Jason Kahn developed these graphic scores, commissioned by the 2012 now NOW Festival in Australia, to push these specific players into situations outside of their comfort zone, as heard in this double LP which includes copies of the score plus notes and interviews.
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Jason Kahn-composition, electronics
Chris Abrahams-piano
Laura Altman-clarinet
Monika Brooks-accordion
Matt Earle-electronics
Rishin Singh-trombone
Adam Sussmann-electronics
Aemon Webb-guitar
John Wilton-percussion
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Edition of 250. Heavy weight 180 gram vinyl. Hand-painted covers on thick gray cardboard.
Label: Editions
Catalog ID: Editions 002
Squidco Product Code: 17581
Format: 2 LPs
Condition: New
Released: 2013
Country: Switzerland
Packaging: 2 LPs in a Carstock Foldover
Recorded January 19, 2012 atthe now NOW festival in Sydney,Australia by Jonathon Watts
"I've been composing graphical scores since 2004. Each score has been done for a particular group, and not just for a certain set of instruments but also for specific persons, each with their own personal sound and their own distinct approach to improvisation. The scores hover in the gray region between composition and improvisation. They create a situation where the players are free up to a point to improvise but in which they could also find themselves in juxtapositions with other players which they might not have personally chosen, thus throwing a metaphoric wrench in the proceedings.
The question has been posed several times, "But why do this? Why not just let the group improvise freely?" I'm interested in when a playing situation becomes unstable, when the players find themselves in situations which test the comfort zone of how and with whom they want to play with. The scores serve as a conduit for this process. But they are also more: they allow me to shape a playing environment, taking into account the different players, their instruments, even the notion of the playing space itself as one of the more decisive factors in the outcome of a piece. Beyond all this, as a visual artist I'm fascinated with the process of the graphical representation of sound: how we can depict a certain sound or way of playing graphically and how others can interpret a graphical form as a sound.
Two parameters govern the scores: the vertical axis indicates the general dynamics of the playing, the horizontal axis is a time line. I draw graphical forms for the musicians to interpret as they wish. I only ask that all dynamic and timing indications be adhered to as closely as possible. I give no information on how the graphical forms should be reacted to.
"Open Space" was commissioned by the 2012 now NOW Festival in Sydney, Australia. I chose some of the players myself, and some were suggested to me by the group's trombonist Rishin Singh (who also wrote the liner note to the LP). For the people suggested to me, and for whose work I was not familiar with, recordings were sent to me of them playing. On the basis of these recordings and my own personal knowledge of the other players, I was able to construct the score. I also knew that I wanted to work with a large group because the space we would be performing in would be a large one (which I'd already played in at the 2011 now NOW Festival).
The title "Open Space" refers both to the idea of working in an open space: the physical space of a room as well as the spaces of player interaction within the group and in reaction to the performance space itself; and to the notion of opening that space between improvisation and composition, delving into the friction and conduction which lie between these two approaches and opening this space up to discover the possibilities which lie therein."-Jason Kahn
Edition of 250. Heavy weight 180 gram vinyl. Hand-painted covers on thick gray cardboard.
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Jason Kahn " is a musician, artist and writer. He was born 1960 in New York and grew up in Los Angeles. He re-located to Europe in 1990 and is currently based in Zürich. As an electronic musician, vocalist and drummer Kahn collaborates regularly with many musicians, both in improvised settings and in the context of graphical scores which he composes for specific groups. Kahn has exhibited his installations in museums, galleries, art spaces and public sites internationally. These works focus on the idea of space: the conceptual and physical juncture points, its production and dissolution, and our relation to it as a political, social and environmental medium. Kahn's other activities include sound pieces for radio, film, dance and theater. He has also designed numerous CD, LP and cassette covers. As a writer, his work has appeared in books, magazines and as liner notes to many audio publications. Performing regularly around the world, Kahn has given concerts throughout Europe, North and South America, Australia, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey and South Africa. In 2011 Kahn started the Editions imprint to publish his own recordings and writings." ^ Hide Bio for Jason Kahn • Show Bio for Chris Abrahams "Chris Abrahams was born in Oamaru, New Zealand but grew up in Sydney, Australia. He became very active in the Sydney jazz scene in the early eighties playing with modern jazz groups including Mark Simmonds' Freeboppers and The Keys Music Orchestra. With Lloyd Swanton he formed the 60's modern jazz-influenced The Benders in 1982. During its day, the band released three albums - E, False Laughter and Distance. In 1984 Chris recorded and released his first solo piano album - Piano, followed in 1986 by Walk. In 1985 Chris became a founding member of the Sydney indie rock band The Sparklers. As a result of this, Chris began working regularly with the singer and songwriter Melanie Oxley. Chris collaborated with Melanie, writing songs and producing albums, throughout the nineties. There are five releases with her: Resisting Calm (1990), Welcome to Violet (1992), Coal (1994), Jerusalem Bay (1998) and Blood Oranges (2003). Chris released a third solo piano album, Glow, in 2001. This was followed in 2003 by Streaming, and then Thrown (2004), Play Scar (2010) and Memory Night (2013). Chris has collaborated, in both recording and performance, with many contemporary improvising musicians including Burkhard Beins, Mike Cooper and Anthony Pateras. He performs regularly in the improvising music scenes both in Australia and Europe." ^ Hide Bio for Chris Abrahams • Show Bio for Laura Altman "Laura Altman is a clarinetist, improviser and composer. She is based in Sydney. A long-standing member of Splinter Orchestra and Prophets, Laura has been an important voice in the Sydney improvised and exploratory music scene for more than a decade. Her collaborations with Australian and international musicians have seen her perform across the country and around the world, and feature on multiple recordings, notably with trio Great Waitress. Other current projects include solo clarinet + tapes + feedback, duos with Low Flung (Couch), Monica Brooks, Melanie Herbert and Nick Ashwood, as well as folk-jazz-chamber ensemble, Chaika, and Prophets' side-project, BB+CAM. Laura has been very active organising exploratory music events in Sydney, including the NOW now Festival and series (2010-2013) and Nights at Tempe (2018-present). She co-hosts a radio show Listening Space on Eastside FM, and co-founded the Sydney exploratory music calendar www.emus.space. Laura studied composition at the Sydney Conservatorium and she composes and produces instrumental and electro-acoustic music. She has had works commissioned and performed by Sydney Antiphony, Ensemble Offspring, North Sydney Girls High School and ACRONYM Orchestra, and has developed exploratory pieces for primary school students. She has more recently been exploring sound installations. As an educator, Laura has experience teaching private clarinet students, tutoring composition to senior high-school music students, facilitating school workshops and also running early-childhood music classes with Bluebell Music." ^ Hide Bio for Laura Altman • Show Bio for Rishin Singh "Rishin Singh (born 1985, Kuala Lumpur) is a musician/artist/writer living in Berlin. He studied classical trombone at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (Bachelor of Music Studies) and received Honours 1st Class in a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney. As a composer and performer, Rishin's work investigates modes of perception, quietude and repetition. He has performed across Asia, Australia, Europe and Canada with collaborators such as Ensemble Offspring (AU), Toshimaru Nakamura (JP), Konzert Minimal (DE), Koen Nutters (NL), Catherine Lamb (USA), Karen Power (IR), John Godfrey (UK), Cathy Milliken (AUS), Johnny Chang (DE), Jon Rose (AU), and his own ensemble Songs (DE). Selected festival appearances include DAAD Mikromusik (DE), The NOWnow (AUS), Lacking Sound Festival (TW), Audio Art (PL). He has premiered new works by composers such as Clare Cooper (AU), Martijn Tellinga (NL), Eva-Maria Houben (DE), Antoine Beuger (DE) and Goh Lee Kwang (MY), and has been commissioned to compose for artists such as Claire Edwardes (AU), Ur 1st Luv (AU), and Ensemble Manteia (AU). His writing has been published by Editions Kahn (CH), RealTime (AUS), Insub (CH), and Lateral Addition (USA). Selected exhibitions include at ArtSpace Sydney (AUS), Ithaka Festival Leuven (BE) and Errant Bodies (DE)." ^ Hide Bio for Rishin Singh
10/2/2024
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10/2/2024
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10/2/2024
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10/2/2024
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Track Listing:
Side A: 15:00
Side B: 19:00
Side C: 19:00
Side D: 17:00
Vinyl Recordings
Improvised Music
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Compositional Forms
Electroacoustic Composition
Australian Improvisers, Composers and Experimenters
Graphic Scores
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