The Squid's Ear Magazine


Chrysakis, Thanos / James O'Sullivan / Jerry Wigens: Syneuma (Aural Terrains)

The Syneuma Trio is the free improvising trio of Thanos Chrysakis playing inside and out of the piano + chimes and vibes, James O'Sullivan on guitar, and Jerry Wigens (Astrakan) on clarinet.
 

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Personnel:



Thanos Chrysakis-inside piano, chimes, vibraphone

James O'Sullivan-guitar

Jerry Wigens-clarinets


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Label: Aural Terrains
Catalog ID: TRRN0621
Squidco Product Code: 17251

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2012
Country: Greece/UK
Packaging: Jewel Tray
Recorded in July 2011, except track IV recorded in August 2010.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

About the Artists

Thanos Chrysakis' output consists of composition, performance, and installation. He was born in Athens in 1971, residing in the UK since 1998. With several albums to his name his work has also appeared in festivals and events in several countries; to name but a few : CYNETart Festival, Festspielhaus Hellerau - Dresden, Academy of Arts / M:AI (Museum für Architektur und Ingenieurkunst NRW)- Berlin, Diapason Gallery - New York, XXII "Sound Ways" International New Music Festival - St Petersburg, Artus Contemporary Arts Studio - Budapest, CRUCE Gallery - Madrid, Fylkingen - Stockholm, Relative (Cross) Hearings festival - Budapest, ZEPPELIN festival - Barcelona, Festival de Música Contemporanea "Ramiro Guerra" - Monterrey, Störung festival - Barcelona, BMIC Cutting Edge concert series - The Warehouse - London . It has also received airplay -among others- by RAI radio 3, BBC radio 3, Radio Portugal Antenna 2, Radio Nacional de España, FM Brussel, Polskie Radio (Warsaw), Elektramusic (Strasbourg), and Onda Sonora - Radio Circulo de Bellas Artes (CBA) (Madrid). He composes for electronics, acoustic instruments and environmental sounds, focusing on the structural and aesthetic capacity of sonic matter. His work was amongst the selected works at the International Competition de Musique et d'Art Sonore Electroacoustiques de Bourges 2005, in the category œuvre d'art sonore électroacoustique, while received an honorary mention in 2006 at the 7th International Electroacoustic Competition Musica Viva in Lisbon. Recent compositions include: ΕΚΝΗΨΙΣ (Aural Terrains 2012), ΜΑΓΜΑ (Monochrome Vision 2011) Subterranean Sky (Aural Terrains 2010), Milieu Interieur I/II (for Chris Cundy [solo bass and contra-bass clarinet] 2012), EIRMOS I / II (for Wilfrido Terrazas [solo flute/bass flute] 2011), ERRINA (for Alexander Bruck [solo viola] 2011). His current performing projects are: a Trio with Wade Matthews and Dario Bernal-Villegas, and the trio 'Syneuma' with James O'Sullivan and Jerry Wigens.

Current and upcoming projects for 2012-13 include a residency at Visby centre for composers in Sweden, a series of compositions for Chris Cundy (bass and contrabass clarinet), Jason Adler (bass clarinet), Wilfrido Terrazas (flutes), Kate Ryder (piano), Claire Chase (bass flute), Natalia Pérez Turner (cello), Tzenka Dianova (piano), and Dana Jessen (bassoon).

James O'Sullivan is a London-based electric guitar player. He has performed in numerous groupings of musicians, many of whom he met through Eddie Prevost's weekly improvisational workshop. In addition, he is the founder, alongside longtime friend and collaborator David Hurn, of Four Seasons Television, which explores the relationship between improvisation, composition, recording and performance. His activities span the two poles from free improvisation to more 'composed' song forms, and he has collaborated with songwriters, improvisors, improvising songwriters and other permutations of these elements in an attempt to unpack ideas of terms such as 'free', 'composed', 'technique', 'melody', 'noise', 'rhythm' and 'improvise'.

