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previous record label: airport war		there are 50 titles on alga marghen in stock. they are listed below.		next record label: alien8

$62.64

back in stock as of
may 2nd, 2008

first in stock on
november 21st, 2007

threads:
1970s-electronic
1980s-electronic
electro-acoustic-composition
minimalism-drones
analogue-synth

marquis (italy) #mart 001/4 cd
alga marghen (italy) #mart 001/4 cd

sacher-pelz “mutation for a continuity” quadruple compact disc set

crime uberall (15:33)
the skeleton (5:01)
paranoia (9:03)
blood and pleasure (10:26)
cainus (7:15)
black heat / my last day (9:47)
dans l'obscurité (2:03)
la cartilage palpitant (21:11)
venus (8:25)
chains and whips (7:37)
numb creature (10:10)
mutant-sex (10:50)
abortion size (0:43)
helter skelter (13:17)
in dem tod-tal (3:12)
massacre on cielo d. (10:31)
sang mon amour (3:13)
satan slaves (4:31)
exterminans (6:25)
cease to exist (19:04)
excitements (30:26)
sans sang (6:08)
sapho noises (2:27)
orphelin (5:32)
nilehpro (7:04)
damenbinde (6:19)
velours (2:39)

reissue of four cassette-only releases by sacher-pelz (i.e. maurizio bianchi’s first music-project) :: cainus (august/september 1979), venus (october/november 1979), cease to exist (december 1979/january 1980), and velours (february/march 1980).

$27.15

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
april 4th, 2008

threads:
minimalism-drones
sound-poetry
sound-art

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson20 lp

charlemagne palestine “voice studies” long playing record

surrealistic studies i, ii, iii (3:03) (1:31) (0:46)
voice + piano study i, ii (5:48) (5:08)
voice study (11:09)
beauty chord + voice (6:20)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "surrealistic studies ii"

awesome lp of zonked sound-poetry & real-time tape-music studies, and some blissed out chordal drone-singing by charlemagne palestine, recorded at home and in concert from the early 60s through the early 70s ... as always w/alga marghen vinyl - this record’s time-on-earth is finite ...

alga marghen press release...

c h a r l e m a g n e p a l e s t i n e
voice studies
(cat no. plana-p 20vocson.072)
lp record
edition of 385 copies

the vocson series presents on limited editions lp records the most advanced international vocal experiments and is mainly dedicated to the documentation of sound poetry. this series includes now the new lp record by charlemagne palestine titled "voice studies".

charlemagne palestine introduction to music or sound was first with his own voice. he began at four years old to sing versions of popular songs and operas in his own way. later on, a director of a jewish sacred music choir auditioned him to sing with them, charlemagne was seven years old at the time and for the next seven years he sang all over the east coast of the us as a member of a choir that sang with many of the greatest european chazans (jewish sacred singers) who had fled europe during the rise of the anti-semitism and resettled in america. from them he learned to sing in a long chanting style with his own natural voice. at the same time he met pran nath the master of kirana style, singing and studied a short time with him as well as javanese singing with ki wasito di puro at cal arts. over the years charlemagne palestine have performed and recorded vocal works as an important part of his outputs as sonic artist.

this lp record includes the very early “surrealistic studies”, recorded in brooklyn in the beginning of the 1960s. using a webcor reel to reel tape recorder and discovering a technique of shouting into the microphone of the recorder and immediately pulling the microphone out creating an interior echo chamber where the sound would turn around on itself, changing and distorting. no other electronic sound manipulation techniques were used.

"voice + piano study i & ii" are short and beautiful piano improvisation with tape superimposition of accelerated voice pieces. recorded at cal arts, on september 29th, 1971.

“voice study” was recorded in manhattan in the mid-1960s. in this study charlemagne sing in a falsetto duet with himself on two separate tracks. sung in a resonant space reminiscent of a synagogue in the falsetto voice that he began to develop from jewish male sacred chant falsettos. he searches for intervals that resonate together and respond like electronic sound wave oscilators played against eachother.

finally the fantastic 6 minutes "beauty chord + voice" with charlemagne playing piano and singing.

$103.57

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
september 5th, 2007

threads:
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson19 lp

françois dufrêne / guy schraenen “oeuvre désintégrale” quadruple long playing record boxed set

crirhythme pour un double anniversaire dedicated to ginette and anouj (18:26) 1969
osmose-art: köchel que j’aime (9:37) 1969
osmose-art: le cheval lié à l’art rose (12:31) 1969
est-ouest (8:19) 1967
tête à terre et ventre au ciel (9:27) 1965
eryximaque suite choréographique au tombeau de pierre larousse (7:18) 1965
les joyeux sisyphe (7:40) 1976
sature, nain! (crirhythme) (7:05) 1974
cacochyme (crirhythme) (1975) 2:12
sature, nain! (crirhythme) (7:04) 1975
lecture-collage 1: la ressource du petit peuple & tenilom de jean molinet (18:57) 1965
lecture-collage 2: dit du vieux marin by coleridge (10:20) 1975
belles nuisances, hantez nos nuits (10:48) 1970
séquences (crirhythme) (20:26) 1968
comptinuum (extrait i) (2:07) 1958-1970
la guitare en long (8:57) 1969
postcryrhythptum (2:12) 1974
comptinuum (extrain ii) (10:57) 1958-1970

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "köchel que j’aime (1969)"

deluxe 4lp boxed set (same form-factor as the recent “avant marghen” sets; a sturdy/screenprinted outer-box with 12” x 12” slices of foam holding the records - each with their own printed sleeve/inner sleeve - in place) offering a king’s ransom in classic 60s / 70s sound-poetry & voice/tape-manipulation studies by françois dufrêne - unyielding throat-scrape of as-yet uncharted dimensions. highly recommended.

alga marghen press release...

f r a n ç o i s d u f r e n e
"oeuvre desintegrale"
(cat no. plana-d 19vocson070)
4lp boxset
edition of 345 copies

alga marghen presents one of the most impressive sound poetry anthologies ever published, introducing you to the sound works of the nouveau realiste artist francois dufrene. his work, along with that of gil j wolman and brion gysin, was a strong influence for experimental poets like henri chopin, bernard heidsieck and ake hodell.

françois dufrene could be considered the younger of the first generation sound poets. already in the lettrist group when he was only 16 years old, with his own style marked by an hyper-powerful voice. in 1953, at the age of 23, he became ultra-lettrist, starting his first crirhythms by overpassing the alphabet in the perspective of the physical improvised scream. with the crirhythms sound poetry enters for the first time in the factory of projective sounds. in the beginning dufrene uses the tape recorder only to document his creations. these recordings show him that through the tape machine his poems could reached deeper and wider creative dynamics. since the mid-1950s the tape-machine becomes for him a poetical and experimental tool and dufrene fully develops its potentials with stereophonic recordings as well as with the superimposition of his crirhythms. the loudspeakers amplifies sounds while the microphone captures even the most detailed concrete sound produced by his voice. the physical tempest he produces is a real concrete electronic sound attack. dufrene produced primitive, brutal poems opening the path of vocal sounds to contemporary composers: it's known that pierre henry was deeply inspired by dufrene. the anthology presented here includes 10 crirhythms from different periods dating from 1965 to 1976.

also included is "osmose-art", a long piece from 1969 divided in two suites where dufrene superimposes his crirhythms to classical music. a similar technique was applied a few years earlier adding jazz music (specially drum and percussion pieces) to poems marked by strong lettristic esthetic. two of those "lecture-collage" dating from 1965 are presented here, as well as two "comptinuum" from his early on-progress works started in 1958.

françois dufrene also developed unique performances, with live reading of his written text. the most famous is tombeau de pierre larousse, published in 1958. this is a work half way between the written text and the sound poem whose unity is achieved through dufrene performing it. it's a masterpiece of synthesis of active poetry. "eryximaque, suite choreographique au tombeau pierre larusse" is also included in this anthology.

apart from the crirythmes that henri chopin issued on his revue ou disc magazine (the complete ou anthology is available from alga marghen as a 4cd set) and a few short pieces issued on obscure sound poetry anthologies in the end of the 1960's, françois dufrene work is practically unavailable. this 4lp anthology, conceived by the same author and privately issued as a 3 cassette edition in the mid-1970s, includes only previously unpublished sound works that finally fully documents the creativity of such a radical artist.

de-luxe heavy boxset edition limited to 345 copies.

$27.15

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
sound-poetry
electro-acoustic-composition
1970s-electronic

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson18 lp

gherasim luca “two poems” long playing record

autres secrets de vide et du plein (17:16) 1971
crimes sens initiales (16:45) 1972

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "autres secrets de vide et du plein"

march 2009 release ; two pieces (both recorded at ems stockholm in april ; 1971 and 1972, respectively) by the romanian sound-poet gherasim luca ...

trance-inducing work, with luca overdubbing multiple passes of repeated text-fragments, resulting in swarms of bubbling voice-patterns in varying depths of complexity and clarity (listen to the sound-sample for one of the sparser passages) ...

yet another piece of the historic sound-poetry puzzle picked up & put in place by emanuele carcano’s alga marghen ; highly recommended !!!

alga marghen press release...

g h e r a s i m l u c a
"two poems"
(cat no. plana-l 18vocson065).
lp record
edition of 385 copies

alga marghen proudly presents an lp edition including two experimental sound works by gherasim luca, created in close connection to sten hanson who invited the rumenian artist at fylkingen in the very beginning of the 1970s and made him discover the possibilities of the advanced ems electronic music studio of stockholm. the two recordings presented here are quite unique as they are the only poems by gherasim luca created through the use of electronic manipulations.

as henri chopin wrote some years later in his legendary "poésie sonore internationale" book, ghérasim luca made a big impression at the third stockholm festival in 1970. luca was born in bucarest in 1913. before leaving to israel he had a leading role among the roumanian surrealist group. he eventually moved to paris where he lived untill the end of his life in 1992. gherasim luca work is very personal, giving his poems a very uncommon and ironic character. again henri chopin underlines that "in his recordings, which are not many, he superimposes his very warm voice, marked by his roumanian accent; it's a sound wonder. in fact luca is not a sound poet. he is more a speaker who managed, without complex, to enter into the fylkingen studio vortex. on 4 tracks and with 32 loudspeakers, thanks to his superb voice and his instinctive knowledge of the electronic studio which amplifies words, he gives great pleasure to the listener, even if the latter can not understand french".

“autres secrets du vide et du plein” (april 1971) and “crimes sens initiales” (april 1972) were both recorded one track at the time on a 4 track tape and afterwards subjected to electronic treatments. they were recorded in sweden at ems and first performed at the 1971 and 1972 text-sound festivals of stockholm.

edition limited to 385 copies, also including the reproduction of a worderful drawing by gherasim luca on the front cover, a photo portrait of the author by gilles ehrmann from 1959 and an essay by henri chopin.

$27.15

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
august 2nd, 2007

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson17 lp

ben patterson “a fluxus elegy” long playing record

a fluxus elegy

alga marghen press release...

ben patterson "a fluxus elegy" lp (17vocson061).

this ben patterson composition, issued on is based on the basic principles of the polyphonic music of the bantu tribes of west and central africa.

first principle: the practice of interlocking individual pitches or tones performed by one person into spaces between other pitches or tones performed by another person, thus alternating pitches or tones of one part with those of another part to create a whole.

second principle: use of cyclical and open-ended forms involving one or more ostinato melodic/rhythmic pattern as a foundation.

third principle: community participation...non-specialists are encouraged to join in long performances with much repetition.

fourth principle: rhythmic complexity with the juxtaposition of double and triple patterns, multiple layering of different patterns, and interaction between a core foundation and improvised parts.

and, most important, the family 'ownership' of a specific tone: in the musical culture of these tribes, each ancestral family 'owns' and is responsible for one or more specific tones, which must be sounded at specific points, sequencing with the many other specific tones 'owned' by other families, to create a seamless melody.

ben patterson made a music based on this information by taking the initials of artists listed in "fluxus: the most radical and experimental art movement of the sixties" and encoding them in basic international morse code. these 'dots and dashes' were then performed on a yamaha djx keyboard (voice pattern setting), connected to a digitech jamman looper (over-dub setting), connected to an eurorack mx 602a mixer. front cover reproducing the original score.

$59.79

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
sound-poetry
electro-acoustic-composition

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson13 lp

juan hidalgo “una voz (un etcétera)” long playing record

una voz (un etcétera) (1) (26:34)
una voz (un etcétera) (2) (29:01)

... here (and below) ; due to the considerable largesse of alga marghen’s emanuel carcano, mms can now offer you copies of select out-of-print titles, fresh from the label’s milan compound ...

prices are a bit above what these items were initially offered during their lifespan(s) (emanuele utilizes a variant on the “book-dealer” rate-system ; as his stash dwindles, the price(s) go up) ; but given what these often fetch in the open / second-hand market(s), it’s nice to have a “buy it now” option ...

new, unplayed copies of everything ; a good time to fill those gaps ...

alga marghen press release...

j u a n h i d a l g o
“una voz”
(cat no. plana-h 13vocson040).
lp record

first ever zaj lp record! an historical recording of juan hidalgo "una voz", including concrete sound interventions by walter marchetti. a large size booklet with the transcription in english and spanish of the spoken text is also included. capital!

$59.79

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson11 lp

gil j. wolman “l’anticoncept” long playing record

megapneumies (10:08)
la memoire (3:17)
ralentissez les cadences (2:25)
l'anticoncept (excerpts) - avant'oeuvre (5:55)
l'anticoncept (excerpts) - trits (3:28)
l'anticoncept (excerpts) - ce qui inventent n'ont jamais vécu (0:48)
l'anticoncept (excerpts) - nous avons créé des règles arbitraires (12:25)
l'anticoncept (excerpts) - post scriptum (3:30)

alga marghen press release...

g i l j . w o l m a n
“l'anticoncept”
(cat no. plana-h 11vocson032).
lp record

edition of gil j wolman megapneums, or the beginning of the whole sonic adventures. if gysin was a strong conceptual influence for the henri chopin and bernard heidsieck generation, wolman was showing them the sonic direction. just with the use of the breath and respiration, his megapneums had the same intensity of the electronic manipulation that will make chopin's audiopoems so radically new and uncompromising. this lp also include excerpts from wolman sound-film "l'anticoncept" from 1952.

$31.31

back in stock as of
january 8th, 2009

first in stock on
august 2nd, 2007

threads:
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson10 lp

jose luis castillejo “the book of i’s” long playing record

the book of i's (13:38)
a book of a book (13:04)
the book of eighteen letters - 1st fragment (13:59)
the book of eighteen letters - 2nd fragment (10:26)

alga marghen press release...

jose luis castillejo "the book of i's" lp (10vocson025).

very limited and immediately sold out edition of castillejo conceptual recordings. jose luis castillejo books always included him among the concrete poems and were regarded as very special graphic creations. a deep exploration of his abstract and radical poetry will lead to a more conceptual and philosophical understanding as this lp clearly states. tracklisting: a1 "the book of i's" (13:38) recorded in the circulo de bellas artes, sala de columnas, madrid on october 22, 1997. all other tracks recorded at the studio rds, milano, on june 25, 1998. a2 "a book of a book" (13:04); b1 "the book of eighteen letters - 1st fragment" (13:59); b2 "the book of eighteen letters - 2nd fragment" (10:26) are both dedicated to walter marchetti.

$59.79

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
august 2nd, 2007

threads:
sound-poetry
electro-acoustic-composition

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson09 lp

bernard heidsieck “50/70” long playing record

poéme-partition b (6:20)
poéme-partition m (11:20)
démocratie ii (6:44)
publicité (24:09)

alga marghen press release...

bernard heidsieck "50/70" lp (9vocson022).

the third bernard heidsieck lp issued by alga marghen draws the picture of two specific moments on artistic creation: the 1950s and the 1970s. close to "poème-partition x" and in the same group of early works are "poéme-partition b" (6:20) and a2 "poéme-partition m" (11:20). more centered on electronic and the use of tape manipulations are the 1970s works. "démocratie ii" (6:44) and expecially "publicité" (24:09) are two clear examples of radical electronic poetry in the heidsieck style.

$59.79

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson08 lp

brion gysin “poems of poems” long playing record

poems of poems (14:18)
poems of poems (15:40)

alga marghen press release...

b r i o n g y s i n
“poems of poems”
(cat no. plana-c 8vocson021).
lp record

very early poetical experimentation recorded in 1958 at the beat hotel, paris. the origins of cut up are documented in this radical edition. you will experience why brion gysin was a strong reference for henri chopin and bernard heidsieck.

$27.15

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
august 2nd, 2007

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson06 lp

sten hanson “the sonosopher retrospective” long playing record

dance figure (1:55)
hermetic back piece (4:03)
new york lament (3:11)
skärp dig
för fan (2:59)
lettre d'un ètranger (9:45)
am strengsten verboten (2:40)
les martyrs (4:15)
les sabots du bouc (11:35)
finale (2:23).

alga marghen press release...

sten hanson "the sonosopher retrospective" (6vocson017).

an anthology of sten hanson text-sound composition. this edition pre-dates the anthological cds which were issued in sweden.

