At 12:07 PM 2/28/98 -0500, someone wrote:
quoted 11 lines Mesmer Variations>
>Mesmer Variations
>year of publication: 1995
>available format(s): CD-2
>label: Ash International
>
>Sampler with non-austrian music creators:
>Bruce Gilbert, Koji Marutani, Drome, Steve Williams,
>Ryoji Ikeda, Robert Hampson, Quest, Gescom,...
>
>guess I've been under a rock for the last 3 years...
we could only be so lucky... : )
quoted 2 lines what is this?>what is this?
>
The contributors to Mesmer Variations were asked to record a
piece influenced by the work of Mesmer. As a starting point they
were given a copy of the LP Mesmer (Ash 1.8), released in early
1995. Side one of the vinyl recording consisted of 999 identical
bars, lasting 22 minutes 12 seconds. Side two was made up of an
identical piece recorded at a lower octave, and a separate
original mix by Resolution. Some have directly built on the
pieces on the record; others have started afresh. These works
are not remixes: they are original works inspired by the dynamic
effect the claims of Mesmer had on the thinking world around
him - effects which are still reverberating today.
Franz (Freidrich) Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), 'The Wizard of
Vienna', was an Austrian Physicist who claimed he could cure
diseases by correcting the flow of animal magnetism in the bodies
of his patients during séance-like group sessions. Mesmer was
offered a large fortune at the Parisian court in 1778, but refused to
divulge his secret.
Contemporaries established a commission to investigate his
claims, deducing that any cures were due to the power of
suggestion - his audience at the time were largely from among
the rich Parisian bourgeoisie, and apparently highly prone to
suggestibility. His claims, however, did initiate serious
studies into what came to be called 'hypnosis'. His pupil James
Braid (1795?-1860) coined this term after the Greek God of
Sleep, Hypnos. The Marquis de Puyseacutegur (1751-1825), also
a pupil and great admirer, developed theories of the unconscious
mind after sending a patient into a trance and discovering
multiple personalities.
Even now there is very little serious study of hypnosis, or its
bastard offspring, hypnotherapy. It has been sidelined as a
form of mass entertainment or a miracle cure for psychic
damage. Research is desparately needed to study the influence
and effects of 'the flicker effect'(a form of mesmerism induced
by the flickering images of cinema and television screens),
the new range of 'video drugs', or the effects of listening to
repetitive sounds emitted at certain frequencies. Music was an
important factor in Mesmer's work, and he was a close friend
of Mozart, later affectionately teased in his opera Cosi fan tutti.
Artists included:
Drome - NonPlace Urban Field, Some More Crime
Gescom - Warp Music
Bruce Gilbert - Wire, WIR, Dome, The Beekeeper
Robert Hampson - Main, Loop, INDICATE (with Jim O'Rourke) cf Touch TO:25
René Hassinger - Resident of Dortmund, this is his first release
Micki von Hausswolff - Phauss, The Hafler Trio/The Sons of God cf Touch
TO:24/TO:22
Ryoji Ikeda - Resident of Tokyo; cf '1000 Fragments' cci recordings (CCD23001)
Edvard Graham Lewis - Wire, WIR, Dome, He Said, H.A.L.O.
Koji Marutani - Resident of Osaka, Japan cf Touch T_ZERO_1
Daniel Menche - Artist in residence at Soleilmoon, Portland, Oregon, USA
Peter Rehberg (Mego) from Vienna
Put Put - Andy Diagram, Andrew Jacques, Howard Jacques, Steve Thrower, John
Wall
Quest - Frans de Waard from Beequeen
Resolution - Swim Records
S.E.T.I. - Lagowski, Legion, cf Ash International Ash 2.3
Steve Williams - Co-writer of Scanner2 (Ash 1.2) and mass observation (Ash
1.7)
As you would expect from the above explaination, both
cds are filled with long dark hypnotically repetitive
tracks. I don't listen to it very often because of it's extreme
repetitiveness but it's interesting in small doses. I kept it
because it's collectible but probably wouldn't hold on to
it otherwise.
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