Tag: improv music

What’s Cool and Unusual – 24th July 2013

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Thu 25

Forenzics, 8pm
Colbourne Ave – 37-47 St Johns Rd, Glebe

Free-improv with trumpet, bass, guitar, drums. Cinematic, hypnotic and unpredictable landscapes of sound.

They are a force to be reckoned with, taking the audiences on a journey, sometimes wild and tumultuous, sometimes soothing, fragile and hypnotically beautiful.

https://www.facebook.com/events/140602479478028

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Thu 25

Mu-Meson Archives is at the Corner Parramatta Rd and Trafalgar St Annandale, at the back of King Furniture Building in Trafalgar st up the steel staircase (OR IS IT ALUMINIUM?). Phone 9517-2010
Doors 7.30 for 8pm start $10

Meson Master Class
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS: Unforgettable Characters Book Launch and Talks.
Author Michael Spann will discuss the recently republished ‘William S. Burroughs Unforgettable Characters’ focusing on Burroughs’ Mexican lawyer, Bernabe Jurado (whose work ensured Burroughs only served 13 days for the shooting of his common law wife {champion?}, Joan Vollmer) and the infamous narcotraficante, Lola ‘La Chata’ (who appears as Lupita in a host of Burroughs’ work). Author Jack Sargeant on WSB and sound. Plus: A rare and special film screening.

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Thu 25

The Red Rattler Theatre, 6 Faversham St, Marrickville
SAD CLUB #2 / 10 BUCKS

LIVE:
NAMINE (‘CELESTIAL LOVE’ ALBUM LAUNCH)
GOLDEN BLONDE

PLUS:
SAD TEEN POETRY (+ OPEN MIC!)
DJ UNBREAK MY HEART
THE SADDEST PROJECTIONS IN THE WORLD

Teenaged emotional house diva Namine’s debut album “Celestial Love” (Bossman Records) is a Wagnerian outpouring of pathos if ever I saw one and we are ever saddened to launch his epic trance ballads in live form.

Joining Namine are sad sacks Golden Blonde who are soon releasing their debut album, “Gwen” on Tenzenmen.

Opening up the night we have a devastating lineup of writers revisiting the saddest, most embarrassingly overwrought poetry of their youth. There’ll be an OPEN MIC section for this, post in the event or sign up on the night for the opportunity to shed the very fabric of your soul onto an unsuspecting public.

All this on a Thursday, the saddest night of the week.

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Fri 26

Mu-Meson Archives
Doors 7.30 for 8pm start $10

I’m totally Wired
Mark E. Smith and the History of the Fall
Would you believe that The Fall IS John Peel’s favorite band? Tonight we explore the life of Mark E. Smith and the ever changing line up of The Fall. Probably the most uncompromising act to be spawned in Britain and definitely one of the finest examples of musical outsider art.

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Fri 26

Red Rattler, 5 Faversham St, Marrickville
$10 8pm

Octopus Pi & Lost Race Records (QLD) are stoked to collaborate in presenting a night of solid, dual-city music. We don’t get Cobwebbs & Nite Fields around these parts too often so put this in your calendar!

COBWEBBS (QLD) – https://www.facebook.com/cobwebbbbs
Brisbane hypno-tsunamic of ultrasonic noise. With two 7″s and one sold out 12″ LP under their belt, they bring their psychedelic pop songs to the city of Sydney, for a rare show!

NITE FIELDS (QLD) – https://www.facebook.com/nitefields
Adultered art-rock/post-punk/ambient/electronic ala a high Roland S Howard fucking a drunk Enya!

FAMILY – https://www.facebook.com/familyaus
MILKK – https://www.facebook.com/Milkk

  • LOST RACE DJs

Presented by Octopus Pi: http://www.facebook.com/octopsupi
and Lost Race Records: https://www.facebook.com/lostrace
Very cool poster by Colin J Thompson!

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Sat 27

Black Wire, 219 Parramatta Rd, Annandale
7pm ALL AGES

MULTIPLE MAN (Bris) / MOB / MODEL CITIZEN / DJ DARK CLICHE (NOTV)

  • LIVE VISUALS BY CL!NG F!LM (AKA DAN CAPE)

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Sat 27

Broken Hive and Chatswood Youth Centre Present
1PM – 5PM
$10 on the door.