$59.79

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson05 lp

henri chopin “les mirifiques tundras & compagnie” picture disc long playing record

la digestion (14:06)
les pirouettes vocales pour les pirouettements vocaux (5:41)
les souffles des tempêtes (14:15)

1997 release ; covetable picture-disc edition ...

alga marghen press release...

h e n r i c h o p i n
“les mirifiques tundras & co.”
(cat no.plana-c 5vocson012).
picture disc lp record

extreme voice sound manipulations. somehow in the vein of hodell text-sound composition, just more primitive and visceral. "la digestion", first recorded in 1972 at the author's studio in ingatestone. "les pirouettes vocales pour les pirouettements vocaux" at the time of the publication of this lp henri chopin last audiopoem, was recorded at the author's studio in paris in 1995. "les souffles des tempêtes" (quadriphonic tape), first recorded in 1993 at fylkingen, stockholm (sweden). a stereo version was expressly produced for this edition. this important audiopoem is dedicated "aux suédois".

$59.79

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
sound-poetry
modern-composition

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson04 lp

philip corner “word-voices” long playing record

vox (11:30)
vocalise (17:30)
air effect (23:05)

alga marghen press release...

p h i l i p c o r n e r
“word-voices”
(cat no. plana-c 4vocson010).
lp record

a record lp of vocal utterances including early fluxus voice and instrumental pieces. "vox" voices, bells: philip corner. performed at livingston college, rutgers university, new jersey, in 1981. "vocalise performed in new york city, at judson church, in 1962. "air effect" clarinet: daniel goode; bass clarinet: mary jane leach; trombone: peter zummo; voicings: wm. hellermann; whistles: philip corner. performed in new york city in 1988.

word-voices collects three performances of compositions by fluxus-associate philip corner. "vox" is a performance of industrial gamelan ritual using voice and bells, recorded in 1981. "vocalise" is a fantastic portsmouth sinfonia-styled piece for "non-singing ensemble" recorded in new york city's judson church in 1962. finally, "air effect" is a performance by the downtown ensemble in 1988, featuring daniel goode on clarinet, mary-jane leach on bass clarinet, peter zummo on trombone, wm. hellermann voicing and corner himself supplying whistles. a great selection of throat-based pieces that'll blow open yr ears. limited edition of only 500 copies.

$59.79

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga vocson02 lp

henri chopin “cantata for two farts & co.” long playing record

cantata for two farts and juan carlos i (11:48)
les chuitantes respirent (9:50)
throat power (10:30)
vertigo du vertige (11:00)

alga marghen press release...

h e n r i c h o p i n
“cantata for two farts & co.”
(cat no. plana-c 2vocson007).
lp record

henri chopin presents previously unreleased audiopoems as well as the reprint of 2 pieces from the radiotaxi lp (the tracks taken from radiotaxi are here presented for the first time mastered at the correct speed).

$20.38

back in stock as of
january 8th, 2009

first in stock on
august 7th, 2008

threads:
art-punk
plunder-phonic
1980s-electronic
beat-research
digital-musics

alga marghen (italy) #alga tes14 cd

modern shit “modern shit will make you ill” compact disc

untitled (1) (3:22)
untitled (2) (0:29)
untitled (3) (3:31)
untitled (4) (0:10)
untitled (5) (1:59)
untitled (6) (0:38)
untitled (7) (1:25)
untitled (8) (0:17)
untitled (9) (1:50)
untitled (10) (0:40)
untitled (11) (2:13)
untitled (12) (1:08)
untitled (13) (0:42)
untitled (14) (0:35)
untitled (15) (1:46)
untitled (16) (0:56)
untitled (17) (2:25)
untitled (18) (0:34)
untitled (19) (5:11)
untitled (20) (0:56)
untitled (21) (0:54)
untitled (22) (2:38)
untitled (23) (0:33)
untitled (24) (0:04)
untitled (25) (3:04)
untitled (26) (2:26)
untitled (27) (0:58)
untitled (28) (1:53)
untitled (29) (2:40)
untitled (30) (2:03)
untitled (31) (0:05)
untitled (32) (1:49)
untitled (33) (1:08)
untitled (34) (3:15)
untitled (35) (0:57)
untitled (36) (2:30)
untitled (37) (0:53)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "untitled (17)"

june 2008 alga marghen edition; the “reissue” (actually; those quotes are justified for once; this was never really available in the first place...) of amos & lepke b (the homosexuals) ’s modern shit tapes (remixes of by-the-hour production work the pair engineered in the early 80s) ...

this was previously only available in a pricey two-pack the the “artcoustics” book ; the disc now available by its lonesome. much linn-drum boom/bap, cut with plunderphonic audio snippets & tape-speed manipulations. kind of amazing, actually ; esp. given the time-period in which this music was executed ...

alga marghen press release...

m o d e r n s h i t
"will make you ill"
(cat no. plana-m 14tes.071)
digipack cd
edition of 500 copies

after surfacing briefly in 2007 in a very limited number of copies on slim-jewel-box together with the "artkoustics" catalogue, alga marghen is now proud to presents the final edition of modern shit, a very singular chapter in the amos/it's war boys/milk from cheltenham/homosexuals history. directly taken from the original it's war boys catalogue, here is one of the most obscure sonic works of the early 1980s, modern shit! first "issued" on tape (cat no. $21) this work circulated only privately among the close friends of the label and was never officially distributed. actually it represents one of the most intense and experimental outputs of this creative london period.

the idea was to create a contemporary "non-stop", vaguely in emulous contradiction to product by people like cerrone and biddulph (1970's disco queens). lepke and amos, the two minds behind this project (and 2/3 of the milk from cheltenham adventures), each constructed a half hour near-continuous non-stop using only the foulest materials. in those days they had their 8-track studio in a mouldy basement below brixton road, south london and they happened to occasionally record some awful wannabee pop bands. it was a truly horrible experience but with a good side. almost as soon as the idiots left the studio, lepke and amos would start re-mixing their music, often stealing and sticking it (suitably mangled) onto new tracks, the basis material for modern shit!

the cd is presented in a new digipack edition with full colour cover. final edition of 500 copies.

$20.38

back in stock as of
january 8th, 2009

first in stock on
july 21st, 2008

threads:
free-improvisation
free-jazz

alga marghen (italy) #alga tes13 cd

quartetto “organic, playco 1969” compact disc

fattoria degli animali (9:34)
parodia della festa (7:00)
tubi sonori in scale (6:21)
disturbi di violino (10:12)
avanti! para babà (3:24)
babà-fui-pà (2:03)
pugno chiuso (12:05)
conchiglia (12:55)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "pugno chiuso"

june 2008 release ; late 60s ayler-esque euro free jazz/improv from this “quartetto” led by n.a.d.m.a.’s davide mosconi ... fairly full-on energy-blat ; ranging from surprisingly scrape-oriented spots (mirroring the later “new direction unit” recordings of masayuki takayangi - only sub in cello/violin for guitar) to dirge-tempo wail ... entirely impressive.

alga marghen press release...

m o s c o n i / g a r d e n g h i / c r i s t o f o l i n i / b o n o r a
(pre-n.a.d.m.a.)
"organic, playco 1969"
(cat no. plana-b 13tes.067)
digipack cd

the stable "quartetto" that pianist davide mosconi, saxophonist enzo gardenghi, percussionist marco cristofolini, and cellist and violinist gustavo bonora brought to life beginning in the late '60s constituted the core of what would, in the early years of the next decade, become the larger improvising ensemble nadma. the group was also an elegant and accomplished expression of the musical objectives of its members.

the rich yields that davide mosconi cultivated from his exploration of improvisation and the visionary creativity that revealed influences from parallel planes throughout his œuvre, originated in his formative years. in the life story of mosconi before the formation of the "quartetto", it emerges that his first musical affirmations arose as he was completing his studies as a photographer. mosconi furthered his training as a photographer in new york from 1964-68, including stints as assistant to richard avedon and hiro. prior to his definitive return to italy, he spent 1968 in mexico, a lengthy visit documented splendidly in his photographs. during his stay there, he may have been the first european musician to meet conlon nancarrow and encounter his music. from nancarrow mosconi learned the workings of the ampico player piano. only much later indeed, in the early '80s, when györgy ligeti championed his works, was this now-legendary american composer rediscovered internationally.

the "quartetto" represented, at last, a solid foundation with which davide mosconi succeeded in realising his own notion of improvisation, aided by musicians who shared his ideal of a continuous, fluid music and thus of a pliable expression that superseded the limits of existential consciousness. in 1968-69, the group launched an uninterrupted series of private events, studio sessions and live concerts at venues that ranged from offhand happenings to alternative clubs to concert halls.

it is possible to reconstruct rather faithfully the activities of davide mosconi's "quartetto" due to a vast amount of material documentation and a conspicuous number of archive recordings. the first recording sessions date from february 14, 1968, and from april of this same year, both made at the playco studio in milan and both featuring the lineup of davide mosconi, marco cristofolini and enzo gardenghi, with the additional presence of bassist giorgio buratti for the february recordings. the majority of these early playco recordings, however, date from various months of 1969 until october, after the group solidified its roster with gustavo bonora. in several reel tapes dating back to this era, the collective name is often given not as "quartetto", but, alternately, as "organic" or "organic orchestra", designations that foreshadow the "natural arkestra" moniker later associated with nadma.

if one excludes the live recordings from the auditorium san fedele and circolo lepetit concerts of november and december 1969, the best evidence of the musical art of the "quartetto" is found on the reel labeled "organic 1969 playco", heard in its entirety on the present cd. examination of the various tapes that document the playco sessions of 1969 show that this reel is the only one with any consistent identification of the titles of individual tracks, as well as the only one to show signs of careful editing, perhaps indicating intended use as a "demo". there are tracks that focus concretely on timbral resources and instrumental gesture ("tubi sonori in scale" and "disturbi di violino") and pieces that have decidedly parodistic moments ("parodia della festa" and the "diptych" of "avanti! para babà" and "babà-fui-pà"). at least two classics of the "quartetto" playlist are also to be found: the opener "fattoria degli animali", whose title manifestly evokes george orwell's dystopic novel, with its onomatopoeic sounds at the onset; and "pugno chiuso", the last of the pieces to be recorded and the one which gustavo bonora later called the purest emblem of the musical art of the "quartetto". this latter work is a perfect example of an enragé performance praxis that was then unparalleled in the italian improvised-music scene. the album's sign-off does not stem from the same sessions. it is instead an edited extract from the circolo lepetit concert of december 1, 1969, and as such is a most effective taste of the informal and symbiotic potency that distinguished the live "quartetto" experience: the merging of individual instruments into a unified whole.

this cd is included in a beatiful digipack full colour sleeve with photos and liner notes. also included is a 12 page booklet with an essay titled "before nadma: davide mosconi and the quartetto" by gabriele bonomo as well as the testimonies by enzo gardenghi and gustavo bonora.

$20.38

back in stock as of
january 8th, 2009

first in stock on
april 4th, 2008

threads:
psych-prog
experimental-instruments
sound-art
folk

alga marghen (italy) #alga tes12 cd

anton bruhin “vom goldabfischer” compact disc

lola (2:18)
hüp hüp (2:30)
tropelfisch
q.* (3:27)
congo (2:32)
em feker (3:53)
usem tal (0:45)
alpine blues (6:00)
okima tula (1:07)
chum use (3:15)
ali baba (1:10)
trümpi “cheng” (3:12)
schtändli (1:05)
mc. anton (1:25)
blas mer s horn (3:00)
schlaf (1:15)
läck mer (1:48)
wänn t maya wi (0:50)
vom goldabfischer und de mondfrau (1:28)
winterlied (2:45)
liebeslied (1:37)
solo improvisation (1:46)
vom goldabfischer (1:53)
ständli (1:30)
fortschritt (2:04)
täktli (3:39)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "trümpi “cheng”"

march 2008 release - finally; the reissue of bruhin’s 1969 “vom goldabfischer” - easily his most elusive recording, heard only by a scant few & maddeningly un-findable by those who, like me, bit the bruhin bug hard after hearing the “inout” cd ... until now ...

essentially a smorgasbord of the late-60s psychedelic & alpine folk-music idioms that bruhin dabbled in - much super-close-up solo jaw-harp grappling (listen to the sound-sample) cut with full-band tracks (many featuring swiss improvisor stefan wittwer) with bruhin on a multitude of instrumentation (love the glass-bauble bits ...)

great stuff ; if you’re a die-hard follower of bruhin’s you absolutely need to hear this - others will suitably be confounded ... highly recommended !!!

alga marghen press release...

a n t o n b r u h i n
vom goldabfischer
(cat no. plana-b 12tes.066)digipack cd
edition of 500 copies

the new compact disc by anton bruhin issued by alga marghen is titled “vom goldabfisher” and presents for the first time on cd the classic experimental folk recordings with the same title first issued on lp in 1969. anton bruhin conceived some of the most original sonic art musiks, a double of his artistic work as an outsider painter and with the help of stefan wittwer on electric guitar and cristian koradi on bass and cello, recorded this masterpiece of far out sonorities well hidden in the swiss mountains. anton bruhin sings and plays jew's harp (his favourite instrument), ch-phon (an instrument he invented constructed with a pvc tube with saxophon reed), harmonica, flute, fiddle, percussion, water. this record, surely one of the most psychedelic, experimental and private to be issued in europe in the 1960s, should be of great influence for the actual renaissance of experimental folk music. surely it was an important source of magick for steven stapleton, so no surprise to see it mentioned in the mythical list of references that nurse with wound included in their first lp.

this cd edition also includes 5 jew's harp instrumental tracks. in the late 1970s anton bruhin was asked to edit a record of folk and ethnic music, documenting the use of jew's harp in switzerland. bruhin climbed up the mountains in order to record some of the most obscure, old jew's harp players. those mysterious sounds were issued in 1979 on a record titled "maultrommel, mundhermonika, kamm". this cd includes 3 solo jew's harp tracks where anton bruhin plays themes from the "vom goldabfischer" lp, plus 2 massive, maximal and resonating duos with w. gwerder, recorded in 1979 at radio schweiz international.

beatiful digipack sleeve with photos and liner notes, also including a folded insert reproducing lyrics, technical notes and a group of ink drawings originally created for the "vom goldabfischer" lp sleeve.

$20.38

back in stock as of
january 8th, 2009

first in stock on
october 12th, 2006

threads:
free-improvisation
psych-prog

alga marghen (italy) #alga tes10 cd

n.a.d.m.a. “paura” compact disc

paura (7:39)
raga marco (14:23)
homage to amilcar cabral (13:04)
untitled (28:23)
6-7-5 (8:32)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "raga marco"

extremely loose 1973 italian free-psych session, “led” by pianist davide mosconi.

alga marghen press release...

n . a . d . m . a . series

a history of improvised music produced in italy during the 1960s and 70s, or of creative music as at the time it would have been defined in order to incorporate all those experiences that pushed the improvisational practice of jazz toward buondaries closer to avant-garde music, would only be partially complete without a proper appreciation, and timely revaluation, of the nadma phenomenon and of the various groups which followed and preceeded this experience. nadma itself was born as an extention of a previous "quartetto", which was founded by davide mosconi and marco cristofolini in 1968 with the fundamental contributions of gustavo bonora and enzo gardenghi. the distinguished legacy of the group has been hidden from view to nearly everybody until now. the discovery and classification of the original reel tapes owned by mosconi enabled the compiing of a large group of recordings which traces the creative activities of the "quartetto", of nadma and of the various offsprings that followed. a complete series of cds will document those activities.

...

n . a . d . m . a ."paura"

alga marghen - plana-n 10tes.060

digipak cd

nadma was officially born between august and the beginning of september 1972 during the time spent in a little village in the tuscan-emilian apennines. the identity and musical orientation of the collective centered on the convergence of heterogeneous interests and sentibilities coming from avant-garde jazz experiences liberated by post-free curents, from classical studies, or from musicians also active as visual artists, who had cultivated an instrumental practice utilising spontaneous expression. all the group members assimilated and creatively incorporated the most progressive influences of afro-american music and the contemporary neo-avant-garde, but shifted noticeably in the direction of the contemplative and ecstatic vitality of non-european, especially african, musical cultures. the natural arkestra da maya alta was, and still is, known to a limited group of devoted listeners on the merits of the only record released by rca in 1973.

the group, which represented one of the most innovative entities among the collectives of improvisers active in those years, perfectly expressed its musical virtues in a limited number of periodic live events. the concerts took place mostly in milan during 1973-74. the cd starting this series, "paura", is named after the first track of the nadma concert at circolo lepetit in milan in march 1973, presented here in its entirety. in this concert, the very first live concert preserved on tape, nadma already performs a well-established repertoire, integrating and expanding upon the material of the rca lp.

davide mosconi himself documents the aesthetic and existential horizons of nadma in a typed text and handwritten notes presented here, which also include biographical data about all members of the group. the 16 pages booklet also includes and essay by gabriele bonomo as well as orignal documents and photos.

$20.38

back in stock as of
january 8th, 2009

first in stock on
december 29th, 2005

threads:
plunder-phonic
musique-concrète
electro-acoustic-improvisation
sound-art

alga marghen (italy) #alga tes06 cd

anton bruhin “rotormotor” compact disc

orax [ 03’23” ]
lange töne [ 10’35” ]
versuchpilz 6 [10’13” ]
paul is 35 [ 09’44” ]
rotormotor [28’17” ]

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "lange töne"

alga marghen press release...

3 excerpts from the mc-10 zyklus

lange töne october 27, 1976 10'35"
versuchpllz 6 april 16, 1977 10'13"
paul is 35 april 4, 1977 . 09' 44"

ch-phon, tuning whistle, mouthharp, bell, piano, voice and other instruments.

recorded on 2 cassette recorders with loudspeakers.

1st layer: record music on cassette 1
2nd + 1st loyer: replay cassette 1 over loudspeaker, record simultaneously new music plus the music of cassette 1 on cassette 2 in recorder 2.
3rd + 2nd + 1st loyer: replay cassette 2, record simultaneously new music and the music of cassette 2 on cassette 1 in recorder 1.
4th + 3,d + 2nd + 1st layer: same procedure reversed, ping-pong recording.

the loudspeaker of the cassette-player has a narrow frequency range. the replay develops a loss of sound quality. the replay and the re-recorded layer sounds more muffled. than the new additional recorded music. the latest recorded layer sounds the most clear and present. i do not recall how many layers these recordings ares made of, it's difficult to make it out by listening, but there may be easily 6 or more layers.

a plane, seen from its side shows the shape of a line. the frontal view of a line shows the shape of a spot. the spatial impression (illusion) of a stereo replay is produced by the leftright panorama.

the spatial illusion while listening to a monoaural replay results of this line which moves away from the listener's position into the depth of space. the listener percieves it as a spot moving fore and back from his ears (that means brain).

another excerpt from the mc-i0 zyklus titled wochenwende, zurich, march 8, 1977, has been issued on anton bruhin's inout cd (alga morghen, plana-b 3tes.015, 1998)

rotomotor ein motorisches idiotikon
zurich, written in 1976/77 28'17"

reading

recorded at etienne conod's sunrise studio. first issued in 1978 (sunrise lp 078-1962)

rotomotor is a poetic idiotikon of the swiss-german dialect.
(idiotikon = dictionary of dialect, idiom)
instead of the straight alphabetical order the words are here organised according to the similarity of their sound or rather their letters.
each word differs from the previous one by just one letter.
three possibilities result:

- one letter is added.
- one letter in cancelled.
- one letter is replaced by a different letter.
(sch, ch and a few other legatures = 1 letter)

the choice of the word which follows the previous one was intuitively made.
rotomotor draws a winding path if compared to the straight alphabetical order. this path may ocasionally cross itself. if possible each word appears only one time; in a few cases a word may appear two or even three times.

in 1977 i read a 10 minutes excerpt of rotomotor during the radio program titled dichte® lesung 77. for this reading i used a delay equipment which repeated the signal after more or less 0.6 seconds. each new word is superimposed to the echo of the preceding word. on one hand this echo generates the rhythm of the performance, on the other it supports the acoustic metamorphosis of the words.

$20.38

back in stock as of
april 4th, 2008

first in stock on
december 29th, 2005

threads:
psych-prog
free-improvisation
concert-recordings

alga marghen (italy) #alga tes04 cd

anima~sound “musik für alle” compact disc

n da da uum da [17’34”]
traktor go go go [17’15”]

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "traktor go go go"

awesome free-improv/krautrock from the travelling caravan of paul & limpe fuchs.

alga marghen press release...

in the summer of 1971 the authors of this record parked their wooden stage caravan, hauled by a hanomag tractor, in front of willy neubauer’s recording studio in düsseldorf. on the back of the caravan was written “anima sound musik für alle”.

they had been travelling for 6 months at a speed of 20 km.h through the country, chugging and building up their stage. they played their music for everyone (”für alle”) in the squares of all the cities and all the villages. after touring, they spent three days isolated in the studio and let willy and his newly discovered elektronics add wings to their minds.

”europe tournee mit 20 km/h” is the title of the film that swf produced from this musical trip.

anima sound - musik für alle
by paul & limpe fuchs

paul: schilfzinken, fuchshorn, fuchsbass, metal sound sheets, voice
limpe: voice, percussion, fusszitter

original mastering: studio neubauer, düsseldorf, 1971
elektronik: willi neubauer with echolette ringmodulator

$27.15

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
january 8th, 2009

threads:
modern-psych
outsiders-deviants
harsh-noise
free-improvisation

alga marghen (italy) #alga taub6.5 lp
die taubnessel (italy) #die taubnessel 6 1/2 lp

slashdeath “kein mitleid” one-sided long playing record

kein mitleid (14:48)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "kein mitleid"

december 2008 release ; entirely terrifying outing, the second release by the trio of kommissar hjüler, mama bär, and original faust drummer arnulf meifert ...

consider this the “goofus” pairing with “unrein bis zum abend / reise ins diesseits’” “gallant” ; after a long (and partly/largely hilarious) intro-loop (listen to the sound-sample), the trio break it down a bit via some lovely whisper / glockenspiel / guitar “vibes” before the loop rears its ugly head, only to be replaced with a long section of remko scha-esque hammer-guitar (with errant breaking objects) before a kind of phased-out free-drum psych ushers us into ... the loop again ...

those in tune with the radiations emitting from the hjüler/bär kocmoc will understand ... the rest of you : this is a limited-to-115 lp, released on the new alga marghen sub-label die taubnessel ...

alga marghen press release...

s l a s h d e a t h
"kein mitleid"
(cat no. die taubnessel 6 1/2)
1-sided lp record

after completing the "unrein bis zum abend / reise ins diesseits" lp recordings, arnulf meifert decided to be available for the slashdeath project, this time under the direction of kommissar hjuler and in collaboration with mama baer. what resulted is a kind of death-metal-pastiche or -parody, spontaneously realized with nearly no instruments at all. quite noisy and primitive screams with percussive cymbal ostinato!

black cover with no info at all, except "slashdeath" print and hand glued title in plastic scotch lettering. edition limited to 115 copies.

$27.15

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
january 8th, 2009

threads:
modern-psych
outsiders-deviants
free-improvisation
modern-composition
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga taub6 lp
die taubnessel (italy) #die taubnessel 6 lp

arnulf meifert / kommissar hjüler / mama bär “unrein bis zum abend b/w reise ins diesseits” long playing record

unrein bis zum abend (12:17)
reise ins diesseits (13:25)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "unrein bis zum abend"

december 2008 release ; first release by the trio of kommissar hjüler, mama bär, and original faust drummer arnulf meifert ...

... essentially two side-length text-sound pieces ; with meifert and mama bär reciting various texts (johann fischart, frenziska meifert, “the old testament,” “christian hate speech,” etc ...) over a bed of guitar, drums, “noises” and yamaha porta sound pss-130 (“out of garbage can, thanks alois!”) played by kommissar & arnulf ...

on a blind listen, i’d more likely assume this was some late 60s / early 70s wdr horspiel (mauricio kagel, etc ...) than anything contemporary ... whether this is the result of careful planning or a true artifact of this particular trio’s respective assembly-methods is not important ; the damn thing sounds amazing ...

further evidence of hjüler & bär’s inspired vision ...

alga marghen press release...

a r n u l f m e i f e r t
with k o m m i s s a r h j u l e r & m a m a b a e r
"unrein bis zum abend / reise ins diesseits"
(cat no. die taubnessel 6)
lp record

a record of extreme poetry and sound.

arnulf meifert was the first drummer in the legendary german group faust (he is only present on "faust", the first lp issued by polydor). later and for many years he was companion of vienna actionist guenter brus, whose 50th birthday was celebrated with the publication of the "panishes liederbuch" lp (the now mythical first lp issued by die taubnessel back in 1988).

for the recordings of this new project meifert met kommissar hjuler and his wife mama baer, also experimental musicians, but nearly two generations younger. they have been working together for just a few hours, so everything had to be totally improvised. nevertheless meifert brought some texts with him, fascinated by confrontations of word and music. these texts range from the old testament to renaissance artistry and christian hatespeech from the 20th century, ending with a modern guide for the voyage from death to rebirth.

the impressive and singular cover artwork was done by klaus holzmann, an upcoming austrian artist. two letters showing the discussion between meifert and hjuler after the meeting are also included. edition limited to 280 copies.

$20.38

back in stock as of
january 8th, 2009

first in stock on
april 4th, 2008

threads:
minimalism-drones
modern-composition
sound-art
live-electronic

alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn28 cd

charlemagne palestine “sharing a sonority” compact disc

charlemagne palestine & terry jennings - short & sweet (11:13) 1974
charlemagne palestine & robert feldman - electronic and flute (5:56) 1967
fundamental d flat group (palestine, conrad, & chatham) - db (32:05) 1974

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

march 2008 release - fourth in alga marghen’s “golden” series / survey of charlemagne palestine’s work, including three pieces recorded in 1967 & 1974 - most notably the only available recording of the short-lived fundamental d flat group (charlemagne palestine, tony conrad, & rhys chatham) but also a mellow cale / riley-esque duet between palestine & terry jennings and an remarkable live-electronic duet with robert feldman ...

the “db” piece, recorded shortly after tony’s collaboration with faust, hits on a bunch of similar touchstones & is worth the price of admission alone ... highly recommended !!!

alga marghen press release...

c h a r l e m a g n e p a l e s t i n e
sharing a sonority
with terry jenning, tony conrad, rhys chatham, bob feldman
(cat no. plana-p 28nmn.068)
digipack cd
edition of 1000 copies

alga marghen proudly presents a new chapter in the documentation series of charlemagne palestine historical works. this cd of previously unavailable recordings not only presents you charlemagne palestine activities in 1974, collaborating with some of most important experimental artists and composers from either the new york loft scene and cal arts. but also features world premiere recordings of terry jennings and the fundamental d flat group.

"short & sweet" is the title of a breathtaking duo for piano and sax performed on april 24th by charlemagne palestine and terry jennings. the two composers happened to play together in very private concerts at cal arts, but never recorded those sessions, untill a special day when charlemagne happened to have a little taperecorder around. the recording was considered lost for more than 30 years when finally a copy was found thanks to tony conrad. the piano part reminds some of the early pieces by charlemagne palestine titled piano drones (as the one pre-dating of a couple of years this duo and presented on the "continuous sound forms" cd issued on alga marghen. the liner notes of the same cd mention this duo with terry jennings at the time considered lost). terry jennings’ soprano sax is very elaborated and decorative (reminding the only other recording ever issued by this important outsider and la monte young friend, or the sax and cello duo with charlotte moorman present in "cello anthology" 4cd boxset issued on alga marghen).

around 1967 charlemagne was experimenting mainly with voice and electronic. he also occasionally recorded piano and sax improvisations with his friend bob feldman. this cd featured a very special duo by palestine and feldman playing electronic and flute. the two artists met in 1961 when bob feldman worked in a jazz record shop in the times square subway station. palestine didn’t know much about jazz and feldman guided him through the new progressive jazz styles of the times. later at the intermedia center of nyu where they had a buchla synthesizer (you can listen to charlemagne palestine electronic music studies as presented in "in-mid-air" cd issued on alga marghen). charlemagne and bob feldman experimented there between jazz raga and electronic. very little was recorded. this is one rare duet that dates probably from around 1967 (bob feldman also plays with charlemagne palestine and tony conrad in the historic recording of "alloy" for wbai in 1969 released on golden1 cd on alga marghen).

the last track on this cd is the first 30 minutes recording from april 22nd, 1972 by the fundamental d flat group performing in db. during one trip back to nyc from cal arts, charlemagne palestine was invited by tony conrad (together with rhys chatham) to albright college in new jersey for a sunday afternoon concert. that was the first and last time the fundamental d flat group played in public (tony conrad: violin, horn, string drone. rhys chatham: flute, organ, string drone. charlemagne palestine: voice, pipes, snifter). although the piece lasted all afternoon the first 30 minutes were the only portion recorded during the performance. the fundamental d flat group invite you to listen and meditate in the mode of db. to hear one one is to enter the deepest realm of knowledge of the sound current. the ear, the understanding, and the core of the spirit resonate to the mode of the single tone and its harmonic family. you read, and hear, and feel the empathy of human spirit. the body will channel the knowledge of the single note stronger and stronger, the more you hear. welcome to the fundamental d flat group.

this cd is included in a beatiful digipack full colour sleeve with photos and liner notes. the edition presents some of the best recordings ever issued by charlemagne palestine, a highlight in the alga marghen catalogue and a unique chance to listen to the core of charlemagne palestine golden research real, unedited, original sonorites.

$20.38

back in stock as of
january 8th, 2009

first in stock on
october 12th, 2006

threads:
modern-composition
1960s-electronic
electro-acoustic-composition

alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn25 cd

philip corner “more from the judson years (early 60s) instrumental-vocal works vol.2” compact disc

everything max has: as an “afterward” (1964) 17’28”
big trombone (1963) 09’08”
homage to revere (1962) 07’06”
punkt (1961) 11’10”
passionate expanse of the law (1959) 15’45”
expressions in parallel (1958) 08’56”

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "big trombone"

the second of two discs covering further dips into philip corner’s tape-archive of recorded material from the new york of the late 1950s and early 1960s (with a brief flash-forward to 1971.) featuring corner’s work for instrumental ensembles, solo instrumentalists, & vocalists.

participants include: max neuhaus, james fulkerson, dick higgins, malcolm goldstein, as well as many others.

alga marghen press release...

more from the judson years, early 60s: instrumental-vocal works (volume two)

not everything i did in those days was at the judson memorial church

yet not to forget that extraordinary place where so much of the new and exciting performances...and exhibitions... at that most interesting time in new york, took place. an unusual young pastor, al carmines, set up the place for those things. there was a theater there; and a place for the first happenings. an art gallery ......and later the famous dance theater.

there was my first performance when back to the city after military service. from korea. may 1961. the concert was in early 1962. january 2nd, to be exact. handwritten change on typescript: yoko ono's studio --- changed at last moment to judson church. a lot of players; and a lot of pieces. announced. (not nearly all of them done, actually, then, there.)

almost not done at all. meeting yoko again. but fleeting - maybe at a subway stop. the concerts done at her place during my year away. some of my old friends, like toshi ichiyanagi, and dick maxfield. and a lot of new names from california. dick higgins and alison knowles the connection between my old new york and this new scene. george maciunas and his ag gallery----about to close. final concerts by candlelight. otherwise i'd have been organising my concert there.

other re-connections to old associates: john herbert mcdowell, malcolm goldstein. new ones: jim tenney, carolee schneemann, malcolm's wife the dancer arlene rothlein, jackson mac low, a-yo.

but yoko herself was pulling out of the place. not to be found. and the loft permission useless in the face of an adamant landlord's refusal.

the creation of the dance theater: my involvement with it from the beginning/ would come later. (that participation documented on the alga marghen recording "on tape from the judson years” - cd: as most of my electronic music at that time was made for dancers; and the majority of them associated with the judson.)

so here are the performance pieces i was making in this period, working with live musicians. a good number of these performances were also for and with dancers.. ..but not all.

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alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn24 cd

philip corner “more from the judson years (early 60s) instrumental-vocal works vol.1” compact disc

passionate expanse of the law (1959) 05’36”
air effect (1961) 08’10”
om emerging (1971) as prelude to lovely music (1962) 21’51”
as pure to begin (1963) 08’26”
music reserved until now (1963) 14’33”
composition with or withouth beverly (1962) 11’50

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "composition with or withouth beverly (1962)"

the first of two discs covering further dips into philip corner’s tape-archive of recorded material from the new york of the late 1950s and early 1960s (with a brief flash-forward to 1971.) featuring corner’s work for instrumental ensembles, solo instrumentalists, & vocalists.

participants include: malcolm goldstein, james fulkerson, alison knowles, charlotte moorman, david berhman, dick higgins, joe jones, nam kune paik, chieko shiomi, and many others.

alga marghen press release...

more from the judson years, early 60s: instrumental-vocal works (volume one)

not everything i did in those days was at the judson memorial church

yet not to forget that extraordinary place where so much of the new and exciting performances...and exhibitions... at that most interesting time in new york, took place. an unusual young pastor, al carmines, set up the place for those things. there was a theater there; and a place for the first happenings. an art gallery ......and later the famous dance theater.

there was my first performance when back to the city after military service. from korea. may 1961. the concert was in early 1962. january 2nd, to be exact. handwritten change on typescript: yoko ono's studio --- changed at last moment to judson church. a lot of players; and a lot of pieces. announced. (not nearly all of them done, actually, then, there.)

almost not done at all. meeting yoko again. but fleeting - maybe at a subway stop. the concerts done at her place during my year away. some of my old friends, like toshi ichiyanagi, and dick maxfield. and a lot of new names from california. dick higgins and alison knowles the connection between my old new york and this new scene. george maciunas and his ag gallery----about to close. final concerts by candlelight. otherwise i'd have been organising my concert there.

other re-connections to old associates: john herbert mcdowell, malcolm goldstein. new ones: jim tenney, carolee schneemann, malcolm's wife the dancer arlene rothlein, jackson mac low, a-yo.

but yoko herself was pulling out of the place. not to be found. and the loft permission useless in the face of an adamant landlord's refusal.

the creation of the dance theater: my involvement with it from the beginning/ would come later. (that participation documented on the alga marghen recording "on tape from the judson years” - cd: as most of my electronic music at that time was made for dancers; and the majority of them associated with the judson.)

so here are the performance pieces i was making in this period, working with live musicians. a good number of these performances were also for and with dancers.. ..but not all.

