The Squid's Ear Magazine


Merce, Sergio: En Lugar De Pensar (Edition Wandelweiser Records)

One circular and one continuous composition from Argentinian composer Sergio Merce, using rich tones like clouds of sound generated by a microtonal saxophone, synthesizer and wind synth, the title referring to his sense of music a channel to see, to reveal, a channel that opens through intuition, observation and attention but not through thinking; beautiful.
 

Price: $12.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Sergio Merce-microtonal sax, synthesizer, ewi


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 4011778039372

Label: Edition Wandelweiser Records
Catalog ID: EWR 2011
Squidco Product Code: 30315

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2020
Country: Austria
Packaging: Merce, SergioCardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded at Sergio's house, in April-May, 2020.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The name of the album is about this feeling that I have. I believe that playing music is a non-cerebral thought form; thought in the sense of being a channel to see, to reveal, a channel that opens through intuition, observation and attention but not through thinking."-Sergio Merce



"In circles, cycles, and sines, microtonal saxophonist Sergio Merce examines the intuitive unconscious in musicmaking on en lugar de pensar. The waveforms of his uniquely-valved saxophone are bolstered by the waveforms of the synthesizer, as on Merce's Pendulum Movement from this year or Be Nothing, and an EWI (electronic wind instrument), with which he records for the first time. This is a home recording, tracked just a couple months before Pendulum Movement, but this is not an uncommon practice for Merce, whose Three DImensions of the Spirit (recorded in 2017, well before quarantine) was also recorded mostly at home. The title can be translated as "instead of thinking," referring to the musician's belief that revelations through musicmaking are discovered through intuition and observation rather than thinking. Perhaps the same could be said for listening because, though this could be considered a technical music, Merce makes intuitive structures for attentive listeners, filled out with satisfying textures and living rhythms.

The half-hour "forma circular" is indeed a loop. It repeats twice. Its components demarcated with silences. It begins with a swell into a sustained pitch, undulating, with overtones from which other waves emerge and that are joined by synthesizer sines and purrs. Pulses quicken and slow as they phase. The sound is similar to that of Pendulum Movement. Silence. And then an organesque melody, warm but sputtering and hissing and glitched, disintegrating into a high-volume, low-pitch rumble that sounds like something big is moving too fast for its mass. The bass feels corporeal, recalling low-end suzerains like Sunn O))) and Andy Stott. Silence. The organ and rumble repeat but with variation, ending in buzzing. Silence. A low-end groan revs up, turning like a motor. Silence. The organ and rumble repeat again, with variation, buzzing for a longer duration, so much so that pulses emerge and morph from this environment of digital distortion until transforming back to the multiphonic sax and synth pulses from the beginning. This loop repeats once more. I'm sure more observant listeners will recognize small variations between the repeated phrases.

The quarter-hour "forma continua" is indeed more structurally linear, as if one cycle of a loop was laid flat in duration and concept. Or, rather than just a circle, a circle expressed through time. This piece is a polyrhythmic orchestration of waves, arising and blending from acoustic and electric sources seamlessly. Sometimes synthesizing so fast it's dizzying, creating a sort of wobbling tremolo. Played continuously with no obviously recurring phrases.

Beyond clever structures, Merce's textures are sculptural and a listener could spend hours contemplating the morphing rhythms of the many harmonic pulses. en lugar de pensar is a compact but robust statement from one of the most distinctive saxophonists making music now."-Keith Prosk


Get additional information at The Free Jazz Collective

Artist Biographies

"Sergio Merce plays tenor saxophone and four tracks portastudio without tapes, he was born in 1973. He works in projects that involve the interaction between free improvisation and contemporary music. He studied classic saxophone for 9 years in the official conservatory of Moron "Alberto Ginastera", improvisation inside jazz style with Sergio Petravich and with Carlos Lastra, paying especial attention to John Coltrane's techniques and spirit. He works as a music teacher in kindergardens since 1998. He has realized concerts and improvisation work shops for children in Argentina and many countries in Europe. In rcent years he developed his work around extended techniques on the saxophone, and in the same way developed his electronic music. In May 2002 he made an European tour with Lucio Capece, playing as a duo as well as with European musicians in Brussels (Les Bains Connective), Amsterdam (Overtom 301, ciclo "Kraakgeluiden"), London (Red Rose), Berlin (The Kule "Labor Sonor"), Sczecin (Poland, "Musica Genera" Festival). In September 2003 he made a tour around Belgium, France and Holland, playing five concerts based on the famous Cornelius Cardews piece "Treatise", next to the prestigious English guitar player Keith Rowe and his electro-acoustic ensemble. He had played next to some of the more important musicians of the international vanguard scene: Axel Dörner (Germany), Andrea Neumann (Germany), Burkhard Beins (Germany), Julia Eckhardt (Germany / Belgium), Alex Waterman (USA), Robyn Schulkowsky (USA), Bob Rainey (USA), Wade Matthews (USA), Boris Baltschun (Germany), Serge Baghdassarians (Germany), Kyle Bruckmann (USA), Robin Hayward (England)."

