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The WholeNote

“There is a recent trend in electroacoustic music where instrumentalists with improvisational or compositional skills are collaborating with studio-based electroacoustic composers in the creation of works.”

There is a recent trend in electroacoustic music where instrumentalists with improvisational or compositional skills are collaborating with studio-based electroacoustic composers in the creation of works. Lori Freedman, Randy Raine-Reusch, and Abbie Conant are a few of names that come to mind. Another example is Colombian-Canadian guitarist Arturo Parra who collaborates on this recording with a choice group of Montréal acousmatic composers — Francis Dhomont, Stéphane Roy, Gilles Gobeil, Robert Normandeau, and from Colombia, Mauricio Bejarano.

The most successful of these collaborations in my opinion are those with Dhomont, Normandeau and Gobeil. The intense energy of Parra’s playing is well supported by those artists’ sensitive control of tension and release. They also work because the guitar and the studio parts find frequent points of intersection and dialogue.

Originally published by The WholeNote.Read the full review on The WholeNote

18 other reviews

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“Le guitariste Arturo Parra a lancé il y a déjà quelque temps le disque Parr(A)cousmatique (Empreintes Digitales) où il se livre à un exercice inusité qui consiste à composer une partie de guitare sur des musiques pour bandes pouvant être écoutées de façon indépendante.”

Vital Weekly

“Next Arturo Parra: this is a guitarist’s view on acousmatic music. I really think that this is the most adventurous of the three releases.”

electrocd.com

“Electroacoustic music is an acquired taste.”

AllMusic

“Simply put, this is a great project, well conceived and marvelously concretized.”

JazzoSphère

“… un résultat inattendu et somme toute des plus captivants.”

Skug

“Eine absolute Empfehlung.”

Outsight

“This is a CD of musical compositions for acoustic guitar and magnetic tape. In 1997 Parra commissioned four electroacoustic performers to create compositions for him.”

Splendid E-Zine

“Unless you have a ridiculously expensive stereo system, there’s no way to grasp the breadth of the dynamic material that comprises these five compositions.”

Revue & Corrigée

“Natasha Barrett est une jeune acousmaticienne britannique installée à Oslo, Arturo Parra est, lui, un Colombien résidant au Québec.”

wReck thiS MeSS

“Arturo Parra is a Bogota Columbia-born composer and guitarist who here interprets the works of 5 contemporary acousmatic composers which he recomposed as pieces for guitar and tape.”

Where’s the CD Review?

“I’ve been waiting a long time to get the new string of empreintes DIGITALes CD’s, but it’s been worth the wait. Holy smokes.”

Ampersand Etcetera

“Another guitar based album from empreintes DIGITALes, not only that but the guitar is dramatically obvious!”

Sonoloco Record Reviews

“Arturo Parra (1958), born in Colombia, has been living in Canada since 1989. For the last ten years he has been busy composing and performing contemporary pieces, often with the guitar in different contexts.”

Clarknova

“Suite à un travail d’une décennie autour de la guitare et de la musique contemporaine, Arturo Parra se consacre aujourd’hui principalement à la composition d’œuvres originales.”

Touching Extremes

“I’d say that Arturo Parra is a visionary in the best sense of this definition.”

Bad Alchemy

“Seit 1989 lebt der 1958 in Bogotá geborene Gitarrist und Komponist Arturo Parra in Kanada. Parr(A)cousmatique (IMED 0264) ist ein Kollaborationsprojekt speziell für Arbeiten mit Gitarre und Tonband.”

Octopus

“De la guitare comme vous n’en avez jamais entendu, juré. Croisement magnifique d’avant-garde et d’acousmatique, la dextérité d’Arturo Parra laisse sans voix.”

Sodapop

“La confezione di questo CD è splendida: digipack con inlay card stampata su cartoncino, veste grafica super-lusso che ricorda molto le confezioni della Ambiances Magnétiques o delle uscite distribuite dalla DAME.”