★Erstwhile Records
eh
One of the central aesthetics of the Erstwhile label is the counterpositioning of electronic and acoustic improvisers. Rarely has that been more starkly, and beautifully, achieved than on the opening and closing tracks of eh by guitarist Stangl and turntablist/electronicist Dieb13 (Dieter Kovacic). Stangl is one of a handful of contemporary free improv musicians who happily forays into tonal, even melodic spheres, conjuring up a reduced version of John Fahey, perhaps. On "eeeh", his delicate str…
Gdansk queen
AVVA is the duo of Toshimaru Nakamura and Billy Roisz, based in Tokyo and Vienna respectively. AVVA stands for "Audio Video/Video Audio", referring to the working method of the duo. Nakamura produces the music using the internal feedback from his no-input mixing board, Roisz uses that as the basis for her optical moving patterns, and Nakamura has a TV monitor showing Roisz' output, so the whole process is circular and created in real time.Since 1998, Nakamura has been exploring the possibilities…
Aso
Ami Yoshida and Christof Kurzmann are both well-respected artists within the international community, each performing in a wide range of contexts from abstract to pure pop. Both are best known for their long-running duos, Yoshida for Cosmos (with Sachiko M) and Kurzmann for schnee (with Burkhard Stangl). This project finds them in far less comfortable territory, and a s o is the outcome of two years of hard work.Ami Yoshida strives to create a pure sound, abstracting her voice until it becomes a…