Bassist & composer Nick Dunston's Berlin band Skultura creates a uniquely experimental and fascinatingly sculpted approach to free jazz through layers of sound and serious playing punctuated by voice and concrete elements, each piece keeping the listener in anticipation of what might happen next, eased into serious jazz grooves, then whisked away in new directions; not to be missed!
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Nick Dunston-compositions, production, bass, prepared banjo, sampler, tape, vocals
Cansu Tanrikulu-vocals, effects, electronics
Liz Kosack-synthesizer, vocals
Eldar Tsalikov-alto saxophone, Bb clarinet, vocals
Maria Portugal-drums
Petter Eldh-sampler
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Label: Tripticks Tapes
Catalog ID: TTT038
Squidco Product Code: 33735
Format: CASSETTE
Condition: New
Released: 2023
Country: USA
Packaging: Cassette
Recorded in Berlin, Germany, on August 8th, 2022, by Sebastian Ohmert; and in Cologne, Germany, on November 30th, 2022, by Marcus Zilz.
"Composition, improvisation, and performance are no longer the only elements at play in Dunston's recorded work. On Skultura, he continuously shapes the music with various sound-manipulation techniques to create an album that is meticulous as it is visceral. To quote Jacob Garchik's liner notes, the 'work is made of continuous waves of inspiration and creation, strata of improvisations made permanent, each layer related to the one below, or not'. Skultura is revered in Europe and the U.S., and will be co-released on the Berlin-based record label Fun In The Church, and the American tape cassette label Tripticks Tapes. Upcoming European performances in the Fall 2023 include Wels Unlimited Festival in Austria, and the Jazz Exzess concert series in Berlin."-Fun in the Church
"When is a work of art finished? We know how it begins: Inspiration strikes, a brush hits the canvas, pen hits paper, or a finger plucks a string. When the paint congeals, the camera stops rolling, or the performance is over, is that the end of the process? What follows is usually a period of reflection, of self-critique, snip here and there, add or subtract. Perhaps then comes more dramatic editing, or even a drastic reworking, the end bearing little resemblance to the beginning.
The final steps of artistic creation can take many forms: Picasso painting over an incongruous lap dog in his 1900 dark canvas of Parisian socialites "Le Moulin de la Galette"; pioneering filmmaker Georges Melies creating a new visual language of jump cuts, superimpositions, and fantastical optical illusions; or Miles Davis taking the razor blade to magnetic tape to reshape a 1961 live recording into something more polished, more perfect, and just slightly artificial, "In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk".
To Miles, one of the most discriminating taste-makers of the 20th century, the creative process didn't end with the last set, but continued until he was satisfied. Not content to leave the tools of the studio as the purview of The Beach Boys or The Beatles, Miles and his producers continued to refine their command of constructive post-recording, reaching an apex in 1971 with "Jack Johnson". The juxtapositions, cross fades, delay effects and overdubs were just as integral to the process as the rollocking jam session that began it.
Too often we think only of the beginning of the process. A work is made of continuous waves of inspiration and creation, strata of improvisations made permanent, each layer related to the one below, or not. Forget the "post" in post production - it's all production.-Jacob Garchik"
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Nick Dunston "Nick Dunston is a Brooklyn-based composer, bassist, and scholar. An "indispensable player on the New York avant-garde" (New York Times), his performances have also spanned a variety of venues and festivals across North America and Europe. He's performed, toured, and recorded professionally with bands led by artists such as Tyshawn Sorey, Vijay Iyer, Marc Ribot, Ches Smith, Imani Uzuri, Ingrid Laubrock, Anthony Coleman, Roman Filiu, Jonathan Finlayson, Amirtha Kidambi, Moor Mother, Dave Douglas, Matt Wilson, Tomas Fujiwara, Allison Miller, Jeff Lederer, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and Darius Jones. He's spent extensive time studying with bassists Linda May Han Oh, Ben Street, Harish Raghavan, as well as with composer Missy Mazzoli. As a composer, Dunston has written for a wide range of artists of multiple genres and disciplines. He's written for entities such as the New York Public Library of Performing Arts, the Joffrey Ballet School, The Witches, violist Joanna Mattrey, and the ESMAE Jazz and Chamber Orchestras. In 2019 he was awarded the Van Lier Fellowship by Roulette Intermedium, which supported the world premieres of The Floor is Lava! (upright bass quintet), and La Operación (double saxophone trio + soprano voice), referred to as "a work so dramatic and large that is both a response to socio-historical truth as well as a reflection on his own identity..." (I Care If You Listen). As a writer, he's made monthly contributions to Hot House Jazz Magazine from 2016-2019." ^ Hide Bio for Nick Dunston • Show Bio for Cansu Tanrikulu "Cansu Tanrıkulu is an internationally recognized vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and an improviser based in Berlin. She collaborates with exceptional creatives and likes making shape-shifting music mostly based on topics that are hard to imagine as musical entities at first glance. She is one of the busiest young voices in the European Creative Music Scene leading/co-leading multiple international composition and performance projects. With her elastic singing, wide stylistic vocabulary and far reaching approach to melody and text-based improvisation Tanrıkulu became an in-demand vocalist in countless collaborations, actively performing in renowned platforms of Europe and USA with her bands next to projects she's been supporting. In most of her bands she also plays synth, guitar an works with electronics as a part of her unique vocal language. Her projects include: PILED UP by Tanrikulu (w. Lukas König, Nick Dunston & Simon Jermyn), Melez (w. Jim Black & Elias Stemeseder), MeoW (w. Jim Black, Liz Kosack & Dan Peter Sunderland) & Tanrıkulu feat. Greg Cohen & Tobias Delius, Pep Talk (w. Korhan Erel), Aşa (w. David August) and multiple other duo collaborations including clarinetist Carol McGonnell, guitarist & composer Jessica Ackerley and composer & multi-instrumentalist Nick Dunston. - She was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1991 and moved to Berlin in 2015 after finishing her degree in cognitive psychology and a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance. In Berlin she graduated from Universität der Künste Berlin (Jazz Institut Berlin). - Her voice was sampled to be in an audio library of pioneer experimental vocals next to Phil Minton, Audrey Chen and Lea Bertucci by Spitfire Audio in 2022. - She had her theatre composition debut in 2021 for "Krampus" in Maxim Gorki Theater/Berlin as a co-composer with Korhan Erel. - She made music on a scope of topics including televangelists, porn, neural structures, James Gandolfini & cats. - Her album "Kantoj de Fermiteco" with the trio (w Greg Cohen and Tobias Delius), inspired from the tableaux art of Edward Kienholz, was released on LowSwing Records in November 2021 premiered w. Marc Ribot as guest in Jazzfest Berlin 2021 and reached out to Taiwan, USA, Japan and all over Europe with reviews including the MINT Magazin, BR Klassik. The album was presented with a 60-minute long film made by Tanrıkulu and Daniela Imhoff. - She is a recipient of Jazz-Preis der Karl Hofer Gesellschaft for Soloist (2019), Elsa Neumann Stipendium - UdK (2021) and her projects are regularly supported by prestigious international institutions & residencies (Mutual Mentorship for Musicians 2022 founded by Jen Shyu & Sara Serpa). - She is always expanding her scope of projects as well as working as a recording artist/performer for established international artists (incl. Nate Wooley's Seven Storey Mountain VI 2021 Anthony Braxton's Sonic Genome in 2019). Her collaborations include bands like Nick Dunston's SKULTURA, Max Andrzejewski's Hütte & Guests Playing Robert Wyatt's Music, James Banner's USINE & Stine Janvin's Chords for Calling and other outstanding creatives including Trevor Dunn, Sofia Jernberg, Matt Mitchell, Cenk Ergün, Lucy Railton, Weston Olencki, Dan Nicholls, Otis Sandsjö, Sofia Borges, Kaan Bıyıkoglu, Zeynep Toraman, Julia Hülsmann & Tomomi Adachi." ^ Hide Bio for Cansu Tanrikulu • Show Bio for Liz Kosack "Liz Kosack is a musician and designer from Maine, USA working in Berlin and New York. Her work is cross-platform, but focuses around synthesizer playing and masks. She completed a Masters in music at Jazz Institut Berlin, where she studied composition with John Hollenbeck and Greg Cohen. She holds a BA in jazz piano from William Paterson University, USA. She was a finalist in music and sound for the New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship in 2013. She currently co-leads and is involved in multiple active projects in both Germany and the USA, released two LPs with "VAX" (The Sooner we Jump the Better, and Count to VAX) Is on RJ Miller's "Ronalds Rhythm," released a debut tape cassette with The Hero of Warchester in 2015 on Prom Night Records, Sunrise Over a Dystopic Future City's debut Dystopia (DVD collaboration with NYC filmaker Zach Caldwell, 2016) and expects to shortly release the resultant album of her masters project which features text-encoded melodic compositions and the talent of Frank Gratkowski, Tilo Weber, Dan Peter Sundland, Christian Tschuggnall, and Otis Sandsjö (selections of which were exhibited in fall 2014 at NYFA's "Estuary" exhibit in DUMBO, brooklyn.) Noteably this year she played the Moers festival with her band "The Liz" as Anubis in their piece "Book of Birds," collaborated with the Ballet im Revier, and in september gave her German professional debut on grand piano in a special version of RRR at the 30 Jahr Stadtgarten festival. Liz is a sideman on Tilo Weber's Animate Repose (Shoebill 2016), and special guest on Orter Eparg's "Orter Eparg" (Øra, 2016.) She also plays synth on Lea Frey's next album, due for release 2017. She leads mask-making workshops, has been commisioned for mask works by various groups, and is accepting new requests." ^ Hide Bio for Liz Kosack • Show Bio for Eldar Tsalikov "A vibrant young saxophonist from Rostov, who is known for consistently discovering and inventing fresh sounds through modern improvised music. Eldar was born in 1993 in Rostov-on-Don (Russia) andstarted to play saxophone at the age of 9 at the Rostov Children Jazz School n/a Kim Nazaretov in Russia. At the age of 17 after graduating from the Jazz School Eldar decided to continue his education abroad. He moved to Germany and began studying at the Universität der KünsteBerlin. Eldar is a saxophone player currently studying with Peter Weniger, Greg Cohen, and John Hollenbeck at the Universität der Künste inBerlin. Since 2005 he has been performing all around Europe, including Czech Republic, Scotland, Germany, Denmark, and Italy. He has won several competitions, such as the IV International Jazz Competition in St. Petersburg (Russia), the Ukraine International Jazz Festival in Kiev, and the VIII International Jazz Competition in Odessa. Eldar has been touring Europe with the East-West European Jazz Orchestra, playing with artists, such as Dave Liebman, Jerry Bergonzi, Wycliffe Gordon, and Dennis Rowland." ^ Hide Bio for Eldar Tsalikov • Show Bio for Maria Portugal "Mariá Portugal has been active in the Brazilian musical scene since 16 years old, recording, performing and touring throughout South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania with artists like Arrigo Barnabé, Elza Soares, Metá Metá, Maria Beraldo, Maggie Nicols, Charlotte Hug, Angelika Niescier, Gerald Cleaver, Ute Wasserman, Joëlle Leandre, Billy Martin, Burkhard Beins, Emilio Gordoa, Fred Frith, Jasper van't Hof and Paul van Kemenade. Among her main projects is the Brazilian instrumental group Quartabê, which is currently promoting their third album. The band has already performed in festivals such as Festival Jazz & The City, in Salzburg, Austria (2017), Moers Festival, in Moers, Germany (2018), Nijmegen Music Meeting, in Nijmegen, Netherlands (2018), Frue Festival in Japan and Festival Internacional de Jazz de Buenos Aires, Argentina (2019). As a composer, she has been performing and composing original music for dance, theatre and cinema. Her most recent work as a soundtrack composer is the score for the feature film "1976", by Manuela Martelli, which will be premiered at Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes 2022. In 2020, Mariá lived in Moers, Germany. as the 13th Improviser in Residence of the Moers Festival, where she played with Angelika Niescier, Gerald Cleaver, Burkhard Beins, among others. She is currently living in Köln. She is the curator for the city of Duisburg for the Soundtrips-NRW, a project that seeks to promote and connect free improvisers from Nordrhein-Westphalia. Mariá holds a degree in Composition from UNESP (São Paulo State University) and a M.A. in Communication and Semiotics, from PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo)." ^ Hide Bio for Maria Portugal • Show Bio for Petter Eldh "Frans Petter Eldh, Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, was obsessed with Jazz, Classical, Soul, Reggae, Swedish folk music, Middle-Eastern and Hip Hop at an early age and collected vinyl since the age of 7. He initially played guitar before switching to what became his primary instrument, the double bass. Early influences, Charles Mingus, Anders Jormin, Charlie Haden, Charlie Parker, A Tribe Called Quest, Monica Zetterlund, Samla Mammas Manna, Aretha Franklin and Earth Wind and Fire have guided his diverse output as a musician. Long-standing collaborations include the following erratic and progressive forces:Amok Amor, Django Bates Beloved, Jameszoo Quartet, Enemy (Kit Downes/James Maddren), Lucia Cadotsch Speak Low, Hayden Chisholm, Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity, Peter Bruun, Christian Lillinger, Benoit Delbecq and Kaja Draksler. As a producer he has remixed work by Jameszoo - Flake (Brainfeeder), Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra - Vula (Afterhours), Speak Low (Enja) and releases his own music on Galatea Records. Selected releases in 2017 include Django Bates Beloved - The Study of Touch (ECM), Amok Amor - We Know Not What We Do (Intakt), Susanne Sundfør - Music For People In Trouble (Bella Union), Richard Spaven - The Self, Lucia Cadotsch Speak Low - Renditions (Enja), Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity - Live in Europe (Clean Feed)" ^ Hide Bio for Petter Eldh
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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10/2/2024
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Track Listing:
SIDE A
1. Jane 05:43
2. Island Recursion 04:02
3. A Devastating Comeback 05:31
SIDE B
1. Vaquero Negro 08:28
2. Keramik 02:49
3. Kintsugi 06:30
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