treatise pp. 168 -173: completed

as promised i have completed the cardew piece.

i originally intended to record this as a single three hour piece but the logistics (namely that i can only record 1 1/2 hours at a time and don't have an external device) so i recorded it as a series of one hour pieces, taking two hours at a time.

this follows the score pretty closely but deviates slightly by taking sections which cover roughly 1/3rd of the page and making them half the length of the page within the timescale of the performance.

so, here it is: six pages of 'treatise,' three hours of music.

i'll also be engaging in a much looser improvisation for piano based on pages from the score when i have the time.

a round up of releases for easter and a liminal recording

i've been very lazy lately and haven't updated this blog so here's a little round up of some recent releases.

firstly are two releases for easter, the first addressing the political nature of the easter story and the second exploring the nature of 'resurrection'

firstly comes ''wild calla lillies growing on the banks of the allander symbolise the resurrection of judas who will free us from roman tyranny'

this discuses the idea of judas as a zealot, a revolutionary jewish sect who wanted to promote the violent overthrow of roman rule. in the reading of the easter story foregrounding this sees judas as a disillusioned revolutionary who saw the one great hope of revolution (jesus) becoming increasingly mystical and increasingly disinterested in poverty and the world judas inhabited. the last chance of a revolution was to sacrifice jesus, to allow this now useless leader to become a martyr who's death would inflame others to act.

in this reading judas is a hero




the second work for easter examines 'reserection' in light of spring, in light of the earth awakening from the long sleep of winter.




finally comes 'we have arisen from sleep' a deliberate attempt to produce a 'liminal' work in the style of coil's 'muzik to play in the dark' albums.

this album uses the spark-le hybrid drum machine processed through audiomulch.

more cardew (cycles and studies: finding a waveform study in treatise

i've been poring over a print edition of 'treatise' and have found the work to be cyclical and to have sections which can be described as 'movements' where the notation has a consistency.

i have chosen to focus on one of these sections and produce a single piece from it which will be three hours long with a 'preface' of another 30 minute section.

the seven pages i have selected share the same line, sometimes broken, sometimes uneaven, thinning out towards the middle of the final page and i see a waveform there.

my main focus then will be on a waveform study i see in the score and it will be both long and remarkably minimal.

now i only need to find the time needed to perform and record it

stop me if you've heard this one before (more thoughts on cardew's 'treatise')

I've put the realisation of 'treatise' on hold while i wait for a physical copy of the score to arrive in the post and decided to have a look at some random sections from his working notes (published in 'cornelius cardew: a reader' pub. copula) and found something very intriguing:

6th march '63: (written on the score) NB the sound should be a picture of the score, not vice versa

this has led me to consider making two versions of the pages i select to work on with the second based upon sound produced by the data contained in scans of the pages.

treatise page 73

further to today's post regarding cardew's 'treatise' i have completed a first interpretation

i chose page 73 as it gave an easy (though, it turned out, not so easy) entry into the score.

i interpreted this using piano with the central line being taken as a marker of durations for separate sections of the page and as a sign separating the score in two.

i interpreted the top half of the score (channeled to the left in the resultant mix) as having a single note for the left hand (in the later part of the page) while the left hand moved up the keyboard (thinking not of notes but the position of my hands) randomly.

the bottom half of the score was interpreted as having one hand ascending in notes and the other descending.

here is the resultant piece.

 

preliminary notes towards interpreting cardew's 'treatse'

cardew's 'treatise' is one of the legendary works of the 20th century, a massive graphic score of wonderful complexity and beauty and i've decided to try to interpret some pages from it.

when i look at pages like this i see synths and waveforms in the curves and piano or organ notes in the straight lines.

here is see piano notes held for different periods with the line in the middle of the page possibly being seen as a split between left and right channels or left or right hands

other observations are as follows:

forms appearing in boxes are independent sections repeated once, those appearing within curves and circles are loops repeated from the point they occur until the end of the section/ page and groups of parallel lines relate to the density of a waveform on a synthesiser.

this should be fun

'three songs for ghosts' - nationalism, fascism and death

for a long time the horrors of the twentieth century's fascination with nationalism, fascism and the nation state have haunted my work. from works based on the documentary 'night and fog' through discussions of anti-semitism, the concept of the nation state, the shoah and the kristallnacht these themes have always been present in my work.

i was trying to find a way to compose a longer work, a single album, discussing the nature and processes by which a nation succumbs to the evils of fascism, the narrative thread that unifies all movements based upon notions taken from romantic nationalism, but was having trouble finding a structure which was not didactic and a formal method which was not insulting to the memories of those who died.

reading yvonne sherratt's 'hitler's philosophers' i came across a passage from walter benjaman's 'berlin childhood around 1900' which included the sentence 'the child that stands behind the doorway curtain himself becomes something white which flutters, a ghost' which reminded me of the words of jacob bronowski in 'the assent of man':

There are two parts to the human dilemma. One is the belief that the end justifies the means. That push button philosophy, that deliberate deafness to suffering has become the monster in the war machine. The other is the betrayal of the human spirit. The assertion of dogma closes the mind and turns a nation, a civilization into a regiment of ghosts. Obedient ghosts. Or Tortured ghosts.

the two quotes helped form bookends for an album which, again, i planed to be a lengthy one. after improvising two pieces based around these quotes i realised that, in the end, all the people slaughtered in nationalist and fascist purges in the 20th century could be described using the term that the nazi party used 'undesirables'

in stalin's russia they where undesirables, in rwanda they where undesirables, in the former yugoslavia they where 'undesirables' everywhere they are undesirables.

the process of forming a national or political identity must always result in the process freud described as 'foreclosure' whereby that which is counted as the 'in' group can only be defined by creating an 'out' group.

the out group are always 'undesirables' and are always, at best, disposable. at worst they need to be destroyed.

this album is for all the undesirables who have been and who will come into being in the future. the cycle of violence always begins again.

a review of 'a site of privilege/ a site of pain'

the site 'yea i know it sucks' reviews my album 'a site of privilege/ a site of pain' here and i rather like the review:

Elizabeth Veldon is (like it or not) a character that made quite a name for herself in the experimental and noise underground. I’m not sure why, but it seems as if she attracts controversy which always end up with two sides of a cake. One part with chocolate and whipped cream that the lovers seem to love  and then the bottom part with soft dough that for some reason isn’t always loved or perhaps misunderstood and even hated.

But either-way be it positive or negative it’s for sure that mentioning the name of Elizabeth Veldon is able to trigger hot headed conversations and probably also mixed emotions. I think that marketing wise she did a very good job being overly controversial, as thanks to haters bashing and lovers defending; her name that pops up through online forums and (anti)social media has probably registered in many of us who occasionally go out for a walk in the fascinating world of the underground.

The only thing is, what’s next? I mean we all have heard of Mickey Mouse, but what’s the point of knowing if not ever seeing an old cartoon or a comic with that mouse starring in it? Not suggesting that Elizabeth Veldon is comparable to Mickey but it seems to me that her character might walk upfront her audio output perhaps, (it’s from my perspective the first thing you see or read), but I’m sure she is about the music, carrying her art behind her almost iconic face and name.

Even the most resistant, curious underground recreationist will Sooner or later listen to her music, to the sounds she puts out, read the controversial title tracks, the causes or friends she dedicates her works too and that’s probably the thing that counts and keeps it all going and flowing throughout the years. People are easily pumped up, with opinions and steam out of their noses but it takes a bit more time for people to check things out for themselves, hear the music or the noise and then form some kind of idea if this is something they enjoy & are into or that it isn’t really their cup of tea and rather move along.

I know this is a bit of a long introduction, but just feel that it’s necessary at this point in time. For what I know is that Elizabeth Veldon isn’t always very compatible with  my personal views and opinions, but hey I used to enjoy listening to the music of Charles Manson but do not go out and stab pregnant people too. So with this in mind I wanted to take some time and actually listen, experience and hear the music behind all the intended or non-intended controversy of this obviously unique individual. You still want to read along? Than better prepare yourself for salted honesty and crazed opinion…

I moved down to bandcamp and came across an album that looked very interesting. It was called ‘A map of privilege / a map of pain’ and came with the following description by the artist:

this album grew out of the controversy over trans*women having or not having male privilege when still presenting as male.

i believe this to be true and for me a large part of becoming who i now am was accepting this and seeking to acknowledge both how this had benefited me and the scars this had left.

You see, that this is an interesting piece of information here. It might be an obstacle for anyone not being in the same situation in life, to fully comprehend what this all means. It’s a controversial topic as for non trans*gendered people it is difficult to understand the thoughts, the mindset, sexuality and all other complexity that a trans*woman or trans*male has to go through. It’s something to think about as well because it is surprising how little information and support is available above ground to make these important kind of subjects less taboo and discussable. Gays and the problems they face are overly well presented in the western media, but trans*people seems to be something that for most people is something that is kept a bit like a mystery, something that isn’t discussed much.

But how do these two tracks aka maps sound like? And is it possible to let us listeners feel a bit closer to the concept and the artist thoughts and feelings about this actual music? By listening to the full ten minutes of the ‘privilege’ track I must say to feel a bit hypnotized by it all. It’s a very minimal work and also very fragile and warm in its sound. It could be a ten minute long loop or showing a slight slow difference, but these must be so little that it will cost all your intellectual focus to spot them. Something that isn’t probably what the purpose of this work is about.
To me, music wise it’s like an aesthetic, a soft woolen pillow in the face while being hypnotized on a steady flow of non-panicky ambient.

And then expecting a yin and yang moment at the ‘map of pain’ another controversial point enters in. This track is almost identical to the ‘map of privilege’ which made me think that perhaps the concept of ‘privilege’ and ‘pain’ are like two sides of the same coin. To be honest, I personally do not seem to understand or identify with it, but perhaps that is the whole point. Someone else probably recognize something in this conceptual music and would say ‘damn, Elizabeth you hit the nail on the head again!’

