The Squid's Ear Magazine


Vasseur / Serries: Floating Similarities (Creative Sources)

French guitarist Christian Vasseur, known for his explorative approach and use of unique instruments like the archlute and electric 10-string lap-steel guitar, joins Dirk Serries (A New Wave of Jazz, Vidna Obmana), who employs an archtop guitar with bow and objects in this live-recorded album at Kapel Oude Klooster in Belgium, featuring seven chamber-like duets that weave resonant, tension-filled acoustic textures with surreal and exotic elements.
 

Price: $16.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units


EU & UK Customers:
Discogs.com can handle your VAT payments
So please order through Discogs

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Christian Vasseur-eleven string classical guitar tuned in quarter tone, voice

Dirk Serries-archtop guitar


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 5609063408423

Label: Creative Sources
Catalog ID: cs842
Squidco Product Code: 35331

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2024
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Performed at the Kapel Oude Klooster, in Brecht, Belgium, on January 20th, 2024, by Dirk Serries.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"French guitarist Christian Vasseur describes his music as free of any form of dogma and exploring new sound universes with such exotic instruments as archlute, mohan veena, Weissenborn-Harpa and electric 10-string lap-steel guitar. Vasseur brings to this guitar duo an 11-string classical guitar, tuned in quartet-tone, while Serries plays on archtop guitar, often with a bow and objects. Floating Simularities was recorded live at the Kapel Oude Klooster in Brecht, Belgium, and Serries was responsible for the recording, mixing and mastering. The seven intimate and almost chamber duets explore tension-filled, resonant acoustic timbres. Sometimes these duets sketch surreal textures or suggest brief stories, and at other times flirt with delicate, oriental-sounding elements, as in the most enigmatic, beautiful gamelan-like "The Traveller Surprised By His Dream", with Vasseur adding wordless chanting."-Eyal Hareuveni, The Free Jazz Collective


Get additional information at The Free Jazz Collective

Artist Biographies

"Christian Vasseur began classical guitar as an autodidact before taking classes with Pascal Boëls and Jean-Philippe Gruneissen at the Lille Conservatory. He learned the lute with Eugène Ferré at the Toulouse Conservatory and with Yasunori Imamura and Paul O'Dette during master classes. For 15 years he led musical theatre and free improvisation workshops for different audiences: children and adults, adolescents in detention, adults and disabled children. Meeting vulnerable or destitute people has had a profound influence on the way he works today.

He has composed numerous pieces of music for various instruments and ensembles. Christian Vasseur's music owes as much to classical tradition as to popular expression. It is protean and free of any dogma. Improvisation plays a large part in it. Over the years, beyond the forms it takes, it develops an imaginary folklore that seems to come from familiar lands. Yet a little nothing, something ineffable says that we are elsewhere.

Classical compositions, tinkering, sound collages, cinema without images and iconoclastic chaos are all side roads towards spaces with depth of field, superpositions of shots and panoramic views. In works with voices, interjections are the traces of a language of origins, the sound fossils of a great primitive sensual poem. Words, syllables become abstract objects, bricks of poetic and musical constructions. In the theater, his music is a counterpoint to the text, another voice, melodic, dissonant or noisy according to the dramaturgical needs. Acoustic sounds are often combined with electronics.

He has long been passionate about multi-string instruments such as the eleven-string alto guitar, the archlute, the mohan veena, the weissenborn-harp and the ten-string lapsteel electric guitar. These instruments allow him to explore new sound universes."

-Christian Vasseur Website (Translated by Google) (https://christianvasseur.weebly.com/)
12/3/2024

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

"Since his first releases in the early 80s, uncompromising Belgian artist Dirk Serries has garnered respect from and invitations to collaborate with recognised musicians like Steven Wilson, Steve Von Till, Justin Broadrick, Cult Of Luna and Alan Sparhawk of Low. He has been commisioned to write works for Dutch national television broadcaster VPRO, the Antwerp Zoo as well as architectural festival Biënnale Rotterdam and worked on stage with the Holland Symfonia orchestra. His discography encompasses stylistically diverse releases on labels like Relapse, Projekt, Conspiracy as well as his current creative partner Tonefloat, an outfit with years of experience in vinyl editions for acts like Porcupine Tree, Robert Fripp, Theo Travis and Anja Garbarek. Over the past thirty years, he has toured extensively through Europe and the USA and performed at some of experimental music's major venues and concert spaces, as headliner or in support of Low, Mono, My Bloody Valentine, Jesu and others.

Dirk Serries never shied away from collaborations with Justin Broadrick, Steve Roach, Sam Rosenthal, Alio Die, Theo Travis, David Lee Myers, Asmus Tietchens, Stratosphere, Serge Devadder, Willem Tanke or under seperate entities like The Sleep Of Reason (with Jon Attwood), Continuum (with Steven Wilson), Principle Of Silence (with Joris De Backer), The Eightfold Model (with Michael Beckett), Akhet (with Marc Verhaeghen, Paul Van Den Berg), 3 Seconds Of Air (with Martina Verhoeven, Paul Van Den Berg) and The Black Fire (with Robert MacManus).

