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RUHLMANN, MATHIEU - As a Leaf or a Stone

Format: CD-R Label & Cat.Number: AFE Records afe123lcd Release Year: 2010 Note: fascinating sound-journey using an array of "raw objects" like stones, plants, insects and everday-consumer articles; lim. 100 copies, professional full colour cover & pro-duplicated CDR Price (incl. 19% VAT): €13.00 Warning: Currently we do not have this album in stock! More Info "Mathieu Ruhlmann is a visual and sound artist. He first began composing soundworks to accompany his visual art based on found material. He has created works for various labels worldwide - including S'agita Recordings, Mystery Sea, Spekk, Unfathomless, Taâlem and Gears of Sand - as well as contributed to several compilations. He has also produced sound installations and held performances throughout North America. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia. After "The Earth Grows in Each of Us", released in April 2007, "As a Leaf or a Stone" Mathieu's second release on Afe. Here's a description of the album written by Will Long of Celer: "With every beginning, raw objects come into place, and within these objects are found the essence of meaning, and inspiration. "As a Leaf or a Stone", the new album by Mathieu Ruhlmann on Afe Records, is a thriving example of the individuality of natural materials, and the sculpture of character. Using an assemblage of instruments and raw objects, such as a coffee grinder, e-bow, denture cleaner, egg beater, ukelin, turkey baster, frying pan, shruti box (and many more), "As a Leaf or a Stone" stands as a work of creative ingenuity, finding beauty in the combination of raw materials that are characteristically regarded as mundane or lacking in spirit, and transforming them into a work that is both visually conjuring, and comfortingly familiar. In the crisp corners of "As a Leaf or a Stone", there is an untimely captivation, as well as tincture of the homemade present, and pushing on. The evolution of the pieces is not predictable, yet is fulfilling, offering surprises of acumen, allowing for tension, discovery, and quietude. Withdrawing from the use of computers to provide any effects, Ruhlmann completes this work with a respect to the purity of the object, and maybe most importantly, freedom of the spirit." [label info] www.aferecords.com "Mathieu Ruhlmann is of course someone whom we know from his releases on Mystery Sea, Spekk, Unfathomless, Taalem, Gears Of sand and many others. 'As A Leaf Or A Stone' is his second album for Afe Records. For this release Ruhlmann uses a lot of sound sources and per track he lists them. We see listed a coffee grinder, ukelin, e-bow, moss, denture cleaner, bubble wrap, dried plant, cactus, speaker and gate (and that's just the opening track!). He plays these sources, records them and layers them together, at least that's assuming he doesn't play all these sources with two hands at the same time. He records them, I guess, with contact microphones and an open microphones. The gain is very much alive here, so there is occasionally some feedback leaking through here. That adds a strange component to the highly acoustic music. Ruhlmann plays his stuff with great care. His music is open, spacious, but also intimate. The quiet rumbling of objects, the leak of outside sound events on the recording (as opposed to pre recorded field recordings) reminds me of Jeph Jerman or Kapotte Muziek, although Ruhlmann's plate is a bit more filled with sound than the latter. An excellent release of highly imaginative music." [FdW / Vital Weekly]