Jerry Wigens is an improviser and composer who plays guitar and clarinet. Most of his musical activity has taken place in London although he has also performed in Zurich, Geneva, Berlin and Athens. His interest in improvisation started at an early age and he attended John Stevens' workshops at the age of nineteen. Since then he has worked in various musical contexts including rock, jazz and contemporary classical and has performed with Eddie Prevost, George Lewis, Sylvia Hallett and Walter Cardew, among many others. He has also had work performed by guitarist Alan Thomas and contemporary ensemble Vamos. He has studied with Roger Redgate and participates in Eddie Prévost's workshop sessions which he has occasionally convened in Prévost's absence. He also plays guitar in prog/improv band Astrakan.



This album has been reviewed on our magazine:

The Squid
The Squid's Ear!

Artist Biographies

"Thanos Chrysakis' output consists of composition, performance, and installation. He was born in Athens in 1971. After residing in the UK between 1998-2014 he moved in 2015 to Belarus. With several albums to his name his work has appeared in festivals and events in several countries, including CYNETart Festival, Festspielhaus Hellerau - Dresden, Academy of Arts / M:AI (Museum für Architektur und Ingenieurkunst NRW)- Berlin, TU - Berlin, Diapason Gallery - New York, ohrenhoch - der Geräuschladen Gallery - Berlin Neukölln, Spazioersetti Gallery - Udine, XXII "Sound Ways" International New Music Festival - St. Petersburg, Artus Contemporary Arts Studio - Budapest, CRUCE Gallery - Madrid, Fylkingen - Stockholm, Relative (Cross) Hearings festival - Budapest, ZEPPELIN festival - Barcelona, IVM (Institut Valencià de la Música) - Valencia, Motus/Festival Futura 2013 / 21 édition - Crest-Vallée de la Drôme-Diois, Xposed Club - Cheltenham, Festival de Música Contemporanea "Ramiro Guerra" - Monterrey, FACT Centre - Liverpool, Association Ryoanji - Salle Des Fêtes - Ahun, The Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale/International Chosen Vale Trumpet Seminar 2014 - Hanover-New Hampshire, Frost School of Music - Clarke Recital Hall - Coral Gables/Florida, XIII Festival Internacional de Música Nueva - Monterrey, Splendor - Amsterdam, VI European Clarinet Festival - Camerino - Italy, Logos Foundation - Ghent, Palacio de Bellas Artes - Mexico City, "On the Edge of Perceptibility - Sound Art" Műcsarnok Kunsthalle - Budapest, Festival del Bosque GERMINAL - Mexico City, Noise & Fury Festival - Moscow, Oosterkerk - Amsterdam, Center for New Music - San Francisco, Västerås Konstmuseum - Västerås, Störung festival - Barcelona, BMIC Cutting Edge concert series - The Warehouse - London.

His music has been frequently aired by RAI Radio 3, BBC Radio 3, Radio Portugal Antenna 2, Radio Nacional de España Radio 3, Ireland's RTÉ Lyric FM, Polskie Radio (Warsaw), RTS - Radio Belgrade 3 (Serbia), FM Brussel, Elektramusic (Strasbourg), CKCU FM - (Ottawa), Undae! Radio and Onda Sonora - Radio Circulo de Bellas Artes (CBA) (Madrid), Radio Horizon (Johannesburg), Motus/Radio Saint Ferréol -Les Territoires Du Son (la radio du Val de Drôme), Radio Nova (Oslo) among others. In addition, his texts have been also appeared in the Leonardo Music Journal (MIT Press), the Vague Terrain Journal, and in the volumes The Book of Guilty Pleasures and The Idea of the Avant Garde - And What It Means Today (Manchester University Press) edited by Marc James Léger. He composes for electronic and acoustic instruments, as well environmental sounds, focusing on the structural, aesthetic and transfigured capacity of sonic matter.

His formal training encompasses percussion (Dimitris Tzafestas), Sonic Arts (Hugh Davies) at the Lansdown Centre for Electronic Arts and a PhD in composition from Goldsmiths, University of London (EMS/Michael Young) as well as private studies in orchestration with Dmitri Smirnov. However it is the yearning of the creative praxis itself that transmitted the crucial aspect of artistic practice: that something has to be staked, that something must be ventured.

