The Squid's Ear Magazine


Cooper, Mike / Mark Wastell: Sound Mirrors (Confront)

Lapsteel guitarist and electronic artist Mike Cooper and percussionist Mark Wastell, employing a paiste 32" tam tam and a shruti box, pay homage to the large acoustic sound mirrors used in Britain from 1916 to 1930 as an early form or radar, each of their detailed improvisation referencing one of the locations on the British south and northeast coasts.
 

Price: $13.95



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:



Mike Cooper-lapsteel guitar, electronics

Mark Wastell-tam tam, percussion, shruti box


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




UPC: 5902249002256

Label: Confront
Catalog ID: core 10
Squidco Product Code: 28344

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: UK
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at Studio 3, in Stoke Newington, London, United Kingdom, on October 3rd, 2018, by Rupert Clervaux.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"A forerunner of radar, acoustic mirrors were built on the south and northeast coasts of England between about 1916 and the 1930s. The 'listening ears' were intended to provide early warning of incoming enemy aeroplanes and airships about to attack coastal towns. The most famous of these devices still stand at Denge on the Dungeness peninsula and at the Hythe in Kent. [...] The development of radar put an end to further experimentation with the technique. Nevertheeless, there were long-lasting benefits. The acoustic mirror programme, led by Dr. william Sansome Tucker, had given Britain the methodology to use interconnected stations to pinpoint the position of an enemy in the sky. The system they developed for linking the stations and plotting aircraft movements was given to the early radar team and contributed to their success in World War II [...]"-from the liner notes


Artist Biographies

"For the past 40 years Mike Cooper has been an international musical explorer, performing and recording, solo and in a number of inspired groupings and a variety of genres. Initially a folk-blues guitarist and singer songwriter his work has diversified to include improvised and electronic music, live music for silent films, radio art and sound installations. He is also a music journalist, writing features for magazines, particularly on Pacific music and musicians, a visual artist, film and video maker, collector of Hawaiian shirts and appears on more than 60 records to date."

-Mike Cooper Website (http://www.cooparia.com/welcome/biography/)
3/13/2024

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

"Mark Wastell Born 1968; cello.

Much of Mark Wastell's relationship with his chosen instrument is concentrated on the tactile, textural and sonic possibilities of both violoncello and bow. He is increasingly interested in working with extreme elements drawn from frequency, timbre and pitch.

His early activity was consciously and subconsciously influenced by a variety of improvising musicians including John Stevens, Barry Guy, Phil Durrant and John Russell. Subsequent exposure to contemporary composers lead to a greater understanding and appreciation of the works written for strings by Feldman, Cage, Nono, Lachenmann and Sciarrino. The use of live electronics and music concrete by Tudor, Parmegiani, Xenakis and others was another important early influence.

Wastell's current instrumental material primarily focuses on using abstract principles of space and texture - encompassing elements of new London silence, pro-instrument minimalism, new complexity and electro-acoustics. Because of the very nature of his chosen instrument, he tends to favour 'chamber' style ensembles and is a member of a number of regular groups:

• Chris Burn's Ensemble, with John Butcher, Rhodri Davies, John Russell, Matt Hutchinson

• Derek Bailey's Company - with, for example, Will Gaines, Simon H. Fell and Rhodri Davies

• Evan Parker's String Project, with Peter Cusack, Hugh Davies, Rhodri Davies, Phil Durrant, John Edwards, Kaffe Matthews, Marcio Mattos, John Russell

• Assumed possibilities, with Chris Burn, Rhodri Davies and Phil Durrant

• The Sealed Knot, with Burkhard Beins and Rhodri Davies

• Necessaire with Alessandro Bosetti, Ignaz Schick and Burkhard Beins

• IST with Simon Fell and Rhodri Davies

• Quatuor Accorde with Tony Wren, Phil Durrant and Charlotte Hug

• Broken Concort, a duo with Rhodri Davies

Mark Wastell has also performed with many other leading musicians including John Zorn, Keith Rowe, Peter Kowald, Hugh Davies, Roger Turner, Veryan Weston, Lol Coxhill, Mark Sanders, Axel Dorner, Hans Koch, Phil Minton, Max Eastley and Steve Beresford.

As a soloist he has played at the Micro-classical Festival (London 1996), LMC Festival (London 2000) and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (2000). He has travelled extensively with various groups, performing on tour and at festivals in the USA, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Greece. Other work includes the launch in 1996 of his own record label, Confront Recordings. Wastell is also joint co-ordinator of the concert venue All Angels, together with Rhodri Davies."

