SUB ROSA INFO #134

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SUB ROSA INFO #134

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MAURICE LOUCA

Elephantine

LP

SRV474

- 400 copies limited orange vinyl + insert

- regular black vinyl + insert

On Elephantine, his new album released exclusively on

Sub Rosa as vinyl LP, Cairo-based Maurice Louca guides

a 12-piece ensemble through a 38-minute masterwork

that might best be described as panoramic. Elements of

free improvisation, Sun Ra's cosmic jazz, gorgeous Arabic

melody, trancelike African and Yemeni music and

minimalism meet in his wholly unique compositional

vision. Louca also makes vital contributions on guitar

and piano, and inspires stirring performances from

a global lineup.

RIYL:

Sun City Girls, 70s Miles Davis, Don Cherry,

Alice Coltrane, Tortoise

One of the most gifted, prolific and adventurous figures on Egypt's

thriving experimental arts scene, Louca has in recent years garnered

a global reputation through two previous solo albums and an expanding, evolving lineup of genre-defying collaborations. The Wire called his 2014 sophomore solo effort, Salute the Parrot, "remarkable music-dense,

driven and splashed with colour." In 2017, the self-titled debut by

Lekhfa, the trio of Louca and vocalists Maryam Saleh and Tamer

Abu Ghazaleh, was praised as an "edgy triumph" in The Guardian

and picked by BBC Radio 3's Late Junction as one of the very best

12 albums of 2017.

For Louca, 36, Elephantine serves as both the pinnacle of his

wide-ranging experience and a bold next step in his development

as a composer, arranger and bandleader. The celebrated Egyptian

visual artist Maha Maamoun has created the album cover art,

following her contribution to Salute the Parrot. "There was a blessed

thing about the process of making this record," Louca says of the

sessions, held last year in Stockholm and featuring the leader on

guitar and piano. "The dynamic between us musically but also as

people ...What these musicians delivered was really more than

I could ask for, Everyone played their hearts out on this record."

The music-from its pensive lulls through its stretches of hard-grooving

hypnosis and moments of avant-jazz catharsis-testifies to that rapport.

Best absorbed as a continuous performance, Elephantine's six

individually named tracks nonetheless present striking self-contained landscapes. "The Leper" entrances through a deft use of repetition

that Louca gleaned from cosmic jazz, African and Yemeni music and

other transcendental modal traditions. (Those who've followed Louca's

work might be reminded of the Dwarfs of East Agouza, his mesmeric

unit with Shalabi and Sun City Girls' Alan Bishop.)

"Laika" manages to evoke the minimalists, though on the combustible

terms of '60s and '70s free jazz; "One More for the Gutter," on which

Louca ingeniously pits one half of his ensemble against the other,

albeit in a synergistic way, mines similarly fiery terrain. "The Palm

of a Ghost" distills the band to a Cairo-rooted core, featuring stirring spontaneous melodies from oud player Natik Awayez, violinist Ayman

Asfour and vocalist Nadah El Shazly. The album's title track follows,

and it too blurs the border between composition and improvisation

with gorgeously atmospheric results. "Al Khawaga," with its colossal

ensemble riffs, beautifully dirty swing and impassioned blowing, is

an ideal finale.

Composed, arranged and produced by Maurice Louca
Tommaso Cappellato (Drums/Percussions)
Ozun Usta (Drums/Percussions)
Elsa Bergman (Bass)
Pasquale Mirra (Vibraphone)
Piero Bittolo (Baritone Sax/Alto Sax/Bass Flute)

Anna Högberg (Alto Sax)

Rasmus Kjærgård Lund (Tuba)

Isak Hedtjärn (Clarinet/Bass Clarinet)
Nadah El Shazly (Vocals)
Natik Awayez (Oud)
Ayman Asfour (Violin)
Maurice Louca (Guitar/Piano)

Executive producer: Sarah El Miniawy

Track Tiltes LP

side 1

01 The Leper

02 Laika

03 One More for the Gutter

side 2

04 The Palm of a Ghost

05 Elephantine

06 Al Khawaga

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/soundworks/maurice-louca.html

 

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LAST RELEASES + REPRINTS

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DAVID TOOP / PAUL BURWELL

Suttle Sculpture

LP SUBLOGOS03  Black vinyl

Never released before recordings from Logos

Foundation live sessions in Brussels, on May 7, 1977.

Studying esoteric organology, bioacoustics,

environmental sound, raw musics and anthropology,

Toop and Burwell were both fascinated by

phenomena like diffraction, propulsion, resonance,

projection, masking and heterodyning, and by

shamanism, the symbolically grounded agency of

shamanic drums, animal-becoming and noisy

costume, the shaman's capacity to enliven quotidian

space with the commotion of discarnate audible

entities from the spirit world. This recording is one

of the very few that conveys anything of what they

were about. 

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/sublogos/david-toop--paul-burwell.html

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OCTAVIAN NEMESCU

Gradeatia * Natural 1973-83

LP  SRV467  black vinyl + printed insert

On its 35-year anniversary, Octavian Nemescu's seminal

electronic album GRADEATIA-NATURAL is being re-issued

for the first time on vinyl in its complete form.

The first fully-electronic album to be released in Romania

under its culturally-repressive Communist regime.

Released in our Early Electronic series

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/early-electronic-music/octavian-nemescu-gradeatia--natural-1973-83.html

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OTTO SIDHARTA

Indonesian Electronic Music 1979-1992

LP SRV452 black vinyl

2CD SR452 black vinyl LAST COPIES

Fascinating and unreleased before music by

Otto Sidharta, pionneer of Indonesian electronic music.

Electronic compositions that integrated natural

sounds and urban sounds to this extent were

extremely rare at the time, which gives them

a unique form of intensity.

Released in our Early Electronic series

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/early-electronic-music/otto-sidharta.htm

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MERZBOW + OPENING PERFORMANCE ORCHESTRA

Merzopo

2CD  SR472 SOLD OUT

MERZOPO is a collaborative 2-CD album of a Japan

noise legend Masami Akita alias Merzbow and a

Czech seven-member ensemble Opening Performance Orchestra based in Prague.

The first CD contains four compositions by Merzbow. 'Futaomote' means 'double face' and it was originally

titled 'Janus'. 'Yasugibushi' is a Japanese old folk song which was sampled. The second CD contains two live

tracks from Opening Performance Orchestra which

were played live in Tokyo and Prague in 2017 and

studio edited at the end of 2017 and the beginning

of 2018.

--- no melody no rhythm no harmony

     - this is fraction music ---

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/electronics/merzbow-merzopo.html

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HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA

Ajanma

2CD GRAN 8

Hariprasad became 80 the this year.

A good moment for this unique solo album of the

world legend bansuri master from India.

Hariprasad Chaurasia is an Indian virtuoso flautist

in the Hindustani tradition, born 1 July 1938 in

Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/related-objects/hariprasad-chaurasia.html

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GILLES GOBERT

Chamber Electronic Music

CD SR466

trans, hybrid, crossbred, mongrel, whoreson, mixed,

unclean, intricated, blended, interracial, bastard,

harmonized, bouillabaisse, pandemonium, disorder,

bewilderment, muddled, disarrayed, tangled, distraction,

shambled, discorded, abashed, fuzzy, foggy, plaything,

rejoicing, orgasmic, thoughlessness, salad, undisciplined,

inordinate, coded, slanged, talk, privacy, nearness,

disobedient, unruly, confidante, imperfect, tainted, red.

a subtle mix of electronic composition

and contemporary touches.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/unclassical/chamber-electronic-music.html

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ACEZANTEZ

LP SRV450 LP

Rich textural pieces constructed from an unnotatable,

intricate interplay of percussive squeals, scrapes and

rattles, parched and pitchless woodwinds, and

dislocated keyboards On the evidence here,

Acezantez founded by the versatile Croatian composer

and instrumentalist Dubravko Detoni merit wider

recognition. Contemporary Croatian Masterpiece !

Originally released in 1977.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/soundworks/acezantez.html

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BOOK OF AIR VVOLK

Se (in) de bos

CD SR444

LP SRV444 black vinyl + printed innersleeve

'Se (in) de bos' -  a slow paced 60 minute piece

performed by the 18 musicians 'vvolk' orchestra

composed by Stijn Cools.

'While getting deeper in the sound of vvolk, the

perception of time fades. It is astonishing how

improvised music can create such a timeless,

and calming experience for the listener.

Reference names:

Ryuichi Sakamoto ambient works, Biosphere

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/soundworks/book-of-air-vvolk-se-in-de-bos.html

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JEAN C. ROCHE

BIRDS OF VENEZUELA

introduction by DAVID TOOP

LP SR411 black vinyl

Among many of his amazing records I came across

Jean C. Roché's Birds of Venezuela, beautifully

produced LPs of birdsong. I began to plan a trip to Amazonas,

to record the unearthly song of potoos and Yanomami shamanism. (David Toop)

Originally released in 1973

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/soundworks/jean-c-roche-birds-of-venezuela.html

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PSEUDOCODE

Next One's Called

LP SRV458 Dark Green vinyl

This could be seen as the missing link

between Slaughter in Tiny Place and Europa -

third and final LP report.

All tracks are unreleased.

Recorded and mixed between 1980 and 1981.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/captagon-years/captagon-years-12--pseudocode.html

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BILL LASWELL / NJ BULLEN

Bass Terror

LP SRV459 Red vinyl

This recording is the dark side of Bill Laswell at the peak

of his art in 1995. He goes into a black trance. The piece

is not from a collaboration, it was designed alone, in his
studio in Brooklyn. Bass Terror Tetragrammaton is 

also to be linked to an alchemical process.
Nocturnal Crawl is a totally hypnotic piece, the first that

Nik Bullen designed outside of Napalm Death and Scorn.

The two pieces answer each other strangely, like two

sides of the same hidden anxiety.

The concept of this series was the confrontation of

electric guitars as the tutelary instrument, but here

and this time only, it came out of bassists confronting

each other. Never released before as LP vinyl.

Available here as a 400 copies limited red vinyl.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/soundworks/bill-laswell--nicholas-james-bullen-bass-terror-lp.html

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UNIVERS ZERO

Ceux du Dehors

LP SRV403 Clear/red vinyl + insert

Third album (1981) by the Belgian band Univers Zero.

The title alludes to the short story of the same name

by H. P. Lovecraft; the players read the story in studio,

then proceeded to record the piece. A key release

for the band.

Ceux du Dehors sometimes suggests a darker and more complex version of the motorik minimalism of classical music contemporaries Philip Glass and Steve Reich.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/soundworks/univers-zero---ceux-du-dehors.html

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PAULINE OLIVEROS

Early Electronic Works 1959-66

2LP SRV460  sILVER VINYL LTD EDITION OF 400 COPIES LAST COPIES

Pauline Oliveros is more than ever an important American

composer. Born in Houston, Texas on May 30, 1932, the music

she produces today is close to the breath of life, with, notably,

her pieces for accordion played by herself, the creation of the

Deep Listening Center, her approach to improvisation, and

her numerous and varied collaborations with, among others,

John Cage, Morton Subotnick, Terry Riley, Sonic Youth, Erold,

and Andrew Deutsch...

What we wish to show here, is her early and definitive

contribution to the tape and electronic music of the late fifties

and sixties - her systematic exploration of electronic sounds,

which was fundamental to this period.

Released in our Early Electronic series

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/early-electronic-music/pauline-oliveros-early-electronic-works-1959-66-2lp.html

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OISEAUX-TEMPÊTE

TARAB

CD  SR455  /  8 page digipack

2LP SRV455 / 4 page insert / download  LAST COPIES

limited edition red/white vinyl + download voucher

TARAB (in literary arabic - euphoria, secular exaltation, ecstasy), their sixth release on Sub Rosa, is the result

of live recordings captured during the AL-'AN! tour .

It is in symbiosis, in the fever and visceral experimentation of the

concert, that the musicians of OISEAUX-TEMPÊTE seek rapture.

Arranged in a semicircle, they invoke the elements and attempt the

catharsis, inviting the spectator to spiral with them, entwined in the

sonic explosions, finding beauty and peace in the spaces of improvisation

and elaboration. Marrying free-rock, organic electronics, traditional

instruments and unbridled electricity, TARAB, far beyond the vibrant

testimony, is a generous invitation to experience, to meditate and

to share.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/soundworks/oiseaux-tempete--tarab.html

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PHIL MAGGI

Animalwrath

CD SR453

Phil Maggi is a composer, a vocalist and a film maker

from Belgium. Known as the lead singer of heavy-rock combo Ultraphallus, Phil Maggi develops an extensive

body of work as a solo musician for several years.

This new album Animalwrath is a combination of

his different forms of music, from ambient-drone, electro-acoustic, sampling and field recordings to free-jazz.

Phil Maggi has invited a few generous collaborators

(Oren Bloedow, Maja Jantar, Radwan Ghazi Moumneh,

Tom Malmendier, Gabriel Séverin and Ludovic Medery)

on these eight tracks inspired by Henry Corbin's

writings, Nico, Scott Walker and Traditional music.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/soundworks/phil-maggi.html

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HASTINGS OF MALAWI

Visceral Underskinnings

LP  SRV449  Yellow vinyl

35 years after the release of their critically acclaimed

album Vibrant Stapler Obscures Characteristic Growth

the British dadaist group Hastings of Malawi have released

a new album - an epic sound poem entitled Visceral

Underskinnings. It is a 40 minute film without light that

reflects on the human condition, on modern society, on the

nature of telephony and electricity and an attempt to make

sense of the world in which we live that provides no answers.

It is a sound collage of diverse elements including the voices

of George Washington Johnson ('the whistling coon' 1846-1914)

and Dr Hastings Banda - the first president of Malawi.

It includes randomly generated computer music, voice

synthesis, recordings of cold war number stations, American

military sound weaponry and recordings of the some of the

many sound sculptures produced by Hastings of Malawi over

the last 30 years.

Hastings of Malawi produce sounds that sit in that grey area

where sound art and music meet but they reject both labels

and cannot be comfortably placed in either camp. This is not

an easy album to listen to but persevere and you may or

may not be able to decipher its meaning.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/soundworks/hastings-of-malawi--visceral-underskinnings.html

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MAL

My Sixteen Little Planets

CD  SR432

LP SRV432 Black vinyl  LAST COPIES

40 years later the mythic album is at last available !

Lies of omission and appropriations.

The story of a magnetic tape that contained a trade secret.
Four decades after its release (on Orh, 1975), Inventions for Electric

Guitar, the solo debut by Ash Ra Temple guitarist Manuel Göttsching,

is now a classic, an undisputed worldwide reference. This album was
made using only an electric guitar and a simple 4-track tape recorder.

So was the challenge, and so was its impact. Göttsching recorded it in July-August 1974 in Berlin, after a sudden technical revelation. The
original LP sleeve had the following printed on its back: Manuel

Göttsching (guitars only). Manuel played his guitar and used a 4 track

TEAC A3340, Revox A77 for echoes, WahWah pedal, volume pedal, Sola Sound Fuzz, Schaller Rotosound and Hawaiian steel bar.

The reaction was unanimous: this was a significant innovation,

in terms of both technique and creativity. However, there are little-known facts to this case. In early 1974, Göttsching's label received a tape sent by M.A.L. - same design, same configuration, almost the same tracks. This is known by only a handful

of experimental musicians from the Charleroi area. M.A.L. aka Daniel

Malempré is the actual inventor of this technique, which Göttsching

reproduced a few months later. Given the above, I suggest that we listen to both albums. As doubts are removed, the truth sets in, forty years later. Here's hoping that this will ease  the deep disgust that made M.A.L. leave his guitar untouched for so long.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/captagon-years/mal.html

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MUSIC FROM YEMEN ARABIA

Sanaani, Laheji, Adeni and Samar

Recorded by Ragnar Johnson and Jessica Mayer

2CD SR448  digipack + 12 page booklet

2LP SRV448 + color insert

These songs originate from the city of Sanaa,

the sheikdom of Lahej and the port of Aden.

Samar is the delicious, luxury time when people

gather for relaxation, refreshment and music.

This record contains oudh playing, percussion

and singing from Yemen. The three Kawkabani

brothers sing traditional poems and play oudh (lute),

double drums, tambourine and, occasionally,

the kanoun (zither). They were recorded in Sanaa

in 1973. The oudh player Hassan al Zabeede and

his double drum playing brother sing songs in

the Lahej style and were recorded in Taez in 1973.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/unclassical/sylvain-chauveau--chant-1450-renaissance-ensemble.html

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BAUDOUIN DE JAER

4 Geomungo Sanjo Vol II

CD  SR470 4 page digipack + 16 page booklet

New compositions for ancient Korean instrument:

the Geomungo.

Follow up to the high acclaimed Compositions

For Geomungo and Gayageum (2012).

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/le-coeur-du-monde/baudouin-de-jaer---4-geomungo-sanjo-vol-ii.html

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JEAN-LUC FAFCHAMPS

H1KhH2WM (Du seuil), a Five-letter Sufi Word

CD  SR445 4 page digipack + 20 page booklet

Third chapter in the Sufi Word's series.

LISTEN

https://www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/unclassical/jean-luc-fafchamps-h1khh2wm-du-seuil-a-five-letter-sufi-word.html

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www.subrosa.net

mailto:fw@subrosa.net

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