His work was amongst the selected works at the 32nd International Competition de Musique et d'Art Sonore Electroacoustiques de Bourges 2005, in the category œuvre d'art sonore électroacoustique, while received an honorary mention in 2006 at the 7th International Electroacoustic Composition Competition Musica Viva in Lisbon (the jury was constituted by Morton Subotnick (USA), François Bayle (France), and Miguel Azguime (Portugal).

He has written music for distinguished musicians such as Philippe Brunet (flugelhorn, trumpet), Wilfrido Terrazas (flutes), Chris Cundy (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet), the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, Jason Alder (bass clarinet), Alexander Bruck (viola), Yoni Silver (bass clarinet), Natalia Pérez Turner (cello), Nadia Ratsimandresy (Onde), Mikael Rudolfsson (alto trombone), Matias Karlsen Bjornstad (soprano saxophone), Liam Hockley (clarinets), Michael Pelzel (church organ), Kate Ryder (piano, prepared piano), Tzenka Dianova (piano), Claire Chase (bass flute), Peter Evans (trumpet), Julie Kjaer (alto saxophone/alto, Luis Tabuenca (percussion), Philip Chase Hawkins (trumpet).

Recent compositions amongst others, include: Above the Hidden Track an Endless Blaze (Aural Terrains 2015), Terra Firma (for Mikael Rudolfsson [alto trombone] 2015), Astraea (for the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, 2013), Undercurrent (for Liam Hockley [clarinet in A] 2014), Arché (for Chris Cundy [baritone saxophone] 2014), Nocturnal Flight (for Nadia Ratsimandresy [onde] 2014), Ingress (for Yoni Silver [bass clarinet] 2015), Canto Intrare (for Philippe Brunet & Philip Chase Hawkins [duo trumpets] 2015), Μήτε το Κύμα / Νé da'll onde (for Wilfrido Terrazas & Natalia Pérez Turner [bass flute / cello] 2014].

He has recorded/performed with a number of improvisers including among others Wade Matthews, Dario Bernal-Villegas, Jerry Wigens, James O'Sullivan, Philip Somervell, Jamie Coleman, Chris Cundy, Zsolt Sőrés, Sebastian Lexer, Javier Pedreira, Julie Kjaer, Artur Vidal, Christian Kobi, Christian Skjødt, Yoni Silver, Nuno Torres, Kurt Liedwart, Ernesto Rodrigues, Abdul Moimême. Furthermore, he has also closely collaborated with the visual artists Pascal Dombis, and Villő Turcsány. Since 2007 he operates the record-label 'Aural Terrains' focusing in electroacoustics, composed and improvised music.

He has held residencies at the Visby Centre for Composers (twice) and at the Artus Contemporary Arts Studio in Budapest. His work has been supported by PRS for Music Foundation and the Swedish Art Council.

Current and upcoming projects for 2016-17 include a residency at the Porticello Artist Residency in Calabria/Italy, a series of compositions for the Hyperion Ensemble, Tim Hodgkinson (bass clarinet), Yoni Silver (bass clarinet), Tibi Cenuser (trombone), for the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, for Konus Quartett, for Liam Hockley (clarinets in A and E♭), Laura Faoro (bass flute), Philippe Brunet (trumpet), Elena Kakaliagou (french horn), Stephan Vermeersch (bass clarinet), Alexander Bruck (viola), Natalia Pérez Turner (cello), Chris Cundy (bass clarinets), Markus Wenninger (clarinet E♭), Serge Bertocchi (Tubax E♭), Shadanga Duo (alto flute/alto clarinet), Katalin Szanyi (alto flute), Jason Alder (contra bass clarinet), Alejandro Tello (oboe), Wilfrido Terrazas (flutes), Dana Jessen (bassoon) as well a new electronic music CD entitled 'Equinox'."

-Aural Terrains (http://www.auralterrains.com/chrysakis/en/bio/)
3/13/2024

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

"Using a combination of feedback, conventional guitar techniques and instrumental preparations, London-based musician James O' Sullivan exploits the full sonic potential of electric guitar and amplifier, relating them meaningfully to the immediate physical environment.

His interest in improvisation, recording and performance has led him to record and perform across the UK and internationally, both solo and with numerous improvised music groups. More longstanding arrangements include Found Drowned, a trio with Pete Marsh and Paul May, and his collaboration with Thanos Chrysakis on several releases on the Aural Terrains imprint.

His debut solo album, 'feed back couple', was released in 2011. His second solo album, IL Y A, is out now on the Linear Obsessional imprint."

-Aural Terrains (http://auralterrains.com/releases/39)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. I 16:43

2. II 7:21

3. III 11:17

4. IV 6:02

5. V 3:03

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Trio Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Aural Terrains.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Chrysakis, Thanos / Chris Cundy / Peer Schlechta / Ove Volquartz
Archangel
(Aural Terrains)
The follow-up to Music for Two Organs and Two Bass Clarinets, combining the collective work of clarinetists Chris Cundy, (bass clarinets, soprano ocarina) & Ove Volquartz (bass clarinets), Thanos Chrysakis (chamber organ & voice) and Peer Schlechta (pipe organ), recorded in the natural resonance of the Neustadter Kirche church in Hofgeismar, Germany.
Chrysakis, Thanos / Chris Cundy / Peer Schlechta / Ove Volquartz
Archangel
(Aural Terrains)
The follow-up to Music for Two Organs and Two Bass Clarinets, combining the collective work of clarinetists Chris Cundy, (bass clarinets, soprano ocarina) & Ove Volquartz (bass clarinets), Thanos Chrysakis (chamber organ & voice) and Peer Schlechta (pipe organ), recorded in the natural resonance of the Neustadter Kirche church in Hofgeismar, Germany.
Chrysakis, Thanos
Manifold Vista
(Auf Abwegen)
Aural Terrains label-leader, composer and sound artist Thanos Chrysakis presents six new pieces merging electronic composition with field recordings and other electro-acoustic sources, in five rich and beautifully paced works of a diverse nature, evolving a consistent sound world where each piece draws the listener into the composer's detailed and engaging concepts.
Chrysakis, Thanos / Jason Alder
Milieu Interieur
(Aural Terrains)
Employing multiphonics, circular breathing and unusual sonic phenomena of immense control over the lowest of clarinets--the bass clarinet and contra bass clarinet--UK-based multi-reedist Jason Alder performs the two-part "Milieu Interiuer" composition by Greek composer Thanos Chrysakis, along with three other Chrysakis compositions for solo and layered clarinets.
Grisey, Gerard / Iancu Dumitrescu / Niels Christian Rasmussen / Thanos Chrysakis / Salvatore Sciarrino / Lori Freedman / Tim Hodgkinson
Music for Violas, Bass Clarinets & Flutes
(Aural Terrains)
Compositions for violas, bass clarinets and flutes performed by Vincent Royer, Jill Valentine, Jason Alder, Chris Cundy, Tim Hodgkinson, Yoni Silver, Lori Freedman, Carla Rees, Karin de Fleyt, Thanos Chrysakis, Katrina Lauder, with compositions from Gerard Grisey, Iancu Dumitrescu, Thanos Chrysakis, Niels Rasmussen, Salvatore Sciarrino, Lori Freedman, and Tim Hodgkinson.
Chrysakis, Thanos
Elytra
(Auf Abwegen)
"Elytra" are the protective fore-wings of beetles & crickets, which are raised and scraped to create a resonating and projecting sound; Greek composer and sound artist Thanos Chryaskis composed these seven works of deeply detailed, resonant and layered sonic interaction as a form of emulation to the action of the elytron, each piece an absorbing sonic experience.
Chrysakis, Thanos / Chris Cundy
A Certain Slant Of Light
(Aural Terrains)
A 5-part electroacoustic improvisation from the UK duo of electronic and sound artist Thanos Chyrsakis and reedist Chris Cundy, the former using laptop computer, synthesizers, and copicat tape echo to create mesmerizing sheens of sound that circle and complement Cundy's bass clarinet, who also performs on megaphone, voice changer, zither, & objects; entrancing and captivating.
Hodgkinson, Tim / Jason Alder / Chris Cundy / Yoni Silver / Heather Roche / Shadanga Duo / Thanos Chrysakis
