Drone Records

REVENANT - Topolo

Format: CD

Label & Cat.Number: Prele Records prl005

Release Year: 2008

Note: "site-specific sound" project of YANNICK DAUBY, OLIVIER FERAUD, JOHN GRZINICH, HITOSHI KOJO and PATRICK MC GINLEY (MURMER). cardboard cover & 12 p booklet

Price (incl. 19% VAT): €13.00

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"Art Nature oder ‚Holz-Gesang‘ erklingt auch auf Revenant : Topoló (prl005). YANNICK DAUBY, OLIVIER FERAUD, JOHN GRZINICH, HITOSHI KOJO & PATRICK MCGINLEY, allesamt Teilnehmer beim Pushing The Medium 3 Symposium im Oktober 2006 im italienischen Topoló, trafen sich am 19. 10. zum Waldspaziergang im Grenzgebiet zu Slovenien, um den Wald als Instrument zu spielen. Die Fünf hatten sogar Bögen dabei, um über Äste zu geigen, in Analogie zu den Geräuschen des Waldes selbst, dem Ächzen und Quietschen der Stämme und Kronen[...]
...Art Nature als steinzeitliche Arte Povera, Art Brut von ‚primitiven‘ Schamanen, von Kindern, Tieren, Geistern, Musique concrète unplugged, die Welt ist Wald und der Wald ist Klang. Der kollektiven spielerischen Phantasie entspringen reizvolle und plastische Effekte, ein Apfel wird zerknurpst, Zweige peitschen die Luft, Äste brechen knallend, es rieselt, kullert, knirscht und rappelt, als ob man über Stadionlautsprecher gleichzeitig mit Feldmans King of Denmark und Cages Cartrige Music beschallt würde. Oder mit dem Hauen und Stechen einer Geisterschlacht von römischen Legionen und Barbaren, das doppelt gespenstisch wirkt, weil kein Wort und kein Schrei fällt. Eine zweite, kurze Performanz mischt das Trappeln der Waldgänger mit urigem Singsang, Mundharmonika, Pfeifen und Rascheln, als ob die Fünf dem Geist des Waldes ein Ständchen bringen wollten." [Bad Alchemy]

" “Revenant” is an ongoing project with open membership that focuses on site-specific acoustic actions, or activiated environments. Each action is a document of a specific moment in time in a specific location.

Huge pines, chestnuts, beeches, and a few oaks. A vague border. On one side a Slovenian village, on the other an Italian one, which our maps locate at the end of a cul de sac. En route for this slovenian village, on this ageless path, having begun in the village of Topolò, bags full of bits and pieces: a few biscuits, a recorder, some chocolate, several worn out old violin bows. The path becomes ever steeper and more tortuous, sometimes blocked by fallen logs, sometimes aided by stone steps barely showing. The trees try to tempt us off the path; then one or two of us give in to the call of a huge pine standing proudly to one side. With the first light touch the tree speaks: a strangled sound pierced through by a note both muffled and sharp, a pluck of another twig, a bowing of a third, a held frequency, a slight pressure on another until it breaks. Each dried branch of this sound-tree gives rise to stammers, murmurs, cries or whispers, linguistic trial… "(from Olivier Feraud's text)

"On the back cover of this release we read: "'Revenant' is an ongoing project with open membership that focuses on site-specific acoustic actions, or activated environments. Each action is a document of a specific moment in time in a specific location." For an action held in 2006 in Topolo, near the Slovenien border, present were Yannick Dauby, Olivier Feraud, John Grzinich, Hitoshi Kojo and Patrick McGinley. The five of them went out into the forest and 'all sounds [...] originated from materials found in-situ, or from the space itself. No overdubbing or editing was done in order to document this specific action and location in time'. There is an interesting booklet that goes with this with interesting texts, also with photos of the five artists in the forest. It is not told how this was recorded but we hear lots of trees, branches, leaves being rubbed, cracked, hit and touched upon. Maybe this was recorded by each individual player and then pieced together, or perhaps a great microphone was set up and then it was recorded. If ever did a walk in the forest, then the sounds used by Revenant may sound familiar (and if you didn't, I suggest you go out do a forest trip right away), but in the opening piece it also sounds like a violin, or two, being scraped. I can't imagine that was in-situ, but perhaps some rubbing of leaves could be similar. I thought this was quite a fascinating release of familiar sounds, but oddly enough also the absence of sounds, such a birds. A fine work of field recordings mixed with acoustic action, or rather an action outside using natural elements. A work that by passes the usual routine of both field recordings and electro-acoustic music, and such opens new roads." [FdW / Vital Weekly]

http://www.prelerecords.net/prl005/prl005.htm