Hello
January is always the strangest month in terms of my life, a time when plans begin to take shape and I wait to confirm various projects, schedules and deadlines. Hence, this newsletter might well be the shortest of the year.
I’ve just returned from the Netherlands, where I spent two weeks exploring and working. I played two shows at the rather magnificent Orgelpark. The Orgelpark is the international concert hall in Amsterdam for organists, composers and other artists, housed in the beautifully restored monumental Parkkerk, near the Amsterdam Vondelpark.
And believe me, I’ve never seen so many organs in one single building. Looking around there are organs at every turn, it’s quite incredible, both traditional and modern. There’s even a single controller that sits in the main auditorium, that offers the organist Jakob LKK the ability to choose which organ he’d like to perform on, at any one time.
We rehearsed for two days, but nothing can prepare you for the reality of an actual performance. On the first night, we performed German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Pole (1970) with bass clarinettist Gareth Davis. And for my Fan Club members there’s something special for you waiting on Bandcamp!
I thought all was going splendidly until Jakob stepped away from the organ and walked across to Gareth, and whispered in his ear. My heart sank. Had I messed up somewhere? Had I lost my place in this visual score? Ever professional, the performance continued for the next hour, with Jakob missing, yet somehow mysteriously and sonically still present.
It wasn’t until we united to take our bow at the end however, that I learnt that in fact the controller for the organs had somehow crashed, a very rare occurrence, so he’d had to dash upstairs to play the organ directly, whilst almost completely unable to hear us both downstairs, or follow our cues!
Thankfully, the standing ovation rapidly erased my bad feeling inside. The next night we performed Stockhausen’s Aus den sieben Tagen (1968) with a larger ensemble of players.
Aus den sieben Tagen is a cycle of fifteen compositions that Stockhausen wrote to explore the concept of ‘intuitive music’, in which he does not write down notes, but gives the musicians instructions such as ‘play a vibration in the rhythm of the universe’ or ‘hold a note until the entire sound turns to gold.’ As you might imagine, it leaves a fair amount open to the players and it was a little nerve-wracking to bring this 2.5-hour long work to the stage.
This time the organ behaved, as did the other players, and the performance reached a height of truly epic proportions. Imagine a combination of Godspeed You! Black Emperor with celebrated American minimalist La Monte Young at intense volume. Both of the shows were recorded, so here’s hoping that one day we can make a special release of these performances.
Given how the calendar works there are now two new episodes of EarSpace on Slack City to bring to your attention. As ever, episodes 18 and 19 offer you electronic music from the past, present and future.
In Episode 18, I bring truly unpronounceable artists, including SHXCXCHCXSH, Janka & Crzkny, MPU101, as well as classic tunes from Plastikman, King Crimson, The Black Dog and Plaid. There’s music to almost tap your toes to from Djrum, Tristan Arp, Norman McLaren, and even Throbbing Gristle. It’s nothing, if not eclectic!
And in the most recent episode 19, I present drifting music from William Basinski & Richard Chartier, industrial tones from Jacob Kirkegaard and Zone, and reissues from Jan Jelinek and Coil vs ELpH. In between, there’s international music from Sunna Margret, Olga Anna Markowska, Gazelle Twin, Sote, Innode and many more.
And, as ever, don’t forget you can listen back to the last two years of broadcasts, directly here at Totally Radio. It includes all the credits for the artists too, if you can’t always understand my sexy BBC radio voice, ha ha!
In between having my credit card hacked by some unscrupulous individual, and battling with some truly challenging deadlines, this month has otherwise remained reasonably quiet. It did offer me an opportunity to work through some of my archive though.
I came across a folder of articles I had written about music and the visual arts back in the 1980s. None of these have ever been published. Re-reading them some 40+ years later, I thought that some of them might be of interest to people today.
The first of these uploads is a feature I wrote about the American avant-garde composer Glenn Branca (1948-2018). Please consider these words were written out of enthusiasm, from a youthful mind, without access to the internet. Each page was handwritten, then retyped on a manual typewriter. So, let’s step back in time. Read it in full here.
I’m currently awaiting stock of several new releases to arrive, so I can share them with you too. There will be two new CD releases on my label Alltagsmusic too, the first in the new dance score series and a song album recorded over a decade ago, that has been patiently awaiting release. Having written over 75 works for ballet, I’m beginning with the most minimal and reductionist work imaginable, and personally one of my favourites.
For those truly committed to the cause, that’s to say, keen to keep up with all my sonic adventures, here’s something new and exclusive. It’s only available on Bandcamp and for Fan Club members only. It’s the opening section to the Stockhausen Pole concert I wrote about at the beginning of this newsletter, and features all the live electronics, in an abstract field of environmental sounds and radio waves.
To gain access to this and FIFTY exclusive recordings, plus all new releases as they come out, it’s easy. For less than the price of two coffees in your week, which you probably never think about, you can have all this music and more (discounts on purchases, etc). Join up here and sleep soundly in the knowledge that you are supporting an independent artist who depends on his listeners to make a living. Last week a friend told me it now costs £8.00 for a coffee in a place in London’s Soho, so subscribing is most definitely the bargain of the year 🙂
Thanks to everyone who has visited Centre Pompidou in Paris to experience Esprits de Paris too. The installation will hopefully be touring around the world from March 2025, so keep an eye on dates here.
There are more live shows confirmed for this year too. I’m playing a special low-key show at All is Joy in Soho in London on 20 Feb, at the catchily titled WonkyPonkyElectronk night. Then I’ll be playing my first live shows in Norwich and Ipswich in March, followed by a grand London show with my old pal Fennesz.
I’m currently in conversation regarding possible shows in Sweden, Helsinki and other places, so stay tuned for details on those too. And, if you are using any social networks, you can now find me at the most acceptable and friendly Bluesky. Join me there please.
Wishing you a great month ahead and as always, thanks for your support.
Warmest wishes
Professor Scanner
::: listen :::
Terre Thaemlitz: Snowflakes & Dog Whistles (Comatonse Recordings)
Roland Kayn: Elektroakustische Projekte & Makro (Reiger Records Reeks)
TeZ: Black Bamboo Box (St.an.da.)
Jean-Luc Godard: Nouvelle Vague (ECM)
::: read :::
Samantha Harvey: Orbital (Vintage)
Alberto Manguel: Packing My Library (Yale)
Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit (Tate)
Steve Underwood: Even When It Makes No Sense (Korm Plastics)
::: watch :::
A Real Pain: Jesse Eisenberg
Presence: Steven Soderbergh
Silvia Prieto: Martin Rejtman
A Complete Unknown: James Mangold
