27.04.05
Touch Radio 5
May 8th 2005
Chris Watson - an audio diary. Recorded in April 2005 on The Galapagos Islands, 1000km off the west coast of Ecuador...
[Chris requests that you rise early on this day and listen to the dawn chorus, one of the most magical aspects of the English landscape]
freq_out 3
@ The Communist Party Building, Belleville, Paris
Saturday October 1st 2005, part of the Nuit Blanche festival
19.04.05
Fennesz Sakamoto - Sala Santa Cecilia
ei (USA):
teatrocervantes.com:
Citing influences ranging from Beethoven to the Beatles, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s musical interests are unusually diverse: pop, techno-pop, jazz, bossa nova, classical, contemporary, acoustic, electric, music for the cinema, for the stage and world music.
For his part, Christian Fennesz has been a “must see” on the electronic music scene for several years, thanks both to his own particular musical world as well as his impeccable work in creating beautiful compositions for guitar. Somewhere between concrete music, classical and ambience sounds, he stretches musical resources and effects to create melodies and atmospheres that fuse classical and orchestral concepts with conceptual musical research and complex digital structures.
Their joint project has led to one of the most fruitful unions in current contemporary music. Creative and innovative each one in their own right, together they have been received by enthusiastic critical acclaim in the vanguard and cult music world.
Magnet (USA):
groovescooter (Australia):
Released on UK experimental label Touch (who celebrate their 25th anniversary next year) and disseminated here by Australian distributor Fuse, is this sound-art collaboration between bewitching guitarist/computer processor Christian Fennesz, and enduring chameleon Ryuichi Sakamoto (Yellow Magic Orchestra and celebrated film composer). Recorded live in November 2004 at the Romaeuropa Festival in Italy, just one 19 minute piece is included. Accordingly, it's probably for dedicated fans of these two artists or lovers of soundscapes, as very little information is provided in the digipack and no added features, such as a visual accompaniment, are included. The piece is a slowly intensifying, highly conductive work that shimmers like telegraph wires in a heatwave. At times it's like the pair have amplified the flux in communications traffic at a junction where electric activity, snatches of recognisable melodic pulses, shortwave feedback and the audio-aura of an earth orbited by satellites, can all be picked up and analysed for meaning beyond random fusion. Sakamoto's piano is absent from the complex equation, as are any beats or constricting rhythmic devices. There's the subtle thread of string like pads at times, but the literally crackling electronic hums and atmospherics hold very few recognisable sound sources, besides the wonderful break-up sputter that Fennesz has used to great effect before. [Paris Pompor]
Signal to Noise (USA):
Cyclic Defrost (USA):
Similar to certain museum paintings, Sala Santa Cecilia, the first document of the relationship between experimental electronica figures Christian Fennesz and Ryuichi Sakamoto, hangs in the mind long after the tour is over. Across nineteen minutes, Fennesz and Sakamoto blend the mercurial and imaginative qualities of improvisation with the satisfying structure of composition. Born is a sound almost sculptural, without a drop of superfluous gesture. The celestial aura of Sakamoto pervades the textural fraying of Fenneszí earthy guitar ruminations, as each moment pulses with the rotation frequencies of orbiting planets. Infusing color and mass, the pair drops elliptical melodies and watercolor electronics into nearly static forms, where they flare up just beyond the horizon, briefly illuminated by aurora bursts of tone.
There is so much paranormal, at times ominous action that these works are unquestionably about something majestic; yet despite such an apparent emotional element, it is constantly hinted at in a shadowy, allusive manner. Moments remain suspended in an eerie void, where players exhibit restraint to avoid making full statements. Instead they plod around the edges of the pulpit of form, sowing hazy silhouettes that ebb and flow in waves, or shimmer like a cascade of china poured off a rooftop. Consisting largely of long-held chords, pitchshifts and evolving clusters spawned by electronics and compressed guitar, the various elements mingle in a cordial, though not always eventful, manner. Be that as it may, this trait also works to foster tension, as hordes of barbed tonality contrast with the underlying feeling that time has somehow stilled. Its only in the final eight minutes that the fine sheets of celestial vistas and gossamer melodies coalesce into an iridescent haze that inhabits the body much like a dead spirit does the medium enveloped in an act of incantation; all of which crafts a moment of much beauty, not to mention anticipation for the promised full-length effort to come. [Max Schaefer]
Allmusic (USA):
A special tip of the cap to Ryuichi Sakamoto. At a time when fellow artists are resting on their laurels of accomplishment, his refusal to become stagnant and pigeonholed is refreshing. Coming off a second successful collaboration with Carsten Nicolai for the Raster-Noton imprint, Sakamoto collaborates with glitch master/guitar guru Christian Fennesz on this woefully short EP, recorded in Italy for the Romaeuropa festival. The textures and interplay between the two blend so well it's hard to tell who the master architect is and who is following the architect's lead. The dark passages and ambient washes carry the improvisation to its natural conclusion, but not before passing through familiar Fennesz terrain of noises, glitches, and distorted phrases on guitar. For fans of both artists, Sala Santa Cecilia is a challenging listen that points toward the possibility of future Fennesz/Sakamoto collaborations, but at only 19 minutes in length, it's also a painful teaser for what might have been. [Rob Theakston]
gaz-eta (USA):
Nearly everyone's favourite laptop wonder-boy Christian Fennesz finally got together with one of my favourite artists and lovers of the ambient genre, Ryuichi Sakamoto, to put together a wonderful, albeit a brief composition named after the concert hall in Rome, where it was recorded late last year. The back cover of the CD digipack features what resembles fireworks [or moving lights], which suits the music perfectly. It's not that the fireworks fly in the literal sense here, it's just that these two exhibit such incredible chemistry, almost as if to tell us, we've been meaning to get together since who knows when. What's great about this record is that I stopped caring which musician plays what instrument. So what if Fennesz plays the trumpet and Sakamoto gets his kicks playing wild percussion? It REALLY makes no difference. With so many ideas being born in such a short span of time [the composition lasts a bare 19 minutes], while so many similarities are found, these two seem to be joined at the head. Starting off with a louder, gurgling section, we have sounds of a lively saw or perhaps water trickling down the drain, or maybe a light thundershower. Who knows? Who cares? The beauty of all of this music is your imagination must be used at its fullest. Near final stages of the composition, the prevailing sound is that of a skipping, muted CD, which has just gone berserk. More sparkling, echo sounds appear as the composition gives off its final breath. They came together for only one night last November. We can only hope this astonishing collaboration will turn into something more tangible, more permanent. [Tom Sekowski]
Aquarius (USA):
AQ customers definitely don't need an introduction to Christian Fennesz. We've long been enraptured by his laptopped guitarscapes, all warm and fuzzy, sunny and ethereal, rich and thick and totally memerizing. And certainly no one should need an introduction to Ryuichi Sakamoto either, after fronting the Yellow Magic Orchestra for thirty years as well as producing numerous solo recordings, including his amazing recent collaborations with Alva Noto. So it's pretty exciting to see these two hook up for this lush and gorgeous laptop excursion into dreamy underwater mood music and hazy glitched out ambience. This brief twenty minute piece was recorded live in Rome in 2004 and is the precursor to a forthcoming full length. A simply perfect slab of ambient abstraction and delicate dreaminess. Moody and mysterious, drifting notes and thick chordal swells wash over shuffling minimal rhythms, sleepy summertime shimmer and soaring sheets of dramatic and deconstructed melody float and flutter, shift and sway. So beautiful.