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alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn23 cd

max neuhaus “four realizations of karlheinz stockhausen’s zyklus” compact disc

karlheinz stockhausen - zyklus (1963) 09’49”
karlheinz stockhausen - zyklus (1964) 12’41”
karlheinz stockhausen - zyklus (1965) 11’17”
karlheinz stockhausen - zyklus (1968) 11’23”

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "karlheinz stockhausen - zyklus"

four different recordings of max neuhaus interpreting stockhausen’s “zyklus” - much like the fontana mix-feed disc; all four realizations are quite different, having been performed a year or so apart... one can trace the progression of neuhaus’ vision throughout (the disc is conveniently sequenced chronologically)

alga marghen press release...

karlheinz stockhausen, no. 9 zyklus for one percussionist

zyklus was written in 1959 and is one of the first solo pieces to utiliize such a large number of percussion instruments (twenty one). all the notes are written out specifically with respect to loudness (shown by one of twelve sizes of notes), the instrument to be played (by a symbol for the instrument), the pitch on that instrument (by a staff of some sort), and when the note occurs in time (by correlating time with horizontal space on the page).

however, in the case of many of these notated groups of notes the performer is given specific choices in their juxtaposition. these decisions can he made either before or during the performance. the performer begins with any note, plays through the complete piece, and ends with the note he began with. if the score is placed in one position, the performer's main playing area moves gradually in a clockwise direction; if it is turned upside down, so to speak, the playing area naturally moves counter-clockwise. these recordings include performances in both directions and with various starting points.

when i first started to learn to play zyklus there were only three other percussionists in the world who could play it - one japanese, one french, and a german, christoph caskel. it was the latter who did the first performance. stockhausen's idea was that a performer would play the piece spontaneously, making its complex decisions on the fly. no one played it that way; it was too difficult. everyone wrote out his own version of the score and played from it. i decided to play it for my graduation recital from manhattan school of music. coming from the world of jazz i also wanted to take up the challenge of playing it spontaneously.

at that time percussionists gmerally played only one instrument at a time. playing twenty one simultaneously was unheard of. i quickly realized that the only way to do it, in fact, was to think of all of them together as just one instrument, one multi-surfaced bank of timbre. actually playing this huge group of instruments as if they were one was quite another matter. the challenge was gaining control over the large number of surfaces. in order to be able to do a pianissimo on a surface behind your back, without looking, you have to have a precise kinaesthetic sense of exactly where the surface is. in order for this to happen, the instruments always had to have the same spatial relationships. i had to find a way that they were always in the same position every time i sl't them up; otherwise i would never find them with just my hands. i invented some special frames which allowed me always to place the instruments in the same precise relationships and that were possible to take apart and light enough to transport.

i also had to invent some new techniques. for example several times in the work you have a trill on the vibraphone at the same time as you're playing fast riffs on other instruments. how do you trill on the vibraphone and riff on other things at the same time? you do the trill by taking two mallets in one hand; you put one under the vibraphone bar, one on top, and quickly move them up and down. you play the riffs with two sticks in the other hand. it sounds simple, but nobody had ever thought of that before.

i decided to travel to europe and go to darmstadt where stockhausen was teaching. i wanted to talk to him about the piece. when i met him, he was interested in my idea that the twenty one instruments had to be physically formed into one instrument and in the fact that i had done so much work on it already. six months later, when he was preparing his first us tour, he remembered our conversations and asked me to perform zyklus on the tour. i was twenty three. it was a big opportunity.

lie came over to new york to hear me play it, but he wasn't satisfied with my improvised version. it was too long. i was determined to teach myself how to do it for this tour. i had another six months. i got it down to seven minutes; and i was still improvising, not writing it out.

the first concert of the tour was in new york, and zyklus was the first work on the program. the whole music world was there to see who this german composer was. just before i went out to play, though, stockhausen went out on stage and made an announcement disavowing responsibility for me, implying that a young american could never do justice to his music. it backfired on him. i was ready to play that piece, and i played it like nobody had ever heard it before. the applause afterwards was tumultuous.

m.n.

...

stockhausen, neuhaus, zyklus

this compact disc, with its four realizations by the solo percussionist max neuhaus of karlheinz stockhausen's zyklus, is of interest in itself, because it sounds cool, but also for the larger careers of both stockhausen and neuhaus. the stockhausen score and its realizations mark a time in music and in both men's careers when the roles of composer and pcrformer were blurring, and when neuhaus' latent ambition as a composer, or architect of sound, was taking shape.

stockhausen, born in 1928, is a strange case, but a strange case who has composcd some wonderful music. he started as an ambitious young man of the german avant-garde scene of the 1950's, and zyklus, composed at the end of that decade, can be heard as an example of that era's fascination with fragmentation and disjunction, yet with a powerful coloristic component that was to prove prescient. in the 60's. after zyklus had been composed, stockhausen evolved into almost a full-bore hippie, capped by stints in northern california. his music of that decade, extending into the early 70's, remains his most powerful and beautiful, blending the freedom and mysticism of california counter-culture (although it was never purely popular in any commercial sense) with the grand tradition of european artmusic. since the 70's, stockhausen has been obsessed with his seven-part operatic cycle licht; what posterity will make of these cosmic musical grab-bags remains to be seen.

stockhausen claims to have written the first notated score for solo percussionist with zyklus, although he was actually beaten to that mark by john cage, with his 27'10.44", neuhaus suggests that stockhausen's graphic notation here also owes much to earle brown's pioneering works from the early 1950's. in any case, the notation for zyklus gives the performer considerable latitude, within strict teutonic limits. hence the four different realizations here, each a separate and equally legitimate response to the suggestion proposed by stockhausen's notation, represent an early example of neuhaus making his own compositional choices.

he had a good head start, to be sure, given his early interest in jazz improvisation. in a scnse, the system set up by stockhausen's score, which points directions and sets limits, is rather like the tune and chord changcs of jazz, or the rules neuhaus invents for himself in his own later sound-works, whether on the radio or the internet. and his ample use of electronic instruments to supplement pure percussion in other works also points in the direction on which he was to embark in the early 70's.

the result is a technical tour de force, less evident from a purely aural cd than it would be from a dvd, let alone from having attended one of these performances. each of these four recordings is a document of a true solo performance, one person and two hands, with no additional live help and no overdubbing (not that the technical constraints of the mid-60's, with editing limited to what could be accomplished with scotch tape and a razor blade, would have permitted much in that regard).

this cd also offers four different kinds of beauty, four proofs that the latitude that stockhausen allowed, when capitalized on by a performer with creative imagination, could validate stockhausen as a composer and an entire aesthetic of freedom and control.

john rockwell, new york city, 2004

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alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn19 cd

charlemagne palestine “in mid-air (golden 3)” compact disc

sine wave study (1965) 03’44”
open-closing (1965) 03’37”
seven organism study (1968) 07’50”
negative sound study (1969) 23’47”
tymbral for pran nath (1970) 15’18”

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "seven organism study (1968)"

alga marghen press release...

late night recordings at the n.y.u. intermedia center. buchlas 100 & 200 systems.

“the first time i heard electronically generated sounds probably came from the machines that i encountered in ordinary daily urban life the refrigerator electric motor electrical generator and the hammond electric' organ but it was especially the sounds of motion race cars motor cycles war planes rocket ships that first excited my sonic imagination as a young teenager then i heard the electronic musics of tod dockstader alwyn nikolais pierre henry & schaeffer poeme electronique of varese and xenakis and gesand der junglinge of stockhausen

i immediately bought a cheap reel to reel tape recorder took a class on tape music manipulation and started to cut and paste recording tape making collage sound experiments and fooled with reverb tricks and bass / treble tone knob filterings trying to create already an electronicesque language of my own at first i used my own voice and the bells of my carillon and sounds i recorded around the house as my sound sources then one day i experienced at an electronic music studio what electronically produced sound waves looked and sounded like through an oscilloscope and began studying helmholtz's on the sensation of tone

i started to dream of an expressive continuous evermoving everchanging sound form an enormous sonorous 3-dimensional sculptural canvas in mid-air using electronically produced sounds at first i began experiments with simple sine tone generators emitting the purest sound waves without any overtones then gradually with access to moog buchlas and arps i constructed sounds using the sine / sawtooth / square wave oscillators in a fluid everchanging mix of adding or filtering overtones and white noise to create sonorities constantly changing timbres and weight

i experimented in this way from 1964 till 74 in nyc and then california finally i assembled my own drone machine of 16 ultra stable oscillators designed by serge tcherepnin and 4 band pass filters designed by donald buchla and began to travel presenting spectral continuum searches for the golden sonority day week month long journeis of harmonies and their overtones in constant evolution and transformation in space untill the late seventies when i stopped composing & performing for nearly 15 years

when i resumed in the nineties my jamaica heinekens soundscape was made using arp and rubery oscillators and filters in holland and performed many sonorities in progress these last years with several simple yamaha synthesizers and now i am constructing a small electronic studio at home in bruxelles around the analog oberheim matrix 12 and expander that i bought just before the end of analog in the late eighties electronic sound forms continue to have a major place in my compositional palette.”

...charlemagne palestine

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alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn16 cd

walter marchetti “de musicorum infelecitate” compact disc

variazione i (6:00)
variazione ii (6:00)
variazione iii (6:00)
variazione iv (6:00)
variazione v (6:00)
variazione vi (6:00)
variazione vii (6:00)
variazione viii (6:00)
variazione ix (6:00)
variazione x (6:00)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "variazione x"

2000 recording of this walter marchetti piece - coming across not unlike a room full of cecil taylor disciples interpreting the schoenberg oeuvre in canon...

alga marghen press release...

...from a music for the missing ear: ten abjurations "d'ameublement"

to waller marchetti's "opus vandalicum ", as accompaniment to "de musicorum infelicitate"

only the ultimate phase of music in which the subject, nearly in isolation and above the abyss of silence, is communicated just by means of the total alienation of his own language, only that phase justifies the coldness that, such as a mechanically shut working, availed solely to perdition.
(theodor w. adorno)

i

if while listening to this music, you do not realize that music is talking about itself, then you do not understand anything. (w.m.)

ii

de musicorum infelicitate - i.e., the unhappiness of music -, anamnesis of the condition ofmusic and longing for a magniloquent destructio musicae.

mirror-like reversal of every residual morphologic nominalism, the dieci pezzi in forma di variazioni dolenti - i.e., ten pieces in the form of painful variations - dispose in their unceasing and implacable sequence the landing at an anaphorical finis terrae, the extreme and impassable threshold, beyond which music can but sink in the abyss of its own loss of coosciousness, in front of the horizon of the definihve loss of its exhausted tradition.

iii
dissolved in the mechanics of a .qechve rhetorie, sterile representahon "ithout object, music exordzes in the sounds that outlive it the manifest inability to compete with the loss of its 0\'0 cognitive horizon.

iv

the unpermanent character of music in its essence of ..time~\riling". collides with the impossibility to redeem the dejective nature of an historical ome by now disqualified in its being a mere scatological support and indistinct vehicle of dominion determinations. as if in the act - consubstantial \ith its nature - of inscribing itself in time. in the congenital impossibility to break all connection "ith a hypostatical time that inexorably evaded its vocation for becoming, music could find only an irrevocable condemnation.

v

the act of composing., a case of impotentia creundi - musc, a barren aesthetic code.

imagination morte imaginez: cum mortuis in lingua mortua.

vi

music subsists only as administered practice of a tautological exercise devoid of inner necessity.

its indisposability to free itself from the coils of a syntactical asseveration - objectifying a deliberate attempt aimed at self preservation - has not only pathologically produced the current decline towards morphologies ever pleased with their regressive symptomatology, but primarily reflects the removal of the capacity for critical self deliberation which has historically sustained the gnosjiological qualificatjon of its evolutionary axis.

ineluctably suspended between self-mystification and expression of the inauthentic, music fmds truth in the simulacrum of its fetish character.

vii

having reached the limit of its own fertility and every faculty of the imagination., music has reclined to a parasitic mimicry with regards to any stereo}pe that previously presents itself, able to inspire it "ith a trace of "itat it can no longer be. compelled by the skeletons of the empty inflechons it appropriates and frustrated by the impossibility to adhere to itself, music has been reduced to leading a ghostly existence, haunting the cemetery of history.

viii

a stolen sentence: ..... music arises not yet from the malice of intellect, but from the tender or vehement nuances of naivety - idiocy of the sublime, thoughtlessness of infinity...". ix

if onjy music were able to recognize its 0"11 superfluity it could fulfil its destiny.

x

it was heard, but it has been forgotten. - no, it was not heard and it has not been forgotten: not everything is forgotten. but there was no suitable ear, the ear of epicfetus. - and so did he say it in his own ear?
(fn.)

gabriele bonomo
january 2001

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alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn14 cd

charlemagne palestine “continuous sound forms (golden 2)” compact disc

duo strumming for two harpsichords (1978) - three excerpts (25’25” - 6’45” - 10’40”)
piano drone (1972) 22’10”

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "duo strumming for two harpsichords (1978)"

alga marghen press release...

“elisabeth freeman and i met in 1971 at cal arts near los angeles. she was a disciple of the great harpsichord virtuoso fernando valenti and i was in residence there as assistant professor and graduate student in multi-media. immediately we had a great chemistry between us and the sound and clarity of the harpsichord perfectly fitted my sonic approach. i invented a strumming for her eventually in 1975-76 that premiered in london + ny afterwards to critical success. then in 78 we played together at a harpsichord factory of willard martin in pennsylvania and the 3 exceprts come from sessions at that time she is playing far away + me up close. they were magic moments.

in 1972 while still at cal arts terry jennings, visionary composer, wonderful woodwind player clarinet soprano saxophone always in another time sense in another world. he and i played together from time to time for the moment all recordings are lost but this piano drone played the first bosendorfer imperial that inventited my piano music styles to come is a rare and special moment. he left the room with this stuff and some years later he left this world totally for his other world.

this piano moment on the original imperial of california i dedicate to him as in those days time was different. time passes time elusive liquid time stood still all that at the same time. piano drone is from that time and for terry.”

nayastay charlemagne logo d’orta 9/2000

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alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn13 cd

charlemagne palestine “alloy (golden 1)” compact disc

holy 1 & holy 2 (1967)
alloy (1969)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "alloy (1969)"

so the listing is a little misleading on this one... the first track is a full-on straight drone piece for 20 minutes, holy 1. the second track is the same drone with extra sonorities (aka holy 2) mixed in, thus holy 1+2. the third track is merely the holy 1 + 2 tape played in a large room (possibly the merce cunningham space?) with added accompaniment from tony conrad, robert feldman, deborah glaser palestine and cp himself. regardless of what the hell is actually on this cd, it sounds like: holy 1: the bones of a large whale being bowed from inside, holy 1+2: same whale, resisting, alloy: whale, now transplanted to chelsea piers, field documentation of whale on microcassette & accompaniment by a-list of factory hangers-on/”drone music.”

alga marghen press release...

holy 1 & holy 2
recorded in new york city n.y.u. intermedia center (1967)
late night electronic sonorities

alloy
tony conrad, robert feldman, deborah glaser palestine, charlemagne palestine
recorded live at free music store, radio station wbai, new york city (1969)

“holy 1 and holy 2 were both recorded in nyc in 1967 i was reading helmholz - and listening to a lot of ethnic world music but i was also very immersed in the late night new york soundscape

my friend saxophonist bob feldman and i would often take long long walks 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning from battery park at the lowest point in manhattan to where we lived on 87th street and riverside drive and absorb the spacial sound diversity and beauty that such a big city could only express very late at night then other nights when i composed i worked also at night.

