It might be stretching it a bit to call Tim Olive a guitarist. His instrument generally has a single string that he attacks as much as plays. But if Keith Rowe is a guitarist, then we must suppose so is Olive—just a minimalist version. It is ultimately harder to make music out of noise than notes, but Olive succeeds more often than he fails, serving as a fine example to those who toil in the garden of chaotic improvisation, attempting to grow something beautiful in the soil of pure sound.
My review of the Zoom MS-100BT MultiStomp Guitar Pedal with Bluetooth will be coming up in Guitar Player magazine in the next couple of months, but until then check ou J.A. Deane’s rundown of the MS-50 G. “Dino” is a titan of improv and live sampling and knows whereof he speaks.
These Zoom units offer a plethora of classic and zany effects that sound great and all fit in one small pedal space on your board or table.
Nice Noise: Modifications and Preparations for Guitar is a must have book for anyone into experimental guitar. If you enjoyed the post Extended Techniques with Roger Kleier (who is name checked in this book), and want to learn more about extending your techniques, look no further than this slim tome by Bart Hopkin and Yuri Landman.
Too much “free” improvisation is anything but. Often it is restricted by attempts to reject all the traditional musical constituents: melody, harmony, groove, listening, dynamics, etc. The result is a cacophonic performance that starts nowhere, goes nowhere, and ends nowhere.
This January 12, 2012 performance by Didier Petit (cello), Andrea Parkins (accordion, electronics), Hans Tammen (prepared guitar, electronics), and Edward Perraud (drums, percussion) represents the best of what free music can be, as it ranges from soft to loud, noise to melody, texture to groove, unafraid of any musical element, be it melodic, atonal, beautiful, ugly, humorous or otherwise. Excellently shot and recorded, kudos are in order for all involved.
A l’improviste – Quartet Petit / Parkins /… by francemusique
Swim This performed a rare concert at Freddy’s Back Room in Park Slope Brooklyn on Tuesday night January 24, 2012. Rare because their drummer, Gerry Hemingway, teaches now at the Hochschule Luzern in Switzerland and is rarely in New York.
Swim This is:
Michael Lytle – bass clarinet & pre-recorded electronic tapes
Nick Didkovsky – tabletop guitar & devices
Gerry Hemingway – percussion & voice
Swim This at Freddy’s Back Room – full concert from michael lytle on Vimeo.