★Erstwhile Records
The Flirts
As wonderful is his duo with compatriot Cor Fuhler, who, like Prins, has gradually progressed from Bimhuis improv into electronic experimentation. This is a quite befuddling duo (as on Live, Prins utilises electronics, FM modulations and radio; Fuhler employs EMS Synthi AKS, turntables and mbiras), whose interaction is in a constant state of flux, and one whose ideas flow so liberally and create music which is at times so disorientating that it feels as though one is listening to it through some…
Schnee live
ErstLive 003 is from the duo of Burkhard Stangl and Christof Kurzmann, titled 'schnee_live', the final show on the last night of AMPLIFY 2004: addition. Stangl and Kurzmann began working as a duo in late 1999, releasing Schnee in 2000, and playing numerous concerts over the past four years throughout Europe, the US, and Asia. schnee_live documents how much their duo has changed since the initial recording of Schnee, which was the first time they ever played together as a duo.
eh
One of the central aesthetics of the Erstwhile label is the counterpositioning of electronic and acoustic improvisers. Rarely has that been more starkly, and beautifully, achieved than on the opening and closing tracks of eh by guitarist Stangl and turntablist/electronicist Dieb13 (Dieter Kovacic). Stangl is one of a handful of contemporary free improv musicians who happily forays into tonal, even melodic spheres, conjuring up a reduced version of John Fahey, perhaps. On "eeeh", his delicate str…
Schnee
The first domestic release from these two youngish Austrian improvisers. Guitarist Stangl (Polwechsel, Ton Art, etc.) and Powerbook player Kurzmann (co-leader of Orchester 33 1/3) improvised tributes to four of their favorite films (from Barbara Albert, Fassbinder, Chris Marker & Godard). Rather than simulate a vertical narrative to showcase plot development or the buildup of tension in the films, "Schnee" is concerned with the actual sensory non-cerebral experience: the relationship between col…
Gdansk queen
AVVA is the duo of Toshimaru Nakamura and Billy Roisz, based in Tokyo and Vienna respectively. AVVA stands for "Audio Video/Video Audio", referring to the working method of the duo. Nakamura produces the music using the internal feedback from his no-input mixing board, Roisz uses that as the basis for her optical moving patterns, and Nakamura has a TV monitor showing Roisz' output, so the whole process is circular and created in real time.Since 1998, Nakamura has been exploring the possibilities…
Lidingö
2025 stock ** "Lidingö, a summit between innenklavier specialist Andrea Neumann and percussionist Burkhard Beins, is altogether knottier and gnarlier. Part of the important Berlin scene, the two play together in Phosphor as well as with Sven-Åke Johansson. Beins is a masterful player, often eschewing struck percussion in favor of rubbing, stroking, and scraping, only occasionally landing a gargantuan thudding bass drum for example. Neumann uses only the strings, resonating board, and metal frame…
Aso
Ami Yoshida and Christof Kurzmann are both well-respected artists within the international community, each performing in a wide range of contexts from abstract to pure pop. Both are best known for their long-running duos, Yoshida for Cosmos (with Sachiko M) and Kurzmann for schnee (with Burkhard Stangl). This project finds them in far less comfortable territory, and a s o is the outcome of two years of hard work.Ami Yoshida strives to create a pure sound, abstracting her voice until it becomes a…