from midnight to 7 or 8 in the morning with a mattress on the floor i would build up a sound oscillator by oscillator then add ever so slightly to the oscillators input tiny increments of white noise that would gr adually make the sounds thicker and thicker untill they were immense sacred machines humming like gargantuan tibetan bees making all the room and objects in it resonate while outside all was quiet and sleeping i worked like a painter with a palette and a canvas and i mixed and added and mixed and added over entire nights

i played them very very loud mixing adding and then lying on the mattress and listening and fine tuning finally at a certain point after several nights the sonority seemed ready to record i'd put on the tape prepare the tape machine with the proper level as not to overload it and i'd record the texture. holy 1 & 2 were done in this way

later on i was asked by gus solomons a choreographer at new york university to create a texture for a new dance work he wanted to present and as he was a student of merce cunningham he had the same habit of asking a composer to create a work without ever hearing it until the performance we just agreed on how long it would be we chose something lik e 70 minutes and in 1968 i brought both holy 1 & 2 to the theatre to decide which one to use for the dance and found that for me at that moment each one was too thin played alone for such a big open space and finally tried the 2 sonorities together

they fit strangely but wellso i used them both and after that i played them sometimes separately together and sometimes and so holy 1 & 2 became a work itself

then in 1969 tony conrad asked me to make some carillon music for his: film "coming attr actions we were seeing each other regularly for that when the free music store of radio station wbai asked me to create a piece for an event they were preparing to broadcast live on radio 1 so i asked tony my saxophonist friend bob feldman my then-wife and sopr ano debor ah glaser to collabor ate on a workthat i would organise around an instrument that i invented at that time called an alumonium made from pieces of aluminium siding attached with fishing wire each a different length thus different pitch when you hit them and a spanning sound as well if you hit them a special way and they'd begin to spin

tony played an instrument that he invented the long string drone that was a long string attached to a long wooden structure and amplified bob played the chimes and a conch deborah sang and played chimes and i sang also played the chimes and some percussion instruments that we found lying around the hall where we played

the piece became alloy and the sound that begins played through loudspeakers in the hall 'were holy 1 & 2 from 1968”

...charlemagne palestine

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alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn11 cd

“rumori alla rotonda” compact disc

john cage “duo” (1958) 07’25”
walter marchetti “gamapîrt” (1959) 04’22”
morton feldman “piano piece 1” (1954) 02’41”
juan hidalgo “ciu music quartet” (1959) 11’04”
leopoldo la rosa “musica per pianoforte e 3 timpani” (1959) 04’58”
john cage “music for piano” (1956) 06’14”
juan hidalgo “offenes trio” (1959) 04’49”
morton feldman “piano piece ii” (1954) 02’18”
walter marchetti “doppio” (1959) 05’10”
leopoldo la rosa “rímak” (1959) 12’16”

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "walter marchetti “doppio” (1959)"

fantastic compact disc documenting an historic concert which took place at the rotonda del pellegrini, milan, on january 21st 1959 featuring john cage, juan hidalgo, and walter marchetti.

alga marghen press release...

live recording at the rotonda del pellegrini, milan, january 21st, 1959.

performers:
john cage, piano (3, 6, 8)
juan hidalgo piano (4), celesta (10)
leopoldo la rosa piano (5, 10)
walter marchetti celesta (2)
pina lercari viola (1, 4, 10)
franco carabelli flute (1, 7, 10)
giordano cappello oboe (2, 10) english horn (7)
stelio licudi bass clarinet (9, 10)
evadro dall’oca bassoon (4, 7, 10)
giacomo polverino trombone (2, 9, 10)
stanislao massara trombone (4, 9, 10)
domenico torrebruno timpani drums (5, 10)
qintín gonzáles, jesús gonzáles cuatros, maracas, claves, guitarra (10)

...

gabriele bonomo

cage, feldman, hidalgo, la rosa, marchetti: “rumori alla rotonda” milan, january 21, 1959.

among all of the events john cage porticipoted in during his long stay in europe, and more precisely in italy, that followed his controversial appearance at darmstadt ferienkurse on september 1958, the concert he held in milan on january 21, 1959, at the rotonda del pellegriniwith juan hidalgo, walter marchetti, and the peruvian composer leopoldo la rosa - perhops represents a less well-known episode, but not the least relevant one. the reasons of such an interest - reasons that justify the opportunity to present here, after forty years, the complete recording of the concert, and that restore the measure of the exceptionality of this rare document - cam be summarized, first of all, in the contrasting reactions catalyzed by this event, thus prefiguring the front of ill-matched attitudes in which the contradictory european reception of john cage's oeuvre began to crystallize.

featuring cage's intervention both as composer and performer of his awn work as well as of two piano pieces by morton feldman, the concert at pellegrini's rotonda moy be considered the first event of experimental music in europe in which the presentation of american and european composers - if one excepts the non-homogeneaus chorocter of david tudor recitals - consciously acted on an ogreeing and equal aesthetic horizon. it was exactly this peculiarity that tumed out to be differently meaningful for peaple who played 0n. active role in the concert on the one hand, and for those who recognized in it, from an extemal point of view, only the symptoms of a pemicious mixture as regards the kind of cultural phenomenology with which cage's experience was classified at the time of his first clamorous ochievements in europe. the concert, promoted by the 'club intemazionale universitario', was organized thanks to the initiative of juan hidalgo, walter marchetti, and leopoldo la rosa, to crown cage's impending deporture from milan, where he spent almost four months starting from november 1958 - accepting luciana berio's and bruno madema's invitation-to finish the tape of fontana mix at rai television 'studio di fonologia musicale'.

during this period cage was not lacking in other opportunities to perform his compositions, neither did he miss former occasions for presenting his music in italy with a certain continuity, perhaps mare frequently at that time than in other eurapean countries. after the first private performance, reserved to musicians and iriends, of fontana mix simultaneously played with aria written lor cathy berberian (milan, december 20, 195b), cage began a brief tour in italy with luciano berio and the same singer, with a concert programme repeated in rome (ridotta del t eatro elisea, january 5, 1959) and florence (circola leonarda do vinci, january 8, 1959), where they presented music for two pianos, winter music, and variations i, and the first public performance of aria with fontana mix. sytvana bussotti and heinz-klaus metzger, in conjunction with teresa rampazzi, afterwards organized a concert by cage at the circolo culturale 'ii pozzetto' in padua (february 7, 1959), where he performed variations i, music walk, excerpts from music for piano, besides an audition 01 the european premiere of the concert for piano and orchestra recorded in cologne, and metzger's opening lecture entitled the musical progress from schonberg to cage...

$42.95

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alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn10 lp

robert ashley “string quartet describing the motions of large real bodies / how can i tell the difference?” double long playing record set

string quartet describing the motions of large real bodies (20:05) 1972 ,
how can i tell the difference? version one (20:32) 1972

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "how can i tell the difference?"

one of robert ashley’s more classic pieces - a mass of crackling wood and strings resulting from an advanced live-electronic sound-modifying setup (detailed below.) rivals the new blockaders’ “changez les blockeurs” in its adoption of grating anti-musical timbres to yield finite goals. along with “wolfman”, essential.

alga marghen press release...

string quartet describing the motions of large real bodies was composed as the potential orchestra for an opera based on the text of in sara, menken, christ and beethoven there were men and women by the american poet, john barton wolgamot. the text in 'a simplified performance version with one voice and a synthesizer orchestra designed by paul demarinis was released by cramps records (nova musicha n.3).

the opera was never completed as a score or "plan", because i realized it would never be performed. it was clearly too complicated for anyone's idea of "opera".

string quartet describing the motions of large real bodies is an electronic orchestra of 42 sound producing modules, each made up of a "program input" (a sound) and a "controller~ input" (to determine how the sound will be changed.) the workings of these modules are intentionally not specified in the score, because it was clear in 1972, when the work was composed, that we were just at the beginning of a huge change in electronic instrumentation, a change that would involve computers and sound producing devices as yet undreamed of. the idea of the work as an orchestra for the opera suggests the possibility of an "infinitely" detailed relationship of the "controllers" in the sound producing modules to the variables in wolgamot's monumental text (depending upon the depth of an analysis of those variables, which are as yet undecoded by anyone who has seen the text.) as an independent work, an electronic orchestra piece of indeterminate duration and sound" caused by" the performance of a string quartet ensemble, it becomes simply a challange to the producer of the performance to make something unique and beautiful out of the resources at hand.

the technique of the string quartet is for each player to make a stream of intentional but unpremeditated (that is, random) very short sounds, pulses, somewhat like pitched clicks, but with the formants and overtones of a string instrument. (i got this idea~ from the rumor of a performance by the composer and violinist, takehisa kosugi.) these sounds go directly to a set of four loudspeakers, but at the same time they are delayed electronically within a range of five to two-hundred-fifty milliseconds, and those delayed sounds are designed tobe activated by the very brief coincidence of an original sound and a delayed sound. the operation of the networks as a result of the coincidence can, in the theoretical world of electronics, produce almost any sound imaginable. if the work is produced with a performer at each of six program-and-controller modules for each of seven networks ("ensembles" of the orchestra), the orchestra will consist of 42 electronics players and four string players.

in the performance realization recorded here few of those resources were available. the string instrument pulses. were prerecorded on a four track tape (using just one violin.) those pulses were delayed at just one time interval and were sent to just one network of program-and-controller modules, designed and performed on a large moog synthesizer by "blue" gene tyranny and sam ashley. so, an interaction between the string performers and the electronics performers is absent, as is the possibility of continuous performance decisions by six electronics performers within each of the seven networks and the consequent , interaction among those networks.

when the work was composed, the composer roger reynolds, tried to design a full set of delays and networks (but pre-programmed) on a~ computer at the university of california in san diego, but the computer could not handle the job. now, of course, there are computer "patching" programs that would make the job possible, but complicated. missing, though, in this possibility are the performing decisions of 46 individuals, which adds a degree of complication still probably beyond our~ means. such are dreams, when technology promises a "new world." sort of like 1492.

robert ashley, new york, june 1999

...

the recording of string quartet describing the motions of large real bodies was a success among my ~ friends, and at the time i was obsessed with the idea of "coincidence"~ (i had learned from a wonderful book called "the singing tree," given to me by a wonderful artist, hank bull, that coincidence was thought to be an "illusion" in the great philosophies of buddhism and hinduism~ i cannot give a correct reference to the book, because i loaned it and it never came back. so, the notion of "coincidence" as a main ingredient in the string quartet came into question.)

the hills and mountains separating san francisco bay from the pacific ocean are fined with a labyrinth of endless concrete tunnels constructed by the military in the 1930's in anticipation of the world war ii to defend san francisco bay from invasion. in 1972 these tunnels were a place of wonder aod adventure for the locals~ at the entrance of every tunnel is a huge steel door, hinges still working~ when the door is slammed, the reverberation through the labyrinth seems to last forever. it is one of the wonders of the world~ naturally, i ~ tried to record this phenomenon~ on the occasion of he recording, just as the reverberation seemed to die away, a motorcyclist, miles away in the tunels, started coming toward us~ the effect, which took minutes, was as if the reverberation had been reversed, as if the tape recording was running backwards~ when the motorcyclist finally exited the tunnel (we had opened the door to record the reverberation), there was a general feeling of relief that we had not become involved in some kind of magical time reversal. a perfect case of. coincidence as illusion.

in version one of how can i tell the difference? i tried to create the drama of the recording of the reverberation and the motorcyclist, using the string quartet describing the motions of large real bodies as an "orchestra," in the way intended to be used in the opera. version one simply mixes the sounds of the string quartet with the harmonies of the string quartet and the recorded sounds of the reverberation of the, labyrinth and the recorded sounds of the motorcyclist in th~e labyrinth.

in version two of how can i tell the difference? a solo string player using the same playing technique as in the string quartet describing the motions of large real bodies opens and closes the sound "gates" to electronic reverberations and prerecorded sounds running continuously with the performance~ the opening and closing of the "gates" is the result of coincidences between the sounds produced by the solo string player~and the sounds from the prerecorded tapes. the technique of producing the result of those coincidences is based on an electronic circuit designed and built by paul demarinis. this magic box was invaluableto me for years. the circuit had two inputs, whose sensitivity to "coincidence" (between the input sounds) could be adjusted over a wide range of input voltages. any coincidence of sounds at the inputs could be used to activate instruments (e~g~, electronic ~ "gates") at any of eight outputs. i have forgotten now exactly what the elctronic set-up was (how many "gates", how many prerecorded tracks were available, how many "passes" were made on the multitrack machine), but it is clear from the recording that the coincidence-gating is the drama of the performance.

robert ashley, new york, june 1999

$20.38

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alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn08 cd

ben patterson “early works” compact disc

a simple opera (1995 lago di como version 13.4.1999) 15’51”
duo for voice and a string instrument (1961) 11’01”
variations for double-bass (1961) 11’22”
paper piece (1960) 17’05”
pond (1962) 05’24”

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "variations for double-bass (1961)"

as of yet the only available recordings of ben patterson’s early fluxus sound-pieces, the majority performed on or of the acoustic double-bass & recorded in the early 1960s... the two contemporary book-end pieces are performed here by a small orchestra consisting of philip corner, walter marchetti, davide mosconi (of n.a.d.m.a. fame), and others...

alga marghen press release...

"a simple opera (lago di cama version}": i have included this new work for reasons which can be deduced from the sub-title and the libretto (see score reproduced in these notes.) fluxus historians may recognize similarities between this work and a 1960s opera by emmett wiliams. these similarities are intended, as my first version af this opera was a hommage to emmett williams on his 70th birthday.

"duo for voice and a string instrument": this duo was my most ambitious and last attempt to combine graphic notation and chance operations for the realization of a performance score. the complete set of materials necessary to realize a version of this work, consisted of two pages of instructions, three pages of a general universe of symbols and two transparencies (on which circular and rectangular contours were drawn) used to abstract sets of symbols (graphic notations) from the general universe in the preparation of a performance score (see pages reproduced in these notes). this work was first performed at galerie haro lauhus in cologne, germany, on may 14, 1961.

"variations for double-bass": within days after the first performance af "duo", i realized what interested me most about the work were my tentative experiments with "prepared double-bass". i immediately began working on a set of variations far double-bass. and then, unexpectedly, out of some unknown place, something new entered the process - humor! i still remember the joy and excitement of those next days, as the ideas fell into place. the piece was finished within a week and the first performance took place shortly there after on june 8, 1961, again at galerie haro lauhus.

"paper piece": this work cut the umbilical cord to all of my previous classical and contemporary musical training and experience. the process had begun during my first encounter with john cage at mary bauermeister's "contre festival" (may 1960 in cologne). three months later, my reaction to the first performance of stockhausen's "kontakte" made the completion of this process an urgent necessary. "paper piece" was completed in september 1960 and received its first performance at galerie lauhus, cologne on may 14, 1961. however, despite my reasonably precise instructions (see score repraduced here), beginning with the first fluxus festival concerts in 1962, "paper piece" grew a life of its own. it literally began enveloping and involving entire audiences in a wonderfully messy happening. now, nearly forty years later, this first studio recording returns to the acoustic origins of this work.

"pond": critics or historians searching for autobiographical references in my work should consider the following: 1) as a "country boy" in a rural area outside pittsburgh, listening to the crickets, "caddidies" and frogs at a nearby pond, was what i considered "night-life"; and 2) i did not decide wheter to study music or herpetology until the last month before . entering the university of michigan. "pond" was first performed at nikolai kirke, capenhagen on november 26, 1962.

the photos of "duo" and "variations" are fram the "kleinen sommerfest" concert at galerie parnass on june 9, 1962 (see invitation reproduced here); this event has special historic significance in that it included the first public presentation by george maciunas of his fluxus manifesto and plans for the wiesbaden fluxus festival.

$75.05

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field-recordings
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alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn02 cd

philip corner “pieces of (acoustic) reality and ideality” artist's multiple

listening walk at the lonificio bonotto (24:02)
a p o t h é o s e (46:42)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "listening walk at the lonificio bonotto"

fantastic but expensive edition from fluxus artist philip corner and alga marghen - consisting of a cd-r containing a walk-through of an italian textile factory (impeccably recorded), housed inside a cd-jewel case with a handmade paper cover with bits of fabric from the factory in question tucked inside, signed by the artist.

i currently have two (2) pieces of this edition - which i believe to be the last in circulation. enjoy.

alga marghen press release...

alga marghen
plana-c 2nmn.013

pieces of (acoustic) reality and ideality
2 moments from a continuing life-series:

1. listening walk at the lonificio bonotto *
on 29 july, 1995 a program was given within the fabric factory itself. the regular workers were the conductors of that music made by the machines. a guided tour for ears; the procession through by invited guest-listeners..... each part of the mill with its own sound; all in rhythmic counterpoint. with the microphone which has made this recording.

duration: 24'02"

* and thanks to luigi himself for the promotion of this project-which brings hearing into the piece-of-reolity environment i had already created in his house.