-http://www.echoraum.at/merce.htm (Echoraum)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Forma Circular 31:36

2. Forma Continua 14:13

Related Categories of Interest:


Compositional Forms
Electro-Acoustic
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players
Piano & Keyboards
South & Central American + Caribbean Improvisation
Solo Artist Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Experimental & Electronic Music

Search for other titles on the label:
Edition Wandelweiser Records.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Other Recommended Releases:
Merce, Sergio
Traslasierra (expanded landscape)
(Hitorri)
A beautiful album of expanded landscapes performed on electronically modified Electronic Wind Instrument, field recordings, virtual instruments and synthesizer from Argentinian sound artist Sergio Merce, his characteristically patient pacing and use of space creating dramatic and beautiful sonic environments that hint at warm narratives in a seductive excursion.
Deli Kuvveti
In the Summer Dusk
(Sublime Retreat)
The title an excellent reflection of the work, Seattle-based, Turkish-born Deli Kuvveti developed these two works that flow into each other to create an absorbing impression of a serene summer evening with dark undertones, using a granular synthesis configuration that creates movement through textured sounds, creating two complex and highly detailed narratives.
Harlow, Sage J
Variations Without A Theme (Drones Ongs)
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Australian sound poet and vocalist Sage J Harlow aka Sage Pbbbt, whose innovative vocal work takes inspiration from Tuvan and Mongolian overtone singing and Inuit throat singing, created this mysterious set of electroacoustic compositions on the unceeded lands of the Whadjuk People of the Noongar Nation, developing four works of spellbinding spectral ambience.
Franek, John
About The Color Of The Moon
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
An album of evocative electronic and acousmatic soundscapes from German composer, electronic artist and keyboardist John Franek, who performs the four pieces on this album on organ and electronics, interweaving rich harmonics with stark tones, melding his sounds in slowly evolving interaction, like beams of light piercing peaceful atmospheres.
Underriner, Chaz
Meditations
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Composer and sound artist Chaz Underriner composed these eight meditation in 2021 during residencies at the Atlantic Center for the Arts and the NYU Music Technology studios, recorded at Stetson University in Florida with an ensemble including four vocalists, cello, piano, percussion, electronics and field recordings; beautifully introspective and thought provoking works.
Coles, Dominic
Everyone Thinks Their Dreams Are Interesting
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
A slyly disruptive set of minimalist compositions from New York electronic artist Dominic Coles, recounting six dreams, each described in the liner notes, by using the voice to drive various forms of synthesis on computer and through circuitry, a curious and surprisingly detailed retelling through unexpected tone, punctuation, confrontation and silence.
Wittenburg, Florian
Kranenburg Tree
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Using a metasynth, a software instrument that allows the user to draw or paint music, and a photograph of a small tree observed at a former train station in the German town of Kranenbur, composer Florian Wittenburg generates complex sound structures from the simple structures of the tree's branches used as a template for four rich sonic sketches.
Rasten, Fredrik (Johan Lindvall)
Four Parallel Rivers
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Norwegian composer Fredrik Rasten, a guitarist who himself has recorded pieces by pianist/composer Johan Lindvall, sees Lindvall beautifully perform 15 of his works for solo equal tempered piano, minimal pieces developed under the influence of Debussy and Bartok's Mikrokosmos compositions along with adaptations of his own microtonal/just intonation work.
Neuman-Hammond, Eli
Carnival's Quarrel With Lent
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Two renditions of two sound works from Massachusetts composer currently based in NYC, Eli Neuman-Hammond, both pieces using slide whistles in scores for multiple performers, captured in the open air in Ridgewood, NY, Washington Square Park, and in Marblehead, MA, each performance a minimal configuration that varies the fingerings or breathwork of the performers.
Inderhees, Carlo
8 Stimmen1
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
A series of eight "voices" for piano, extended minimal works slowly unfolding in the performance of composer Carlo Inderhees' "8 stimmen" composition for solo piano, expressed by Guy Vandromme as the piece answers the questions "what is music made of?" with the word "voices: a sequence of sounds and silences, with its own consistency".
subterrene
Coercer
(Bad Architect Records)
Subterrene, aka Grant Stewart, is a sound artist developing deep and cloud-like bursts of sound that create textures and aural interactions of an hallucinatory nature, here evoking the coercer--"the inverse of the seducer, using pressure, intimidation, or force to shape the behavior of another" in a journey from initial imposition to self-emancipation.
Bober, Max
Somos
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Four works by Argentinian composer Max Bober living in Warsaw, Poland, performed in solo, duo and trio configurations by pianist Alejandro Peña Gutiérrez, flutists Francisco Rojas and Clara Peláez Hidalgo, and soprano Natalia Jarosiewicz; fragile works of depth and beauty that unfold gracefully.
Barco, Sergio Cote
Pink Noise(s) In Prime Numbers