After bringing his projects vidnaObmana (1984-2005) and Fear Falls Burning (2005-2012) to a satisfying conclusion, Serries no longer considers it necessary to hide behind alter egos. Confident enough to operate under his own name, he is continuing his ongoing search for uncharted territory while keeping in mind the essence which made him want to work with sound in the first place. Fascinated by the power of purity, he has built a reputation for building a personal galaxy of harmony and dissonance through dense caleidoscopes of slowly unfolding motives. His upcoming second microphonics-album is a further refinement of this approach. Eschewing stereotypical genre exercises, Serries refuses to be labeled as a guitarist, weilding his instrument in a way which never denies its original tonal colours while bringing out the unique intimacy of his music.

Released in 2008, Serries's debut studio album under his own name was all about analog warmth and natural acoustics. For his second full-length and in a bid of creating the perfect sonic space, he has now taken on the challenge of engaging in a dialogue with digital processing. Lyricaly titled 'microphonics xxi - xxv - mounting among the the wings, there's a light in vein. the burden of hope across thousands of rivers', the album was released to critical acclaim in March 2013 on renowned Dutch label Tonefloat as a CD and double 10″ vinyl.

The sobriety of his studio work is mirrored by Serries's philosophy to performing live, based on the concept that music should be heard, not seen. Focussed like a monk immersed in prayer, he is performing his music almost in complete darkness and entirely in real-time, making use of both electric amplification and the natural resonance of the room and taking the particular characteristics of each venue into consideration. This way, not a single gig sounds the same as the night before.

While writing the follow-up to his second microphonics solo album, his ongoing fascination for jazz for more than 15 years solidified in 2011 when he was invited by improv and jazz musicians Kristoffer Lo and Tomas Järmyr to form YODOK III. Recording their debut album, completely performed real-time, at the legendary Athletic Sound Studio in Halden (Norway), brought projects in a rapid stream and on the right track. Teaming up with both musicians, in their trio format and with Tomas Järmyr on drums as duo THE VOID OF EXPANSION, Serries collaborates as well with Belgian jazzdrummer Teun Verbruggen as ART OF COSMIC MUSINGS and goes into a duel with Dead Neanderthals, Cactus Truck's American sax player John Dikeman and Dutch drummer Onno Govaert, UK saxophonist Colin Websters, UK drummers Andrew Lisle and Steve Noble. Born was Tonefloat's New Wave Of Jazz and the future foresees no boundaries, 30 years and onwards."

-Dirk Serries Website (http://www.dirkserries.com/)
12/3/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Celestial Peat 6:38

2. The Chatty Pilgrims 5:37

3. Path To The Peaks 8:17

4. Give Me This Stuff 2:46

5. Djinn's Jokes 6:10

6. Hanuman Mimicking A Human 5:07

7. The Traveller Surprised By His Dream 9:19

Related Categories of Interest:


Creative Sources
Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Guitarists, &c.
Duo Recordings
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

