The Squid's Ear Magazine


suzueri (Elico Suzuki): Fata Morgana (Ftarri / Hitorri)

Tokyo sound artist Elico Suzuki attached or arranged "gadgets" including a small electric fan, a motor and a radio, to an upright piano whose upper and lower panels were removed and insides exposed, using their inherent sounds and those created by touching them to the piano strings to generate overlapping and evolving sound, ending each piece with force through the keyboard.
 

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Elico Suzuki-piano, gadgets


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Label: Ftarri / Hitorri
Catalog ID: hitorri-982
Squidco Product Code: 30197

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2020
Country: Japan
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded at Makoto Oshiro's studio, on February 11th, 2019 by Makoto Oshiro.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Sound artist/improviser Suzueri started her musical activity in the 1990s, and her wide-ranging work since then has included concerts, exhibitions and installations. It was in the late 2000s that she began the style of performance heard on this album, combining upright piano and handmade devices. She continued to develop her concerts featuring this combination, and in the 2010s she earned widespread recognition and praise among improvised/experimental music fans for her unique "suzueri" style.

Three CDs of suzueri's performances at Ftarri with upright piano and self-made devices have previously been released on the Ftarri label: Live at Ftarri (meenna-993), a 2013 concert by the trio of suzueri, Tetuzi Akiyama (guitar) and Makoto Oshiro (self-made instruments), plus a quartet by these three and British drummer Roger Turner; Ftarri de Solos (ftarri-887), pairing solos performed in 2017 by suzueri and Hong Kong sound artist Fiona Lee; and Duo (ftarri-886), a 2018 duo performance with Makoto Oshiro. While these three CDs are all live recordings, what might be called a "definitive" studio-recorded solo album by suzueri has now been released. Fata Morgana, made up of two tracks of 25-plus minutes each, was recorded in February 2019 by Makoto Oshiro (who has an established reputation as an engineer).

Various devices including a small electric fan, a motor and a radio are placed on, attached to or arranged near an upright piano whose upper and lower panels are removed and insides exposed. The devices themselves produce sounds; and when touched by these devices, the piano strings and keyboard emit sounds repetitively (every few seconds) or continuously. These myriad sounds overlap and become a united whole, and at the point when they fill the space like a foundational layer, suzueri strikes the keyboard with both hands, forcefully and persistently unleashing clusters of sounds. This album overflows with suzueri's magical appeal, which combines concentrated musical creativity with turbulence and disarray.

This CD's paper cover is another part of suzueri's creation. She designed the cover; created the layout of the four-sided jacket (with spine) and Japanese-English liner notes (by Tomotaro Kaneko, translated by suzueri and Jonathan Kemp) on A3 size cardboard; and made an order to a printer. After the paper covers were delivered in sheet form, she personally cut and assembled each one.-Hitorri


Artist Biographies

Elico Suzuki (suzueri) is a Tokyo based Sound Artist. She plays circuitous and restless performances using pianos combined with self-made instruments. Her recent interests have centred on the exploration of the gaps and narrative aspects between the interaction of instruments and particular embodiment. She is the founder of the edible circuit makers, BreadBoard Baking.

-Elico Suzuki Website (http://suzueri.org/about/)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Track 1 25:30

2. Track 2 27:39

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Piano & Keyboards
Objects and Home-made Instruments
Solo Artist Recordings
Asian Improvisation & Jazz
New in Experimental & Electronic Music

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Ftarri / Hitorri.


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