ABCD (USA):
Every once in a great while, a collaboration comes along which hints at a brighter future, a collision of giants that indicates a convergence of method and music. This is one such event. Sala Santa Cecilia documents the meeting of worldwide laptop guru Fennesz and Japanese electronic music legend Ryuichi Sakamoto at the Auditorium Parco della Musica for the Romaeuropa Festival in Rome, November 2004. This is a unique and complete 19-minute piece which marks the recording debut of this new collaborative unit. It is exclusively available via this CD EP and will not be released elsewhere, and not as part of the forthcoming Fennesz Sakamoto album. The impact and importance of this recording is difficult to overstate. Christian Fennesz is far and away the standard- bearer of laptop music, his thawed sound of fractured guitar chords and warm noise melts hearts around the world. Ryuichi Sakamoto, meanwhile, a contributing force in electronic music for almost three decades in Yellow Magic Orchestra and his vast solo oeuvre, takes his place on laptop next to Fennesz for this historic meeting. Anyone concerned with the future of sound, or interested in modern music composition, or anyone who simply enjoys sweet ambient music should welcome Sala Santa Cecilia as a herald of what is to come. This is brilliant music from brilliant talents... towards a more brilliant world.
Boomkat (UK):
Single of the week (June 25th 2005)
'Sala Santa Ceclia' is an introduction to the new partnership between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christian Fennesz. This meeting of the modern day of electronic music with the wise old innovator happened at the Romaeuropa Festival, Rome, November 2004. It's not quite clear whether this laptop event was planned and thought out in advance or whether it happened off the cuff at the last moment. Either way this 20 minute performance, a micro symphony, finds both artists at the top of their respective games. Fennesz continuing the bright drone work of 'Venice' while Sakamoto seems to be able to fit into the contemporary micro electronic scene with ease. You can imagine a real modern symphony orchestra behind the drones, scrapes and rushes of melody - these parts build up into quite a euphoric feeling by the five minute mark. In isolation certain sounds resemble the pulsations of the early work of the Radiophonic Workshop, elsewhere the rushing torrents of sound resemble the works of Ina-GRM members Parmegiani and Bayle . What lingers most after you've heard this performance is the beauty, power and authority that gets better and more moving with repeated plays. Fennesz is now part of Sakamoto's touring band, hears hoping the tour hit's the uk soon. Highly Recommended....
The Milk Factory (UK):
Sala Santa Cecilia documents the first part of a live performance given by Austrian experimentalist Christian Fennesz and Japan’s best-known electronic musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, recorded in Rome during the 2004 edition of the Romaeuropa Festival.
Finding their way through stark sonic landscapes, Fennesz and Sakamoto combine their individual experiences with electronics to present a superb composition. This nineteen minutes overture to their 2004 laptop duet is a dense and intricate affair. Built over constantly changing beat-less backdrops, this track evolves on a variety of levels at ones, snaking its way through clouds of noise, pulsating bubbles, erupting guitar sequences, glitch-ridden plains and razor-sharp soundwaves. Very much set on Fennesz’s grounds, yet fuelled by Sakamoto’s experimental vision, this collaboration is utterly unique and demonstrate the symbiosis between the pair as it becomes very difficult to identify their respective input.
Since this collaboration, Fennesz and Sakamoto have teamed up for more live performances, and, in the light of this superb EP, it is only to be hoped that they will soon commit this fruitful partnership to album length.
BBC Radio (UK):
Sala Santa Cecilia on BBC Radio 3
A portion of Fennesz / Sakamoto’s Sala Santa Cecilia will be previewed on the BBC Radio 3 show, Mixing It on Friday, June 24th, and BBC Radio 3's Late Junction of Thursday June 30th 2005
Hosted by Robert Sandall and Mark Russell, Mixing It has long been celebrated as a bastion of experimental music radio. It covers a wide range of styles, including left-field areas of modern classical, dance, rock and world music.
Sala Santa Cecilia has been called a “superb composition, a dense and intricate affair. Built over constantly changing beat-less backdrops, this track evolves on a variety of levels at once, snaking its way through clouds of noise, pulsating bubbles, erupting guitar sequences, glitch-ridden plains and razor-sharp soundwaves...and, in the light of this superb EP, it is only to be hoped that they will soon commit this fruitful partnership to album length.”
Igloo (USA):
Sala Santa Cecilia is a live recording, like a shower of fire, made in Rome (‘04). Immediate, frenzied blur of friction curtailed and contained by a fervent underscore of sacred solitude played in the bellows of rhythmic quietude. For a moment halfway in it sounds like an open mic to a kitchen sink as its being repaired, but soon all that chaos is a saturated wash of scrap ambience. Through some basic shaky jitters and hot wires something bobbles to break free, the percussion is stabilized and the background of synthetics builds brilliantly like a Polynesian sunrise. The aerated sonics travel side to side as the piercing feedback-like singe so familiar to the Fennesz style is subdued here, leaving equal play room space. It’s a great combination, a brief experiment that literally tickles your inner ear. The ending bleeds a meditative fusion of passion and release.
kultureflash (UK):
Two musical conversations with Japanese innovator Ryuichi Sakamoto that suggest alternate models of how the conventional -- a piano -- and the contemporary -- a laptop computer -- can offer a new vision of composition. Back in 1978 Sakamoto formed the Japanese Kraftwerk, known wittily as the Yellow Magic Orchestra, producing glossy, futuristic electro pop, but is probably known best for scoring the movies Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence and The Last Emperor. Concentrating on orchestral and popular music since then (with a Japanese chart topper of solo piano works), he's currently hovering around the contemporary digital music scene, collaborating here with Austrian musician Christian Fennesz and Berlin-based artist Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto).
Recorded live at Sala Santa Cecilia, Rome in 2004, Fennesz's unearthly meditations with Sakamoto offers up a densely woven, micro-processed soup of itchy atmospheric rumblings and eruptions, a laptop head to head, where it's impossible to locate the voice of each individual as they share in this ghostly improvisation. The wow and flutter of insectoid scratches and scrapings envelops and caresses, offering up a stark sonic soundscape of modernity. At another extreme, Nicolai, in his studio collaboration with Sakamoto (back in his more familiar position at the piano), suggests a gentle humanistic approach to collaboration. With echoes of Satie, piano clusters spring and nudge gently against atomised rhythms and pulses, harmonic interchanges born from the collision of floating melody with exacting beat measures. Compressed, clear and spacious, it creates the illusion of an autumnal evening, windows open to the quiet hissing breeze. In their own ways, each artist presents us with a vision of our digital future in this historical present.
Atmosphere (USA):
Christian Fennesz is now recognized as one of the world’s most apt and innovative composers of glitch, as shown over his increasingly gentle oeuvre, which most recently includes the albums Endless Summer and Venice; Ryuichi Sakamoto is essentially an electronic legend, having played with the famed Yellow Magic Orchestra and created various film scores. The convergence of these two artists has yielded Sala Santa Cecilia, a single, 19-minute piece that bodes extremely well for the pairing – it begins from dead silence, building upon tenuous bits of drones and bubbling effects, before reaching a boil only four minutes in, with static-laced loops and skittering squelches taking hold. From there the piece moves into more pensive territory, and halfway through reaches its most darkly cinematic passage. By the end one has the feeling that he’s been led on a totally unique journey, as the composers strike an expert balance all the way through between harsh and soft, subtle and overt, and quiet and loud. A remarkable and extremely promising collaboration. [Tom Meluch]
Almost Cool (USA):
When I first saw the announcement for this collaboration, I was very, very excited to say the least. Although I wouldn't consider myself a completely steadfast (his earlier work veers towards the too-harsh side of the spectrum too much for me) fan of Fennesz, I admit that in a world cluttered with glitchy electronic music, his patient releases still stand out. Ryuichi Sakamoto holds a somewhat similar place in my mind. His earlier work often veers into almost cheesy world-music at times, yet his Dischord release is outstanding and even groundbreaking.
The Sala Santa Cecilia EP finds the two artists each on a laptop, working together to create a piece that was originally done for the Romaeuropa Festival in Rome late last year. It's a standalone piece running almost twenty minutes long, and sort of a taste of things to come from the two, who have planned to also release a full-length down the road. Oh yeah, I suppose I should talk about the actual release now.
