details on the latest absurd batch came to us in irregular intervals, so we only had the tasos stamou/ilan manouach cdr online up till now. At last though, we have notes and actual pictures of all the rest…
left to right:
matt weston ‘for alexandros grigoropoulos’, cdr
feline desmond ’seg fridge’, 7″ [rekem records]
joke lanz & rudolf eb.er ‘Akustische Aktion’ (Essen) – Zurich 1991, LP [co-released with PAN]
fire away…
long since the last piece of news… perhaps the reason why is that my life goes under rapid changes the last 2-3 months and reorganise things down here at the central.
on the other hand thanks to these changes found the proper time to rearrange my space and try to organize absurd’s archive (or at least i tried to).
and in the meantime new releases… 3 in a row on ‘a question of re_entry’ plus the vinyl issue of ‘akustiche aktion’ in conjuction with pan records to celebrate sudden infant’s 20th anniversary.
the blogs have remained silent too but is a matter of time to reactivate them and upload a hell of stuff…
apologies also to those whose emails i might have forgotten to answer.. if you are one of them pls drop a line again!
hhhmm… guess that’s all… not much in the pipeline either. plans are to try to reduce releases in 2010 to some 3 or 5 maximum. we’ll see.
next week also sees daylight a stellar electroacoustic 7″ by socrates martinis (aka blanco estira nuestra, helice pied, nixilx nijilx, etc - well changes names faster than the speed of light so i won’t be suprised to see in the future a sign quoted as ‘the artist formely knows as socrates martinis’)
also together with my friends thalia & aggelos of 0600am blog http://0600am.blogspot.com/ we issued a limited to 100 7″ on our fictional rekem records (infos on what rekem stands for can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra) influenced thanks to this book http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-10-2005-74577.asp of a fridge recording done in weimar sometime earlier this year. you can download the track from their blog. 7″s were handed for free and not sure where you can track them down or not (’ve got very few even for me) however drop a line and you can never know.
guess that’s all for now. more news to come in november/december with more surprises as well….
love & noise
nicolas
[release details coming up -admin]
on a question of re_entry
tasos stamou, ilan manouach cdr
a varied duel between the two that took place in amfissa earlier this year. ilan sticks to soprano and sopranino saxophones while tasos circles him with all kinds of small & toy instruments and loops. exploratory at first, tuneful when it needs to ride to the occasion, a very nice and breezy document.
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http://absurd.noise-below.org
http://www.myspace.com/ilanmanouach
http://tasosstamou.wordpress.com/
nokalypse - repeated in an indefinitely alternating series of thoughts LP
co-published by absurd & entr’acte in the uk, comes the latest work from Themistoklis Pantelopoulos. Mostly known around these offices as the head of the triple bath label, he really excels himself as a kick-ass laptop musician on this one, brewing a strong blend of electroacoustic elements with a classic feel written all over them. The sounds drift and swell in large masses, providing serious healing for all senses considered. The music also benefits from a quite loose but definitely very considered structure (no dry sequencing here) which a very strong and dynamic direction to the two compositions in the record.
hurry and get your copy from absurd (250 pressed, and they won’t stick around waiting)
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in what must be one of my most belated announcements, it is a great joy to announce four fabulous absurd related editions (well, three that you can actually get, but four in total)
first of all some crunching saxophone and non-saxophone sounds from absurd favorite antoine chessex, approximating the variety and energy levels of his solo shows this is one record you won’t really appreciate from a measly image on the net. 1-sided 12″ + a hidden 7″ on the back, in a beautiful fold-out sleeve. then there’s the live document of a meeting between al margolis & dan burke. if the names if,bwana & illusion of safety mean anything to you, then you probably already have this. if on the other hand they don’t mean anything to you, then you have some serious studying to do… third in a row is a private-press nugget, absurd released 25 copies of a 7″ by antony milton. featuring lo-fi strummings and mesmerising atmosphere (caution: the last antony milton 7″ is not available for purchase)
and for an encore we have a disc by an amazing young greek musician, operating under the moniker larry gus. larry gus is very much in the spotlight these days in the greek indie community and rightly so because he’s a tireless guy with immense prospects ahead of him. a year ago he played a birthday party in the city of xanthi, but the disc is not a direct documentation of that party since the recording was faulty in parts. instead he reconstructed the whole thing adding new sounds and layers, while using sections from the original music along the way, and ended up with an even better disc than we could have had with a straight document. get it now & don’t be afraid of your inner child.
