Touch Newsletter #134


Welcome to the 134th Touch Newsletter. The Tapeworm returns with two tapes by two Marks… Mark Fell’s contribution to The Tapeworm is titled “A Pattern For Becoming”, and features Rhodri Davies and Okkyung Lee, recorded live last winter at the Royal Festival Hall’s Blue Room.

Mark Van Hoen’s tape, “The Worcester Tapes, 1983-1987” compiles early recordings, never before heard, which he made as a teenager in the 80s. These tracks feature his first synthesiser and tape recorder, from 1983; tape loop experiments; and several tracks utilising the Roland S-10, Mark’s first digital sampler… A fascinating snapshot of Mark’s early music, made some 7-10 years before his first official releases.

Touch presents… Live in The Bay Area – this Saturday, September 19 at 3:00pm, Re:Sound + 23five present an afternoon of Touch: Simon Scott, Steve Roden, Mark Van Hoen and a Touch “Live Mix”. Further details follow below.

Also below, a reminder of three new Ash International editions: Simon Scott’s “Insomni” CD, the “freq_out 1.2 ∞ Skandion” gatefold vinyl LP, and the “DRONE” T-shirt.




TTW#79 | Mark Fell featuring Rhodri Davies, Okkyung Lee “A Pattern For Becoming”

Cassette only – limited edition of 150 copies
Collage – D.M. Nagu

Track listing
A: A Pattern For Becoming with Rhodri Davies, performed at the Blue Boom, Royal Festival Hall, 22nd January 2015
B: A Pattern For Becoming with Okkyung Lee, performed the Blue Boom, Royal Festival Hall, 26th March 2015

“A Pattern For Becoming” is a piece by Mark Fell for seven moving speakers and solo improvising instrumentalist. The piece was first conceived for and performed at Harmonic Series at Southbank Centre, as programmed by Oliver Coates. In this piece each speaker plays a different and entirely static synthetic tone. The speakers are positioned around the audience and, throughout the piece, the direction and position of each speaker is changed, creating a slowly evolving synthetic sound field. For the performances featured on this edition, the speakers were moved by the following performers: Amy Kate Riach, Oliver Coates, Tom Rose, Na’ama Zisser, Rian Treanor, Galya Bisengalieva, Daniel Pioro, Hugh Brunt and Robert Ames. The recording and live sound engineer was Trevor Davison.


Buy Mark Fell featuring Rhodri Davies, Okkyung Lee “A Pattern For Becoming” in the TouchShop
More information on www.tapeworm.org.uk
www.markfell.com




TTW#80 | Mark Van Hoen “The Worcester Tapes, 1983-1987”

Cassette only – limited edition of 150 copies

Track listing
A: Fortified Hill (1987)
B1: Music For Dancers In Disguise (1983)
B2: Riverboats (1983)
B3: Enigma Codes (1984)
B4: Truancy (1983)
B5: Reports (1984)
B6: Passage Abroad (1986)
B7: Old Men’s Wars (1983)
B8: The Stone Fiddle (1983)
B9: Dispelling (1984)
B10: Vomit (1985)

Mark Van Hoen was born in London, England and grew up in the industrial Midlands of England. He began to create electronic music in 1981, later releasing his debut LP on Belgian label R&S in 1993. Since then, Van Hoen has had a succession of highly regarded releases and live performances, ranging from minimalist drone-based material (“Aurobindo: Involution” issued by Ash International in 1994) through the dark, foreboding and pulsating – sometimes abrasive – early Locust albums, to the more recent succession of releases on Editions Mego. Most recently, a composition released via TouchRadio marks a return to the esteemed audio-visual label Touch, after a long absence following the release of several albums in the 90s.

The Tapeworm release “The Worcester Tapes” comprise recordings made as a teenager in the 80s, after Mark moved to the historical English city. These tracks feature his first synthesiser and tape recorder, from 1983; tape loop experiments; and several tracks utilising the Roland S-10, Mark’s first digital sampler… The tape opens with a recently rediscovered 30 minute ambient piece from 1987, “Fortified Hill”. All of these recordings were originally mastered on cassette, and all titles are released here on a physical format for the first and only time. A fascinating snapshot of Mark’s early music, made some 7-10 years before his first official releases.


