Mixtape review #001 - Prologue Special - Claudio PRC & Svart1 - 111 (live and unreleased)

From now on I will be doing a series of Mixtape reviews every now and then. They will include the regular mixtapes by artists, but also livesets or special collaborations, that function as inspiration for my work as the Self. The reviews will mostly be positive, because I aim to shed some light on the more interesting and intriguing sets out there. On the one hand because I think they deserve the attention (some gems are highly underlistened to!), but also because I think some of these sets will actually provide the listener that dares to put some effort in listening with wonderful journeys that will bring joy to the soul. Come to think of it, maybe a review isn't the right word, because I will try to describe what is happening to me when I listen to these sets. Perhaps it's better to see it more as a poetic description of the affects these sounds have on me.

The Artists

First one up in this series is a live recording by Claudio PRC and Svart1 together on a Prologue label night in 2012. Both Italian artists have a knack for delivering richly textured landscape techno that is both unsettling and uplifting. Indeed, that is possible. I first heard Claudio PRC through a friend (Syst_M -a great Dutch dj and also the mastermind behind Death Metal Disco Club). The sounds by Claudio PRC immediately struck a chord with me and ever since then I have been closely following his releases. His album Inner State (released on Prologue) is a very fine piece of work that explores the deeper world of techno. In an interview on the blog Subsekt he talks about what music is to him. His answer should give you enough insight in his work to make sure to check him out: 

"Music is everything and nothing. Music is an abstract mystery which attracts infinite things like every kind of emotion, music is art, science and sacredness, it is a universal language that makes an individual unique, music is social relations, a reason for aggregation, it is a refuge, a way to escape from reality, music is sound that fills our innermost being, its power is so big as to make it invisible, and because of this, I like to think that music is all in the absolute nothingness."

Svart1, who just like Claudio PRC hails from the isle of Sardinia, is less of a techno producer and more of a soundscape artist. His work varies from ambient to industrial, always with a dark undertone. However, he is also able to create lighter pieces of work in different collaborations (like his work with Shattered Hand). On Svart1's website his art is described as follows: 

"His sounds, nordic-style typically, are the result of a microcosm of dark and gloomy sound characterized by minimal movements between low evolutionary where used in a thunderous, metallic roar, shadowy presences that materialize sound, like the experience and the feeling of alienation between dark presence floating around the ears of the unconscious passenger." 

Apart from music, Svart1 is also active as a visual artist, creating images that feel like a logical companion to his sounds. His album Satanische Helden is supposed to be out soon on Industrial Culture and proves to be something that's definitely worth looking out for.

The Mixtape

Below you will find both the liveset and my review. I am not sure what's the best approach in this, if you could better listen to the set first and then read the accompanied text, or vice versa. Either way, let these sounds envelop you and enjoy.

The opening of this set is quiet and almost organic, fluid. There's found sound footage carefully wrapped in a form suited for intent listening. You start to feel and realise that your hearing is changing in the process of listening. You stroll through a by man deserted place, where you can only hear the sound of poems being recited by grass and water. There's the sound of litte insects dreaming about Edgar Allan Poe like worlds, beetles waking up into a Kafkaesque fantasy.

Around ten minutes into the mix, faint middle eastern sounds mark a change in pace and direction. Things get more unsettling, unheimisch, as if you're now wandering around lost in an underground cave, with no light, no hope. There's a tinge of despair, but at the same time you don't wish to be anywhere else. Slowly you start focusssing on the never ceasing lower sounds, as if they are marks for your footsteps. The agony becomes enveloped in a sense of euphoria, with wicked grins of pure bliss. This cannot ever end, this must continue, especially when tribalistic percussion elements come setting in, causing a hypnotic state.

After about half an hour, shamanistic tribal influences slowly enter the void, albeit a rather industrialized form of shamanism, as if machines start dancing ancient rituals, forming an assemblage of oppossites in which they unite themselves and the listener.

The final quarter feels like an escape. You're crawling out of the dark cave and you see the dark starry sky, feeling the fresh nightwind on your face. A profound acknowledgement of your existence comes settling in your mind. Listening intently to those final sounds, you feel great to be alive...

Additional info:

Prologue Special - Claudio PRC & Svart1 - 111

Sixty minutes of unreleased material between heavy and smooth atmospheres framed with slow and obstinate Techno grooves. Originally performed during the Prologue Label Night in Cagliari (Sardinia), May 2012.

Released by: Prologue Music.
Release date: Oct 1, 2012.

claudioprc.blogspot.it

svart1.altervista.org
www.prologue-booking.com

Review: Five Years Erased Tapes -Memorable Moments at the Paradiso

(This is my own English interpretation of the Dutch review I wrote for Gonzo (circus) here.)

The label Erased Tapes Records, situated in London but founded by the German Robert Rath, celebrates its fifth anniversary this year. A good enough reason to treat the European audiences to something special, they must have thought. Hence a combined tour with three remarkable names from the label's roster through a number of European countries. Together, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm have played twelve shows in nine cities in thirteen days. This is a review of the night they visited the Paradiso in Amsterdam.

One of the great things of entering a venue long before the first note will be played, is that you get a chance to slowly drink in the atmosphere of the place. This night, the Paradiso feels like an enlarged living room, with the floor filled with chairs. Since this is going to be a concert that will benefit immensely by a hushed audience, sitting seems like a good choice. Which brings me to a second great thing of getting to shows like these early: you get to get a good spot near the front row. On stage, the musicians are still quietly and gently testing their instruments, tuning a harp here, checking some cables there. It will only be a short wait until the first act of the night will start playing.

Kubrick-Wonderland
The recent project of pianist/composer Dustin O’Halloran and sound engineer/composer Adam Wiltzie (Sparklehorse, Stars of the Lid), A Winged Victory for the Sullen, is first on the bill tonight. We don't get to see a huge enthralling showbiz entrance of some overly secure rockstars. Instead, we are witness to a humble entering of the stage of five talented musicians who, judging by the way they play their tunes, are no doubt kind souls as well.

After the introductions by O'Halloran and after the first notes slowly start filling up the Paradiso, we are immediately transported to a lunar world of quiet beauty. The combination of the visuals of the moon, the enigmatic staging of the lights and the intense wonder of the music seems to transport us straight into a strange Kubrick-Wonderland. A thousand plateaus higher and we don't even know how we have ended up here. We look at the woman playing the cello, and we have to blink our eyes because we see her changing into a moon goddess, surrounded by a touch of iridescent madness, while she loses herself within her music.

The piano sounds played by O'Halloran seem to carry the soundscape of violin, viola and cello, while Wiltzie uses his guitar to weave a barely audible blanket of drowsy drones. The faces of the musicians show a pure nakedness, wearing only a cloak of intense emotion that the audience in the Paradiso thankfully indulges in. Music played like this demands a full surrender, both from those creating the sounds and from those savouring them.

The audience is insanely quiet, too much overtaken by technically perfected sensation, which unfortunately isn't always the case with beautiful music played live. O'Halloran is happy with the quiet in the crowd and changes instruments with Wiltzie, who takes reins of the piano for the wonderful 'Steep Hills for Vicodin Tears'. O'Halloran plays layers of guitar for extra body and the Holy Trinity of cello, violin and viola functions as the perfect suture between them. The last song gets shaken up slightly by an experimental tinge of noise. The Holy Trinity seems to transform into a primitive creature, in possession of only a nascent form of intelligence, trying to comprehend the function of the instruments. Scratching, patting, feeling -hands go over the cello, harp and viola and we are humble witnesses to the birth of mankind. Beautiful.

Empty Chair

After a short break, it is time for Ólafur Arnalds. The young Icelandic composer is in a great mood and with his gentle and playful banter he manages to win over the crowd before he has even played a single note. He makes jokes with the audience members, gets them to sing along to notes that he plays and easily drags them into his wonderful world. Arnalds knows very well how to create a perfect balance between fun and excited tension, using both his verbal skills and his piano skills. One of Arnalds' strong points is that he knows how to move people with his music, without turning it into a fountain of melodrama.

