Ignis Fatuus

CD – Creative Sources Recordings – CS552, Lisbon 2018

1. Figment of Imagination I - 08'41''

2. Interjection A - 01'49''

3. Figment of Imagination II - 11'25''

4. Interjection B - 01'54''

5. Figment of Imagination III - 08'52''

6. Interjection C - 01'34''

7. Figment of Imagination IV - 07'56'

Ernesto Rodrigues - Viola

Tristan Honsinger - Cello
Guilherme Rodrigues - Cello
Klaus Kürvers - Double Bass

Recorded October 2017, Berlin

Cover design Carlos Santos

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/ignis-fatuus

Reviews

Regarding the quartets involving both Ernesto & Guilherme Rodrigues, of course, with two differentiated guests, one perceives "at least" a trio-style interaction, even when the two Rodrigueses employ styles that seem to be in continuity with one another: Most recently, like RRR, The distant sound within seems to be a relatively straightforward followup album, in this case to Nuc Box Hums (recorded the prior October in Berlin, and discussed here in March 2017), with one ensemble substitution, in this case Adam Pultz Melbye for Adam Goodwin on bass. (And whereas Pultz Melbye hasn't been a regular on Creative Sources, he has already appeared here e.g. with Rotozaza Zero, and most recently on Loud, as discussed this past June.) In both cases, the quartet is completed by Kriton Beyer, previously on daxophone, and more recently on harmonium & objects. The distant sound within, which also involves a series of short tracks (as did Nuc Box Hums, both sets with track titles, perhaps due to Beyer), likewise includes some intriguing textural explorations (such as a kind of composite "raspberry"), as well as reference to interiority, but is also surely the less exciting (& challenging) album of the two. (So it might also be praised for its relative accessibility....) Later in the album, there are some passages showing more "traditional" combinations of strings & harmonium, such that the latter might be taken for organ or accordion... these also tend to involve more continuity & momentum via ostinato, etc. Farther afield, evoking a more romantic stylistic orientation, Ignis Fatuus involves Ernesto & Guilherme Rodrigues with Tristan Honsinger & Klaus Kürvers — to yield another "variant" string quartet, this time with two cellos & bass (& of course viola in the top part): Kürvers has already appeared here, both e.g. on Creative Sources (most recently around Discoveries, discussed here last October, i.e. approximately when Ignis Fatuus was being recorded) & elsewhere (first on Rotations from the double bass quartet Sequoia, mentioned in December 2014). But the more widely known performer is cellist Honsinger, and he seems to bring more traditional, even folksy, priorities or orientations: I had mentioned him briefly with In The Sea last August, but Honsinger first appeared on Creative Sources with Laura, released earlier this year (& likewise recorded last October), a rather "popular" album revolving around ballad forms (& so rather uncharacteristic for Ernesto Rodrigues — although not necessarily for e.g. Axel Dörner). Ignis Fatuus is also rather different, a less austere or minimal album than most frequently appears here from Creative Sources, although it can also involve a heavy dose of classical austerity (& dissonance) at times, usually amid lively counterpoint. (Its lively thematic concerns are thus more akin to e.g. 20th century classical string quartets, including their characteristic incorporation of "other" folk materials... Honsinger's vocal contributions aside.) Perhaps it will attract a different audience, and indeed Honsinger (on whose birthday Ignis Fatuus was recorded) appears to be popular in other niches.... Post-romanticism aside, it's a rather meaty album, particularly (I would think) for someone who isn't familiar with Rodrigues. (Todd McComb's Jazz Thoughts) (Todd McComb's Jazz Thoughts)

Recording in Germany, Creative Source's two Rodrigues'--Ernesto on viola and Guilherme on cello--along with double bassist Klaus Kurvers, celebrate legendary improvising cellist Tristan Honsinger's birthday in this studio album of active playing with a chamber quartet feeling through superb technical skills yielding electrifying string improvisation. (Squidco)

We Still Have Bodies

CD – Creative Sources Recordings – CS541, Lisbon 2018

1. I - 03'49''

2. II - 07'15''

3. III - 04'59''

4. IV - 03'48''

5. V - 12'55''

6. VI - 10'52''

7. VII - 05'02'

8. VIII - 04'01''

9. IX - 15'04''

Ernesto Rodrigues - Viola

Guilherme Rodrigues - Cello
Richard Scott - Analog Synthesizer

Recorded October 2017, Berlin

Cover design Carlos Santos

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/we-still-have-bodies

Reviews

In last month's entry for Jardin Carré, I stated that I'd (now) be making individual entries for Ernesto Rodrigues albums as warranted, and yet here I am, in the very next entry involving Rodrigues, preparing to discuss another group of string-majority albums at once, these recorded in Berlin in October 2017: It's probably silly waffling on my part, and yet another lesson about making future claims (& for no compelling reason), but I do want to mention these latest albums, and without as much individual focus as some others might warrant. On all four albums, Ernesto Rodrigues is joined by Guilherme Rodrigues — a configuration which should, perhaps, be called the Lisbon (or, I suppose, Berlin) String Duo — either to form half of a quartet or the majority of a trio. (The former configuration also holds for Jardin Carré, as well as for 0 minutes and 0 seconds. In fact, the latter also originated in Berlin last October, as did e.g. Crane Cries, discussed in this space back in April. So the albums in this entry appeared a little later, although certainly not "late" according to the norms of improvised music releases....Jardin Carré is then a newer album, originating in Paris this spring, whereas e.g. The Afterlife of Trees — discussed here last December — is from the previous October in Berlin....) Considering the overlapping techniques used by Ernesto & Guilherme together, not to mention their years of shared experience, they almost seem like one double instrument at times, such that their trios have something of the flavor of duos: Such a flavor might not suit my project here as well as some other efforts, but it does often serve to place the "guest" in sharp relief, and even allows the resulting trios to plumb some deeper spaces. Perhaps the later release dates (than those of some other albums already noted from the period) were already indicative, but these albums are less radical in concept than I had talked myself into anticipating. Nonetheless, trios RRR & We Still Have Bodies, involving previous Creative Sources artists Olaf Rupp & Richard Scott respectively, yield a variety of exploratory & distinctive textures: In particular, RRR — on which the ensemble differs from that of Traintracks Roadsides Wastelands Debrisonly by substituting Guilherme Rodrigues for Ulrike Brand on cello — could not be more different from that earlier album: In contrast to the extended, industrial desolation of the latter, the former is almost sunny at times, with electric guitar involved in chiming sounds that evoke not only a mysterious counterbalance to the various string glissandi & extended pizzicato techniques, but an East Asian character as well, a mélange of Chinese & Balinese colors. One might further note a contrast between a frequent "earthy" character in the violin family instruments & a calmly ethereal "sunrise" quality from the guitar, a contrast which nonetheless coheres into or around stable musical figures. (The "pretty" or uplifting character, if not the calm per se, might be compared to Rupp's participation on the earlier & more traditional Happy Jazz, discussed here in May 2017. The "punk" character I had found in some of his earlier music seems to be far behind....) The basic tone or mood of We Still Have Bodies doesn't contrast with earlier Creative Sources favorites involving Scott, Natura venomous & Trialectics, to the same degree, but does suggest something of the character of studies: The title is intriguing & appropriate to our times — & strangely similar to the self-titled debut While We Still Have Bodies on Neither/Nor, as discussed here last November (i.e. shortly after the former was recorded) — but a compelling overall concept doesn't seem to emerge (at least not relative to my hopes for such a pregnant pairing). Nonetheless, this is indeed the first album to feature both Scott & Ernesto Rodrigues, and various intriguing textures are explored in an ample & multi-track (as seems typical of Scott) album lasting over an hour — the latter even discounting the several minutes of silence occupying the second half of the final track.... (And one cannot always be sure what is intended or what is a production glitch in some of these cases....) There is a bit of "spaciness" from the synth at times, but also a variety of combinations from aggressive to subtle (including some quiet vocal sampling & "radio" static that weren't immediately apparent), suggesting many future possibilities. These projects also involve the continued exploration of mic'ing & mixing that is sometimes associated with the notion (or genre) of "lowercase" by some narratives: While the amplification of quiet sounds does align, this is more "abstract music" in Pierre Schaeffer's sense of Musique concrète, including with originating sound sources largely effaced at various points, than it is a spotlight on the everyday. I intend to return to that remark in the next entry....  (Todd McComb's Jazz Thoughts)

Nine numbered improvisations for viola, cello and analog synth from the trio of Ernesto Rodrigues, Guilherme Rodrigues and Richard Scott, recorded live at Audience, in Berlin, Scott's synth layers adding subtle nuance including vocal sampling and static and strange noise as a counterpoint to the Rodrigues' subdued but detailed techniques, textures and intense concentration. (Squidco)

"We Still Have Bodies" is another example, recorded in October 2017 at Audience in Berlin. Ernesto and Guilherme are accompanied here by Richard Scott, who plays an analogue synthesizer. The title work is divided into nine parts. The music is a little less abstract than on "Infinite Series", in the sense that cello and viola sounds can be recognized more easily. Richard Scott creates an amazingly mysterious atmosphere and a kind of tension, in a very positive sense of this word. Beautiful stuff!!! Maciej Lewenstein