[ reviews ]
19. belle confusion 0247 [ • rec. 2000 ][w/ Michael Northam]
> rel. 2000 - CD .absolute.[seattle], USA
Francisco López & Michael Northam "Belle Confusion 0247" (CD - .absolute.[seattle] 2000)
Five years ago an exchange began between Francisco López and Michael Northam - elements shared from a similar perspective into the internal dynamics of sound as a possibility to refine perceptual awareness. Utilizing individual systems designed to articulate complex sound material, López and Northam have always shared an important thread towards the creation of immersive sound spaces. Their contrasting routes towards realization - López with his 'absolute' limitless exploration of sound as raw material - and Northam with his fragile electro-acoustic based sound organisms - creates a tension between abstraction and harmonically rich intensity enfolding in this López's first interpretation of this special sound dialogue. Anomalous Records, Seattle, Feb. 2001
Francisco López & Michael Northam "Belle Confusion 0247" (CD - .absolute.[seattle] 2000)
Francisco López's Belle Confusion 0247 with fellow field recording artist Michael Northam is certainly one of the strongest recordings to come from López's encyclopedia of 'absolute concrete music' which in the past, has included investigations of the physicality of silence, the swarming sonic tapestries of South American rainforests, and the textural intricacies of death metal blastbeats. Northam and López began an exchange five years which resulted in Northam's appearance on Staalplaat's release of Untitled (1993). For this album, the two apply a considerable amount of pressure to their processed field recordings which gradually increase >from near silence to roaring floods of metallic noise and gives way to a hovering buzz from an indeterminant timestretched echo, striated by almost imperceptible tinklings of wooden objects. Very nice. Aquarius Records website (USA, 2003)
Francisco López & Michael Northam "Belle Confusion 0247" (CD - .absolute.[seattle] 2000)
Francisco López released this album with sound sculptor Michael Northam and they got straight to the point, leaving me speechless through a festival of iridescent colors, complex vibrations, terrifying silences and, in general, a high degree of careful sound construction: better listened alone for maximum results (a large room will enormously contribute to sound propagation. On the other hand, maybe some ultra-low frequencies are caught better in headphones). There's not much more to say: by now we know Francisco is one of the greats since many years ago; this and also Belle Confusion 00 with Amy Denio, moving on similar areas are worthy of any serious collection. Touching Extremes (Italy, 2004)
Francisco López & Michael Northam "Belle Confusion 0247" (CD - .absolute.[seattle] 001-00)
Francisco López & Amy Denio "Belle Confusion 00" (.absolute.[seattle] 002-00)
In his proposal for an 'absolute concrete music', Francisco López seeks transcendence through the sonic immersion in a swarming mass of detail, including the physicality of silence, the rainforests of South America and Death Metal's propulsive blast beats. The two latest contributions to hisongoing 'Belle Confusion' series are collaborative efforts, one with fellow field recording artist Michael Northam, the other with avant saxophonist Amy Denio. Even with his collaborations López has succeeded in pushing forth his resistance to procedures, craftmanship and semantics. What gets left behind are paradoxically both ominous and serene compositions of openended mysteries to be researched and investigated by the audience as they see it.
While 'belle confusion 00' uses Denio's voice as the basic sound material, López and Denio have built a haunted grey drone from the complex harmonics of a human voice that never utters anything except its own somatic textures. Their collaboration begins with a mirage-like sound of undefinable yet delicate fluctuations, then a silence followed by a slow tectonic rumble of similar sounds to the first interlude but much less friendly, and then another silence. It almost seems as if López has stretched out two brief syllables from Denio's voice over the course of an hour. Yet 'belle confusion 0247' with Michael Northam may be the strongerof the two. Northam and López began an exchange four years ago, which had also resulted in Northam's appearance on the Staalplaat release of López's 'untitled (1993)'. For this album, the two apply a considerable amount of pressure to their processed field recordings which gradually increase from near silence to roaring floods of metallic noise and give way to a hovering buzz from an indeterminate, timestretched echo, started by almost imperceptible tinklings of wooden objects.
Silence, of course, plays a large role in both of these pieces, marking the shifts in time and space to the extended dronescapes. If one is to embrace the acousmatic experience that López requests for most of his live shows by volunteering to be blindfolded, López's silences can be unnerving in their sheer lack of perceptibility. Within both of these collaborations, López employs silence to put the brakes on his slow turning movements of sound which have an uncanny ability to alter the perception of time. During the listening experience, these droning sounds appear to crawl forward into infinity. Yet when López crops the volume down to silence or near silence, his more audible elements seem only to take up five minutes of time when more than an hour has passed. Quite simply awesome. (The Wire, 2001).
Five years ago an exchange began between Francisco López and Michael Northam - elements shared from a similar perspective into the internal dynamics of sound as a possibility to refine perceptual awareness. Utilizing individual systems designed to articulate complex sound material, López and Northam have always shared an important thread towards the creation of immersive sound spaces. Their contrasting routes towards realization - López with his 'absolute' limitless exploration of sound as raw material - and Northam with his fragile electro-acoustic based sound organisms - creates a tension between abstraction and harmonically rich intensity enfolding in this López's first interpretation of this special sound dialogue. Anomalous Records, Seattle, Feb. 2001
Francisco López & Michael Northam "Belle Confusion 0247" (CD - .absolute.[seattle] 2000)
Francisco López's Belle Confusion 0247 with fellow field recording artist Michael Northam is certainly one of the strongest recordings to come from López's encyclopedia of 'absolute concrete music' which in the past, has included investigations of the physicality of silence, the swarming sonic tapestries of South American rainforests, and the textural intricacies of death metal blastbeats. Northam and López began an exchange five years which resulted in Northam's appearance on Staalplaat's release of Untitled (1993). For this album, the two apply a considerable amount of pressure to their processed field recordings which gradually increase >from near silence to roaring floods of metallic noise and gives way to a hovering buzz from an indeterminant timestretched echo, striated by almost imperceptible tinklings of wooden objects. Very nice. Aquarius Records website (USA, 2003)
Francisco López & Michael Northam "Belle Confusion 0247" (CD - .absolute.[seattle] 2000)
Francisco López released this album with sound sculptor Michael Northam and they got straight to the point, leaving me speechless through a festival of iridescent colors, complex vibrations, terrifying silences and, in general, a high degree of careful sound construction: better listened alone for maximum results (a large room will enormously contribute to sound propagation. On the other hand, maybe some ultra-low frequencies are caught better in headphones). There's not much more to say: by now we know Francisco is one of the greats since many years ago; this and also Belle Confusion 00 with Amy Denio, moving on similar areas are worthy of any serious collection. Touching Extremes (Italy, 2004)
Francisco López & Michael Northam "Belle Confusion 0247" (CD - .absolute.[seattle] 001-00)
Francisco López & Amy Denio "Belle Confusion 00" (.absolute.[seattle] 002-00)
In his proposal for an 'absolute concrete music', Francisco López seeks transcendence through the sonic immersion in a swarming mass of detail, including the physicality of silence, the rainforests of South America and Death Metal's propulsive blast beats. The two latest contributions to hisongoing 'Belle Confusion' series are collaborative efforts, one with fellow field recording artist Michael Northam, the other with avant saxophonist Amy Denio. Even with his collaborations López has succeeded in pushing forth his resistance to procedures, craftmanship and semantics. What gets left behind are paradoxically both ominous and serene compositions of openended mysteries to be researched and investigated by the audience as they see it.
While 'belle confusion 00' uses Denio's voice as the basic sound material, López and Denio have built a haunted grey drone from the complex harmonics of a human voice that never utters anything except its own somatic textures. Their collaboration begins with a mirage-like sound of undefinable yet delicate fluctuations, then a silence followed by a slow tectonic rumble of similar sounds to the first interlude but much less friendly, and then another silence. It almost seems as if López has stretched out two brief syllables from Denio's voice over the course of an hour. Yet 'belle confusion 0247' with Michael Northam may be the strongerof the two. Northam and López began an exchange four years ago, which had also resulted in Northam's appearance on the Staalplaat release of López's 'untitled (1993)'. For this album, the two apply a considerable amount of pressure to their processed field recordings which gradually increase from near silence to roaring floods of metallic noise and give way to a hovering buzz from an indeterminate, timestretched echo, started by almost imperceptible tinklings of wooden objects.
Silence, of course, plays a large role in both of these pieces, marking the shifts in time and space to the extended dronescapes. If one is to embrace the acousmatic experience that López requests for most of his live shows by volunteering to be blindfolded, López's silences can be unnerving in their sheer lack of perceptibility. Within both of these collaborations, López employs silence to put the brakes on his slow turning movements of sound which have an uncanny ability to alter the perception of time. During the listening experience, these droning sounds appear to crawl forward into infinity. Yet when López crops the volume down to silence or near silence, his more audible elements seem only to take up five minutes of time when more than an hour has passed. Quite simply awesome. (The Wire, 2001).