FENNESZ: Aun (Ash International)

themilkman on Aug 9th 2012 01:51 am

Fennesz: AUN

FENNESZ
Aun
ASH95
Ash International 2012
15 Tracks. 52mins29secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

Christian Fennesz is well known for creating dense textured pieces from processed electric guitars, and his live sets are often extremely intense experiences, the music so loud that it is primarily felt racing deep down through the body. But the Austrian-born experimental guitarist has for some time been exploring a much more ethereal and gentle side to his work, most notably recently with Ryuichi Sakamoto. It is exactly this side that Fennesz chose for his soundtrack to Austrian director Edgar Honetschläger’s feature film Aun: The Beginning And The End Of All Things, a tale of how mankind is at once fascinated by, and fearful of, the future.

Fennesz provides a particularly striking atmospheric soundtrack here, composed in majority of short sonic vignettes, some merely developing into drone sequences, others left to grow and incorporate fragments of melodies or, at least, tonal variations. Continue Reading »

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FENNESZ + SAKAMOTO: Flumina (Touch)

themilkman on Feb 3rd 2012 01:12 am

Fennesz + Sakamoto: Flumina

FENNESZ + SAKAMOTO
Flumina
TONE46
Touch 2011
24 Tracks. 124mins06secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

Flumina is the third collaboration between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christian Fennesz, following Sala Santa Cecilia (2005) and Cendre (2007), and, with twenty-four tracks spread over two discs, it is also by far their most extensive. The project began when Sakamoto was touring in Japan some time ago; opening each one of the twenty-four shows of the tour with a different improvisation, each played in a different key to cover the complete steps of the western tonal system, and documenting them all, he then sent his recordings to Christian Fennesz in Vienna for him to add textures and ambiences before the pair reconvened in New York to mix the record. Continue Reading »

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THE 2010 REVIEW

themilkman on Dec 19th 2010 08:49 pm

The 2010 Review

As 2010 bows out, it is time to look back on a year that has been rich in new music, some from very well established artists, and some from entirely new comers. Here are themilkfactory’s twenty favourite records of the year, and this year for the first time, this list is augmented with thirty other records that have marked the year.

With no less than four albums in the top 20, the year belonged to Rune Grammofon, and more particularly to Supersilent, who occupy two places, including the top spot. Room40 also place two albums in the twenty best records on 2010, while new imprints Desire Path, Hibernate and Textura also feature with some strong releases.
Continue Reading »

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FENNESZ DANIELL BUCK: Knoxville (Thrill Jockey)

themilkman on Aug 4th 2010 01:41 am

Fennesz Daniell Buck: Knoxville

FENNESZ DANIELL BUCK
Knoxville
THRILL246
Thrill Jockey 2010
04 Tracks. 31mins07secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP US: CD | LP Norman Records: CD | LP

Improvisation is an art form which Christian Fennesz, David Daniell and Tony Buck have made theirs in their respective field. Recorded live at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee at the beginning of last year, this album documents the trio’s first ever performance as an ensemble. Having never performed before was never going to be an issue for these three veterans of live improvisation. On one side is Australian drummer and percussionist extraordinaire Tony Buck, best known as one third of The Necks, with whom he has been performing and recording for twenty years. On the other are Atlanta-born David Daniell, who, beside his solo work, has collaborated with an impressive number of musicians over the years, from Thurston Moore and Douglas McCombs to Greg Davis or Sylvain Chauveau, and Austrian experimental guitarist and laptop artist Christian Fennesz, whose list of collaborators is equally as impressive, including people as diverse as Jim O’Rourke, Peter Rehberg, David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto or, recently, Sylvain Chauveau and Steven Hess.

Knoxville barely makes it to the half hour mark, but the trio pack in an incredible lot during that time Continue Reading »

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FOOD: Quiet Inlet (ECM Records)

themilkman on Apr 20th 2010 11:55 pm

Food: Quiet Inlet

FOOD
Quiet Inlet
2734919
ECM Records 2010
07 Tracks. 46mins58secs

Amazon UK: CD iTunes: DLD

Formed around the nucleus of British saxophonist Iain Ballamy and Norwegian drummer and percussionist extraordinaire Thomas Strønen, Food once also counted trumpet player Arve Henriksen and bass player Mats Eilertsen as permanent members. The quartet debuted over twelve years ago when Ballamy joined the three Norwegian musicians for a one-off performance on stage. A self-titled album, then a second, Organic & GM Food, two years on, followed, both published on Ballamy’s short-lived Feral Records, before the quartet moved to Rune Grammofon, where they released two more albums, Veggie (2002) and Last Supper (2004), before both Henriksen and Eilertsen left, leaving Ballamy and Strønen sole in charge for the 2006 album Molecular Gastronomy. Continue Reading »

