mimaroglu music sales ☞ artists ☞ christof kurzmann

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previous artist: yoji kuri		there are 9 titles featuring christof kurzmann in stock. they are listed below.		next artist: eduardo kusnir

$13.25

back in stock as of
april 18th, 2008

first in stock on
october 18th, 2006

threads:
electro-acoustic-improvisation
digital-musics

erstwhile (usa) #erstwhile 047 cd

ami yoshida / christof kurzmann “a s o” compact disc

a s o

erstwhile press release...

ami yoshida voice, microphone
christof kurzmann lloopp, clarinet

ami yoshida and christof kurzmann are both well-respected artists within the international community, each performing in a wide range of contexts from abstract to pure pop. both are best known for their long-running duos, yoshida for cosmos (with sachiko m) and kurzmann for schnee (with burkhard stangl). this project finds them in far less comfortable territory, and a s o is the outcome of two years of hard work.

ami yoshida strives to create a pure sound, abstracting her voice until it becomes almost completely unrecognizable. she created her unique style with no conventional training, initially inspired by meredith monk. cosmos and astro twin (with utah kawasaki) are her two longest-running projects, and their split release won the 2003 ars electronica award. she has also recorded as a solo artist, most notably tiger thrush (imj), a kaleidoscopic catalog of 99 fragments. her small catalog almost exclusively finds her working with other tokyo-based musicians; a s o is one of her first releases to break that formula.

kurzmann has been a prominent part of both the vienna and (more recently) the berlin scenes over the past decade. as an organizer, he cofounded the phonotaktik festival, helped begin the prominent rhiz club in vienna, and runs the prestigious charhizma label. since moving to berlin in 2001, he has organized countless shows, including the berlin half of amplify 2004: addition. kurzmann has been an essential part of many erstwhile-related live events, in tokyo, berlin and the just concluded erstquake 3 in nyc, and was the first to work at amann studios for an erstwhile release, beginning a crucial relationship for the label.

a s o contains recordings from the first meeting of yoshida and kurzmann in march 2004. the collaboration was a difficult one, partly because of their wildly different backgrounds and partly because of the communication issues due to their language differences. four translators helped the project along over the course of the two years it took to make this record (taku unami, toshimaru nakamura, yuko zama and kae uchihashi). although it was a long and complicated journey, the end result is very organic and accomplished. a s o contains an extremely broad range of abstract approaches from both artists, resulting in a wildly different soundworld from any of their previous recordings, and has been beautifully captured as always by recording engineer christoph amann. the impeccably minimal yet lush cd design is by hirozumi takeda, utilizing images provided by asuna.

$13.25

back in stock as of
october 24th, 2007

first in stock on
december 18th, 2003

threads:
electro-acoustic-improvisation
digital-musics
guitar-themed

erstwhile (usa) #erstwhile 008 cd

burkhard stangl / christof kurzmann “schnee” compact disc

nordrand (15:16)
passion (14:01)
sans soleil (20:47)
in einem jahr mit 13 monden (23:47)

erstwhile press release...

christof kurzmann: g3
burkhard stangl: acoustic & electric guitars, percussion

stangl and christof kurzmann are both internationally known musicians from vienna. stangl is best known for being a member of the seminal improv group polwechsel, for his superb solo record récital, and for his five part, work-in-progress opera venusmond. kurzmann is a co-leader of orchester 33 1/3 with christian fennesz, runs charhizma records, and appears on the self-titled improv document cd on charhizma, along with fennesz and werner dafeldecker, with guest performances by kevin drumm, jim o'rourke, and martin siewert.

while both musicians have been involved in the viennese music scene since the late eighties, and have been friends just as long, their musical interests lay in different areas until fairly recently. they never played in the same band until kurzmann sat in with polwechsel in september of 1999 in nyc. when they returned to vienna, they recorded this duo record, inspired by four favorite movies of theirs and by a quote from swiss writer robert walser. schnee consists of four long soundscapes, with kurzmann's sedate electronics underpinning stangl's atmospheric plucking.

$23.56

back in stock as of
april 18th, 2008

first in stock on
february 19th, 2008

threads:
electro-acoustic-improvisation
digital-musics
modern-psych

erstwhile (usa) #erstpop 001 lp
erstpop (usa) #erstpop 001 lp

the magic i.d. “till my breath gives out” long playing record

true holiday (6:25)
feet deep (4:59)
wintersong (6:14)
martin fierro (3:02)
from the same road (8:13)
loopstück (12:57)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "loopstück"

february 2008 release ; the debut album by the quartet of christof kurzmann, margareth kammerer, michael thieke, and kai fagaschinski as the magic i.d. ... the formation of yet another erstwhile sub-label (following on the heels of erstlive and erstsolo) specifically for this release is telling, as is the fact that it’s the first erst to be released on vinyl (jon & co have done an excellent job here - the mastering/pressing quality is superb & the whole package is very eye-popping, esp. the gatefold [below] ...)

the reason for all of this? “till my breath gives out” is a pop-record - albeit one composed/performed by key members of the berlin electro-acoustic/free improvisation “scene” & strongly informed by the lexicon of sound-producing gestures that goes hand-in-hand with said. the instrumentation (guitar, laptop, two clarinets panned hard left / right) lends to a certain impressionistic flair ... the use of space & dissonant tonal clusters does remind me of that oft-cited mark hollis solo record, but not overtly so. kammerer’s vocal delivery is lovely & very much indebted to billie holiday, whereas kurzmann’s has more in common with tom rapp (mainly in that it’s a taste that, when acquired, ends up being very comforting) ... his plaintive guitar figures are simple & unadorned, the digital sequences pushed into the background for the most part. even thieke & fagaschinski’s dovetailing upper-register lines are made somehow more pleasant through their association with the breezy art-song herein ...

a very nice record; one of the few blendings of “experimental” music & song-form that i can get behind ...

erstwhile press release...

the magic i.d. till my breath gives out

erstpop 001

kai fagaschinski clarinet (right)
margareth kammerer vocals & guitars
christof kurzmann vocals, g3 and lloopp
michael thieke clarinet (left)

the magic i.d. is a berlin-based quartet exploring the juncture of song forms with abstract music. the band, consisting of margareth kammerer, christof kurzmann, kai fagaschinski and michael thieke, formed in summer 2005 after previously being connected via smaller groupings and projects. till my breath gives out is their debut release, and consists of six intricately constructed gems, each with its own individual shape, painstakingly sequenced to form a record that becomes more than the sum of its parts.

kammerer was born in italy and moved to berlin in 1994. she is deeply involved in the worlds of both theatre and music, and has a lengthy resume in both areas. her mostly solo album to be an animal of real flesh was released on charhizma in 2004, featuring collaborative tracks with axel dörner, chris abrahams and tatusya yoshida, as well as remixes from fred frith, philip jeck, bernhard fleischmann and kurzmann. her unique, distinctive voice has been underdocumented previously, but is showcased on till my breath gives out to riveting effect.

kurzmann has been a prominent part of both the vienna and (more recently) the berlin scenes over the past decade. as an organizer, he cofounded the phonotaktik festival, helped found the famous rhiz club in vienna, and runs the prestigious charhizma label. kurzmann has been an essential part of many erstwhile-related live events, in tokyo, berlin and nyc, and was the first to work at amann studios for an erstwhile release, beginning a crucial relationship for the label. his duo with burkhard stangl, schnee, is one of the core projects of erstwhile, with a third release for the label currently in preparation for release, and his duo with ami yoshida, a s o, is an underappreciated gem.

fagaschinski has leapt to prominence in the improv world over the last few years, with well-received duo projects such as los glissandinos (w/klaus filip), the international nothing (w/thieke) and kommando raumschiff zitrone (w/kurzmann). his music is rooted in abstraction, but with an increasingly insidious melodious element. this is his first erstwhile release, and his second is already in the works, a duo disc with stangl.

thieke was born in düsseldorf and moved to berlin in 1993. he works in a wide range of styles in the jazz and improv worlds, from a mingus tribute to a collective trio on ayler records (w/christian weber and michael griener) to his own unununium project on charhizma to the aforementioned the international nothing w/fagaschinski, ranging from free blowing to sparse, pointillistic abstraction, from fully improvised to fully composed.

the six pieces contained here are precise collective compositions, three by the full quartet, and one from each of the three potential “duos” (the two clarinets form one twinned instrument). till my breath gives out expands song forms through the prism of experimental sensibilities and meshes the two remarkably fluidly. the design has been sourced from a photograph taken by gianmarco bresadola in alexanderplatz, berlin, and stunningly reconceived by berlin designer marion gerth.

till my breath gives out is being released simultaneously in two formats: foldout digipak cd and gatefold 180g vinyl. the content and the running order are identical; the lp version was mastered slightly differently to better fit the format. the lp is an edition of 500 copies; the cd is unlimited and inexpensive.

