The Squid's Ear Magazine


Mayas, Magda / Christine Abdelnour: Myriad (Unsounds)

Pianist Magda Mayas and saxophonist Christin Abdelnour recorded these 2 tracks at a concert organised by Radio France at Meteo Festival, Mulhouse, idiosyncratic and distinctive playing using extended and unusual techniques.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Magda Mayas-piano

Christine Abdelnour-saxophone


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UPC: 885767128798

Label: Unsounds
Catalog ID: 30u
Squidco Product Code: 16950

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2012
Country: The Netherlands
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded on August 25th, 2011 at Meteo Festival in Mulhouse, FR by Radio France (Bernard Legac, Benjamin Thuau, Pierre Willer).

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Mayas frames her instrument not as 88 keys arranged in tidy scales, but as a sonorous tangle of wood and wire, she produces sounds with a wide dynamic range, playing the whole piano, inside and out, including dramatic percussive effects from banging and scraping the frame of the instrument and the strings. Abdelnour has developed extended techniques and complex patterns of sound production, exploring the microtonal aspects of the saxophone and its high-pitched tones. she employs subtle tonguing techniques, unpitched breaths, spittle-flecked growls, biting, slicing notes and breathy echoing sounds from the bell of her horn. The 2 tracks were recorded at a concert organised by Radio France at Meteo Festival, Mulhouse.

Both have styles that are idiosyncratic and distinctive, their sounds eloquently conveying the physicality of what they do - listening to their music conjures up images of them playing it. The pair interact to create complex yet coherent soundscapes, within which it is usually possible to disentangle individual contributions, as in a multifaceted conversation. Both musicians have a wide enough palette of sounds to keep things from becoming repetitive; on the contrary the pieces unfold and keep the listener engaged completely.

Magda Mayas is a pianist living in Berlin. Developing a vocabulary utilizing both the inside as well as the exterior parts of the piano, using preparations and objects, she explores textural, linear and fast moving sound collage. Christine Abdelnour, based in France but of Lebanese origin, is an alto saxophonist; she approaches sound as a malleable material, rich in concrete textures which combine breath, silence and countless acoustic distortions."-UnSounds


Artist Biographies

"Magda Mayas, born 1979, is a pianist living in Berlin. Developing a vocabulary utilizing both the inside as well as the exterior parts of the piano, using preparations and objects, she explores textural, linear and fast moving sound collage.

Alongside the piano, Mayas has recently been performing on a Clavinet/Pianet, an electric piano from the 60s with strings and metal chimes, where she engages with noise and more visceral sound material, equally extending the instrumental sound palette using extended techniques and devices.Mayas performs internationally solo and in collaboration with a large number of musicians and composers.Current projects are "Spill", a duo with drummer Tony Buck, a duo with Christine Abdelnour (sax) and "Great Waitress", a trio with Monika Brooks (acc) and Laura Altman (cl).

She is currently undertaking Phd studies at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden and investigating extended instrumental techniques, spectral music and psychoacoustics in an improvised music context.

Since 2013 she has also been producing radio pieces for ABC Australia and Deutschlandradio Kultur and has released 20 CDS to date.

Magda Mayas has performed and toured in Europe, the USA, Australia, Mexico and Lebanon and collaborated with many leading figures in improvisation and composers such as John Butcher, Andy Moor, Zeena Parkins, Joelle Leandre, Paul Lovens, Ikue Mori, Phill Niblock, Peter Evans, Andrea Neumann and Axel Dörner. She has performed at festivals and exhibitions such as Maerz Musik (2012,2015), Documenta (2012) or the Berlin Biennale ( 2014)."

-Magda Mayas Website (https://magdamayas.jimdo.com/bio-cv/)
7/7/2025

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

"Born in 1978, Christine lives in France but is of Lebanese origin. After discovering improvised music in 1997 she began a process of self-taught study and sound experimentation using the alto saxophone.

She has developed a unique personal language, producing sounds that are close to those of electroacoustic music but on a purely acoustic instrument.

She approaches sound as a malleable material, rich in concrete textures which combine breath, silence and countless acoustic distortions. She has developed extended techniques and complex patterns of sound production, exploring the microtonal aspects of the saxophone and its high-pitched tones. She employs subtle tonguing techniques, unpitched breaths, spittle-flecked growls, biting, slicing notes and breathy echoing sounds from the bell of her horn. Far from any narrative effects, her music addresses the relation between listening and concepts of perception, time and space.

Solo Artist and involved in international tours with Andy Moor, Magda Mayas, Pascal Battus, Andrea Neumann, Bonnie Jones, Raymond Strid, Sven- Ake Johansson, Chris Corsano, Mazen Kerbaj and many more. She has released more than ten cds and has collaborated with visual art, dance, literature, poetry, as well as projects with noise, electronics, rock or free jazz."

-Christine Abdelnour Website (https://christineabdelnoursehnaoui.jimdo.com/)
7/7/2025

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


Track Listing:



1. Hybrid 28:09

2. Cyanide 5:03

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
European Improvisation and Experimental Forms
Duo Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Unsounds.


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