Musically, the EP traverses quite a bit of ground over the fairly modest running length while at the same time not veering too much tonally. It opens with intersecting patterns of filtered tones (one of which sounds like bells, the other like data-crunched guitar) before the two elements slowly melt into one dense wall before splintering out the other side again. After a repetitive tone flickers over a feedback drone, it drops off for a slight moment, only to build and break down into squelched bits of data. Over the course of the track, the duo repeats this process several times, focusing on more harsh elements at certain points while lofting pillowy clouds of ambience at others.
Upon first listen, it's one of those strange releases that doesn't seem to reveal a whole lot new, simply because digital processing has been pushed so far by so many people over the course of the past couple years. At times, it sounds like something that could have been spit out of any number of laptop fiddlers, but at times (like during the near-brilliant final five minutes) it really does sound like some next-level electronic music created by a couple well-renowned artists. Given that this was a live performance and their full-length will possibly be more "composed," here's hoping for an even higher level of overall quality on it.
Other Music (USA):
With a collaboration like this, it's hard not to expect a LOT. So, let's just say that despite all of two moments that might be described as 'generation gaps', this pre-album, live sampler (one song, 19 minutes) has some serious moments of brilliance that can only be happened upon (I'll explain later) by two awesome dudes like Christian Fennesz and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The first 7 minutes are quite breathtaking and might be missed if played at low volume. After some cursory, polite scene-setting moments that slightly resemble a choppily edited, wonky UFO hovering in the misty night on an episode of the Twilight Zone, Fennesz and Sakamoto launch into some serious, soupy bliss that arches wonderfully: Fennesz' dense clouds of static are slowly pushed along by what I guess are Sakamoto's huge slow, symphonic melodies. Immediately afterward, a brief quiet moment is followed by slow, surging digital powerchords that sound like Earth's Dylan Carlson imbedded in feedback and swirling digital flute sounds. When I said "happened upon" earlier, it's because there is a very natural connection in these sounds that can only come from mutual respect and a fair amount of give and take. Minutes 10 to 16 show the pair riding glitchy static and cloudy soundtrack atmosphere, slowly cooperating to create space and context that rises continually, this time with skillful patience, without exploding too soon and finally landing safe and sound. A beautifully concentrated 19 minutes that covers a lot of ground, while still promising more to come. Can't wait to hear the album!! [SM]
Gonzo Circus (Belgium):
Na jaren in de luwte – niet van stilte, want de man bleef op een constant ritme platen uitbrengen – beleeft de Japanner Ryuichi Sakamoto zijn tweede jeugd. In 2001 plaatste Alva Noto hem opnieuw in de kijker. Op ‘Vrioon’, dit jaar gevolgd door ‘Insen’, slaagden Sakamoto en Alva Noto er op meesterlijke wijze oude en moderne muzikale kennis met elkaar te verenigen. Na Alva Noto is het nu de beurt aan Christian Fennesz. De Weense topmuzikant die momenteel deel uitmaakt van de tourband van Sakamoto neemt in deze minisymfonie het initiatief. Fennesz bouwt gestaag zijn drones uit, maar laat Sakamoto voldoende ruimte om zijn strakke minimalisme te ontplooien. ‘Sala Santa Cecilia’, opgenomen op het Romaeuropefestival in Rome duurt amper negentien minuten maar zelfs in deze korte tijdspanne is het goed voelbaar hoe de twee muzikanten naar elkaar toegroeien, hoe het rollenspel zich duidelijk aftekent en hoe hun verscheiden muzikale achtergrond en aanpak zich toch soepel met elkaar weet te verweven. Pure klasse en hopelijk de voorloper van een volwaardig album. [pds]
Fluxus (UK):
Caleidoscoop (The Netherlannds):
Het Touch-label begint aardig uit te blinken in isolationistische muziek. Ze leveren aan de lopende band prachtige, ijzingwekkende cd’s van niet de minste artiesten. Op de nieuwste release slaan de Oostenrijkse glitch-meester Christian Fennesz en de Japanse avant-garde-componist Ryuitchi Sakamoto bijvoorbeeld de handen ineen. Of beter gezegd hun laptops, want hun mini cd Sala Santa Cecilia staat vol elektronische geluiden. Hiermee scheppen ze hun mini-symfonie, die niet uit klassieke klanken bestaat, maar uit glitch, drones, kraakjes en bijzondere geluiden en samples. Dit levert precies 19 minuten lang een boeiend en wonderlijk klankspel op. De muziek brengt je naar een surrealistische wereld, waar glitch en elektronische symfonieën regeren. Beide heren zijn goed aan elkaar gewaagd en hopelijk gaan ze deze samenwerking in de toekomst snel eens voortzetten. [Jan Willem Broek]
Second Layer (UK):
'Sala Santa Ceclia' features an edit of the duet between Christian Fennesz and Ryuichi Sakamoto at their performance in Rome on 28th November 2004 - an introduction to a new collaboration between two highly regarded composers. This is the second time recently that Sakamoto has dabbled into the realm of micro electronic, following on from the acclaimed 'Insen' with Alva Noto. 20 minutes of lush, euphoric electronic improvisations from two masters of their respective fields. Built over constantly changing beat-less backdrops, this track evolves on a variety of levels at once, snaking its way through clouds of noise, pulsating bubbles, erupting guitar sequences, glitch-ridden plains and razor-sharp soundwaves.
Stlus (USA):
This piece, the first collaboration between onetime wunderkind Christian Fennesz and Japanese legend Ryuichi Sakamoto (an album is coming soon), touched more musical bases in 19 minutes than some artists touch in whole careers. It careens from near-classical ambient studded with popped bubble processing to moments of skittering glitch beats to the epic noise washes Fennesz made his name with. Sakamoto and Fenessz have condensed their names into a single supername, and the gesture is appropriate. One can’t distinguish the contributions of the two laptop wielders. While distinctly Fenneszian in sound, Sala Santa Cecilia lacks his trademark guitar, emphasizes rhythm more heavily, and sports some of the playfulness of Yellow Magic Orchestra (witness the swirling parlor room unleashed at the eight-minute mark). Such playfulness comes in regrettably small bursts, but the rest of the recordings sounds suitably majestic, so I’ll forgive and forget. If the album fares as well as this EP, the experimental music community will collectively wet themselves. [Bryan Berge]
kumaneco (Japan):
以前、坂本龍一JAPAN TOUR 2005 決定！ で、
「フェネスとのコラボレーション曲」なる曲もあるそう、
と書きましたが、教授こと坂本龍一氏とFennesz共作のアルバムがTouchというレーベルから7月にリリースされる事になりました！
