May 31, 2009

HARMONIA ENSEMBLE "Nino Rota" (ITA, 1992)


Italian chamber music ensemble HARMONIA works at the crossroads of classical and modern musical languages. Initially a trio of ORIO ODORI (clarinet), DAMIANO PULITI (cello) and ALESSANDRA GAROSI (piano) formed in 1991 and debuted in Materiali Sonori label with a work dedicated to NINO ROTA.
Including both covers on Rota's famous themes (from "8 1/2", "La Strada", "Rocco e i suoi frattelli", "Il Gattopardo", "Amarcord"...) and original HARMONIA compositions, the album suggests perhaps a not so innovative but certainly a romantic and emotionally valuable view of the work of the great master, refreshing the pleasures of that unrepeatable cinematic magnificence.

HARMONIA - Nino Rota
(12 tracks, approx 49 min)

*Check out also their remarkable 1994 release "Harmonia Meets Zappa"

May 27, 2009

CLUSONE TRIO 1988 - 1998


Cellist ERNST REIJSEGER, clarinetist/saxophonist MICHAEL MOORE and legendary dutch percussionist HAN BENNINK started their collaboration in 1980. After their contributions to BENNINK's famous ICP ORCHESTRA, they formed in 1988 CLUSONE TRIO, touring in many countries and leaving behind some interesting live and studio works.
Apart their own compositions their repertoire included many old jazz standards which were performed by the trio in an unpredictable way ranging from faithfulness and form respect to inventive improvised free ways.
CLUSONE TRIO paused activities in 1998.



The selected tracks of this compilation are from albums: "Clusone 3" (1992, live) "I Am An Indian" (1994, live), "Love Henry"(1997, live), "Rara Avis" (1998).

TRACKS: 01 Hindu wu (1992) - 02 Angelica - 03 Bella Coola - 04 Sonoroso - 05 Salish (1994) - 06 Uninhabited island - 07 Restless in pieces - 08 Love Henry (1997) - 09 Yellow bird - 10 Le cygne - 11 Tico tico no fuba - 12 My bird of Paradise (1998)





CLUSONE TRIO - Baltimore Oriole

CLUSONE TRIO
(51 min, compiled by La Folie Du Jour)

May 23, 2009

DAVID THOMAS AND TWO PALE BOYS "Erewhon" (1996)

Urban siberiana for places exiled from reality and sheltered to nowhere.

DAVID THOMAS - voice, mellodeon
KEITH MOLINE - guitar
ANDY DIAGRAM - thumb piano

EREWHON
(9 tracks, approx time 50 min)


Morbid Sky

lyrics

May 17, 2009

The Saragossa Manuscript




He spend his days filling the silver sphere that adorns his tea kettle lid.

Still too big.
A bizzare avocation that marks his life’s last three years.

A STRANGE LIFE

A young Polish aristocrat, Jan Potocki (1761-1815) inherits 18th century treasures. A citizen of the world, he can fluently speak eight languages and, very young, dives into the vortex of travels: aside from Poland and Europe – which is his country - he is fascinated by Turkey and Egypt. In 1805, recommendend by the Russian foreign minister, the Polish prince Adam Czartoryski, he joins a russian expedition in China.

His encyclopaedic education allows him to commit in a series of scientific researches: he either traces the origin of the Slavs in a amazingly’s erudition work entitled Rechearches about Sarmatia (1789-1792) or fly over Warsow into Blanchard’s balloon, accompanying the French scientist along with his Turk servant and his dog Lulu.

Devoted to political intrigue, being a deputy favourable to reforms, he develops an intence political activitie in Poland, in the era of the four year diet ( the Polish parliament). Suspect of affinity to the Jacobines, he is forced to leave Poland for Spain and Morocco, where he arrogantly boasts that he is “the new kingdom’s Suetonius” .




AN INITIATORY NARRATIVE

Potocki’s literature work lies under the sign of travel. His real wandering is followed by an imaginary travel. His novel Manuscrit trouve a Saragosse (The Saragossa Manuscript, 1804-1814) is presented as the last fruit of his numerus tours. It is about an initiatory narrative which chronicles the adventures of young officer Alfonse Van Worden. Written in french and translated in polish in the 19th century, this collection of bizarre episodes, some times imaginary, some times philosophical and some times pointing to picaresque, is a frame narrative which’s structure reminds of the arab tales. In the haunted mountains of Sierra Morena, the characters that narrate their stories are often and involuntary drifted in space and time due to mysterious forces, incarnated in two Tunisian beauties, messengers of the night.



The fate reserved for The Saragossa Manuscript stood anything else but common. This large book, divided into 66 days, was brokenly and without the writer’s name published in Saint Petesburg in 1804, and by the first moment was accepted with enthusiasm, and with Alexander Pushkin’s admiration. Then the novel went all around Europe in manuscripts and also anonynous copies. Plagiarists – and among them some not at all inconsiderable writers such as Charles Nodier and Washinton Irving – appropriate some of the episodes and publish them under their name, achieving great commercial success. In this way, the eccentric passions, very close to mysticism, if not even to satanism, that hounted Potocki’s soul, keep fascinating next century’s wide public, eager for “black” novels.



The sphere has at last the desirable dimensions and fits with no difficulty into the barrel of the gun aiming the head.
Count Jan Potocki suicided in November 20, 1815.

"Annick Benoit-Dusausoy & Guy Fontaine: Europeean Literature". Translated by Begemot



THE FILM

Potocki’s novel (to be exact a version of it), was adapted for the big screen by the Polish director Wojciech Has in 1965. It’s about a three hours ( the original version was 182 minutes long) black-and-white film which indends to depict Potocki’s vision. Has keeps the main plot of the story (it would be impossible anyway to attribute the entire book, with it’s endless minor stories embeding into the major ones, and one into the other), the main characters (Alfonse, Velasquez, the Cabalist, Avadoro, Rebecca e.t.c.), and is also faithfull to the novel’s main charasteristics ( it’s frame narrative, the mysticism that colours Potocki’s world, the erotic elements, the humor, the piqaresqe and often grotesque elements). Along with the above, very good actors and Penderecki’s music score contribute to an excellent result. You can easily find and download the film ( the restoration of which was done by Jerry Garcia, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola) with English and Spanish subtitles, through torrents. Begemot has also made an adaptation of the subtitles in Greek, which can be downloaded below.

Το χειρόγραφο της Σαραγόσα_Υπότιτλοι


Update 21-10-2009

Thanks to an anonymous friend, the soundtrack can also be provided. You can find the link to it in the comments area.

Begemot

May 13, 2009

GARETH WILLIAMS "Flaming Tunes" (UK, 1985)



Nearly 25 years after original release, great cassette album FLAMING TUNES is meeting finally its first (authorised) CD edition by LIFE AND LIVING Records who have announced reissue (carefully remastered and come out with 16-page booklet) for this month.
Bootlegged and misleadingly appeared as "This Heat's last demo", this obscured gem, product of collaboration among This Heat keyboardist/bassist GARETH WILLIAMS (1953 - 2001), his longtime friend MARY CURRIE and several guest musicians, was written after This Heat disbandment and , released on cassette in 1985.
Williams uses elements from This Heat aeshtetics but he goes beyond...exposing himself to wider, worldsound visions and deeper calls.
Grown like under the touch of a generous moon, FLAMING TUNES is a work original, eclectic, influenced by Williams trips to India, but above all, haunted by the revelation of a rare-quality songsmithness that unfortunately left no further output.



Restless Mind

May 11, 2009

MICHAEL RIESSLER


Compilation-introduction to german composer and clarinettist MICHAEL RIESSLER (born in Ulm 1957) whose works are trully occupying a unique, boundary-free and full of imaginative crossings space among jazz, experimental, classical, medieval, european folk, improvisation...

Selections:
01 deceleration ("Bach In 1 Hour")
02 esitazione ("Palude")
03 bulegria ("Tentations D'Abelarde")
04 unstern ("Tentations D'Abelarde")
05 grille ("Tentations D'Abelarde")
06 cantus ("Tentations D'Abelarde")
07 souvenirs d'enfance ("Orange")
08 2 dans un cafe ("Orange")
09 atlas ("Orange")
10 je ("Orange")
11 je me souviens ("Orange")
12 pleurez mes yeux ("Ahi Vita")
13 amor lamento della ninfa ("Ahi Vita")
14 planxit ("Ahi Vita")

compiled by LFDJ

"Tentations d'Abelard"
[Riessler: clarinets - V. Clastrier: hurdy gurdy - Michel Godard: tuba - M. Ambrosini: nyckelharp/bagpipe - Brigitte Sylvestre: harp - Gaston Sylvestre: cymbalon - J.L. Matinier: accordion - Renaud Garcia Fons: double bass - Gerard Siracusa: drums/percussion - Carlo Rizzo: tambourine/bendir - Robie Ameen: drums], 1995, WERGO

"Orange"
[Riessler: clarinet/bassclarinet/sopranino sax - J.L. Matineir: accordion - Elise Caron: vocals - Pierre Charial: barrel organ], 1999, ACT

"Ahi Vita"
[Riessler: clarinets - Vincent Courtois: cello - Claudia Reinhard, Klaus Wenk, Markus Zapp, Andeas Hirtreiter, Guido Heidloff, Marcus Schmidl: voices], 2003, ACT

"Palude"
[collaboration of Riessler: clarinets/sax - Valentin Clastrier: hurdy gurdy - Carlo Rizzo: tambourine], 1995, WERGO

"Bach In 1 Hour"
[Riessler and Trio Di Clarone ensemble], 2000, EMI


May 10, 2009

Leonardo da Vinci: Images from an Exhibition



(Click on the pictures for full size image)

May 9, 2009

HANNS EISLER / DAGMAR KRAUSE

HANNS EISLER [Leipzig 1898 - Berlin 1962]

"Open the window. Remember that the street noise is not mere noise, but it is made by man" H. EISLER

DAGMAR KRAUSE : Eisler's songs were written with sharpness and precision, bound by tenderness and strenth. They are an encounter with some of our more worthwhile feelings. He set the pace for the fight against stupidity in music.



Mutterns Hande, music: HANNS EISLER, poem: KURT TUCHOLSKY
(taken from DAGMAR KRAUSE's "Panzerschlact: Die Lieder Von Hanns Eisler" )




Mother's Hands (english version, translation by Malcolm Green)



MUTTERNS HANDE

Hast uns Stulln jeschnitten
un Kaffe jekocht
un de Töppe rübajeschohm -
un jewischt un jenäht
un jemacht un jedreht...
alles mit deine Hände.

Hast de Milch zujedeckt,
uns bonbongs zujesteckt
un Zeitungen ausjetragen -
hast die Hemden jezählt
und Kartoffeln jeschält...
alles mit deine Hände.

Hast uns manches Mal
bei jroßem Schkandal
auch'n Katzenkopp jejeben.
Hast uns hochjebracht.
Wir wahn Sticker acht,
sechse sind noch am Leben...
Alles mit deine Hände.

Heiß warn se un kalt.
Nu sind se alt.
Nu bist du bald am Ende.
Da stehn wir nu hier,
und denn komm wir bei dir
und streicheln deine Hände.

Kurt Tucholsky, 1890-1935

May 7, 2009

FERDINAND RICHARD " En Forme!! " (FRA, 1980)

Spirited by the same uncompromised/anarchic style found, more or less, in all Etron Fou music, "En Forme !!", first of the two solo FERDINAND's albums, combines (through skillful performing and surrealistic imagination) the unpredictable/rawer sounds of band's earlier days with proto-flavour of the 80's/post-prog experimentations that were to appear in Etron Fou's and Richard's future works.

"EN FORME !!" played by: FERDINAND RICHARD (bass, guitar, vocals, composition), JO THIRION (piano), MARGOT MATHIEU (saxophone), HELMUT HARD (drums)... and released from french label CELLULOID.

From the many others FERDINAND RICHARD's bands, projects, etc.... we recommend GESTALT ET JIVE , Richard's collaboration with ALFRED HARTH, STEVE BERESFORD, ANTON FIER...

EN FORME !!
(13 tracks, approx 39 min)


Penelope Houston

In 1988 the punk-folk-pop star Penelope Houston recorded her first acoustic indie pop LP "Birdboys". From this great album i have chosen the track "Bed of Lies", an odd lovesong whose painful lyrics, is contrasted with its luminous tune.

Expressing the grevious loss of love in an almost cheerful way, Houston's fragile voice enhances the beauty!


Bed of Lies

May 4, 2009

V.A. KNITTING FACTORY WORKS vol 1

HISTORY (early years)
written by Knittting Factory founder MICHAEL DORF

The first part of LaFolieDuJour tribute to the legendary club-label

KNITTING FACTORY WORKS vol.1
THE JAZZ PASSENGERS - if i were a bell ("Plain Old Joe", 1993)
THINK OF ONE - fabula roza ("Juggernaut", 1998)
WILLIAM HOOKER - pure imagination ("Distance Between Us", 1998)
FRIGG - die welt gefallt mir nicht mehr ("Brecht", 1999)
MARK DRESSER - fakir ("The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari", 1994)
REBECCA MOORE - lamp shop ("Admiral Charcoal's Song", 1996)
KISS MY JAZZ - you don't talk ("In Coffee We Trust", 1997)
HASIDIC NEW WAVE - tzur mishelo ("Jews & Abstract Truth", 1997)
ROY NATHANSON - bus ("Camp Stories" o.s.t., 1996)
''CAMP STORIES'' BAND - hine ma tov ("Camp Stories" o.s.t.)
CUONG VU - pure ("Pure", 2000)
JOE LOVANO - worship ("Future Jazz", v.a. comp, 1999)
PARADOX TRIO - rufus seven ("Flying At A Slant", 1997)
DON BYRON - allure of entanglement ("No-Vibe Zone: Live at KF, 1996)
HASIDIC NEW WAVE - eliyahu hanovi ("Jews & Abstract Truth", 1997)
KISS MY JAZZ - last house at the edge of the park ("Doc's Place Friday Evening", 1996)
W. HORVITZ & ZONY MASH - climacum after hours ("Brand Spankin' New", 1998)
MARK DRESSERthe circle is closing in ("The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari", 1994)


KFW pt.1

May 2, 2009

PIERRE BASTIEN & MECANIUM "Musiques Machinales" (FRA, 1993)


Bastien's meccano-constructed robotic orchestra

energized by spinning of old turntables...

Same way hasn't it all begun?



People In Sorrow

MUSIQUES MACHINALES
(11 tracks, approx 47min)

May 1, 2009

SERGEI KURIOKHIN & HENRY KAISER "Popular Science" (US, 1989)






album sample: Foreign Accents (9:14)


Collaboration of experimental guitarist/free improviser HENRY KAISER with top russian avant-garde pianist/composer SERGEI KURIOKHIN (1954 - 1996). Recorded 1988 - 89 in Oakland, California.

HENRY KAISER - synclavier keyboard, electric guitar, production
SERGEI KURIOKHIN - synclavier keyboard