article on VITAL WEEKLY 38S
article on VITAL WEEKLY 40S
interview for HALANA, usa [or download .pdf file 120k]
interview for XERXES, tokyo [or download .pdf file 68k]
interview for IMMERSE, uk [or download .pdf file 68k]
interview for WIRE, uk [or download .pdf file 80k]
interview for REVUE ET CORRIGÊE #29 [or download .pdf file 112k]
article on PERFECT SOUND FOREVER [or download .pdf file 16k]
interview for BLOW UP, italy [or download .pdf file 20k]
interview for IMMERSE, uk
NIGHT PASSAGES QUESTIONS FOR DEMIXERS
Questions for all re/demixers- Ryoji, Thomas, Brian and Bernhard.
Q: When and where did you first experience Alan's wire music? What were your initial feelings and impressions?
A: alan's cd was part of a selektion of dorobo cds he thought might be interesting to me that darrin verhagen sent me... i remember first being really curious to know what the original sources were like & how much of what i heard was an actual compositon. i was impressed by the kind of space that was opened by these sounds coming out of my stereo system & remember preferring the first piece over the second one, which seemed a little to "sweet" to me, although it was definitely the more composed work...
Q: Do you see the idea of wire recordings fitting into the history and traditions of experimental/industrial music or do you see it as a wholly separate endeavor?
A: i would think that the idea of wire-recordings absolutely fit into the tradition of experimental music - we might think of the italian futurists the french musique concrete artists, edgar varese or john cage: all of them thought that any sound can be either used to create music or be music...
Q: What were your thoughts when approached to attempt a remix of sorts on the original material and what are your feelings on the end product?
A: well, for me the idea of a re-mix was to use the source materials & compose a piece of my own - & when i first tried using them, this proved 100 times more difficult than i had originally thought: this material is so dense & rich that it seemed almost impossible to use it at all in different way than a documentary approach. so my ideas changed from a "simple" composition using the sources to a complete deconstruction/reconstruction strategy... which is why it is so hard to recognize any of the sources in the finished piece. i actually like the way it has turned out, even if it bears little resemblance with what it's supposed to be a remix of...
Q: Do you use field recordings in your own works? I know Brian and Thomas have and I suspect Bernard and Ryoji may but I apologise for my ignorance in this regard. What are the particular advantages of field or raw recordings being integrated into more instrument based material?
A: i rarely use field recordings & if i do, it will practically never be in a untreated, documentary way. the reason i do always treat sounds to make them unrecognizable is that i do not want listeners to try & attach names or concepts to the sounds i work with; the reason i rarely use treated field recordings is that for my taste, they carry too much of their own ambience - i very often transpuse things downward at large amounts & even a small room becomes a cathedral doing so... so i really try to use basic materials that are as dry as possible in term of reverb/ambience... by the way, the way you have worded your question makes me want to point out that i do not really make a difference between the way i use my materials, which are all sampled, & thus recordings, & an instrument (which the sampler is...). i guess this is because i do not come from a background of tape cutting/splicing techniques...
Q: Finally, could you each apprise me of your current and upcoming projects and works in progress? Also would you mind indicating if you are happy to participate in a full interview for a future issue of Immerse as we would like to feature each of you in more than a thumbnail manner as we have, necessarily, here.
A: my next release will be a collaboration cd with john duncan, titled home, unspeakable & come out early in november on my own label trente oiseaux. other than night passage, i have taken part in another remix project using the works of merzbow, which will come out soon on british label blast first. i'm currently working on a piece for french label metamkine's cinema pour l'oreille series & on a ballet music for compagnie vmt to be premiered in paris in april '97. my next remix project will be part of a project remixing pieces by rlw, which is the project of my firend ralf wehowsky & probaly see the light of day early next year on german label selektion.
article on VITAL WEEKLY 40S
interview for HALANA, usa [or download .pdf file 120k]
interview for XERXES, tokyo [or download .pdf file 68k]
interview for IMMERSE, uk [or download .pdf file 68k]
interview for WIRE, uk [or download .pdf file 80k]
interview for REVUE ET CORRIGÊE #29 [or download .pdf file 112k]
article on PERFECT SOUND FOREVER [or download .pdf file 16k]
interview for BLOW UP, italy [or download .pdf file 20k]
interview for IMMERSE, uk
NIGHT PASSAGES QUESTIONS FOR DEMIXERS
Questions for all re/demixers- Ryoji, Thomas, Brian and Bernhard.
Q: When and where did you first experience Alan's wire music? What were your initial feelings and impressions?
A: alan's cd was part of a selektion of dorobo cds he thought might be interesting to me that darrin verhagen sent me... i remember first being really curious to know what the original sources were like & how much of what i heard was an actual compositon. i was impressed by the kind of space that was opened by these sounds coming out of my stereo system & remember preferring the first piece over the second one, which seemed a little to "sweet" to me, although it was definitely the more composed work...
Q: Do you see the idea of wire recordings fitting into the history and traditions of experimental/industrial music or do you see it as a wholly separate endeavor?
A: i would think that the idea of wire-recordings absolutely fit into the tradition of experimental music - we might think of the italian futurists the french musique concrete artists, edgar varese or john cage: all of them thought that any sound can be either used to create music or be music...
Q: What were your thoughts when approached to attempt a remix of sorts on the original material and what are your feelings on the end product?
A: well, for me the idea of a re-mix was to use the source materials & compose a piece of my own - & when i first tried using them, this proved 100 times more difficult than i had originally thought: this material is so dense & rich that it seemed almost impossible to use it at all in different way than a documentary approach. so my ideas changed from a "simple" composition using the sources to a complete deconstruction/reconstruction strategy... which is why it is so hard to recognize any of the sources in the finished piece. i actually like the way it has turned out, even if it bears little resemblance with what it's supposed to be a remix of...
Q: Do you use field recordings in your own works? I know Brian and Thomas have and I suspect Bernard and Ryoji may but I apologise for my ignorance in this regard. What are the particular advantages of field or raw recordings being integrated into more instrument based material?
A: i rarely use field recordings & if i do, it will practically never be in a untreated, documentary way. the reason i do always treat sounds to make them unrecognizable is that i do not want listeners to try & attach names or concepts to the sounds i work with; the reason i rarely use treated field recordings is that for my taste, they carry too much of their own ambience - i very often transpuse things downward at large amounts & even a small room becomes a cathedral doing so... so i really try to use basic materials that are as dry as possible in term of reverb/ambience... by the way, the way you have worded your question makes me want to point out that i do not really make a difference between the way i use my materials, which are all sampled, & thus recordings, & an instrument (which the sampler is...). i guess this is because i do not come from a background of tape cutting/splicing techniques...
Q: Finally, could you each apprise me of your current and upcoming projects and works in progress? Also would you mind indicating if you are happy to participate in a full interview for a future issue of Immerse as we would like to feature each of you in more than a thumbnail manner as we have, necessarily, here.
A: my next release will be a collaboration cd with john duncan, titled home, unspeakable & come out early in november on my own label trente oiseaux. other than night passage, i have taken part in another remix project using the works of merzbow, which will come out soon on british label blast first. i'm currently working on a piece for french label metamkine's cinema pour l'oreille series & on a ballet music for compagnie vmt to be premiered in paris in april '97. my next remix project will be part of a project remixing pieces by rlw, which is the project of my firend ralf wehowsky & probaly see the light of day early next year on german label selektion.