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SHEFFIELD, COLIN ANDREW - Signatures

Format: CD Label & Cat.Number: Invisible Birds IB002 Release Year: 2009 Note: highly praised new album by this US composer (and person behind ELEVATOR BATH),using solely a turntable, old sampler and portable workstation for these recordings Price (incl. 19% VAT): €13.00 More Info Mit einer etwas andere Art von "Plunderphonics" sticht C.A. SHEFFIELD auf "Signatures" hervor; seine vier Stücke sind feinst gesponnene Drones, die aus Extrakten von alten Grammophon-Platten gewonnen wurden. Auf diesen befanden sich, dem Labelkonzept von INVISIBLE BIRDS gemäss, Vogelgesänge und weitere Natursounds (was man den stark transformierten Drones allenfalls noch als subtile organische Aura anmerkt). Sehr sanft und kontemplativ auf den Punkt gedroned, beim letzten Stück epische Ausmaße annehmend... "these pieces were composed without the use of a computer, only a turntable, old sampler and a portable 64-track digital workstation. each track is a distillation of commercially available recordings with the essential qualities remaining, only very brief sections are selected and the raw components then contracted into gradually shifting and unfolding atmospheres, offering subtle nuances and quiet restraint. fragments from these tracks include sounds from birds or water, some being partially obscured while others are veiled references to those elements. in "broken light," the low rumbling that appears at the beginning and for the first few minutes is the sound of birds' wings flapping upon takeoff)." [label info] "this is the second release by a new label called invisible birds. their first release was m. swizynski's 'films 2007' we reviewed in vital weekly 625, although it didn't mention this as a label. the label focuses itself on releasing 'limited edition cds and dvds evocative of birds and the landscapes they inhabit', which i think is a very nice selection method for incoming demo's. colin andrew sheffield might better known from the releases on his own label, elevator bath, for which he released cdrs and a cd. his 'signatures' cd has its official release december 10th 2008, the 100th birthday of olivier messiaen, another lover of birds and music (probably in that order). sheffield uses a turntable, old sampler and a 'portable 64-track digital workstation' and no computer on these recordings. on the turntable lies records of nature sounds, birds and water, of which sheffield carefully selects fragments to sample and layer on his ancient workstation. if you staple enough sounds on top of eachother, then have them slightly out of sync, one can create beautiful drone music, and that's exactly what sheffield does here. the first three tracks are nice, but it will turn out they are exercises for what is to come: 'breath of day', the fourth and final epic of this, with gramophone hiss and organ like sounds, being stretched out over the course of the twenty-seven minutes this lasts. a true beauty, in all its simplicity. sometimes the simplest things is enough to get things done. the previous tracks, which lay out what sheffield wants, eventually, are great too, but aren't of the same beauty as the last one. if it would have been just the first three i would have been equally enthusiastic about this, now i'm probably ecstatic. great cd." [FdW/Vital Weekly] www.invisiblebirds.org