steamboat/photo:gaia bartolini
Steamboat Switzerland
Zone 2 is a one track experimental/performance CD, recorded live (2005, mixed 2006, mastered 2007) on multitrack in Switzerland. It incorporates piano (or is that the Bösendorfer Imperial), drums, electronics and some wind instrument sounds. The rhythms are quite breathtaking and present a very tense atmosphere. The almost constant “peepings” of the first 5 or 6 minutes, which integrate often and sometimes retort in a question-answer style with the high piano create tension that wouldn’t be amiss in a John Carpenter, Hammer House of Horrors film. The electronics are highly textured, but spatially quite far away. I tried to figure out if the piano was intended as a lead instrument here, it is quite prominent, as the piano often is, but against the textured electronics, it is sometimes hidden. In some sections to the piano has been “gated” or compressed which deludes and destructs the only real “pure” sound of the performance (excluding the drums which rise in and out of the texture). My iTunes gave this a Jazz genre, I wouldn’t agree completely, although the drums and piano suggest Jazz a lot, I would say the composition overall sits in the Experimental genre. Although this feels “Free-form”, it must have a certain framework and guidelines as there are many crescendos and diminuendos, frenetic and lazy sections and also the instruments always somehow seem in harmony, regardless of their discordant nature and temperance. Pulses are a key theme in this, there is a vibe projected, even when there are huge chromatic and dynamic differences. I think that this comes from the electronics, the waving and pulsating sounds breath a biological life into the music. It’s sometimes hard to remember it is done “on-the-fly” and not heavily processed in a studio environment. Towards the end is a very special part for me, some didjeridoo and very bassy overlaps. This is an earthy feeling, a unity with the land.
This CD kind of makes the hippie in me more prevalent, I feel like letting my hair grow (even longer), selling my things and living out of a van (natural fuelled of course), whilst following solstices and other such sun / moon occurrences.
The second CD I have is Live (recorded 1997-98) is a mix, some recorded live on 8-track, in Paris, some recorded in a studio in Faverolles on 24-track analogue, but I would guess digitally mixed and mastered. Although a note I must point out in capital letters is that NO DIGITAL SOUND SOURCES WERE USED ON THIS RECORD. Instrumentation wise we have a Hammond, a classic MS-20, an E-Bass and Lucas on crazy drums and percussion. The first track starts off as I would expect, drone-y, wave-y, phase-y, but then the drums kick in along with guitar in an almost metal way, but then switch after two bars, then switch again, it almost sounds as if I have an analogue radio tuner. It’s very exciting. The electronic elements are again there, mumbling and bumbling away in the background. Some of the tracks on here are very electronic and minimal, and again pleasantly fuse natural instruments such as the bass guitar and drums with synth. I think this is my favourite CD of the 2, it has in parts a 70’s vibe, I can almost see heavily bearded men stabbing daggers into Hammond organs and smashing away on low tuned drum kits. It’s very energetic in places this one and also quite fast tempo, not sure what, I’d guess maybe up to 140 in places. There’s a great composition by Ruth Crawford that made me think my computer was broken. Modem-esque and Theremin style sounds interweaved with intermittent sounds that to me resemble out of control hard drives. You’ve got to love that MS-20, seriously, check out track 6, it takes it to the limit.
Totally enjoyed both of these CDs for mainly their joining of natural and more synthetic sources but I will definitely listen to the Live album again, and again, and again.....
steamboat/photo:gaia bartolini
Steamboat Switzerland: Zone 2 - Grob 859/A-Musik
Steamboat Switzerland: Live - Unit Records/A-Musik