アルバムタイトルは「Sala Santa Cecilia」。
いったいどんなアルバムになるのでしょうか。
mcb.com (Hong Kong):
這是我們那一代樂迷的有趣現象︰喜歡David Sylvian的樂迷通常都會同時喜歡坂本龍一，反過來說亦如是(即Vice Versa)。正如筆者的黑膠唱片櫃內，迄今我仍是把Japan/David Sylvian以及Y.M.O.╱坂本龍一的唱片放在一起。在樂迷心目中二人彷彿有著近親般的關係。
毋庸置疑是，當年David Sylvian和坂本龍一是一對彼此惺惺相惜、標誌著英日音樂交流的圈中好友。他倆的合作，始終Japan的80年專輯Gentlemen
Take Polaroids內Sylvian與坂本合寫的Taking Islands In Africa。然而最為樂迷津津樂道，固然是二人先後在82、83年聯袂合作的兩張單曲Bamboo House和無人不曉的Forbidden Colours(其實我喜歡翌年Sylvian在Red Guitar單曲背面重灌的版本多些)。事隔九年，二人再度合作一曲Heartbeat: Tainai Kaiki II-Returning To The Womb，是一個動人的復合，如今同樣叫大家回味不已。
踏入二千年，二人的合作關係繼續引伸下去。01年坂本龍一以N.M.L.名義帶來的「反地雷」史詩史鉅著Zero Landmine，便另交由Sylvian主唱了一個鋼琴Ballad版；到了03年，他倆更正式再次聯手合作單曲World Citizen-I Won't Be Disappointed。
近年，有一位來自維也納威尼斯的前衛樂手，他在短短兩年間有幸先後跟David Sylvian及坂本龍一合作過。他是Fennesz。
而我總覺得，Fennesz就是那撮同時心儀Sylvian與坂本的樂迷。
Sylvian欽點
全名Christian Fennesz的Fennesz，本是一名前衛結他手，又是即興Avant-Garde樂團M.I.M.E.O.的一員；然後開始鑽研電音製作，從而轉型為Laptop電子樂手。
Fennesz在2001年發表的第三張專輯Endless Summer，堪稱得上是他的奠定性之作（唱片開場曲正喚作Made In Hong Kong）；而去年由英國Touch廠牌推出凝聚著迷濛憂傷氛圍的Venice專輯，更讓這位Laptop電子樂手得到進一步的肯定。唱片的典故之處，是 David Sylvian為他獻唱了一曲Transit。
其實在Sylvian的03年專輯Blemish裡，他已找來Fennesz為碟末一曲A Fire In The Forest負責電音製作與編排，看到是他得到Sylvian的欽點。然後Sylvian替Fennesz演繹Transit此曲，那便好比一次禮尚往來。音樂交流就是這麼一回事。
現在，Fennesz則跟坂本龍一以Fennesz Sakamoto名義聯袂在Touch旗下帶來了這張Sala Santa Cecilia。至於是否由Sylvian把Fennesz引薦給坂本，那又不得而知。
與坂本實驗
Sala Santa Cecilia內只有一首長達十九分鐘的無題前奏曲(Overtune)，那是收錄由Fennesz與坂本去年11月28日攜手在羅馬Sala Santa Cecilia舉行的Romaeuropa Festival之現場演出。
有別於坂本跟德國電音樂手Alvo Noto合作時的鋼琴加電音演奏，在Sala Santa Cecilia裡，大家聽不到坂本的鋼琴，所帶來是他與Fennesz的Laptop二重奏；其至坂本更把他的唯美音樂情操全拋諸腦後，在這裡所聽到只是實驗偏鋒的坂本龍一。由始而終，坂本教授總不時披露他對實驗音樂的興趣，從早在1976年跟土取利行合作的Disappointment- Hateruma，到02年的Avant-Garde專輯Comica，都足以嚇怕只鍾情其觸動心靈電影配樂的樂迷。
他與Fennesz的Laptop二重奏，奏出是一首長篇Sonic Soundscape曲目，瀰漫著漫天無際的氛圍、如雲霧般的電聲噪音、微細的聲響蠕動、Field Recordings的掠影，到忽然湧出打樁式金屬節拍、忽然綻放猶如結他噪音的Droning聲響。一切極盡不著邊際、光怪陸離之能事。
因為封面上Sakamoto一字而冒名而來購買了這EP的朋友，但願沒有令你聽得不知所措吧。
(原文刊於《Friday》 現經重新修改)
Das NetzMagazin (Switzerland):
Laptop Ouvertüre
Spätestens mit seinem letzten, zu recht hoch gelobten Album "Venice", wurde Christian Fennesz zu einem der Aushängeschilder von Touch. Im Gegensatz zu den klaren und stillen Klängen von Oren Ambarchi setzt Fennesz auf Lärm und Verzerrung, was sich aber - so unglaublich es klingen mag - ebenso harmonisch anhört. Etwas vertrackter gibt sich "Sala Santa Cecilia", ein Mitschnitt des Romaeuropa Festivals in Rom, das der Österreicher zusammen mit der japanischen Avantgardelegende Ryuichi Sakamoto mit dieser Ouvertüre eröffnete. Die Chemie zwischen den beiden schien während diesen 19 Minuten zu stimmen und es entstand ein Dialog zwischen zwei Laptops und ihren Manipulatoren, zwischen den flirrenden Harmonien von Fennesz und all den seltsamen Geräuschen, die Sakamoto seinem Gerät entlockt. Ein Klangfeuerwerk zwischen Hörabenteuer und Hörgenuss. [Ralph Hofbauer]
CMJ (USA):
Far more jambient [than 'Insen' by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Carsten Nicolai] is the team-up of Sakamoto with Austrian computer typhoon Christian Fennesz. Their Sala Santa Cecilia (Touch) documents a meeting at the Romaeuropa festival in 2004, the two electronic pioneers helming a 19-minute piece that builds to an impenetrable wall of Space Shuttle howl and slowly works its way back down to a crunching comedown drone. Sakamoto lays down crackling embers that build into fireworks, and Fennesz provides an ever-darkening pool of water to drown in while being awed by the explosions - not as sensual as 'Insen', but far more transforming in its doom-jazz colours. [Christopher Weingarten]
Dusted (USA):
While a collaboration between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christian Fennesz may not have been inevitable, it was most certainly welcome. Sakamoto hardly needs an introduction; as one of the most prominent composers in the Far East, his work is part of the bedrock of modern Japanese music. While some of his soundtrack stuff borders on schmaltzy, Sakamoto has always kept an ear to the underground, particularly to those artists experimenting with varying forms of electronica. The Austrian-born Fennesz, on the other hand, is somewhat new to the global avant-garde community. With a couple of incredibly well-received records for the Touch and Mego labels, he’s been vaulted to the front of the long line of laptop/glitch craftsmen. Sala Santa Cecilia is a rewarding, if brief, joint undertaking between the two.
Comprising one 19-minute track recorded at Italy’s Romaeuropa festival last November, the disc crackles, stutters and shimmers with gossamer brilliance. It’s difficult to tell which artist is taking the lead in this web of diaphanous tone, but one thing’s for sure: there are hardly two men better suited to this alien terrain.
At times traditionally ambient, at others pure glitch, Cecilia contains more motion and activity than is common for Fennesz. Sakamoto is no stranger to techno styles, but it’s interesting to hear him working in such a disembodied fashion. If I had to guess, I’d say that Sakamoto is responsible for the lion’s share of ambient washes, with Fennesz taking care of the crunch. Only the composers know for certain.
For the most part it works, especially when the digitally delayed haloes of tone are met with industrial-style rattle and hum. Like a blanket made of some newly-discovered alloy, the music is both uncommon and oddly comforting.
It could be supposed that this project represents nothing more two vanguard composers joining forces just to see what would happen. If this is the case, the results certainly justify the experiment. Unfortunately, it only makes you want more. [Casey Rea]
Pitchfork (USA):
Austria's Christian Fennesz is among the most vital artists from the abstract edge of the electronic music spectrum, in part because he never stops growing. Whether he's remixing the indie pop band Junior Boys, immersing himself in improv with Fenn O'Berg and Polwechsel, or crafting dark songs in tandem with David Sylvain, Fennesz is constantly challenging himself while holding on to and developing his core style. That he sometimes fails is a testament to his willingness to step outside his comfort zone.
Add one-man entertainment industry Ryuichi Sakamoto to Fennesz's long list of collaborators. This unlikely pair is at present working on an album together, and this teaser EP consists of a single 19-minute track they performed live last year at a festival in Italy. Sakamoto has been working in music too long and in too many contexts to be summed up in a few words. Being a key member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra is a career for most, but for Sakamoto YMO was just the beginning. Since then there have been dozens of records including film scores, vocal pop records, orchestral compositions, and ambient mood music, not to mention a number of acting gigs. Now Sakamoto joins Fennesz shoulder-to-shoulder in front of their laptops to fill a concert hall with challenging computer music.