Trainwreck
“Fresh Air/Dead Lungs” Launch Tour
With Special Guests
Hearts Like Wolves
Clipped Wings
Final Frontier
Corrupt Minds
Chatswood YouthCentre

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Sat 27

62 Constitution Rd, Dulwich Hill
2pm $5 ALL AGES

School Shooting, Frame 313, Hannah Band, Ramps, Christ Fetish

What’s Cool and Unusual – 29th May 2013

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Thu 30

Lamps, 401, Hibernian House, 342 Elizabeth St
7pm $10 ALL AGES

Ears Have Ears, FBi Radio’s weekly experimental music program is launching a series of new live shows, which will bring together some of Australia’s most exciting musicians to perform in a range of unique venues across Sydney.

This show marks the first in the series with a dual-state lineup featuring primitive poppurveyors and hand-made ‘unstrument’ creators Sky Needle (QLD), featuring members of Kitchen’s Floor, Per Purpose, Unwar & OtherFilm.

Also on the lineup is Sydney’s Desert Luck, a duo made up of Anthony Guerra from the mesmerizing Love Chants / Black Petal label and Peter Blamey, who as a soloist primarily uses open electronics, previously performing at The NOW now, What Is Music? and Liquid 

Architecture festivals.

Third on the lineup is Sydney’s Exotic Dog, the solo project of Nic Warnock (R.I.P. Society, Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys, Model Citizen). A new(ish) act, Exotic Dog uses four tracks and answering machine cassettes to create disorientating soundscapes.

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Fri 31

MCA, 140 George Street, Sydney
7pm tickets: tickets.mca.com.au

Celebrate MCA ARTBAR driven by Audi first birthday this May as you experiment with the theme of weird science curated by Sydney artist Keg de Souza. From the 1985 teen sci-fi film classic by John Hughes to the literal meaning of weird science, Keg invites you to interpret the evening as you see fit. Create Kelly LeBrock out of a computer program, or ponder the vast meaning and strangeness of our modern scientific accomplishments.

Step inside an inflatable planetarium or take in some screenings from the infamous Mu Meson archives. Encounter Wade Marynowsky’s robots, Diego Bonetto’s test-tube gardens or Justice Yeldham’s unhealthy obsession with sheets of broken glass. For our very first birthday you can expect strange things to be happening in dark the corners of the MCA. Hypothesise on the sculpture terrace for one of the most magical views of Vivid in Sydney.

It’s art but not as you know it.

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Fri 31

Paragon Cafe (65 Katoomba St, Katoomba)
7pm

Sound Bites #10 @ Paragon Cafe (Katoomba)

A monthly performance forum of music, improvisation, poetry, spoken word and sound-art in Katoomba’s original Art-Deco Café featuring: *

Alex Salter banjo skin, guitar, mandolin
Alan Lucas poet
Sleepyhedz (Syd) exploratory clarinet & sax
WeiZen Ho voice & objects

* program line up may change

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Sat 1

Black Wire, 219 Parramatta Rd, Annandale
6pm $10-$15 ALL AGES

Black Wire Bday. CONATION, ETHER RAG, ACHE, CANINE, PALMAR GRASP.

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Sat 1

Repressed Records, Enmore Rd, Newtown
4pm free ALL AGES

Sky Needle, Mob

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Sun 2

Black Wire Records, 219 Parramatta Rd.
3pm start! (afternoon show!)

w/

SIMO SOO
http://www.simosoo.bandcamp.com
PS- its simos bday. BRING PRESENTS & CAKE!

MOONSIGN (sydney/newcastle)
http://moonsign.bandcamp.com/

LUNA LUK

BLACK VANILLA

Zines by Bitch Please!
http://www.facebook.com/transwomandistro

Vegan treats by Vegan Teahouse
http://www.facebook.com/TheVeganTeaHouse

CrushIN cassette/zine launch!!
http://crushinpunx.tumblr.com/ / http://facebook.com/crushinpunx

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Mon 3

LAMPS: 401 Hibernian House
$10/8 conc. 7pm BYO

Get there early to get a comfy sofa/arm chair.

featuring some fine people from the northern hemisphere and some equally fine people from the our fair city…

/// Ingar Zach (Norway) ///
Gran Casa and Percussion Solo

— Xavier Charles (France) and Laura Altman —
clarinet and clarinet

/// Ivar Grydeland (Norway) ///
Guitar and Banjo Solo

— Christian Wallumrød (Norway) / Clare Cooper / John Wilton —
prepared piano/harp/percussion

check out these european superstars in action here
http://www.facebook.com/events/194043447416585

Li Daiguo – Music For Advertisements – 20th April 2013

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cat #: 122TZM

Li Daiguo has carved out a niche within Mainland China that few others occupy, that of skilled improvisational artist (he has a reputation for leaving jaws on the floor, layman and critic alike), musical polymath (proficient at a dozen traditional instruments as well as a deft vocal gymnast) and dynamic live performer known for his eclectic collaborations with a rich roster of characters and ensembles, including transgressive Japanese butoh dancers, fellow all-star experimentalists and other lunatics that he meets when he is busking, an activity of which he is quite fond.

Music for Advertisements sees Li presenting a series of sonic advertisements for seven locations that the 32-year-old appreciated during his six years in Chengdu, the southwestern regional hotspot, creative hub and capital of the country’s infamous Sichuan Province.

Using instrumentation dominated by his signature pipa and erhu and accentuated by a lush arsenal that incorporates everything from the cello to artfully-placed beatboxing, Li skillfully brings the 2300-year-old city to life with this dynamic series of self-produced sonic snapshots characterized by sudden and drastic changes of emotion and instrumentation.

“Music for Advertisements is about emotions that I had and observed that were associated in my mind with things going on around Chengdu,” Li said. “Not necessarily big things or events, but just little things that you might notice and have a feeling about—like the way that traffic moves or the atmosphere in hospital hallways.”

Highlights include the chilling pipa-spiked “Green Ram Daoist Temple”; the austere beauty of “The ‘Beautiful Thai Girls’ Under the Old South Gate Bridge,” a brief cinematic sketch that uses layers of hypnotic strings to conjure images of the secretive nocturnes who congregate around the city’s ancient landmark, and “Chengdu Tuberculosis Hospital”, a jaunty, fiddle-fueled effort that spins a resonant tale of mortality within its ephemeral-yet-memorable running time.

With Li as the city’s unofficial composer, Chengdu has never sounded so good. 

LI DAIGUO makes music with the following instruments: pipa, nanyin pipa, members of the huqin family (including the erhu, sihu and banhu erxian), a variety of ethnic flutes (including the hulusi, koudi, bawu, xiao and the nanxiao, the Chinese predecessor of the better-known Japanese shakuhachi), the Zimbabwean mbira, violin, viola, cello, beatboxing and overtone singing.

Based in: Dali, Yunnan, China
For fans of: John Zorn, Anthony Braxton, Abing (阿炳)

School Girl Report/ xNOBBQx China Tour 2012 – 29th June 2012

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Original pangbianr article here

School Girl Report

School Girl Report来自澳大利亚新南威尔士，巴特曼斯贝，成员包括Samuel Miers（吉他）和Daniel Oakman（鼓）。通过为琴弦加料以及用特殊工具来演奏，Samuel不必使用效果器就让吉他发出了难以企及的声响，并将其带入到精彩的现场演出中。Daniel的鼓技融合着非洲音乐、未来派灵魂乐以及德国新浪潮等不同流派，让人在混乱的边缘起舞。School Girl Report的首张专辑Sister Smooth将在支持多元文化的泛太平洋厂牌Tenzenmen发行。

School Girl Report from Batemans Bay, NSW, is made up of preschool friends Samuel Miers on guitar and Daniel Oakman on drums. Samuel, with his creative use of tools amongst the strings, creates multiple layers of unique sounds without pedals, resulting in organic and exciting live compositions. It sometimes appears as if five bells are ringing on different frequencies or takes the form of a low romping drone accompanied by techno bleeps. Daniel’s drums mix African, Future Soul, and Neue Deutsche Welle styles to create innovative grooves that make the audience want to dance in ecstatic states of confusion. Syncopated beat patterns chaperone the guitar’s wild rhythmic loops to give the overall sound a delayed focus on the beat, creating a hesitating roll of sections skipping into one another.

School Girl Report’s debut album, Sister Smooth, will soon be released on the celebrated cross-cultural label Tenzenmen.

8th July 2023 – Whatever happened to this album? Slipped through the cracks somehow! If I remember correctly Sam stayed on in China for a while after this tour.

xNoBBQx

xNoBBQx是一个实验摇滚二人组，成员包括Matt Earle（吉他）和Nick Dan（鼓），他们来自悉尼和布里斯班。有评论戏称他们的音乐听上去像是“在车库里演奏那些在水里浸了14年的乐器，并用破旧的录音机录了下来。”最近几年，xNoBBQx在美国、欧洲、新西兰以及日本进行了多次巡演，2008年他们曾参加过奥斯丁的SXSW音乐节。同时，乐队成员还经营着DIY厂牌Breakdance the Dawn和黑胶厂牌Pulled Out。

xNoBBQx is a 2-piece experimental rock band from Sydney/Brisbane, Australia consisting of Matt Earle on guitar and Nick Dan on drums. Their sound has been compared to the joyous abandon of “a couple of 14-year-olds bashing instruments in the garage with record pressed down on an old tape recorder” (Cyclic Defrost). xNoBBQx has toured both nationally and internationally over the last few years throughout the USA, Europe, New Zealand and Japan. In 2008 they showcased at the South by South West festival in Austin, Texas. The members of the band also run their own independent labels Pulled Out (vinyl only) and Breakdance the Dawn.

