The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!



The Squid's Ear




Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Susanna Gartmayer / Christof Kurzmann 
  Smaller Sad
  (Klang Galleries) 


  
   review by Brian Olewnick
  2021-04-26
Susanna Gartmayer / Christof Kurzmann: Smaller Sad (Klang Galleries)

A fairly brief (<35 minutes) set of four pieces, three done in studio and a longer live performance, from the intriguing duo of Gartmayer (bass clarinet) and Kurzmann (ppooll — a software he's been using for a good while — voice and rubber band)

On the first track, "Smaller Forms", Gartmayer begins in a kind of post-Dolphy free jazz mode, though she quickly shifts to a lower, more brooding set of iterated phrases, Kurzmann undergirding them with soft swells, this being gradually intruded upon by higher wails (overdubbed bass clarinet, I think, but possibly software). The music thickens, becomes more agitated while maintaining a slow-ish pace, acquires a vaguely threatening feeling — very strong. "Little Rage" is ghostlier, reminiscent of distant winds howling over a village in which some arcane ritual (heard here as deep, somewhat altered male vocals, perhaps of Eastern European or Central Asian origin). As on the prior track, the music grows increasingly dense, including the infiltration of off-kilter beats, Gartmayer once more drifting in and out of dirge-like lines. The briefer "Dip" is lighter, a percussive series of bass clarinet key pops ushering in a smoky, shifting drone of sorts that splays out in a wide, sonorous delta at the track's conclusion.

The live piece, "Novi Sad", occupies almost half of the release. The opening is bleak, a sound like a distant, distorted air raid siren (the Hungarian city by that name was heavily bombed during the Kosovo War) played against smaller, flittering, insectile squeaks. The construction seems somewhat freer, evoking a kind of languidness even when the sounds intensify, a conversation between close acquaintances, Gartmayer patiently plumbing the lower range of her instrument only to rise in a gently questioning manner, Kurzmann content to provide a soft, rumbling bed of sounds. The agitation grows (I believe this is where the rubber band appears), though the atmosphere remains spare. Kurzmann has often spoken/sung on previous recordings. His voice is quiet, grainy and earnest. Here, the piece concludes with Kurzmann singing/reciting e.e. cummings' 'it is at moments after i have dreamed' over koto-like sounds, a moving, intimate work and a lovely way to end the release.







Comments and Feedback:



More Recent Reviews, Articles, and Interviews @ The Squid's Ear...


The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


HobbyHouse (
Mia Dyberg/
Axel Filip):
HobbyHouse
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)



Camila Nebbia (
feat/ Marilyn Crispell/
Lesley Mok):
A Reflection
Distorts Over Water
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)



Zeena Parkins:
Lament For The Maker
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)



Peter Evans/
Mike Pride :
A Window, Basically
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)



Eliane Radigue:
Asymptote Versatile (
1963-64)
(Amgen Records)



Uneven Eleven (
Segers/
Hawyard/
Kawabata):
Live In Brighton
(Discus)



Ilia Belorukov/
Alex Riva:
Wrestling For Futility
[CASSETTE w/DOWNLOAD]
(Notice Recordings)



Eldritch Priest:
Dead-Wall Reveries
(Another Timbre)



Jakob Ullmann:
Solo I/
Solo IV
(Another Timbre)



Ziv Taubenfeld Full Sun (
Taubenfeld/
Moore/
Buis/
Ku/
Chientaroli/
Heggen/
Govaert):
Nomads
(Full Sun Records)



Jurg Frey with
ensemble]h[iatus:
Je Laisse A
La Nuit Son
Poids D'ombre
(Another Timbre)



John Zorn (
Marsella/
Smith/
Roeder):
Nocturnes
(Tzadik)



Amir ElSaffar/
New Quartet:
Live at
Pierre Boulez Saal
(Maqam Records)



Amir ElSaffar/
New Quartet:
Live at
Pierre Boulez Saal
[VINYL]
(Maqam Records)



Santiago Fischer Diez :
Songs
(Another Timbre)



Rempis/
Adasiewicz/
Corsano:
Dial Up
(Aerophonic)



Fred Frith &
The Gravity Band:
s/t
(Klanggalerie)



Elliott Sharp:
Mare Crisium
(zOaR Records)



Ivo Perelman/
Nate Wooley:
Polarity 4
(Burning Ambulance Music)



Joe McPhee:
Defiant Jazz:
a Joe McPhee Taster
[VINYL]
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (3657)