When I finish this review and put Sala Santa Cecilia back on the CD shelf, I'm definitely going to file it with my Fennesz releases. There's no way for me to know for sure who is doing what in this collaboration, but the texture and structure of the music fits nicely alongside the more serene and dreamy passages of Live in Japan. It starts with the two men tuning their machines, playing with and discarding an assortment of eerie and uncertain industrial tones, then locking the pieces that fit into pointy spires of sound. They never stay in one place long, though, as the music is constantly shifting and being bumped off track. During a long stretch of small buzzes and thumps the piece seems adrift and on the verge of floating away into chaos. But then a tender symphonic drone, which sounds to me like it was constructed by a guy with deep understanding of film music and storytelling, pulls the piece back into itself to close with an extremely long and wistful fade to black.
Santa Cecilia being the patron saint of church music and this performance having taken place of Rome, it's not hard to read into this piece a kind of gothic drama. The long glitchy passage aside, Sala Santa Cecilia sounds deep and wide, like it was meant to echo inside an enormous room with dark stone walls. If I'm understanding the division of labor correctly, Sakamoto's outsized orchestral flair is an excellent compliment to the more fastidious choices made by Fennesz, and the ideas presented here, while exciting on their own, bode very well for the upcoming full-length. [Mark Richardson]
FEN (USA):
De Tijd (Belgium):
In november 2004 brachten Christian Fennesz en Ryuichi Sakamoto - twee
sleutelfiguren in genrevrije, experimentele muziek met een indrukwekkend
curriculum - samen een concert. De aanleiding voor hun samenwerking kwam van buitenaf, op vraag van het Romaeuropa festival, het belangrijkste festival voor hedendaagse podiumkunsten en nieuwe muziek in Italië. Prompt kregen de Oostenrijker en de Japanner het Auditorium della Parco Musica ter beschikking, een zaal waar normaliter zwaargewichten uit de popmuziek genre Joe Jackson optreden. De uitgave ‘Sala Santa Cecilia’ documenteert het eerste luik van het concert. Het hebbeding duurt op de kop 19 minuten en is dan ook te koop aan de prijs van een single. Hoewel Fennesz en Sakamoto zowel analoge als digitale elektronica onder de knie hebben, bespeelden ze in Rome enkel hun laptops. We moeten raden welke klankgegevens ze in hun instrumenten stopten, maar in het eindresultaat vallen honderden veldopnames, een streepje trompet en een hemelse stem op. Bovendien is het onduidelijk wie in dit ‘duel’ wat voor zijn rekening nam. Maar dat is in feite allemaal onbelangrijk: ‘Sala Santa Cecilia’ staat voor een initieel relaxerende, zwoele luistertrip die je langzaam ondertrekt in een akelig aanvoelende geluidenzee. Een scherpe, confronterende ervaring. De single is overigens de opmaat voor een verdere samenwerking tussen deze twee heren: later dit jaar verschijnt hun eerste langspeler. [Ive Stevenheydens]
Gonzo Circus (Belgium):
Octopus (France):
Après Endless Summer, l’album qui hissa Fennesz au plus haut de sa « célébrité » et qui le mit par la même sérieusement en danger, on attendait une suite à cette pop romantique pixellisée qui hérissa les intégristes du laptop et ravit les progressistes curieux. Je suis personnellement tombé d’assez haut à l’écoute de "Venice", la suite en question, que j’ai rarement réussi à écouter d’un trait, assez vite ennuyé par sa trop grosse dose de beauté stérile. L’enthousiasme général (!?) pour cette musique de calendrier high-tech m’ayant d’autant plus abasourdi je n’avais à l’époque pas même été capable de le chroniquer à cause d’un respect mal placé pour son auteur. J’ai donc attendu un signe de mieux, une touche d’optimisme, pour partager ma déception. Ce nouveau mini-album très court (19 minutes) remplit-il ces critères ? Sala Santa Cecilia est une collaboration live avec Ryuichi Sakamoto. La structure très abstraite de cette longue plage sonore s’épaissit progressivement, passant du bruissement à l’enchevêtrement de sons plus organiques, puis plus musicaux. Ponctué par un signal dont la texture - très électrique - est sujette à variations, le morceau continue avec des balayements statiques étouffants de distantes modulations électroniques. Quelques bribes de sons de synthés un peu maladroits émergent petit à petit. Le silence est rompu par de jolies torsions digitales qui sont illuminées par une efficace mais prévisible nappe mélodique. Combien de temps faudra-t il pour oublier Venice?
Freemusic (CZ):
Po velmi vyda?ených sólových albech Endless Summer a Venice se jméno Rakušana Christiana Fennesze stalo na poli soudobé elektronické hudby pojmem a jeho "vitální" laptopový rukopis s originálním zpracováním hry na sólovou kytaru jedním z nejorigináln?jších žánrových projev? v?bec.
Ryuichi Sakamoto pat?í oproti Fenneszovi již k živoucím legendám. Skupina Yellow Magic Orchestra, jíž v druhé p?li osmdesátých let zakládal, náleží spole?n? s Kraftwerk k pionýr?m elektronické tane?ní scény a Sakamoto jako skladatel soundtrack? (nap?. k film?m Merry Christmas, Mr.Lawrence ?i The Last Emperor) k jedn?m z t?ch mála osobitých autor? filmové hudby za dobu posledního ?tvrtstoletí.
Možná o to p?ekvapiv?ji musí p?sobit záznam jejich spole?ného živého hraní z listopadu roku 2004 v ?ím?, kde se oba hudebníci sešli na jednom pódiu u p?íležitosti Festivalu Romaeuropa. Oproti p?edpoklad?m necelá dvacetiminutovka jejich vzájemné improvizace probíhá ve znamení jen zt?ží rozeznatelného vkladu na bázi práce s laptopy. Celkové vyzn?ní nahrávky nese sice více než z?etelné stopy Fenneszova rukopisu, jako celek však jde p?ece jen o nep?íliš dotaženou "hudební akci", p?i které se Sakamoto "nebezpe?n?" p?iblížil aktuálním zvukovým trend?m, tedy tam, kde se naopak Fennesz pohybuje jako ryba ve vod?. Jakoby se starý mistr cht?l p?iblížit novým kousk?m a naopak soudobá hv?zda vzdát poklonu jednomu ze svých vzor? - nic mén?, ale ani nic více.
Krati?ký záznam ?ímského vystoupení tak sice p?edstavuje z jedné strany skute?n? nahrávku konsistentní, jež však zárove? neoplývá výrazn? zajímav?jšími momenty a ve výsledku bude pat?it mezi ty, jejichž lesk pokryje prach uplývajícího ?asu d?íve než by tomu bylo nutné. Do?káme se n?kdy n?jakého smyslupln?jšího pokra?ování?
07.04.05
Jacob Kirkegaard - Interviews
[Click here for reviews in English and Danish]
Offensive (FR):
A feature by Yann Hascoet in French may be read here
A feature in Politiken from 31st March 2006 can be downloaded here
Tracking down the sound cells - Jacob Kirkegaard gets vibes off the hidden places
Music, from the inside of things: a rhythmical clattering that blends into a chord of buzzing signals and then dissolves again; a distant drone that comes closer until your skull and your intestines start to hum quietly. The acoustic spheres of sound artist Jacob Kirkegaard originate from resonance spaces hitherto unheard and undreamt of - deep in the earth and high above the arctic horizon. On the occasion of his CD release "Eldfjall" on London-based label "Touch", the 29-year old Dane presents a sound installation at the Kölner Kunstverein in Cologne, Germany. His recent spatial-acoustic compositions involve natural phenomena that the artist discovered himself. For the tones that sing and rustle on Kirkegaard's tracks would not be audible, let alone admirable for their musical potential, if he had not fished them out of the silence. If these tones existed at all as long as there was nobody to listen to them? An interesting question, but none that matters much to Kirkegaard. After all, he is not an Eksistensfilosof occupied with ontological matters but quite practically employed with the excavation of sound material. Kirkegaard knows how to approach Being and Time in Nothingness without taking a leap of faith: by diving right into it with a measuring instrument.
