★Sub Rosa
Japanese Avant-Garde
2002 release ** "Most music in Japan has little to recommend it; it is a sonic equivalent of those brutal concrete towers or the transitory chaos of multi-storey teen-fashion emporia in Aoyama. But a sonic underground thrives, creatively if not financially, and perhaps it should be compared with the shabby Golden-gai drinking dens of Shinjuku, faint reminders of a lost time when desire and transgression shared endless cups of sake with political and artistic radicalism... How is it possible to l…
Xenofonia
2003 release ** "Xenofonia combines choir, harpsichord, percussion, glitch and environmental recordings. Migrating bird-calls and human voices play a central role heard a cappella or accompanied. Singing often ventures beyond the limits of language. The formidable choral force of ex-miners Snowdown Colliery Male Voice Choir, the intimate voice of Matthias Grübel from German duo Phonºnoir, British vocal trio Juice Vocal Ensemble, and background vocals by Elaine Mitchener and Jade Pybus are heard …
Music with Changing Parts
Founding work of minimalism, Music with Changing Parts is a piece with free instrumentation. The musicians choose which part to play among the 8 staves of the score. At each indicated cue, the musicians can change part, which produces an abrupt change of instrumentation. While the music is based on a melodic material limited to a few notes that are repeated in patterns that expand or contract, the changes in orchestration refresh the listening experience by producing sonic contrasts. These tec…
Miao Mouthorgans & other rare instruments in Guizhou, Sichuan, China
Rare field recordings by Laurent Jeanneau among minority communities in southern China: mouth organs of every size, the Gelao gupiaoqin and elders' canon singing. Recorded with honesty about ethnic tourism, seeking music that is lived rather than staged. A precious snapshot of traditions under pressure
Sleep of Reason
I fell into a deep sleep of reason Everything broken and hence when I woke up from that deep sleep of reason it all made sense A Unique Artistic Partnership. This project represents a distinct and carefully considered artistic endeavor. Developed by Mark Springer (Rip, Rig and Panic) and Neil Tennant (The Pet Shop Boys), it combines a suite for piano, quartet, and quintet with vocals, accompanied by lyrics offering thoughtful introspection. The collaboration explores the intersection of divergen…
Into The Void
2005 release ** "Into the Void is a reflection upon the history and the recent changes in the Krakovian neighborhood of Kazimierz. The center of this meditation is the seemingly contradictory development of the last few years, which shows the attempts to re-animate Jewish culture. This piece is an attempt to reverse the seasons from summer to winter in the 700-year-old Jewish district of Krakow. What struck Meissner at first sight, was the glaring contrast between the rich, the rise of the mater…
Joujouka Black Eyes
1995 release ** Joujouka Black Eyes is a CD by Moroccan Sufi trance musicians Master Musicians of Joujouka. It was released in May 1995 on Sub Rosa Records. It was produced by Frank Rynne and includes the song "Brian Jones Joujouka very Stoned" written by Joujouka born painter Mohamed Hamri. This song commemorates the third visit of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones to Jajouka. On this visit Jones recorded Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka. The group on this CD includes veteran …
That Moment
Sopa Boba is a Belgian/Dutch, electronic, modern classical project. The idea behind the form is a so-called Oratorio from the present age which unfolds a dramatc tale within a sociopolitcal framework. The compositons incorporate a neo-classical style string quartet, harsh modular sytnhs and spoken word vocals.
That Moment is an adaptaton of the eponymous text by Moldavian writer Nicoleta Esinencu. The startng point of That Moment takes place in a real fact, which happened in present-tme Moldavia…
Le Beau du Monde / A Modern View on Early Music
Chant 1450 Renaisance Ensemble sings and plays the sacred and secular repertoire of the 15th and 16th century. Including musicians trained at the widely renowned college for early music Schola cantorum in Basel, Switzerland, chant 1450 appeared live in January 2005 and sang then a highly acclaimed first tour in Switzerland with La contenance angloise - sacred music of the 15th century, followed by more than 250 live performances in Germany, Italy, Czech Republic and Switzerland until today. chan…
Moroccan Electroacoustic Music 1972-74
Huge Tip! Composer Ahmed Essyad was born in Salé, Morocco, in 1938. After studying music at the Rabat Conservatoire (Morocco) he moved to Paris in 1962, where he became a student of Max Deutsch and, later, his assistant. Trained in the avant-garde practices of Western musical composition, he also claimed the Amazigh folk music of Morocco as a fundamental source of inspiration for his work. In 1965, he was already incorporating elements of oral tradition in his work so as to question the language…
Keep Together - Fluxus & Neofluxus Part II
The second volume of Sub Rosa's Fluxus edition, built around a broken piano now left to decay in the open air in Prague. New and old works, scores and improvisations from a Fluxus who's who (Knizak, La Monte Young, Cage, Paik, Ono, Brecht and more), with booklets of essays and photographs. Double LP
Outre-Nuit
Outre-nuit as Outre-noir by Pierre Soulages, the greatest nuances on subtle variations. The programme can be listened to in one go between Clara's two compositions, it's Xnoybis, an extraordinary performance by the great Giacinto Scelsi - a piece that makes you feel like you're listening for the first time - Giacinto Scelsi's Xnoybis (1964) is a journey amongst the reliefs contained within one single pitch. Written in three parts, the piece is an instinctive approach to the sound spectrum (the t…
Crawling Wind
First vinyl reissue of Univers Zero's 1981 EP, originally on Japan's Chaos International. Three pieces move from Bulgarian-tinged folk to an Andy Kirk ambient composition to a live improvisation haunted by a stray radio signal. Once voted one of the greatest Belgian albums ever. Redesigned cover by Thierry Moreau. LP.
Fremdkörper
A totally original and disturbing sound world mixing acoustic and electro-acoustic pieces by the Young Belgian Musician of the Year. Fremdkörper contains 10 brand-new recordings of acoustic and electro-acoustic compositions written between 2004 and 2010. Featured artists are Nadar Ensemble, Klangforum Wien, Champ d'Action, Nikel Ensemble, Agartha, Zwerm electric guitar quartet, Matthias Koole, Pieter Matthynssens and Stefan Prins. Comes with a 20 page booklet containing a.o. a text by Michael Re…
Quasi Una Fantasia
One opera singer teams with one experimental musician! La Diva Christina Van Peteghem on voices and Pierre-Jean Vranken everywhere. They are Quasi Una Fantasia! Noise, classical guitars, exquisite melodic songs, minimalism, neoclassical, avant-garde are the medium and the message.
Electronic Music 1960-1973
CD version. Bülent Arel's (1919-1990) work occupies a special place in the history of electronic music, with one thing being certain: Arel's work is still fresh, groundbreaking, and it always look outs for the next adventure in sound. Sub Rosa present a collection of his works here as part of their Early Electronic series. Bülent Arel was a Turkish-born American composer of electronic and contemporary classical music. He was also a devoted teacher, a sculptor, and a painter. From 1940 to 1947, A…
Ethiopian Urban And Tribal Music: Mindanoo Mistiru/Gold From Wax
Double CD version. Includes color insert. Sub Rosa present a reissue of volume one (Mindanoo Mistiru) and two (Gold From Wax) of Ethiopian Urban And Tribal Music, both originally released as two distinct LPs on Lyrichord in 1972. Mindanoo Mistiru and Gold From Wax were recorded by Ragnar Johnson. Ethiopia contains many diverse peoples and many styles of music. It was still an empire in July and August of 1971 when these recordings were made. Over 70 languages and 200 dialects are spoken in Ethio…
The Fall: Dennis Johnson's November Deconstructed
CD Verison. The Fall is a deconstruction of November by Dennis Johnson. Written for solo piano in 1959, November is the first example of minimalist music composition and was the inspiration for La Monte Young's The Well-Tuned Piano (1964). The 66-minute piece is a collaboration between legendary artist Lustmord and renowned classical pianist Nicolas Horvath, in which they reduce Johnson's original November to its core element and place it in a landscape of complimentary sound. The Fall echoes No…
Difference and Repetition / A Musical Evocation Of Gilles Deleuze
This new album (the tenth in their discography) was born from two ambitions: to pay tribute to Soft Machine's Third on form (4 sides / 4 titles) and to philosopher Gilles Deleuze (Difference and Repetition is the title of his thesis) on the contents. The 4 long pieces of this double concept album were developed over 2 years and each has a different style and climate. Bold and kaleidoscopic, Difference and Repetition perfectly synthesizes the musical and literary obsessions of Palo Alto.
Formed i…
The Noise Of Art: Works for Intonarumori
CD version. Gatefold sleeve, embossed; Includes four-page booklet. The Noise Of Art: Works for Intonarumori contains seven compositions, created by the Opening Performance Orchestra, Blixa Bargeld, Luciano Chessa, and Fred Möpert. All the pieces relate to the theme of futurism and employ intonarumori, instruments invented and used more than a century ago by the Italian Futurists in their noise compositions. CD version includes 16-page booklet. "In antiquity, life was nothing but silence." "Today…