The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!

The Squid's Ear
Facebook: Squidco Sales



Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Alvin Lucier 
  String Noise
  (Black Truffle) 


  
   review by Brian Olewnick
  2020-11-19
Alvin Lucier: String Noise (Black Truffle)

Alvin Lucier has long made a practice of developing ideas and compositions that skirt the boundaries, if such boundaries exist, between music and sonic phenomena. These often involved extended duration and a soundscape wherein the variations are extremely subtle, often akin to staring at a "blank" wall and, over time, coming to realize the enormous, not immediately apparent wealth of detail contained therein. Needless to say, such experimentation can test the patience of even the most intrepid of listeners.

String Noise, a two-disc set containing three compositions performed by the duo of the same name (Conrad Harris and Pauline Kim Harris on violins), does just that. "Tapper" (2004), realized here by Conrad Harris, for whom it was written, asks the violinist to strike the body of their instrument with the butt end of the bow. It unfolds in a number of discreet sections over the course of its 52+ minutes. The tempi vary, though they're generally on the rapid side, often hastening or slowing the pace during the "event". As well, though one has the sense that the musician is asked to play as steadily and regularly as possible, there's always some small variation in strength of attack, precise area of impact, etc. One initially hears the dry, abrupt crack of wood on wood as the prime sound-area but quickly comes to realize that the surrounding, room-generated aural cloud is just as important, arguably more so. In fact, the rapid attenuation of sharp noise into cloud, together combine to form an area of great fascination and beauty. The dogged repetitiveness becomes mesmerizing and revelatory.

"Love Song" (2016) is for two violins connected by a long wire. In a manner I can't begin to explain, the tones played by the violinists are carried to each other via the wire, resonating in their companion instruments as the players circle each other. The result is a keening, howling maelstrom, a pained song indeed. As above, it proceeds in episodes, the music shifts ever so slightly, becoming more siren-like here (very intense), grainier there. The complex interaction of tones, overlapping and receiving enhancements from the room, make for a bracing piece, a rather ruthless examination of relationships. Lastly, we have "Halo" (2019), for one or more violins in which the player is asked to maintain a single, bowed pitch (here, rich and resonant) and walk across the room in a zigzag pattern, generating "haloes" of tones derived from the acoustic properties of the space. In a way, this is both the most approachable and demanding work presented here. Approachable in that the basic sound is relatively familiar and nonabrasive, demanding in that the overtones and other enhancements are very subtle and slightly more difficult to perceive (though, really, very apparent if one listens well). An extremely satisfying, "actively meditative" work.

Overall, an excellent addition to the already inspiring canon of Lucier, one of the deepest investigators of the spatio-acoustic world we're lucky enough to have around.







Comments and Feedback:



The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Kim Jae Jung:
Shamanism
(Relative Pitch)



Joe McPhee/
Susanna Gartmayer/
John Edwards/
Maria Portugal:
Monster
(Klanggalerie)



Signe Emmeluth/
Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten/
Axel Filip:
Hyperboreal Trio
(Relative Pitch)



John Butcher/
John Edwards:
This Is
Not Speculation
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Izumi Kimura/
Lina Andonovska/
Dominique Pifarely:
Seven Dreams
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Jerome Deupree/
Sylvie Courvoisier/
Lester St. Louis/
Joe Morris:
Canyon
[2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Marc Baron/
Eric La Casa:
Contrefacons
(Swarming)



Francisco Lopez:
Untitled (
2021-2022)
[2 CDs]
(Bu Lang Tribute Cake)



Eventless Plot |
Haarvol:
The Subliminal Paths
[CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Innovo Editions)



Akmee:
Sacrum Profanum
(Nakama Records)



Karl Evangelista Quintet
feat. Bobby Bradford and
William Roper:
Solace Angles
(Asian Improv)



Sveio:
Latent Imprints
(577 Records)



The Sleep Of Reason
Produces Monsters (
Rasmussen/
Mitelli/
Rezaei/
Koenig):
The Sleep Of Reason
Produces Monsters
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Dan Brown/
Dan Reynolds:
Live At
The Grange Hall
[unauthorized][CASSETTE]
(Sacred Realism)



Matt Mitchell:
Sacrosanctity
(Obliquity)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj/
Mike Majkowski/
Magda Mayas/
Tony Buck):
Love
(thanatosis produktion/
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj/
Mike Majkowski/
Magda Mayas/
Tony Buck):
Love
[VINYL]
(thanatosis produktion/
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Mary Halvorson Septet:
Illusionary Sea
[2 LPS]
(Firehouse 12 Records)



Darius Jones:
Legend of e'Boi (
The Hypervigilant Eye)
[VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(Aum Fidelity)



Irene Schweizer/
Rudiger Carl/
Johnny Dyani/
Han Bennink:
Irenes Hot Four
(Intakt)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (18736)