The Squid's Ear Magazine

Brown, Chris

Retrospectacles [2 CDs]

Brown, Chris: Retrospectacles [2 CDs] (fo'c'sle)

A fascinating 2-CD retrospective of the solo piano and computer work from 1990 to 2016 of San Francisco Bay Area experimental composer Chris Brown, whose work focuses on evolving paradigms of human-machine interaction through live signal processing, generative polyrhythmic textures, and a cohabitation of both formal control and indeterminacy.
 

Price: $14.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Chris Brown-piano, computer


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




UPC: 843563108123

Label: fo'c'sle
Catalog ID: FSCL-002
Squidco Product Code: 29726

Format: 2 CDs
Condition: New
Released: 2018
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Disc 1: "Retrospectacles" and "Shuffle" recorded live at Roulette, in New York City, in December 2005, by Jim Staley. "Imaginary Birds" recorded at Mills College, in Oakland, California, on June 11th, 2015, by Jesse Austin. "Matrix" recorded at Whitney Studios in Oakland, California, on February 4th, 2012, by Chris Brown.

Disc 2: "Branches" recorded at Mills College in Oakland, California, on August 13th, 2016, by Philip Perkins. "Invention #4" recorded in Emeryville, California, in December, 2004. "Obelisk" recorded at Whitney Studios, on June 11th, 2015 by Chris Brown. "Sparks II" recorded at Roulette Intermedium, in New York City, on December 12, 1997, by Jim Staley.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Retrospectacles is a double-CD retrospective of works for piano and interactive computer composed, programmed and performed by the Bay Area experimentalist composer Chris Brown. It showcases recordings made between the 1990's to 2016 of compositions that explore evolving paradigms of human-machine interaction through live signal processing, generative polyrhythmic textures, and a cohabitation of both formal control and indeterminacy.

Retrospectacles is one of four premiere releases on fo'c'sle, a newly founded label for experimental music based in the Bay Area."-fo'c'sle



"Chris Brown, composer, pianist, and electronic musician, creates music for acoustic instruments with interactive electronics, for computer networks, and for improvising ensembles. Collaboration and improvisation are consistent themes in his work, along with the invention and performance of new electronic instruments and software. He is a founding member of The HUB, the pioneering network music ensemble, and has composed many interactive works for the percussionist William Winant (Iconicities, New World Records.) His trio with Winant and saxophonist Frank Gratkowski were featured on the 2009 Donaueschingen Musiktage. His most recent music explores microtonal tunings, including 6Primes, for piano in 13-limit just intonation, "Arcade" for string quartet, and Ragamala Chiaroscuro, for wind trio. Recordings are available on New World, Tzadik, Pogus, Intakt, Rastascan, Ecstatic Peace, Red Toucan, SIRR, Leo, and Artifact labels. He is currently a Professor of Music at Mills College and Co-Director of the Center for Contemporary Music (CCM)."-Chris Brown website


Artist Biographies

"Chris Brown, composer, pianist, and electronic musician, creates music for acoustic instruments with interactive electronics, for computer networks, and for improvising ensembles. Collaboration and improvisation are consistent themes in his work, along with the invention and performance of new electronic instruments and software. He is a founding member of The HUB, the pioneering network music ensemble, and has composed many interactive works for the percussionist William Winant (Iconicities, New World Records.) His trio with Winant and saxophonist Frank Gratkowski were featured on the 2009 Donaueschingen Musiktage. His most recent music explores microtonal tunings, including 6Primes, for piano in 13-limit just intonation, Arcade for string quartet, and Ragamala Chiaroscuro, for wind trio. Recordings are available on New World, Tzadik, Pogus, Intakt, Rastascan, Ecstatic Peace, Red Toucan, SIRR, Leo, and Artifact labels. He is currently a Professor of Music at Mills College and Co-Director of the Center for Contemporary Music (CCM)."

-Chris Brown Website (http://cbmuse.com/biography)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



CD1



1. Retrospectacles 30:55

2. Shuffle 09:29

3. Imaginary Birds 19:10

4. Matrix 11:36

CD2



1. Branches 37:20

2. Invention #4 10:57

3. Obelisk 07:54

4. Sparks II 05:06

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Compositional Forms
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Piano & Keyboards
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Solo Artist Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Experimental & Electronic Music
New in Compositional Music

