maandag 13 april 2009

AFG + Music boxes





So, the recording I was refering to 2 posts ago, is out now: ConundromCd9!  Me, Dale Gorfinkel and Robbie Avenaim  (called AFG).  The disc is called Plains. On every cdr there is a different postage stamp with a plane on it (above picture is the one I keep myself with a stamp from Afganistan from '84, but they're all unique and from countries like Poland, Cuba, CCCP, Mongolia etc etc).
It was an interesting combination (2 vibraphones and 2 pianos), and I think we did some very interesting stuff in a beautifull place called the Old Darlington School in Sydney on Feb 7 and 8 in 2006, recorded by the great and wonderfull Jim Denley. We all think we can do much better now, but I think you allways have that feeling. "Plains" is great as it is and worthy of presenting I think.
We're planning to do some more work in 2010 in Oz, recording as well as performing.

Been working on playing the piano with Music boxes (with the terrible original song cut out obviously). I'm not a fan of cyclic music when it is 100% cyclic, so with 2 or more boxes (I made 6 by now) it plays the (prepared) strings in a cyclic way but changing all the time and never the same. Something like rain... And a great percussive addition to the sustained sounds I can generate through electromagnetism.
I also will write a piece for 2 pianos (duo Post & Mulder will perform it in November) for these boxes and the 2 players. Should be fun: dense but also light.




4 opmerkingen:

Richard Pinnell zei

Can I owe you another drink Cor? ;)

Cornelis zei

Patience, patience, my dear friend :-)
(It's on it's way since last monday, enjoy!)

Red zei

Cor, how are you using the music boxes?

Does each box play only one string (or set of unisons) at a time?

And I presume the boxes are motor (battery) controlled? Is the speed constant or variable?

Cornelis zei

Well, they are typical musicboxes. With a spring to wind it up, it runs just over 3 minutes. With some magnets glued at the bottom it sits firmly on the strings and the box starts turning around, It has 4 "plectrums" that rotate and pluck the strings it happens to sit on.
The speed is constant (helas)
C'est tout :-)