Buy Mark Van Hoen “The Worcester Tapes, 1983-1987” in the TouchShop
More information on www.tapeworm.org.uk
www.markvanhoen.com




Touch presents… Live in the Bay Area | 19th September 2015

Re:Sound
Saturday, September 19 at 3:00pm
Magazine A-168 on Mare Island
Railroad Ave and Mercado Ct.,
Vallejo, CA 94592

Re:Sound + 23five present an afternoon of Touch

Simon Scott
Steve Roden
Mark Van Hoen
Touch "Live Mix"

+ Screening of the Fennesz Wozencroft film “Liquid Music”.
Doors at 3pm, Screening of “Liquid Music” at 3:30.


Tickets - ticketriver.com
ReSound on Facebook
Event on Facebook




TBW#02 | Stefan Goldmann “Presets – Digital Shortcuts to Sound”

220pp paperback book, 110mm x 171mm
Second edition: industrially-sized…

Produced between 13.vi.2014 and 1.iv.2015 in London and Berlin by The Tapeworm.

Copy editor: Gerard Forde. Thanks to Sandra Jasper and Finn Johannsen. Typeset in Antwerp by Allon Kaye using Aldine 401, Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk and Miso.

Cover illustration by Michael Kummermehr, pixelated by SG.

Take a look inside the book…








For his first book, “Presets – Digital Shortcuts to Sound”, Stefan Goldmann has talked to industry leaders, programmers, producers, musicians and fine artists to collect a comprehensive description of the world of preset audio: from synthesis to sample libraries, from instrument emulations and gear cloning to automated composition and performance – short cuts in electronic music, classical and traditional musics, guitar rock & fine arts are covered. Disruptive gear and iconic presets, their background and impact – from Korg’s M1, Yamaha’s DX7 and Roland’s 909 to Ableton Live, Native Instruments Reaktor, Sidechain compression and Auto-Tune – are discussed with unprecedented depth and clarity.

Featuring interviews with:

Robert Henke a.k.a. Monolake
musician, lecturer & co-founder Ableton, Berlin

Mike Daliot
former senior audio developer Native Instruments & lecturer at Universität der Künste, Berlin

Michael Wagener
multi-platinum music producer & engineer, Nashville

Cory Arcangel
fine artist, New York

Dinis Schemann
pianist, Munich

Members of the Korg M1 product development team:
Tomoko Itoh & Junichi Ikeuchi, Inagi

Tony Stevanovski
arranger, Sofia

Dimitar Kotev
musician, Sandanski

+ introductory essay and glossary by Stefan Goldmann.


Biography:

Stefan Goldmann is an electronic music artist and DJ. Together with Finn Johannsen he runs the Macro label, whose artists include Elektro Guzzi, KiNK and Peter Kruder. He also writes a column for the flyer program of Berlin's Berghain club and is a co-author of its book, “Berghain 10”. In 2014 he released “Industry”, an album based exclusively on presets.


Buy Stefan Goldmann “Presets – Digital Shortcuts to Sound” in the TouchShop
More information on www.tapeworm.org.uk
www.stefangoldmann.com




Ash 11.4 | Simon Scott “Insomni”

CD - 42min

Photography: Simon Scott. Design: Philip Marshall.
Mastered by Denis Blackham

You can hear extracts here and here.

Track listing & timings (plays as one track):
0.00 An Angel From The Sea Kissed Me
6.59 Holme Posts
9.00 Confusion In Her Eyes
15.12 Relapse
16.42 Oaks Grow Strong
21.47 Ternal
22.36 Nettle Bed
25.40 Fen Drove
28.06 Nember
31.46 Far From The Tree
37.30 Swanbark


Couldn't sleep...; arose to forage for sound. The hum of the fridge encouraged further investigation of hidden, domestic sounds; the fish tank, dvd player, a broken laptop...;

Dawn and morning light allowed more sound and the guitar, in its case, beckoned...;

From darkness to light...;

Guitars: Guild 12 string D-125 & Vintage Guild 6 string GF-25
Mics: Induction coil pick up & Hydrophones
Buddha Machine pre-recorded and mixed, then re-recorded at Holme Fen Posts using mobile speakers
Recording device: Edirol r-09
Radio: static between stations
Software: Max MSP (self-programmed), Supercollider & Logic Pro


Simon Scott (b. 1971) is a British multi-instrumentalist who is currently based in Cambridge, UK. Insomni is his fourth album and his debut for Ash International and is published by Touch. His music is a fusion of digital signal manipulation combined with an aesthetic of compositional collaboration with environmental sounds and organic acoustic textures. He is inspired by his interests in sound ecology, music technology, the natural world, illustration, photography, composition and sonic art.

Below Sea Level, originally presented live in quadraphonic sound, was released on TOUCHLINE in March 2015, after 12k originally released the album in 2012 as an 80-page journal and seven track CD. It explores the aesthetics of active listening, sound ecology and the subjective distinction of compositional materials and sound timbres. Critically applauded for creating juxtapositions of analogue and digital timbres, the man-made and natural world sounds, captured in his local sunken landscape of The Fens in East Anglia, create a fusion of digital signal manipulation combined with organic acoustic textures.

Since the late 1990's Scott's solo work has been featured in a variety of international films, sonic art exhibitions, dance productions, television productions and digital multi-media projects.

He has toured worldwide since 1988 and he is the drummer for UK band Slowdive, who worked with Brian Eno on 1993 'Souvlaki ' album. His track "Für Betty" was included on the German label Kompakt's 'Pop Ambient' (2014) compilation series and his solo music has also been previously released on recording labels 12k, Morr Music, Miasmah, Sonic Pieces and Ghostly International.

Scott is also a freelance composer and sound recordist for film and television and recently appeared on the BBC program 'Springwatch Unsprung' recording aquatic wildlife and discussing his work with presenter Chris Packham. He has taught Music Technology and sound recording in Cambridgeshire and lectured at Cambridge University.

In 2008 he established the KESH recording label, releasing global artists audio and visual projects and he has also collaborated on various projects with Taylor Deupree, Nils Frahm, Machinefabriek, The Sight Below, Isan and James Blackshaw..


Buy Simon Scott “Insomni” [CD] in the TouchShop
…also available as 24-bit download
www.simonscott.org
www.ashinternational.com




Ash 12.0 | “freq_out 1.2 ∞ Skandion”

Vinyl Gatefold LP + full album download

Featured artists: Jana Winderen, Maia Urstad, Christine Ödlund, Brandon Labelle, JG Thirlwell, Petteri Nisunen, Tommi Grönlund, The Sons of God, Franz Pomassl, Anna Ceeh, Mike Harding, Finnbogi Petursson, BJ Nilsen, Jacob Kirkegaard, PerMagnus LIndborg and Carl Michael von Hausswolff.

Artwork: Achim Mohné. Design: Philip Marshall.

Side A is composed, arranged and mixed by Carl Michael von Hausswolff in November 2014 at the Castle, Stockholm and at the Carlton Opera Hotel, Vienna, using the thirteen original sound files composed by the artists during the period May - October 2014.

Side B is a location recording made on 6th November 2014 between 16:00 and 16:30 by CMvH.


freq_out has been a musical project since 2003 when Carl Michael von Hausswolff was invited to Copenhagen to invent a new concept for and install a sound-art installation. He divided up the audible sonic register into twelve parts and asked twelve artists, musicians, composers and architects to each accept one of the twelve parts and compose a sonic piece from it. The result became twelve compositions/art works that were simultaneously played on twelve different sound systems in the art space of Charlottenborg and by this becoming one piece.

During the following years freq_out has also been installed in the cities of Oslo, Berlin, Paris, Budapest, Chiang Mai, Kortrijk, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Marrakech.

This LP contains the studio mix and a live recording of the first permanent installation of a freq_out piece called “freq_out 1.2 ∞ Skandion”.

The work is up and running in the entrance garden at the Skandion Clinique - a new hospital for cancer treatment inaugurated in May this year (2015) - in Uppsala, Sweden. It’s accessible 24/7 and anyone that comes by the place can enjoy the work.


Buy “freq_out 1.2 ∞ Skandion” [LP + download] in the TouchShop
www.freq-out.org
www.ashinternational.com




Ash 11.9 | “DRONE” T-shirt


A new white-on-black T-shirt. This is available to pre-order now, in five sizes. Shipping commences week beginning Monday August 17th 2015.

Sizes available: S M L XL XXL

Printed in white ink on a Fruit of the Loom Super Premium in black.
Front illustration: Center Chest, 20cm wide


Buy “Drone” in the TouchShop




Guerrilla Audio

Guerrilla Audio is a new series of audio raids by Simon Fisher Turner.

guer·ril·la
ɡəˈrilə/
noun
noun: guerilla
a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces.

Each audio edit will be posted for 14 days and then removed from the site, although the information about each guerrilla activity will be archived, but without the audio. There will be two postings per month with the first (also featuring Klara Lewis & Rainier Lericolais) on 1st August 2015, so please check in regularly to listen to the latest offering.


Guerrilla Audio
www.simonfisherturner.com




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