From the composer:
“field” is an exploration in treating MIDI piano (in the form of a controller + MIDI piano data) as if a real piano: executing human, repetitive strokes as an imperfect, but constant signal on the MIDI keyboard in order to create and coalesce resonances and drones sans the actual, physical acoustic vessel. With its resultant, near-organic textures, “field” re-frames what is real/artificial, and what is human/not.
Recorded live in Max/MSP with a MIDI keyboard controller, with minimal editing in Peak.
From the composer:
“Rufesec started off with some guitar recording I found on an old harddrive. I was drawn to the droney nature of the recordings and wanted to build up a track around the idea of combining sounds based on their distinctive timbral/textural qualities rather than pitch and harmony. Using field recordings as sound sources I was able to create granular and noise textures that I felt worked well with the processed guitar layers. The inherent temporal events of the field recordings are used to dictate the form of the piece.”
“Temporal,” by Canadian composer Damian Valles, is a long-form track composed of field recordings, strings, and percussion which have been processed using real-time granulation.
Check out this Acts of Silence review of JD Zazie “Naherholung Playtime.”
JD Zazie: turntable, mixer, CD’s.
Excerpt from the live set at Naherholung, Berlin. Recorded on February 5, 2012. Produced by Phonopolis (March 2012.)
Special thanks to: Trophies, Burp Enterprise, Mat Pogo, WJ Meatball, Semerssuaq, Wet ‘n Wild, Penates, Jealousy Party, Sonata Rec, Nicolas Wiese, Letizia Renzini, Tuned City Tallinn, Carsten Stabenow, Felicity Ford, Daniel Allen, Kadi Pilt, Kaisa Sammelselg, Lewis McGuffie, Patrick McGinley, John Grzinich and Olaf Schäfer.
To usher in the New Year we are proud to announce the first edition AoW zine! These have been limited to 50 numbered copies only. There are 5 different colored covers and 20 pages of xeroxed collage art mayhem (including an exclusive illustration from artist Britt Randle). Each zine comes housed in a clear poly bag and some AoW vinyl stickers are thrown in to boot. Get ‘um while they last! A portion of the proceeds will benefit Creative Commons & the Internet Archive.
Check out the Avant Music News review of Anton Lukoszevieze “For Fred Sandback.”
As year #2 of AoW comes to a close, I thought I would impart a few words of thanks and appreciation for yet another inspiring round of releases and interactions. I started all this in January 2011 on a complete drop-of-a-hat whim and honestly did not expect how truly satisfying the whole process would ultimately become for me. We had 14 amazing releases this year alone, bringing our total to 37. These have come to us from composers that truly span the globe: United States, Canada, UK, Germany, Bahrain, Japan, Switzerland, Mexico, Peru. The support from all of these artists is what makes AoW so unique, and what has propelled me to continue.
For Absence of Wax to continue thriving, we can certainly use any and all word-of-mouth support…sharing our links on Twitter, Facebook, + your own blogs or websites. Spreading the good word will help this network to expand in even more meaningful ways. All the material on AoW is made available for free download or streaming. The intent here has always been to offer an easy platform for exposing people to different forms of experimental/improvised music. Even with 37 releases under our belt, i know this is just the tip of the iceberg. I come across more & more inspiring musicians every week.
It’s exciting to think about what’s ahead in 2013! Until then…thank you all again & Happy Holidays!
“Aimer la concrescence” from Montreal, Canada-based composer Alexandre St-Onge is the result of a sound performance based on multiple translations of fragile destruction.
Disquiet.com has reviewed the latest release from Anton Lukoszevieze! Check it out here.
Check out this review of Phil Julian “Recent Errors” on Acts of Silence.
Check out a review of Pillowdiver “flames” on A Closer Listen!
From the composer:
“The track uses samples of a guitar recording I made in preparation for a live gig. Instruments used were a Jazzmaster, Delay, Reverb- and Distortion pedals into a looper.
I slowed some of the samples down and arranged them within the computer, using some more processing, mainly Plug-Ins by Valhalla Dsp.”
Acts of Silence has reviewed “Wall Gods” by Hasan Hujairi. Check it out here.
From the composer:
“The process behind compiling this work was that of a narrated improvisation that also felt intuitive to me. In one sense, this logic is related to my own understanding of taqasim (or ‘improvisations’ in maqam music theory) and how I approach abstract forms of narration through music.
Although I used some now common software such as Ableton Live, Max 6, and Audacity, the process was not a drag-and-drop affair. The recording was done on the fly after the elements were semi-organized. Each of the sounds, which I treat as meaningful objects, has a role to play in the work. After playing with different combinations of sounds and elements, I tried to strip down the work to only using the most essential sounds needed for the work. Aside from the software I mentioned, the work centers around two major elements that appear in the beginning, middle, and ending of the work: field recordings with a particularly personal meaning, and a synthesizer I built while on residency in Seoul, South Korea. The synthesizer, which I call “Oyster/Pacemaker”, is comprised of two circuit boards (one is analog and the other is digital) that feed into each other. One of the curiosities of the “Oyster/Pacemaker” is the analog inputs are controlled by light sensors, which is why the sound is not evenly tempered. I also ran the synthesizer through a feedback loop, which I controlled through my mixer’s gain levels. At certain points, I also used different forms of granular synthesis, beat glitch in a 7/4 time signature at 72bpm, and a recurring melody that appears on a harp-like instrument and a xylophone.”
Check out this review of “Manataka” by Josh Varnedore on the Acts of Silence website!
Composer Josh Varnedore currently resides in the Hot Springs national park area of Arkansas. The ancient native americans gathered in these valleys for thousands of years, and called it “Manataka” (Place of Peace). This piece is Varnedore’s sonic offering to these spiritual surroundings.
