Thomas Lehn / Eugene Chadbourne :: C Inside

Playing last friday at Les Instants Chavirés (Paris) were Thomas Lehn and eRikm as a duo just after Sudden Infant. Very nice playlist and concert indeed. The first time I saw Thomas Lehn performing live on his wacky analog synthesizer was at that very same place ten years before, with Eugene Chadbourne: CInside \ Chadlehn _ {GROB 205CD / 2000} 



 Next to me was sitting Brunhild Ferrari, who left her full glass on the ground from the beginning to the end of the concert at a small distance from a massive deep loudspeaker.

Pierre Henry :: La Ville / Die Stadt {Metropolis Paris}

Definitely inspired by Walter Ruttmann’s Wochende (1930), 'La Ville - Die Stadt' was commissioned by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (Klaus Schöning) in 1984. Hummings, drummings and tickings; this sound piece always was the true Paris soundscape to me (far from the Saint-Germain-des-Prés jazz clichés!).
Pierre Henry - La Ville / Die Stadt (Metropolis Paris) / 1994 WERGO — 

René Zosso + Clémencic Consort - Cantigas de Santa Maria

Surprisingly, René Zosso & Anne Osnowicz were playing a few weeks ago at Sonic Protest in Paris.
René Zosso is a great hurdy-gurdy performer, who has been playing with René Clemencic and his consort for quite a long time, and with whom he committed several uplifting recordings, such as Le Roman de Fauvel.
Here are a fine selection of Cantigas de Santa Maria (written during Alfonso del Sabio's reign in the 13th century), also played with Anne Osnowicz along with zarb master Djamchid Chemirani.

 

In Sonic Protest 2013, at Le Cirque Électrique, one could also discover Léo Maurel's strange music boxes, similar to hurdy-gurdies, giving all together a fascinating small scale concert…

René Zosso + Clémencic Consort - Cantigas de Santa Maria (2CD) — {Harmonia Mundi 1995} — 

Prophet 34 — Sara du Tchad

Recorded in the sixties by Charles Duvelle, also founder of the Ocora (Office de Coopération Radiophonique) collection, here are pretty rare sounds from the Sara people in the south of Chad. Listen to their nilotic language, sung in many repetitive patterns (such as 'chant et harpe' or the 'orchestre de sifflets et percussions'). The photos taken in situ by Duvelle at the time of the recording and reproduced in the leaflet are quite outstanding as well.

Sara du Tchad _ collection Prophet #34 _ 2003 _ 

Music and songs from Mauritania - Dimi Mint Abba

Dimi Mint Abba was the most famous and prominent mauritanian griot or 'Iggawin' in Mauritania. This is one of her first recording from the early 90s (originally released by Auvidis in 1989), where she plays with her husband Khalifa Ould Eide. Listen to her powerful voice, accompanied by the 'ardin', a mauritanian harp also used as a percussion. A very nice mix of arab and manding music emanates from this album.

Check the Discogs file for this recording _
1992 — Auvidis ethnic B6768 — 

Music Made In Merde - (volume 1)

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Proudly introducing my first playlist: exclusive french rarities and margin music, a mix of famous (Brigitte Fontaine, Michel Portal, Jacques Higelin, Bobby Lapointe, Jacno) and less famous artists (David Fenech, Jean-Marie Massou, André Robillard, Le Chevalier de Rinchy, Ghédalia Tazartès). The photo above was shot in summer 2011 in Limoux (south of France) and is an unexpected artwork from a nationalist outsider artist!