Accelerometers and hydrophones have become indispensable working tools for the artist. He was first introduced to them at the Academy of Media Art in Cologne where he graduated in 2001 to study with Anthony Moore and other renowned artists and media theorists. Beside his own work and musical collaborations - e.g. with Philip Jeck for the CD "Soaked", also released on Touch - Kirkegaard is now involved in a wide variety of artistic projects. In Cologne, he compiled a sound collage for the award- winning experimental documentary film "Visit Iraq" by Kamal Aljafari. Also, Yoshie Shibahara's dance performance "ISA - Ultima Thule" with ice sounds of Jacob Kirkegaard won the Cologne Dance Award in 2004. Most of the time, however, Kirkegaard is out sound-hunting: chasing after volatile sounds in the ether and after locked resonance spaces in which he suspects a hidden music. His hunting equipment consists of a bag full of complicated contact microphones - small spears and antennae and magnets that he uses to impale the prey and apply leeches to it. Thus he captures noises that have never reached the ear: in the nuclear fission center of an atomic power plant, in the crystal tears of an ice block, in the fire craters of geysirs and volcanos. The volcanic earth sounds of the "Eldfjall"-project, for example, Kirkegaard brought home from a trip to Iceland in 2004 when he was translating the frequency of the northern polar light into the acoustic. With the spheric "solar wind" he arranged an installation, which is presently exhibited at Kiasma in Helsinki. The trained musician and performer understands his expeditions as research excursions into phenomena that have been explained scientifically but hitherto remained inaccessible to everyday experience. "Everywhere in the cosmos there are such things as sound cells, with their own interior lives", Kirkegaard explains. "They are independent, autopoetic organisms without any direct relation to us, but nevertheless indirectly formed by our existence. If I can put my ear to their membrane, to the vibrating skin of such a cell, in order to record what is going on in there - then I am very happy."
His artistic and artificial way of sound documentation represents a challenge to the claim to objectivity of any "true to life" acoustic recording. For Kirkegaard's work proves that if we listen to things from another perspective, nothing sounds - naturally! - as it sounds to the ear: "It's as though I can climb into it. And the listeners are no longer kept outside, either, but they can enter and feel the darkness. The sounds in there are so much denser, and more compressed." By presenting these sounds in an art context in clubs, museums and at festivals throughout the world, Kirkegaard wants to offer to his audience not simply music but also "make their brains fly" with a concept: "After all, this here is not just a guitar solo. It is nature speaking its own language." Kirkegaard particularly emphasizes the importance to leave a free space in which everyone can find their own access to this language. In fact, the recordings he made of the earth are in themselves so multi-faceted and expressive that the artist decided not to manipulate them - out of respect for their overwhelming natural strength and beauty.
During his latest explorations of natural forces, Kirkegaard has also come across the Rhine, which he calls " the most powerful resonant body in Cologne". Presently he is working on a "sound-mapping" project that concentrates particularly on the river and its acoustic environment and is to be presented as a radio piece by the "Studio für akustische Kunst" at WDR. "The Rhine has a lot to offer, sound-wise", says Kirkegaard contently, "above all those long metal railings along the riverbank promenades. And the bridges. There is so much volatile movement in it, and a lot of secrets." If, as the German philosopher Sloterdijk once said, the world is not sound but the space of its possibility - then the Danish namesake of a philosopher has a great eavesdropping potential awaiting him there. [Sarah Schulze]
Interview in January 2005 with Jacob Kirkegaard for the New York based internet art portal, The Thing
Q — What is your background, what did you study in University?
Ten years ago, I started looking into sounds coming from different layers or spheres. I started recording city and radio noise, with acoustical microphones, then became interested in water and various recording techniques. Being able to dive into matter, like for example water, with a hydrophone was a new experience for me, and opened up the gates for the many possibilities there were in listening to matter, using different recording techniques. I am currently studying in Cologne, Germany at the Academy of Arts and the Media, where I explore sound with an scientific approach. But parallel to that, I have lectured on sound and space at the Architect Academy and at the Art Academy in Copenhagen.
Q — You said you were interested in sounds from different layers or spheres what do you mean by different layers and what do you mean by different spheres?
You are right, in a way the meanings are quite similar. With 'sphere', I am referring to the atmospheric, airy or invisible layers, such as the solar wind (sound) spheres. And where radio transmissions are found or hidden.
Now when I think about what I mean, I think you’re right. Because with 'layers', I am thinking about everything from rather perceptive layers of understanding sound (as for example listening to a sound, using another microphone technique). Ice is a layer too; fluent and volatile--spheres. and -Last month when I was again in Iceland, I did some contact microphone recordings of stones where (it is said that) Elves live. For me, this would also mean to dive in to another layer. So 'spheres' would then more refer to 'atmospheres'.
Q — How did the change from recording ambient urban environments to an element such as water come about?
As water as well is a kind of urban sound, when thinking about tubes and sewers that transports that matter, one of the first recordings I ever did was actually to record dripping water from the tap in my kitchen. When I started pitching it down I soon discovered the rich sonic potential that a water drop bears, and this resulted in various compositions where I used water for creating rhythms and tonal beats. Water was maybe the first 'natural element' for me to discover.
Q — How do you start composing with the sounds you so carefully archive on your website, when they seem to have a fascination of their own?
It is important for me not to process these sounds too much as they, as you say, bear a fascination on their own. When performing with this material, I try to pull myself back as a composer and instead just to present the sounds as I experienced them out there. I would maybe call it a re-presentation or re-localisation of an event for example to fill Share in NYC with the sounds of a Swedish nuclear power plant. That was really fun. I do something though; try to find the harmonics or upper tones in those drones, give them a little equalizing here and there and maybe layer the drones together to create some kind of a narration or a little symphony.
Q — Can you give me an example or two of what a little symphony is with for instance the Swedish Nuclear Power Plant jam at Share in NYC?
A symphony is of course when everything comes together, or at least at some point gives that feeling. It has to do with drama as well. I found lots of drama being in that power plant. And re-mixing this experience in a performance, created a joint drone of all those tubes, basins and turbines in a narrative way, like a nuclear symphony?
Q — Can you give me an example or two of what a little narration is with for instance the Swedish Nuclear Power Plant jam at Share in NYC?
Yes, A little narration was that I for example had a drone running, with beautiful upper tones around 1KHz or more. Then I combined that with another sound file that accidentally fits tonally, but its character lies more in the deeper tonal spectrum. So the narration happened in the slow fade from the first file into the other over a long period.
Q — How did you gain access to the various recording techniques that you mention?
Being a part of the sound department at the Art Academy in Cologne Germany. I was introduced to accelerometer, hydrophones, so I tried them out. The accelerometer was perfect for doing ice recordings, as it has a stick that can be stuck into ice surfaces, while hydrophones could capture the world beneath.
Q — "I explore sound in art with an scientific approach…" What are some examples of your explorations?
For a year and a half I have been investigating VLF phenomenon, which is the very low frequencies emitted from the solar winds. To gain knowledge about this theme I found many interesting informations from the INSPIRE group and other places. This phenomenon has mainly been explored by scientists, but my approach to the subject bears an artistic interest. Additionally, I am diving into seismic explorations of our vibrating earth – this also moves towards scientific investigation.
Q — Can you tell me what that artistic interest is?
I am not sure whether scientists think too much about hidden layers, secret messages, whisperings or songs emitted from souls from other frequencies, when they explore the VLF vibrations through their receivers. Maybe they do. In any case there exists a motivation for me there, in the dreams of other spaces, missing links or black holes, as there always are more sides to a fact. Presenting naturally created cosmic and audible waves in a museum hopefully as well triggers that extra point of view.
Q — What purpose does the university have for the experimentation you are doing?