$13.25

back in stock as of
april 18th, 2008

first in stock on
february 19th, 2008

threads:
electro-acoustic-improvisation
digital-musics
modern-psych
folk

erstwhile (usa) #erstpop 001 cd
erstpop (usa) #erstpop 001 cd

the magic i.d. “till my breath gives out” compact disc

true holiday (6:25)
feet deep (4:59)
wintersong (6:14)
martin fierro (3:02)
from the same road (8:13)
loopstück (12:57)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "loopstück"

cd version (sound-sample is from the lp) ; but again, erstwhile went through all the trouble of getting this one out on vinyl as well, so i’m going to recommend going that route if you have the capacity / sense to do so ...

erstwhile press release...

the magic i.d. till my breath gives out

erstpop 001

kai fagaschinski clarinet (right)
margareth kammerer vocals & guitars
christof kurzmann vocals, g3 and lloopp
michael thieke clarinet (left)
the magic i.d. is a berlin-based quartet exploring the juncture of song forms with abstract music. the band, consisting of margareth kammerer, christof kurzmann, kai fagaschinski and michael thieke, formed in summer 2005 after previously being connected via smaller groupings and projects. till my breath gives out is their debut release, and consists of six intricately constructed gems, each with its own individual shape, painstakingly sequenced to form a record that becomes more than the sum of its parts.

kammerer was born in italy and moved to berlin in 1994. she is deeply involved in the worlds of both theatre and music, and has a lengthy resume in both areas. her mostly solo album to be an animal of real flesh was released on charhizma in 2004, featuring collaborative tracks with axel dörner, chris abrahams and tatusya yoshida, as well as remixes from fred frith, philip jeck, bernhard fleischmann and kurzmann. her unique, distinctive voice has been underdocumented previously, but is showcased on till my breath gives out to riveting effect.

kurzmann has been a prominent part of both the vienna and (more recently) the berlin scenes over the past decade. as an organizer, he cofounded the phonotaktik festival, helped found the famous rhiz club in vienna, and runs the prestigious charhizma label. kurzmann has been an essential part of many erstwhile-related live events, in tokyo, berlin and nyc, and was the first to work at amann studios for an erstwhile release, beginning a crucial relationship for the label. his duo with burkhard stangl, schnee, is one of the core projects of erstwhile, with a third release for the label currently in preparation for release, and his duo with ami yoshida, a s o, is an underappreciated gem.

fagaschinski has leapt to prominence in the improv world over the last few years, with well-received duo projects such as los glissandinos (w/klaus filip), the international nothing (w/thieke) and kommando raumschiff zitrone (w/kurzmann). his music is rooted in abstraction, but with an increasingly insidious melodious element. this is his first erstwhile release, and his second is already in the works, a duo disc with stangl.

thieke was born in düsseldorf and moved to berlin in 1993. he works in a wide range of styles in the jazz and improv worlds, from a mingus tribute to a collective trio on ayler records (w/christian weber and michael griener) to his own unununium project on charhizma to the aforementioned the international nothing w/fagaschinski, ranging from free blowing to sparse, pointillistic abstraction, from fully improvised to fully composed.

the six pieces contained here are precise collective compositions, three by the full quartet, and one from each of the three potential “duos” (the two clarinets form one twinned instrument). till my breath gives out expands song forms through the prism of experimental sensibilities and meshes the two remarkably fluidly. the design has been sourced from a photograph taken by gianmarco bresadola in alexanderplatz, berlin, and stunningly reconceived by berlin designer marion gerth.

till my breath gives out is being released simultaneously in two formats: foldout digipak cd and gatefold 180g vinyl. the content and the running order are identical; the lp version was mastered slightly differently to better fit the format. the lp is an edition of 500 copies; the cd is unlimited and inexpensive.

$13.25

back in stock as of
october 24th, 2007

first in stock on
july 18th, 2005

threads:
electro-acoustic-improvisation
concert-recordings
guitar-themed
digital-musics

erstwhile (usa) #erstlive 003 cd
erstlive (usa) #erstlive 003 cd

burkhard stangl / christof kurzmann “erstlive 003” compact disc

(33:03)

erstwhile press release...

burkhard stangl guitars, electronic devices, backing vocals
christof kurzmann g3, electronics, vocals

erstlive 003 is from the duo of burkhard stangl and christof kurzmann, titled 'schnee_live', the final show on the last night of amplify 2004: addition. stangl and kurzmann began working as a duo in late 1999, releasing schnee in 2000, and playing numerous concerts over the past four years throughout europe, the us, and asia. schnee_live documents how much their duo has changed since the initial recording of schnee, which was the first time they ever played together as a duo.

$16.72

back in stock as of
november 20th, 2007

first in stock on
january 3rd, 2007

threads:
electro-acoustic-improvisation
free-improvisation

ftarri (japan) #ftarri 222 cd

the international nothing “mainstream” compact disc

einfache freuden (7:37)
we already know . . . (6:03)
wenn alles wehtut und nichts mehr geht (8:31)
feathered machine song (7:18)
and the morning (5:50)
rollig (6:34)
lovetone (9:16)
hauntissimo (for lucy & richard stoltzmann) (4:47)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "mainstream"

ftarri press release...

the international nothing
mainstream
ftarri-222

the international nothing
kai fagaschinski: clarinet (right)
michael thieke: clarinet (left)

guests
margareth kammerer: voice, guitar (5)
derek shirley: double bass (7, right)
christian weber: double bass (7, left)
christof kurzmann: remix with additional voice (8)

all compositions by kai fagaschinski and michael thieke, except "and the morning" by kai, michael and margareth kammerer, "lovetone" by kai, michael, christian weber and derek shirley, and "hauntissimo" by christof kurzmann

recorded by michael at kule (1-4, 6), at maggy's flat (5), at derek's flat (7), and by christof at his flat (8), all in berlin between july 2003 and june 2005
the duo pieces recorded with the kind help of nicholas bussmann
mixed by michael and kai
mastered by martin siewert at motone sound services, vienna
cover designed by tanabemse
packaged in a cardboard jacket

mainstream is the debut album of the international nothing--the duo project of kai fagaschinski and michael thieke, two berlin-based clarinetists who are composers as well as improvisers. all eight of the tracks on this recording are composed works. in addition to five pieces focusing on the resonance of the mellow, limpid timbres produced by the two clarinets, there are a couple of tracks seasoned with songlike elements and vocalization by guest musicians, and one tune featuring two contrabass players. the album as a whole offers just the right amount of diversity and breadth. guest musicians are margareth kammerer (voice, guitar - track 5), christof kurzmann (remix, voice - track 8), derek shirley (contrabass - track 7), and christian weber (contrabass - track 7). mainstream is the first release from the new label ftarri, an offshoot of the improvised music from japan label.

$20.47

new to stock as of
march 17th, 2008

threads:
electro-acoustic-improvisation
guitar-themed

musica genera (poland) #mg 002 cd

taku sugimoto / burkhard stangl / christof kurzmann “in tokyo. first concert • second take” compact disc

untitled (1) (26:52)
untitled (2) (22:40)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "untitled (2)"

musica genera press release...

mg 002 : sugimoto / stangl / kurzmann
"in tokyo. first concert - second take"

taku sugimoto plays: electric guitar and 6-string bass guitar
burkhard stangl plays: electric and acoustic guitars
christof kurzmann plays: g3 and clarinet

date: april 10, 2001
live at: off site, tokyo
recorded by: taku sugimoto and tetuzi akiyama
compositions by: sugimoto, stangl and kurzmann

much of what has been said, has been already said in perfect form. for today's artist nothing else remains than to do what seems to be the artist's task: to repeatedly express the topoi, which cover the spiritual, mental and emotional status of mankind to represent them as well as to make them visible. and to make clear, that the development of tools, devices, or technology in total (or productive strength, as marx called it) only shows one part of the human continuation. one of the elements mankind invented to represent itself as a whole - the artistic expression - is engraved on this cd. on their cd "live in tokyo. first concert, second take" the three musicians taku sugimoto, burkhard stangl and christof kurzmann develop a fine sonic network of touching commitment, leaving enough space for interpretation. the semantics of the language they knit seemlessly unfolds into music. the restraint melancholy which is resonant at all times and the disturbed gentleness, which is inherent in all of the sounds remind us of the romanian-french writer e.m.cioran, who said: "music, this system of seperations, leaves you thinking about physics, whose starting point would not be the seperated atoms, but tears".

taku sugimoto: a guitarist, who as a dialectically turned merzbow, celebrates the beautiful strength of silence and fragility. his fine guitar-sound penetrates every musical constellation with crystalline elegance.

burkhard stangl: a guitarist, who is driven by his sound-research toward quietness and abstraction, requests and underruns the perception of improvised music with his warm guitar sound.

christof kurzmann: a laptop player, who challenges his musical partners with electronics - almost already paradoxical - to even more quietnes and precision by placing his computer-generated sounds with an exact ear into an acoustic environment. textures appear that where unheard so far; an engagement of electronics with electromechanical and acoustic instruments.