1 - André Robillard / "Le temps des cerises" (2002)
2 - Bobby Lapointe / "La question ne se pose pas" (1967)
3 - Brigitte Fontaine / "On n'est pas des chiens" (1966)
4 - Les Charlots sing Boris Vian / "Une bonne paire de claques dans la gueule" (1969)
5 - Le Chevalier de Rinchy / "Je ne pense qu'à ça" (2006)
6 - David Fenech / "La Boum 2005" (2005)
7 - François de Roubaix / "Indicatifs Télé Zaïre" (?)
8 - Mori Totti / "Tristesse" (Frédéric Chopin) (1939)
9 - Ghédalia Tazartès / "Je t'aimerai toujours" (2000)
10 - Dashiell Hedayat / "Fille de l'ombre (with gong)" (1971)
11 - Jacques Higelin / "Tiens, j'ai dit tiens" (1971)
12 - Jean-Marie Massou / "Complainte" (années 2000)
13 - Philippe Katerine plays Jacno / "Rectangle" (2011)
14 - Métal Urbain / "Ultra violence" (1978)
15 - Michel Portal / "Splendid yzlement" (1971)
16 - Monty / "Au bois de Boulogne (Aristide Bruant)" (1935)
17 - Pascal Comelade / "Automne" (1980)
18 - Pusse / "Le bon temps poilu" (2004)
19 - À trois dans les WC / "Contagion" (1979)
20 - Vincent Malone / "I just call to say I love you" (1995)

— "Music Made In Merde vol.1" / Les Continents Sonores 2013 _ 

Sylvain Kassap — Saxifrages!

Playing with Ensemble Laborintus and guest eRikm yesterday night at Instants Chavirés (Montreuil, France) I saw Sylvain Kassap, a great clarinet player. He is the author of one fine album originally released in 1985 on label Evidence: Saxifrages!, named after those tiny mountain flowers able to break rocks apart. The piece presents a fabulous Smörgåsbord of great french musicians such as Bruno Chevillon (dbl bass), Jacques Mahieux (dms), Pablo Cueco (perc), Claude Barthélémy (guit), Yves Robert (tb), Michel Godard (tuba), Gérard Buquet (tuba).
— Saxifrages - {Evidence – EV 102} / 1985 — 

Christian Marclay / Elliott Sharp ‎– High Noon

A great release from two american sonic outsiders: Christian Marclay, one the first muscican who used turntables as a real mean of composing (a true DJ also as he literally trod on discs!) and Elliott Sharp, the multitalented guitar hero from NYC.
• listen to some excerpts here
• check-out the release details on Discogs
• Intakt Records – Intakt CD 063 - 2000 

Grand Nord - recordings by Deben Bhattacharya

Deben Bhattacharya recorded these pieces some fifty years ago, in 1963 precisely, probably when he was working in Sweden. This LP contains indeed traditionnal music from Finland, Lapland and Sweden. Some of the finnish pieces have been later released on CD (Musique Populaires - Finlande - nord>sud NSCD 1170), like the beautiful Love song from Karelia, played by Tyyne Niikko on Kantele.

• 1963 {Musique Folklorique du Monde - Musidisc – 30 CV 1117} 

Stockhausen Stimmung: Collegium Vocale Köln

This is the first recording of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Stimmung, actually comissioned by the Collegium Vocale Köln in 1968, and recorded in 1969. Stockhausen wrote it in the US after he met (and taught to) minimalist composer La Monte Young… It seems that the drone influence was strong on him on this composition, for it does not sound like other piece I know of Stockhausen.

This rip was made after a mint vinyl disc out of the ORTF archives and I pretty much appreciate the cracking sounds of the disc along with the hummings of the piece. Play it loud! ;)
 
— LP rip — {Deutsche Grammophon avant garde 2561 043} — 

Gongs from Vietnam-Laos

A very widespread instrument in South East Asia, the gong is mainly played on its own in small tribal mountain villages (just like in other parts of Indonesia and the Philippines). But on the contrary to the sophisticated burmese or indonesian orchestras, the pace here is with little ornaments and quite repetitive, only played along with small drums, sometimes with singing. The result is mesmerizing, hypnotizing like some unplugged techno music — listen to an excerpt —
— 2001 {PlayaSound PS65256} — 

Katchinas - Gérard Marais Sextet

A fine piece of french avant-garde jazz indeed, from the early 1990's. Featuring Gérard Marais (guitar), Jean-François Canape (trumpet), Jacques Mahieux (drums), Henri Texier (double bass), Michel Godard (tuba) and Yves Robert (trombone). You will defintively love it if you fancy Albert Mangelsdorff, fine swing and subtle compositions.
1990 / Thelonious {THE 0501} / 

La Soustraction des Fleurs

Jean-François Vrod (whom I already spoke about in this album) was playing at Rosa Bonheur (Chevilly-Larue) near Paris a few days ago, with his trio La Soustraction des Fleurs (violin + zarb). A friendly and homely concert within the exhibition of his private "art brut" collection.

Poire_z : + {erstwhile 022}

Günter Müller, Norbert Möslang and Jason Kahn were playing at Les Instants Chavirés yesterday evening. A good opportunity to share a Poire_Z album featuring: Günter Müller - Otomo Yosihide - Norbert Möslang - Christian Marclay - Voice Crack - Andy Guhl - eRikm • Track 1 recorded May 14th, 2001, on Amplify 2001: Mainsine Festival, New York, USA • Track 2 recorded October 26th, 2000, at Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers, France • Track 3 recorded May 15th, 2001, on Amplify 2001:Mainsine Festival, New York, USA.

Poire_z {+} {erstwhile 022} — 2002 — check the Discog file about this release / 

Jamiila - Songs from a Somali city

Songs from Baraawe — These recordings were conducted in the Eighties in the streets of Baraawe (or Brava, a few kilometres from Mogadiscio); they are little gems of popular african music. As in major areas of the horn, Arab and Asian influences are very strong, the guitar is played like the ’ud and the vibes of Bollywood trill through a small flute. Most surprising is however the free use of a small electric Casio-type organ and of its cheap drum machine, which gives quite a "video games" feeling to this rudimentary and totally unheard Taarab.

— Original Music {OMA 107} / 1987 — 

Saw Le Aung

Picked-up on a market in the north of Burma where it was unreservedly played on a loudspeaker, this tape is the recording of a young boy known as Saw Le Aung (from what I got as tranlsation), singing solo on an electric mandoline. His tunes are pretty cheerful with subtle variations of tones and attacks. The recording will enrapture lovers of repetitive musics and children voices, and those also keen on modern versions of traditional mountain tribes music from the area, such as the lao-thaï Mo Lam.
Listen to some excerpts here. 

RIP Gérard

Gérard Rinaldi left us a few days ago… One of the finest french pop singer of the 20th century, leader of the infamous "Charlots" actually inspired Jimy Hendrix himself in the 60's with his title "Hey Max" ;) !

— Les Charlots — {Vogue EPL 8577} 

Palladam S. Venkataramana Rao

Here is a new member in the modern instrument player family of carnatic music, Palladam S. Venkataramana Rao’s electronic organ. The man strives in a flawless and successful way to substitute a Yamaha DX100 to the traditional harmonium. A kind of W. Carlos’ alter ego in classical indian music!

Elara Sri Krishna - Tape rip {Sangeetha} / 

L'homme à la caméra - Pierre Henry

This piece of Musique Concrète by Pierre Henry was composed in 1993 for a unique screening of Dziga Vertov’s 1929 futurist film (Человек с киноаппаратом / The Man With A Camera). Mainly composed with the use of sitar and piano wire loops, buzzing like swarms of bees, the whole work can be considered quite minimalist in the repertoire of the french composer (see Gymnastique for instance).

— 1994, Mantra + Studio Son/Ré (Bernadette Mangin) - screening at Théâtre de la Ville in Paris 12 nov. 1993 > 

Trio Erik Marchand - An Tri Breur {Silex}

Erik Marchand (who took part in the previous Silex CDs I published earlier) was at the beginning of his musical experiments when he released this smart album with Thierry Robin (’ud) and Hameed Khan (tabla) in 1997. Before he ventured with romanian taraf or rock musician Rodolphe Burger, here is a minimalist and successful attempt to gather Brittany traditional songs with eastern instruments. Needless to say it has with nothing to do with the cheesy new-age lounge music that was hype at that time!


Trio Erik Marchand with Yann-Fañch Kemener, Youenn Le Bihan, Fañch Landreau - "An Tri Breur (three brothers)" Chants du Centre-Bretagne {Silex Y225008} - 1997 > 