Showing posts with label alchemy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alchemy. Show all posts

Thursday, February 23, 2017

elixir

keith berry elixir invisible birds (2017)

in addition to curating this website, the art of memory curates a record label that when spoken is called invisible birds.

our newest release is music by the british drone & ambient master keith berry who resides in l'angleterre.

the alchemist jim haynes said of his work: "like falling snow, his dreamy work drifts with a poetic chill and tranquil hypnosis through which peripheral elements tease the listener with subtle details. it's so damn beautiful..."

a bit of background on this release: one of the great inspirations for invisible birds was bernhard günter and his seminal label trente oiseaux. the releases had an enormous influence and one of the gems was keith berry's the golden boat. it was with much pleasure when mr. berry wrote asking invisible birds to release his newest work elixir, and after listening to the wonderful kosmic washes of sound, there was no question than to proceed. the CD features abstract drawings by matthew swiezynski, and graphics by the brooklyn-based design kollektive mount analogue (chi yun and matthew swiezynski).
mr. berry said of the release: "the source material for the heavily granular processed sound that makes up elixir stems from another album of mine titled simulacra to be released shortly by infraction. not so much a remix album but a different take on material that had a strong pull on me, wanting me to return to it and explore the permutations that digital editing software allows."

keith berry is one who gathers many moments of sound over a period of time. the material for this recording (and simulacra on infraction records) traversed through berry's editing system like an alchemist's mystery-liquid, distilling through his alembic and becoming a final sonic spirit that takes innumerable forms and can no longer be recognized. this process is so beyond words and creates work that is further beyond words; the listener enters a complete void.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

that my memory is broken, I do not wonder

caspar david friedrich's fir tree

new chymical emblems of the secrets of nature; fitted partly to the eyes and intellect, with trees engraved in copper and leaves, partly to the ears and the recreation of the soul, with some fifty musical fugues in three parts, of which two are to correspond to one simple melody suitable for pleasure
(text from page 68 of the golden game)

Friday, September 21, 2012

alchemy film festival

loops from ingenting kollektiva's forthcoming cd + dvd lost beyond telling playing at scotland's alchemy film festival, fri 26th - sun 28th october 2012

in addition, invisible birds has just sent the cd + dvd master of lost beyond telling to the manufacturer, and should have copies to sell shortly.

notes to the screening :

synopsis:
the spectral analysis loops are a series of films by tarrl lightowler (image, editing, sound) and matthew swiezynski (editing and sound). there are four so far, they can be shown together or separate. the starting off point for this is a quote from paul celan :
"i attempt to render sections from the spectral analysis of things, to show them in many aspects and permutations simultaneously: their relations, sequences and oppositions.
unfortunately i am unable to observe things from all sides...i consider my so-called abstraction and my actual ambiguity to be moments of realism."
the films are loops made from animated photographs of Natur taken by tarrl lightowler and then generally remixed by matthew swiezynski with either new soundtracks, or extended versions of sound from their LP fragments of night. Nature, landscape, poetry, alchemy and perception are very important to this series.
biography/filmography:
tarrl lightowler and matthew swiezynski have been making films/videos exclusively dealing with nature for 20 years now and about 15 years together. the collaboration comes from a desire to use abstraction (in image and sound) to deal with Natur directly, in a way not dissimilar from the great Romantics.
artist's website: http://invisiblebirds.org
venue: main auditorium - heart of hawick, tower mill
screening date: sunday 27th october
screening time: 1.30pm
tickets: £4 (for the 'traversing the wild 2' programme)
programme: traversing the wild 2

Thursday, January 24, 2008

14 words whose enunciation lasted 5 seconds




classic books (number 3):

exercises de style by raymond queneau, editions gallimard 1947 (1958 translation by barbara wright)

in a bus of the s-line, 10 metres long, 3 wide, 6 high, at 3 km. 600 m. from its starting point, loaded with 48 people, at 12.17 pm., a person of the masculine sex aged 27 years 3 months and 8 days, 1 m. 72 cm. tall and weight 65 kg. and wearing a hat 35 cm. in height round the crown of which was a ribbon 60 cm. long, interpellated a man aged 48 years 4 months and 3 days, 1 m. 68 cm. tall and weighing 77 kg., by means of 14 words whose enunciation lasted 5 seconds and which alluded to some involuntary displacements of from 15 to 20 mm. then he went and sat down about 1 m. 10 cm. away.
57 minutes later he was 10 metres away from the suburban entrance to the gate saint-lazare and was walking up and down over a distance of 30 m. with a friend aged 28, 1 m. 70 cm. tall and weighing 71 kg. who advised him in 15 words to move by 5 cm. in the direction of the zenith a button which was 3 cm. in diameter.
precision (page 37-38)

