Radioolio Mix

A Sound Awareness is delighted to present an exclusive mix of avant oddness expertly curated by Radioolio. Tracklist in comments.

 A Sound Awareness Mix by A Sound Awareness 

L'Ecran Transparent

Bernard Parmegiani - L'Ecran transparent/The Transparent Screen from Seth Watter on Vimeo.

Anworth Kirk

Strange things have been coming through my letterbox of late.  This morning, I received a whole batch of mail related to the blog, a recording of sub aquatic exotica by Dolphins Into The Future, a book on rubber fetish wear and a collection of films made by the artist John Latham.  Also amongst the mail, was an anonymous parcel with scant information as to the identity of the sender.  Slightly anxious that I was being stalked, I set about finding out who had sent it.  It took a while, but eventually, after a little research, I twigged who was responsible. This particular package contained a record, and a very interesting one at that.  At times, the recording sounds like a soundtrack, albeit of the vaguely oddball and twisted kind.  It's a strange mixture of spectral electronics and cunning folk musique concrete.  The disc is immersed in an ill distempered paganism with shimmering moments of intense haunting fragility. The record graphics impart very little information apart from a photograph of Anworth Kirk (a location used in the The Wicker Man film) and a page of a book (which I think relates to the Pendle witchcraft trial of 1612) which was glued onto the back of the hand stitched cover.  I found the music contained spellbinding and for those who enjoyed the recent Broadcast and Focus Group collaboration, they will find much to love about this record. As to when it's actually released, I'll keep you posted.

Hallucinations Of Edie

"Hallucinations Of Edie" is one of my favourite audio collages.  It was created by Parisian based sound artist and record collector/dealer extraordinaire, Gwen Jamois.  Gwen studied musique concrete under the tutelage of Christine Groult, Bernard Parmegiani, Fracois Bayle and Luc Ferrari. As well as producing music, Mr. Jamois finds time to run the legendary rare records site Iueke.   Gwen has a habit of turning up records so rare that even the most knowledgeable dealers are unaware of their existence.  Gwen has kindly given permission to repost this rare and rather special mix.  I hope you enjoy. 

The mix was originally commissioned by Under The Influence for a Grey Gardens special issue. The following is Gwen's own notes and track listing:

1. Doctor says ‘huh’ 1978

The text is originally performed (before re-edits) by Gail Williams of The Cincinnati Artists Group Effort (C.A.G.E.) Background music is a Classic, melancholic track by soundtrack maestro Bruno Nicolai (Morricone’s mentor) from a rare music library only LP (CAM 1070). Nicolai sadly took to the shadows after been involved in a sex scandal.

2. Kenward Elmslie ‘the woolworth song’ 1978

NY Kenward’s poetry and prose is often combined with the graphical work of other artists. A collection of his writing, Motor Disturbance (1971), won the Frank O’Hara Award for Poetry in1971. Here we hear that the boy can sing.

3. Erik Thygesen – Passions-Surfaces – For Cecilia Stam 1968

Madam Stam made her Debut at the Eurovision song contest, here she is guided by Erik, a Swedish man of stories, essays and translations on a sentimental piece on the eternal triangle. Once again the added background music is from my vast collection of unknown music – details on request

4. Arne Mellnäs – Far Out (Portrait Of Laura Nyro) 1969

Swedish composer Arne Mellnäs delivers a wonderful tribute to song legend Laura Nyro – Todd Rundgren famously stated that, once he heard her, he “stopped writing songs like The Who and started writing songs like Laura”. Go Todd… Nyro is mixed with the poetry of Mona Da Vinci – excerpt from “the sacred wood art: the last super of Mona Da Vinci” NY 74. A true pioneer of feminist based art.

5. Anthony J. Gnazzo – Hisnia & Hernia – CA 1975

A beautiful piece from an avant-garde poet extraordinaire. Joined on re-edited drums and electronic-ness by Teutonic drummer Klaus Weiss from an LP called ‘27’ – Vegetable Poet Novelist On Cello.

6. Jackie Curtis – ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” NY 1976

Philips' Prospective 21e Siecle Records

I can still remember the thrill of discovering a couple of these records in a Parasian flea market almost two decades ago.  From the moment I saw the intricate foil sleeves, I knew there was another sound world waiting to be discovered.  Philips' Prospective 21e Siecle Records was launched in 1967, as a platform for the newly emerging musique concrete and electronic scene.  The covers were printed using polarized metallic inks and still look as futuristic as the day they were designed.  I've tied to research their author but found scant clues.  If you know who designed them, I'd love to know.

Pierre Bastien - Avid Diva

About five or six years ago I became obsessed with the work of French composer and multi-instrumentalist Pierre Bastien. He builds mechanical musical instruments using items such as metronomes, cymbals, pulleys and Meccano. His work has been described as a "hypnotic swing of wheezy scratchy noises which underpin nostalgic melodies. The resulting sound is one of broken bluegrass, blues and Musique Concrete that combine to create an amazingly cohesive and alluring organic atmosphere."