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Aerial Service Area is an on-again-off-again collaboration involving ambient/electronic composers Victor Sol and Niko Heyduck. The pair have released two full-length albums through Pete Namlook’s Fax label under the name, both of which number among the finest of the already impressive (to say nothing of extensive) Frankfurt-based imprint’s titles. Combining bits of work compiled (both apart and together) over the course of nearly a decade, they are also some of the more enduring examples of minimal experimental electronic music to advance from ambient’s post-rave crop.
Victor Sol is a Barcelona-based producer whose list of credits includes collaborative works with Atom Heart, Charles Gate, and Dandy Jack; Heyduck has also worked with Atom Heart (most notably on +N’s 1996 album, Built, along with Sol and Dandy Jack). The pair began releasing music as Aerial Service Area in 1995, debuting the project with an hour-plus-long collection of deep, beatless ambient. Within a matter of only months, a second CD, 150 G Space Weight, appeared, again featuring a minimal, beatless stride of subtly shifting electronic textures. The project has remained in remission ever since, although a number of other solo and collaborative projects have appeared, including Sol’s solo debut for Rather Interesting, Paranoid. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide
01. Victor Sol, Niko Heyduck: “Another Green Airport” (from “Aerial Service Area”, Fax, 1995)
02. Victor Sol, Niko Heyduck, Atom Heart: “Eternal 8″ (from “Aerial Service Area”, Fax, 1995)
03. Victor Sol, Niko Heyduck, Atom Heart: “ETI Encoding” (from “Aerial Service Area”, Fax, 1995)
04. Victor Sol, Niko Heyduck: “Highlow” (from “Aerial Service Area”, Fax, 1995)
05. Victor Sol, Niko Heyduck, Atom Heart: “Liquid Water” (from “Aerial Service Area”, Fax, 1995)
William Basinski is a classically trained musician and composer who has been working in experimental media for over 25 years in NYC. His haunting and melancholy soundscapes explore the temporal nature of life resounding with the reverberations of memory and the mystery of time.
01. William Basinski: “6″ (from “The Disintegration Loops IV”, 2062, 2004)
02. William Basinski: “Melancholia 1″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
03. William Basinski: “Melancholia 2″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
04. William Basinski: “Melancholia 3″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
05. William Basinski: “Melancholia 4″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
06. William Basinski: “Melancholia 5″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
07. William Basinski: “Melancholia 6″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
08. William Basinski: “Melancholia 7″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
09. William Basinski: “Melancholia 8″ (from ” Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
10. William Basinski: “Melancholia 9″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
11. William Basinski: “Melancholia 12″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
12. William Basinski: “Melancholia 13″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
13. William Basinski: “Melancholia 14″ (from “Melancholia”, Durtro, 2003)
Another in the series of Köner’s self-consciously chilled and mysterious albums created with the use of treated cymbals, Nunatak Gongamur truly pushes the bounds of not merely ambient music, but music in general. Consisting almost entirely of dark drones and bursts, separated into 11 separate untitled tracks but essentially one extended piece, Nunatak Gongamur takes as the source of its inspiration the ill-fated Scott expedition to the South Pole. Celebrated at the time as a glorious defeat in the war of man against nature, later investigation demonstrated Scott to be a charismatic but ultimately flawed leader, blinded in particular by some astoundingly incompetent judgments on his part. One of them, the use of ponies (plant-eating animals sent to a continent where their fodder didn’t grow anywhere), is noted with the cover art. Köner’s composition falls somewhere between a requiem for the loss and waste of the expedition and a haunting, extremely inhuman evocation of the endless snow and ice fields of Antarctica that the core members of the expedition struggled through and died in. The swathes of deep echo and occasional crumbling rhythm create an aura of paranoid fascination, at once weirdly soothing and increasing the nervous tension every chance it gets. When Köner adds variety to the music, the effect can almost be shocking — consider the sudden distorted whines on the third and fifth tracks, which with its slight echo treatment and the rumbling background moans could almost be a disturbing cry for help. Other times, tones barely lurk in the mix, only on the edge of hearing, like being caught in an endless cavern where something curious hides in the dim distance. The killer touch is the use of space throughout the album — silences of various lengths maintaining the air of mysterious threat. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