Music For Bass Clarinets
(Aural Terrains)
A live performance at London's Cafe OTO from composer Thanos Chrysakis, performing compositions focused on the deeper reeds from composers Christian Wolff, Iancu Dumitrescu, Hannes Kerschbaumer, Georges Aperghis, and Chrysakis himself, in configurations from solo to quintet, with Tim Hodgkinson, Jason Alder, Chris Cundy, Heather Roce, Yoni Silver, and Shadanga Duo.
Alder, Jason / Thanos Chrysakis / Caroline Kraabel / Yoni Silver
Music for Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinets & Electronics
(Aural Terrains)
Exploring the low end of the clarinet family with Jason Alder on bass, contra bass, B flat & E flat clarinets, Yoni Silver on bass clarinet, plus Caroline Kraabel on baritone saxophone & voice, Thanos Chrysakis expanding the sonic space with laptop & synthesizers, in a 5-part series of beautifully paced, absorbing and subtly detailed collective improvisations.
Chrysakis, Thanos / Chris Cundy / Peer Schlechta / Ove Volquartz
Music for Two Organs & Two Bass Clarinets
(Aural Terrains)
Recording at the Neustadter Kirche in Hofgeismar, Germany, the quartet of Thanos Chrysakis and Peer Schlechta organ with Chris Cundy and Ove Volquartz on bass clarinets, use the resonance and massive sound of their organs to create active improvisations of deep tones, cries, and unearthly squalls, an incredible set of interacting textures and runs.
Chrysakis, Thanos / Ernesto Rodrigues / Guilherme Rodrigues / Miguel Mira / Abdul Moimeme
Micrographia
(Creative Sources)
Recording in Portugal, the quintet of Aural Terrains label leader Thanos Chrysakis on piano, Creative Sources label leader Ernesto Rodrigue on viola, son Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Miguel Mira on double bass and Abdul Moimeme on electric guitar, three parts of microscopic collective electroacoustic improvisation of highly focused, detailed interplay.
Chrysakis / Rodrigues / Rodrigues / Mira / Moimeme
Exaiphnes
(Creative Sources)
A quintet of string improvisers in discerning dialog using viola, cello, double bass, electric guitar, piano & harp, from regular collaborators Ernesto & Guilherme Rodrigues, Miguel Mira, and Abdul Moimeme, plus Aural Terrains label leader Thanos Chrysakis.
Other Recommended Releases:
Widdershins (Coleman / Ederer / Malone / Mills / Gold / Hill / Kordik)
Widdershins
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To celebrate drummer/percussionist Eddie Prévost's 80th birthday, Café Oto hosted four concerts once a week in June, 2022, each a differing configuration from Prévost's history; this third concert presents combinations of improvisers from Prévost's weekly workshop series through diverse groupings from trio to septet.
Chrysakis, Thanos / Dawid Frydryk / Edward Lucas / Sue Lynch / Adrian Northover
Five Shards
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The edges of electroacoustic improviser and composer Thanos Chrysakis' shards are sharpened by the quartet of Dawid Frydryk on trumpet & electronics, Edward Lucas on trombone, Sue Lynch on flute & tenor saxophone and Adrian Northover on soprano saxophone, as Chryaskis generates evocative sonic environments over which the four horns mysteriously interact.
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Very much in an AMM mold of electroacoustic improvisation, this album of intense cooperation and sonic depth presents five sections numbered by Roman numerals, performed in the studio by the adept and investigative quintet of Thanos Chrysakis on computer & synthesizers, Sue Lynch on reeds, James O'Sullivan on guitar, and Joe Wright on sax & dynamic feedback system.
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Equinox
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Carved Water
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ΜΑΓΜΑ / MAGMA
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Asphodels Abide
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Volaverunt
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Garnet Skein
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