‘iasmos’ was released by a new label called “oko” in the family of hrysalida, lalia and other small names like that
hhhmm… like the good ol’ days… every week a new release…
at least that’s how it worked the last 2-3 weeks over here. below’s the info on the new ones. including an antoine chessex 1sided LP, an al margolis / dan burke cdr on absurd and on little orion’s ‘okko’ records a cdr of larry gus.
upcoming there’s still plenty of stuff… next week in berlin for the 20th sudden infant anniversary (www.suddeninfant.com for infos) will come out a vinyl reissue of the rudolv eb.er / joke lanz ‘akustiche aktion’. a limited lp issued by pan records (www.pan-act.com) and absurd’s ‘all noises swell together in landscapes’ blog.
may / june sees an incredible nokalypse LP co-released with entracte (www.entracte.co.uk).
more’s in the pipeline too (of course)… a cdr by none is also in mind / works but gotta meet mr. 1000+1 (www.tiltrecordings.org) tilt first to get the master that ashley handed him a couple of months ago… keeping in mind that i should hand jason also a design for a noise-below.org t-shirt guess that we’ll meet for those 2 specific releases and we’ll end discussing for more…
also keep an eye on nikos veliotis’s ‘cello powder’ limited edition cd. document of his instal performance. for more infos pls visit here www.cellopowder.com. should you wish a promo copy feel free to email me, ‘ve got a handful of promo sleeves rotting on my room’s floor…
last but not least as i chanced yesterday at a live set @ kinky kong (http://kinkykong.blogspot.com) and saw a great sax / electronics pal performing keep an eye on his work http://www.ilanmanouach.com/. he’s having a cdr on triple bath (www.triplebath.gr) in a week or two.
ahhhh if you find the time too check also http://excretemusic.blogspot.com mostly uploading stuff i like. guess i shoulda upload all my fave violent onsen geisha stuff too as is thanks to the master’s same titled cd the blog named after.
no more no less
love & noise
nicolas
(ed - releases info below, to be added in the absurd page in the coming days)
Read the rest of this entry »
in case you missed the mention, there is now a blog cataloguing past activities of absurd & related entities (nicolas’s pre-absurd tape imprint, etc). in it you can find high-quality mp3 uploads of oop releases, as well as odds-and-ends that haven’t seen the light of day before (like live shows, raw material & private releases). quite different from the regular absurd catalogue found in this page
you can find the blog at:
http://allnoisesswelltogetherinlandscapes.blogspot.com/
another new blog, this time focusing on obscure greek underground releases (though might only be one of possible directions this blog will take):
http://excretemusic.blogspot.com/
last but not least is a blog set up by costis drygianakis. most known in these circles from his duo with nikos veliotis that absurd put out back in the early days, his ‘edo’ label put out the first ‘cranc’ cd, but his activities as a musician & music writer have mostly been known inside greece.
in this blog he’s set up (in greek) he’s focusing so far on local folk (& beyond) recordings, offering single tracks from recordings that usually fly below the radar & coupling them with detailed and valuable historical and musicological information.
a very pleasant surprise:
http://drygianakis.blogspot.com/
quite a short note mostly with news around latest releases, etc…
the actual editions_zero version of the ‘ashtray navigations / family battle snake / stellar om source’ LP is out and sells out fast.
out as well is the nmperign / skeletons out split 7″
absurd & editions_zero have some new offerings for all you patient souls out there, including a healthy dose of good-old vinyl.
first of all a 12″ that’s been out for some time now, co-published with entr’acte in the uk, there is blanco estira nuestro (+), hermana Hélice - Cylindre./.oeur (S+C) by socrates martinis (also known from other projects as nixilx.nijilx and Hélice Pied)
then there is rinus van alebeek’s ‘musik fur mitte’, a field recording based work, using sounds from berlin’s centre area
and finally, without further delay, an LP featuring the talents of ashtray navigations, family battle snake and stellar om source
look for them in a mailbox near you, or check the releases page for details and a link to the absurd page
absurd has set up a mailing list in order to keep interested parties informed on its activities. you can add yourself to it using a simple form found here. since they have established themselves as one of the most prolific -as well as erratic in their schedule- entities, there is enough reason to think that a list like this will be of service to some…
the song remains the same… at least this led zep title strucks in mind each time i say to myself that is high time for some ‘relax’ and at the same time a hell of releases are spewn out of nowhere though new ones are added to the list… anyway.. c’est la vie… & what can’t be cured must be endured (hhmm no matter the english proverb the way written reminds of more eastern greek fatalism tradition).. absurd’s mk3 ended (at last) w/ the release of the extremely delayed (sorry werner) ‘remnants from paradise’ of werner durand.. those who fancied his ‘buzzin” cd a few years ago wil love that, is in a more ‘calm’ mood but still unique in its sounds… frankly together w/ the if,bwana ‘gruntle’ and the mprime/max eastley ‘hudrophony..’ cds form a part of ‘trilogy’ in absurd’s saga!!! www.myspace.com/wernerdurand for more infos on his work! various other releases saw daylight such as the co-production between editions_zero (amphissa) & echomusic (www.echomusic.gr - athens) of the ‘anastenaria‘ a field recording of the ritual and fire walking of may 20-21st 1979. you can get more infos on them here www.anagnosis.gr/index.php?la=eng&pageID=143 no matter is not THE ‘in_depth” review of the custom but at least is cool to get an idea around it.
of course the a la new blockaders sound of the alfredo costa monteiro & pascal battus ‘ductile’ on a question of re_entry and organized music from thessaloniki that am dying for and the just released ‘vivo’ by earzumba that is the mix of his last december’s tour using extracts from the sets from flue (wien), m.am.b.a. (buenos aires) & the folk museum (xanthi). the 1st edition of hrysallida (or the name under which members of pa.ke.thra & editions_zero work together for live sets, etc in the city of xanthi) and reminds us of the memorable live set of earzumba @ the museum last december and then the surprise birthday party we did for a friend in the bar ‘kokori’ intoxicated by the sounds of our beloved dj amigo, chirstos carras!
more lunacy to follow of course… last week larry gus, manipulated the sounds we produced at the party of little orion to celebrate his 2nd birthday.. haven’t heard yet the recordings of it but it’ll be stellar the resulted cd, trust me! chanced upon the velvet magazine’s bus tour also in xanthi where once more had the chance to fancy the post punk / new wave sounds of victory collapse, who play the music they like in a very lively and fresh way.. check out their mcd too. it was of the very few times that seriously if i had my tape recorders and tapes w/ me i would have joined them for a little cacophony as is music that you feel like adding some tapes in the background when seeing it live or at least my burned mind says so… keep an eye also on me of curse and his dissilussioned world.. haven’t checked much of his work but i won’t be surprised if i suddenly saw an editions_zero release of his work…
more news..hot on the heels of editions_zero… as july sees the 10th anniversary of our accidental 1st meeting of july 98 in various places of phokis at random days and a little part of it was documented in the ‘research center for the definition of happiness’ cdr a few years ago (the one that was meant to be out in 98 and saw daylight in 2003) we’re working on a couple of releases to coincide w/ the birthday.. so in the pipeline are a cdr w/ a field recording of the custom of the ‘ghost‘ that takes place during the carnival, a split 7″ between skeletons out & nmperign which trust me kicks asses! plus a ltd lp of a mesmerizing collaboration between family battle snake & ashtray navigations.. this one is of those that have made us nuts with and can’t see the time to see it out not only regarding the music but also the artwork we’re to use! so keep an eye on all of them!
speaking of skeletons out.. make sure you check their ‘in remembrance of me’ cd on students of decay (www.studentsofdecay.com) for those who fancy the old classic us nihilistic noise/electroacoustic tape network like pbk, hands to, haters, agog, yeast culture, etc this motherfucker will be a punch in the stomach! it fuckin’ rocks!!! got it 4 days ago and i can’t stop playing it on my deck! sets absurd’s hq’s on fire!!!!
also due for release are more yummies! like the ‘cylindre /.oeur(s+c)’ 12″ that is due for release in may between entr’acte & absurd.. 2 works of blanco estira nuestro + hermana helice (aka the same person that used to be nixilx.nijilx) that was initially to be a one sided 12″ on entr’acte and later a 7″ on absurd but as they both create a complete work, socrated thought it better that we can fit 2 into 1 (& save cash to release more shit too!).. so keep an eye on it as is a really beautiful electroacoustic thing!
of course also to mention the forthcoming raionbashi 12″ that is due to release between ignivomus and absurd between may/june (or later?)…
hhhm.. guess that’s all… uh, no.. there’s also a maverlous mouths cdr on the way too!!!!!
mios dios! also is a matter of days that amei drops a line to say that the copies of the placenta poppey / reverse mouth 7″ are ready to be posted… a 3 way split between tanzprocesz, phase & absurd…
that’s all for now..those lines were jotted under the enthusiasm of the skeletons out cd (no kiding at all!!! noise bless howie stelzer & jay sullivan!!!!) so this update is dedicated to them!!!
if you chance in athens this week make sure you came by kinky kong on holy thursday the 24th around 21.30 to say ‘hi’ and attend the mayhem of carlos giffoni / family battle snake / novasak & nokalypse…
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also last but not least… regarding children’s parties that we’ll keep on doing in north and north eastern greece… as the live set thing and mixing sounds we produce w/ toy instruments / the ambience of the place w/ the sounds produced by the friend we invite has reached a point that we feel like all that has to be done w/ it is done and we seek even more creative and interacting ways of how to continue them (be it a performance where the children that are inthe party participate, a kind of puppet theatre, an installation, or whatever that includes this kind of motion, interaction, learning, etc.. we seek people whose work does not only has to do solely w/ music/sound but also includes video, installation, motion, etc… any ideas or proposals are always accepted… for sure accomodation, food, tickets are provided.. be flexible w/ a fee and also can seek about possibilities for a live set or whatever in th cities of xanthi, thessaloniki, or even athens… interested parties feel free to drop a line, you are welcome!!!
love & noise
nicolas
well… to be honest the last 2-3 months have been busy enough, weird enough as well… as life is as usual full of surprises….
absurd has (thanks to magnus schaefer, jos smolders & earlabs) an interview online @ http://www.earlabs.org/text/label.asp?labelID=16
had a great time & fun doing it & is kinda a joint effort w/ magnus scaefer… i provided the raw material which was later mixed and served as a game of silence out of which various sounds are born… starting it from scratch while spending some trully intense moments travelling during daytime and working till late at night then in my home in phokis (www.kaloskopi.gr - the village where my home / absurd central lies) is an ascend/descend to a manipulated field recordings/noisy (or not) intense electroacoustics or seen from another view a trip through bizarre & spontaneous free musics soundscapes. well visit, download and decide whether it was an intense collaboration (as i see it) or not…
regarding other news… just out is the jeff gburek cdr ‘virtuous circles’, a kinda field recordings set using subtle improvised electronics to create his documentation or better say his own view/approach to the cultural pastiche (allow me to use this term) of our times… blasting it as an idea from the area he lives, kreuzberg, berlin and expand it. starting point his remarkable set in small music theatre, in athens a couple of years ago (seeing greece also as the point where east meets west) and goes further to it…
in the pipeline are the long delayed matthew sansom/rhodri davis cdr (mid november) and jacob smigel cdr. plus the extremely delayed cd of werner durand. guess these 2 will be out around mid december / early january 08.
details to follow. also don’t miss the sonic catering band / bohman brothers split/collab. cdr. i know it was meant to be a joint lathe-cut 10″ w/ gold soundz back in 2004. shelved for long as both sindre and i had been busy enough but finally here comes a tiny handmade maxi-cdr version of it. still lovely!
plus keep an eye for more surprises that might follow in mid/late november. and also in the ‘toys in the room’ cdr that is due for release on editions_zero sometime in november/december. one of the most bizarre and totally ‘out’ lo-fi recordings from my friend dimitris in amphissa (where also the editions_zero central lies in the province of phokis) and friends. a recording not only to bring in mind some of the most intense & insane moments of last summer spent mostly on motherland (www.fokida.gr) but also a slight idea of meetings in dimitris’s loft or further sporadic collective meetings in phokis or other places around greece.
love & noise
nicolas
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