It’s probably a bit like going to a museum of modern art with someone you hardly know. You see this gigantic framed painting with the complete canvas covered in the blue color. Just at the moment that I feel like saying my thoughts of ‘What the hell is this?’ your museum buddy opens the mouth complimenting it and tells how beautiful it is. It’s probably one of those things with this release of Elizabeth Veldon, it’s either you ‘get it’ and love it or you just shrug your shoulders and go elsewhere.
So why not visit this release with your own ears and see if it is something you dig? It’s kind of relaxing music really.

i rather like my work being compared to minimalist painting and it's reminiscent of  yves klein and his international klein blue not to mention derek jarman's wonderful film 'blue'

ten folk albums (part 2)

6. martin carthy's first album

martin carthy, like june tabor, is a researcher of traditional song. this, his debut with dave swarbek with whom he would work for the next few decades, contains one of his most famous settings 'scarborough fair' and here it is not the polite song you know from simon and garfunkel but a song about a woman setting a deamon impossible tasks to avoid his love.

7. george deacon and marion ross 'sweet william's ghost'

this is another 'lost' folk album. published by transatlantic and sadly never reissued while the now defunct castle group owned the rights. the rights are now owned by sony and i see little chance of them reissuing an album that would be of such specialist interest. 

this collects a surprising number of urban songs (often these are forgotten in folk music) and tends to focus on these and broadsides.

sadly the blogging of this album is heavily policed by sony and even on youtube the one video of 'the deavonshire farmer's daughter' (which i uploaded) is only available in the uk.

sadly this album is destined to be forgotten due to sony's greed.

8. peggy mccoll and ewan mccoll 'the radio ballads'

this classic merging of documentary and folk song (a series not an individual album) by the great peggy seeger and ewan mccoll is another high point in the representation of traditional song.

thankfully these are avalable on cd from topic records.

9. Shirley collins 'the power of the true love knot' 

it's hard to pick an album by shirley collins but i chose this as it contains a variation on 'sweet william's ghost' 

it also contains the greatest, to my mind, version of 'lovely joan' a song cecil sharp wished to suppress due to it's erotic content.

10. the topic sampler series.

another series treated as a single album but an important series which unified the work of professional  artists and local singers recorded by billl leader (amongst others) who would go on to set up his own labels 'leader' and 'trailer' which would publish important work including the lal and mike waterson album featured in part one of this list.

a short note.

i have included here only traditional song and albums by singers of traditional song so there is no 'narnia,' 'mister fox,' 'the incredible string band' or any other band of that type.

sadly there wasn't enough room to include important figures like anne briggs, dick gawkin or leon rossilson and for that i ask forgivness 

goodbye frankie knuckles (electronic music wasn't all made in academies)

frankie knuckles passed away today at the shockingly early age of 59. his place as a pioneer of electronic music can not be under estimated. the work he and other early house djs put into creating the sound of electronic dance music has shaped all genres of electronic music in one way or another.

in addition it is worth remembering that their music created a safe scene for queer people of colour and helped shape the wider queer scene.

goodbye frankie.

and as a special bonus here's larry levan's spiritually uplifting remix of 'aint to mountain high enough.'

as long as we have a soul there will always be house and garage

ten folk albums (part 1)

i was listening to june tabor's 'ashore' album today and i thought 'i should do a blog post on great folk albums' so...

1. the watersons 'frost and fire'

the watersons where one of the great folk bands and post-watersons albums by members of the band (and family, they where all family members) will feature heavily in this list.

this album does exactly what it says on the cover and presents 'a calendar of ritual and magical songs' moving through several (largely lost) ritual practices.


2. bert jansch 'jack orion'

this album revolutionised folk guitar and introduced a true darkness into the folk revival.

apart from a reworking of 'the first time ever i saw your face' there is no let up in the darkness and even the nonsense song 'notingham town' is a source of horror.

3. lal and mike waterson 'bright phoebus'

lal and mike waterson's brilliant album bright phoebus is one of the great lost folk records, caught up in copyright hell and seldom heard and it is a shame this is so as lal waterson's writing is spectacular.

this is another dark record and includes the puzzling and infinitely troubling song 'never the same' which i interpret as being about consumption but the meaning of the song is far from easy to ascertain and even the lyrics are argued over as the last repetition of the line 'Rosemary's lying in a shower of rain' sure sounds like the line has been changed to 'Rosemary's lying in a shallow grave' or perhaps it's just the darkness of the song getting to me.

4. june tabor 'at the wood's heart'

this 2005 album by the great folk researcher and interpreter of traditional song is entirely different from the preceding albums: where they had a force and drive this is a smaller, more private affair which i always think is the folk version of chamber music.

june tabor sings in various languages and even middle english (in her interpretation of the song from chaucer's 'parlement of foules' ('now welcome, somer') but the highpoint of this album is when 'the banks of the sweet primroses' ends with the tune 'monks gate' (most commonly known as the setting for 'to be a pilgrim') and the heart is awakened to the beauty of the world.

5. norma waterson, self titled album

this was the first norma waterson album i heard and is, without doubt, a wonderful record.

the high point is when she covers billy brag's 'st. swithins day' and holly christ! that's a middle aged woman singing about masturbation! you don't get moments that wonderful and liberating in modern indie