steve roden / in be tween noise
CD in regular jewel box
edition: 1000
new plastic music
1995
- the whistling bells (part 2) 5'21"
- the apostle 7'16"
- dry mouthed insects on the gates of heaven 5'37"
- meditation on the memory of a theme by purcell 7'06"
- any illimitable star 6'38"
- we moved in a varicolored universe of stories 5'57"
- the wishing bells (part 1) 5'19"
- untitled 5'45"
- communicating vessels 15'04"
- etaropave 2'49"
my second CD release felt like a huge step of evolution – so much so, that my third recording was a complete departure from both in be tween noise releases (and has yet to see the light of day.)
along with instruments and field recordings, i used a number of self made and/or lesser known musical objects including: a retch (a self-made small plastic tube when blown through makes a screaming or screeching sound), scottie bagpipes (a 1963 kenner children’s toy, supposed to sound like bagpipes), wonder player (a 1950’s toy resembling a lute that was used in the film the 5,000 fingers of dr. t), stringcan (a self-made instrument using string and a coffee can -the string was run through the plastic removable lid and through the bottom, which has no lid. it was played by holding the string taut and plucking it with the thumb), kooky kombo (a 1960’s marx toy resembling a one man band with a plastic washboard, whistle, and cymbal), bruit secret (an old large juice can with an unknown object inside which sounds when shaken), nutstring (a tiny decorative object, a bit like a lute, where the body of the instrument is made out of a walnut shell with strings made of fishing line, and not intended to make sound, but i managed to get a very strange soft “moan” by attempting to play it with a violin bow), prepared wheel (a copy of marcel duchamp’s readymade bicycle wheel on a stool. the spokes have been “prepared” with paperclips, screws, etc., pick-ups, guitar pick-ups detached from a guitar and laid on top of the strings of a bowed psaltery. as the pick-ups are touched very lightly they rattle the strings.
while both of my first two CDs were created through improvisation, the first CD was much more fueled by conceptual scores, physical requirements, and texts. this second disc was a deeper exploration of sound, object handling, experimenting with recording processes, and a total embrace of musical influences, as much as conceptual influences.
actual liner notes to come:
- reviews:
To follow last years debut CD, yet another delight from
somebody hasn’t been picked up -shame on you. You get this
second opportunity. Steve Roden, the gentle bloke behind
all of this, plays a wide variety of instruments, almost
all of them acoustic (except for micromoog in the third
track) and recorded allover the planet -from Slovenia to
Lake Bled to Rakushiha. Instruments include a ‘Retch’,
‘Scot tie Bagpipes’, ‘Stringcan’, ‘Kooky Kombo’ and many
more -all explained on the cover. The music has drones
derived from sometimes ancient sound sources, a mystical
eastern feel in strings or percussive instruments. Gently
played. Yet another excellent CD -so for once: go out and
get it!vital weekly, #34
FDW
---“…fragile ambience… some of the most imaginative experimental sounds around…”
the wire, magazine (UK)“…if there was more music that people call ‘ambient’ or ‘atmospheric’ that sounded like this, i might not categorically dismiss it… this is one of those rare CD’s that calls for a good deal of attention from the listener and is actually worth it….”
on air magazine, (usa)“…masmerising and beautiful…it presents listeners with a challenge, an empowerment of interpretation and understanding… a remarkable release…”
ennui, zine (usa)
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