Phillips, Tomas

Drink_Deep

Label: Non Visual Objects (NVO) Country: Austria

Electronic composer Tomas Phillips sampling and reworking the 80's Dischord artist Rites of Spring into modern minimalist compositions.

"In the mid-1980’s, Rites of Spring emerged from the thriving music community that was centered around Dischord Records in Washington DC. Their sound was raw, dense and emotional. It provided a soundtrack to a generation of veteran punks for whom introspection and renewal were increasingly necessary tools in the ongoing (re)construction of personal and political defiance.

Drink_Deep marks an effort to bridge the two distinct but inter-related milieus of the 80’s Dischord era and the more recent practice of electronic minimalism, or microsound, both of which have relied upon aesthetic innovation and a modus operandi that is at once individualized and collaborative. Aside from a piano that simulates a particular chord progression, all of the source material comes from the original R.O.S. tracks whose titles I have had the privilege of retaining. As a whole, these compositions are, most importantly, an expression of the admonition to savor the depths of what life has to offer in the immediate moment, to embrace the paradoxical hazard of living gracefully and deliberately. Herein lies, I would suggest, the continuing relevance of the original music, my interpretations of which are offered out of an enduring inspiration."-Tomas Phillips

"Tomas Phillips (b. 1969) is a composer, novelist, and teacher whose sound work focuses on improvisational performance and minimalist through-composition. He began composing electronic music in the early 1990s, releasing limited edition cd-rs under such monikers as Sea Optic, Lisbon and Eto Ami (with Dean King), and has since created music for installations and collaborations in dance and theatre. Tomas has taught in the disciplines of literature and fine arts at various universities in the US, Québec, and Finland. Having completed his interdisciplinary PhD at Concordia University in Montreal, he now lives in the US, where he teaches literature at North Carolina State University."-Incursion.org

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