phill niblock “six films” digital versatile disc

• morning (1966-69)
  
• the magic sun (1966 - 68)
  
• dog track (1969)
  
• annie (1968)
  
• max (1966-68)
  
• raoul (1968-69)

october 2009 release ; catch-all collection of phill niblock’s 60s film work, including his sun ra film “the magic sun,” his portrait of pioneering sound artist max neuhaus “max,” and films by/on/with raoul middleman, ann danoff, barbara porte, jean claude van itallie, lee worley, michael corner, and the open theater group ... gorgeous, block-printed “gatefold” dvd edition set in raw, acid-free paper :: ... replete with a 4-panel booklet reprinting an article from “sight lines magazine” from winter, 1974 ... essential, seminal work !!!

die schachtel press release...

ds v1 phill niblock six films genre: expanded cinema, experimental, sound art format: dvd description: deluxe tri-fold limited edition of 500 copies. ntsc, pal, all region dvd, stereo, run time: 86 minutes, 4:3 format. die schachtel in collaboration with o' artspace is proud to present a deluxe dvd featuring six experimental films by phill niblock from the late sixties. anybody familiar with the name of phill niblock would probably characterise his work by the sound of long sonorous drones producing rich overtones, usually combined with a visual element, as niblock before moving into composition was an active photographer and filmmaker. while he usually is known for his films from the "movement of people working" series alongside performances of his music, niblock's early works stand apart as unique objects. the integrity and consistency of his style is fully on display in these seldomly seen screened 16mm sound films wonders, that are: morning (1966-69)  from an idea by phill niblock and jean claude van itallie, filmed by pn, text by lee worley and michael corner, with members of the open theater group. black and white 16mm film. the magic sun (1966 - 68) with members of the sun ra arkestra, music by sun ra and the arkestra. filmed with a high contrast black and white 16mm film. dog track (1969)  a film by phill niblock, with a found text read by barbara porte. color 16mm film. annie (1968) a  portrait of the dancer ann danoff, with a sound collage sound track. color 16mm film. max (1966 - 68) an image collage film /portrait of max neuhaus, with a collage sound track by max neuhaus. black and white 16mm film. raoul (1968 - 69) a portrait of the painter raoul middleman, with extensive use of time-lapse film technique. the sound track is improvised by raoul middleman and phill niblock. color 16mm film.

phill niblock “touch three” triple compact disc set

• triple-disc niblock feast !!!

• "sethwork" (21:48 - 2003) seth josel: acoustic unamplified guitars played with e-bow
  
• "harm" (24:43 - 2003) arne deforce: cello
  
• "lucid sea" (20:24 - 2003) lucia mense: recorders

• "parker's altered mood aka owed to bird" (16:27 - 2004) ulrich krieger: alto saxophone
  
• "zrost" (23:32 - 2004) martin zrost: soprano saxophone
  
• "not yet titled" (22:20 - 2003) franz hautzinger: trumpet

• "valence" (2005 - 23:02) julia eckhardt: viola
  
• "alto tune" (25:08 - 2004) ulrich krieger: alto saxophone
  
• "sax mix" (25:08 - 2004) ulrich krieger: alto & tenor and baritone saxophone

touch press release...