Search for other titles on the label:
fo'c'sle.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Other Recommended Releases:
Deli Kuvveti
In the Summer Dusk
(Sublime Retreat)
The title an excellent reflection of the work, Seattle-based, Turkish-born Deli Kuvveti developed these two works that flow into each other to create an absorbing impression of a serene summer evening with dark undertones, using a granular synthesis configuration that creates movement through textured sounds, creating two complex and highly detailed narratives.
Wong, Theresa
Practicing Sands
(fo'c'sle)
A series of instrumental pieces and songs from Chinese-American composer, cellist, and vocalist Theresa Wong, inspired by the sounds of the natural world and a personal sense of "sonic genetic memory", her works merging composition and improvisation, the album recorded by Wong herself using specific microphone placement to bring out the warmth of her instrument and voice.
Golden, Barbara
Not Dead Yet [CD]
(fo'c'sle)
Bay Area experimental music scene legend and multi-disciplinary artist Barabara Golden celebrates her 80th birthday presents works created between 1980-2020, including performances by Robert Ashley, Maggi Payne, Chris Brown, WIGband with Johanna Poethig, George Lewis, William Winant, Mary Oliver and texts by Melody Sumner Carnahan.
Golden, Barbara
Not Dead Yet [CD+ 10 Postcards]
(fo'c'sle)
[Bonus Edition] Bay Area experimental music scene legend and multi-disciplinary artist Barabara Golden celebrates her 80th birthday presents works created between 1980-2020, including performances by Robert Ashley, Maggi Payne, Chris Brown, WIGband with Johanna Poethig, George Lewis, William Winant, Mary Oliver and texts by Melody Sumner Carnahan.
Powerdove
Bitter Banquet
(fo'c'sle)
Keyboardist Annie Lewandowski (London Improvisers Orchestra, Fred Frith, Samech) composed this song cycle about ancient Greek figures in collaboration with David Yearsley, Theresa Wong and Russell Greenberg, poetic pieces contrasting traditional use of instruments with subtle experimental approaches in a unique and fascinating set of compositional strategies.
Lijiang Quintet
Crossing A River By Rope
(fo'c'sle)
A rare and exuberant exchange of sonic discourse between Chinese and American improvisers recorded in the Yunnan Province of China at the Lijiang Studio artist residency, in a uniquely voiced quintet with Theresa Wong on cello & voice, Lao Dan on saxophone & bamboo instruments, John McCowen on clarinet & recorder, Li Xing on electric & acoustic guitars, and Deng Boyu on percussion & found objects.
Isotope Ensemble
Yttrium
(Creative Sources)
An incredible example of Creative Sources/Ernesto Rodrigues' large electroacoustic ensembles, blending acoustic and electronic sources in slow moving and subtle improvised works of a large scale, here with 12 musicians layering string, brass, keys, percussion, synth and computer into a mysterious harmonic and hallucinatory convergence of powerful intention.
Edwards, Michael
For Rei As A Doe (for piano and computer)
(Aural Terrains)
UK Composer Michael Edwards wrote these quiet compositions using his "slippery chicken" software, originally written as a challenge to pianist Rei Nakamura, in contrast to his technical skills, instead requiring pensive accuracy over a steady line of quiet chords.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Gantar, Miha
Amsterdam [5 CD BOX SET]
(Clean Feed)
The second box set from Slovenia-born pianist Miha Gantar, named for his adopted city of Amsterdam, through five CDs presenting the many aspects of chamber-oriented, refined jazz that he composes and improvises around, with one CD each of trio and quartet settings, a CD of duos with Michael Moore, an extended solo improvisation, and a dual piano work.
Rothenberg, Ned (w / Courvoisier / Halvorson / Fujiwara)
Crossings Four
(Clean Feed)
Crossing styles, generations and approaches to improvisations, multi-reedist and composer Ned Rothenberg's quartet of Rothenberg on clarinets & alto sax, Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, Mary Halvorson on guitar & effects and Tomas Fujiwara on drums perform five Rothenberg compositions and one by Rothenberg & Courvoisier, of spectacular timbral, rhythmic and melodic intersections.
Gintas K
Sound & Spaces #2
(Love Earth Music)
With albums on Creative Sources, Bolt and esc.rec., &c., Lithuanian sound artist working in the digital electronic realm Gintas K. releases a solo album of nine compositions for computer, midi keyboard & controller, using glitch, oddly punctuated rhythmic elements and alien sound sources for an oddly compelling album of slippery electronics and strange sonic environments.
Lambkin, Graham / James Rushford
Gondolas [2 CDs]
(erstwhile)
The first collaboration between electroacoustic composers and performers, Graham Lambkin (The Shadow Ring) from Kent, England and Australian composer, improviser and concrète collagist James Rushford, the two developing a series of fascinatingly mysterious and detailed sound compositions that incorporate live playing; beautifully packaged.
Zuydervelt, Rutger
Kaleiding (music for a performance by Lily&Janick)
(Machinefabriek)
Music by Dutch sound artist Rutger Zuydervelt, aka Machinefabriek, for a performance by Lily Schlinker and Janick Kremer, known as the contemporary circus company Lily & Janick, this performance using light, reflections and new perspectives onto partner acrobatics performed over a long mirror to create hypnotic, kaleidoscopic images, aptly complemented in Zuydervelt's music.
Blasco, Merche / Lucie Vitkova
Anette [2 CDs]
(XI Records)
An unusual pairing of effected accordion and a 3D printer from Czech accordionist living in NY, Lucie Vitkova, also performing on harmonica, Korg Volca Bass and Moog, and NY multimedia artist Merch Blasco, the album titled for the name of Blasco's 3D printer "Anette", which also printed the thimble-microphones she wears on her fingers to capture parts of this performance.
Meirino, Francisco / Jerome Noetinger
Drainage, In Six Parts
(Klanggalerie )
Recording in Switzerland at La Becque Residency Center, the experimental improvising duo of Francisco Meirino on synth & field recording and Jerome Noetinger using electronics, tape, reel to reel player & radio, create a 6-part series of unusual sonic interactions, patiently exposing unidentifiable sounds and synthetic punctuation, neither subtle nor explosive but wonderfully engaging.
Pisaro-Liu, Michael / Julia Holter
Tombstones: Live in Brooklyn
(Editions Verde)
Six songs from Michael Pisaro's "Tombstones" project--experimental songs developed from recontextualized fragments of popular songs--heard in this 2012 Brooklyn recording directed by guitarist Jason Brogan, with Julia Holter (voice), Tucker Dulin (trombone), Andrew Lafkas (bass), Katie Porter (clarinet), Sam Sfirri (piano and melodica), and Ron Wiltrout (keyboard & percussion).
Chefkirk / Crank Sturgeon
Nice To Err With You (2 CDs)
(Love Earth Music)
Bringing together two aberrant sound artist--Chefkirk, aka Roger Smith, based in Oregon; and Crank Sturgeon, aka Matt Anderson currently based in Massachusetts--for two CDs of rhythmic mayhem layered and punctuated with electronics and mutilated sounds from objects & voice, with beats that feign steadiness but derail in amusing and embraceable ways; weird fun! Mastered by Squidco's own Carl Kruger.
Sijstermans, Germaine / Koen Nutters / Reinier van Houdt
Circles, Reeds, and Memories
(elsewhere)
Composer & clarinetist based in Heerlen, Netherlands, Germaine Sijstermans, in a collaborative work with fellow Dutch composers and performers, Reinier van Houdt performing primarily on Indian harmonium and Koen Nutters on harmona organ, both employing field recordings, tapes, objects and sine waves in this peacefully meditative 2022 concert at Savelberg Chapel.
Coles, Dominic
Alphabets
(Tripticks Tapes)
A study of language through the repetition of fragmented sound, demonstrating how repetition brings alienation of meaning, Cole creating a synthetic alphabet within an unsignified musical context of electronic responses, repeated until the listener loses contact or reference to the original word; a challenging series of transformations rewarding to the engaged listener.
Fields, Scott Ensemble
Sand
(Relative Pitch)
Scott Field's 9-part Sands for 20 instrumentalists, three singers, and a conductor, in this case Fields himself, employs a modular performance system that integrates composition and improvisation, the conductor selecting modules from melodies, phasing patterns, long tones, improv elements, fragmented short stories, &c., spontaneously assigned live; a fascinating accomplishment.
Lopez Trio (Brandon Lopez / Steve Baczkowski / Gerald Cleaver)
Matanzas
(Relative Pitch)
"Matanzas" translates to "Killings", an apt description of this fiercely dark and propulsive free improv album from the NY trio led by bassist Brandon Lopez with saxophonist Steve Baczkowski and drummer/percussionist Gerald Cleaver, drawing unexpected and often malevolent sound from their instruments, particularly on the extended "Dithyramb, Sodomy, Salt".
Ensemble Dedalus + eRikm
Fata Morgana
(Relative Pitch)
Composed by erikM and performed with the Dedalus Ensemble, these pieces started through acousmographe recording of sounds outside of human hearing, transposed into notes and scored to be interpreted by musicians while immersed via headphone to mimic the sounds of cetaceans, then rearranged in the studio to create the annotated compositions heard on these carefully recorded compositions.
Radigue, Eliane
11 Dec 80 [2 CDs]
(Important Records)
The first release of electronic composer Éliane Radigue's 1980 live session for the Bay Area's KPFA radio, performing two works: a studio performance of "Chry-ptus", Radigue's work for asynchronous recordings on a Buchla Modular System; and the world premiere of Parts I through III of "Tryptych", an hallucinogenic work of sound and texture.
Davies, Rhodri
Trem
(Amgen Records)
Reissuing his 2003 album on the Confront label, Rhodri Davies' first solo album is a captivating set of uniquely voiced free improvisation, using a pedal harp, radio and tape recorders and percussive devices, and recorded in the natural resonance of All Angels, St Michael and All Angels Church in London, creating narrative and drama through Davie's intuitive sense of timing.
Lindsay, Arto
Charivari (Black Cross Solo Sessions 7)
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Contrasting the explosively experimental side to his guitar work honed through the No Wave band DNA with glimmers of the lyrical approaches to his work heard in his acclaimed songwriting albums, Brazlian/Downtown New York legend Arto Lindsay shows his wide range of interests through thirteen succinct pieces of noise and thoughtful reflection.
Tippetts, Julie / Martin Archer
Illusion [2 CDs]
(Discus)
Their first album after a 6-year break, the collaboration of vocalist Julie Tippetts and multi-reedist & electronic artist Martin Archer is heard in two distinct presentations: a large and stunningly complex suite with an ensemble of acoustic and electronic artists; and a sequence of 13 separate and contrasting songs, performed by various small groups drawn from the JTMA Ensemble.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC