IDM Mailing Archive

Francis Dhomont "Frankenstein Symphony" Asphodel 0978 I don't know how everyone (including me) slept on this one. Well I do know -- I've never seen a peep on this before it showed up in the used bin. For this CD, Dhomont used samples from electro-acoustic works by other composers -- some of his own, some by his students -- to create an expansive abstract audio horror movie. There's a Rich Devine aspect to what he's done here -- he's turned the concept of 'Economy of Means' on it's head. Instead of expanding on a few simple themes, he's worked from a gigantic palette of sounds. No steady beat anchors anything, yet there is a rhythmic intention -- a chaotic interplay between motion and stasis that reflects the stutter-stop rhythm of human thought. Dhomont got his start in the 50's as a tape composer, and I don't know if the splicing block mentioned is literal or figurative -- obviously this sort of bricolage is much easier with a computer. But the profound intentionality and linear structure makes a great antidote to loopy electronic music. The care taken in the layering and accretion of sound makes this involving and listenable. I don't know any of his other work, though Amazon lists 4 CDs in print. But this disc is DEFINITELY worth checking out... --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

On 21/05/01 16:22, Kent williams said in living color:

quoted 1 line Francis Dhomont "Frankenstein Symphony" Asphodel 0978

> Francis Dhomont "Frankenstein Symphony" Asphodel 0978

<snip>

quoted 2 lines I don't know any of his other work, though Amazon lists 4 CDs in

> I don't know any of his other work, though Amazon lists 4 CDs in > print. But this disc is DEFINITELY worth checking out...

Yep. And if you're familiar with some of the releases on the empreintes DIGITALes label, it's fun to play the "where is this sample from?" game. Francis Dhomont is one of the foremost composer of the so-called "acousmatic" aesthetic. Not only is he able to forge fantastic sounds but he is a master of musical form, something that eludes a lot of folks working in the electroacoustic field. All of his other releases (all on the aforementioned empreintes DIGITALes label) are essential. Even more than "Frankenstein Symphony" (though I must confess I haven't given that one a lot of listens). I'd recommend starting with "Les dérives du signe" and "Sous le regard d'un soleil noir" (warning: this one is particularly dark, especially if you understand French). But that doesn't mean you are authorized to pass up on the other two ("Forêt profonde" and "Cycle de l'errance"). g. -- Guillaume Grenier - gollum@videotron.ca in space there is no north in space there is no south in space there is no east in space there is no west --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

On 21/05/01 17:53, R. Lim said in living color:

quoted 8 lines On Mon, 21 May 2001, Guillaume Grenier wrote:

> On Mon, 21 May 2001, Guillaume Grenier wrote: > >> All of his other releases (all on the aforementioned empreintes DIGITALes >> label) are essential. Even more than "Frankenstein Symphony" (though I must >> confess I haven't given that one a lot of listens). > > Yeah, I was going to ask about how the Asphodel CD stacked up- I've heard > it doesn't quite measure up.

I just gave it another listen... and it's an interesting CD, but admittedly not as strong as his "real" releases. You've got to be aware of the very different framework at the root of this release: a patchwork of pieces including only a couple of his own work. Also, no editing whatsoever was used on the samples -- from the liner notes: "Though I often allowed myself to play layering games, mixing works together [...], never did I use filtering, internal editing, transpositions or processing on the sounds." So, I think this CD should be approached as a sort of sampler with a twist.

quoted 6 lines The Mouvances-Metaphores CDs (reissued

> The Mouvances-Metaphores CDs (reissued > individually on empreintes) are pretty classy indeed. I must admit that I > came to eD mainly through their co-branding of INA GRM stuff (who are the > present-day Warp Records of musique concrete), but some of their > non-affiliated material is well nigh comparable (such as the Christian > Calon CDEP).

I'm not really sure I understand what you mean here... Do you mean by "co-branding" their distribution of releases on the INA-GRM label? 'cause, to my knowledge, there were no releases conjointly put out by INA-GRM and empreintes DIGITALes. Consequently, I also don't understand what you mean by "non-affiliated material". Are you simply referring to the empreintes DIGITALes catalog (i.e., releases with an "IMED xxxx" number)? I also wonder what "the present-day Warp Records of musique concrete" implies... ;) Is that good or bad? Seems like an ambiguous allusion for this mailing list... g. -- Guillaume Grenier - gollum@videotron.ca in space there is no north in space there is no south in space there is no east in space there is no west --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

On Mon, 21 May 2001, Guillaume Grenier wrote:

quoted 11 lines On 21/05/01 17:53, R. Lim said in living color:

> On 21/05/01 17:53, R. Lim said in living color: > > > The Mouvances-Metaphores CDs (reissued > > individually on empreintes) are pretty classy indeed. I must admit that I > > came to eD mainly through their co-branding of INA GRM stuff (who are the > > present-day Warp Records of musique concrete), but some of their > > [...] > I'm not really sure I understand what you mean here... Do you mean by > "co-branding" their distribution of releases on the INA-GRM label? 'cause, > to my knowledge, there were no releases conjointly put out by INA-GRM and > empreintes DIGITALes.

I think Musidisc is the exclusive manufacturers of the "proper" INA GRM releases (those with INA catalog numbers). I was referring to the ED CDs that have the little INA-GRM logo (some of the Chions & Dhomonts, probably among others). I'm not sure of the details, but I assume these releases are either licensings of works originally presented on INA-GRM LPs or contain works that were produced at GRM. Check out http://www.ina.fr/GRM/PUBLICATIONS/CD/ for CDs that I consider to be at the very least "co-releases" (no disrespect to ED, Celia or any of the other labels).

quoted 3 lines Consequently, I also don't understand what you mean by "non-affiliated

> Consequently, I also don't understand what you mean by "non-affiliated > material". Are you simply referring to the empreintes DIGITALes catalog > (i.e., releases with an "IMED xxxx" number)?

Conversely, those CDs w/o the logo.

quoted 3 lines I also wonder what "the present-day Warp Records of musique concrete"

> I also wonder what "the present-day Warp Records of musique concrete" > implies... ;) Is that good or bad? Seems like an ambiguous allusion for > this mailing list...

I meant it in the sense that they are a label that has been around forever, which has put out a lot of the releases by the pioneers and early masters of their "type" of music and almost singlehandedly invented a (sub)genre of music. Furthermore, I would say that anything they've put out is probably worth listening to (though I admit I haven't been very good at keeping up with the later stuff). Obviously, the analogy doesn't really terribly deep, but I was working in short hand for the list. Speaking of empreintes, is there any sort of public locus of electroacoustic music in Montreal (concert halls, record stores, etc)? I don't recall reading about any when I was up there. -rob --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

On 22/05/01 11:23, R. Lim said in living color:

quoted 3 lines Speaking of empreintes, is there any sort of public locus of

> Speaking of empreintes, is there any sort of public locus of > electroacoustic music in Montreal (concert halls, record stores, etc)? I > don't recall reading about any when I was up there.

Record stores: The classical departments of the large stores (Archambault - Ste-Catherine/Berri; HMV - Ste-Catherine/Peel) usually carry a selection of the eD catalog as well as some other electroacoustic titles. There's also Cheap Thrills (Metcalfe/Maisonneuve) and CD Esoterik (Ste-Catherine/Guy?) which carry a good selection of electroacoustic titles as well as other experimental music. I don't know if Atom Heart (Sherbrooke/St-Denis?) has any... I think it focuses more on IDM, etc. You can also find some in used record stores such as L'Échange (one on Mont-Royal, the other on Saint-Denis). Concert halls, etc.: There are some electroacoustic concerts presented at the Faculty of Music of the Université de Montréal (Salle Claude-Champagne - Vincent d'Indy/Édouard-Montpetit). Maybe some at the Conservatoire, too... Not sure about that. Ex-Centris (Saint-Laurent/Prince-Arthur) also presents electroacoustic concerts on some occasions (Rien à voir festival presented by Réseaux [associated with folks from INA-GRM/eD], Mutek festival, etc.). There are also some very good concerts at Théâtre La Chapelle (Saint-Dominique) with ties to electroacoustic music. (Heard recently a great piece by Louis Dufort for saxophone soprano and digital treatment [presumably Max/MSP] there.) Ah... there's also the SAT (Société des Arts Technologiques - Sainte-Catherine/Jeanne-Mance) that presents all kinds of stuff (including a series of Mutek shows for this year). This should be a good start... g. -- Guillaume Grenier - gollum@videotron.ca in space there is no north in space there is no south in space there is no east in space there is no west --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org