-European Free Improv (EFI) (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/musician/mwastell.html)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Abbott's Cliff 6:02

2. Fan Bay 9:07

3. Warden Point 10:33

4. Joss Gap 13:20

5. Maghtab 4:30

6. Boulby 3:31

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Duo Recordings
Guitarists, &c.
Percussion & Drums

Search for other titles on the label:
Confront.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Nicols, Maggie / Matilda Rolfsson / Mark Wastell
Semiotic Drift
(Confront)
Extending the duo of British improvisers, legendary vocalist and leader of London's The Gathering, Maggie Nicols, also performing on taps and percussion, and Confront label-leader, percussionist Mark Wastell performing on cymbals and frame drum, with Swedish percussionist Matilda Rolfsson on bass drum, captured in a captivating concert at All Ears in Oslo in 2023.
Jones / Lash / Wastel
Meditating With The Father, Son, And Holy Ghost
(Confront)
An interpretation and reimagining of the opening track of Coltrane's Meditations, from the UK trio of Ed Jones on tenor & soprano saxophones, Dominic Lash on double bass and Mark Wastell on tam tam, gongs, cymbal & percussion, performed live at Cafe OTO in London in 2023, transforming the original recording's density into a slowly opening, evolving work of beauty.
Bang, Jan / David Toop / Mark Wastell
Compound Full Of Bones, Translucent Thousands
(Confront)
An extended improvisation interweaving acoustic and electronic instruments in a beautifully coherent evolution of mysterious and approachable sources, from the trio of Jan Bang, David Toop and Mark Wastell, combining tam tams, gongs, flutes, lapsteel, live sampling, gongs, brushes, elastic, paper and more to captivate the curious listener.
Cooper, Mike / Duck Baker
Cumino In Mia Cucina
(Confront)
Having been acquainted with each other for decades but never finding the opportunity to record, improvising American guitarist Duck Baker and British guitarist Mike Cooper finally found their chance in 2010 while both were in Rome, taking two acoustic nylon Spanish guitars into the studio to record these three extended, intertwining improvisations.
Sealed Knot, The (Beins / Davies / Wastell)
Twenty
(Confront)
After twenty years playing together, the Sealed Knot trio of Burkhard Beins on amplified percussion, Rhodri Davies on amplified lap harp, and Mark Wastell on dual 32 past tam tams, gongs & nepalese singing bowls, performed live at Cafe OTO to record this beautifully captured, contemplative concert of tone, texture and ringing sound, like a 20-year dream reflected.
Virtual Company (Fell / Wastell / Bailey / Gaines)
Virtual Company
(Confront)
IST, configured as the duo of double bassist Simon H. Fell and cellist/percussionist Mark Wastell, performing a virtual quartet at London's Cafe OTO, using using pre-recorded fragments of solo work from late guitarist Derek Bailey and tap dancer Will Gaines, combined with sections of silence of unforeseeable length, and then combined with the live musicians; amazing.
Ist (Davies / Fell / Wastell)
Consequences (of Time and Place)
(Confront)
ist (The Improvising String Trio) of Rhodri Davies (harp), Simon H. Fell (bass) and Mark Wastell (violincello) performing at The Natural Music Club in London, 1997, using unorthodox techniques in indeterminate systems and free improvisation for fascinating results.
Davis, Matt / Phil Durrant / Mark Wastell
Confront Collectors Series
(Confront)
Re-issue of one of the earliest Confront releases, the trio of trumpeter Matt Davis, violinist Phil Durrant and cellist Mark Wastell performing subtle and sophisticated free improvisation at St. Michael's and All Angels church, Chiswick, London in 2000.
Various Artists
I Never Meta Guitar - Solo Guitars for the XXI Century
(Clean Feed)
An encompassing modern guitar compilation curated by Elliott Sharp with pieces from Henry Kaiser, Nels Cline, Scott Fields, Mary Halvorson, Janet Feder, Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Mick Barr &c. &c.!
Sealed Knot, The (Beins / Davies / Wastell)
and we disappear
(Another Timbre)
For a decade this trio has created some of the most interesting electroacoustic improvisation, captured in a 38 minute performance at the Ear We Are Festival in Biel, Switzerland, 2007.
Other Recommended Releases:
Wastell, Mark
Pre-Existing Commitments
(Hundred Years Gallery)
During cellist and Confront label-leader Mark Wastell's 2022 residency at the East London Hundred Years Gallery he recorded four solo recordings, using his acutely creative approach to the strings in unique ways for each recording, which he then layered in the studio without edits to create this wildly and often psychedelically stochastic orchestral work.
Wastell, Mark
Cello-intern Solos
(Confront)
Beginning in February 2022 on the 1st Saturday of the month Mark Wastell would bring his cello to the Hundred Years Gallery in London with the grace of gallery owners Graham MacKeachan and Montse Gallego and play, not as a performance, not as a rehearsal, just to play and record his improvisations as he expands his reach on the instrument, heard here in 17 fascinating excerpts.
Baker, Duck
Contra Costa Dance
(Confront)
In 1980 Duck Baker's first label deal had expired and the label changed direction, as did Baker himself from arranging traditional tunes into compositions for improvisation; still, these well-recorded demos from 1982 held an appeal through song selection and a uniquely edgy yet lyrical approach to his playing, now finally released to the public 40 years later.
