EAI

[jon abbey]

http://www.erstwhilerecords.com/catalog.asp

Titles from Erstwhile the label, not Erstwhile the distributor, I'm assuming?

rod

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Now playing: Tetzui Akiyama - T.T.

yes, sorry, that's why it says "only good for all-Erstwhile orders". we have very small margins on most of the other stuff we stock...

what's T.T.? is that an individual track name?

[sonic1]

Had to endure some yelling at when I went over my music budget this month, again.

But Traci! It was a SALE! Finally we agreed to up my budget. I am a spoiled bitch. Course, it's money I made, but that is beside the point...

For anyone who has yet to spend money on an Erstwhile, you really cannot go wrong. These are really good albums. I have yet to be disappointed.

[jon abbey]

your wife's name is Traci? try to get her to listen to ErstLive 003 with you when you play it for the first time...

[WD45]

Jason Bivens reviews five items from the Creative Sources label at Dusted Magazine this week.

Not exactly eai, but akin, yes?

Apologies for again plugging Dusted. You'd think I work there...

[Guest Chaney]

And speaking of Dusted: Structured Spontaneity: ErstLive Series 1-4

[WD45]

And speaking of Dusted: Structured Spontaneity: ErstLive Series 1-4

[sonic1]

I will be giving some reactions to some EAI albums I have been listening to:

Axel Dörner/Kevin Drumm

erstwhile 015

personnel:

Axel Dörner: trumpet

Kevin Drumm: guitar, electronics

Axel Dörner is quickly becoming one of my new favorite voices in EAI. His vocabulary is very similar to Ami Yoshida. However in the recordings I have heard of the two, Dörner is more successful than Yoshida at becoming part of the music as a whole (just my opinion).

At the beginning of this album Dörner starts off with his wispy thuds in front of Drumm's short lived drone. As the album starts off I actually find Drumm's playing a bit much. I prefer it when he sticks to one voice for a little longer than he did starting off this album. His playing comes off as a little A.D.D. There are times when his spasmotic tinkering swamps Dörner. I find it more interesting when he sticks to something rather than just throwing out a lot of undigestible attacks.

But as the album progresses they seem to accomplish some sort of unity, making exchanges of statements. Or maybe I got accustomed to the short-lived statements by each musician. At any rate they seem to work together much better especially about 10 minutes into the first track.

Drumm also starts to modulate into his noisier statments rather than just barging in which seems to work better in this recording. He also begins to make statements on the guitar that are somewhat faded, some which will come to the surface and others that stay in the background-sort of like the photo on the cover of the album, a sign with one very highly contrasted stencil, with the other side being faded. His guitar playing is very different from what I have heard on most EAI albums. It is refreshing.

There is a wide spectrum of volume on this album. If you listen to it with a lot of background noise some of the more quiet parts of the album will get lost without turning the volume way up. Driving to work I could not hear these parts of the album well. When I got home I listened again and there was a lot of stuff going on that the traffic noise drowned out.

I particulary like a few sections where it seems Axel Dörner sprays out fine thin threads out into blackness. There is also some really great but unfortunately undescribable guitar work in some of those silent passages.

In general I really like this album and have been playing it a lot since I got it. I am especially looking forward to hearing more from Dörner. I am familiar with Drumm from the BoxMedia label. His work on this album is much more strongly stated than I have heard before. It is almost if not already out of print. So if you want to hear it you better hurry and get it. Otherwise you will have to beg Abbey to reissue it and wait a while.

[Joe]

Re: Dorner / Drumm.

This is still probably my least favorite of the Erstwhile releases I have heard. I just don't find the musicians' sonic choices all that interesting here.

As much as I like Dorner's work in the "lowercase" idiom -- hear him on Xavier Charles' THE CONTEST OF PLEASURES -- I think he excels the more his playing edges toward conventional timbres and phrases. Cf. Johansson's SIX LITTLE PIECES FOR QUINTET, the Territory Band stuff, or The Electrics' CHAIN OF ACCIDENTS.

Me, I'm really digging what Matt Davis is doing on his instrument.

[John B]

I agree with Joe. Axel Dörner/Kevin Drumm has yet to click with me. In fact, neither of the Drumm discs on Erstwhile are anything I return to regularly. I'm not counting The Hands of Caravaggio, as I don't consider it to be a "Drumm" disc. For Drumm I would very highly recommend Sheer Hellish Miasma which is, to my ears, his masterpiece so far. Land of Lurches is also very good, as is the orange disc on Charizma with Fennesz, Siewert, O'Rourke, et all.

For Dörner I would recommend the excellent A View From the Window over this disc.

Edited February 18, 2005 by John B

[sonic1]

I really like A View From the Window and agree with most of what is said of the above. I have yet to really check out a lot of the "lowercase" idiom. I appreciate the recs.

Joe, elaborate on Matt Davis?

[Joe]

Jared -- Davis is London-based, "extended techniques" trumpet player. Lots of aspiration sounds, working with brass resonance (as opposed to notes). But I've been consistently impressed with the force and weight of his playing. Even when it is very fragile.

The compilation of complimentary reviews for the Davis / Durrant / Wastell OPEN disc that Jon Abbey has available from the Erstwhile site is as good a place to start as any:

http://www.erstwhilerecords.com/catalog/re.../032_review.asp

Davis recent collaboration with Joel Stern -- SMALL INDUSTRY on the l'innomable label -- is also very, very good.

http://www.linnomable.com/RELEASES/releases.htm

If you're really a glutton for punishment, there is a review of this last at the Bagatellen site.

[jon abbey]

I'm not especially crazy about the Dorner/Drumm record myself, those guys had (what I thought was) much better material that they could have used, but I was outvoted (ignored). the Drumm/Tetreault, on the other hand, I think is great. I recommended Sheer Hellish Miasma to Jared earlier today on JC, I think that one will blow him away.

I like Matt Davis also, but he barely plays trumpet on open, he mostly sticks to electronics there.

Axel is amazing live, it's tough to document his experimental playing well on disc. I have a proposed project in the works with him that would be very interesting if it coalesces, I think.

[John B]

There is a really good review of the first four ErstLive discs posted over at Stylus now.

The author, Ed Howard, posts quite bit over at IHM and has released some really good solo laptop records of his own.

[John B]

Has anyone here heard Tony Oxley's disc Floating Phantoms?

Here is what I posted over in the Funny Rat thread:

Remniscent of AMM, but far more indebted to european free improvisation. It has many sounds that evoke Keith Rowe, AMM, MIMEO / John Tilbury's The Hands of Caravaggio, while still keeping it's feet firmly planted in the FMP / Emanem "scene." On first listen I'm not sure every piece is completely succesful, but I found enough of interest to keep me coming back for more listens. I also think this disc might make for a good "get your feet wet" album for someone interested in eai who is coming from a jazz background and isn't ready for pure sinewaves quite yet.

[.:.impossible]

JB, can you recommend me some Brandlmayr? I love Too Beautiful To Burn. Anyone else with recommendations is obviously

welcome!

Thanks!

[jon abbey]

get Radian-Rec.Extern (Thrill Jockey), then get their newest one, Juxtaposition (also Thrill Jockey), I think they work much better if you hear them in that order. off to see them at Tonic in an hour, very excited!

[.:.impossible]

Jon! Very timely. Thank you for the recommendations. Is this a Save Tonic thing? I will be in NYC next weekend. Any recommedations?

[jon abbey]

Jon! Very timely. Thank you for the recommendations. Is this a Save Tonic thing? I will be in NYC next weekend. Any recommedations?

no, not a benefit set, although they ended up combining it with the previous set which was and making it one admission, so I'm not sure.

next weekend in NYC, assuming you're still here Sunday, this should be well worth your while:

barnes/mota/weisblat/kajiwara/garcia

Sunday, March 27, 2005

8:00 p.m.

tim barnes (percussion) + manuel mota (guitar) + barry weisblat (home made electronics) + toshio kajiwara (turntables) + margarida garcia (bass)

http://www.issueprojectroom.org/events.html

[John B]

JB, can you recommend me some Brandlmayr? I love Too Beautiful To Burn. Anyone else with recommendations is obviously

welcome!

Thanks!

what jon abbey said, plus I would also rcommend:

Trapist - Highway My Friend (Hat) Martin Brandlmayr (drums, percussion), Martin Siewert (guitar, lapsteel, electronics), Joe Williamson (bass)

Die Instabilitat der Symmetrie (Grob) Martin Brandlmayr/Werner Dafeldecker/Stefan Nemeth/Martin Siewert

Both are fantastic albums featuring both musicians from Too Beautiful To Burn. The Radian disc would be the easiest to track down, and is a great place to start.