2. "a p o t h é o s e" - just the remains as recorded document of that afternoon alone in my house in cavriogo, just outside reggio nell'emilia..... when i played discreetly on all sorts of objects turning them into a music added to a far-away echo-of-the-past: the forgotten france of couperin (françois)'s "apotheose de lully".

philip corner

duration: 46'42"

produced by emanuele carcano far alga marghen in december 1997
front cover: hand-made paper by stefano pedrini, son polo d'enza (emilia)
fabric sample from lonificia banatta, malvena (veneta, near bassan')

$27.15

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

alga marghen (italy) #alga nmn01 lp

philip corner “metal meditations” long playing record

at merce cunningham studio a (5:30)
at merce cunningham studio b (4:10)
at merce cunningham studio c (6:10)
at cavriago
r.e. (3:10)
at charlie morrow studio (15:20)
at cambridge, ma (4:20)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "at cambridge, ma"

1997 release ; just a few stray copies of this early alga marghen stunner at the contemporary single-lp price ...

alga marghen press release...

p h i l i p c o r n e r
“metal meditations”
(cat no. plana-c alganmn.008).
lp record
the culmination of many years' experience and experimentation with the properties of resonant metal objects, whether intended for music or not. includes accompaniment of a merce cunningham event with help from david behrman, and collaboration with bill fontana at charlie morrow studio: squeaky wood floor, footsteps, and delightful sound-disturbance by rope holding frayed friction rough edge of long rusty iron found-and-picked-up pipe.

second edition with black and white cover.

$27.31

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electro-acoustic-improvisation
free-improvisation
modern-composition

alga marghen (italy) #alga m esm lp
planam (italy) #planamesm lp

dendoshi “dendoshi 2” long playing record

dendoshi 2 (1) (16:55)
dendoshi 2 (2) (18:07)

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

december 2008 release ; controversial first evidence of a one-off meeting between raymond dijkstra, timo “af ursin” van luijk, and the no-neck blues band’s dave nuss & keith connolly ...

first, in raymond (and timo)’s words ::

the record dendoshi 2 was released without the agreement or even without the knowledge of raymond dijkstra and timo van luijk.

i completely distance myself from this release, which goes against everything i stand for artistically.

in 2006 we, (van luijk and i) met dave nuss and keith connolly of the no neck blues band. they told us they were in a creational gap, and were eager to work with us, to find new creational pathways. end 2006 we played two times. end 2008 i got an email from them a 'dendoshi' record was released on planam. they had without agreement (of van luijk and i) given permission to publish the music, and have applied a theory to the music, a theory which was not involved on any given moment of the project. (in reality, the music was totally improvised on a fully equal basis.) the fact alone that they bring it now as if the music was based on this theory, i find it artistically fake, and without any artistic integrity.

i believe in artistic purity. it is either the truth, or a fraud. unfortunately, the record dendoshi 2 is a fraud, since the theory applied to this music is a lie. which makes the release and the whole project without any artistic value. this is the reality in which this release must be seen.

i have never given permission to release this music in this physical form. and i don't have any artistic connection to the theory as now applied to the music. moreover, it goes against everything i stand for artistically.

the fact that nuss and connolly have given permission to release this music without our permission, and applied a fake theory to it, proves that they are without any artistic integrity. i can only feel sorry for them, and distance myself completely from this music release.

raymond dijkstra, january 2009
co-signed by timo van luijk.

then, alga marghen / planam organizer emanuele carcano’s statement ::

i send you this email to let you know that the planam responsible do not agree with the contents concerning the dendoshi2 edition as presented on the email you received from raymond dijkstra and timo van luijk.

planam would have appreciated the group to eventually inform the publisher about their decision to send out a pseudo-official communication. as a matter of fact planam did not receive this same communication from a part of the group and would like to underline that he consider this action a very unprofessional one.

as a publisher i will not enter the eventual problematic dynamics of the group.

sorry for this misunderstanding. i will keep you updated about this matter. at the same time i send you my positive feelings about continuing working on the distribution together.

very best regards. planam

nuss and connolly have yet to issue missives ...

all of this aside, let’s assess this edition on the merits of the music played / contructed / presented here ... personally speaking, i think it’s excellent ; there’s a focus and attention to detail often lacking from the no-neck axis’ myriad shadow-outings ... dijkstra’s woozy pump-organ styling act as a leitmotif throughout ; a solid precipice scaled by the other members of the group, each leaving their respective spike-prints via haphazard guitar / percussion / electronic augmentation ...

lp comes in a gold-ink sleeve, with connolly’s “fake concept” logo on the cover, along with a pack of four photo-stills, some involving known iconography (vermeer’s “girl with the pearl earring,” for example, apparently from timo’s basement) , each emblazoned with, again, connolly’s cryptic symbol ... completely lovely ; the armchair enthusiast of any/all involved parties will immediately see the merits here, despite 1/2 of the creator’s misgivings ... highly recommended !!!

alga marghen press release...

d e n d o s h i
"dendoshi 2"
(cat no. planamesm)
lp record

dendoshi is keith connolly (no neck blues band), raymond dijkstra (asra), dave nuss (no neck blues band) and timo van luyk (af ursin, in camera). dendoshi: "he who comes to propagate the ceremony" or "missionary" (japanese). there had actually been a previous incarnation of dendoshi (hence dendoshi 2), which was a large group performance in new york which concentrated on elucidating the memories of a dead tree which had been re-contextualized as a sculptural exhibit.

some thematic reference: the name "dendoshi" originates from the work of japanese filmmaker kyoshi kurosowa, whose films also inspired the content of the first performance. when the opportunity presented itself for connolly, dijkstra, nuss and van luyk to come together to make a session, it was the perfect opportunity to realize dendoshi not as a one-off performance on a theme, but as a recurring ritual in development. the resulting music widened the conceptual reflection of the band, bringing to mind the history and ideas of franz mesmer. mesmer, the eighteenth century austrian spiritualist healer, was among the first to put forth the theory of what he termed "animal magnetism", regarding a universal fluid which permeates all matter and can be influenced by the will, not dissimilar to some of eliphas levi's concepts. what seemed to set mesmer apart was an attention to mood and atmosphere, an aesthetic component to what were scientifically quite dubious theories, which lent to his work an aura of portent - thus the parallel with the music captured as dendoshi 2. reflecting the qualities that all four musical sensibilities had in common, the album is a statement upon the ephemeral nature of atmosphere and will, and the relation of reverie to oblivion as opposed to ecstacy.

the symbol, or mark on the front cover created by connolly came intuitively and without revision. it's applied function is that of distinction rather than that of protection or as a seal. it was first applied to the photograph by clarence h. white form 1904, where the first resonant depiction, or personification, of reverie and oblivion as applied to dendoshi was found. by applying the mark connolly is ceremonializing the image, thus rendering it distinct from its original form, not as an appropriation, but as a recognition. the other images followed, and each of them was recognized instantly without having to search. the last was vermeer's image from van luyk's basement, and upon recieving this the series of 4 inserts was complete. there is a trace of fear and a sensation of suspended time in these images which suits the music very well.

edition limited to 300 copies on gold cover.

$27.31

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threads:
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minimalism-drones
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digital-musics

alga marghen (italy) #alga gol pal lp
planam (italy) #planam golpal lp

gol / charlemagne palestine “pandamoniahbleeummm!!!!” long playing record

pandamoniahbleeummm!!!! • pt. 1 (17:54)
pandamoniahbleeummm!!!! • pt. 2 (14:12)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "pt. 2"

december 2008 release ; second of two lps pitting the french gol ensemble against various musical avant-garde figures ; in this case minimalism giant & sock monkey enthusiast charlemagne palestine ...

as opposed the ensemble’s direct interference on the dumitrescu / avram set, here they seem to act mainly as augmentation to palestine’s swelling organ clusters, adding a thin layer of bass / guitar / flute / voice / electronic sonority to the rising sound throughout (listen to the sound-sample for an example) ...

lp in full alga marghen spec, comes with a single-sided insert with credits, dedications (one is to philips-prospective 21 siecle lineage composer jean guillou) and a fun panda-bear sketch (detail below) ...

alga marghen press release...

g o l / c h a r l e m a g n e p a l e s t i n e
"pandamoniahbleeummm!!!!"
(cat no. planam golpal)
lp record

entering their twentieth year of existence, the gol orchestra, together with the label planam, celebrates and starts a new program of collaborations: the gollaboration series.

volume 2, "pandamoniahbleeummm!!!!" marks the encounter with charlemagne palestine, pionneer of strumming music and piano maximalism, in the st. eustache church in paris, known for its world famous church organ. the following battle, in form of a long incantatory improvisation, charlemagne palestine playing the church organ and gol doing the electronics, bass, guitar, and the flutes part, combines many attributes of a pagan ritual.

gol was formed in 1988 in paris by jean-marcel busson, frédéric rebotier, ravi sharda and samon takahashi. the quartet embodies, within a post-dada spirit, a lost rural tradition. gol plays flute, horns, guitar, violin, toys, selfmanufactured instruments, tapes, turntables, voices, various percussion instruments and electronics, an appropriateness of both traditional string instrument and handmade low fi equipment. gol's first lp (gol lp 01), issued in 1993, compiles their first items (88-92) based on vinyl- record's scratching, tape's cut-ups and acoustic instruments. the issuing of this lp was followed by a 9 years long hibernation. since 2002, the band is back together to pursue its common research and play together of instinct and invention. their music, electroacoustic oriented, is partially improvised and partly tense. at the time of a collaboration with roumanian composer iancu dumitrescu, gol developped a score system knowned as « layer's leaf ». through this system, they could elaborate an hybrid music, between orchestral conduct and free interpretation of movements.

edition limited to 300 copies, also including a large insert with liner notes great graphics by jean-marcel busson who also design the front and back cover.

$27.31

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threads:
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electro-acoustic-composition
electro-acoustic-improvisation
digital-musics
analogue-synth
circuit-bending

alga marghen (italy) #alga gol da lp
planam (italy) #planam golda lp

gol / iancu dumitrescu / ana-maria avram “musique directe” long playing record

musique directe ii (5:37)
musique directe i (6:50)
musique directe iii (5:09)
etude granulaire (7:00)
musique directe iv (9:20)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "musique directe ii"

december 2008 release ; first of two lps pitting the french gol ensemble (samon takahashi’s name jumps out, but there’s also jean-marcel busson, frédéric rebotier, and ravi sharda) against titans of contemporary sound ; here the romanian husband-wife team of iancu dumitrescu & ana-maria avram ...

using dumitrescu’s mutating digital processes as a launching-point, the full ensemble get deep into an updated form of the classic electro-acoustic improv spec, taking in all manner of fizzing electronics (both analogue & digital ; listen to the sound-sample), densely fuzzed-out instrumental playing (the long section of destroyed acoustic bass during “musique directe ii” is quite nice) and thick swatches of hazy, sliding forms reminiscient of il gruppo’s various outings ...

lp comes in full alga marghen spec, with a single-sided insert with an “improvisation sketch” for the unheard (here, at least) “musique directe v” ... excellent work !!!

alga marghen press release...

g o l / d u m i t r e s c u / a v r a m
"musique directe"
(cat no. planam golda)
lp record

entering their twentieth year of existence, the gol orchestra, together with the label planam, celebrates and starts a new program of collaborations: the gollaboration series.

volume 1, hence the title "musique directe", shows the band facing the leaders of roumenian spectralism ana-maria avaram and iancu dumitrescu. electric and intense spontaneous experiments, on the edge of electroacoustic music and primitive avant-garde. live recordings in marseille and paris with the participation of ansamblul hyperion members petru and matei teodorescu on one track.

gol was formed in 1988 in paris by jean-marcel busson, frédéric rebotier, ravi sharda and samon takahashi. the quartet embodies, within a post-dada spirit, a lost rural tradition. gol plays flute, horns, guitar, violin, toys, selfmanufactured instruments, tapes, turntables, voices, various percussion instruments and electronics, an appropriateness of both traditional string instrument and handmade low fi equipment. gol's first lp (gol lp 01), issued in 1993, compiles their first items (88-92) based on vinyl- record's scratching, tape's cut-ups and acoustic instruments. the issuing of this lp was followed by a 9 years long hibernation. since 2002, the band is back together to pursue its common research and play together of instinct and invention. their music, electroacoustic oriented, is partially improvised and partly tense. at the time of a collaboration with roumanian composer iancu dumitrescu, gol developped a score system knowned as « layer's leaf ». through this system, they could elaborate an hybrid music, between orchestral conduct and free interpretation of movements.

edition limited to 300 copies, also including the graphic score of "musique directe iv".

$43.68

back in stock as of
january 8th, 2009

first in stock on
december 21st, 2006

alga marghen (italy) #alga akt04 cd

hermann nitsch “requiem für meine frau beate musik der 56.aktion” double compact disc set

requiem für meine frau beate musik der 56.aktion part 1 (60:00)
requiem für meine frau beate musik der 56.aktion part 2 (58:41)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "part 2"

december 2006 release; a reissue of a 1977 3lp set (originally: edizioni morra) by aktionist-composer hermann nitsch... this is right up there along with the dieter-roth-verlag “island symphony” in terms of nitsch’s early large-ensemble dread-drone tactics... ominous, superlative work.

alga marghen press release...

h e r m a n n n i t s c h
requiem fur meine frau beate
musik der 56. aktion
cat no: plana-n 4akt.062
2cd + booklet in slipcase

alga marghen proudly present the documentation of "requiem fur meine frau beate", which took place in the chiesa di santa lucia in bologna, italy, in 1977 shortly after beate nitsch's death. this was not only one of the strongest and most powerful aktionen by hermann nitsch but also a crucial point in the development of his art.

begining 1977, beate nitsch was travelling in schwarzwald. she has been inaugurating a nursery-school and wanted to meet some relatives in stuttgart when, near ulm, she had a terrible car accident. beate had supported her husband's art not only sharing the sentimental part of their life but also actively collaborating to the organisation of his work. she organised the purchase of castle in prinzendorf, the central place where nitsch will develope his orgien mysterien theater. for hermann nitsch this loss was a complete collapse. he suddenly felt to be on the opposite side of life, alone and full of despair. in that days he reached the deepest point of black unhappiness.

nitsch decided then to go the naples where he organised a lehraktion at morra gallery. his friend kubelka joined him from usa. during the lehraktion he was told about a big performance festival that would have taken place in bologna. nitsch was invited to partecipate with an aktion to be performed in a big old church. it was clear to nitsch that he would have conceived an aktion dedicated to the memory of beate. a requiem even.before the aktion in bologna hermann nitsch music was basically released as a wall of noise. the musicians could play what they wanted and the only instruction was to play as loud as possible. only the duration, the starting point and the noise level of each instrument was fixed. for the first time with the requiem nitsch started to conceive longer tone clusters, specially for the wind instruments. the perfect acoustics of the church with its wonderful organ, which shocked nitsch with its intensity and power, suggested him a new direction in music. among the lucky audience were many friends coming from all over the world to witness the event. for everyone the requiem was an important and estatic experience. the big success of the aktion gave nitsch the strengh to continue his work. shortly after bologna he was invited to create new aktionen in canada and los angeles.

first time 2cd edition, in tri-folded digipack, reproducing the impossible to find 3lp art gallery edition issued in naples in 1977 for the radiotaxi series. including a 12 page folded insert with drawings and directions from the lp boxset original graphics. this edition also includes a 32 page shocking full colour photo documentation of the aktion, for the first time available now. edition of 1000 copies, only 700 available for distribution.

$30.31

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
1970s-electronic
electro-acoustic-composition
analogue-synth
modern-composition
sound-installation
minimalism-drones

alga marghen (italy) #alga 27 lp

luc ferrari “labyrinthe de violence / danse” one-sided long playing record

labyrinthe de violence (16:23)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "labyrinthe de violence"

march 2009 release ; first release of this mid-70s all-electronic piece from luc ferrari, issued to coincide with the “œuvres sonores 2” event organised by emanuele carcano on april 5th & 6th, 2009.” ...

any new music from the late master is going to be cause célèbre here at mms, but this piece goes far beyond even my own expectation(s) ; a straight 16-minutes of impeccably throbbing low-end pulsing, unlike any other piece of his i’ve heard ... highly recommended !!!

alga marghen press release...

l u c f e r r a r i
"labyrinthe de violence / danse"
(cat no. plana-f alga27).
1-sided lp record
edition of 500 copies

"danse" was part of a sound/visual installation called "labyrinthe de violence". previously unpublished, this radical experimental work has now been released on lp record in collaboration with the new media dept of centre pompidou (national museum of modern art) in paris for “œuvres sonores 2”, a 2-day-event organised by emanuele carcano at beaubourg on april 5th & 6th, 2009.

"labyrinthe de violence" was an installation for tape sounds and 2 slide projectors conceived in 1975 by luc ferrari. the installation was a visual and sound metaphore of violence within contemporary civilised society. four different rooms with a central space created the spacial context of this work. the specific environmental sonority (1. "violence"; 2. "pollution"; 3. "profit"; 4. "mechanism" / "paysage" / "danse") created for each of the four rooms naturally superposed themselves in the central space. "danse" was one of those sonorities minimally constructed using 2 different sounds: a very low electronic drone deeply resonating for the whole duration with, in the end, the accumulation of deconstructed sequences played by luc ferrari on an electric organ. documenting one of luc ferrari most beautiful and mysterious sonic works, this lp edition will be the first in a series of alga marghen projects presenting a still undiscovered side of the poetical universe of this foundamental composer.

this 1-sided lp, issued in an edition limited to 500 copies only, will first be presented at centre pompidou in paris and offered to the audience partecipating to the second “œuvres sonores” event. after this event, the remaining copies will be available for distribution.

