The Squid's Ear Magazine


Costa, Carlo : Silos (Neither/Nor Records)

While on vacation in Rome in 2018, NY percussionist Carlo Costa took his portable recorder inside a grain silo in the countryside north of the city, eschewing traditional percussion for found bricks, pipes, rocks and branches found nearby, recording in the resonance of the silo with the sounds of cicadas and other ambiance permeating the silo as he unfolds this engrossing, thoughtfully paced improvisation.
 

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Carlo Costa-found objects


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Label: Neither/Nor Records
Catalog ID: n/n 015
Squidco Product Code: 30294

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded in Rome, Italy on July 28th, 2018, by Carlo Costa.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"In the summer of 2018, while in Rome, Carlo recorded a long-form improvisation inside an old grain silo. For the recording he solely used found objects that were close by: branches, bricks, logs, metal pipes, stones, gardening tools, etc. The piece explores the reverberant acoustics of the silo and the interaction between Costa's gestures and the sounds of the surrounding environment: cicadas, passing vehicles and planes, dogs barking, etc."-Neither/Nor



"Although there have been many documentaries, have you ever never visited the prehistoric caves of Western Europe, in which homo sapiens painted representations of animals and hunters on cave walls 30,000 years ago? These places held a certain magic then (and now) for visitors. Besides the visual, there must certainly have been an aural component to any journey underground. The modern equivalent to these prehistoric resonances can be heard in the cistern recordings of Pauline Oliveros and Stuart Dempster, and in the above ground performance of Carlo Costa's Silos. The Italian-born percussionist now living in New York can be heard in the large ensemble Acustica and the trios Natura Morta, Ancient Enemies, and Earth Tongues, in duo with Flim van Hemmen and Håvard Volden, among many other improvising ensembles. This recording comes from an old grain silo on his family's property located north of Rome. Costa refrained from utilizing drums and cymbals, instead taking up found objects including branches, bricks, logs, metal pipes, stones, and gardening tools. The single 35 minute track is part field recording, part free improvisation with the capture of the cicadas constant hum, the wind in the nearby pine and eucalyptus trees, and traffic. Costa utilized the found objects as his percussion instruments producing various reverberations within the confined space of the silo. The music encourages you to close your eyes, open your ears, and enter this sublime aural environment."-Mark Corroto, All About Jazz


Get additional information at All About Jazz

Artist Biographies

"Percussionist and composer Carlo Costa was born in Rome, Italy. In 2001 he moved to Boston to study music. Since 2005 he has been living in New York City where he regularly performs as a leader and co-leader of various projects, as well as a sideman. Carlo is currently primarily involved with experimental and improvised music and is an active composer for his ensembles and ad hoc projects. He has performed throughout Europe and the US in a wide variety of contexts.

Carlo currently leads or co-leads Natura Morta (a trio with violist Frantz Loriot and bassist Sean Ali), the Carlo Costa Quartet (with trombonist Steve Swell, saxophonist Jonathan Moritz and bassist Sean Ali), Earth Tongues (with trumpeter Joe Moffett and tubist Dan Peck), the large ensemble Acustica, the trio Ancient Enemies (with alto saxophonist Nathaniel Morgan and violist Joanna Mattrey), and a solo percussion project. In November 2014 Carlo launched the record label Neither/Nor Records which is dedicated to experimental and improvised music."

-Carlo Costa Website (http://www.carlocostamusic.com/carlocostamusic/biography.html)
3/13/2024

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Track Listing:



1. Silos 35:57

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Percussion & Drums
Objects and Home-made Instruments
Recordings Utilizing the Natural Resonance of a Space
Solo Artist Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Neither/Nor Records.


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