Quote of the Week: Enter the Tonmeister

/ By Marc Weidenbaum

From Dan Visconti‘s May 15 piece, at newmusicbox.org, in which he recounts a recent recording session:

    There is a German word for which there is no easy English translation — tonmeister — that is loosely equivalent to “recording engineer” or maybe “producer”. Maybe “sound director” would be the best translation — a lead engineer who is equally at home recording, mixing, rehearsing, and following a score. The tonmeister takes an active role in the entire process, and first spends many hours studying and marking scores, planning takes as well as a rehearsal schedule. All decisions on how to record the piece — especially the choice and placement of microphones — are ultimately based on the tonmeister’s understanding and interpretation of this score, so I’m grateful to have someone who really understands these pieces at the helm.

Sounds sort of like a sonic dramaturge.

Three Lengthy Drones by Mise en Scene (MP3s)

/ By Marc Weidenbaum

The three tracks that constitute Intermittent, a new release by Tel Aviv-based Shay Nassi, who records as Mise en Scene, are each committed acts of sonic exploration. They are each different, and each is focused on a specific core sound and mode — grinding drone on #1 (MP3), industrial churn on #2 (MP3), and metallic rumble on #3 (MP3) — and each avoids repetition in favor of slow change. What they have in common sonically at most involves a pattern on Nassi’s part of combining high- and low-pitched sounds, pairings that interact in a variety of ways, with the higher sound generally serving a kind of aural aura.

[audio:http://www.stasisfield.com/mp3z_07/SF-7002-intermittent-01.mp3|titles=”Intermittent #1″|artists=Mise en Scene] [audio:http://www.stasisfield.com/mp3z_07/SF-7002-intermittent-02.mp3|titles=”Intermittent #2″|artists=Mise en Scene] [audio:http://www.stasisfield.com/mp3z_07/SF-7002-intermittent-03.mp3|titles=”Intermittent #3″|artists=Mise en Scene]

More at the releasing netlabel, stasisfield.com.

Homebrew Beats from DJ Kong (MP3)

/ By Marc Weidenbaum

The forums at cratekings.com remain one of the best places to check out new tracks by aspiring beatmakers, who post their music for peer feedback. One recent highlight is DJ Kong (born Darrell Kelloway), who linked last week to his soundclick.com/djkong page, which hosts a couple dozen of his homebrew backing tracks, the best of which are listenable unto themselves. Kong has an acknowledged debt to hip-hop producers who bridge the gap between old-school sampling and radio-friendly hooks. But he isn’t just about RZA, Pete Rock, and Timbaland. His “For Duke” (named for Ellington, naturally) samples some classic jazz piano, suffused with loping beats and muted strings, and occasionally spurred on by a call-out (MP3). The young Canadian is definitely someone to keep track of.

[audio:http://7344442.streamer2.soundclick.com/jarry_lo/33/06/freemp3/djkong+forduke.mp3|titles=”For Duke”|artists=DJ Kong]

Original forum post at cratekings.com.

Tangents: Gus Van Sant, DJ /rupture Replies, XXXL Instruments …

/ By Marc Weidenbaum

Recommended reading, news, and so forth elsewhere:

● The Use of Sound in the Films of Gus Van Sant (silentlistening.wordpress.com): Andreas Bick discusses the use of audio, notably soundscapes by Hildegard Westerkamp, in the films of Gus Van Sant (Gerry, Elephant, Last Days). Includes PDF of interview with Westerkamp in which Randolph Jourdain asks about the films.

● More Where DJ /rupture‘s Esopus Track Came From: DJ /rupture linked from his twitter.com/djrupture account (and from his negrophonic.com site) to Monday's disquiet.com coverage of his track in the new issue of Esopus — and he suggested that we can expect a full-length collection of this sort of atmospheric work in the future: "snippet of my Esopus piece- http://is.gd/z492 at some point, i will release an album of this stuff. ambient/noise/texture/scissors"

● David Byrne Bringing His ‘Playing the Building’ to London (bbc.co.uk)

● Joseph Bertolzzi‘s ‘Bridge Music’ Uses World’s Largest Instrument (naxos.com)

● Help Fund an 8-Bit Tribute to Miles Davis (kickstarter.com)

More online resources at disquiet.com/elsewhere.

Guit-tronic MP3 from Tokyo’s Chihei Hatakeyama

/ By Marc Weidenbaum

The Room40 label recently released Saunter by Tokyo-based Chihei Hatakeyama, and provided a free download, “A Stone Inside a Box” (MP3). The piece is a layered work of guitar and electronics, a gentle stroll of a song, true to the album’s title. The melody is relatively present and strong, but in time — both during a listening, and especially after multiple listens — the soft audio bed comes into the foreground. To extend the travel metaphor, it’s as if the destination recedes and experiences along the way come to the forefront. Toward the end of “A Stone Inside a Box,” a bit of feedback flares up, like a fuse being lit. It’s at that precise moment that foreground and background meet, when the guitar line and the song-less textures join.

[audio:http://www.room40.org/mp3/chiheihatakeyama_saunter_4.mp3|titles=”A Stone Inside a Box”|artists=Chihei Hatakeyama]

More on the release at room40.org, and on Hatakeyama at chihei.org.