touch # to:69 2006 3cds in digipac artwork: jon wozencroft photography: phill niblock barcode: 502780314692 these nine pieces were made from march 2003 to january 2005. they were all made (except "sax mix") by recording a single instrument with a single microphone. the recordings were direct to the computer/hard disk, most of them using my powerbook g4, protools, an m-box and an external firewire drive. the resulting mono sound files were edited to remove breathing spaces, leaving the natural decay of the tone, and the attack of the subsequent iteration of the same tone. each note was represented by several repetitions, perhaps ten for each tone, of about 15 seconds duration each. each piece uses a few tones. a simple chord, perhaps. additional microtonal intervals were produced in protools using pitch shift. the pieces were assembled in multitracks, usually either 24 or 32 tracks. the recording environment varied from a simple apartment in berlin (ulrich krieger's) to a very large hall used for symphony orchestra performances and recordings, with a sizable audience space (deutschland radio, cologne). the recordings were generally done quite closely miked. one hears only the sound of the instrument. there is no electronic manipulation in the recording, the editing of the tones, or in the mix. the only changes to the recorded tones are the pitch shifts to create microtones. the microtones are doing the work. "harm" (24:43, march 18, 2003) arne deforce, cello . the recording of the tones was done by johan vandermaelen (amplus) in the orpheus institute in gent, belgium, direct to the hard drive. the piece was finished in berlin and premiered at maerz musik festival (the day after finishing). it was commissioned by maerz musik. "sethwork" (21:48, 2003) seth josel, acoustic, unamplified guitars played with e-bow, june 21 2003 "lucid sea" (20:24, august 8, 2003) lucia mense, recorders these two pieces were commisioned by deutschland radio in cologne, germany. frank kaempfer, producer; michael peschko, recording engineer for the recording of the guitar samples and the recorder samples at the deutschlandradio studios in cologne. the piece was constructed in the experimental intermedia studios in new york (sethwork) and in gent (lucid sea), in protools. the broadcast was on saturday october 4, 2003 at 2205 on deutschland radio in cologne, "atelier neuer musik". there was a commentary and an interview by the critic and author egbert hiller. it was for the 70th birthday of phill niblock, which was october 2. "parker's altered mood, aka, owed to bird" (16:27, 2004) ulrich krieger, alto saxophone. the tones for this piece and for "alto tune" were recorded in berlin in ulrich krieger's apartment (very nice sound; high, peaked ceiling) with thomas ankersmit recording, using his neumann microphone, direct to hd through mac powerbook/protools/mbox. for 'mood", i asked ulrich to pick a parker tune for the theme. we decided on "mood", a slow blues, a thirteen note theme. we recorded ulrich playing each note for about 15 seconds, the thirteen notes in succession, and for six repetitions of the theme. ulrich did not listen to the previous takes, so the notes are slightly out of tune with each other, creating the microtones i would have made in protools. the piece starts with all six playings of the theme, superimposed. "zrost" (23:32, 2004) martin zrost, soprano saxophone. martin had just bought a new soprano, which sounded great, so we recorded in his work room in vienna. "not yet titled" (22:20, 2003) franz hautzinger, trumpet. the tones were recorded in volker straebel's apartment in steglitz, berlin, on a summer afternoon, with the balcony door open, the sounds of birds and planes coming through. melvyn poore was the engineer, using franz's neumann microphone, mostly in the bell of the trumpet. franz produced the low bass sounds with the horn. we premiered the piece in a musikprotokoll concert in the steirischen herbst festival, graz, austria. it was commissioned by them as well. "valence" (2005, 23:02) julia eckhardt, viola. "valence" was commissioned by the q o2 ensemble, brussels, and the tones were recorded by johan vandermaelen in his studio in the belgian countryside. "alto tune" (25:08, 2004) ulrich krieger, alto saxophone. recording info noted above. "sax mix" (25:08, 2004) ulrich krieger, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones.

phill niblock “touch works for hurdy gurdy and voice” compact disc

• "hurdy hurry" (15:20 - october 1999) jim o'rourke - hurdy gurdy (samples)
  
• "a y u" aka "as yet untitled" (21:30 - october 1999) thomas buckner - baritone voice (samples)
  
• "a y u live" (21:30 - october 1999/2000)

touch press release...

touch works for hurdy gurdy and voice touch # to:49 cd - 58:20 3 tracks this is the first cd by phill niblock for touch. thomas buckner, baritone voice (samples and live) all were completed with protools software in a macintosh computer, and are 24 tracks mixed to stereo. there are two versions of the voice piece, one the original tape piece, the other a version with three added voices, live, plus four tracks of pitch shift on each, done in robert poss's (trace elements) studio. samples and live elements were recorded by robert poss at trace elements studios in new york. the pieces were constructed and mixed in protools by phill niblock at experimental intermedia in new york. [ayu was commissioned by thomas buckner]

“from brussels with love” compact disc

• john foxx - a jingle*1 (0:35)
  
• thomas dolby - airwaves (5:20)
  
• repetition - stranger (3:43)
  
• harold budd - children on the hill (4:56)
  
• durutti column - sleep will come (1:45)
  
• martin hannett - the music room (4:38)
  
• the names - cat (3:24)
  
• michael nyman - a walk through h (4:50)
  
• brian eno - an interview with brian eno (9:48)
  
• jeanne moreau - un entretien avec jeanne moreau (8:35)
  
• richard jobson - armoury show (1:18)
  
• bill nelson - the shadow garden (4:09)
  
• durutti column* - piece for an ideal (3:36)
  
• kevin hewick & new order - haystack (3:39)
  
• radio romance - etrange affinite (2:42)
  
• gavin bryars - white's s.s. (5:52)
  
• der plan - mein freunde (2:03)
  
• b.c. gilbert & graham lewis* - twist up (4:25)
  
• john foxx - a jingle*2 (0:40)