Xu Cheng - Wild Fox Chants (Archival, 2009)

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Xu Cheng's Wild Fox Chants was brought to my attention by Danny's wonderful, but dormant, blog 'By Chance Upon Waking.' A couple things made me excited: first, logistically, it was free for download. I had not heard of Cheng, and I might not have been willing to shell out $20 for a disc of "prepared guitar" by an artist I hadn't heard of. By putting it out free on Archival, Cheng really sucked me in and made me a fan.

The second thing that got me interested was, of course, the "prepared guitar." Whenever I read "prepared" to describe an instrument, my mind naturally recalls John Cage's prepared piano pieces, and although the instruments are quite different, I think a familiarity with Cage's works could be a partial introduction to this. There are scrapes of the strings, tightened and loosened string, plucked more than struck. Indeed, large passages seem to center directly around various textured metals striking the strings as the tuning pegs loosen, then tighten, creating a tone variation that is both familiar and unique (in timing).

It should be said that this is not quite eai or microtonal, although a Keith Rowe fan might find something here to like. This, like most genres that require (instead of recommend) close listening, goes to great lengths to focus the listener on both newer compositional methods (variable timing, odd repetitions, atonal playing that highlights the percussive qualities of the instrument), and on the physical properties of the instrument (the sound of the bridge, the uses of the tuning pegs, the electronics in the pickups). In this way, the artist can heighten the listener's awareness of the inherent properties of the guitar, and work to dissolve the notions of "intuitive" playing. In short, it is not the intuitive way to pick up a guitar and play open chords. Rather, the intuitive way to play a guitar is to bat at it, twist its knobs, and shake it to effect reverberation.

Download.

Kaija Saariaho - L'Amour de Loin (Deutsche Grammophon, 2005)

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Composed in 1999 and premiered in 2000, L'Amour de Loin is Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's first opera. As a reinterpretation of Jaufré Rudel's La vida breve, Saariaho, along with librettist Amin Maalouf, tells a story of idealized love from afar. Set in the 12th century, through five acts, a jaded Parisian falls in love with a woman from Tripoli, whom he has never met. The male lead, Jaufré, travels to Tripoli to meet his distant lover, Clémence, but falls ill during the voyage. Upon arriving in the modern day Libya, Jaufré perishes in his lovers arms.

Although Saariaho fits nicely alongside the contemporary composition that litters this domain, L'Amour may not be the best introduction to Saariaho's work. In fact, I cast aside this piece on first listen earlier this year, finally revisiting it after having heard her Chamber Music and at Alex Ross' bequest. Kaija, having studied at IRCAM, should be of interest to Les espaces acoustiques adorers; however, to the best of my knowledge, Saariaho does not employ spectral techniques in L'Amour, nor in any of her other works.

At the time of this composition, both Saariaho and Maalouf -- a Lebanese also living in Paris -- were expatriates; most certainly, the two's experience with voluntary exile helped to warp this meditation on international obsession. I am still a recent convert to opera, but I can confidently say that L'Amour is a work that demands to be heard -- many commentators described it as a 21st century Tristan and Isolde.

Before I call it a day, some housekeeping. The release I have been describing is a performance at the Finnish National Opera. The label link directs you to Deutsche Grammophon's DVD release. Additionally, below, I have included a link to the audio from this DVD, for which I cannot find an official release.

Download.

Limpe Fuchs - Via (Dom, 1987)

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As sometimes happens, after I finished the upload I found out, while searching for the above links, that Mutant Sounds has already posted this record. However, if you listen to the record, you'll see that it generally fits with this site, and I know that some of you don't like Rapidshare, so I kept the post.

This post fits nicely with the Jocy and Hallett posts from earlier, ie. female vocals, sure, but vocals mixed with a wide array of sounds, presented in pieces that span several genres. The first track, for instance, gives off a sort of Nico vibe, with wavering vocals, almost ritualistic, layered on top of fluttering pulses and random noises and clicks. "Lines" follows, and has a distinctly early electronics feel, arpeggios flash back and forth like Christmas lights on a string, tempting you to screw up your perception by predicting or skipping ahead. These electronics (perhaps a manipulated synth?) resurface against a meandering violin in "Play," a track devoid of vocals for long stretches.

The last three tracks are a little more "out," seemingly focusing on the vocal manipulations we've seen from Meredith Monk, Ratkje, and several others on the blog, with these vocals more improvised against a varied backdrop of clicks and small instruments. I haven't heard anything after this by Fuchs, but apparently she is still very active. Her site link above is basically her CV, and the Mutant Sounds link provides a good overview of things she has done since this.

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As for the site, I am going to continue to revise entries as I can. I realized over the weekend that many people link to this site on their own blogs and sites. Additionally, many artists have used the blurbs I've typed up for their own sites. Since this site is about the musicians, and since I really appreciate their work, I want to give those artists better quality. Therefore, I am going to try to improve the posts that I know for certain have been used by artists on their own sites.

Likewise, if you link to KiC on your blog or site, I want you to use this comment box to give me a link to your blog or site so I can reciprocate. When I redid the template for this site, I lost my link box. I did not want to take it down, but I screwed up. Please help me to regenerate it!

Download.

Miguel Angel Coria - En rouge et noir (Cramps, 1976)

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We've interrupted this regularly scheduled broadcast for a re-blog from the fantastic and unjustly esoteric Twice Zonked!.

With releases from, among others, Cage, Bailey, Lucier, and Ashley, I suppose it is easy for Coria's breathtaking solo prepared piano work, En rouge et noir, to get lost among the Cramps shuffle. In addition to a continuous, approximately twenty minute long rendition, this release is also broken down into twelve discrete vignettes.

Coria violently commences in Materiali A, where the piano "almost sounds as though a rake head was laid inside." This approach, carried over through a few parts, resembles Derek Bailey at his most aggressive. As the Materiali progress from A to N, Coria's playing dissipates into sparser territory, with seemingly electro-acoustic elements in the middle sections. By happenstance, in my most recent playing, Martin Siewert & Martin Brandlmayr's Too Beautiful to Burn succeeded En rouge et noir. Siewert and Brandlmayr's first track, "Form", provided an excellent counterpoint, resembling Coria in sound, but obviously not in execution.

Although this LP was initially released in 1976 by Cramps, it has since been re-released by the aforementioned label in 2004, then by Strange Days in 2007 -- both in CD format. Seeing as neither label's site is in English, I feel it safe to provide a download link, from what I believe to be the 2004 issue. However, I linked to Strange Days, in hopes that our Japanese readers can find an in-print copy.

Download.

Aleph Naught - The Dreams In The Witch-House (Small Doses, 2009)

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This was limited to 66 copies, which the label page is showing are sold out. Given Aleph Naught has put out a couple free things online, I think it should be safe to pass this along. I was listening to this record, and looking stuff up on it when I learned that Anthony Mangicapra did the artwork for this. I met Anthony recently, and he was a great guy, really cool to talk with about music. I need to get around to reviewing his music, too. For the time being, I'll cover this album, which is an EP, to be more precise.

Some might call this dark ambient, and I see the dark aspect to it, but there is really no comparison to Lustmord or anything like that. This is more heavy, undulating synth drone, with the volume pushing beyond the canvass in redlining pulses, streaks of melody paradoxically high pitched, but pressed low in the mix. The feeling is that of attending a rehearsal of five minutes of Gubaidulina and sustaining blunt force trauma to the ear. The volume distorts the sound, the textures flatten and stretch, all the while pushed by a persistent, increasing melody below.

For the record, I don't like when distortion is used to sort of "cover things up," so to speak. I really enjoy the sound of static and distortion, obviously, but unless there is more, or unless it is fantastic distortion, it sort of makes the music anonymous or cheap. The flip side, with a few records I've posted, and this, is when it comes out natural, or measured, or fits with the piece (or whatever), it really can add something, both aesthetically, and intellectually. I think the things that I take the most from this is the static is a sort of framing mechanism for the core melody that I mentioned. It sort of encapsulates a central melody within a ring of static. That is, the sound distorts at certain volumes, and if you think about your speaker array as being able to organize air for a certain distance, that distance from your speaker, its outer reaches, is the frame. Here, the volume distorts at a certain level, and is at the forefront of the music, thus the outer border I'm talking about.

Very cool, short, and although not revolutionary, expertly executed.

Download.

Noveller - Red Rainbows (No Fun Productions, 2009)

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I'm making this entry to memorialize Sarah Lipstate's Noveller as the first entry of the new below section highlighting exceptional new releases. Like I said in the initial review, this section is going to highlight new releases, but not offer them for sharing (keeping with the loose policy of not posting anything in print, or less than 18 months old). When I get a new live review up (you should see the most recent review on the side bar), I will do the same for the live shows. Also, all download links from 2008 are removed. Some will be replaced following re-writes. I will link to those as they surface.

This is a very cool record, in part because it takes some of her partners/acolytes, and gives it a more emotional thrust. If you're into Rhys Chatham, or Glenn Branca, you'll find just as much to like as would any fan of looped, ambient swirls derived from layered picking and plucks. KILLED in CARS has posted a great deal of albums focusing solely on the piano, but slowly there has been a build of guitar-centered albums. As a guitar player myself, I am always on the lookout for records that are "guitar records" but are anything but simple fingerpicking or shredding exercises. Lipstate creates a beautiful record from very few elements, but don't let the scarcity of components throw you off: I considered this one of the most accomplished No Fun releases in large part because of the variety here. Lipstate captures that initial rush of creativity some feel when they get a new pedal, or stumble upon some of the more precious sounds a guitar can make. Alternately, she is unafraid to tune into some of the more menacing aspects of the guitar, the scraping noises it can make, its internal growl and hostility.

Please, by all means, visit her artist page, and try to catch her live. She is really putting out good stuff. I am so sad that I missed her show earlier this year at the Kitchen, but given the consistent quality of what's done there, and from the photos, I can safely say that Lipstate is taking full advantage of the artistic community in New York by working dance pieces, and exploring a host of the sounds that seem to pour out from all of the decaying brick boxes and smokey late night haunts this city has.

István Mártha - The Wind Rises [Hangnapló] (ReR, 1987)

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An album that I found for a couple reasons: both on the Adore the Freak list, and the atonelectric peripherals list Doc threw together, as well as general acclaim (despite the criminally low rating count). Birthed by strong musicians in play, the affair was pushed into a higher level by the decision to play/record outside. There are several ways to try to get out of your "habit energy" (a goal a lot of mid-20th century composers longed to achieve): play an instrument you're not familiar with, play with other musicians that you don't know, work in new genres, and aside from those, others get less at the musician-instrument or composition aspects of making music, and more at the mindset of the musicians. This is one of them. By simply going outside, the moods of the musicians seem to have changed, the nature of the recording took on the warmth of field recordings (actually, it sort of is a field recording, blurring the lines of what that actually means). For everyone trying to hide in the forest and still put out tapes, take note: knowing your jazz can mean all the difference.

Download.