A 2 CD Compilation of Banabila tracks released between 1999 and 2008, taken from his work on the Dutch label Steamin' Soundworks, and from his soundtrack and television work, with conspirators including Frank Van Der Kooij, Eric Vloeimans, Yasar Saka, Anton Goudsmit, Zenial, &c.
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Michal Banabila-composer
Hans Greeve-drums
Tanar Catalpinar-vocals
Chris Grem-guita
Guus Bakker-doublebass
Frank Van Der Kooij-saxophone, bass clarinet
Bobby Previte-tapes, turntables
Eric Vloeimans-trumpet
Piet Legerstee-guitar
Michel Van Schie-fretless bass
Ali Bahia El Idrissi-vocals
Sandhya Sanjana-vocals
Salar Asid-violin
Anton Goudsmit-guitar
Yasar Saka-oud
Zenial-electronics
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UPC: 8711539058036
Label: Steamin' Soundworks
Catalog ID: STEAM 2008-1
Squidco Product Code: 20628
Format: 2 CDs
Condition: New
Released: 2008
Country: Netherlands
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Retrospective compilation recorded between 1999 and 2008 by Michel Banabila.
"Unfolding Michel Banabila's Precious Memories is like opening up an old chest filled with old wind-up toys and brightly-wrapped candies. You want to bury both arms up to the elbow, pulling out one trinket after the other to play with, admire, or slowly savour before moving on to the next.
Subtitled Datafiles 1999-2008, this double omnibus includes tracks selected from all his releases on Dutch label Steamin' Soundworks beginning in 1999. He is a man of many genres, or perhaps more correctly, he is trans-genre, for there seems to be no particular base from which he prefers to work. He just composes. And collaborates eagerly, to the listener's delight.
The first disc displays a range that is giddily eclectic and includes a few clunky little pieces that could have served as interludes on a latter-day Tom Waits record ("Wonderful Mistakes", "Sorokin Blues", "One for the Road"), a song in collaboration with Moroccoan Sufi singer Bahia El Idrissi, a hyperreal tribal dance ("Do Something About It!"), edgy electro-funk ("Heavy Gravity") and a groovy bit of space age bachelor pad jazz showcasing Eric Vloeimans' trumpet ("Damned").
Some of the programmed rhythms will remind you of Brian Eno's "Another Green World " or "Nerve Net", like "A Strong Sense of Urgency". Central to most of the pieces is the human voice, often dozens of them threaded together to create a kind of dada poetry. What unites them all is the way Banabila tweaks and crafts them just enough to defy expectations. Take for example the slow and laidback late night jazz session "A Virtual Meeting", with muted trumpet, bass clarinet and fleet-fingered piano cruising prettily above quiet squonks and squeeks. A perfectly executed hybrid.
Although Banabila appears to relish combining the digital with the acoustic, there are some nice, purely electronic pieces featured as well, like "Low Pulse + High Noiz". There is little on the first disc you could call "ambient", except perhaps the two pieces which conclude it, in particlar the beautiful "Voiz Recycled", with its smattering of Jon Hassell-like horn, that I would happily hear extended far beyond its eight-and-a-half minutes.
Disc two contains music made for television and theatre in 2008. Banabila claims not only to be inspired by photography, video, film and theatre, but also to "think" in terms of transforming visual impression into sound. Perhaps necessarily, most of the pieces featured here do not have the strong personalities of many of the tracks on its sister disc, since they were intended to complement a foreground. But there are moments when the music is too engrossing to merely take in passively.
The sweet meanderings of "Migrations" is an exciting musical journey that could very well represent a trip around the globe or at least reflect how the globe is setting up shop in and influencing Europe. It's a true mongrel and all the more loveable for it. Another attention-grabber, "Ears Tell Us Where We Are in Space", showcases Dutch guitarist Anton Goudsmit and is hauntingly introspective, with a slight Jaco Pastorius patina. The album ends with a slow ambient descent beginning with "Night", continuing with "Crime Scene" - hardboiled noir again featuring the sensitive, muted monochromes of Vloeimans - and the dark "A Moody Guy's Audible Dream" with Polish electronics wiz Zenial.
As an introduction to the work of Michel Banabila it is laudable. As a retrospective over his recent career, it is something for him to be very proud of."-Stephen Fruitman.
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Bobby Previte "Bobby Previte's first stage appearance came in 1956 at the Niagara Falls Talent Show, where, guitar in hand, and adorned in an over-sized suit, he belted out a solo rendition of Elvis Presley's 'Hound Dog.' Eight years later, thinking drumming might be a good way to get girls, he fashioned a bass drum from a rusted garbage can, a kick pedal from a wire coat hanger wedged between two pieces of linoleum and a rubber ball stuck on top, tom toms from upside-down trash bins, cymbals from aluminum pie plates suspended on plungers, and a box of loose junk for a snare - then practiced for a year in his dark basement with a lone spotlight shining on him before eventually starting a band, the "Devil's Disciples." But when they finally got a job at the church he was fired for not having 'real' drums. Seeking revenge, he took a job as a paperboy, saved every penny, and a year later bought the drum kit he still uses today in concerts all over the world. Strolling in the East Village one bright afternoon, he peered inside a limo stuck in traffic (crosstown) and suddenly found himself face to face with Jimi Hendrix. Thinking fast, he unfurled the poster of Jimi he had fortunately just acquired, then looked on in astonishment as Hendrix smiled and flashed him the peace sign. HISTORY: BA, SUNY Buffalo. Moved to New York City in 1979. Has worked for/with an unlikely array of leading lights including John Adams, Terry Adams, Robert Altman, Johnny Copeland, Lejaren Hiller, Charlie Hunter, Lenny Kaye, John Lurie, Sonny Sharrock, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Tom Waits, Victoria Williams, and, the internet swears Iggy Pop, although he can't seem to remember that, exactly. AWARDS: Guggenheim Fellowship, NEA, NYSCA, NYFA, Franklin Furnace, The American Music Center, MCAF, Mid Atlantic Arts, NY State Music Fund, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The Jerome Foundation. EVENTS: TERMINALS PART 1, WNYC New Sounds Live/Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Hall, 2011, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, 2011, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, 2013-2014; DIORAMA, Groundswell/Wave Farm/Olana State Historic Site, 2013; Franklin Furnace/Chashama, 2012, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, 2010; THE 23 CONSTELLATIONS OF JOAN MIRÓ, Winter Garden, New York, 2008; THE SEPARATION, Walker Art Center, 2007; DIALED IN (with Benton-C Bainbridge), Lincoln Center, EMPAC, Eyebeam, 2007; Touring various other bands and projects since 1985 at festivals and clubs worldwide. RECORDINGS: Sony, Nonesuch, Palmetto, Gramavision, Enja, Thirsty Ear, New World, Ropeadope, Veal, Spacebone, Rare Noise. MASTER CLASSES: Eastman School of Music, Walker Art Center, Art and Music Omi, Merano Jazz Festival and Academy, So Percussion Summer Institute/Princeton University, Cornish University, Purchase College, Bard College, The New School. RESIDENCIES: The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Civitella Ranieri, Montalvo Art Center, eleven MacDowell Colony fellowships. THEATER/DANCE/PERFORMANCE/ART: The Moscow Circus on Broadway, Theodora Skipitares, Andrea Kleine, Clarinda Mac Low, Aynsley Vandenbroucke, Benton-c Bainbridge, e-team. FILM SCORES: Chain Letters (dir. Mark Rappoport), Maze (dir. Rob Morrow). ODDITIES: actor, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, "The Mute Marine," w/ William Shatner, 1984; as "The Drummer" in SHORT CUTS - Robert Altman, 1993." ^ Hide Bio for Bobby Previte • Show Bio for Salar Asid "Salar Asid (born 14 November in Erbil, Iraq), is a professional Kurds violinist and composer who specializes in middle eastern and western classical music. Salar is best known for his musical contributions in over 60 albums, both as a soloist and composer for various artists and orchestras. He has performed live for famous singers, such as Kadim Al Sahir, Assi El Hallani, Majid Al Mohandis, ivan Perwer, and more. He joined the band Oxford Maqam in 2017, and together worked on Walt Disney's Aladdin (2019 film) movie soundtrack and featured in the palace scene of the movie as the musical band in the background. He has also contributed musically to the movies, Son of Babylon and Kavoka Spi. Asid started playing the violin at an early age. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Music at Fonty's Academy of Music and Performance Arts in the Netherlands where he resided in the past. Salar completed his Master's at the Salahaddin University (Fine arts) in Erbil. He currently resides in London, United Kingdom." ^ Hide Bio for Salar Asid • Show Bio for Anton Goudsmit Anton Goudsmit: "Amsterdam based guitarist and composer Anton Goudsmit is a whirlwind of creativity, capable of thrilling the audience with his irresistable groove and unique musical personality. His inventiveness and joyfulness make Anton a much sought after performer; every concert is a thrilling ride for the audience, his colleagues, and himself." ^ Hide Bio for Anton Goudsmit
4/22/2024
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
4/22/2024
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
4/22/2024
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
Track Listing:
CD 1
1. Babylon 1:24
2. Wonderful Mistakes (08 Remix) 1:58
3. Where ? 2:40
4. Do Something About It ! 2:43
5. Sorokin Blues 2:44
6. Urban Scapes 3:04
7. Voice Print (08 Remix) 3:34
8. Damned 3:41
9. One For The Road 4:22
10. Heavy Gravity 4:31
11. A Virtual Meeting 4:38
12. The Flow 4:50
13. UAV (Sanjana Remix) 5:36
14. A Strong Sense Of Urgency 8:03
15. Low Pulse & High Noiz 8:17
16. Voiz Recycled 8:34
17. Suma 4 (Blue Mix) 7:34
CD 2
1. Magical Day 4:12
2. A Man In A Room 3:48
3. Migrations 3:51
4. Little Picture On The Wall 6:00
5. Voix Du Fou (08 Remix) 4:53
6. A Dark Premonition 1:28
7. Ears Tell Us Where We Are In Space 5:22
8. The Holy Mountain 4:56
9. E.T. 2:03
10. Yasar + Salar Session 1:19
11. Wasp 4:06
12. Y14 3:52
13. Night 5:06
14. Crime Scene (08 Remix) 9:29
15. A Moody Guy's Audible Dream 10:08
Electro-Acoustic
Improvised Music
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Electronica
Soundtracks, Movie Scores, &c.
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