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Fennesz/Grouper/Natural Snow Buidlings, St Giles In The Fields, London, 4/11/2009

themilkman on Nov 4th 2009 01:11 am

Fennesz/Grouper/Natural Snow Buidlings, St Giles In The Fields, London, 4/11/2009

Natural Snow Building is a French duo formed of Mehdi Ameziane and classically trained cellist and pianist Solange Gularte, who met over a decade ago in Paris and whose records, often released in very limited quantities, have gained much praise and respect since. Opening the hostilities for this performance at St Giles in the Fields church, niched in the heart of London’s West End between Soho and Covent Garden, Natural Snow Building spent the major part of their set weaving layers of distorted guitars into a tapestry of dissonant drones, Ameziane and Gularte apparently evolving in their own universe, but converging to a central point. Ameziane provided the bulk of the cloud of noise, Gularte knitting faux melodic features over the top, until the distortion dissipated unexpectedly to leave just a few guitar textures floating in mid air. A ghostly voice then rose from the debris of the previous twenty or so minutes, feminine in aspect, yet belonging to Ameziane, who over the last few minutes of the set blew a gentle breeze over a rather stunned audience.

An Autumnal chill came down on St Giles with the next set, as a persistent wind engulfed the venue, catching distant vocals in its grip while shadows of leaves blown in all directions were projected onto the back of the church.  Rising from this seasonal setting, a lone guitar materialised for a moment before a gentle loop took its place, providing the backdrop for the voice to lie in. Continue Reading »

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VARIOUS ARTISTS: Musique Pour Statues Menhirs (Arbouse Recordings)

themilkman on Jun 5th 2009 12:53 am

V/A: Musique Pour Statues Menhirs

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Musique Pour Statues Menhirs
ARBOU026
Arbouse Recordings 2009
21 Tracks. 123mins59secs

The musée Fenaille, in Rodez, South of France, is an archaeological museum which has in its collection a wide array of ‘statues menhirs’, or carved stones which are the first known life-size representations of man. Local record label Arbouse Recordings commissioned a number of artists to create a soundtrack for the museum collection, each providing one track to the project, and three of them were later invited to perform live in the museum.

The panel of musicians and sound artists invited to take part to the project is extremely diverse, with the likes of Fennesz, Benoît Pioulard, John Hughes, Sylvain Chauveau, Greg Davis, Schneider TM, Mapstation, Mira Calix or Jasper TX, rubbing shoulders with less known contributors such as ww.lowman, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Astrïd, Serafina Steer, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma or Orla Wren to create a truly evocative and sumptuous document Continue Reading »

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VARIOUS ARTISTS: Touch 25 (Touch)

themilkman on Aug 9th 2006 07:29 pm

Various Artists: Touch 25

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Touch 25
TONE25
Touch 2006
25 Tracks. 79mins43secs

With a solid twenty-five years at the forefront of contemporary music, releasing music by artists as diverse as The Hafler Trio, Sweet Exorcist, Sandoz, Oren Ambarchi, Chris Watson, Scala, Philip Jeck, Mika Vainio, Biosphere, Christian Fennesz, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Ryoji Ikeda or BJ Nilsen to name but a fraction, Touch have collected one of the most impressive and inspired catalogues around, encompassing a wide array of genres, from noise to post-modern classical, ambient and electronic.

To celebrate this massive slab of work, the label, founded in 1982 by Jon Wozencroft Mike Harding, Nevelle Brody and Andrew McKenzie, of Hafler Trio fame, have put together a collection of twenty-five exclusive tracks from the likes of Biosphere, Fennesz, Pan Sonic, Chris Watson, Mark Van Hoen, Rafael Toral, Mother Tongue, BJ Nilsen, Philip Jeck and many more. Touch 25 doesn’t intend to document the label’s history, and only seems to give a vague and short insight into the various musical grounds covered by these artists, yet it is true to the label’s ethic in every way, from the instantly recognisable cover artwork, by Wozencroft to the depth and reach of each one of the tracks featured. Continue Reading »

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