Then we get to see a nice exhibition of melting new with old technologies. Arnalds takes turns playing three different pianos, and while he moves from the one to the other, we see him using an iPad to do, well, ehm something special no doubt? After playing some time solo, Arnalds is joined by the great cello player Anne Müller and a well dressed violinist, who plays while standing and every now and then has to massage his arms. Then suddenly in the midst of a song an ambient-kick fills up the Paradiso and we spot Nils Frahm sneaking his way up to a piano. The music combined with the compelling lighting has everyone in the crowd catching their breath.

When the song finishes, Frahm leaves the stage again. Now it's time for a solo from the violinist. He plays with a profound intensity and the front rows can hear him sweat and work, breathe and spit. He keeps playing until his violin bow is all used up. Müller follows with a cello solo, less loud, but she creates intensity through finesse. Beautiful.

Arnalds ends his show alone on stage. While he plays a melancholic piano piece, my eyes wander across the stage and I end up looking at the by now deserted and empty chair of Müller. The chair, slightly damaged at the side, standing in the scarce stagelight, forms a perfect symbol for the haunting melody that Arnalds is playing. When his piano sounds start fading away, we suddenly hear a quiet tune being played backstage, getting only slightly louder before fading away as well, like an effervescent elven dream....

Magician
Then it is time for last artist of the night: Nils Frahm. The young German is in a good mood as well, albeit it a little bit less exuberant than Arnalds. Frahm tells us that his manner of playing the piano often results in it needing some new tuning, which is why he has to be the last one of the night. To emphasize his words, he starts using the piano as a percussion instrument.

Frahm then continues with the live always marvelous 'Said & Done'. He starts off the song by playing a high hammering of notes, before he is joined by Arnalds. Together they drink whiskey, together they play the piano and together they remake the song into a wonderful extended version. Then Frahm continues solo, this time playing on an old piano, bought at a flea market. In his words: "A bad song needs a bad piano". Immediately he belies his own words by playing a brilliant piece of work, abundant with high notes. Then suddenly a loud drone hits the stage, as if Sunn O))) is playing next door. The combination of the very high and the very low evokes a slight sense of euphoria in the crowd.

Then, alas, Frahm announces his last song. Lucky for us it is a very long one, in which Frahm loses himself completely. We no longer see a musician, but a magician, a warlock, caught by the unknown and the core of it all. While playing, he seems to be mumbling unintelligible words, and he is changing the very fabric of life, not with strange formulas or lines drawn in the sand, but with music and profound and prolonged passion. Oh such life! And Frahm for a moment controls every aspect of it, at the end wonderfully aided by the way by a magnificent Anne Müller.

Encore
Of course we are treated to an encore. Arnalds joins Frahm and together they drink some more whiskey and try to decide what to play. An uncontrolled and accidental (and enormously loud) Sunn O))) moment leaves half of the audience shell shocked for a bit, but of course the young men on stage are forgiven. After a nice duet between the two of them, all the musicians that have performed tonight join them on the stage for a great collaboration. Nine people playing simultaneously, in a musical piece that seems to grow fuller and fuller every second, until a Godspeed You!-esque cacophony sets the souls of those present in the Paradiso on fire.

When the final notes slowly fade away and the moon goddess literally played her bow into ruins, it takes some time before the crowd realizes that in fact they have not died, but that the heavens have descended upon them, down to earth, on this memorable Monday night in Amsterdam. Let Erased Tapes, inshallah (but if need be even against his will), soon celebrate another five years, just so they have another good excuse to have a collection of musicians like these play together again in one night. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Five years Erased Tapes Labelnight, 15 oktober 2012, Paradiso, Amsterdam.

Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm - Stare

Het in Londen gebaseerde label Erased Tapes richt zicht sinds 2007 op een breed spectrum aan cinematografisch aandoende muziek. Oprichter Robert Raths heeft het in de afgelopen jaren voor elkaar gekregen om een familie aan gelijkgestemde muzikanten samen te stellen met een internationaal karakter. Twee belangrijke namen die hieronder vallen zijn de IJslandse neo-klassieke componist Ólafur Arnalds en de Duitse muzikant en componist Nils Frahm.