It is a media art academy, where different media, such as visual art from film, animation to holography, to sound and installation are being explored. Some people are building robots as well. I think it is when it comes to exploring matter as I do with patters of natural vibrations, that I easily find related investigations carried out by scientists that I would have to dive into. The academy motivates me to understanding things in a broader context, teaching me not only about art, but also introducing me to philosophers and scientists such as Foucault, Athanasius Kircher and Florian Dombois.
Q — So when recording you are capturing all meanings; volatile, secret or sacred. How important is it for you to guide your listeners through all of the meanings you mention above?
I have some themes that inspire me, the sacred or layers of meaning in-between. Basically, I would like people to make their own conclusions. The secret sounds site should as well work as a platform for investigations and thoughts, that the audience can fantasize from, if they wish. Connecting with scientific explorations, maybe can bring a broader aspect into my art, than the art has in itself.
Q — Would you consider your work (on your website) the building of an audio database or a sonic record of earth's essential sounds?
No not really. I think to fully enjoy the sounds they should be listened to on a CD or in concert. More important is being 'out there' on the spot with headphones on for days, diving into the soul of the sounds, to feel, see and smell their sources, capturing the whole ‘body’ of a ‘matter.’ My intention with the secret sounds website is more to investigate some things or matters in the world, that somehow touches my interest into the hidden, volatile, secret or sacred in-between layers. From a sonic perspective as a starting point.
Q — How does the live setting of improvised sound mixing affect the music you make?
I find the harmonics or overtones in the drones of my recordings and give them a little equalising here and there. I then layer the drones together to create some kind of narration or little symphony.
Q — We are reinforcing the procedures and your thoughts of research that are mostly scientific, how do you return to interpretation that moves away from scientific recording?
With live performances or installations. On the secret sounds website you can read about the installation 'Söngvar Sólvindanna' that I did with a friend of mine. We have been creating a real-time installation based on the sonic aspects of the northern lights for the art museum KIASMA in Finland. Here our aim is to present natural, scientific matter in an art museum, by listening to the sounds of the auroras using real-time technology. Furthermore, my upcoming Cd release (in February) will be a sonic journey through the geothermal matters of earth that I discovered with accelerometers in Iceland last year. The Cd will be released by Touch and is entitled Eldfjall which means Fire Mountain -or Volcano- in Icelandic. [Diane Ludin]
DAGBLADET INFORMATION
Lyden af jordkloden indefra
Lydkunstneren Jacob Kirkegaard afslører verdens hemmelige lyde med accelerometre og elektromagnetiske antenner og får hver dag mere respekt for sit materiale.
Forbipasserende kan observere ham koncentreret kravlende på et gelænder langs Rhinen i Köln. Liggende med hovedet helt nede i Islands boblende varme kilder. Eller siddende med øret klinet op ad vandrøret i dagligstuen, en reaktor på Barsebäck, eller bare en helt almindelig klippe. Jacob Kirkegaard, 29-årig kunstner, musiker og studerende ved Akademiet for Kunst og Medier i Köln, har gjort det til sin opgave at afsløre verdens hemmelige lyde. På torsdag udgiver han værket Eldfjall med nogle af sine resultater: lydene af de boblende øverste lag i Islands vulkaniske jord, optaget indefra med Kirkegaards helt egen teknik og sammensat i lydstykker med deres helt egen musik.
Spørger man Kirkegaard selv, hvordan han graver de hemmelige lyde frem, er det lidt som at tale med Georg Gearløs eller Storm P: ”Ideen til Eldfjall opstod, da jeg var i Island for at optage nordlys med en radiomodtager jeg havde bygget, som opfanger elektromagnetiske svingninger i det meget lave spektrum, nordlysenes bølger ligger i. Hvis man tænder sådan en modtager herinde midt i byen, kan man næsten ikke høre andet end elektrisk støj. Men hvis man kommer væk fra civilisationen og op nordpå, hvor nordlysene er, så kan man opfange bølgerne fra de her solvinde. Jeg havde også taget mit accelerometer med for at optage noget is – jeg kan godt lide isoverflader, fordi de er sådan nogle midlertidige landområder, som opstår og forsvinder igen. Men så fandt jeg de her varme kilder, der boblede op overalt, og det var bare så oplagt at stikke accelerometeret ned i dem – og der åbnede sig en helt fantastisk verden.”
Accelerometeret, et af Kirkegaards foretrukne arbejdsredskaber, er en slags kontaktmikrofon – altså en mikrofon, som er i kontakt med sit materiale i stedet for at optage det på afstand. Det bliver mest brugt på kraftværker eller fly- og bilfabrikker til at sætte på skroget for at høre, om alt fungerer som det skal. I Island stak Kirkegaard en lille pind skruet fast til accelerometeret ned i de spruttende, kogende og boblende jordlag, så vibrationerne kom direkte op i mikrofonen. ”Jorden havde en utrolig interessant lyd, fordi der er så stort et spektrum i den med dybe varme toner, høje frekvenser ovenover og en bevægelse der gav associationer til rytmer og musik – det var helt oplagt, at man kunne bruge den til at sætte den på som musik derhjemme eller spille til koncerter. Og så kom jeg helt direkte i kontakt med elementerne. Når jeg lå derude på knæ, og det var iskoldt, og kiggede med hovedet helt ned i de her spruttende ting der kom op - der følte jeg, at jeg skulle kigge væk. Fordi det var at kigge ind i jordens intime sprækker. Det er også derfor, jeg har opkaldte mine tracks efter jordgudinder: Det er en hyldest til det feminine og en anerkendelse af min oplevelse af, at der var sjæl i jorden.”
Kirkegaard har tidligere blandt andet udgivet lp’en Luftantenner sammen med Gry Bagøien i ensemblet Æter, soloalbummet 01.02 og Soaked med britiske Philip Jeck. Han er musiker, men han har med tiden trukket sig mere og mere tilbage fra at manipulere sine lyde. Når tracksene på Eldfjall træder frem som ild, lava, vand og liv i vekslende og dynamiske forløb, er det ikke fordi Kirkegaard har siddet og bearbejdet dem. - Hvorfor skal man sidde og høre på lyden af noget varm jord? ”Jeg synes det er interessant at skabe en åbning ind til lyduniverser, der eksisterer og genererer sig selv helt uafhængigt af os. Tidligere arbejdede jeg mere kompositorisk med mine lyde og var heller ikke så konceptuel med, hvordan de skulle optages; jeg brugte almindelige mikrofoner og lakplader der gik i hak og sådan noget. Men med de nye projekter med kontaktmikrofonerne handler det om noget helt andet: Jeg åbner en port ind til en anden, uhørt verden – afslører den og bringer den ud af sit element, så man kan få øje for den. Det er en helt anden type lyd, fordi den kommer indefra; jeg penetrerer så at sige lyden. Der er et langt gelænder langs Rhinen nede i Köln. Det gelænder er sådan et grænseland, ligesom membranen i en højttaler. Og det står altså bare og synger. Af vinden, Rhinen og den kæmpemæssige strøm af skibe, der glider forbi. Og når jeg så sætter øret helt ned til det, så finder jeg jo en hemmelig verden derinde, af susen og syngen og svingninger.”
Jacob Kirkegaard er ved at lave et værk ud af gelænderet ved Rhinen til tysk radio. I sidste uge var han i Berlin med DR og optage lyden af fjernsynstårnets maskineri til en konkretmusik-koncert, der blev sendt live i programmet Radium, og forude venter et projekt med at optage lyden af døde og forladte steder. Undervejs har han fået mere og mere respekt for sit materiale: ”Når man har siddet en hel dag i Barsebäck 100 meter under jorden ved en reaktor og lyttet, mens man bliver mere og mere svedig i hænderne, går man ikke bare ind og smider rundt med sine optagelser i computeren bagefter. Hvem er jeg til at blande mig i de lyde? Jeg peger. Lyden af dig der går ude på gaden er ikke bare nogle skridt på en overflade. Trinene lyder også inde i jordkloden. Dén anden bevidsthed kan jeg godt lide.” [Lotte Folke Kaarsholm]
Soundvenue (DK):
Er det musik?
