AMM Thread (renamed)

[Hayao Yamaneko]

I only have the Laminal 3 disc set and Before driving to the chapel we took coffee with Rick and Jennifer Reed but the latter in particular I love. I was completely obsessed by it when I first heard it (at which point I'd not heard anything else like it). The thing I really hooked into at the time was the way I thought Tilbury's playing on that coffee disc often felt like it was solidifying contours and turning points out of the more ephemeral activity of the other two and then dissolving back into it - not like it was a foreground instrument so much as that it felt like the same material but given sharper contours. I really wanted to be able to play guitar in the same way and I tried for quite a while but I was never going to be disciplined/solid enough of a player even to pull off a shoddy imitation.

Agree with John that across those 4 discs it's generally when Prevost goes a bit jazzy that I like it least.

[negative potential]

They played a wonderful couple of sets recently at the Mikromusik Festival in Berlin, first set AMM, second set the A-Trio (Mazen Kerbaj & Sharif Sehnaoui & Raed Yassin), third set "AAMM" (AMM + A-Trio). Deutschlandradio Kultur broadcast an excerpt of the last set (alas, only an excerpt), which you can listen to here:

https://soundcloud.com/negativedialectics/aamm

Apologies for any truncations induced by the MP3 format.

[walto]

They played a wonderful couple of sets recently at the Mikromusik Festival in Berlin, first set AMM, second set the A-Trio (Mazen Kerbaj & Sharif Sehnaoui & Raed Yassin), third set "AAMM" (AMM + A-Trio). Deutschlandradio Kultur broadcast an excerpt of the last set (alas, only an excerpt), which you can listen to here:

https://soundcloud.com/negativedialectics/aamm

Apologies for any truncations induced by the MP3 format.

What's the current AMM personnel?

[jon abbey]

Prevost/Tilbury, same as it's been since Keith left in 2004.

and I believe there will be an actual AMM set in Nov or Dec at Huddersfield to mark their 50th anniversary, that will be the trio with Keith (not sure if it's been announced and not a hundred percent sure it is still happening).

[Nim Chimpsky]

Prevost/Tilbury, same as it's been since Keith left in 2004.

and I believe there will be an actual AMM set in Nov or Dec at Huddersfield to mark their 50th anniversary, that will be the trio with Keith (not sure if it's been announced and not a hundred percent sure it is still happening).

It's going to happen on Sunday 29th November, according to the HCMF website. I'll be there.

[negative potential]

It seemed kind of inevitable at this point, after Tilbury and Rowe getting together again for the disc on Potlatch and that new boxed set. Even if Rowe rejoining AMM is just a one-off for the festival, I hope there's at least a CD that comes of it.

I know I'm also in a minority on this, but I generally don't like most of Rowe's work since he left AMM, with the exception of a lot of the stuff he did that very year (Cloud on Erstwhile, the Rowe/Beins duo, the disc with Perlonex). Other than the aforementioned disc with Tilbury on Potlatch, I generally haven't liked his ultra-sparse, semi-conceptual turn. So I have hopes for this show.

[Hayao Yamaneko]

Of all the twists and turns in Keith Rowe's career, more even than the semi-conceptual stuff, this was the twist that surprised me most:

http://www.keithrowe.info/

I like his work in this context less than his ultraminimal period.

[yonhosago]

Of all the twists and turns in Keith Rowe's career, more even than the semi-conceptual stuff, this was the twist that surprised me most:

http://www.keithrowe.info/

I like his work in this context less than his ultraminimal period.

oh fuck
I almost cry

[negative potential]

Don't worry, Eddie Prevost will straighten things out!

On the door were a group of dockers organised by Mickey Fenn, Eddie Prevost and Bob Light from the Royal Group of Docks Shop Stewards Committee. Fenn and Prevost had left the Communist Party in 1972 and later joined Light in the International Socialists. Stewarding RAR events was to become an important activity for anti-fascists.

http://thequietus.com/articles/11246-ph ... sm-extract

[negative potential]

So, has Keith Rowe re-joined AMM permanently? This concert listing from Cafe Oto lists an upcoming concert by "Eddie Prévost / John Tilbury" rather than AMM; a hopeful sign that AMM is now Prévost/Rowe/Tilbury again?


https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/barre- ... y-day-one/

[joseghast]

Prevost/Tilbury, same as it's been since Keith left in 2004.

and I believe there will be an actual AMM set in Nov or Dec at Huddersfield to mark their 50th anniversary, that will be the trio with Keith (not sure if it's been announced and not a hundred percent sure it is still happening).

It's going to happen on Sunday 29th November, according to the HCMF website. I'll be there.

I'll be there too, is someone else from IHM going?

[Charon]

I'll be playing in Eddie's workshop group concert a couple of days before at HCMF, but I can't stay all the way through till the Sunday....

[Charon]

I'll be playing in Eddie's workshop group concert a couple of days before at HCMF, but I can't stay all the way through till the Sunday....

....but the trio AMM is playing again at Cafe Oto in early December!

[joseghast]

I'll be playing in Eddie's workshop group concert a couple of days before at HCMF, but I can't stay all the way through till the Sunday....

....but the trio AMM is playing again at Cafe Oto in early December!

Anyone knows if Rowe and Prevost reconciled their differences? Would this be the new AMM lineup?

[walto]

Anyone knows if Rowe and Prevost reconciled their differences? Would this be the new AMM lineup?

I'm curious about this myself. Prevost wrote so many nasty things about Rowe in his book.

[jon abbey]

I don't want to say for sure until actually talking to Keith about it, and I guess things could change depending on how these shows go, but I'd be stunned if Eddie and Keith ever play together again after these two shows. after I talk to Keith again, I'll post more info if there is more info to post.

personally I question why so many people want to hear trio AMM again. they were obviously amazing in their time, but I saw them seven times on their 2001 US tour, none of which were especially memorable, the arc had become formulaic. that was over 15 years ago, and if anything, Rowe and Prevost have only diverged more since then.

(anyone reading this, please note that I don't speak for Keith here and haven't talked to him directly about the reunion yet.)

[negative potential]

personally I question why so many people want to hear trio AMM again. they were obviously amazing in their time

You answered your own question.

Rowe and Prevost have only diverged more since then.

That's what makes things interesting.

[jon abbey]

yeah, it just seems like a really odd area for nostalgia from my perspective. for instance, Keith and Evan Parker played a night of duos on the last night of 1999 (released as Dark Rags on Potlatch), and it barely made sense at the time. when promoters asked them to do more duo sets in subsequent years, Keith said no because he didn't think it made sense. I am sure the only thing separating that from this from Keith's perspective is the long history of AMM, and specifically that this is their 50th anniversary, but musically it doesn't seem to make much sense.

but anyway, I'd say if you have your heart set on seeing trio AMM, figure out a way to get to one or both of these sets.

[negative potential]

but musically it doesn't seem to make much sense.

I don't think that's entirely true; Rowe's style for the last decade strikes me as extremely sparse, and I think the same can be said for Tilbury/Prevost. If you listen to some of the trio AMM recordings, like Combine + Laminates or From a Strange Place, one thing that sticks out for me is how _busy_ they are. Like, Newfoundland is normally nominated as their masterpiece (and I think I probably agree) and as the progenitor for the whole minimalist/eai/reductionist trend in improv, but compared to the rest of their discography, it's almost kind of anomalous. Whereas in the years since Rowe left AMM, they've all shifted to a much more restrained, quieter terrain.

but anyway, I'd say if you have your heart set on seeing trio AMM, figure out a way to get to one or both of these sets.

If I lived in the UK, I totally would, but I'm not fanatical enough to make a pilgrimage. I've seen all of these guys in various permutations over the years to be satisfied, but if the trio version came to Berlin, I'd definitely be the first in line.

[Tanner]

yeah, it just seems like a really odd area for nostalgia from my perspective. for instance, Keith and Evan Parker played a night of duos on the last night of 1999 (released as Dark Rags on Potlatch), and it barely made sense at the time. when promoters asked them to do more duo sets in subsequent years, Keith said no because he didn't think it made sense.

That's one of my least liked Rowe albums fwiw. Not sure I even have it anymore. Although, I generally find Parker's playing to be really boring (yes, yes, heresy for many) with some exceptions. Often too perfect and antiseptic.

I'm not sure I care if trio AMM get back together again. Not that I'm not very curious about what these shows will sound like. But there's a lot to be said for impermanence. And I say that as someone who never got to see the trio AMM.

I suppose this would be a better question for the Rowe thread, but has anyone heard the Tilbury/Rowe 4 cd release? It'll be a while before I snag a copy. But I'm curious.