8th July 2023 – I met Matt and Nick, who were around in the improv music scene when I was rehearsing with Hinterlandt when Hinterlandt was little more than a bedroom idea. We did play some shows, one that included an Arkestra-type affair which I’m pretty sure they both played in. There were more people on stage than in the audience that night. Both Hintelandt and Matt were part of the inspiration to start tenzenmen in the first place.

Various Artists – Zoomin’ Night Vol 1 – 14th October 2011

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cat #: 073TZM

They love giving impromptu shows on Tuesday nights. 
They love playing in unconventional configurations. 
They love making sounds out of anything they can carry on to the stage. 
They love unpredictable musical performances. 
They love making one song constantly became another. 
They love the Zoomin’ Night. 

Zoomin’ Night – the name of a song by P.K. 14 – is also a series of shows of experimental music / noise rock held every Tuesday at D-22 in Beijing. It was inspired by other experimental music series such as the Waterland Kwanyin, Sugarjar Sunday Listen- ing and Sheng Dong Ji Xi. Reflecting the type of music they create, most of the Zoomin’ Night participants are creative and young musicians. They arrange sounds, start new bands and re- group constantly. They have found a home at D-22 and profess to draw their inspiration from Beijing’s energetic cacophony. 

In January 2010, Yang Haisong came to D-22 to record all their live shows that month. Most of the bands recorded were newly formed in 2009. Maybe Mars selected 9 songs from the recordings, putting them into a compilation. Additionally, buyers can download 32 additional tracks with a download-code enclosed in each CD. 

On November 19-20, 2010 the premiere of this compilation album was held at D-22. There were 8 groups of performers including: noise rock, psychedelic rock, post-punk, minimalism, improvisation, and synthesizer mu- sic. Most of the performers are included in this album. 

The Zoomin’ Night on November 23rd was the official “after party” for the premiere: five young musicians who took part in the album gave a personal solo performance, ranging from classical music to atmospheric experimental, and from minimal electronic music to industrial jazz. 

The Performance of Identity​ and One Man’s Orchestra – 1st March 2011

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cat #: 050TZM

He Guoheng, known in the world of music as Xiao He, is one of the most creative and influential artists in the Beijing music scene. Besides his recordings and his solo and ensemble music performances, he is active in drama, writes incidental music, and is a creative force in the underground movie industry. He is also the head of Maybe Horse, a Maybe Mars sub- label dedicated to supporting and developing Beijing’s and China’s most innovative folk and ethnic musicians. 

At the same time Xiao He, which is the alias he settled on for his folk and improvised music performances, played guitar, drum and accordion at River, a legendary old Beijing folk bar. Between these two projects Xiao He quickly developed a serious following among artists and music fans in the China music scene. In 2003, Modern Sky, China’s largest independent label, released his first CD, a live recording called “The Bird that Can Fly High Landed on the Cow that Can Run Fast”. Almost immediately this was received as one of the most important recordings in contemporary Chinese music. 

Except for a very few special performances with Glorious Pharmacy, today Xiao He only plays solo performances. Calling these multi-faceted improvised performances “Free Folk”, as much to express his anarchic playfulness as to suggest the total freedom which he approaches musical instrumentation, vocal performances and stylistic experimentation, he has become the inventor of a deeply weird and immensely moving style of music, mystical and surreal, which abruptly veers from the plaintive cries of Mongolian or Western Chinese music to the barbed and sometimes childlike humour of the avant garde. Complementing his stylistic creativity is a wholly unique way of playing acoustic guitar, loops, synthesizers and any other instrument that catches his fancy. 

After his 2009 European tour, Xiao He released his second album in China with Maybe Mars. Consisting of improvised live and studio performances and two separate CDs the new album is a milestone for Xiao He. The live CD is based on 30 hours of recordings going back three years, which he has assembled as his “Personal Symphony” and, selected from six different shows, focuses on the irreversible and unrepeatable character of live performance. The other CD was recorded in his studio and focuses on the quality of the sounds and experimentation with the recording process and juxtaposes thousands of ways of combining vocal sounds with the sound of his guitar as he wrestles with and reinterprets his understanding of Minimalism. 

Cool and Unusual update – 12th June 2009

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

found some things happening on the weekend!

sat 13

Sedition
275 Victoria St Darlinghurst
Donation entry/6pm

jim denley – sax and electronics
rory brown – double bass

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sat 13

Dirty Shirlows
$5.00

BAAAD (Last show before the US)
Toecutter
B.I.N.T
Killjoy

BAADDDD ARE EMILIO H HOOF AND KAKE! FROM TOXIC LIPSTICKS! COME SEE US B4 OUR USA TOUR THIS SATURDAY WITH FUN MUSIC BY TOECUTTER KILLJOY, BIINNNTTT !!!!! IT’LL BE SUPER ASWEET!

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sun 14

Black Rose Books, 22 Enmore Rd.
5pm 

WHO IS BOZO TEXINO?
A benefit for Crowbar My Heart squatting zine.

Who Is Bozo Texino? is an amazing documentary tracing the secret history of US hobo folk culture. Awesome! Plus Sydney squatting history show and tell – bring your own or check out a chunk of the ever-fascinating Crowbar archive. Entry by donation with money going towards printing costs.

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sun 14

Bohemian Grove, L2/68 Sophia St, Surry Hills 
6.30/$10

Marty Wieczorek Quintet

After gaining his ATCL (Associate of Trinity College London) with distinction in 2002 for classical clarinet performance,
Marty was successful in all his auditions for tertiary music study at the Perth, Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney Conservatoriums of music, in both the classical and jazz genres. Opting to study jazz at WAAPA in early 2004(the
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts), Marty took a year off in mid-2004 to pursue private practice in Sydney. During this time he was awarded the Ewa Malewicz Scholarship for classical clarinet performance. Shortly
after his return to Perth, Marty was awarded the Brett Lockyer Scholarship for jazz clarinet performance in 2005. From 2006-07 Marty was a member of the WAYJO (Western Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra) as an alto saxophonist and
clarinetist, which afforded him many exciting performance opportunities. After successfully completing his Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance in late 2007, Marty moved back to Sydney, where he is currently spending his time
teaching and performing.

*marty wieczorek- *saxophone
*simon ferenci- *trumpet
*dave de vries- *guitar
*abel cross- *bass
*james waples- *drums

a fantastic fresh voice on the Sydney jazz scene, original tunes bursting with an understated melodic beauty, performed by an absolutely killer band.
what more could you want?

— Bohemian Grove performances are 6:30pm doors for a 7pm start each Sunday (unless otherwise advised). The cover is $10 / donation. Please feel free to invite your friends to come and/or join the mailing list, but we ask that nothing be posted on the web for the authorities to find (they are squares). Support live music! bohemian***@gmail.com
L2/68 Sophia St, Surry Hills 

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sun 14

TV Show Name:  THE NOW NOW
Broadcast Date: Sunday 14 June 2009
Channel: Free to Air / ABC1
Broadcast Time: 4.40 pm
Classifications: Other, (CC, G, Rpt)
Timeslot Duration: 20 mins

Looks at the Sydney improvised music scene and the origins of the ‘NOW now’ festival of avant-garde, experimental
music. Musicians Claire Cooper and Clayton Thomas talk about their influences and music.
www.nownow.net

shaun/tenzenmen
++  i’ll either be at these events or wishing i was there  ++

Kroko – Rabia – 1st June 2004

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

Like most bands hailing from Finland, Kroko find themselves well at home within the realms of absurd musical integrities. Their sound falls somewhere within the boundaries of, noise, improv Jazz, ambience and a skronky style Avant-garde. Just imagine the crazed intensity of Ruins crossed with improvised realms of Jazzy avant-ambience, only to be dowsed by the dark and brooding experimental side of Univers Zero. Most of the tracks included on this album have been taken from live performances then mixed with all sorts of mixing effects, constituting to the wide array of unexplainable noise. This was a smart move by such a band, giving a more insightful outlook on what the bands is about, demonstrating the not only the harsh face but also giving infinite freedom to the improv nature of the band. 

The main compound of Kroko is loosely based around the defining skeletal structure of the manic drum section; fronting the impressive performance of Petri Hissa. These scattered but strangely coherent rhythms hold the album together beautifully enabling the careless flow from one passage to the next. At the forefront of the Duo’s sound we are constantly startled by Pentti Dassum’s violent out bursts, then gliding soothingly into Jazzy textures. Shear intensity floods through our veins through short more Ruins orientated passages, while we are soothed by the beautifully almost deconstructed longer compositions infested with squeaking, scraping, whaling feedback creating beautiful Ambient-jazz soundscapes.

Petri Hissa RIP 2020