$32.77

new to stock as of
january 8th, 2009

threads:
minimalism-drones
analogue-synth
modern-composition
electro-acoustic-composition

alga marghen (italy) #alga 26 lp

charlemagne palestine “sound 1” one-sided long playing record

2 separate chords • blending in space • sculptural (18:30)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "sound 1"

december 2008 release ; single-sided lp featuring an 18-minute piece by charlemagne palestine, “published in collaboration with “vidéo et après” for the first “œuvres sonores” event, december 15th, 2008 nouveaux media dept, musée national d’art moderne, paris” ...

no word on when the piece in question was physically laid to tape (different reports / opinions range from the mid 60s / mid 70s to present day) ... regardless, you get a static wall of tremulous oscillator patternage that rivals/exceeds contemporary work in the field by such folks as eleh and damion romero ... charlemagne fans (esp. those of the “negative sound study” lp) will need this in their lives ...

alga marghen press release...

c h a r l e m a g n e p a l e s t i n e
"sound 1"
(cat no. plana-p alga26)
1-sided lp record
edition of 500 copies
(only 200 copies available for sale)

as the title well underlines, "sound 1" electronic sonority is a starting point in charlemagne palestine researches for the golden sonority. previously unpublished, this radical and foundamental work has now been released on lp record in collaboration with the new media dept of centre pompidou (national museum of modern art) in paris for the first "œuvres sonores" event, december 15th, 2008.

charlemagne palesitne started to dream of an expressive continuous evermoving everchanging sound form; an enormous sonorous 3-dimensional sculptural canvas in mid-air, using electronically produced sounds. at first he began experiments with simple sine tone generators emitting the purest sound waves without any overtones. then, gradually, with access to moog and arps, he constructed sounds using the sine / sawtooth / square wave oscillators in a fluid everchanging mix of adding or filtering overtones and white noise to create sonorities constantly changing timbres and weight. palestine experimented in this way from 1964 till 74 in nyc and then, in california, finally he assembled his own drone machine of 16 ultra stable oscillators designed by serge tcherepnin and 4 band pass filters designed by donald buchla. he would build up a sound, oscillator by oscillator, then add ever so slightly to the oscillator imput, tiny increments of white noise that would gradually make the sounds thicker and thicker untill they were immense sacred machines humming like gargantuan tibetan bees. charlemagne played them very very loud, making all the room and objects in it resonate while outside all was quiet and sleeping. he worked like a painter with a palette and a canvas and he mixed and added and mixed and added over, entire nights, mixing adding and then lying on the mattress and listening and fine tuning. finally, at a certain point, after several nights, the sonority seemed ready to record. he'd put on the tape, prepare the tape machine with the proper level as not to overload it and record the texture.

this 1-sided lp was issued in an edition limited to 500 copies, and about 350 of those copies were offered to the audience partecipating to the first "œuvres sonores" event at centre pompidou. less than 200 copies are available for distribution.

$27.15

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
january 8th, 2009

threads:
1960s-electronic
electro-acoustic-composition
musique-concrète

alga marghen (italy) #alga 25 lp

malcolm goldstein “early electronic / tape collage music” long playing record

sheep meadow (6:34) 1967
images of cheng hsieh (15:51) 1967
it seemed to me (5:42) 1963
judson #6 piece (6:43) 1963
illuminations from fantastic gardens (13:03) 1964

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "judson #6 piece"

december 2008 release ; jaw-dropping collection of early electronic work from violinist/composer malcolm goldstein ...

the lp starts with “sheep meadow,” composed by feeding recordings of indigenous music(s) into an overloading tape recorder (eerily prescient of something like aaron dilloway’s “sounds of nepal” experiments) ... this is followed by “images of cheng hsieh,” a collage of room-tone events (footsteps, scrabbling objects, brushed metal) with short tape-interjections/juxtapositions (blasts of similar sounds, often suddenly jumping up 24db and/or played backwards & at varispeeds ; imagine a more through-composed tape piece comprised largely of the sort of mystery sounds heard on “changez les blockeurs” ; if that gives you any sort of indication) ...

on the b-side, “it seemed to me” hedges plundered opera-singing with the kind of spectrally-processed tones often heard emanating from milan’s rai during the same era (see: luigi nono’s tape music) ... “judson #6 piece” (listen to the sound-sample) ups the ante with a rich tapestry of constantly-changing synthesis & concrète-noises, not something i’d normally associate with goldstein, but imho the best piece on the record ... finally, “illuminations from fantastic gardens” is a chamber-piece largely involving the operatic recitation of nonsense sounds with occasional taped-counterpoint (ala milton babbitt’s “philomel”) ...

comes in a double-wide sleeve, with an 11” x 11” 12-page booklet (reprinting the score/minutiae of “illuminations from fantastic gardens”) with the lp in it’s own card-stock inner sleeve ... of the 7 titles in this december 2008 alga marghen batch, imho, this one takes the cake ... highly recommended !!!

alga marghen press release...

m a l c o l m g o l d s t e i n
"early electronic / tape collage music"
(cat no. plana-g alga25)
lp record
edition of 350 copies

alga marghen proudly presents an lp edition including some of the seminal electronic / tape collage pieces by malcolm goldstien, created in close connection to the sulphuric new york pre-fluxus environment of the early 1960s.

the 1960's, downtown new york city, rich with activities, doors opening upon a world fertile with possibilities: the delightful unknown. malcolm goldstein, first working at the columbia-princeton electronic music center, then joining the judson dance theater with dancers, musicians, poets, and visual artists all interacting in the common ground of improvisation / exploration. for the judson dance theater most of the music on this recording was created.

"sheep meadow" (1966), a collage of two musics, folk & court music, was realized on a very cheap single tape recorder that offered its own electronic distortion embellishments. it was created for an anti-war demonstration to be held in that meadow of central park, with a dancer on top of a flat-bed truck and with loudspeakers. "images of cheng hsieh" (1967) was for a dance by carol marcy at judson church, simultaneously with an instrumental ensemble performing from the calligraphic graphic score, the name cheng hsieh. "it seemed to me" (1963) was composed for a dance by arlene rothlein; a collage of traditional musics chosen by her to be incorporated with electronic sounds. "judson #6 piece" (1963) was for ruth emerson, using only electronic sounds. finally "illuminations from fantastic gardens" (1964), the only composition for a vocal ensemble on this recording, was composed for elaine summers' "an evening of fantastic gardens", a multi-media event of dance, music, film and visual projections, as part of the judson dance theater concerts. it is the first music notated by malcolm goldstein with graphic renditions of the words of rimbaud and without traditional music notation. two performers were trained singers while the others were a visual artist and an actor; two women & two men, all in the spirit of the times, sources coming together, as art & life blended in an overflowing of exploration.

edition limited to 350 copies, also including a 12 page large booklet with the reproduction of the complete "illuminations from fantastic gardens" graphic score.

$65.52

back in stock as of
january 8th, 2009

first in stock on
september 5th, 2007

threads:
sound-poetry
musique-concrète
live-electronic
electro-acoustic-composition
electro-acoustic-improvisation

alga marghen (italy) #alga 24 book

françois dufrêne “françois dufrêne • affichiste • sound poet” book and compact disc set

köchel que j’aime (9:34) 1969
le cheval lié à l’art rose (12:36) 1969
eryximaque, suite choréographique au tombeau de pierre larousse (7:19) 1965
lecture-collage: la ressource du petit peuple & tenilom de jean molinet (18:53) 1965
belles nuisances, hantez nos nuits (10:50) 1970
comptinuum (10:58) 1958-1970
book - françois dufrêne “affichiste - sound poet” (256 pages, french / english / portugese)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "köchel que j’aime "

another superb alga marghen pairing with curator guy schraenen; this time the catalogue (256 pages in french, english, and portugese, 110 of which are full-color reproductions of dufrêne’s visual work) to the schraenen-curated françois dufrêne show @ the musea serralves in porto, coupled (much like the “modern shit / artcoustics” set, only the disc fits into the book itself... and has something to do with the book itself for that matter...) with a disc of 60s/70s sound-poetry/tape-sound ruminations that boggle the mind ...

alga marghen press release...

f r a n ç o i s d u f r e n e
same
(cat no. plana-d alga24)
catalogue+cd

françois dufrêne (1930-1982) is one of the leading artists from the post-war european and french art scene. he played a key role in many of the initiatives of lettrism, nouveau réalisme and sound poetry. in françois dufrêne's oeuvre, art and poetry intersect in a reciprocal experimentation of the possibilities of transgression of their specific grammars. his oeuvre constitutes a singular example of this special relationship between art and language, which throughout the 20th century proved to be one of the most fertile grounds for expanding the limits seemingly imposed on western art via the history of artistic genres.

many of his artistic creations use objects retrieved from the urban context, such as posters or stencils, or use the voice in non-linguistic contexts. examples of the latter include his creation of the crirhythm , wherein he reinvented sound poetry and the relationship between performance and text.

the present catalogue attempts to present françois dufrêne's work as a totality, wherein it would be artificial to separate his status as a poet from that as a visual artist. poems, books, records, recordings, reverse sides of posters, stencils, films and photographs documenting the artist's actions are combined together in a mosaic that makes it possible to reinterpret françois dufrêne's work as one of the most singular adventures of his epoch, and also re-evaluate the relevance of the challenges he posed to contemporary culture.

the cd offered in the catalogue includes the fantastic crirhythm from 1970 titled "belle nuisances hantez nos nuits", the complete "osmose-art" from 1969 where crirhythms are superimposed to classical music, "eryximaque" and two "lecture-collage" from 1965 as well as the 1958-70 "comptinuum". all the sound works presented on the cd are also included in the 4lp boxset anthology issued by alga marghen and titled "oeuvre desintegrale".

full colour catalogue in a4 size, 250 pages, all texts translated in english, french and portuguese. the book includes a large selection of experimental visual works dating from 1957 to 1981 as well as the biography, essays and original texts (among them "pragmatics of crirhythm" and "the crirhythm and the rest" both from the mid-1960s). full discography and filmography are also included.

first edition of this large catalogue, the first ever to fully document the work of françois dufrêne.

$30.31

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
outsiders-deviants
electro-acoustic-composition
playback-music
field-recordings
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga 23 lp

hans krusi “ex hk.” long playing record

ex hk. (excerpts) (1)
ex hk. (excerpts) (2)
ex hk. (excerpts) (3)
ex hk. (excerpts) (4)
ex hk. (excerpts) (5)

click the play button to hear an excerpt of "ex hk. (excerpts) (1)"

2008 release ; ah, very glad to finally have this lp in stock !!!

hans krüsi was a mid-century swiss “outsider” artist (from the appenzell region) largely known for his myriad paintings of country-life scenes (cows, crop formations) which he sold in public markets in zürich throughout the 40s & 50s ... it seems only natural that anton bruhin would end up with the tapes of his sound-art ; a series of sound-on-sound collage pieces, rife with field-recordings of his environs (bees, bells, animals, etc ... listen to the sound-sample) and the occasional odd gurgle / sound-poetry lineage mumble-out (ditto) ...

highly recommended !!!

alga marghen press release...

h a n s k r ü s i
"ex hk."
(cat no. plana-k alga023).
lp record edition of 200 copies

while preparing a new edition of anton bruhin works, alga marghen discovered some misterious tapes by hans krüsi. fascinated by the raw and brut contents of those sounds, mixing field recordings of insects, sheeps and distant bells with primitive chanting, percussive noises and distorted radio folk songs, alga marghen started to conceive one of the most obscure editions in his catalogue.

the swiss-born, self-taught painter hans krüsi (1920-95) was a wiry man who eked out an existence on the margins of society. even among outsider-art experts, his work is less well known than that of his swiss compatriot adolf wölfli, who died in 1930 and whose richly patterned drawings have become treasures of classic european art brut, or raw art, made by untrained, visionary artists. krüsi was orphaned as an infant and brought up on a farm in northeastern switzerland by foster parents who largely ignored him. he scraped by with odd jobs (including gardening work) and eventually settled in the city of st. gallen. there krüsi lived in run-down buildings. in his late 20's, he began commuting by train almost daily to zurich, to the west, where he sold flowers and, later, his artworks, on the bahnhofstrasse, one of the most luxurious shopping streets in europe.

among the wall-to-wall clutter of krüsi's ramshackle lodgings, where pigeons flew in and perched, evidence of an unexpectedly experimental spirit abounded, including krüsi's old cameras and the second-hand tape recorders with which he liked to capture the sounds of birds, insects and church bells. the artist's inventiveness and fertile imagination seemed to contrast sharply with his humble way of life. krüsi took subjects from the agrarian world that he knew: alpine farmhouses, forested mountains, cows, birds, rabbits and cats. in his varied oeuvre, the folkloric and the psychedelic often appear to converge. some works are even hallucinatory, with bright, brushy passages of acid green, lemon yellow or pepto-bismol pink in which watchful, lounging cats, clusters of dithering birds or watery human figures huddle or writhe.

lp edition limited to 200 copies, issued in collaboration with the swiss kunstmuseum des kantons thurgau (the repository of the artist's estate) and published on the occasion of alga marghen invitation to the artist's record pavillion at art basel 2008.

$204.21

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
august 2nd, 2007

threads:
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga 22 lp

“avant marghen volume 3” septuple long playing record boxed set

vvaa "revue ou. record 1" picturelp (15vocson045.1).
vvaa "revue ou. record 2" picturelp (15vocson045.2).
vvaa "revue ou. record 3" picturelp (15vocson045.3).
vvaa "revue ou. record 4" picturelp (15vocson045.4).
vvaa "revue ou. record 5" picturelp (15vocson045.5).
henri chopin "the body is a sound factory & co." lp (16vocson046).
ben patterson "a fluxus elegy" lp (17vocson061).

third & final issue in this series of deluxe boxed-sets, fashioned after the deutsche grammophon “avant-garde” line, compiling the vocson series of lps released by alga marghen over the past few years...

most of these are long out-of-print and already fetch inflated prices on the open-market; this is your last chance to own these, for roughly what they would have cost new, with an atttractive outer-box thrown in for “closure” ...

alga marghen press release...

a v a n t m a r g h e n
"vol.3"
(cat no. alga22)
7lp boxset
edition of 80 numbered copies

the vocson series might be identified as the starting point of all the alga marghen activities. this series, which still continues to present on limited lp records the most advanced international vocal experiments, is mainly dedicated to the documentation of sound poetry. since most of the titles immediately sold out, alga marghen decided to issue a kind of anthology, specially issued for artbasel where alga marghen will present its catalogue following an invitation by maurizio nannucci of the artists record pavillion. this also in order to give the opportunity to those who missed the now rare original editions to be able to find the now, even if in a very limited run. each lp is numbered on the vocson innersleeve expressly conceived for this edition. this luxury boxset actually includes a new picture disc edition of revue ou anthology plus an henri chopin lp and the ben patterson lp:

vvaa "revue ou. record 1" picturelp (15vocson045.1).

first of a set of 5 picture discs reproducing the integral recordings of the journal ou edited by henri chopin from 1958 to 1974. this disc includes no 20-21 and 23-24 or bernard heidsieck "poème-partition d4p, ou art poétique"; brion gysin "i am"; brion gysin "pistol-poem"; henri chopin "vibrespace"; françois dufrêne "batteries vocales"; françois dufrêne "paix en algérie; françois dufrêne "ténu-tenu"; mimmo rotella "7 poèmes phonétiques"; bernard heidsieck "poème-partition j"; bernard heidsieck "poème-partition h1 + h2: le quatrième plan"; brion gysin "3 permutations"; henri chopin "l'énergie du sommeil".

vvaa "revue ou. record 2" picturelp (15vocson045.2).second of a set of 5 picture discs reproducing the integral recordings of the journal ou edited by henri chopin from 1958 to 1974. this disc includes no 28-29 and 30-31 or françois dufrêne "triptycrirythme"; paul de vree "verokina"; paul de vree "ogenblik"; paul de vree "kleine caroli"; paul de vree "vertigo gil"; paul de vree "een roos a rose"; henri chopin "sol air"; henri chopin "le corps".

vvaa "revue ou. record 3" picturelp (15vocson045.3).