Tijdens een spontane jamsessie ergens in 2011 kregen Arnalds en Frahm het idee voor een samenwerking. Een eerste sessie vond plaats in de studio van Frahm in Berlijn, waar uiteindelijk de track 'b1' uit is gekomen. In de woorden van Frahn: "I plugged in some old analogue synths and we played for four days until late in the night". Het uiteindelijke resultaat mag er zijn. Het nummer 'b1' doet in het eerste deel denken aan een moderne variant van 'In the Hall of the Mountain King', tot halverwege een onheilspellende kick de sfeer licht doet kantelen. De toevoeging van de cello (prachtig ingespeeld door Anne Müller, met wie Frahm al eerder samenwerkte) doet het unheimische gevoel langzaam over gaan in melancholie, alsof de gedachte aan een verontrustende verschrikking verwordt tot een staat van gemis. Het lijkt erop dat Frahm in deze compositie verantwoordelijk is voor de meer experimentele pianoklanken en Arnalds voor de melancholie, maar tegelijk is het onmogelijk goed te duiden wie wat doet, een teken dat deze samenwerking niets minder is dan een prachtige symbiose.



Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm - Stare by Erased Tapes
 
Waar 'b1' in Berlijn is opgenomen, zijn Frahm en Arnalds voor 'a1' en 'a2' opnieuw bij elkaar gekomen, ditmaal in de studio van Arnalds in IJsland. Volgens Arnalds is het verschil van locatie terug te horen in de muziek: "(...) that is the most interesting thing about this record for me: that subtle but significant different in the characteristics of the music two people made in Iceland against what the same two people made in Germany". Of het aan de omgeving ligt of niet, de A-kant lijkt een hoopvoller geluid te herbergen dan de b-kant. Misschien speelt het onheilspellende verleden van Berlijn onbewust een rol in 'b1' en geeft het onmogelijke landschap van IJsland een gevoel dat toch meer richting een verwarde lichte innerlijke euforie gaat. Zowel op 'a1' als op 'a2' lijkt de muziek openingen te creëren en de ervaring ruim baan te bieden om nieuwe horizonten op te zoeken.

Het geheel van 'a1', 'a2' en 'b1' hebben Arnalds en Frahm ter gelegenheid van het vijfjarig jubileum van Erased Tapes als verrassing aangeboden aan oprichter Raths. De release, onder de naam Stare, wordt vandaag 21 april exclusief aangeboden in de Erased Tapes online winkel. Een absolute musthave voor de liefhebber van neoklassiek meets ambient/electronic.

A Winged Victory for the Sullen krijgt Paradiso muisstil

A Winged Victory for the Sullen

+ Sleepingdog

Paradiso, Amsterdam
10-01-2012

Afgelopen dinsdagavond stond er een interessante act op het programma in de kleine zaal van Paradiso: A Winged Victory For The Sullen. Dit project van Dustin O’Halloran en Adam Wiltzie (Stars Of Lid) behelst een samenspel waarbinnen de mooiste elementen van ambient en klassiek tot elkaar komen.

Het voorprogramma deze avond is op zichzelf staand al de moeite waard om naar Paradiso te komen op deze druilerige dinsdagavond: Sleepingdog. Dit is één van de vele projecten van de Nederlandse Chantal Acda (die voornamelijk vanuit België opereert). Naast Sleepingdog speelt ze ook nog onder de naam Chacda en samen met Craig Ward vormt ze het duo True Bypass.

Sleepingdog staat, zoals eigenlijk al het werk van Acda, voor prachtige en ingetogen muziek. In deze formatie wordt ze bijgestaan door niemand minder dan Adam Wiltzie zelf, met wie ze samen het album With Our Heads in the Clouds and Our Hearts in the Fields heeft opgenomen. Sowieso is er aan grote namen geen gebrek op deze plaat, want Hildur Guðnadóttir neemt het cello-werk voor haar rekening.

Deze avond in Paradiso staat Acda (gitaar, piano en zang) samen met Wiltzie (gitaar) op het podium en worden ze op percussie ondersteund door Tom Lezaire. Wiltzie speelt gitaar, maar verwacht geen akkoorden of riffs van deze man, die bekend staat om het creëren van geluidslagen die zowel prachtig als beklemmend zijn. Ook in Sleepingdog vervult hij deze rol, maar de nadruk ligt op de pracht en met mooie open onderlagen vormt hij een sterke basis van de liedjes. Deze worden overigens schitterend ingekleurd door Acda, die met haar enigszins hoge en breekbare stem de luisteraars hypnotiseert.