$16.51

new to stock as of
february 9th, 2007

threads:
electro-acoustic-improvisation

quincunx sound recordings (uk) #qsr 001 cd

kommando raumschiff zitrone “first time ever i saw your face” compact disc

roberta (12:33)
aisha (6:58)
marisol (8:18)
chow (17:01)
irina (6:36)
roberta (reprise) (4:13)

quincunx sound recordings press release...

qsr001
kommando raumschiff zitrone
kai fagaschinski & christof kurzman
first time i ever saw your face

quincunx sound recordings’ debut release first time ever i saw your face is the first widely available recording by kommando raumschiff zitrone (command spaceship lemon), comprising the duo kai fagaschinski (clarinet) and christof kurzmann (lloopp, devices and clarinet), active participants of the thriving berlin improvised music scene.

kai, initially alone but more recently in collaboration with christof, ran the influential raumschiff zitrone performance space in berlin, hosting musicians such as burkhard stangl, angharad davies, mark wastell, bhob rainey, andrea neumann, axel dörner, phil durrant and tony buck. with the european record release concert of first time ever i saw your face on october 20th, 2006 the raumschiff zitrone (the venue) finally closed its doors ... but the kommando (the duo) goes on.

the pair first played as a duo for the raumschiff’s 2002 christmas party, recording a very limited run christmas card cd. since then krz has only played on special occasions in berlin and vienna.

beautifully recorded by christoph amann, the fusion and the contrast between kai's clarinet and christof's lloopp software (written specifically for live improvising by klaus filip) is the focus, with all the sense for the abstract and the sound as such; nevertheless again and again their love for pop music gleams through.

the sleeve, designed by asi föcker, departs from the usual improvised music cd sleeve clichés, eschewing the abstract for the beautifully literal.

$23.27

back in stock as of
november 20th, 2007

first in stock on
january 3rd, 2007

threads:
electro-acoustic-improvisation
harsh-noise
digital-musics
electro-acoustic-composition
bedroom
beat-research

improvised music from japan (japan) #imj 308/9 cd

“improvised music from japan extra 2006 special berlin issue” book and double compact disc set

adeline rosenstein / andrea neumann - pas perdus (2:23)
annette krebs / steffi weismann - le vol (3:46)
kommando raumschiff zitrone - roger (7:14)
michael thieke unununium - schaum (3:38)
lucio capece / axel dörner / robin hayward - inflie (7:37)
tunar - antwort auf den regen (8:23)
alessandro bosetti - african feedback: extracts 1 to 8 (4:13)
tony buck / andrea neumann - without title (8:13)
sink - ausland 1 [excerpt] (7:43)
marzipan marzipan - ennio (1:28)
kalkl & leidenschaft - leningrad sunrise (13:14)
boris hauf - it's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it (5:44)
phillip sollmann - room two (8:44)
thomas ankersmit - negatieve bijdrage (5:00)
ignaz schick / jason forrest - blood orchid (11:22)
burkhard beins - for ian curtis (3:08)
rechenzentrum - a capitalistic landscape (4:20)
blumm & tau - eskimono (4:34)

improvised music from japan press release...

improvised music from japan
improvised music from japan extra 2006 special berlin issue

improvised music from japan, imj-308/9
out december 24, 2006

in japanese only
80 pages; 21cm (h) x 15cm (w)
2 cds included
cover and cd design by suzueri

in addition to interviews of 12 musicians/1 group residing in berlin (gregor hotz, nicholas bussmann, merle bennett, thomas ankersmit, ignaz schick, hans strobl, pure, annette krebs, andrea neumann, caramel empties, alessandro bosetti, boris baltschun, and kai fagaschinski), this "extra" issue of imj features 2 cds with 18 tracks by a total of over 30 musicians, almost all of whom are berlin residents: adeline rosenstein/andrea neumann, annette krebs/steffi weismann, kommando raumschiff zitrone, michael thieke unununium, lucio capece/axel doerner/robin hayward, tunar, alessandro bosetti, tony buck/andrea neumann, sink, marzipan marzipan, kalkuel & leidenschaft, boris hauf, phillip sollman, thomas ankersmit, ignaz schick/jason forrest, burkhard beins, rechenzentrum, and blumm.

the interviews were conducted by toshimaru nakamura during a visit to berlin in january 2005 (with the exception of the email interview of annette krebs by taku sugimoto, which took place between january and april 2006). in addition to discussing their musical activities, the artists share many of their thoughts about the berlin scene. their candid views reveal the dynamism that has characterized that scene since the late '90s. berlin musician nicholas bussmann was in charge of the selection of artists for the accompanying cds, and the result is an ideal compilation for those who want to know more about today's berlin scene. through the words and music of musicians on the scene, this issue explores the current situation of improvised music (and related genres) in berlin.

previous artist:
yoji kuri

...and that's everything in stock featuring christof kurzmann.
(why not take a look at the previous and next artists?)

next artist:
eduardo kusnir

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