third of a set of 5 picture discs reproducing the integral recordings of the journal ou edited by henri chopin from 1958 to 1974. this disc includes no 34-35 and 36-37 or françois dufrêne "haut-satur (june 1967)"; françois dufrêne "haut-satur (december 1967)"; françois dufrêne "haut-satur (november 1968)"; bob cobbing "marvo movie natter"; bob cobbing "spontaneous appealinair vontemprate apollinaire"; henri chopin "mes bronches"; ladislav novák "la structure phonétique de la langue tchèque"; hugh davies "shozyg 1 & 2"; sten hanson "don't hesitate do it, do it right now"; sten hanson "the glorious desertion"; henri chopin "les grenouilles d'aristophane"; bernard heidsieck "ravaillac, tu connais?: passe-partout n° 1".

vvaa "revue ou. record 4" picturelp (15vocson045.4).

fourth of a set of 5 picture discs reproducing the integral recordings of the journal ou edited by henri chopin from 1958 to 1974. this disc includes no 38-39 and 40-41 or henri chopin "le rire est debout"; bengt emil johnson "among ii"; sten hanson "revolution"; sten hanson "railroad poem"; jacques bekaert "the day after"; j.a. da silva "audio-poem"; william s. burroughs "valentine day reading"; brion gysin "poems"; bernard heidsieck "chapeau: passe-partout n° 4"; henri chopin "la soleil est mécanique".

vvaa "revue ou. record 5" picturelp (15vocson045.5).

fifth of a set of 5 picture discs reproducing the integral recordings of the journal ou edited by henri chopin from 1958 to 1974. this disc includes no 26-27, no 33 and no 42-43-44 or raoul hausmann "b b b b et f m s b w"; raoul hausmann "k' perioum"; raoul hausmann "poème sans titres"; raoul hausmann "oiseautal"; raoul hausmann "chanson, vali tali, baste"; bernard heidsieck "la convention collective"; bernard heidsieck "la cage"; bernard heidsieck "l'exercise: biopsie ii"; henri chopin "indicatif 1"; henri chopin "la fusée interplanétaire"; bernard heidsieck "quel age avez-vous?: biopisie v"; françois dufrêne "dédié à h. chopin"; gil j. wolman "la mémoire: mégapneumes"; henri chopin "le ventre de bertini"; william s. burroughs "reading"; ake hodell "numro ba besch"; charles amirkhanian "each' ll"; ladislav novák "two poems"; henri chopin "le vrai sonnet des voyelles"; henri chopin "les mandibules du déjeuner sur l'herbe".

henri chopin "the body is a sound factory & co." lp (16vocson046).

originally issued in an edition of 300 copies, only available with the vinyl edition of the revue ou anthology. this lp includes previously unreleased audiopoems dating from 1965 to 1981. tracks are "le discours des ministres"; "la chanson du parlement européen"; "beginning"; "les saccades boréales hurlantes"; "les raclements du maelstron" and "le corps est une usine à sons".

ben patterson "a fluxus elegy" lp (17vocson061).

this ben patterson composition, issued on is based on the basic principles of the polyphonic music of the bantu tribes of west and central africa. first principle: the practice of interlocking individual pitches or tones performed by one person into spaces between other pitches or tones performed by another person, thus alternating pitches or tones of one part with those of another part to create a whole. second principle: use of cyclical and open-ended forms involving one or more ostinato melodic/rhythmic pattern as a foundation. third principle: community participation...non-specialists are encouraged to join in long performances with much repetition. fourth principle: rhythmic complexity with the juxtaposition of double and triple patterns, multiple layering of different patterns, and interaction between a core foundation and improvised parts. and, most important, the family 'ownership' of a specific tone: in the musical culture of these tribes, each ancestral family 'owns' and is responsible for one or more specific tones, which must be sounded at specific points, sequencing with the many other specific tones 'owned' by other families, to create a seamless melody.

ben patterson made a music based on this information by taking the initials of artists listed in "fluxus: the most radical and experimental art movement of the sixties" and encoding them in basic international morse code. these 'dots and dashes' were then performed on a yamaha djx keyboard (voice pattern setting), connected to a digitech jamman looper (over-dub setting), connected to an eurorack mx 602a mixer. front cover reproducing the original score.

$204.21

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
august 2nd, 2007

threads:
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga 21 lp

“avant marghen volume 2” septuple long playing record boxed set

brion gysin "poems of poems" lp (8vocson021).
bernard heidsieck "50/70" lp (9vocson022).
jose luis castillejo "the book of i's" lp (10vocson025).
gil j. wolman "l'anticoncept" lp (11vocson032).
isidore isou "poèmes lettristes 1944-99" lp (12vocson033).
juan hidalgo "una voz" lp (13vocson040).
arrigo lora-totino "fonemi" lp (14vocson043).

alga marghen press release...

a v a n t m a r g h e n
"vol.2"
(cat no. alga21)
7lp boxset
edition of 80 numbered copies

the vocson series might be identified as the starting point of all the alga marghen activities. this series, which still continues to present on limited lp records the most advanced international vocal experiments, is mainly dedicated to the documentation of sound poetry. since most of the titles immediately sold out, alga marghen decided to issue a kind of anthology, specially issued for artbasel where alga marghen will present its catalogue following an invitation by maurizio nannucci of the artists record pavillion. this also in order to give the opportunity to those who missed the now rare original editions to be able to find the now, even if in a very limited run. each lp is numbered on the vocson innersleeve expressly conceived for this edition. this luxury boxset edition actually includes the second group of 7 lps issued for the vocson series, or:

brion gysin "poems of poems" lp (8vocson021).

very early poetical experimentation recorded in 1958 at the beat hotel, paris. the origins of cut up are documented in this radical edition. you will experience why brion gysin was a strong reference for henri chopin and bernard heidsieck.

bernard heidsieck "50/70" lp (9vocson022).

the third bernard heidsieck lp issued by alga marghen draws the picture of two specific moments on artistic creation: the 1950s and the 1970s. close to "poème-partition x" and in the same group of early works are "poéme-partition b" (6:20) and a2 "poéme-partition m" (11:20). more centered on electronic and the use of tape manipulations are the 1970s works. "démocratie ii" (6:44) and expecially "publicité" (24:09) are two clear examples of radical electronic poetry in the heidsieck style.

jose luis castillejo "the book of i's" lp (10vocson025).

very limited and immediately sold out edition of castillejo conceptual recordings. jose luis castillejo books always included him among the concrete poems and were regarded as very special graphic creations. a deep exploration of his abstract and radical poetry will lead to a more conceptual and philosophical understanding as this lp clearly states. tracklisting: a1 "the book of i's" (13:38) recorded in the circulo de bellas artes, sala de columnas, madrid on october 22, 1997. all other tracks recorded at the studio rds, milano, on june 25, 1998. a2 "a book of a book" (13:04); b1 "the book of eighteen letters - 1st fragment" (13:59); b2 "the book of eighteen letters - 2nd fragment" (10:26) are both dedicated to walter marchetti.

gil j. wolman "l'anticoncept" lp (11vocson032).

edition of gil j wolman megapneums, or the beginning of the whole sonic adventures. if gysin was a strong conceptual influence for the henri chopin and bernard heidsieck generation, wolman was showing them the sonic direction. just with the use of the breath and respiration, his megapneums had the same intensity of the electronic manipulation that will make chopin's audiopoems so radically new and uncompromising. this lp also include excerpts from wolman sound-film "l'anticoncept" from 1952.

isidore isou "poèmes lettristes 1944-99" lp (12vocson033).

historical edition by isidore isou. this is the first record lp ever published by the father of lettrism. poems from 1944 to 1999 including a breath taking improvisation, some 1970s recordings by maurice lemaitre and an early, primitive and incredible performance by francois dufrene. recorded at isou apartement in 1999. tracklisting: a1 "poème pour broyer le cafard" (2:05); a2.1 "marbre pour dante - enfer" (3:02); a2.2 "marbre pour dante - purgatoire" (3:08); a2.3 "marbre pour dante - paradis" (1:15); a3 "boxe" (2:23); a4 "bonne nuit, madagascar" (2:38); a5 "heureux les pacifiques" (1:52); a6 "sonnet" (1:20); a7 "jungle" (1:57); a8 "en souvenir de gabriel pomerand" (1:47); b1 "les djinns" (7:47); b2 "improvisation" (1:31); b3 "invitation au voyage" (4:07); b4 "neige" (3:32); b5.1 "lances rompues pour la dame gothique" (1:40); b5.2 "interlude" (0:55) written by - françois dufrêne , isidore isou; b5.3 "recherches pour un poème en prose pure" (2:45); b5.4 "coda sémantique" (0:05) written by - françois dufrêne , isidore isou ; b6 "isou performed by françois dufrêne" (2:29).

juan hidalgo "una voz" lp (13vocson040).

first ever zaj lp record! an historical recording of juan hidalgo "una voz", including concrete sound interventions by walter marchetti. a large size booklet with the transcription in english and spanish of the spoken text is also included. capital!

arrigo lora-totino "fonemi" lp (14vocson043).

arrigo lora-totino is probably best known for having been the editor of the famous sound poetry anthology issued by cramps records in the 1970s with the title "futura". but only a few know about his sound poetry production. following henri chopin's idea that poetry is above all an expression of the body through its own language, lora-totino started his important poetical practice in 1965 with 'fonemi', a sound sample of erasure: the reading of a text recorded on tape is filtered through an electronic pulse generator that splits it into small fragments. also featured on this lp is 'poesia liquida & liquimofono': in 1968, together with the artist piero fogliati, lora-totino staged a 'liquid poetry and music' show. while he 'dove' and 'drowned' words into the idromegafono and watered the audience with liquefied consonants, fogliati operated on the liquimofono, a sort of water organ, thus producing liquid music.

$47.16

back in stock as of
may 1st, 2009

first in stock on
may 10th, 2007

threads:
sound-installation
sound-art
modern-composition
film-video

alga marghen (italy) #alga 19 lp
cyalume & azgonzer (italy) #alga 19 lp

charlotte moorman / nam june paik “tv cello” double long playing record set

charlotte moorman / nam june paik tv cello (14:56)
charlotte moorman / nam june paik tv cello (17:48)
charlotte moorman / nam june paik tv cello (17:43)
charlotte moorman / nam june paik tv cello (14:42)

2006 double-lp edition on alga marghen sub-label cyalume & azgonzer, containing four readings/performances of nam june paik & charlotte moorman’s “tv cello” piece, presumably recorded during november 1971 at the galeria bonino in new york...

alga marghen press release...

$67.71

back in stock as of
july 21st, 2008

first in stock on
august 2nd, 2007

threads:
printed-matter
minimalism-drones

alga marghen (italy) #alga 17 book

charlemagne palestine “sacred bordello” book and compact disc set

lecture at artnow centre in canada
multi-layer voice study of the early 1960s

alga marghen edition of charlemagne palestine’s recent monograph, bundled with a cd containing a 60-minute lecture / talk and an otherwise unreleased 60s “multi-layer voice study” ...

alga marghen press release...

as one of the most influential figures of experimental music and performance charlemagne palestine has remained an enigma. unlike his illustrious contemporaries terry riley, john cale, steve reich and phillip glass little has been written on palestine and his continuing influence. in his own right, he was and remains today a pivotal personality whose research in musical composition and performance has been characterized over the years by its incantatory repetitiveness, its flamboyance and its mysticism, but also by its violence.

born in brooklyn in 1947 his first musical experiences were as a cantorial singer in the synagogues of new york. through his contact with tony conrad palestine was soon introduced to the thriving experimental art scene of the late 1960s. the circles around andy warhol and la monte young provided a crucial backdrop for palestine's work which increasingly extended beyond the scope of music. his groundbreaking appearances, which combined violent piano playing, performance, video and installation, were considered to be amongst the most radical musical experiences, leaving a lasting impression on followers such as arto lindsay, glenn branca, sonic youth, and the sex pistols as well as tintin creator herge. his musical oeuvre escapes any ready categorisation.

palestine's epic durations, microtonal trembles and dense overtones are reoccurring features in contemporary industrial and electronic music. palestine's unique style of singing, indian singer prandit pran nath 'charleworld', were crucial influences on artists such as mike kelley and paul mccarthy. through recent collaborations with barcelona based techno duo pan sonic and david coulter (kronos quartet) palestine remains a crucial contributor to today's experimental music scene.

a wonderful full colour book (size cm. 23,50x18,50), with flexicover, 192 pages including essays, scores, original photos of both performances and installation. the most complete documentation on charlemagne palestine art. the compact disc will feature the 60 minutes recordings of a lecture that charlemagne palestine gave on march 7th, 1975 at artnow centre in canada. after the performance of a strumming music concert, the author freely speaks about his music, the philosophy beyond his composition techniques and art involving the students in some kind of magic ritual. starting as a question and answer conversation, the lecture develops into an intimate speech in which particularly private subjects are discussed. the lecture ends with a particularly touching suspended atmosphere showing how real communication in universities should be. the compact disc also includes a breathtaking multi-layer voice study of the early 1960s never published before on record, very similar in sound and structure to the electronic music studies just issued by alga marghen."

$59.79

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
sound-art
sound-poetry

alga marghen (italy) #alga 12 lp

brion gysin “bruits du beaubourg” long playing record

bruits du beaubourg (part 1) (19:51)
bruits du beaubourg (part 2) (20:20)

alga marghen press release...

b r i o n g y s i n
“bruits du beaubourg”
(cat no. alga012).
lp record

brion gysin (january 19, 1916 in taplow, buckinghamshire, uk - july 13, 1986 in paris, france) was a writer and painter. he is best known for his rediscovery of tristan tzara's cut-up technique while cutting through a newspaper upon which he was trimming some mats. he shared his discovery with his friend william s. burroughs, who subsequently put the cut-up technique to good use and dramatically changed the landscape of american literature.

educated in england, at downside college (1932-34), he moved to paris where he studied at the sorbonne. among those he met at this time are renowned members of the surrealist group, including max ernst, salvador and gala dali and picasso. gysin’s work was included in the surrealist drawings exhibition in paris in 1935 (galerie quatre).

he first visited the algerian sahara in 1938, a journey that was to have a deep and lasting influence on his life. equally significant to the form of his later giant landscape paintings were the years he spent in new york working as assistant to broadway stage designer irene sharaff (1940-43). in 1953, having returned to north africa, gysin opened the thousand and one nights restaurant, where the master musicians of joujouka played an ‘extended residency’.

gysin altered the cut-up technique to produce what he called permutation poems in which a single phrase was repeated several times, with the words rearranged in a different order with each reiteration. many of these permutations were derived using a random sequence generator in an early computer program written by ian sommerville. he also experimented with permutation on recording tape, by splicing together the sounds of a gun firing recorded at different amplitudes in the bbc radiophonic workshop thus producing 'pistol poem.' the piece was subsequently used as a theme in 1960 for the performance in paris of le domaine poetique, a showcase for experimental works by people like gysin, françoise dufrêne, bernard heidsieck, and henri chopin.

a cult from the beginnings ...

$59.79

new to stock as of
may 1st, 2009

threads:
sound-art

alga marghen (italy) #alga 08 lp

walter marchetti “the bird of paradise” one-sided long playing record

the bird of paradise (25:45)

alga marghen press release...

w a l t e r m a r c h e t t i
"the bird of paradise"
(cat no. plana-m alga ?).
lp record

the bird of paradise: hunting in the city. performance time: from dawn to dusk. leave your home, with a cool head, and carrying a briefcase full of birdcalls, of the kind used by hunters, as well as a portable tape recorder, slung across your back on a carrying strap. you will use it, at the proper time, to play a tape, which has also been placed in the briefcase. once outside, you begin your performance of 'the hunt' by crossing over to the sidewalk on a far side of the street, with respect to the building you have just left. after observing this building for several minutes, you will then begin to walk. from the point at which you begin to walk, proceed for 1632 paces, and then come to a halt. (whenever you come to a halt you should always look around to your rear, since the bird of paradise may in fact be following you. check at least three times, carefully casting your eyes in all directions). resume walking, turn to the left at the first street corner, and stop again. choose 6 calls and sound them 38 times. then put them back into the briefcase and continue along your way, until passing the second street on the right. remove 10 calls from the briefcase and sound them not more than 20 times. resume your walking. stop after 3274 paces, pick out a call with a powerful sound, and sound it 15 times. resume walking, turn right at the third corner, take a few more steps, stop, open the briefcase, take 5 calls and sound them in alternation 127 times. 1005 more paces. after 2536 paces. sound it 140 times. walk 1634 paces. etc.. etc.. at a certain point you can constantly turn either right or left, entering and exiting every door along this whole new route until coming into sight of a park with a single tree. once beneath this tree, sound all the calls a single time. if everything remains unchanged, motionless and silent, open the briefcase and take out the tape, which holds the recording of the song of the bird of paradise. play it by means of the tape recorder which is slung across your back. replay this tape 316 times. having listened to the song of the bird of paradise, wait in complete inactivity for 24 minutes. and then, perhaps ...

this one-sided lp (25 minutes) with the recordings of the song of the bird of paradise is a secret.

previous record label:
airport war

...and that's everything on alga marghen in stock.
(why not take a look at the previous and next labels?)

next record label:
alien8

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... this page was last updated on tuesday, june 30th, 2009 @ 7:22 pm