Fra højtalerne lyder Leif Inges udgave af Beethovens 9. Symfoni, trukket ud over 24 timer. »Det får mig til at tænke på tid. Hvornår gør musik ellers det?«, spørger han retorisk. Jacob Kirkegaard har for nylig stukket en mikrofon i jorden, optaget lyden og udgivet det.
Alle, der kender bare lidt til Kirkegaards katalog vil vide, at han ikke er en mand, der er bange for eksperimenter, eller for utraditionel tankegang, om man vil. Han har været vidt omkring og kommer det stadig. Som 12-årig tog han på egen hånd til København for at overvære en Slayer-koncert, og senere begyndte han at spille i et punkband. Som 19-årig opdagede han og blev betaget af konkretmusikken, og netop den blev vigtig for hans senere kunstneriske udfoldelser. I 2002 udgav han sammen med englænderen Philip Jeck det anmelderroste album 'Soaked' på det toneangivende engelske pladeselskab Touch, og året efter udgav selskabet Bottrop-Boy hans andet album '01.02'.
Nu er Jacob Kirkegaard så endnu engang albumaktuel. Denne gang med et aldeles utraditionelt værk. Det nye album, 'Eldfjall', består af en række avancerede optagelser af vulkansk aktivitet på Island.
Det er imidlertid langt fra kun albums Kirkegaards karriere har kastet af sig. Sideløbende har han stået for lydsiden til utallige udstillinger, og i øvrigt arbejdet med adskillige andre projekter. For nylig uropførte han på Danmarks Radios P2 et stykke konkretmusik bestående af lyden fra den motor, som får restauranten i tv-tårnet i Berlin til at dreje rundt. Projekter som det, eller da han havde optaget lyde fra Barsebäck, og ved hjælp af dem jammede med en kunstnerkollega bevæbnet med californiske han-cikaders parringssang, har fascineret verden over.
Et rent tilfælde
Forskellen på projekter som de nævnte og 'Eldfjall' er, at Kirkegaard på sidstnævnte har ladet optagelserne fremstå uberørte. De er hverken blevet efterbehandlet eller smeltet sammen. Hvert enkelt af albummets 9 numre, der alle har fået navn efter forskellige kulturers jordgudinder, består af de nøgne optagelser af den vulkanske aktivitet på Island. Jacob Kirkegaard fortæller at det faktisk var et tilfælde, at han opdagede kvaliteten i netop disse lyde. Oprindelig var han på Island for at optage lyden af nordlys, da han fik ideen til at optage de lyde, som skulle vise sig at være så rige, at han altså valgte at udgive dem. Det er imidlertid ikke en almindelig mikrofon, men en mere avanceret og meget følsom kontaktmikrofon, et accelerometer, der gør projektet muligt. Han viser glad den umiddelbart simpelt udseende mikrofon frem og forklarer: »Det er ikke fordi jeg er specielt interesseret i teknik. Det er de muligheder den giver mig, der er interessante«. Mikrofonen gør det muligt, at optage lyden indefra. Den blev stukket ned i jorden i områder med vulkansk aktivitet, og de bedste optagelser kom med på pladen. At Kirkegaard i netop dette tilfælde, har valgt ikke at efterbehandle lydene skyldes den enorme rigdom, de indeholder. Den selv samme rigdom som ifølge ham selv legitimerer at udgive dem.
Hvad er det egentlig han laver?
Med 'Eldfjall' er der tale om et værk, der ikke indeholder nogen umiddelbar rytme. Den dikteres ikke for lytteren, der selv må definere den. I det hele taget må man unægtelig sige, at det er et album, der bryder en hel del gængse rammer, og spørgsmålet er, om der overhovedet er tale om musik. End ikke bagmanden selv er sikker: »Måske er det snarere lydkunst, eller hvad man skal kalde det«. Han pointerer imidlertid, at han kommer fra musikmiljøet og vel er en slags musiker, »men jeg er ligeglad. Jeg vil egentlig gerne have, at der bare bliver fokuseret på lyd. Der jo er grundlaget for musik. Det vigtigste er, at jeg laver, det jeg tror på«.
»Det vigtigste er, at det lyder godt, og derfor er det vel også musik på et eller andet plan. Jeg kan for eksempel også godt lide, at lytte til bands som Rhythm & Sound, og jeg kunne sagtens forestille mig igen at spille et instrument og lave mere dikterende musik, men man må prioritere - og jeg synes det jeg laver er interessant«.
Trods det, at lytteren selv må begive sig ind i værket, og definere dets rytme, ser Kirkegaard ikke 'Elfjall' som et vanskeligt værk.
»Det gælder mere om at være åben. Hvis man går ind til det med en forudindtaget mening om, hvad man skal høre, fungerer det ikke. Men sådan er det jo med al musik. Jeg synes, man altid bør forsøge at være åben. Alt andet vil være synd for musikken. Regner man med at høre en bestemt genre, vil man ofte blive skuffet. Sådan mener jeg også det er med mennesker, man børe altid være åben«.
Kirkegaards fortællinger
»Jeg vil gerne undersøge skjulte lyde. De lyde, som er hemmelige, som vi ikke hører normalt«, fortæller han. Og det er i den forbindelse, at accelerometeret kommer ind i billedet. »Det er ligesom, hvis man lægger øret helt tæt til noget. For eksempel et bord eller en væg, så vil man høre dets summen. Man tænker jo ellers ikke normalt på, at de ting laver lyde«. Heri får vi også forklaringen på, hvorfor eksempelvis Barsebäck-projektet havde sin berettigelse. »Jeg synes, det er interessant, at Barsebäck står og synger for os«.
Et andet godt eksempel på det interessante ved de skjulte lyde er et af Jacob Kirkegaards næste projekter, hvortil han introducerer begrebet 'sonic mapping'. Han har, med sin kontaktmikrofon, optaget vibrationerne i et langt metalgelænder ved Rhinen. Begrebet skal forstås på den måde, at når noget ændrer sig på Rhinen, ja, så vil gelænderets vibrationer også gøre det. Hver gang et skib kommer forbi, vil gelænderets lyde altså viderebringe det til os. Endnu engang parrer han altså musik med noget andet.
Hvad det andet så er, kan man diskutere længe. I hvert fald kan man konstatere at Jacob Kirkegaard laver lyde. Han er ikke en musiker i traditionel forstand, og alene det faktum, at han udfordrer vores opfattelse af, hvad musik kan være, gør ham interessant. Om man kan lide hans musik eller ej, skal være op til den enkelte, men at han bidrager med noget, som alle musikelskere kunne få noget ud af at tænke over. Man bør give ham en chance, og gør man det, ja, så bør man være åben. [Emil Kragh-Schwarz]
More info about Jacob Kirkegaards work at:
fonik.dk
secretsounds.dk
Latest project - Loop Tower
Streamed here
01.04.05
Touch @ Domino, Brussels, April 6th-14th 2005
The Stockholm Effect No. 1 is now available for free download
The Stockholm Effect No. 1
Live at Fylkingen, Stockholm, 26th August 2004
[Fennesz/BJNilsen/z'ev]
Fennesz - computer, piano & guitar
BJNilsen - computer
z'ev - bass drums
The recording has been divided into seven pieces for download.
They were mastered for easy reconstruction back to the original
uninterrupted performance.
Each track will be deleted at the end of each month and will not
reappear, so check back at the beginning of each month for the
new track to download. The files are compressed and will appear
as .sit files. You will need a suitable utility to decompress them
[eg Stuffit Expander]
Track 1 [4:26] - October 2004
Track 2 [2:51] - November 2004
Track 3 [4:04] - December 2004
Track 4 [3:39] - January 2005
Track 5 [2:39] - February 2005
Track 6 [3:08] - March 2005
Track 7 [2:55] - April 2005
Mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye Mastering