(permutations)


in the introduction to the 1963 edition, queneau explains that the idea for the exercises came to him in the 1930s, after he and his friend michel leiris had attended a concert at the salle pleyel where bach's the art of the fugue had been played. what particularly struck queneau about this piece was that, although based on a rather slight theme, its variations "proliferated almost to infinity." it would be interesting, he thought, to create a similar work of literature.
(from barbara wright's notes for the 1981 american paperback edition)

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

trains in cinema, or fludd's memory system











new train film by matthew swiezynski: fludd's memory system
(all titles from frances a. yates' fine book the art of memory)


related images from robert fludd's the macrocosm, 1617 & 1618:

the great darkness

the appearance of light

the division of the waters

let there be light



anselm kiefer: fur robert fludd


for more information on robert fludd, see joscelyn godwin's book robert fludd: hermetic philosopher and surveyor of two worlds

Monday, July 9, 2007

new music, here and there

some new music i picked up, and many discs i heard while traveling through the wilds of north carolina, from my two knowledgeable tour guides.

new arrivals (chartier, jgrzinich, roden and basinski):

richard chartier + asmus tietchens: fabrications

such delicate handling and transforming of asmus tietchens' sound work by richard chartier. much like the cover's image by chartier, the listener moves through white space with glimpses of colour and darkness. and as always with mr. chartier, encounters with liminality.....


jgrzinich: rudiment of two

nothing is wrong with judging a book (or cd) by its cover. with mr. chartier and jgrzinich, the cover image had a huge influence on my reception of the works. as with the picture above; in rudiment of two, the listener encounters texture, colour, light, and the blurring of abstraction & the objective world (drone soundscapes coming from, among other things, old glass wine jars in italy). as with his other releases, every listen is a new experience.



steve roden w/ jacob danziger: dark over light earth (front & back)

mr. roden's 4 channel audio work created for the mark rothko exhibition at the moca, using a recording of jacob danziger playing violin along to morton feldman's rothko chapel (while listening on headphones), then putting the recording through the wonderful roden sound processor (which creates a sound-world unlike any other). i take roden's advise and listen at such a low volume, i can barely hear anything, which can be wonderfully disorienting.

william basinski: el camino real

mr. basinski's subtle crafting of tape-loops from a recent performance at the montalvo arts center (although the cd says l.a.?). as always with his work, a beautiful collision of chaos and beauty, yet almost unnoticeable (like satie's furniture music).



things heard in north carolina, while eating and driving, sleeping and dreaming, drinking spirits, and even walking the dog. thanks to my guides:

new(ish) steve roden vinyl: in flows and spuns & lines and spaces
isaac hayes: hot buttered soul (especially by the time i get to phoneix)
new iron & wine: shepherd's dog
björk with antony: dull flame of desire from volta
panda bear: person pitch
henry wolff & dancy hennings: tibetan bells (great 70s drone album)
marsen jules: fane d'automne & coeur saignant (with trio yara)
roberta flack: first time ever i saw your face
shelley duval: he needs me
joanna newsom: joanna newsom & the ys street band ep
j. tillman: cds
quieter animal collective
the look of love: the burt bacharach collection (esp. the look of love with dusty springfield and stan getz + tracks by dionne warwick)
benoît pioulard: précis
christopher delaurenti: favorite intermissions, music before and between beethoven - stravinsky - holst
a broken consort (richard skelton): the shape leaves
akron family: tour ep
jimi hendrix: electric ladyland 1968
jimmy rodgers + carter family + lefty frizzell boxsets
the smooth sounds of merle haggard and george jones, and the mills brothers
new bill callahan album and single (woke on a whaleheart and diamond dancer)
stunning new colleen: les ondes silencieuses
jordi savall/marin marais: marais: suitte d'un goût etranger - pièces de viole du IV livre, 1717
dj olive: buoy
e.a.r. on thomas köner
le samuraï soundtrack by francois de roubaix
mihaly vig's soundtrack work for bela tarr
hermann nitsch: harmoniumwerk vol 1, 2, 3, 4
new islaja: ulual yyy
jean-françois laporte: (esp. mantra) on soundmatters
al green

otis redding
robert henke: layering buddha
sir richard bishop: fingering the devil (a great title....)
terry callier
z'ev: headphones musics, 1-6
terje isunget: igloo: icemusic
my morning jacket: various cds
zbigniew preisner: la double vie de veronique soundtrack
new ornette coleman: sound grammar

(and others......)
(this list is: so i can keep track of all this business)

images by k.lightowler & t.ligtowler

Thursday, July 5, 2007

abstraction of trees, mondrian

landzicht farm under bluish-grey sky, 1905

geinrust farm in watery landscape, 1905-1906

the grey tree, 1911

composition 10 in black and white, 1915


the classic book: piet mondrian: catalogue raisonné by joop joosten and robert welsh, abrams 1996

(this is research for a video featuring north carolina trees, some big, some small, all put through the alembic of my camera. i asked old mondrian to help out, he told me to copy these nice images, and then put them in water, preferably rain.)

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

wasser (untitled)



3 stills from my new video,
shot in hanging rock, north carolina

Saturday, May 19, 2007

emma kunz




images from emma kunz

books:
-3x abstraction: new methods of drawing-hilma af klint, emma kunz, and agnes martin, yale & the drawing center new york.
-emma kunz - artist, researcher, natural healer, emma kunz zentrum.

Monday, May 14, 2007

h3o, or how to slice a loaf of bread

works by the hafler trio (one andrew mckenzie).
including lovely drones, provocative texts and graphic design.

-the sea org 1986, touch (re-release 2006 korm plastics)
-intoutof 1988, kk (re-release 1998 soleilmoon recordings)
-kill the king 1992, touch (re-release 2005 korm plastics)
-mastery of money 1992, touch (re-release 2005 korm plastics)
-all that rises must converge 1992, touch
-resurrection (with the sons of god) 1993, touch (live in stockholm)
-an utterance of the supreme ventriloquist 1996, soleilmoon recordings (re-released 2005)*
trilogy in three parts:
-cleave: 9 great openings 2002, extera
-no man put asunder: 7 fruitful and seamless unions 2003, die stadt
-no more twain, of one flesh : 11 unequivocal obsecrations 2003, nextera
-whistling about chickens 2002, fire inc*
-a small child dreams of voiding the plague 2003, important records
-wolf sheep cabbage 2003/2005, somnimage corporation*
-"how to slice a loaf of bread" 2003/2005, phonometrography
(part I — thursday 4th december 2003, part II — thursday 4th march 2005) i just have part II
-"normally. being by that entity formally known as the hafler trio" 2003, soleimoon recordings*
(based on the voice of blixa bargeld)
-kisses with both hands from gods little toy 2003, important records
-æ3o & h3æ 2003, phonometrography
(collaboration with autechre)
-scissors cut arrow 2005, phonometrography
(material premiered at clifford's tower, york with dvd)
-where are you? the partial results of an investigation by the hafler trio 2005, phonometrography*
(based on the voice of david tibet)
-i never knew that who you thought you were 2005, important records*
-only the hand that erases can write the true thing 2005, smallvoices*
-exactly as i say. a rapid learning method devised partly by the hafler trio 2005, phonometrography (&2006 dvd edition with 2 videos)
(based on the voice of jónsi birgisson)
-æo3 & 3hæ 2005, die stadt
(collaboration with autechre)
-á ég að halda áfram? 2005, important records*
-being a firefighter isn't just about squirting water 2005, important records*
-exactly as i do. the revised handbook of essential practice by the hafler trio 2005, important records
(based on the voice of jónsi birgisson)
-bloom (production and bonus track on fovea hex's album) 2005, die stadt & janet records
-exactly as i am. the complete course in speaking for all occassions by the hafler trio 2006, important records*
(based on the voice of jónsi birgisson)
-a pressed on sandwich 2006, nextera
(colin potter shapes how to slice a loaf of bread)
-3 eggs 2006, important records
(with andrew lilies and colin potter)*
-the work of washing 2006, jnana records, on not alone compilation

these are cds and records i have collected over the years by the hafler trio. my focus has been mainly on the later (recent) work. of all the "drone" artists, the hafler trio is hands down my favourite. mckenzie's ability to abstract beauty (the voices of david tibet of current 93 and jónsi birgisson of sigur ros for example) into something totally indefinite and ghostly, but with impressions of the original, is very rare. my work in film and video has taken me down similar paths, but after discovering this work i was ready to give it up.
alchemy comes to mind and the alchemist's tool, the alembic, a distillation apparatus. the hafler trio uses such devices physically and metaphorically, with chilling and mysterious results.
it is impossible to do any justice to this work in a format like this (theartofmemory), but here is a ghostly glimmering of the work:

nomanputasunder
no man put asunder: 7 fruitful and seamless unions

haflertrio-nomoretwain
no more twain, of one flesh : 11 unequivocal obsecrations

normally
"normally. being by that entity formally known as the hafler trio"

kisses
kisses

whereareyou
where are you? the partial results of an investigation by the hafler trio

never
i never knew that who you thought you were

onlythhand
only the hand that erases can write the true thing

exactlyasisay
exactly as i say. a rapid learning method devised partly by the hafler trio

æo3-3hæ
æo3 3hæ

egadhaldaafram
á ég að halda áfram?

beingafire
being a firefighter isn't just about squirting water

exactlyasido
exactly as i do. the revised handbook of essential practice by the hafler trio

foveahex
bloom (fovea hex)

exactlyasiam
exactly as i am. the complete course in speaking for all occassions by the hafler trio

pressedon
a pressed on sandwich

3eggs
3eggs