Search for other titles on the label:
Creative Sources.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Mimosa, Eric / Christian Vasseur
Les Sans-Ombre
(Creative Sources)
Duo guitar improvisations performed on archtop acoustic guitars from French guitarists Christian Vasseur and Eric Mimosa, nine improvisations recorded in the studio in Mons en Baroeul, France using impressive technique in a well-matched duo of virtuosic playing and wildly creative ideas that run the gamut from extremely energetic discussion to spacious observation.
Other Recommended Releases:
Miller, Kevin / Dan Blake
At First Light
(Creative Sources)
Brooklyn saxophonist Dan Black and guitarist Kevin Miller present a duo album featuring three improvisations using pre-conceived time-based structures, one work using a particular kind of ambience, and an abstract take on a classic jazz tune, all reflecting their years of collaboration and exploration through free improvisation based around jazz standards.
Mimosa, Eric / Christian Vasseur
Les Sans-Ombre
(Creative Sources)
Duo guitar improvisations performed on archtop acoustic guitars from French guitarists Christian Vasseur and Eric Mimosa, nine improvisations recorded in the studio in Mons en Baroeul, France using impressive technique in a well-matched duo of virtuosic playing and wildly creative ideas that run the gamut from extremely energetic discussion to spacious observation.
Lisle, Andrew / Dirk Serries
Vectorial Spaces [CD EP]
(Confront)
A three-part construction of intense and highly textured drone, waves of sound and spacial tension through the innovative use of snare, cymbals and a bowed acoustic guitar, from the duo of chameleonic Belgian improviser and experimental guitarist Dirk Serries (vidnaObmana, Fear Falls Burning, A New Wave of Jazz) and collaborative UK drummer/percussionist Andrew Lisle.
Rodrigues, Ernesto / Dirk Serries / Joao Madeira / Jose Oliveira
Dripping
(Creative Sources)
One of the core Creative Sources trios of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, João Madeira on double bass and Jose Oliveira on percussion, is extended to a quartet with Netherland's New Wave of Jazz/Vidna Obmama archtop guitarist Dirk Serries, presenting the 9-part "Dripping" series of free chamber-oriented lowercase improvisation.
Taylor / Serries
Obsidian
(Creative Sources)
Their familiarity honed from work together in the Impetus Group and in Tonus, viola improviser Benedict Taylor and archtop guitarist Dirk Serries (Vidna Obmana) are heard in seven free improvisations recorded in 2023 at the Kapel Oude Klooster in Brecht, Belgium, their strings in plucked, bowed and curious consonance through unusual technique and expression.
Impetus Group (Serries / Webster / Verbruggen / Verhoeven / Jackson))
Density Dots
(Klanggalerie)
Their impetus motivated by the 60's & 70's London improv scene, epitomized by Derek Bailey's Company group, guitarist Dirk Serries leads this assemblage of quick-witted improviser as they challenge each other through pointillistic and sublime passages; from Tom Jackson (clarinet), Colin Webster (sax), Martina Verhoeven (piano), Dirk Serries (guitar) & Teun Verbruggen (drums).
Serries / Taylor / Van Wyck
Le Sud
(Creative Sources)
Focused mostly on introspective yet propulsive improvised interaction of concentrative listening, punctuated by moments of explosive exchanges, the trio of Dirk Serries on archtop guitar, Benedict Taylor on viola and Friso Van Wyck on drums & percussion are heard live in an engaging concert at Koffie and Ambacht's Le Sud, in Rotterdam in 2022.
Rodrigues / Rodrigues / Torres / Serries
Brecht
(Creative Sources)
Referring to the city Brecht in Belgium, this concert at the Kapel Oude Klooster took place during a tour by the Lisbon free improvising trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello and Nuno Torres on alto saxophone, joined by Dirk Serries on archtop guitar (New Wave of Jazz, Vidna Obama) for this impressively interactive 3-part improvisation.
Machinefabriek
+
(Machinefabriek)
Trying to strike a balance between composition and the challenges of being a young parent, Rutger Zuydervelt, aka Machinefabriek, created a series of short tracks that could be developed quickly with invited collaborators, a concept that worked so well that in little time he found 52 enthusiastic and diverse musicians to develop the expanse of this impressive collection.
Rodrigues, Guilherme / Dirk Serries
The Sage Flower
(Creative Sources)
Eleven detailed improvised conversations between Portuguese cellist living in Berlin Guilherme Rodrigues and Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries, employing powerful and unusual techniques on their instruments in dialogs that run the gamut from quiet or abstract interaction to rapid outbursts of challenging intercourse that mesh and diverge in unexpected ways.
Verhoeven, Martina Quintet (w/ Serries / Webster / Almeida)
Driven: Live At Roadburn 2022
(Klanggalerie)
Netherlands pianist Martina Verhoeven's quintet with Goncalo Almeida on double bass, Onno Govaert on drums, Dirk Serries on guitar and Colin Webster on saxophone is captured live in their debut performance at the Roadburn Festival 2022 Paradox in Tilburg for an extended 2-part improvisation of both dense and thrilling interaction and deep introspection, a spectacular and informed set.
Hadow, George / Dirk Serries
Chapel
(Creative Sources)
A duo of free and spaciously building exchanges between Dutch drummer George Hadow (Zwerv, The Blue Lines Trio) and Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries (A New Wave of Jazz), in an extended dialog of great technical skills and creative use of their instruments, performing live at the 2021 JazzBlast event held in the chapel Groels Kapel in Bocholt, Belgium.
Wilkinson, Alan / Dirk Serries
One In The Eye [2 CDs]
(A New Wave of Jazz)
With an obvious pleasure at their pairing, both in the studio in Belgum in 2019 and at a live concert at A New Wave Of Jazz festival at the Hundred Years Gallery in London, 2020, acoustic guitartist Dirk Serries and multi-reedist Alan Wilkinson explore a range of styles and techniques through diverse melodic and abstract expression in pursuit of new forms of expression.
Various Artists (curated by Nick Vander)
Walk My Way, Volume Three
(Orbit577)
The third of a five volume compilation series curated by Nick Vander, a testament to the incredible musical range of the guitar and the imaginative possibility of guitarists around the world, with tracks from Sergio Sorrentino, Christian Vasseur, CharbelHaber, Misha Marks, Henry Kaiser, Nick Ashwood, Emil Palme & Taus Bregnhøj-Olesen, Sharif Sehnaoui, Colin Robinson, Martin Huba
Tonus (Serries / Verhoeven / Webster)
Segment Tones
(A New Wave of Jazz)
Exploring long tones and harmonic interactions of consonance & dissonance through a slowly rotating and patiently evolving series of tones with each of the players in the Tonus trio doubling on wind instruments, as performed by Dirk Serries on soprano melodica & accordion, Martina Verhoeven on concertina & cello, and Colin Webster on clarinet & alto saxophone.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC