[Microsound-announce] NEW ONLINE RELEASE: Shinkei | Biostatics

[bremsstrahlung recordings]

New Online Release

Shinkei | Biostatics 
TRANS010
Net Release Date - March 2008 
Codec: mp3 [320kbs]
Physical in December 2008 
Edition 50

All living organisms emit electrical signals which can be recorded with a process similar to human ECG or EEG. These tiny voltages are outside the human range of hearing, but can be rendered audible through the process of audification. Firstly bioelectrical signals are digitized into EDF (European Data Format) files which can be easily stored and exchanged. Then the signals contained in EDF recordings maybe extracted into wav files with custom made software. Bioelectrical files are the sound source of these compositions. A quiet listening environment or headphones recommended. 

"Shinkei likes to play with the perception of sound, moving on the edge of audibility, exploring the empty spaces between sounds. Usually a new project is developed with each release to experiment with different, unusual sound sources: computer simulated brainwaves, recordings of biological signals, or the snow falling over a microphone... Shinkei compositions are best listened to on headphones, or in a quiet dark space." 
 
www.bremsstrahlung-recordings.org/transradiation/trans010.php

--------------------------
New Physical Release

Rick Reed | Hidden Voices [For Herman Nitsch]
TRANS003
Edition 50

Review - Touching Extremes

The last time I listened to a Rick Reed album it was the magnificent "Dark skies at noon" on Elevator Bath. "Hidden voices" confirms those encouraging messages passing this new test with flying colours, a perfectly organized composition where instruments, ideas and aural pictures are deployed with the care that only really gifted artists can apply to their craft. The title comes from an installation in Houston dedicated to Austrian actionist Hermann Nitsch, for which Reed provided the sound sources. The instrumentation comprises a Moog synthesizer, ancient sine wave generators, shortwave and an assortment of hardware (which do not include computers). Starting with slowly modulating, oscillating frequencies the music progressively grows into a mildly dissonant mass of imperturbable electronic mourning, culminating - around minute 23 - in one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful loops that I've ever heard, a vocal moan repeating itself over and over that
 shoots an arrow right in the middle of the stomach in a truly breathtaking section. After that, the piece remains suspended between a complex kind of static minimalism with lot of microscopic occurrences under its thick skin and a silent ritual where everybody seems to be looking at the ground, eyes darkened by the excess of sleepless nights waiting for a revelation that will never come. The end is announced by a sudden discharge waking up from the state of trance that these gorgeous emanations threw us into. I can't stress enough the importance of composers like Reed, who thrive in semi-obscurity and without the praises given to people worthy less than half their value, continuously finding alternative interpretations of the word "emotion". 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------



josh russell
www.josh-russell.org
www.bremsstrahlung-recordings.org