Oceans Of Silver & Blood
Acetate [CD EP]
(Confront)
Reissuing their limited 2014 release on Joachim Nordwall Editions, the Oceans Of Silver & Blood duo of Joachim Nordwall on analog synthesizer, effects & tape and percussionist Mark Wastell on tam tam and timpani present two pieces, the first an environmental work underpinned by subtle percussion, the second a richly resonating work of threatening warmth.
Sugimoto, Taku / Takashi Masubuchi
Live At Otooto & Permian
(Confront)
Two extremely compatible guitarists are heard in two live recordings in Tokyo, Japan, at OTOOTO and at Permian, in 2017 & 2018, using unusual tunings, extended techniques and a patient sense of space and momentum that allows each of their contributions to resonate distinctively while maintaining a confident dialog of connected abstraction and exploration.
Grady, Spencer / Fermata Ark / Mark Wastell
Thus : Excerpts From A Smaller Work
(Confront)
UK sound artist Fermata Ark, aka Harry Smith, composed this work from improvisations recorded by Mark Wastell performing on cello, double bass and harmonium, and Spencer Grady performing on 5-string banjo, ebow, violin bow and brass slide, creating an extended work of immersive and mesmerizing textures and tones, sounds rising and falling in sublime and passionate ways.
Seen, The
For Sake Of Joy Of Study Of Oneself Together
(Confront)
Inspired by a work by John Stevens from 1991, Mark Wastell developed this work merging narration and improvisation by transcribing the text from Steven's performance, preseanted here by an electroacoustic ensemble including Phil Durrant, Dominic Lash, Bertrand Denzler, Jennifer Allum &c, yielding an enveloping and fascinatingly mysterious piece presented in two versions.
Eastley, Max / Fergus Kelly / Mark Wastell
The Map Is Not The Territory
(Confront)
The 8th release on Confront's Core series of factory-pressed CDs brings together improvisers Max Eastley, Fergus Kelly and Mark Wastell, employing electroacoustic devices, invented instruments, metal percussion, a piano frame and tam tam to create a rich and mysterious sound world, darkly hopeful emanations in a nighttime traversal across unknown lands.
Andersen, Arild / Clive Bell / Mark Wastell
Tales Of Hackney
(Confront)
World instrumentation of shakuhachi, thai flute, shinobue, thai mouth organ, and shruti box blends with western orchestration of double bass, percussion and electronics as Clive Bell, Arild Andersen, and Mark Wastell come together in the studio after their well-received concert at Cafe Oto in London to develop these beautifully lyrical improvisations.
Collusion Duo (Nick Smith / Mark Wastell)
Refraction
(Confront)
Violinist and percussionist Nick Smith, having access to St. Mary's Church at Great Baddow for music performance and rehearsals, made his first use of the space in 1996 in a duo with Mark Wastell on violincello, preparations and percussion, where they used the acoustics of the church to enhance their detailed and absorbing improvisations.
BEFOREHAND (Lazaridou / Wastell)
Live at Hundred Years Gallery
(Confront)
The duo of Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga on zither and Mark Wastell on his electronics set including bowls and shruti box, formed for the release concert for Angharad Davies' "Six Studies" in 2014, recording this excellent improvised dialog of rich and unusual sound.
Scotch Of St James, The
Live at Amplify 2004
(Confront)
Tim Barnes on snare drum and amplification and Mark Wastell on amplified textures, tuned metal, making small, mostly unidentifiable sounds with a Cage-style open flair.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Mortagua, Goncalo / Ernesto Rodrigues / Guilherme Rodrigues / Gunter "Baby" Sommer
Not Bad
(Creative Sources)
Spanning three generations of improvisers, the duo of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues join with tenor saxophonist Gonçalo Mortágua and legendary percussionist Gunter Baby Sommer to record eleven diverse improvisations in the studio in Berlin, naming the quartet "Not Bad", an extreme understatement for their unique chamber influences of European Free Jazz.
Belorukov, Ilia / Gabriel Ferrandini
Sculptor
(Tripticks Tapes)
Red Trio drummer Gabriel Ferrandini joins alto saxophonist Ilia Belorukov for a three-part freely improvised set captured live at Masterskaya Anikushina, in St. Petersberg, Russia, the former workspace of architect Mikhail Anikushin, a large space that creates a unique resonance that the two improvisers take advantage of through insistent yet discerningly constrained dialog.
Leap of Faith
Laws of Crystal Forms
(Evil Clown)
The core duo of the Boston collective group the Leap of Faith Orchestra (LOFO), David Peck (PEK) on clarinets, saxophones, clarinets & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice are joined by percussionist Michael Knoblach and trumpeter Vance Provey for an extended improvisation inspired by their work on the previous LOFO album Revealing the Essence.
Thermal (John Butcher / Andy Moor / Thomas Lehn)
Ice In A Hot World
(Unsounds)
The 20-year followup to their 2003 album on the Unsounds label titled Thermal, the trio of John Butcher on tenor & soprano saxophones, Andy Moor on guitar and Thomas Lehn on analogue synthesizer update listeners with their free and ea-improvising approach through five studio improvisations of incredible detail, technical & sonic mastery, and astute conversational skills.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC