It's funny because several lifetimes ago I played in 'Blowhole NW' for a few years, which at the time was mostly (but not always) an extremely loud, electric, full-on 'free noise' (not free jazz!) kind of thing, all instruments except drums and 'concussion' going through tons of distortion etc. He and I have been out of touch for lo these several lifetimes, for no good reason at all, but when I picture him it's still him going at a drumkit with absolutely everything he's got. So of course when I listen to his recordings, it's in some kind of oblique relation to that other music.
Anyway hello Jon and everyone, and thanks for the welcome -- yep, Berlin. I'm lucky to have a partner on a 1-yr DAAD artist residency...
One month with Jeph Jerman
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http://ek.klingt.org
http://ek.klingt.org
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Richard Pinnell
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Thanks guys for the above.
Just to be clear ( I was seriously overtired when I wrote those words last night) Open Mics is still pretty abstract, and we are not talking about a straight up improvised drumming album here. Only on some tracks are traditional instruments used, and the biggest voice on the whole disc is the room and its inhabitants.
Its just that compared to the 'found' instrumentation of the other items I've listened to I was just a little taken aback by and somewhat less interested to hear the marginally more recognisable sounds here.
Oh and I already had my suspicions Jules, unmasked indeed!
Just to be clear ( I was seriously overtired when I wrote those words last night) Open Mics is still pretty abstract, and we are not talking about a straight up improvised drumming album here. Only on some tracks are traditional instruments used, and the biggest voice on the whole disc is the room and its inhabitants.
Its just that compared to the 'found' instrumentation of the other items I've listened to I was just a little taken aback by and somewhat less interested to hear the marginally more recognisable sounds here.
Oh and I already had my suspicions Jules, unmasked indeed!
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Richard Pinnell
- Posts: 2629
- Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 6:12 pm
- Location: Oxfordshire, England
- Contact:
Day 21 – Jeph Jerman – More Sound (Field Recordings 2004) CDR
Back to more typical Jerman field recordings this evening, and some really nice relaxing listening again, but with that familiarity comes the problem of finding new or interesting things to say about this music.
Unsurprisingly, More Sound is the follow up to Sound that I listened to on Day 17. These recordings are quite recent from 2004 and the quality of the sound captured is pretty good, suggesting the use of mini disc rather than an analogue tape deck.
Like the Sound disc these are site specific field recordings taken from three different recording sessions. The first clutch of four tracks are very appealing. Recorded at a place called Red tank draw they open with a piece called Water (carp) which features a constant drip and trickle of water sounds that have a distinctly clockwork feel. I am not sure where the carp come into the equation as the only content seems to be that endlessly revolving water with very occasional birdsong and passing vehicles to remind you that you are listening to a field recording. Near the end of the six and a half minute track there is a brief flurry in the water and the dripping sounds halt, leaving just the twitter of the birds to end the recording in quite charming manner.
Birds can be heard in the distance on the second track, but they are on the whole shoved into the background here by the up close and unmistakable sound of a swarm of bees buzzing about the microphone. This is quite remarkable to listen to, taking on a similar feel to the Harvester Ants disc, placing your ears into a position they are unlikely to be familiar with and leaving your brain to sort out the messages it receives.
The bees seem to rush past the microphone, occasionally coming so close that their sound booms out of the mix.
‘Bees’ is followed without a pause by the third track ‘Flies’ which as the more astute may work out, is a similar recording of flies buzzing about the mic. The obvious questions about how on earth these recordings were set up and captured are forgotten if you are able to really focus on the sounds here. The flies provide either a swarming hum in the background or they assault the recording aggressively, making for an occasionally alarming recording that is difficult to listen to without feeling in some way under attack.
Interestingly though, I find myself remarking to myself subconsciously how different the two insects sound, how the flies have a harsher edge to their buzzing, compared to the more streamlined hum of the bees.
Track four, ‘Leaf’ is very short, a short passage of clicks and thuds as presumably a leaf is brought somehow to bear on the microphone.
Track five is the only track here recorded at home. ‘Rain amp’ is rather beautiful, the sound of rain pattering against a hard surface (maybe an amplifier?) outside again with the chatter of birds and the swoop of aircraft to keep the recording in its context. As the twelve minute track moves on the rain slowly subsides until it is cut viciously short in customary Jerman manner.
The last four tracks, recorded somewhere called Cornville are a varied bag. The first, mysteriously titled Vlf one (Bill Gray Rd) is a ten minute long series of crunchy, uneven static that reminds me of the stark abrasive textures sometimes produced by Mark Wastell and others working in an EAI context. It is hard to place this track’s origins as it is abstracted to such a degree but it is pleasing to the ear and works well offsetting the warm melancholic feel of the preceding piece.
Oak creek pipe is a long eighteen minute piece featuring drunken, askew water sounds filtered through a pipe. I find this track a little harder to enjoy, the hard springy sounds are recorded closely and vary little, making it difficult to maintain concentration across the lengthy duration.
Cornville Bridge however, the penultimate track on the disc is an inspired work. It seems to be a recording made (I am guessing) underneath a bridge that contains some sort of flaw in the road that causes a popping noise every time a car passes over. The bridge is quite busy and the road vibrates smoothly as a car approaches, barks out the inevitable pop when it reaches the centre, and then dies away gently again.
This recording sounds very musical, not ever suggesting rhythm as the cars are spaced apart erratically but containing an odd structure that makes it easy to forget the true context of the recording and listen to this as pure sound.
The final short track, Windmill Park is equally charming. Initially only the subsonic ripples of the wind can be heard, until a distant whining machinery can be heard. I am guessing this is the arms of the windmill turning, adding a repetitive circular squealing to the bass notes of the wind. This track hints at the constant tension that occurs when manmade structures meet with the forces of nature but shows that together they can work in harmony to create something beautiful.
The recordings on More Sound are the work of a wonderfully attentive ear. I am beginning to take the selection of sounds for granted with Jerman’s work, but it is important to stop and remember that before the record button is pressed, these sounds have already been witnessed with the naked ear and selected to be captured for posterity. That selection process takes great skill and creativity, and this disc is one of the best examples.
Back to more typical Jerman field recordings this evening, and some really nice relaxing listening again, but with that familiarity comes the problem of finding new or interesting things to say about this music.
Unsurprisingly, More Sound is the follow up to Sound that I listened to on Day 17. These recordings are quite recent from 2004 and the quality of the sound captured is pretty good, suggesting the use of mini disc rather than an analogue tape deck.
Like the Sound disc these are site specific field recordings taken from three different recording sessions. The first clutch of four tracks are very appealing. Recorded at a place called Red tank draw they open with a piece called Water (carp) which features a constant drip and trickle of water sounds that have a distinctly clockwork feel. I am not sure where the carp come into the equation as the only content seems to be that endlessly revolving water with very occasional birdsong and passing vehicles to remind you that you are listening to a field recording. Near the end of the six and a half minute track there is a brief flurry in the water and the dripping sounds halt, leaving just the twitter of the birds to end the recording in quite charming manner.
Birds can be heard in the distance on the second track, but they are on the whole shoved into the background here by the up close and unmistakable sound of a swarm of bees buzzing about the microphone. This is quite remarkable to listen to, taking on a similar feel to the Harvester Ants disc, placing your ears into a position they are unlikely to be familiar with and leaving your brain to sort out the messages it receives.
The bees seem to rush past the microphone, occasionally coming so close that their sound booms out of the mix.
‘Bees’ is followed without a pause by the third track ‘Flies’ which as the more astute may work out, is a similar recording of flies buzzing about the mic. The obvious questions about how on earth these recordings were set up and captured are forgotten if you are able to really focus on the sounds here. The flies provide either a swarming hum in the background or they assault the recording aggressively, making for an occasionally alarming recording that is difficult to listen to without feeling in some way under attack.
Interestingly though, I find myself remarking to myself subconsciously how different the two insects sound, how the flies have a harsher edge to their buzzing, compared to the more streamlined hum of the bees.
Track four, ‘Leaf’ is very short, a short passage of clicks and thuds as presumably a leaf is brought somehow to bear on the microphone.
Track five is the only track here recorded at home. ‘Rain amp’ is rather beautiful, the sound of rain pattering against a hard surface (maybe an amplifier?) outside again with the chatter of birds and the swoop of aircraft to keep the recording in its context. As the twelve minute track moves on the rain slowly subsides until it is cut viciously short in customary Jerman manner.
The last four tracks, recorded somewhere called Cornville are a varied bag. The first, mysteriously titled Vlf one (Bill Gray Rd) is a ten minute long series of crunchy, uneven static that reminds me of the stark abrasive textures sometimes produced by Mark Wastell and others working in an EAI context. It is hard to place this track’s origins as it is abstracted to such a degree but it is pleasing to the ear and works well offsetting the warm melancholic feel of the preceding piece.
Oak creek pipe is a long eighteen minute piece featuring drunken, askew water sounds filtered through a pipe. I find this track a little harder to enjoy, the hard springy sounds are recorded closely and vary little, making it difficult to maintain concentration across the lengthy duration.
Cornville Bridge however, the penultimate track on the disc is an inspired work. It seems to be a recording made (I am guessing) underneath a bridge that contains some sort of flaw in the road that causes a popping noise every time a car passes over. The bridge is quite busy and the road vibrates smoothly as a car approaches, barks out the inevitable pop when it reaches the centre, and then dies away gently again.
This recording sounds very musical, not ever suggesting rhythm as the cars are spaced apart erratically but containing an odd structure that makes it easy to forget the true context of the recording and listen to this as pure sound.
The final short track, Windmill Park is equally charming. Initially only the subsonic ripples of the wind can be heard, until a distant whining machinery can be heard. I am guessing this is the arms of the windmill turning, adding a repetitive circular squealing to the bass notes of the wind. This track hints at the constant tension that occurs when manmade structures meet with the forces of nature but shows that together they can work in harmony to create something beautiful.
The recordings on More Sound are the work of a wonderfully attentive ear. I am beginning to take the selection of sounds for granted with Jerman’s work, but it is important to stop and remember that before the record button is pressed, these sounds have already been witnessed with the naked ear and selected to be captured for posterity. That selection process takes great skill and creativity, and this disc is one of the best examples.
richard.
here are a couple of great sites about VLF phenomenon and recording, etc.
http://www.auroralchorus.com/" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
http://spaceweather.com/glossary/inspire.html" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
there is also an alvin lucier piece called 'sferics' which primarily utilizes the sounds of VLF signals.
great crackly stuff.
-gd
[quote="Richard Pinnell"]Day 21 – Jeph Jerman – More Sound (Field Recordings 2004) CDR
here are a couple of great sites about VLF phenomenon and recording, etc.
http://www.auroralchorus.com/" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
http://spaceweather.com/glossary/inspire.html" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
there is also an alvin lucier piece called 'sferics' which primarily utilizes the sounds of VLF signals.
great crackly stuff.
-gd
[quote="Richard Pinnell"]Day 21 – Jeph Jerman – More Sound (Field Recordings 2004) CDR
i have only two Jerman cds, and one of them is 'flatline' by Hands To. and i'm listening to it right now, i like it a lot. and i can't wait til you get to Hands To material, because it doesn't sound like the stuff you posted so far at all, and the sources are completely different (i suspect with other Hand To stuff also). i suppose the effect will be completely different to.
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user_827
I was at Red Tank Draw in person yesterday.....taking photos and listening. And came to the conclusion, that listening via recording eliminates the bug bites!! But....still would rather do it that way.
And I was wondering, while sitting there, when do we loose the art of listening? As children, the innate wonder of all things visual and auditory leads as on a perptual journey of exploration. When does that stop as we "grow up" and why? And is it just a 'civilized' culture that losses it?
And I was wondering, while sitting there, when do we loose the art of listening? As children, the innate wonder of all things visual and auditory leads as on a perptual journey of exploration. When does that stop as we "grow up" and why? And is it just a 'civilized' culture that losses it?
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Richard Pinnell
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Day 22 – Jeph Jerman – Sound in Rooms, Seattle Nov 15th 1996, Jan 11th 1997. CDR
“This is electronic music. I have already created everything. There are no interpreters here tonight. Do not worry about how this music is made. I suggest you close the eyes and just listen”
~Karlheinz Stockhausen, introducing Kontakte on stage in London this evening, 22.10.05
I chose to listen to and write about today’s Jeph Jerman disc whilst making the journey home from the above Stockhausen performance that took place in the main hall of the old Billingsgate fish market on the north bank of the Thames in Central London.
This isn’t a Stockhausen review, so I will not talk about the music at the concert, but it is important to mention the way I felt upon leaving the hall.
There must have been verging on a thousand people sat silently and motionless in darkness with nothing to see for nearly two hours this evening. The nature of the performance left us with nothing to do but listen. The silent attention of so many people in one space at one time was really quite remarkable, its been a long while since I last witnessed this on such a scale.
So as I joined the throng of people filing from the building my ears were already finely tuned to what was happening around me and my attention was pretty much focussed aurally. I put on my headphones and started to play Sound in Rooms, Seattle at full volume during the slow shuffle towards the street.
The immediate blast of tape hiss filled my ears for a second, taking my full attention until my brain had a chance to process everything thrown at it at once and the excited chatter of the departing audience merged back in around me. As I fell out onto the busy street the sounds around me pushed Jerman into the background. His pattern of chinking stones or shells pin-pricked the background as the persistent tape hiss fought with the roar of the passing late traffic, night buses clattering over loose manhole covers and a chorus of diesel taxi engines turning over together as they wait at a red light.
The intimacy and restraint of the first track of the three on this recording became evident for the first time as I turned a corner into a back street and headed into London’s financial district, but this was short lived as I passed a wine bar with an open front and the thud of bad dance music and the throb of chatter mixed with random laughter took front stage for a few moments.
Moving on towards the tube station the music on the CD fills my ears again as I walk along streets lined with the shining headquarters of various banking corporations, fallen deadly silent at the weekend, waiting for someone to press the Play button again on Monday morning. A tiny clattering of ceramic sounding objects blends into the distant hum of the city, with only a stray car passing by during a momentary break in Jerman’s playing, almost providing counterpoint to his finely detailed sound world.
As I drop down the stairs leading into the tube station the city dies away and for a few moments the music only has to compete with the echo of my footsteps around the tiled walls before I turn a corner and join a small crowd of people lead by a quiet chatter of Spanish conversation as we board the escalator.
The first track comes to an end as I take a seat on the platform and a moment’s silence breaks through before the second track starts up and the tape noise returns. This second piece emerges as patterns of dry chiming clusters, perhaps pieces of glass or pottery being knocked together, for a brief moment giving me a flashback to an old out of tune windchime an ex girlfriend had hanging above her back door.
These gentle but continual patterns continue to take my attention until suddenly everything is consumed by the tumultuous arrival of my train into the platform. For the next 20 minutes the music on the CD is left gasping for air as a distant crackle amongst the thunder of the train across the tracks, the irritating computerised station announcements and the laughter of a bunch of drunken club goers along the carriage.
It is whilst sat here on the tube train that I realise that I remember very little visually about the walk from the concert hall, my concentration having been taken up with the documentation of aural events. It seems to me that we listen better and remain focussed easier if we shut out the other outside stimuli provided by our rival senses.
One thing I did remember on the way out of the venue was a woman that had stopped walking and stood motionless whilst talking on a mobile phone. Are we able to listen better if we do not trouble our brain with unnecessary motion? If we follow Maestro Stockhausen’s instructions and close our eyes at a concert do we listen more attentively? Can we strain our ears harder to listen closer? Or do we listen the same, but simplify the messages to our brain by shutting out the other four senses?
After leaving the tube train at Paddington the music in my ears suddenly bursts back into my attentions, partly because the sound of the train is swallowed up by the tunnel behind me, and partially because as track three begins Jerman turns again to the loud whirring noises he creates by moving something hollow in a circular movement through the air.
This sound is loud and for a short while quite jarring, the rhythmic motion interplaying with the screech of a tired escalator that takes me up to the massive mainline railway station above.
Noting that a train is due to leave very soon I walk fast across the concourse with the sound of my own blood rushing through my veins filling my ears as Jerman’s music dies away to a near silent rustle of wood and leaves. I listen to the last eight minutes of this lovely piece of music as the train pulls out of London and I push the headphones firmly into my ears to give the music a chance against the clamour of the train charging across the tracks.
I nearly make it right the way through the disc again before I get off the train at my town. Immediately as I leave the station building the music becomes all encompassing again as I walk across the completely empty car park. I sit in the peace of my car without turning on the engine and hear out the last five minutes of the disc as a nice scraping sound similar to tape being pulled from a rough surface mixes with a gentle jingling of what sounds like shells.
I am now home and Sound in Rooms, Seattle is playing softly in the background as I type. In a moment I will turn off the CD player, silence the computer and allow my ears to settle on the sounds of an empty house at two o’clock in the morning, their job well done for tonight.
“This is electronic music. I have already created everything. There are no interpreters here tonight. Do not worry about how this music is made. I suggest you close the eyes and just listen”
~Karlheinz Stockhausen, introducing Kontakte on stage in London this evening, 22.10.05
I chose to listen to and write about today’s Jeph Jerman disc whilst making the journey home from the above Stockhausen performance that took place in the main hall of the old Billingsgate fish market on the north bank of the Thames in Central London.
This isn’t a Stockhausen review, so I will not talk about the music at the concert, but it is important to mention the way I felt upon leaving the hall.
There must have been verging on a thousand people sat silently and motionless in darkness with nothing to see for nearly two hours this evening. The nature of the performance left us with nothing to do but listen. The silent attention of so many people in one space at one time was really quite remarkable, its been a long while since I last witnessed this on such a scale.
So as I joined the throng of people filing from the building my ears were already finely tuned to what was happening around me and my attention was pretty much focussed aurally. I put on my headphones and started to play Sound in Rooms, Seattle at full volume during the slow shuffle towards the street.
The immediate blast of tape hiss filled my ears for a second, taking my full attention until my brain had a chance to process everything thrown at it at once and the excited chatter of the departing audience merged back in around me. As I fell out onto the busy street the sounds around me pushed Jerman into the background. His pattern of chinking stones or shells pin-pricked the background as the persistent tape hiss fought with the roar of the passing late traffic, night buses clattering over loose manhole covers and a chorus of diesel taxi engines turning over together as they wait at a red light.
The intimacy and restraint of the first track of the three on this recording became evident for the first time as I turned a corner into a back street and headed into London’s financial district, but this was short lived as I passed a wine bar with an open front and the thud of bad dance music and the throb of chatter mixed with random laughter took front stage for a few moments.
Moving on towards the tube station the music on the CD fills my ears again as I walk along streets lined with the shining headquarters of various banking corporations, fallen deadly silent at the weekend, waiting for someone to press the Play button again on Monday morning. A tiny clattering of ceramic sounding objects blends into the distant hum of the city, with only a stray car passing by during a momentary break in Jerman’s playing, almost providing counterpoint to his finely detailed sound world.
As I drop down the stairs leading into the tube station the city dies away and for a few moments the music only has to compete with the echo of my footsteps around the tiled walls before I turn a corner and join a small crowd of people lead by a quiet chatter of Spanish conversation as we board the escalator.
The first track comes to an end as I take a seat on the platform and a moment’s silence breaks through before the second track starts up and the tape noise returns. This second piece emerges as patterns of dry chiming clusters, perhaps pieces of glass or pottery being knocked together, for a brief moment giving me a flashback to an old out of tune windchime an ex girlfriend had hanging above her back door.
These gentle but continual patterns continue to take my attention until suddenly everything is consumed by the tumultuous arrival of my train into the platform. For the next 20 minutes the music on the CD is left gasping for air as a distant crackle amongst the thunder of the train across the tracks, the irritating computerised station announcements and the laughter of a bunch of drunken club goers along the carriage.
It is whilst sat here on the tube train that I realise that I remember very little visually about the walk from the concert hall, my concentration having been taken up with the documentation of aural events. It seems to me that we listen better and remain focussed easier if we shut out the other outside stimuli provided by our rival senses.
One thing I did remember on the way out of the venue was a woman that had stopped walking and stood motionless whilst talking on a mobile phone. Are we able to listen better if we do not trouble our brain with unnecessary motion? If we follow Maestro Stockhausen’s instructions and close our eyes at a concert do we listen more attentively? Can we strain our ears harder to listen closer? Or do we listen the same, but simplify the messages to our brain by shutting out the other four senses?
After leaving the tube train at Paddington the music in my ears suddenly bursts back into my attentions, partly because the sound of the train is swallowed up by the tunnel behind me, and partially because as track three begins Jerman turns again to the loud whirring noises he creates by moving something hollow in a circular movement through the air.
This sound is loud and for a short while quite jarring, the rhythmic motion interplaying with the screech of a tired escalator that takes me up to the massive mainline railway station above.
Noting that a train is due to leave very soon I walk fast across the concourse with the sound of my own blood rushing through my veins filling my ears as Jerman’s music dies away to a near silent rustle of wood and leaves. I listen to the last eight minutes of this lovely piece of music as the train pulls out of London and I push the headphones firmly into my ears to give the music a chance against the clamour of the train charging across the tracks.
I nearly make it right the way through the disc again before I get off the train at my town. Immediately as I leave the station building the music becomes all encompassing again as I walk across the completely empty car park. I sit in the peace of my car without turning on the engine and hear out the last five minutes of the disc as a nice scraping sound similar to tape being pulled from a rough surface mixes with a gentle jingling of what sounds like shells.
I am now home and Sound in Rooms, Seattle is playing softly in the background as I type. In a moment I will turn off the CD player, silence the computer and allow my ears to settle on the sounds of an empty house at two o’clock in the morning, their job well done for tonight.
Brilliant stuff Richard. This last one is the best yet. I'm really enjoying your writings and will be upset when October is over. Your image off the City being turned off until someone pressed "play" on Monday is absolutely on the money (no pun intended)!
Are you going to tell us elsewhere about the Stockhausen? Until you mentioned it on Thursday I didn't know it was on, else I'd have tried to make it.
Are you going to tell us elsewhere about the Stockhausen? Until you mentioned it on Thursday I didn't know it was on, else I'd have tried to make it.
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Richard Pinnell
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Thanks Alastair, good to know theres one or two people reading this.
I'll try and scribble something (can you scribble with a keyboard?) about the Stockhausen show in an IHM thread soon. I am no Stockhausen expert, but I found the show pretty amazing, if only for the enormity of the whole thing.
Not surprised you missed it though, I saw nothing in the usual press, I had it pointed out to me by Robert (thanks Hatta) and I seem to have grabbed one of the last tickets available as it was sold out hours later despite the ludicrous ticket price (£35!)
I'll try and scribble something (can you scribble with a keyboard?) about the Stockhausen show in an IHM thread soon. I am no Stockhausen expert, but I found the show pretty amazing, if only for the enormity of the whole thing.
Not surprised you missed it though, I saw nothing in the usual press, I had it pointed out to me by Robert (thanks Hatta) and I seem to have grabbed one of the last tickets available as it was sold out hours later despite the ludicrous ticket price (£35!)
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Richard Pinnell
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- Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 6:12 pm
- Location: Oxfordshire, England
- Contact:
Day 23 – Hands To – Flatline CDR
Hands To is a name used by Jeph Jerman between 1987 and approximately 1999. This CDR is a re-release by Jerman of an old Hands To cassette tape release from 1989. The music on Flatline is a distance away from the finely tuned approach to music and sound he has developed in recent years, but it is nevertheless an interesting and slightly unsettling disc to listen to.
Amongst the brief notes printed in ridiculously small type on a scrap of paper inside the jewel case Jerman explains that the title makes reference to two meanings for the term flatline. As a musical term it describes a perfectly smooth, constant sound, the like of which can never be found naturally. In medical terms flatline refers to the single straight line seen on a hospital monitor screen when a person has passed away.
According to the notes, the sixteen tracks here are attempts by Jerman to ‘flatline’ sounds made by, or associated with people no longer living.
I first heard this disc driving home from work this afternoon, slipping the CD into the player whilst moving and therefore paying no attention to the microscopic notes inside the case. My first impressions were favourable, although not overly so, placing all of my judgement in the sound alone as I have become accustomed to doing with Jerman’s work.
Flatline resembles to some degree much of the early dark ambient sounds that were just beginning to flourish at the end of the eighties, and the influence of the early Industrial cassette tape scenes seems to be present here. At the same time though there is a stripped down simplicity to the music. In some places, such as the cloudy lo-fi looping drones of track twelve there is nothing happening beyond this sound.
Once home and after reading the notes the music takes on a more uncomfortable feel. In places voices can be heard, often distorted into incomprehension, occasionally able to be understood, but never for very long. Most of the sounds are reduced to slowly revolving loops of low grade murmuring drift, developing little over their course.
Around this time Jerman was recording straight to tape without the luxury of four track using a primitive sampler and tape loops to create this music. The recording quality is therefore not the best, but the murkiness of the sound adds to the overall feel of the recording.
Jerman states in the notes that these are not musical compositions, more experiments designed to express the characteristics and feelings he held of the people from whom the sounds originate. Listening through a few times after reading the notes I can sense a strong emotive feel to the recordings, but it interests me that without knowing this context I did not feel the same. The sounds are on the whole bleak and austere, the emotions this disc project to me are not positive ones, but perhaps this was the intention.
I also find it interesting that despite the statement distancing these pieces from composition, they generally contain more musical structure than the later works. Some of the tracks on Flatline have discernable openings and ‘real’ endings to them, fades etc, rather than the more familiar practice of just pressing the stop button on the tape deck.
In many ways my eventual approach to this disc has been the opposite of my experiences listening to more recent Jerman works. Throughout this month I have slowly learnt to try and remove all context and preconceived understanding of the sounds I listen to, focussing purely on the sound, its detail, its inherent beauty and how it blends with the environment that surrounds me. With Flatline however this ‘music’ took on a much deeper meaning for me only after I had read the liner notes and some clarity was given to the context of the recording. This difference has seen me alter my approach to this music dramatically.
Flatline is a deeply involved, subtle work that stands the test of time very well but seems different enough in its approach and frame of reference to suggest it is a separate project with very different aims to Jerman’s output from recent years.
Hands To is a name used by Jeph Jerman between 1987 and approximately 1999. This CDR is a re-release by Jerman of an old Hands To cassette tape release from 1989. The music on Flatline is a distance away from the finely tuned approach to music and sound he has developed in recent years, but it is nevertheless an interesting and slightly unsettling disc to listen to.
Amongst the brief notes printed in ridiculously small type on a scrap of paper inside the jewel case Jerman explains that the title makes reference to two meanings for the term flatline. As a musical term it describes a perfectly smooth, constant sound, the like of which can never be found naturally. In medical terms flatline refers to the single straight line seen on a hospital monitor screen when a person has passed away.
According to the notes, the sixteen tracks here are attempts by Jerman to ‘flatline’ sounds made by, or associated with people no longer living.
I first heard this disc driving home from work this afternoon, slipping the CD into the player whilst moving and therefore paying no attention to the microscopic notes inside the case. My first impressions were favourable, although not overly so, placing all of my judgement in the sound alone as I have become accustomed to doing with Jerman’s work.
Flatline resembles to some degree much of the early dark ambient sounds that were just beginning to flourish at the end of the eighties, and the influence of the early Industrial cassette tape scenes seems to be present here. At the same time though there is a stripped down simplicity to the music. In some places, such as the cloudy lo-fi looping drones of track twelve there is nothing happening beyond this sound.
Once home and after reading the notes the music takes on a more uncomfortable feel. In places voices can be heard, often distorted into incomprehension, occasionally able to be understood, but never for very long. Most of the sounds are reduced to slowly revolving loops of low grade murmuring drift, developing little over their course.
Around this time Jerman was recording straight to tape without the luxury of four track using a primitive sampler and tape loops to create this music. The recording quality is therefore not the best, but the murkiness of the sound adds to the overall feel of the recording.
Jerman states in the notes that these are not musical compositions, more experiments designed to express the characteristics and feelings he held of the people from whom the sounds originate. Listening through a few times after reading the notes I can sense a strong emotive feel to the recordings, but it interests me that without knowing this context I did not feel the same. The sounds are on the whole bleak and austere, the emotions this disc project to me are not positive ones, but perhaps this was the intention.
I also find it interesting that despite the statement distancing these pieces from composition, they generally contain more musical structure than the later works. Some of the tracks on Flatline have discernable openings and ‘real’ endings to them, fades etc, rather than the more familiar practice of just pressing the stop button on the tape deck.
In many ways my eventual approach to this disc has been the opposite of my experiences listening to more recent Jerman works. Throughout this month I have slowly learnt to try and remove all context and preconceived understanding of the sounds I listen to, focussing purely on the sound, its detail, its inherent beauty and how it blends with the environment that surrounds me. With Flatline however this ‘music’ took on a much deeper meaning for me only after I had read the liner notes and some clarity was given to the context of the recording. This difference has seen me alter my approach to this music dramatically.
Flatline is a deeply involved, subtle work that stands the test of time very well but seems different enough in its approach and frame of reference to suggest it is a separate project with very different aims to Jerman’s output from recent years.
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Richard Pinnell
- Posts: 2629
- Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 6:12 pm
- Location: Oxfordshire, England
- Contact:
Day 24 – Jeph Jerman – Soundhouse 2 CDR
I have noticed that when I am tired I do not have a problem listening to music in an attentive manner, but I seem to have real problems sitting and typing my thoughts on them afterwards. Tonight I am seriously tired yet again after a very long tough day so we shall see how this goes...
The first two pieces on today’s disc Soundhouse 2 continue where Soundhouse 1 left off right back on day 1. They are described as recordings made of a window amp installation, which is a bit of a mystery to me, but on this first track at least it sounds like a microphone has been left beside an open window.
That said, listening closer reveals something more buried amongst the ambient sounds of everyday life in Cottonwood, Arizona. There are patterns of rotating wooden sounds also to be heard here in between the ceaseless chatter of tress full of exotic sounding birds and the far off drone of a busy road. These wooden sounds merge seamlessly into the overall audio picture, but they do not belong there as such. I am not sure how this recording was made, but it is possible that the ‘installation’ involved a tape playing of pre-recorded material beside the microphone as it captures the outside world. This is my guess anyway.
The natural effect of this first piece is to make the listener challenge every sound and wonder about its origins. The easy way out of being able to merely accept this as a field recording of Jeph’s back porch is not possible and I find myself trying to decode every rustle, and second guess every sound I think I can easily recognise. I have really had to force myself to stop making these distinctions and just enjoy the act of listening to the sounds coming from my speakers.
The second track appears to be similarly made (I really must stress that I don’t have a clue and am making educated guesses here) but the window seems to be shut for this second piece as cars can be heard passing and the birds singing, but in a very muffled distant manner.
The main sounds in the piece seem to be made up of a recording of water dripping and the sound of heavy winds passing through piping of some type, but again I am not sure how correct I am or what is recording and what is not. This piece is at the end of the day very nice to listen to, on the surface very simple and made up of two basic elements, but close listening reveals all kind of subtle nuances and familiar sounds, at one point footsteps on uncertain floorboards can be heard approaching, followed by a brittle rustling of something like a sweet wrapper before all falls silent again.
At eleven minutes something electric is turned on nearby that emits a low soft hum and then a small collection of stones are rattled about, blending with the sound of the wind and the drips of water, further confusing this listener over which sounds were on tape and which were recorded ‘real time’.
Three quarters of the way through this rather extraordinary half an hour long piece human activity is obvious again as someone moves about the room, loud bangs suggest windows being closed and doors shut tightly, but these sounds all just become part of the whole.
There then follows a series of very brief ‘tracks’ made up of fragments taken from Jerman’s telephone answering machine. These parts feature the recordings left by callers and the musical answering message left by Jerman for those that call. The only message left intact long enough to really decipher tells the sad tale of someone that had organised and played an Animist Orchestra performance without Jeph, but was pretty disappointed with the result, and his fellow performer’s inability to really listen.
I am not sure about the purpose of these pieces, they do little for me beyond providing me with a subtle reminder to listen that little bit more carefully!
The final twenty four minute piece returns to the pattern of the first two tracks. The same revolving wooden sound can be heard behind the sound of some pretty persistent birds, (I am tempted to say that this track sounds like early evening in comparison to the afternoon sounds of track 1 but again I may be wrong)
At just after the eight minute mark the sounds of the birds cut out instantly, suggesting that either the window has been closed or the tape has been stopped. I would suspect the former. The sounds that remain are similar to those in track 2, disembodied rustling over the microphone suggests the wind and the looping wooden sounds remain.
With ten minutes remaining one of the humming sounds in the background cuts out and the remaining elements become more sparse, clusters of wooden clatter and the wind-like distortion are all that remain. Eventually the sounds all die away leaving a quiet mechanical hum that could be just be the recorder capturing its own mechanisms remains before things cut dead again and the CD ends.
So here I have just found myself trying to describe how this music sounds in words again. This is my natural response when tired, and shows why it is probably not a good idea to try and write a new review every evening. This has been an intriguing and confusing, but ultimately rewarding piece of music to listen to. I would be interested to hear if others are familiar with this disc and if they had really stopped to wonder about the sounds involved and how much they all belonged together.
I have noticed that when I am tired I do not have a problem listening to music in an attentive manner, but I seem to have real problems sitting and typing my thoughts on them afterwards. Tonight I am seriously tired yet again after a very long tough day so we shall see how this goes...
The first two pieces on today’s disc Soundhouse 2 continue where Soundhouse 1 left off right back on day 1. They are described as recordings made of a window amp installation, which is a bit of a mystery to me, but on this first track at least it sounds like a microphone has been left beside an open window.
That said, listening closer reveals something more buried amongst the ambient sounds of everyday life in Cottonwood, Arizona. There are patterns of rotating wooden sounds also to be heard here in between the ceaseless chatter of tress full of exotic sounding birds and the far off drone of a busy road. These wooden sounds merge seamlessly into the overall audio picture, but they do not belong there as such. I am not sure how this recording was made, but it is possible that the ‘installation’ involved a tape playing of pre-recorded material beside the microphone as it captures the outside world. This is my guess anyway.
The natural effect of this first piece is to make the listener challenge every sound and wonder about its origins. The easy way out of being able to merely accept this as a field recording of Jeph’s back porch is not possible and I find myself trying to decode every rustle, and second guess every sound I think I can easily recognise. I have really had to force myself to stop making these distinctions and just enjoy the act of listening to the sounds coming from my speakers.
The second track appears to be similarly made (I really must stress that I don’t have a clue and am making educated guesses here) but the window seems to be shut for this second piece as cars can be heard passing and the birds singing, but in a very muffled distant manner.
The main sounds in the piece seem to be made up of a recording of water dripping and the sound of heavy winds passing through piping of some type, but again I am not sure how correct I am or what is recording and what is not. This piece is at the end of the day very nice to listen to, on the surface very simple and made up of two basic elements, but close listening reveals all kind of subtle nuances and familiar sounds, at one point footsteps on uncertain floorboards can be heard approaching, followed by a brittle rustling of something like a sweet wrapper before all falls silent again.
At eleven minutes something electric is turned on nearby that emits a low soft hum and then a small collection of stones are rattled about, blending with the sound of the wind and the drips of water, further confusing this listener over which sounds were on tape and which were recorded ‘real time’.
Three quarters of the way through this rather extraordinary half an hour long piece human activity is obvious again as someone moves about the room, loud bangs suggest windows being closed and doors shut tightly, but these sounds all just become part of the whole.
There then follows a series of very brief ‘tracks’ made up of fragments taken from Jerman’s telephone answering machine. These parts feature the recordings left by callers and the musical answering message left by Jerman for those that call. The only message left intact long enough to really decipher tells the sad tale of someone that had organised and played an Animist Orchestra performance without Jeph, but was pretty disappointed with the result, and his fellow performer’s inability to really listen.
I am not sure about the purpose of these pieces, they do little for me beyond providing me with a subtle reminder to listen that little bit more carefully!
The final twenty four minute piece returns to the pattern of the first two tracks. The same revolving wooden sound can be heard behind the sound of some pretty persistent birds, (I am tempted to say that this track sounds like early evening in comparison to the afternoon sounds of track 1 but again I may be wrong)
At just after the eight minute mark the sounds of the birds cut out instantly, suggesting that either the window has been closed or the tape has been stopped. I would suspect the former. The sounds that remain are similar to those in track 2, disembodied rustling over the microphone suggests the wind and the looping wooden sounds remain.
With ten minutes remaining one of the humming sounds in the background cuts out and the remaining elements become more sparse, clusters of wooden clatter and the wind-like distortion are all that remain. Eventually the sounds all die away leaving a quiet mechanical hum that could be just be the recorder capturing its own mechanisms remains before things cut dead again and the CD ends.
So here I have just found myself trying to describe how this music sounds in words again. This is my natural response when tired, and shows why it is probably not a good idea to try and write a new review every evening. This has been an intriguing and confusing, but ultimately rewarding piece of music to listen to. I would be interested to hear if others are familiar with this disc and if they had really stopped to wonder about the sounds involved and how much they all belonged together.
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Richard Pinnell
- Posts: 2629
- Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 6:12 pm
- Location: Oxfordshire, England
- Contact:
Thanks Greh, much appreciated.greh wrote:richard,
just wanted to chime in and say i've really been enjoying these reviews and your whole experiment.
can't wait to see who you do next month!
Next month I will be listening to 31 different recordings of John Cage's 4'33" and as a tribute will leave the screen blank on each day....
I keep meaning to post this and have finally remembered to after reading your last comment. There is a guy who is listening to the entirety of the available recorded John Cage and blogging about each release. Check it out: Cage Blog.
To start from the beginning go to the Archives and scroll down.
To start from the beginning go to the Archives and scroll down.
"Please everybody, if we haven't done what we could have done, we've tried"
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letchhausen
- Posts: 327
- Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:45 pm
Richard, excellent work. It's amazing that this far in you're still going strong. I'm sure that I would end up crazed, yelling at people out the window, not washing and muttering to myself about the ants on me, on everything. I would probably be going: "Day 23 - ummm really good." "Day 24 - uhhh really, really good." "Day 25...#%#;aed;euydmoeyp*&$)#$"
Well, you get the picture. Unfortunately for me, the neighbor downstairs has been blaring bad heavy metal really loud during the evenings and making it impossible to listen to music at all. I've been getting the landlord involved so I can sleep at night. The good news is that her pot smoking, non-rent paying ways are getting her kicked out next week. Then I can listen to Jerman's music since at this time, it can't compete against the heavy metal thumping through the floorboards. The sad part is that if I were to kill her the police would arrest ME! That's right, justifiable eai related homicide is a crime in this fascist state. So I have to let the wheels of justice slowly turn.....
Please post your Stockhausen thoughts somewhere and I will respond. I've been reading "Towards a Cosmic Music" which is collected interviews with Stockie. I've been collecting some of the interesting statements he makes and will happy to add a post to your thoughts somewhere. While some of what he says is pretty out, much of it shows a deep contemplation of music and it's relationship to our world and lives.
Thanks for the Jerman thoughts, these are also sharing the same sort of contemplation.
Robert, if you're interested in some heavy noise rock from New York, the Heroine Sheiks are gonna be at the Funhouse this Tuesday. The singer is an old friend of mine from way back. Because of the size of the venue I'm probably gong to be watching from the sidewalk out front to protect my precious ears. Though somehow, I sense that this is probably not your thing........
Well, you get the picture. Unfortunately for me, the neighbor downstairs has been blaring bad heavy metal really loud during the evenings and making it impossible to listen to music at all. I've been getting the landlord involved so I can sleep at night. The good news is that her pot smoking, non-rent paying ways are getting her kicked out next week. Then I can listen to Jerman's music since at this time, it can't compete against the heavy metal thumping through the floorboards. The sad part is that if I were to kill her the police would arrest ME! That's right, justifiable eai related homicide is a crime in this fascist state. So I have to let the wheels of justice slowly turn.....
Please post your Stockhausen thoughts somewhere and I will respond. I've been reading "Towards a Cosmic Music" which is collected interviews with Stockie. I've been collecting some of the interesting statements he makes and will happy to add a post to your thoughts somewhere. While some of what he says is pretty out, much of it shows a deep contemplation of music and it's relationship to our world and lives.
Thanks for the Jerman thoughts, these are also sharing the same sort of contemplation.
Robert, if you're interested in some heavy noise rock from New York, the Heroine Sheiks are gonna be at the Funhouse this Tuesday. The singer is an old friend of mine from way back. Because of the size of the venue I'm probably gong to be watching from the sidewalk out front to protect my precious ears. Though somehow, I sense that this is probably not your thing........
hi richard,
jeph has a bunch of microphones placed around the outside of his house (and maybe inside too). these are all connected to separate small fender practice amps which are usually near his windows and whatnot. jeph turns them on every so often to listen to what is going on outside around his house. to amplify the outdoor sounds. so these soundhouse recordings are recordings of those amps (at different times and with different combinations turned on or off). the wooden sounds you are hearing are probably bamboo (or other woods) windchimes. jeph has made tons of bamboo windchimes of all sizes which are placed around his house and inside his house. the first time i went to jeph's home, he kept bumping his head into a set of bamboo windc himes between his two rooms. i couldnt tell if he was doing this on purpose or if he had placed the windchimes in a place so that he couldnt avoid them and had to bump into them.
[quote="Richard Pinnell"]Day 24 – Jeph Jerman – Soundhouse 2 CDRay.
At eleven minutes something electric is turned on nearby that emits a low soft hum and then a small collection of stones are rattled about"
^ and this is most likely jeph's shaketable with stones on it.
i just got myself a copy of chin (progress) by jeph. listened to it today nice and loud. really excellent i think.
-gd
jeph has a bunch of microphones placed around the outside of his house (and maybe inside too). these are all connected to separate small fender practice amps which are usually near his windows and whatnot. jeph turns them on every so often to listen to what is going on outside around his house. to amplify the outdoor sounds. so these soundhouse recordings are recordings of those amps (at different times and with different combinations turned on or off). the wooden sounds you are hearing are probably bamboo (or other woods) windchimes. jeph has made tons of bamboo windchimes of all sizes which are placed around his house and inside his house. the first time i went to jeph's home, he kept bumping his head into a set of bamboo windc himes between his two rooms. i couldnt tell if he was doing this on purpose or if he had placed the windchimes in a place so that he couldnt avoid them and had to bump into them.
[quote="Richard Pinnell"]Day 24 – Jeph Jerman – Soundhouse 2 CDRay.
At eleven minutes something electric is turned on nearby that emits a low soft hum and then a small collection of stones are rattled about"
^ and this is most likely jeph's shaketable with stones on it.
i just got myself a copy of chin (progress) by jeph. listened to it today nice and loud. really excellent i think.
-gd
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letchhausen
- Posts: 327
- Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:45 pm
In November Richard will start "100 days of Stockhausen" where he will listen to a different work of Stockhausen each day. I hear things get quite zany when Richard comes home from a 13 hour work shift and tries to listen to listen to all 4 CD's of the opera Donnerstag Aus Licht. More excitement happens the next day when a sleep deprived Richard tries to communicate with co-workers using a musical form of hand signals and bird trills that he thought up on the hallucinatory drive to work! Great Fun!greh wrote:richard,
just wanted to chime in and say i've really been enjoying these reviews and your whole experiment.
can't wait to see who you do next month!
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