebosch.

Tilman Küntzel's side is called "Pinguin In Wonderland" and contains some interpretations of music by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. It's midi and computer controlled music that he recorded at the Centre for Art and Media ZKM in Karlsruhe. It's quite an unusual collage of animal sounds, voices and instruments.

Strange art tape, nice music.

Get it HERE

Amsterdam Stringtrio ‎- Dodekakania -1986- (LP, DATA Records), Netherlands

The Amsterdam Stringtrio was a one-off project formed by Cellist Ernst Reijseger, Violinist Maurice Horsthuis and double bass player Ernst Glerum. Three Dutch string instrument musicians that recorded this album in Amsterdam for the occasion. All of them have been members of the ICP Orchestra and have played with many other respected improvisation and jazz musicians, from Lol Coxhill to Derek Bailey.

To me this album is a bit too much substantiated with classical music influences, instead of the anarchic improvisation I usually like. But nevertheless it's still very atmospheric and gets into more adventurous parts throughout its progression. In any case it's another piece of the Dutch avant-garde music puzzle that I try to give attention to on the blog every now and then. It reminds me a bit of Louis Andriessen's soundtrack Golven, Harry Sparnaay's Bass Clarinet Identity II or the Brazilian MEC 70 compilation: all posted here on the blog a long time ago!

Another highlight to me is the incredible artwork of this album which was designed by the artist Maryke de Vries and specially printed by artist Zeger Reyers. Dodekakania was limited to 500 hand-numbered vinyl copies.

 Get it HERE

 

Message:
There's a chance the blog will run out of material in the near future, although there are still posts to come. It is getting increasingly harder to find material and I have been doing this for quite some years now. I'm not saying that this blog will shut down, but I need to see how the future will develop regarding Arhcaic Inventions based on new material and the future developments in my personal life. It might also somehow elevate or expand into something new, yet similar. Let's see!

Guus Janssen - Tast Toe -1981- (LP, Claxon), Netherlands

A year ago I posted an album by Dutch improvisation pianist Guus Janssen on the blog and here is a second one: Janssen is a frequent member of the Instant Composers Pool and the key figure in Dutch piano improvisation. He always breaks down different genres into an unclassifiable mixture. He plays jazz, classical music, circus-melodies, pop, but never really ends up in either one of these genres.

Tast Toe, meaning something like help yourself (it also refers to hitting the keys of a piano in a weird linguistic way) is another album in which Janssen rapidly creates his accessible impro tunes while dissecting free-jazz into carnival melodies while entering chamber music realms while simultaneously staying on all borders. I guess it's only to be noticed when giving this a more proper listen, because at first glance it's a bit of conventional piano play. Nevertheless this is another interesting piece of the Amsterdam based Claxon records puzzle. Claxon was one of the best Dutch labels for improvisation music active at the end of the seventies and the eighties. All these pieces were recorded live in Amsterdam in 1981.

Get it HERE

Various Artists - Opus '72 -1972- (LP, Radio Nederland), Netherlands

After Opus '70 and Opus '71 that I posted on the blog, here is Opus '72 introducing modern composers and compositions from the Netherlands in 1972. The Opus series were distributed to foreign radio stations to promote Dutch contemporary composed music. The series are essential for exploring Dutch avant-garde and contemporary composed classical music of the previous century.

The first programme consists of a long piece by Rob du Bois inspired by Romanian composer Alexander Hrisanide . The piece requires a pianist not only to play the piano but also an electronic organ, a toy-piano and a large tom-tom. It's an interesting musical piece in which strange piano sounds are the centre.

The second programme consists of pieces by Ton de Leeuw (which I posted before) and Tristan Keuris. De Leeuw's piece is inspired by Indian music and thought in which a flute, played by Abbie de Quant, plays the main role. De Leeuw who studied ethnomusicology was the teacher of Tristan Keuris. Keuris' piece is created for alto-saxophone and an intuitively responding orchestra.

Get it HERE
 

VA - Risonanze/3 - Evocazioni Musicali di Temi Biblici -1979- (Tape, Edizione Paoline), Italy

After Risonanze 2 which was posted earlier on the blog, here we have the third and last in the series. Risonanze was published through papal record label Paoline from the Vatican and was based on biblical themes. The composers of the music were Ennio Morricone, Egisto Macchi, Gino Marinuzzi, Armando Trovaioli, Miriam Bordoni and Luigi Zito. These compositions were surely not primarily created as biblical themes, but gathered for this particular series and perhaps renamed. I'm sure most pieces are a lot older than 1979 as well. Very strange music history indeed.

If I compare the two Risonanze volumes I think that the first one is a bit more diverse and less classical in its approach. This one sticks far more to some sort of traditional biblical theme than the other. The pieces tend more towards classical and folk music, but nevertheless create imaginitave cinematographical atmospheres. Some of the songs have electronic sounds, whilst others have choirs of sacral voices. Ofcourse many of these Italian composers are undoubtedly some of the best in existence so this is beautiful music. Who has volume one of the series?

Get it HERE

Donated by Kim


Also wanted to say that these coming months I will have some truly in-cre-di-ble posts coming and you will love it! Stay tuned!

Guus Janssen - On The Line -1980- (LP, Claxon), Netherlands

Guus Janssen (Heiloo, 1951) is a Dutch composer and pianist. He is a somewhat lesser known figure coming from the Dutch free improvisation and jazz scene. Janssen is known to approach music in a very open way and to blur the borders of  musical genres like classical, jazz, impro or popular music. He is a frequent member of the famous Dutch impro-jazz ICP Orchestra. Since the early seventies he has been collaborating with most of the renowned Dutch improvisation musicians like Harry Sparnaay, Theo Loevendie, Han Bennink, Ab Baars and others. Nowadays Janssen is still involved in many musical projects.

On this album Janssen displays his solo piano improvisation efforts. There are lots of unexpected piano movements and manoeuvres present combined with pieces written by himself. On The Line came out on the great Dutch record label of improvised music Claxon which featured a.o. records by Michel Waisvisz, Maarten Altena and Moniek Toebosch. All of that stuff is really worth it to check out and a must for fans of Dutch impro music.

Get it HERE

VA - MEC 70 - Música Do Brasil Volume 1 -1970- (LP, Ministério Da Educação e Cultura), Brazil

This is a rare Brazilian compilation of Avant-Garde composers from the early seventies. There existed a couple more records in this series (MEC 70, MEC 71) published by the ministry of education and culture of Brazil. One of them was posted ages ago by Continuo. The MEC series was created to showcase all Brazilian contemporary Avant-Garde music including musique concrète and electronic music in the early seventies.

On this record, which I believe is the first in the series, there are three Brazilian composers present: Edino Krieger, Ernst Widmer and J. Lins. All pieces are performed by the Orquestra Sinfônica Nacional. The first side is by Edino Krieger with his piece Ludus Symphonicus from 1965. It's a modern composed strictly classical piece reminding me of Harry Sparnaay's Bass Clarinet Identity II that I posted a while ago. It constantly evolves from tension to de-tension and is occasionally influenced by Brazilian rhythms. Unfortunately this side of the record turned out to be quite crackly.

The second side consists of two pieces: Quasars (1970) by Ernst Widmer and Policromia (1970) by J. Lins. These pieces are more spacious and experimental so to speak and evoke more futuristic images because of their cinematographic nature. Speaking about futuristic, I really love the sixties and seventies graphic and optical art from South America (in design, architecture etc.). It integrates and combines the beautiful natural and often tropical environment with geometrical modernity and the space age. The MEC covers all look amazing.This music has to be placed in that context too.

Enjoy! HERE

Various Artists - Opus '70 -1970- (LP, Radio Nederland), Netherlands

Next up on the blog is this pretty interesting promotional compilation of Dutch Avant-Garde composers. Opus '70 was published by the Dutch world radio broadcasting system to be distributed in the United States and Canada to shed light on contemporary composers from Holland. On both sides of this record there is a program introduced in English to be transmitted by foreign radio stations. The pieces are variably incalculable, spacious or created by weirdly processed instruments.

The composers on here are Otto Ketting, Ton de Kruyf, Wil Eisma and Ton Bruynel. These four composers stand out as some of the most important composers of the Dutch Avant-Garde alongside Louis Andriessen and Ton de Leeuw just to name a few. Specially Bruynel did some great works of electronic music and musique concrète which I recommend you to find. On this record his piece is also the only one with electronic sounds and electronic processing. You can see him here in a clip in Dutch in which he talks about his music.

The cover of the record looks great!

Get it HERE

Gruppe Nuova Consonanza - Improvisationen -1969- (LP, Deutsche Grammaphon), Italy

So this probably doesn't need too much of an introduction, but I'll do it anyway. Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza (also The Group or Il Gruppo) was an Italian free improvisation Avant-Garde group. The three main people involved were Franco Evangelisti, Ennio Morricone and Egisto Macchi. They have created numerous incredible albums ranging from electro-acoustic improvisation to jazz to beat-driven psychedelic rock in a krautrock fashion. The coolest thing was that they were already men in their fourties when they made all this music.

Lately many of their records and recordings have been reissued by multiple record labels as well as some of the records made by individuals of the group. I can strongly recommend the solo work of Egisto Macchi. Morricone's work we all know by the legendary soundtracks he produced for movies like The good, the bad and the ugly and Once upon a time in the west. Italy's library and soundtrack music will always prevail over that particular genre of music elsewhere.

This record is a typically full-improvised recording of the group that was even published by the very renowned Deutsche Grammaphon company that was specialized in classical music. I know this was available on the web at some point, but is barely to be found these days so I thought it was a good idea to share again.

Get it HERE

Harry Sparnaay - Bass Clarinet Identity II -1982- (LP, Composers' Voice), Netherlands

After the first Bass Clarinet Identity I posted a while ago, we finally get to hear the second one by Dutch Bass Clarinet virtuoso Harry Sparnaay. The same circle of composers and musicians are on here creating three pieces in which the Bass Clarinet (obviously) plays the main role.

On this particular record the electronic pieces are no longer present, but are replaced by choirs and more acoustic contemporary classical composed ones. Therefore this record might be the closest to classical music on this blog. Fortunately this does not mean that the music is dull. The A-side consists of a 30 minute piece called Soirée Musicale composed by Spanish composer Enrique Raxach and invokes unexpected sound-bursts of entangled string and wind-instruments in a landscape of haunted spheres. The other pieces by Dutch composers are more minimalistic in which Sparnaay's Bass Clarinet gets more freedom to explore its possibilities. The whole is actually a bit more conventional musically, but still creates something eerie and unexpected. It's a nice continuation of the Harry Sparnaay universe on this blog.

Get it HERE

Donated by Kim

New incredible posts will be up shortly. You will love it. Stay tuned.

Ton de Leeuw - Litany Of Our Time / Clair Obscur -1986- (LP, Composers' Voice), Netherlands

Ton de Leeuw (1926 - 1996) was a Dutch composer who had studied ethnomusicology under Dutch composer Jaap Kunst (known for his studies of traditional Indonesian music in the aftermath of Dutch colonialism). De Leeuw is considered one of the most renowned modern composers of the twentieth century from Holland. He also studied in Paris under Olivier Messiaen and mystical Gurdjieff pianist Thomas de Hartmann. De Leeuw pioneered as one of the first Dutch composers to experiment with electronic sounds. This record came out for the occasion of De Leeuw's sixtieth birthday.

It contains two pieces, the first one Litany of Our Time (1969-70) is a modern composed collage of sounds and words spoken in Dutch and English. It's an interesting diverse piece sung in a sometimes very Rock In Opposition-like way. Reminding me of Sally Potter´s or Maggie Nichols' voice. The lyrics are quite cynical. From the liner notes:

"Litany is unusual among my oeuvre in that it was inspired directly by a personal experience. The subject matter of the eight tableaux chiefly derives from the 4 november 1969 issue of "The Times", purchased on that day at London Heathrow Airport to while away the time prior to departure. The backdrop against which the different scenario's unfold then, is this: the airport, a crossroads of communication, yet a place where people pass each other by like so many disembodied entities. Offsetting this we have the newspaper: the immediate source of information from the outside world and mouthpiece of reports whose reality the consciousness can scarcely grasp. 

This quality of dislocation has its counterpart in the structure of the piece. Images loom towards us, fragmented as though through a mist; texts often indistinguishably blurred; music voicing the existential isolation of modern man and the mumblings of his litany. These evocations should not, however, be interpreted in the light of an artistically slated form of reportage, a dramatisation of reality or a piece of social criticism. What "Litany" records is not so much particular events in themselves but the manner in which our minds absorb them; minds divorced from a capacity for true fellowship with the outside world and a meaningful communication with fellow humanity at large. The instrumental component is not designed for background effect, but represents a voice in its own right."

The second piece is an electronic one which title refers to a characteristic of the work of Dutch painter Rembrandt.

Get it HERE

Donated by Kim 

Various Artists - Magyar Elektronikus Zene - Hungarian Electronic Music -1979- (LP, Hungaroton), Hungary

This is one of Hungary's greatest compilations of electronic avant-garde music together with this one which I will post later if it's not around somewhere. There are five Hungarian composers of electronic music present here: Zoltán Pongracz, Péter Eötvös, Iván Patachich and a combined piece by Máté Victor and Péter Winkler. A great piece on here is "Mese", meaning fairy tale, in which the sentence Egyszer volt, hol nem volt, meaning Once upon a time - the classic opening line of a fairy tale - is being processed looped and cut-up.

As you can guess electronic music from behind the iron curtain is quite an obscure thing. Nevertheless, many composers from the countries of the ex-eastern bloc had the possibility to travel to the west so they could study with people like Karlheinz Stockhausen or others. Usually these things were considered legitimate in the name of science, academy or high art. Also almost every big city in Eastern Europe had an experimental radio or television station studio in which they experimented with sound. From Warsaw to Bratislava to Beograd they all had their own kind of Radiophonic Workshop. Loads of cool Hungarian modern composed avant-garde stuff here.

This record has been uploaded to youtube, but has less than a hundred views and my copy happened to be in slightly better condition. This blog may lose a bit of its orthodoxy just to be able to keep on going with new material. Sometimes it might be available somewhere, but as a worse rip or practically not to be found. I will post some of these recordings by doing my own rips and I will shed my own light on those releases.

Get it HERE