01. Thomas Köner: “Without Title” (from “Nunatak / Gongamur”, Barooni, 1990)
02. Thomas Köner: “Without Title” (from “Nunatak / Gongamur”, Barooni, 1990)
03. Thomas Köner: “Without Title” (from “Nunatak / Gongamur”, Barooni, 1990)
04. Thomas Köner: “Without Title” (from “Nunatak / Gongamur”, Barooni, 1990)
05. Thomas Köner: “Without Title” (from “Nunatak / Gongamur”, Barooni, 1990)
06. Thomas Köner: “Without Title” (from “Nunatak / Gongamur”, Barooni, 1990)
07. Thomas Köner: “Without Title” (from “Nunatak / Gongamur”, Barooni, 1990)
08. Thomas Köner: “Andenes” (from “Teimo”, Barooni, 1991)
09. Thomas Köner: “Ilira” (from “Teimo”, Barooni, 1991)
10. Thomas Köner: “Nieve Penitentes 1″ (from “Teimo”, Barooni, 1991)
11. Thomas Köner: “Nieve Penitentes 2″ (from “Teimo”, Barooni, 1991)
12. Thomas Köner: “Teimo (Schluss)” (from “Teimo”, Barooni, 1991)
13. Thomas Köner: “Teimo” (from “Teimo”, Barooni, 1991)
One of only two major ambient works Brian Eno recorded in the ’90s – “The Shutov Assembly” being the other – “Neroli” is a single composition, 58 minutes long, that combines Eno’s concept of music designed not to be listened too attentively with the vaguely North African feel implied by the piece’s title. Written in the Phrygian mode, with flattened intervals and missing root notes that give the piece a seeming lack of tonality, “Neroli” is even more peculiarly weightless than earlier extended ambient works like “Thursday Afternoon”. Also unlike earlier ambient works, the comparatively substantial melodic content of “Neroli” rewards attentive listening as well as the piece’s intended use as environmental music. In many ways, “Neroli” is a summation of Eno’s theories of ambient music.
01. Brian Eno: “Neroli: Thinking Music Part IV” (from “Neroli”, All Saints, 1993)
Ars Musica, March 16, 1991, 11:00 pm: in almost total darkness, Le Bureau des Pianistes begins the complete works for several pianists of Morton Feldman (1926-1987). We are off for nearly three hours of music, the most lavish work for combined keyboards since Milhaud: a dozen pieces for every formation from three hands to five pianos. In an atmosphere of semi-darkness and restraint – how many ploys we need to rediscover the ways of true contemplation! – that night was for us, the pianists of Le Bureau, a privileged moment of total liberation from classical constraint: no virtuosity here, no pianistic effects; sparse, almost non-existant dynamics, here and there, a few effect of synchronization. The Feldmanian universe works as a pacifier, and at last oblivious of time’s flight, all our sensibilities bend to listen to a soaring within us – a precarious state, close to sleep, demanding an absolute attention, an infinite restraint at the limit of objectivity.
01. Morton Feldman: “Piece For Four Pianos” (from “Pieces For More Than Two Hands by Le Bureau Des Pianists”, Unclassical Sub Rosa, 1991)
02. Morton Feldman: “Intermission IV” (from “Pieces For More Than Two Hands by Le Bureau Des Pianists”, Unclassical Sub Rosa, 1991)
03. Morton Feldman: “Piano – Four Hands” (from “Pieces For More Than Two Hands by Le Bureau Des Pianists”, Unclassical Sub Rosa, 1991)
04. Morton Feldman: “Two Pianos” (from “Pieces For More Than Two Hands by Le Bureau Des Pianists”, Unclassical Sub Rosa, 1991)
05. Morton Feldman: “Five Pianos” (from “Pieces For More Than Two Hands by Le Bureau Des Pianists”, Unclassical Sub Rosa, 1991)
To “let sleeping dogs lie” is to avoid restarting old conflicts. Revisiting an old conflict is like waking a sleeping dog; we are better not to do it. Example: “I wanted to ask her what she thought of her ex-husband, but I figured it was better to let sleeping dogs lie.” (GoEnglish.com)
If someone is told to let sleeping dogs lie, it means that they shouldn’t disturb a situation as it would result in trouble or complications. (UsingEnglish.com)
To not talk about things which have caused problems in the past, or to not try to change a situation because you might cause problems. Example: “His parents never referred to the shoplifting incident again. I suppose they thought it best to let sleeping dogs lie.” (the freedictionary.com)
Miguel Santos (Musa Lusa, Atlantic Waves Festival, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation) presents a special programme on the music of Japanese composer Akira Ifukube, this Tuesday 18th April 2006, 7-8pm (GMT), on Resonance 104.4fm (www.resonancefm.com). This show will be repeated in the following Tuesday, 25 April, at 11am.
