| $20.56
new to stock as of
january 19th, 2010
threads:
1980s-electronic
experimental-instruments
electro-acoustic-composition
electro-acoustic-improvisation
machine-music
live-electronic
plunder-phonic
playback-music
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| | | blackwood gallery (canada) #bw radio cd michael snow “2 radio solos” compact disc - short wavelengh (35:19) 1980
- the papaya plantations (42:35) 1980
| late 2009 release ; “gallery” issue of this pair of 1980 pieces from composer / improviser / film-maker michael snow, initially issued by the freedom in a vacuum tape-label in 1988 ...
two extended pieces featuring snow’s radio improvisations, recorded in a nicely overmodulated fashion onto tape (there’s a great deal of tape-speed manipulation throughout ; segments remind me greatly of anestis logothetis’ “fantasmata 1960”) ; the results have more to do with musique concrète’s range than anything from the “improv” world he was associated with (then & now) ...
something of a proto harsh noise classic (it does get exceedingly wooly & the lowest-of-lo fidelity throughout had me double-taking the sounds coming from the speakers for a mid-period monorail trespassing side) & (full disclosure) the inspiration for my recent “hallicrafters, inc.” tape ... highly recommended !!! |
| | blackwood gallery press release... |
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michael snow - two radio solos
in conjunction with the awashawave exhibition curated by christof migone, the blackwood gallery is very pleased to publish the audio cd re-mastered version of two radio solos by michael snow (originally released as a cassette in 1988). a launch of the cd took place at art metropole in toronto on april 11 and at printed matter in new york on may 23.
the following statement by michael snow is printed on the back cover of the cd:
| these 2 short-wave pieces are both “played” continuous improvisations. there was no editing, no post-facto electronic alteration. the sounds were found by paying intense attention to fate tuning in and out and between stations, changing bands, bass, treble and volume. the radio played is a circa 1962 normende (pictured). the gradual change in pitch and speed on short wavelength is an "accident": batteries were losing power during the recording. the tapes were made at night in a remote north canadian cabin lit by a kerosene lamp.... |
the radio signals of shortwave frequencies featured in snow's two radio solos manifest a veritable cornucopian palette of sounds in these lengthy tracks (titled "short wavelength" and "the papaya plantations"): pulses, beats, cracklings, hisses, tones, ethereal emanations, saturated groundswells, a babelian assortment of voices, music of various genres, and noises of all stripes. their complexity and countless number are foregrounded by snow's acute listening and fine tuned improvising. he animates these densily populated frequencies from an isolated location —the solitary player in a cabin tuning in the multitude.
in the practice of everyday life de certeau presents a body which is heard but not seen, one that haunts the everyday, a sonic body who emits a spectral presence. and "these are the reminiscences of bodies lodged in ordinary language and marking its path, like white pebbles dropped through the forest of signs." two radio solos inverses that equation, they present a forest of unintelligble sounds with brief moments of recognition, the signs are sporadic amidst the awashed soundscape. but the link is apt nonetheless, and especially given de certeau's astounding addendum: "an amorous experience, ultimately." de certeau is portraying the body's persistent presence in language, but one could also readily describe the relationship of the improviser and his instrument as such —the love implied in the act of tuning in, in receiving. |
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