Applying techniques that Michael Pisaro uses in his audio compositions to song formats, this album presents 11 new versions of songs from his 2013 Human Ear Music album, here reworked for clarity and recorded under the artistic direction of the Lille-based pianist Barbara Dang and six members of the Muzzix collective (Bellefont, Cruz, Orins, Pruvost & Pruvost).
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2021 Country: USA Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold Recorded at Theatre Le Colombier (Les Cabannes, 81) in June 2020, by Benjamin Maumus
"Tombstones is a collection of twenty songs composed by American composer Michael Pisaro-Liu between 2006 and 2010, journeying into experimental-pop with pieces that are "experimental or indeterminate but still a song". Eleven of the songs were previously released on vinyl from Human Ear Music in 2012 (and on CD in 2013), with an ensemble of nine musicians including Julia Holter, Lisa Tolentino, Laura Steenberge, Tashi Wada and Cassia Streb.
This disc features the same eleven songs under the artistic direction of the Lille-based pianist Barbara Dang. Dang and six members of the Muzzix collective (Yoann Bellefont, Ivann Cruz, Raphaël Godeau, Peter Orins, Christian Pruvost, Maryline Pruvost) recorded the pieces in June 2020, with Maryline Pruvost as the primary vocalist. While the 2013 Tombstones release on Human Ear Music featured four different singers, and had experimental, impromptu arrangements, this new realization, with one main singer (Maryline Pruvost), is poetically nuanced, ethereal, pop-influenced chamber music."-elsewhere records
"If Michael Pisaro-Liu is known for the integration of silence in his music, notably within the group of Wandelweiser composers, it is remarkable to see to what extent this composer possesses great knowledge of very varied musical genres (classical, metal, harsh noise, rock, rap, etc.) With Tombstones, Pisaro-Liu links writing modes that are specific to his way of composing - such as experimentation and indeterminacy - to the most widespread form of music: the so-called popular song. The singularity of this collection lies in the fact that the eleven titles that make it up are taken from country or blues songs, and in the fact that the instrumentation, the interpretation as well as the duration of certain titles is left undetermined. This allows the performance to be conceived in different ways: a song can be stretched to the extreme to compose an entire concert, the collection can be interpreted in its entirety, and the orchestration and the number of musicians on stage can also vary from one song to another, or even from one performance to another." (Barbara Dang)
"Here we have a recording with a history, one which needs to be told in order to set it in context. "Tombstones" is the collective name of twenty songs composed by Michael Pisaro between 2006 and 2010 (before his marriage to Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin Liu led to his surname change to Pisaro-Liu). In 2012, eleven of those songs were released on a collectable limited-edition LP by the Human Ear Music (HEM) label, followed in 2013 by the same recordings on an HEM CD, both being credited to Pisaro. On that album, recorded in San Francisco, in 2010, the songs were performed by a nine-member ensemble of whom six were credited with vocals or spoken word recitation, Pisaro himself being one of the latter.
At the time of those releases, it was reported that the "Tombstones" songs were inspired by fragments of songs, including some by Lennon, McCartney, Dylan, Jay-Z and Robert Johnson; some commentators referred to Tombstones as Pisaro's pop album, one even drawing a comparison with David Bowie's Pin Ups> (RCA, 1973). Despite such comments, repeated listening to the HEM releases revealed no obvious lyrics or melodic fragments that were attributable to the named sources; Pisaro may have been inspired by them but he had not "borrowed" from them. And, although a Pisaro pop album may have sounded fanciful, "Tombstones" sounded right at home in his canon.
Fast forward to June 2020 at Theatre Le Colombier, a performance space in Les Cabannes, north-west of Albi in southern France, where the Lille-based pianist Barbara Dang and six other members of the Muzzix collective recorded the pieces, with Muzzix member Maryline Pruvost as the main vocalist. Yes, that is correct; Dang & Muzzix recorded exactly the same eleven songs (in exactly the same running order) as were released in 2012, rather than attempting any of the remaining nine. Maybe they decided to leave those nine for a follow-up album? Although playing the same compositions, Muzzix do not copy the HEM versions. In particular, the decision to have just one lead vocalist was a good one as it gives this album a rather more unified feel than its predecessor. Pruvost's voice is pure and true, at times calling to mind those of her fellow Elsewhere labelmates The Giving Shapes. Pruvost's voice is accompanied throughout by Dang's piano, with other instruments and voices being used sparingly as punctuation and coloration; sometimes this leads to pregnant silent pauses-very Wandelweiser. As they are sung (or, in some cases, most notably "I didn't say anything," recited) these compositions qualify as songs, but they have none of the hallmarks of pop songs-verses, choruses, middle-eights et cetera... Having accepted that, as a whole this album makes compellingly beautiful listening in its own right.
Pisaro-Liu afficionados will find plenty here to satisfy their addiction. Curious newcomers can begin here, knowing that it will probably make them addicts too. On this evidence, all will hope that Dang & Muzzix get around to tackling the remaining nine "Tombstones" sometime soon."-John Eyles, All About Jazz