On 8 February 2006 Akira Ifukube, the Japanese composer best known for the Godzilla soundtrack, died of multiple organ failure at a Tokyo hospital aged 91. Ifukube wrote more than 250 film scores over the course of 50 years, and was head of the Tokyo College of Music from 1976 to 1987. He rose to fame in 1954 with his menacing Godzilla score. In 2003 the Japanese government named him a Person of Cultural Merit, one of its highest awards.
One of the most respected contemporary composers in Japan, Akira Ifukube has also led something of a double life as one of the most popular and prolific film composers in Japan since the late 1940s. He was born in 1914 in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, which was one of the homes of the aboriginal Ainu, the native people of Japan. As a boy, Ifukube listened to their music, which greatly influenced his own musical creativity. The “ostinato” style that Akira Ifukube later used in his film scores recapitulated the percussive, repetitive nature of Ainu’s folk music and dancing.
Ifukube was a self-taught violinist and earned prizes for his early compositional efforts. He majored in music and forestry, and the latter provided him with his living until just after World War II, when he began teaching music as a professor at Tokyo Art University, and started writing film scores, mainly at Toho Studios. His movie scores quickly distinguished themselves for their inventiveness and richness, incorporating Eastern and Western elements.
In 1954, Ifukube was assigned to score the Toho film Gojira, directed by Ishiro Honda, which provided him with a unique canvas on which to work. A science fiction film shot in a neo-realist style and inspired by a tragic incident involving Japanese fishermen whose boat was contaminated by fallout from an American H-bomb test, Gojira became a vehicle for some of the most expressive orchestral music of Ifukube’s career. He also became the Japanese film music composer most widely heard in the West, when the movie was recut, partly dubbed, and released in America as Godzilla, King Of The Monsters.
Ifukube went on to write more than 250 film scores in a career lasting 50 years, including some of the most respected movies ever made in Japan, among them Harp Of Burma (aka The Burmese Harp), for which he would appropriate the funereal music from his Gojira score and expand on its thematic material.
Akira Ifukube retired in the 1990s, but returned to Toho one last time to write the music for what was then proposed to be the studio’s final Godzilla movie, Godzilla Vs. Destroyer, for which he reprised his 1954 work once more in a film with a direct link to the original movie. Ifukube remains a uniquely revered figure in Japanese music, among the nation’s most respected and widely recorded (and performed) composers for the concert hall, and also the country’s most well known and widely recorded (and re-recorded) film composer. In 2003, he received a Person of Cultural Merit award, one of Japan’s highest honours.
Make sure you tune in to 104.4fm or click on www.resonancefm.com (wherever in the world you are).
01 Akira Ifukube: “Sound Effect: Varan’s Cry” (1958) (00:25) from “ Varan, The Unbelievable” (Futureland/Toshiba EMI Japan TYCY-5500, 1996)
02 Akira Ifukube: “Symphonic Fantasia” (1983) (15:03) from “Symphonic Ode” (Les Disques du Soleil et de l’Acier DSA 54024, 1989)
03 Akira Ifukube: “Ode (Acynthia Buddha)” (1989) (11:05) from “Symphonic Ode” (Les Disques du Soleil et de l’Acier DSA 54024, 1989)
04 Akira Ifukube: “The Lake Kimtaankamuito” (1992) (16:07) from “Anthology of vox principal works” (Camerata 30CM-391-2, 1995)
05 Akira Ifukube: “Fifth Poem After ‘Inaba Manyo’ “ (1994) (04:23) from “Anthology of vox principal works” (Camerata 30CM-391-2, 1995)
06 Akira Ifukube: “Sakuma Damu Daiichibu – The Tenryugawa River in Full View” (1954) (03:15) from “Film Composer Selection: Iwanami” (Vap Inc. Japan VPCD-81190, 1997)
07 Akira Ifukube: “Zatoichi, Nidangiri – Main Title” (1965) (02:16) from “Film Composer Selection: Daiei” (Vap Inc. Japan VPCD-81186, 1997)
08 Akira Ifukube: “Sky Scraper! – Ending” (1969) (02:03) from “Film Composer Selection: Toei” (Vap Inc. Japan VPCD-81188, 1997)
Miguel Santos (Musa Lusa, Atlantic Waves) and Justina Jang (Nori Productions) will present a special programme of Korean music, this afternoon, Tuesday 28th December 2004, 7-8.30pm (GMT), on Resonance 104.4fm (www.resonancefm.com).
Rarely heard on these shores, it is an opportunity for you to experience traditional instruments such as the kayagum, komungo, ajaeng, haegum, piri, taegum, and changgo and listen to some Korean court music, folk, new traditional, modern, improvised, soundtracks, experimental, rock, hip-hop and even some trance. If you are afraid that your Korean music knowledge will not let you recognize even the names of the artists, here are some, in western notation, to help you go through the adventure: Yong-Ho Park, Han-Nuri Art Troup, Yun-Seok Yun, Byung-Ki Hwang, GongMyoung, Sa-Ik Jang, Jung-Sik Lee, Yong-Woo Kim, Byeon-Jun Ko, Sook-Sun Ahn, Bo-Ryong Hwang, Nam-June Paik, Uhuhboo, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cerritos 562, Lovetrance…
Make sure you tune in to 104.4fm or to click on www.resonancefm.com (wherever in the world you are), as there will be something for everyone from the country that brought you Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Daewoo, Kia… and, of course, the spicy kimchi.
01 HanNuri Art Troup: “Wind YeongSanHoiSang (Gunak)” (04:57) from “Masterpiece of Korean Music, Vol. 9” (Korean National University of Arts / School of Korean Traditional Arts, 2001)
02 WolHa Kim: “ChongSanLi” (03:46) from “A Selection Of Korean Traditional Music, Vol. 3 – Vocal Music” (Seoul Records, 2002)
03 Yun-Seok Yun: “Ajaeng Sanjo” (07:42) from “A Selection of Korean Traditional Music, Vol. 4 – Unforgettable Performances” (Seoul Records, 2002)
04 Byungki Hwang: “The Labyrinth” (10:43) from “Byungki Hwang: Kayagum Masterpieces Vol 3” (EMI, 2001)
05 GongMyoung: “High Speed Motion” (02:28) from “Communication” (Universal Music Korea, 2001)
06 Sa-Ik Jang: “Nimeun Maen Gotae” (05:25) from “Haneol Ganeon Gil” (Yejeon Media, 1995)
07 Yong-Woo Kim: “Mandre Sanya” (03:34) from “Mogaebi” (Seoul Records, 1999)
08 Byeon Jun Ko, Sook Sun Ahn: “Main Theme Part 1” (03:52) from “YoInChonHa” (Wahcom.com, 2001)
09 Nam June Paik: “Hommage A John Cage (1958/59)” (04:13) from “Works 1958.1979” (Sub Rosa, 2001)
10 Jung Sik Lee, Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Korean traditional instruments: “Magpie” (09:42) from “Kwang-Soo Lee & Red Sun” (E&E Media, 1997)
11 Uhuhboo: “ChoHyenSil EumMa” (04:13) from “Uhuhboo” (Cream Records, 2000)
12 Yeah Yeah Yeahs: “Art Star” (02:00) from “Yeah Yeah Yeahs” (Touch and Go, 2002)
13 Cerritos 562: “fo mah xanga shiett” (02:09) (previously unreleased, 2004?)
14 Lovetrance: “Running Cry (Original Mix)” (08:16) (previously unreleased, 2004?)
Dave Evans presents the A series dedicated to roots and world music on Resonance FM. His guest today was Miguel Santos, to chat about Portuguese music.
01 Brigada Victor Jara: “Arriba Monte” (2:47) from “Por Sendas, Montes E Vales” (Farol, 2000)
02 Galandum Galundaina: “Passeado” (2:56) from “1 Purmeiro” (Emiliano Toste, 2002)
03 Gaiteiros de Lisboa: “Cantos de Trabalho” (4:45) from “Macareu” (Aduf Edicoes, 2002)
04 Megafone: “Aleluia” (4:00) from “Megafone 2” (Farol, 1998)
05 Negros De Luz: “Tralhoada” (3:00) from “Exploratory Music from Portugal 02” (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 2002)
06 Lula Pena: “Senhora do Almortao (live)” (4:47) from “Exploratory Music from Portugal 02” (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 2002)
07 Janita Salome: “Senhora do Almortao” (3:29) from “Tao Pouco E Tanto” (AudioPro, 2003)
08 Cristina Branco: “As Maos e os Frutos” (2:34) from “Sensus” (Universal Classics France, 2003)
09 Ana Sofia Varela: “Lagrima” (4:31) from “Ana Sofia Varela” (Universal, 2002)
10 Paulo Braganca: “Sou Galego (Ate Ao Mondego)” (3:57) from “Lua Semi-Nua” (Upgrade Records/Ovacao, 2001)
11 Pedro Caldeira Cabral: “Balada Da Oliveira” (3:15) from “Memorias Da Guitarra Portuguesa” (Tradisom, 2002)
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