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
"An invitation into our perceptual periphery, where noise(s) — and perhaps we — can be somewhat disobedient" read the liner notes to Colombian composer Sergio Cote Barco's sound work, three compositions from extreme minimalism and silence to rich sound, each varying the topography and envelopes of sound, ostensibly performed by "electronic music".
Gerard, Pierre
Imprevu Visible Inverse
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Using guitars, violin, electronics, field recordings, abstract voice, and a "sound knife in the sand", Pierre Gerard recorded this set of 13 works in Liege, Belgium, and Wimereux, France, in 2019, using intuitive approaches to his minimalist electroacoustic compositions as he assembles his elements to convey human gesture and architectural form in sound.
Good, Kevin
Slow, Silent, Singing
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
The centerpiece of composer Kevin Good's "Slow" series is this evening-length glockenspiel solo, performed by San Diego based glockenspiel player Michael Jones, the composition of slow, melodic fragments that are increasingly permeated by swathes of silence of increasing length, exploring how the expressivity of the melodies are perceived and framed by these silences.
Strieff, Peter
Chronos-Kairos
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Exploring the difference between the two Greek concepts of time--chronos (measurable) and kairos (qualitative moments)--Bern composer Urs Peter Schneider's 1973 composition uses synthesizers to measure, divide, experience, forget, free from, and embody time; plus a 1968 composition with Ensemble Nueue Horizon Bern, and two recent works with Ensemble Montaigne.
Power, Ian
Diligence
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Two works for solo instrumentalists by Baltimore composer Ian Power, both written in 1984: "mahrem bir eser | a private work" using microtonal harmonics and electronic noise, performed by cellist Mariel Robers and recorded in 2016 at Brandeis Univeristy; and "swathe" using overtone and microtone performed by clarinetist Gleb Kanasevich and recorded in NYC in 2019.
Wittenburg, Florian
Beyond The Traceries
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Various facets of German composer and experimenter Florian Wittenburg's interests, in two iterations of two pieces and two compositions, using voice, vibraphones and ringing bowls, treated electronically to emphasize unique characteristics of sound from warmly rich to mysteriously fragile, balanced with space and careful timing; a valuable introduction to his work.
Wong, Eric
Cognitive Dissonance
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Guitarist, computer musician, and improviser Eric Wong (D.N.A.N.D.N.A. with Simon Rose) focuses on sound textures and perception of sound, in three works composed using Ableton Live that explore concepts of psychoacoustic sound through dissonance, harmonic interference and hallucinatory sound, slowly developing works of rich sonic characteristic.
Zuydervelt, Rutger
Sileen II
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
An adaptation from "Sileen", a composition commissioned by Musica For The Festival Oortreders at Neerpelt, Belgium, 2016 performed with 50 members of a local music school; "Sileen II" was realized with only Gareth Davis on bass clarinet plus sounds from Machinefabriek, recorded in the same pitch and tempo as "Sileen', then slowed to half its speed and one octave lower.
Merce, Sergio
Three Dimensions Of The Spirit
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Conservatory trained Argentinian saxophonist Sergio Merce uses a prepared tenor sax and a microtonal sax to create rich harmonics and slowly moving tonal works, layering aberrant and alluring tones in restrained configurations that allow each stratum of sound to be distinguished and appreciated, creating mesmerizing compositions of elusive and illusionistic sound.
Schuppe, Marianne
Nosongs
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Marianne Schuppe continues to reimagine songs and their relation to tone and melody, here in a series of 11 songs realized with voice, lute, and uber bows, creating delicate accompaniment to her lucid movements between pure sound and words, singing and speaking her lyrics of succinct phrases rich in subtle intimation and evocative imagery; beautiful.
Korn, Christoph
Ich Spreche Diesen Text
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Two conceptual compositions from Christoph Korn: the first, "Ich Spreche Diesen" (I appeal to this) where spoken word is placed in a loop and then slowly erased by custom software using aleatory procedures; then "Stille" (Silent), a Cage inspired work.
Werder, Manfred
2003 [3 CDs]
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Pushing the envelope on minimalism, Manfred Werder's 3 scores for "2003" present just 6 tones, the instructions telling 3, 2 or 1 performers to play a pitch or sound for 3-7 seconds twice during the performance; realized by Erik Carlson, Stephanie Richards, and D. Edward Davis.
Merce, Sergio
Be Nothing
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
A beautifully ambient album of analogue synthesiser, microtonal saxophone and electronics by Argentinian saxophonist Sergio Merce, a single long track that pauses and resumes its rich tones and harmonies at a deliberate and measured pace, allowing each environment to ring.
Merce, Sergio
Microtonal Saxophone
(Potlatch)
Using an alto saxophone where the original mechanisms have been replaced with water, gas & compressed air taps, saxophonist Sergio Merce can microtonally move the tuning of any note and create multiphonics, allowing him to play several sonic layers while using circular breathing.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC