The Squid's Ear Magazine


Brondum, Lars / Per Gardin: Adhara (Creative Sources)

Swedish improvisers, saxophonist Per Gardin--known for his work with Rodrigo Pinheiro & Pedro Lopes and Oblique (Trio)--joins fellow Swede Lars Brondum, whose work focuses on modern composers like Cardew, Ligeti, and Riley, here on modular synth and theremin, as the two focus on the star Adhara in the Canis Major constellation through 6 stellar object-named ea-improvisations.
 

Price: $15.95


Quantity:

Out of Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

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

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Lars Brondum-modular synthesizer, Theremin

Per Gardin-alto saxophone, soprano saxophone


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




UPC: 5609063405996

Label: Creative Sources
Catalog ID: cs599
Squidco Product Code: 27608

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at Fylkingen, in Stockholm, Sweden 20/10 2018 (6) & 20/1 2019 (1) and at EMS 29/3 2018 (5) & 16/10 2018 (2,3,4).

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"One of the most interesting European saxophonists is Per Gärdin, which operates from Stockholm. This musician is anything but a crowd pleaser; rather he is a researcher who, while playing, is always his stubborn self and always finds his way, whether solo or in the company of other musicians. He does not seem to impose restrictions and collaborations can therefore lead to unusual combinations of instruments. He combined his playing with that of a church organ and turntable percussion ( History of The Lisbon Chaplaincy, with Rodrigo Pinheiro and Pedro Lopes) and with electronics and drums / percussion ( Oblique (Trio)), with Travassos and Marco Franco). In his recent work he opts for the lighter saxophones: alto and soprano. He did the same for his solo album Gabo, which was released in November last year.

On the new album Adhara, Gärdin forms a duo with the also Swedish musician Lars Bröndum. That is a brand new music professor at the University of Skövde. Bröndum is at home in composition and music theory, plays the guitar, but is also very regularly involved with electronics. Both musicians are at home in modern composed music. For example, Bröndum obtained his PhD in 1992 with a music-theoretical study of a chamber concert by György Ligeti and he also composes himself. In the past, Gärdin performed works by composers such as Cornelius Cardew and Terry Riley.

The two musicians do not compose on their joint album, or it must be instant composing. Gärdin can be heard again on alto and soprano sax and Bröndum is busy with a modular synthesizer and a theremin. In six pieces, three of which are short and three long, musical possibilities and the merging of sounds are explored. It is striking that the music sounds transparent; every note and sound comes out well.

Adharaopens with the fifteen-minute 'Being'. A drone of the synth is accompanied by high tones of the sax, in which Gärdin makes much use of air and the valves of the sax can also be heard. The saxophonist, who understands the art of radiating a certain calm even when he plays fast notes, is improvising on an ever-changing electronic background, because Bröndum is not a static and hardly changing drones and does much more than a drone. Bouncing and bubbling sounds, percussive sounds and movements from left to right give the music a lively but also enigmatic character. Gärdin doesn't seem to care. On the contrary:

With just under eleven minutes, the title piece is also one of the long pieces on the album. In the beginning, Bröndum plays a striking melodic role, although the experimental sounds he produces remain. Gärdin counteracts the multitude of electronic sounds by appealing to his high register and playing vibrators. Gradually he takes over the melodic role and Bröndum is percussive while at the same time laying a drone. Further on, Gärdin plays with a lot of air and with diffuse starters, as if they are produced with difficulty. Bröndum creates tension with pulsating sounds, playful motifs and incidental accents. The saxophonist plays on the edge of the altissimo register and over it, while his companion creates organ sounds with his synthesizer. Those sounds change into electronic suspense, which increases in intensity.

Longest stretch on Adharais 'Sirius C', which takes more than twenty minutes. It starts with percussive sounds, over which Bröndum superimposes a threatening rustling drone and adds a pulsating high tone and sliding sounds. Gärdin follows the created tension through fluttering play with a lot of air and high tones. But nothing remains the same in the piece that contains the movement in the various musical finds that the two Swedes conjure from their instruments. Just like in the other pieces, you are on top of it as a listener; in a solo passage, in addition to the tones played, the sound of the valves and Gärdin's breathing can be heard. The music is constantly loaded with tension by the mysterious and sometimes even ominous electronic sounds. However, Bröndum also introduces playful elements, such as an irregular rhythm and a melodic pattern, with which he provides lighting. Whatever the electronics musician makes up, Gärdin's response is always adequate; no challenge is too much for him and his musical is so great that a creative answer follows every surprise. Even if Bröndum boosts the volume considerably in the final phase, the saxophonist remains proudly in the musical fervor around him with not too intrusive means.

The three short pieces are located between the longer pieces. 'NGC2362a' has, among other things, an unstable rhythm, as if the electronic sounds are randomly struck on a keyboard. Gärdin navigates between the high and the top register, which also causes the necessary tension. 'NGC2362b' has an intense drone, under which ominous sounds move. The saxophonist forms the playful element with his eventful play. 'M41', finally, starts with a sliding theremin sound, followed by whirling sounds under water, which in turn are followed by busy beeps. The combination of the sounds also works, as appears later. Together with the undisturbed note-producing alto sax, it leads to a bustling piece of music that could have been a bit longer.

Those who like an audible musical voyage of discovery have come to the right place at Bröndum and Gärdin. On Adhara something is constantly going on, new paths are being explored and the musical possibilities seem almost limitless. The paragraphs above must be regarded as inadequate sketches of what is happening in the music of the two artists, who have the necessary musical experience and who make full and especially inventive use. Bröndum and Gärdin do not exhaust themselves in a musical display of power, but bring their two musical spirits together in a playful and imaginative way, without denying their individual voice. The result is impressive, even after several turns."-Opduvel (translated by Google)


Get additional information at Opduvel

Artist Biographies

"Per Gardin, b. 1956, soprano and alto saxophones in mainly improvisational settings. Originally selftaught, later studied saxophone and music theory for Lennart Jansson, and Musicology, Ethnology, Philosophy and History of Ideas at Stockholm University.

Collaborations in improvised music at EMS, the electronic music studio in Stockholm 1979-1982. Worked in different studio sessions in duo/trio/quartet settings in the mid to late 80s. From the 90s and onwards mostly small temporary groups and solo saxophone improvisations and recordings. 2009-2010 a member of Total Vibration (including among others Markus Breuss and Tsukiko Amakawa), a group based in Spain concentrating on playing Don Cherry-compositions."

-All About Jazz (https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/pergardin)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Wezen 15:18

2. NGC2362a 3:46

3. Adhara 10:34

4. NGC2362b 5:08

5. M41 4:36

6. Sirius C 20:23

Related Categories of Interest:


Creative Sources
Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Duo Recordings
European Improvisation and Experimental Forms

Search for other titles on the label:
Creative Sources.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Other Recommended Releases:
Petit, Jean-Luc / Jeremy Baysse / Fabrice Favriou
Ecorchure
(Creative Sources)
"Ecorchure" translates to a skin wound produced by a violent friction that removes or tears the superficial layers; here the French trio of Jean-Luc Petit on saxophones, Jeremy Baysse on electric guitar & gadgets, and Fabrice Favriou on drums, tear through three excoriating improvisations during a 2019 live concert at Ateliers Musicaux Syrinx, in Poitiers France.
Brennan, Patrick / Abdul Moimeme
Terraphonia
(Creative Sources)
Portuguese guitarist and experiementer Abdul Moimeme, once a student of US free jazz saxophonist Patrick Brennan, now joins him as Moimeme employs two electroacoustically altered guitars played simultaneously with objects, Brennan performing on sax and cornet, as they create unusual and assertive abstract sonic environments, intensely detailed and gripping.
Schindler, Udo / Georges-Emmanuel Schneider
Kontergesang (Counter-Singing)
(Creative Sources)
Eleven instrumental works with each piece based on and emulating the sound characteristics of blackbirds, such as "whistling", "squealing", or "flutes", captured in a live concert at multi-reedist Udo Schindler's Salon fur Klang+Kunst in Krailling in Berlin, from the duo of Schindler and long-time musical collaborator, violinist Georges-Emmanuel Schneider, also on live electronics.
Baumann, Franziska / Udo Schindler
Blue Sonic Vibrations
(Creative Sources)
German saxophonist and leader of the Salon for Klang + Kunst started the Improx, or "The X for the Unknown and the Unheard" with Gunnar Geisse, here in the third edition of the series with Swiss free improvising vocalist Franziska Baumann, captured live at two performances in 2018 in Germany & Switzerland, for unusual, quick-witted and innovative interchanges.
Schiller, Christoph / Eric Ruffing
Trance
(Creative Sources)
Finding common ground between the acoustic past and the electronic present, the duo of Christoph Schiller on spinet and Eric Ruffing on analogue synthesizer present two extended improvisations of tempered interaction, exploring periods of extended sound, timbre and decay, scrabbling inside playing, restrained electronic whines, and active pointillistic playing.
Schindler, Udo / Korhan Erel
leben | nebel
(Creative Sources)
Live at the 66th SALON fur Klang+Kunst in Krailling, Munich, Germany finds festival leader Udo Schindler on cornet, bass, contrabass clarinet, soprano saxophone in a duo with Berlin-based Istanbul-born computer musician Korhan Erel, who designs his own unique instruments with unusual controllers, performing 9 singular dialogs of ethereal and unorthodox sound.
Lucchese / Kaptra
777+2 Per Aspera ad Astra
(Creative Sources)
Visual artists Maria Lucchese is also a multi-instrumentalist and voice performer based in Berlin, working with Gio Kaptra, a filmmaker, visual artist and scientist based in Urbino, take their listeners on a 7 part cosmic exploration using tibetan bells, theremin, voice, modular synth, breath and sound processing, the title translating to "through hardships to the stars".
Matthews, Wade / Abdul Moimeme
Lisbon - 10 Sound Portraits
(Creative Sources)
Garcia, Miguel A. / Sebastien Branche
Pnoladeu Avvrhig
(Creative Sources)
NARTcore (Meggyes / Kovats)
Aeluton
(Creative Sources)
Johannesen / Furu
The Eco Logic
(Creative Sources)
Guitarist Kim Johannesen and clarinetist Svein Magus Furu in a set of works with interacting tonalities that rely almost completely on texture, tones, scraping, &c..



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Parker, Evan ElectroAcoustic Ensemble (w/ Sainkho Namtchylak)
Fixing the Fluctuating Idea
(Les Disques Victo)
Evan Parker's Electroacoustic Ensemble, merging reeds, strings and percussion with live signal processing to create something indescribably transformative is further amplified with the addition of free improvising vocalist and Tuvan throat singer Sainkho Namtchylak, adding an unearthly layer of interaction and transmogrification to this incredible 1996 FIMAV performance.
Tamura, Natsuki / Satoko Fujii / Ramon Lopez
Mantle
(Not Two)
While on a tour of Japan in 2019, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez asked trumpeter Natsuki Tamura to join them, and to join in a challenge to write a new piece of music for the trio each day while on tour; this studio album selects the finest of those compositions, performed with nearly telepathic control in a mix of fire and lyrical beauty.
Futari (Satoko Fujii / Taiko Saito)
Beyond
(Libra)
Futari (meaning "two people") is the stunningly beautiful debut album of pianist Satoko Fujii and vibraphonist Taiko Saito, recorded in 2019 after a concert tour in Japan, the confluence of these similar instruments and the performer's technical mastery blending in introspective and active modes, adding rich sonic dimensions through preparations and extraordinary technique.
Foussat, Jean-Marc / Daunik Lazro / Evan Parker
Cafe OTO 2020 [2 CDs]
(Fou Records)
A momentous 2020 concert at London's Cafe OTO, presented in two discs, the 1st with label leader Jean-Marc Foussat in a solo improvisation on synth and voice, the 2nd in a trio with Daunik Lazro on tenor & baritone sax, and Evan Parker on soprano sax, the 2 saxophones weaving and responding to Foussat's remarkable alien soundscapes and vocalization in an immersive extended improvisation.
Formanex w/ AMM / Christian Wolff / Keith Rowe / Ralf Wehowsky / John Tilbury / Phill Niblock / ONsemble / Seth Cluett / Radu Malfatti / Michael Pisaro / Julien Ottavi / Kasper T. Toeplitz
20 Years Of Experimental Music [10 CDS]
(Mikroton Recordings)
Their first release in 2000 performing Cornelius Cardew's "Treatise", for 20 years the Formanex quartet of sound artists, conceptualists and experimenters Anthony Taillard, Christophe Havard, Emmanuel Leduc, and Julien Ottavi are heard here in collaborations with Keith Rowe, Kasper T. Toeplitz, Ralf Wehowsky, Seth Cluett, Michael Pisaro, Radu Malfatti, &c.
Somersaults (Olie Brice / Tobias Delius / Mark Sanders)
Numerology of Birdsong
(West Hill Records)
Having supported Paul Dunmall, Evan Parker, Mikolaj Trzaska, Ken Vandermark, &c., the UK rhythm section of Olie Brice on double bass and Mark Sanders on drums joined forces for their own Somersaults trio with tenor saxophonist Tobias Delius (ICP), this second album an example of their buoyant, optimistically playful and melodically charged free improvisation.
Charles, Xavier / Eric Normand
Avis Aux Reacteurs
(Inexhaustible Editions)
Recorded live at Silence Sounds in Guelph Canada, the duo of Xavier Charles on clarinet and Eric Normand on electric bass & objects eschew idiom in favor of their unique natural language on their instruments, applying patient development of truly idiosyncratic and fascinating command through a single extended work punctuated in seven diverse passages.
Weston, Matt
A New Form Of Crime [VINYL]
(7272music)
Conceived and constructed over 16 years, composer, electronic artist & percussionist Matt Weston employs graphic and personal notation systems with elements including clandestine recordings in concert halls and athletic buildings while they were not in use, rural field recordings, and the sound of cars driving over a bridge at Weston's conducting; unique and fascinating.
Testa, Carl
Sway Prototypes - Volume 2
(Sway)
2nd volume of bassist Carl Testa's Sway electroacoustic interactive software, taking the individual playing of Erica Dicker on violin, Junko Fujiwara on cello, Louis Guarino Jr. on trumpet, Andria Nicodemou on vibraphone, Carl Testa on bass & electronics, and Anne Rhodes on voice, Testa's software generating responses that push and pull the musician in unique directions.
Nabatov, Simon Quintet (w/ Malaby / Seabrook / Formanek / Cleaver)
Last Minute Theory
(Clean Feed)
After pianist Simon Nabatov's return to NYC in 2018 he began assembling this quintet with the goal of pursuing a more traditional jazz setting, enlisting support from some of the city's finest and most versatile players--saxophonist Tony Malaby, drummer Gerald Cleaver, bassist Michael Formanek, and guitarist Brandon Seabrook--here in an exuberant set of Nabatov originals.
Cat in a Bag (Figueira / Fonseca / Clemente / Lucas)
Cat in a Bag
(Clean Feed)
With 3 members of the sextet Slow is Possible--alto saxophonist Bruno Figueira, guitarist Joao Clemente and drummer Duarte Fonseca--plus bassist Joao Lucas (who has his own trio on Creative Sources), this cat is a genre-mashing band, blurring jazz and rock forms in a very Downtown NY way: open-minded, surprising, articulate, sophisticated, and passionate improv.
Pavone, Mario Dialect Trio
Philosophy
(Clean Feed)
Three in-demand New York improvisers--Mario Pavone on double bass, Matt Mitchell on piano, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums-- recording in the studio in one of the premiere spaces in the Metropolitan area, Firehouse 12, resulting in this profoundly authoritatve piano trio album, with five Pavone original compositions, two from Annette Peacock, and one collective improv.
Resnik, Cene Free Stellar Trio + Rob Mazurek
Age Of Chaos
(Clean Feed)
Saxophonist Cene Resnik seeks spiritual focus in his free playing with his trio of drummer Marko Lasic (Cerkno Jubileum Orchestra, Alchemical Playgrounds) and pianist Giorgio Pacorig, finding the perfect foil in Chicago trumpeter Rob Mazurek, as they take the stage at the 2018 Jazz Cerkno Festival for this extended energetic, introspective, & spiritual concert.
Hawkins, Chester
K516156/91044 [33 1/3 7-inch VINYL]
(Intangible Arts)
A 33 rpm 7" from Washington, DC sound artist Chester Hawkins, which "contains highly concentrated extracts" of two remixes of live recordings at Logan Fringe Arts Space and Red Onion Records, from his limited-edition USB release "Cops Need Serial Numbers"; mesmerizing and hypnotic electronics from a masterful performer and kosmiche explorer.
String Theory
Krypton
(Creative Sources)
The Portuguese large improvising ensemble String Theory is heard live during the CreativeFest#12, at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal in 2018, in an extended improvisation of incredible layering and restraint, making an amalgam of mostly acoustic string sources sound electronic and hallucinatory, an incredible achievement in string sonics.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC