Philip Jeck, Janek Schaefer

Songs for Europe is the highly anticipated recording by two of the most respected names in experimental music. Philip Jeck and Janek Schaefer are best known for their work using vinyl and record players in creative ways through performance and installation. On their debut album together they have produced music that bursts with energetic character, fleeting melodies and skittering rhythms that all translate an evocative sense of place. As an architect turned sound artist, Janek has always been interested in creating music that is site specific, music created from the context where it's made. For this project, the basis for their collaboration became Cultural context. By using locally bought LP's and 45's of Turkish and Greek music, the records became the primary source material for their improvisation sessions. In Istanbul they worked on the top floor of an office block over looking a city ravaged by a two day power cut snow storm. They collected vinyl from candle lit shops, and scanned the radio dial searching for stray waves. In pre Olympic Athens they were invited to stay and work in a decaying 30's building at the foot of the Acropolis, accompanied by a pile of vinyl at the bottom of the sweeping stairs. The final tracks were basically edited 'on screen' in Athens without any further manipulation.