(live in Eindhoven, 24 mei 2011, gefilmd door kkpgijsbers)

Het lichte akoestische gitaar- en pianospel en de gedetailleerde percussie maken de muziek af en wat bijna niemand voor mogelijk houdt gebeurt: Paradiso is stil, muisstil. Acda grapt dat ze dit heuglijke feit op haar Facebook zal gaan zetten: “Hollanders kunnen toch stil zijn.” Waarop ze, als bijna niemand in de zaal reageert, volgt met: “Iets te stil zelfs misschien…” Maar ze kan het haar publiek niet kwalijk nemen dat het niet uitbundig reageert op haar (nochtans leuke) kwinkslagen, want de mensen zijn betoverd door de wonderschone liedjes. Als de betovering uiteindelijk na het laatste nummer verbroken is, krijgt Sleepingdog een geweldig en verdiend applaus. Graag een snel vervolg.

Men zou bijna vergeten dat er nog iets op het programma staat deze avond, maar hoofdact A Winged Victory For The Sullen moet nog komen. Het album dat ze enkele maanden geleden hebben uitgebracht, simpelweg A Winged Victory For The Sullen getiteld, staat vol met drie kwartier auditieve schoonheid aan instrumentale muziek die het midden houdt tussen klassiek en ambient.

De twee vrienden hebben elkaar op een geweldige manier gevonden in deze samenwerking, die mede tot stand is gekomen door hun gedeelde rouw om het verlies van Mark Linkous (de man achter Sparklehorse pleegde in 2010 zelfmoord), met wie beide heren goed bevriend waren. Of de plaat een requiem is of een hoopvolle opening naar de toekomst durf ik niet te zeggen, maar de muziek weet je als luisteraar mee te nemen naar dromerige werelden en raakt je tegelijk in je fundament.

Rond half negen komt Adam Wiltzie terug op het podium, ditmaal met kameraad Dustin O’Halloran, twee violisten en een celliste. Dat de klassiek aandoende stukken live gespeeld gaan worden door een mini-orkest is natuurlijk geweldig, want dit geeft een stuk meer dynamiek dan als er slechts een tape wordt meegespeeld. Met O’Halloran links op het podium op piano, Wiltzie rechts op gitaar en de drie dames in het midden is het publiek deze avond getuige van een mooi samenwerkingsschouwspel tussen rasmuzikanten.

(Gefilmd door bubbagstring)

De muziek staat in feite natuurlijk al, maar met regelmaat zie je de muzikanten elkaar op het podium sturen, corrigeren en aanmoedigen. Hierdoor is het optreden niet alleen interessant voor de oren, maar kun je ook je ogen de kost geven. Helemaal omdat sommige nummers ook nog ondersteund worden door intrigerende visuals op een groot scherm. Maar toch blijft de muziek vanzelfsprekend de hoofdmoot. Het pianospel van O’Halloran is dan weer mooi, dan weer onheilspellend. Wiltzie creëert fijne lagen geluid die de nummers samen met het aardse cello-geluid een plek geven in het hier en nu, wat bijna ook wel nodig is met het hemelse vioolspel dat zorgt voor een meer ruimtelijke ervaring.

(Gefilmd door bubbagstring)

Sommige nummers zijn kort (te kort!), andere weer wat langer, maar het publiek weet zich wederom muisstil te houden. Hier staan (en aan de zijkant zitten) mensen die puur voor de muziek komen en de muzikanten het respect betuigen dat ze verdienen. Het helpt natuurlijk dat de muziek, meer zelfs nog dan op plaat, de luisteraar in vervoering brengt. Daarnaast is het moeilijk om de ogen af te houden van het geweldige samenspel tussen de drie dames en de twee mannen op het podium. De kleine knikjes, de lichaamsbewegingen, de sturende ogen -ze dragen bij aan een fantastische ervaring, hier in de kleine zaal van Paradiso, op een druilerige dinsdagavond. En dan te bedenken dat er nog steeds mensen bestaan die een avond tv kijken op de bank verkiezen boven een Erlebnis als deze…

(Geschreven voor Jimmy Alter)