★Asphodel
Kraanerg
"I originated in 1954 a music constructed from the principle of indeterminism; two years later I named it "stochastic music." The laws of the calculus of probabilities entered composition through musical necessity… But other paths also let to the same stochastic crossroad -- first of all, natural events such as the collision of hail or rain with hard surfaces, or the song of cicadas in a summer field. These sonic events are made out of thousands of isolated sounds; this multitude of sounds, seen…
Event
How's this for a threesome; in the red corner we have Christian Marclay with a box of records and his trusty turntables, in the blue corner it's twinkle-toes Yasunao Tone and his prepared CD's and players, whilst in the, erm, green corner stands Christian Wolff and his one man band of bass, percussive stuff, radio-cassette recorder and melodica. FIGHT! Recorded live way-back-when in 1998 as improvised accompaniment to a Merce Cunningham Dance Company performance, 'Event' is a single 50 minute pi…
Moving Parts
Performer, sculptor, and sound artist Christian Marclay has been experimenting with phonograph records and turntables, applying the constructs of hip-hop to avant-garde sound art deconstruction since 1979. Having teamed up with Japanese turntablist and guitar player Otomo Yoshihide for their collaboration Moving Parts, the two continue in their ongoing quest to evolve music and sound far beyond anything that is even remotely accessible to a mainstream audience. Moving Parts is a ravenous bricola…
Songs For Europe
Songs for Europe is the highly anticipated recording by two of the most respected names in experimental music. Philip Jeck and Janek Schaefer are best known for their work using vinyl and record players in creative ways through performance and installation. On their debut album together they have produced music that bursts with energetic character, fleeting melodies and skittering rhythms that all translate an evocative sense of place. As an architect turned sound artist, Janek has always been i…
Mono::poly
Thomas Dimuzio’s Mono::Poly is the first joint production between asphodel and Dimuzio’s own Gench Recordings label. A double CD set, Mono::Poly anthologizes the best of Dimuzio’s live solo performances and collaborations with fellow experimental musicians, moving across multiple genre and cultural boundaries. Spanning the years 1997-2002, each track on this anthology displays Dimuzio pushing the envelope of contemporary processing technology to truly epic, post-rock proportions. Featuring the t…
Atlas eclipticalis / 103
Two live, unedited performances of Cage's orchestral music: "At last Eclipticalis With Winter Music" (recorded 5/19/93, performed by The Orchestra of the SEM Ensemble, conducted by Petr Kotick, piano by David Tudor) and "103" (recorded 11/21/98, performed by the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Petr Kotik)." Kotik and Cage met for the first time in May, 1964, performing a 3-hour, six percussion version of Atlas Eclipticalis. Kotik's association with Cage continued until the composer'…
Xenakis (A)live!
ASPHODELZEITKRATZER - Reinhold FRIEDL, "Xenakis (A)live!""Equal parts composer, performer and curator, Berlin's Reinhold Friedl is a veritable renaissance man. In conjunction with his highly regarded orchestra Zeitkratzer ("Time scratcher" in German) as well as in collaboration with such artists as Lou Reed, Lee Renaldo and Merzbow, Friedl has helped set new standards for Europe's new music scene, crossing every conceivable line that separates chamber from computer music, and piano from st…
multiple Otomo
"On Monochrome Otomo presents 18 pieces that illustrate the entire range of his solo work from pieces constructed entirely of feedback, static and randomly generated radio noise, to sine wave experiments that bring to mind the humming of the solar wind as it wafts through intergalactic space. There are also rhythmic bursts of feedback and percussion that are almost danceable and subtle Zen like meditations full of slow sustained notes that fill the air with otherworldly overtones. The Mult…