ZEITKRATZER / REINHOLD FRIEDL — Xenakis [a]live

"Reinhold Friedl’s dark-hewn ‘impressionistic tribute’ to electro-acoustic pioneer Iannis Xenakis is not, by any means, an easy listen, but it is absolutely compelling. Across a single movement marginally short of an hour, Friedl, with the fearsomely realised assistance of 10-piece German ensemble, Zeitkratzer, pays homage to classic Xenakis compositions, all primarily studio-generated sounds, by using amplified acoustic instruments to re-imagine the dense, steely, mathematical latticework of its architecture. The result is a fierce collision between Xenakis’s still extraordinary atomised soundscapes, the altogether more corporeal signature of Friedl himself and the vigorous visceral commitment of self-styled ‘post-everything chamber orchestra’ Zeitkratzer. It lends a degree of understanding of intent and execution to know that ‘Zeitkratzer’ translates as ‘time scraper’. Certainly these intensely dramatic performances feel for all the world as if they are excavating not just through the accretions of time but also through layers of flesh and bone in search of something primal and profound. Whether they find it is another matter, and some may find the route taken problematic on many levels. There’s an eerie, unwavering, deliberately unyielding quality to Friedl’s concept and a determination on Zeitkratzer’s part not to reveal much if anything without a great deal of effort on the listener’s part. Considered in relation to Zeitkratzer’s last release, a wild, frenetic take on Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music, this new album suddenly comes a little more clearly into focus. Think of it as less intellectual homage and more emotional celebration – deliriously bristling with too many fevered and combustible ideas – and it suddenly becomes more explicable and more readily digestible. If only all musical tributes were this honest! A bonus disc features a no less intensely realised film by the multi-media artist Lillevan. Splicing and slicing pictorial shards and fragments of film of the ancient Iranian city of Persepolis, it has a strange glowing beauty all of its own." [Michael Quinn, BBC]

"Equal parts composer, performer and curator, Berlin's Reinhold Friedl is a veritable renaissance man. In conjunction with his highly regarded orchestra Zeitkratzer ('Time scratcher' in German) as well as in collaboration with such artists as Lou Reed, Lee Renaldo and Merzbow, Friedl has helped set new standards for Europe's new music scene, crossing every conceivable line that separates chamber from computer music, and piano from studio composition. On Xenakis [a]live!, Friedl and Zeitkratzer paint an impressionistic tribute to Greek composer and electro-acoustic pioneer, the late Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001). Quite literally a stylistic dedication to the flavor of Xenakis' classic tape compositions through the use of amplified orchestral instruments, Xenakis [a]live! recreates acoustically what were once primarily studio generated sounds. The dramatic results convey an aesthetic link to Zeitkratzer's other homage to the early seventies, Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. With both projects Friedl and his associates compared the 'orgiastic' and 'holistic' elements of these dense sonic architectures from two socially distinct composers of a common historical era. What emerges from giving an ear to Zeitkratzer's flesh and blood transformations realized in Xenakis [a]live! and its Metal Machine Music companion (both on Asphodel) is a re-orchestrated aural expedition that musically refreshes & correlates these epic textural excursions. Unlike Metal Machine Music, Xenakis [a]live! is not a literal transcription of any specific Xenakis works; it instead focuses on the listening experience. Hearing these pieces invokes and transforms the amalgamation into Reinhold's acoustical perception of Xenakis' broad electronic influence and prevalent stochastic techniques. You've never heard a full chamber orchestra sound quite like this! Directed and created by Lillevan (from Rechenzentrum), the accompanying video is equally inspired by Xenakis' mathematical compositional technique. Based on photographs and film fragments of the Iranian city of Persepolis, this award-winning German video artist manipulates his source material beyond recognition, using it as the raw material for a full-length film which organically reflects the dynamic intensity of Xenakis[a]live!." [label info]

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