Erosions

CD – Creative Sources Recordings – CS172, Lisbon 2010

Madrid, July 7th, very, very sunny and over 36º centigrade. Taking refuge in my studio, which is surprisingly cool, I crank up the Mac and wade through the spam to discover an e-mail from Ernesto Rodrigues. He and Neil Davidson are pleased with the music we recorded in trio in March and want to make a CD of it. Also, Bay-area poet and photographer Mary Petrosky has sent me a message intriguingly titled “Rocks I’ve Met,” with some striking photos of… well, rocks.One is especially beautiful in its erosion. The water that caused it is no longer visible, but the rock’s surface bears witness to the process. Of course I’m not looking at the rock, but at a photograph, which in turn bears witness to the rock. Now, I’m writing about it. Writing about what? The rock? The erosion? The photo? The process of looking at the photo? The fact that I’m writing about it? Maybe it’s the heat, but the whole thing seems to twist and turn around itself like the curlicue erosion of the stone itself. Rocks I’ve met. The music Ernesto, Neil and I made in March was also a process, and like the water long disappeared from between the eroded walls of a dry stone canyon, it, too, has left its mark. There is something implacable about how water erodes a canyon, as there is about the endless sequence of waves with which the ocean assaults and eventually conquers even the most robust breakwater. At first glance, water seems to adapt to the form of its container, and yet, over time, the opposite occurs; it wears away its surroundings, imposing a shape derived from its own flow. In that process, the stone is scoured and polished, forced to reveal something of itself that would otherwise have remained hidden. Does music do this? Is it as implacable as water? Does it scour? Polish? Erode? Reveal? If so, what is the subject of this erosion? What bears witness? What is revealed? Certainly not the grooves of a recording, much as they may resemble a miniature canyon. Perhaps the CD is like the photo, bearing witness to the rock but not actually subject to the erosion it indirectly reflects. Water is implacable because it has no will. It merely follows physical laws, though often in very complex ways. Mathematical models of wave behavior, for example, are enormously elaborate. And in collective improvisation, the will or intentions of the improvisers interact in ways that vary constantly between synergy and its exact opposite (a sort of negative synergy in which the whole is less that the sum of the parts). An improviser can act with a particular intention, only to find that his act coincides with that of another in ways that may totally negate his initial intention. Yet that interaction may just as easily create a new level of meaning in which the outcome of both acts is somehow even more appropriate than either of the improvisers expected. So collective improvisation cannot be the continuous reflection of any given intentionality. Like water, it flows, and like waves, its exact movement almost inevitably eludes prediction. As it flows, water erodes its container, wearing away the hardest of surfaces to reveal what is beneath. Extending our metaphor, we could say that sound flows from the actions of musicians, and among listeners. As such, it erodes both. But it also polishes both, and most of all, it reveals both. So if this music is the water, then we, the musicians, and you, the listener, are its container, the bared stones of its canyon. Have we been eroded? Unquestionably. Polished? No doubt. But what has been revealed? Wade Matthews

1. 08:24 – 08’24’’

2. 03:27 – 03’27’’

3. 05:56 – 05’56’’

4. 06:20 – 06’20’’

5. 14:08 – 14’08’’

Ernesto Rodrigues – Viola

Neil Davidson - Acoustic Guitar

Wade Matthews - Digital Synthesis, Manipulated Field Recordings

Recorded in March 2010, Madrid
Cover design Carlos Santos
Photography Mary Petrosky

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/erosions


Reviews

Viola, acoustic guitar, field recordings and processes of synthesis: those are the components here. There is no bombast and yet such quiet music proves to be all-encompassing to my attention. Wade Matthews has written a most interesting sleeve note comparing the flow of music with water, gradually eroding and revealing, hence the album title. Whilst it is music of inner spaces, it also seems to reach out to something wider. Maybe I'm hearing a hint of radio astronomy sound, implied unconsciously in the process... or maybe that's just what these erosions are revealing in me? JC (Boa Melody Bar)

Tired and thoroughly fed up tonight for a number of reasons, but the good news is that I have managed to get a week off of work next week, a much needed chance to recharge the batteries a little and sort things out around here, which I haven’t been able to do since the crazy Christmas period. This evening then, after getting home from work quite late I have been able to spend some time with a CD that I have been playing quite a bit since I was generously given it at the weekend. Sometimes its nice to write about a disc quite early, even when the backlog is still quite daunting, and so tonight a few words about the new disc by Ernesto Rodrigues, (viola) Neil Davidson (acoustic guitar) and Wade Matthews (digital synthesis and manipulated field recordings), a CD on the Creative Sources label named Erosions. Caveats out of the way first then- I have worked on a CD with Davidson recently, consider him a good friend and was handed this release while at a concert he organised in Glasgow last weekend. So take all of that into account as you read etc….

Erosions then, (great name for the album by the way) consists of five shortish studio improvisations recorded in Summer 2010. These pieces are, if simply described, great examples of good improvised electroacoustic music recorded by thoughtful, creative people. They are nothing more than this, nothing less. As I have written countless times before, you don’t always have to rewrite the rulebooks to make strong music. You also don’t have to have sold hundreds of records before or be the name that everyone is discussing. Because of the label it is released on, Erosions will doubtlessly be overlooked and/or written off without being listened to. This is a shame as its a really good listen.

The album is a busy, abrasive affair, but of the laminal, textural kind rather than any form of jazz related call and response. Sounds wrench into life and then scorch line across the sounds surrounding them. This isn’t a noisy album as such when considered in the greater scheme of things, but it does have a fiery, jagged edge to it. Davidson’s guitar is acoustic bar the use of eBows, but is recorded up close so that every knock and scratch is amplified, its presence in the music driving the music on into almost aggressive territory. Matthews’ laptop sounds very from ringing tones through to synthesised warbles and squelches, but they are used very nicely, never sounding out of place or too artificial alongside the two acoustic stringed instruments. The field recordings apparently manipulated here are also taken so far out of context that they are unidentifiable from the synthetically created sounds. Rodrigues’ vila in perhaps the most understated of the three parts, preferring to add subtle touches between the other two for much of the time, though equally close-miked there are occasions when it also comes right to the fore.

In his liner notes, Matthews compares the act of natural erosion to the processes involved in making the music as sounds are stripped away, new ones appearing, others altered by new surfaces running across them. These are nice analogies for the music, which has an organic, roughly hewn feel to it, and therefore makes a great disc to delve deep into, poke your ears into every nook and cranny, ride along on the crest of the momentum as everything comes crashing down. The pleasure comes from the interplay between the textural events, how one set of sounds is altered dramatically by the next cutting into it, how one detailed texture is coloured by a new layer of sound sprinkled across it. Following the music through its twists and turns, but also listening vertically down into it is a thoroughly rewarding experience to these ears, and one done best at a reasonable volume.

So a nicely balanced set of recordings that edges on the grainy, gritty side but still has a soft layer folded through it all pieced together with impeccable timing, Erosions is an album by a great trio that I like quite a bit and am very pleased to recommend. My favourite release of 2011 so far. Richard Pinnell (The Watchful Ear)

Le trio Ernesto RODRIGUES (violon), Neil DAVIDSON (guitare acoustique) et Wade MATTHEWS (synthèse numérique et Field recordings) explore les fonds de l'improvisation collective électroacoustique pour en faire remonter à la surface les sonorités les plus radicales de leurs instruments et dispositifs. Une véritable introspection au plus profond de l'instrument, dans une recherche de la sonorité la plus lointaine. Un vrai travail de fourmi au nom de l'improvisation horizontale, faite de micro-événements, d'accidents qui parfois sont le postulat de départ de quelques titres, comme sur le premier (s/t). L'usage tourbillonnant de la synthèse numérique (dispositif de deux ordinateurs) répond aux ritournelles mécaniques de la guitare acoustique et du violon, et se faufile très bien dans le paysage des cordes frottées, des sons étirés à l'archet, acoustique ou électronique. Si le disque attaque fort d'entrée, les plages suivantes sont ultra-minimales et plutôt menées par l'acoustique des instruments à cordes, pour finalement venir provoquer le numérique dans une certaine rivalité qui se faisait un peu attendre. Vraiment pour les fans du genre.

Cyrille Lanoë (Revue & Corrigée)

Séance d’improvisation libre en studio enregistrée en mars 2010 à Madrid, dans le studio de Wade Matthews, ici aux enregistrements de terrain traités et à la synthèse numérique (c’est nouveau, je le connaissais antérieurement comme instrumentiste acoustique). Rodrigues et Davidson jouent de leurs instruments habituels (respectivement l’alto et la guitare acoustique), en leur appliquant des techniques forts inusitées, soit, mais auxquelles ils nous ont habitué par le passé. Erosions est une excellente rencontre d’improvisation: abstraite mais fluide, délicate mais jamais doucereuse, pleines d’interrogations (les chuintements de Rodrigues se fondent dans les sons ambiants de Matthews). Un autre disque qui démontre: a) l’intérêt de la démarche de Rodrigues et; b) son flair lorsque vient le temps d’assembler des groupes. Recommandé François Couture (Monsieur Délire)

I enjoyed a lot the page of artistic diary intended to say something about this project by one of the involved musician - arguably the one whose sound art is more audible here -, Wade Matthews, who got inspiration for entitling a session recorded in March 2010 with the skilled Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Neil Davidson on acoustic guitar from a message sent by the photographer caring the artwork of this release, Mary Petrosky (is it fun a photographer with such a surname, as "petra" Latin root means "stone", likes taking pictures of rocks! It's really cool the one on the cover, looking like to a sort of scratched liver...), titled "Rocks I've met". Maybe he was influenced by the sweltering day occured in July 2010 in Madrid, as Wade himself admits, but he made a bizarre association between the general flow of the sound of this issue, whereas an important role has been played by the astonishing manipulations on field recordings (you'll have the sensation of being in his cool studio where any object, even his ringing phone, plays a role in this nice recording...a process which could remind the role of the notorious Stockhausen's dog!) and digitally synthesized creatures (some of them look like signals grabbed from ether or astronomic capturing system to be honest...) while guitar chords and viola sketches are just put in appearance here and there, and the erosive action of water on rockets. "At first glance", Mr Matthews argues, "water seems to adapt to the form of its container, and yet, over time, the opposite occurs. [...] As it flows, water erodes its container, wearing away the hardest of surfaces to reveal what is beneath. Extending our metaphor, we could say that sound flows from the actions of musicians, and among listeners. As such, it erodes both. But it also polishes both, and most of all, it reveals both". Is Erosions going to reveal something according the conceptualization by Matthers, acting in keeping with improv music principles? It's up to the listener... Vito Camarretta (Chain DLK)

Le violon d'Ernesto Rodrigues s'exprime de mille et une façons. Prenons cet archet qui patiente ou cette corde pincée. Ou encore ces silences qui chassent à chaque fois la note à laquelle succèdent en l'étouffant de tous leurs charmes.

Mais le violon d'Ernesto Rodrigues est rarement seulement violon. Sur Erosions, ce sont aussi des électro-objets fappés, traînés à terre, ramassés pour être renvoyés plus loin et des fields recordings (le tout inventé en direct par Wade Matthews) et des vibrations d'autres cordes (la guitare de Neil Davidson). Le tout est une somme de sédiments de réel.

La musique du trio s'exprime en improvisant dans l'agrément (le violon instrument classique abordé bizarrement mais instrument classique pour toujours) et le désagrément (les objets et les field recordings et les cordes tendues). Elle raconte autant de souvenirs-mélodies qu'elle prédit l'avenir d'une musique qui ne sera plus jamais. Pierre Cécile (Le Son du Grisli)

"Erosions" is a 2010 date with Rodrigues' viola accompanied by Wade Matthews' electronics and field recordings and Neil Davidson's rumbling acoustic guitar. Interestingly, I have the sense that, although the sounds here are quite full and active, the music is informed by quieter, more contemplative approaches heard or taken in the interim which have imparted a rich, breathing quality to the work, a sense of pacing and breathing that wasn't as prominent earlier (again, going from a meager number of samples but also of what I know of Rodrigues' prior catalog). I wasn't crazy about a previous Davidson solo effort but he fits in just fine here. In fact, the trio gels really nicely, creating a churning sound-world, with hints of drone, that results in one of the better recordings I've encountered from Rodrigues, well worth hearing.

Brian Olewnick (Just Outside)

Improvised music has so many intuitive ways to go through which you cannot really predict. With this cd I got a feeling that the more I listen to it the more it becomes a sort of geological process about the imprinting the traces of the notes and phases the musicians are transposing.

Lost trace is the best thing that can ocur to you, once you have forgotten about it, a time comes that it flashbacks into Your memory and erodes it with the lines it embellishes and carves in your perception process.

The way with such kind of music is reinventing the peripheral perception process into some new tracks - it is getting out of your ego and getting back to the shape that seems to be the void but sheer utterance of that kind is merely a slight misunderstanding: You won't get any tunnel vision on this one...try it!!! Hubert Napiorski (Felthat Reviews)

Erosions est une autre rencontre inattendue et surprenante où trois musiciens assez différents tentent également d'établir un dialogue. Il s'agit cette fois d'Ernesto Rodrigues (violon alto), Neil Davidson (guitare acoustique) et Wade Matthews (synthèse digitale et manipulation de field-recordings). Trois musiciens qui ne jouent pas forcément sur les mêmes terrains, sur les mêmes esthétiques et méthodes d'improvisation, mais qui s'efforcent tout de même de créer ici une improvisation collective.

Ils s'y efforcent, et ils y arrivent - c'est même, pour ce qui est des enregistrements de Rodrigues et Davidson, un de mes disques préférés (d'ailleurs, j'avais déjà beaucoup aimé leur précédente collaboration intitulée fower). Cinq improvisations assez calmes et lentes, interactives et symbiotiques. Les textures sont originales et s'agencent de manière parfois symbiotiques, parfois opposées. Wade Matthews est certainement le plus étonnant des trois avec des enregistrements de trains transformés en fréquences granuleuses, des sinusoïdes impromptues et des souffles oniriques, les matières sonores qu'il produit sont franchement inventives et singulières, et il parvient à constamment surprendre et déjouer les attentes. Plus solidaires entre eux, du fait de leurs instruments à cordes et acoustiques, Neil Davidson et Ernesto Rodrigues semblent aller de pair - même si ce n'est pas toujours le cas. Une utilisation souvent détournée et/ou préparée des instruments, allant de l'insertion d'objets entre les cordes, à l'utilisation d'archet sur la guitare, en passant par les techniques étendues habituelles de col legno (frottement avec le bois de l'archet) et sul ponticello (frottement du chevalet), et je suis loin d'être exhaustif. Chaque émission de son est une invitation aux réponses, réponses qui s'intègrent ou s'opposent à la proposition initiale. Et du fait de cette interaction, la musique proposée durant ces cinq improvisations est plutôt variée et diversifiée, une musique qui est parfois calme et énigmatique, parfois forte et abrasive, proche à certains moments de l'eai, proche à d'autres moments du réductionnisme ou de l'improvisation libre non-idiomatique.

Mais tout au long de ce disque, ce sont des propositions fortes et des réponses justes. Une musique qui se renouvelle à chaque seconde et maintient constamment l'auditeur en haleine. Créatives, inventives, originales donc, mais aussi denses et riches, voici cinq erosions conseillées. Julien Héraud (ImprovSpheres)

The trio of violist and label leader Ernesto Rodrigues with acoustic guitarist Neil Davidson and sythn/field recording artist Wade Matthews in erosive, sinister and engrossing improv. (Squidco)

Wounds of Light

CD – Creative Sources Recordings – CS178, Lisbon 2010

Light? There’s never been any lightness to the Rodrigueses’ playing. Physically, there’s often a lot of pressure applied with the bow; intellectually, their music is consistently ripe with thought and pregnant with meaning – aerial perhaps, but light, never. Yes, I know, it’s not lightness this title is about. It’s illumination, brilliance, luminance – all words aptly describing (in reverse order) the father-son duo’s music, this particular quartet session, and the result of experiencing both. Thought, focus, the resonance of each musician’s soul with his instrument and his colleagues: all these factors are enlightening, casting – yes – a light on the music at hand. But they don’t explain everything. How could they? How could one truly explain the magic of genuine collective improvisation? The act of performing as one yet as separate personalities? The feat of achieving cohesion without resorting to predictability? The incredible level of “telepathy/synergy/complementarity” between Ernesto, Guilherme, David, and Nuno? The uncanny way this quartet lays out and articulates sounds so that the listener may feel like a participant, someone as accountable for the success of the recording as the musicians involved? In following the Rodrigueses’ adventures through the catalogue of the Creative Sources label, I have often tried to explain all this and know that I am doomed to fail, always. Light, therefore. There shall be light as you listen to this CD. But the music itself is far from sunny. It has its dark corners, its shadows, its pitch-black Lovecraftian recesses – moreso than most of the recordings involving the Rodrigueses, and especially in the second piece, where a sense of impending doom (un)resolves in a very strange way. An ironic use of the word “light”, then? Perhaps, although in this case, that which is absent (light) could hurt your eyes if it were used maliciously. Speaking of maliciousness, David Stackenäs – the X factor in this aligment – is maliciously playing the agent provocateur part; his acoustic guitar work, gritty, grating, highly experimental and unique, sits wonderfully well between the tensed-up textures of the Rodrigueses’ stringwork and the quiet, inner-reaching tones from Nuno Torres’ saxophone. But does it hurt, this wound? Revelations always hurt – at least a bit – our preconceived ideas, if nothing else. And that might happen to you, especially around the nine-minute mark in the third piece, when Stackenäs chooses the path of most resistance, triggering the most unruly moment of the album. That’s when a lightbulb might come on in the heads of the most blasé of listeners: “Oh my, they’re having fun too!” If you’re all stuck up about non-idiomatic improvisation, that kind of enlightenment could leave a mark! François Couture

1. 12’47’’ – 12’47’’

2. 11’29’’ – 11’29’’

3. 14’28’’ – 14’28’’

Ernesto Rodrigues – Viola

Guilherme Rodrigues – Cello

Nuno Torres – Alto Saxophone

David Stackenäs - Acoustic Guitar

Recorded in October 2008, Lisbon
Cover design Carlos Santos
Photography Daria Gabriel

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/wounds-of-light


Reviews
[...] Por sua vez, "Wounds of light" tem em David Stackenas o "joker" com a missao de manter instaveis os equillbrios que se vao construindo, abrindo feridas na superfície do silencio e lançando sombras sobre o que se ilumina. Rui Eduardo Paes (Jazz.pt)
I haven’t written about this CD when it came out, because I had been asked to write liner notes for it. But why shoudln’t I praise its ultra-quiet and surgically-precise form of free improvisation, with subtle yet gritty plays of textures? The Rodrigues father-and-son team delivers another bewitching performance. François Couture (Monsieur Délire)
For some mysterious reason, the first six minutes of this recording call those unwelcome awakenings begun with vexing headaches or those terribly sickening hangovers to mind and you could imagine why all the following mental images by such a listening could have been influenced by this first impression so that I could link the six minutes left over to nothing but the effect of an analgesic pill! ...and you'll understand why the harsch viola by Ernesto Rodrigues, that sort of gumbling and snoring by other sonic objects, the metallic scratching and the obstinate sawing by Guilherme Rodrigues' cello, the steady reverberating by David Stackenas'e-bows and Nuno Torres' alto saxophone of the second track could be linked to the interference in such an anguishing state of mind by some coercive "needs" as well as the third 15-minutes lasting track could be considered as the difficult attempt of rebalancing or recovering from such a condition or maybe it could just be the attempt of finding some relief out...finally! The description of an ordinary day which isn't deserving of some lines in a personal diary at all. I could be more assertive and even show off some learning by trying a comparison of the title of this improvisational issue with the notorious sentence by William Blake according to which "colours are wounds of light", but I prefer to keep my feet on the ground today! Just enjoy this listening in accorrdance of your situation or your speculative knowledge...it's up to you! Vito Camarretta (Chain DLK)

\
La combinaison instrumentale exploitée par cette formation, enregistrée en octobre 2008, est d’une élégante richesse : en une quarantaine de minutes et comme dans un atelier, la belle ingénierie (guitare, alto, violoncelle, saxophone alto) met en branle longerons, rabots, scies lentes, avec une vraie science des dosages et du brouillage des sources – qui peut évoquer, mutatis mutandis, certains travaux de Polwechsel. Un confort rêche, avec ce qu’il faut d’échardes pour rester sur le qui-vive… Guillaume Tarche (Le Son du Grisli)

Publiée il y a environ deux ans, Wounds of Light est une série de trois improvisations pour instruments acoustiques. On y retrouve Ernesto Rodrigues et son fils Guilherme - respectivement à l'alto et au violoncelle, ainsi que Nuno Torres au saxophone alto et le guitariste suédois David Stackenäs. Comme le dit déjà François Couture dans les notes, cet album ravira certainement beaucoup des amateurs d'improvisation non-idiomatique. Car il s'agit ici avant tout d'improvisations abstraites et principalement concentrées sur le son lui-même. Le quartet s'évertue et s'amuse à multiplier des strates sonores indiscernables à partir de cordes longuement frottées et de notes statiques. Il ne s'agit pas non plus d'une forme de drone acoustique, car des milliers de micro-évolutions parcourent les strates. Des évènements parfois microscopiques fourmillent. Des micro-évènements qui forment des angles, donnent de la forme et du relief aux longues plages sonores abrasives. Servies par quatre instrumentistes virtuoses, ces trois improvisations plongent l'auditeur dans des territoires sonores abstraits, singuliers et créatifs. Un univers où bois et cordes sont raclés, durement frottés et avec lenteur; des sons qui crispent parfois mais qui ne sont pas vraiment désagréable tant la forme et l'interaction entre les musiciens semblent magiques et inventives. Trois plongées sonores dans l'univers du timbre et des micro-évolutions, trois plongées qui progressent avec calme et nous entraînent dans des atmosphères hors du commun, méticuleusement interprétées. Julien Héraud (ImprovSphere)

Tense textures and shadowy interplay brought to 'light' from the quartet of father/son Rodrigues, guitarist David Stackenas, and saxophonist Nuno Torres; remarkably subtle sonic improvisation. (Squidco)

Our Faceless Empire

CD – Pax Recordings – S. Francisco 2010

Recorded in Oakland, California in 2006, during a long journey that took violinist Ernesto Rodrigues and guitarist Manuel Mota from Vancouver, Canada to Long Beach, Southern California, with stops in Seattle and San Francisco, this encounter between two Portuguese musicians and Californian improvisers Gino Robair (energized surfaces/voltage made audible) and Ernesto Diaz-Infante (acoustic guitar), invigorates the open debate over the different forms of musical expression related to improvisation/instant composition. These forms of communication evidence a particular interest in exploring the most delicate aspect of the sound world. The chosen elements–acoustic and electric strings as well as various electronics/percussions– interact to work out a fascinating, enchanting angle regarding timbric and textural possibilities and instrumental combinations. The voices interweave with ductility and take advantage of the broadened dynamic spectrum, which goes from intervals of silence to the resonance of a meticulous yet delicate low volume activity, and these aspects are accentuated by the clarity of the recording, which was a result of a competent and assertive placement of microphones. Yet the most interesting aspect is perhaps to witness the development of a collective language, nurtured by the spontaneous inspiration and a remarkable ability to react in real time to the stimulus of the other ensemble members. There are some moments that sound close to the reductionist/”near silence” approach, others to electroacoustic experimentation and some even to the European schools of free improvisation. However, what is mostly heard throughout the recording is an organic compound boiled on a low flame, made up with the different forms and techniques of the contemporary free musical expression, and it privileges as a whole the richness of color, a purified sense of collectiveness and a surprising kinetic motion between serenity and restlessness. Natural, spontaneous music, filled with mystery, angular, exploratory and intense: just like we dreamed it.

Eduardo Chagas

1. Nosso Rosto Empire – 04’51’’

2. Luftzucker – 03’49’’

3. Mi Conde, el odiosas – 04’29’’

4. O, Bursty Bruegel – 06’11’’

5. Intervalos de confianza – 09’24’’

6. Vida de lujo – 05’44’’

7. Emético Labilty – 04’50’’

8. Um Lilburn em Flovilla – 03’55’’

9. A Cartesian Blaspheme – 05’39’’

Ernesto Rodrigues – Violin

Ernesto Diaz-Infante – Acoustic Guitar

Manuel Mota – Electric Guitar

Gino Robair – Energized Surfaces, Voltage Made Audible

Recorded in February 2006, Oakland
Cover design Jeff Petersen

https://ernestorodrigues.bandcamp.com/album/our-faceless-empire

Reviews

Our Faceless Empire (Pax 90289; USA) Ernesto Diaz-Infante on acoustic guitar, Manuel Mota on elecric guitar, Gino Robair on energized surfaces made audible and Ernesto Rodrigues on viola. This is a unique quartet with two musicians from Portugal: Manuel Mota & Ernesto Rodrigues and two from California: Gino Robair (Oakland) and Ernesto Diaz-Infante. Each one of these musicians come from different backgrounds and each has worked for or organized their own labels. Gino Robair runs Rastascan, Ernesto Rodrigues runs Creative Sources, Manel Mota used to run Headlights while Mr. Diaz-Infante is involved with this, the Pax Recordings label.
Is Pax Recordings the West Coast version of Erstwhile? A good question to ponder while we check out this lower-case improvised treasure. What are "energized surfaces made audible"? Another good question. Subtle feedback, delicate guitar extrapolations, softly amplified rubbed objects and minimal percussives are what we hear on this disc. Restrained yet busy rumbling, extremely careful improvised madness and layers with layers. Each piece seems to get more dense and/or frantic as this disc evolves, yet there are also moments of sift reflection. If I hadn't been reviewing and enjoying the Erstwhile catalogue all along, I probably wouldn't have appreciated this disc so much. Patience is a virtue when reviewing any and all challenging musics and it is necessary while contemplating what is unique about this shrewd unassuming gem. The layman might think that anyone could do this, but he or they would be so wrong. There is much more than meets the ear or eye than you might imagine going on. Only time will tell. Bruce Lee Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery)

The meeting of four skilled improvising musicians—two from Lisbon, Portugal, and two from San Francisco—is cause for celebration on these nine ephemeral pieces. Surprisingly, Our Faceless Empire is not a live date; instead, it was made in an Oakland, California studio in 2006. By the very nature of this session, an audience—or any outside noise or distraction—might take away from the overall aura of its sounds.
The meeting emphasizes both the acoustic and the electric. Portuguese players Ernesto Rodrigues (viola) and Manuel Mota (electric guitar) join Californians Ernesto Diaz-Infante (steel-string acoustic guitar) and Gino Robair's electrified surfaces and voltage experiments.
The tracks accentuate the quartet's interplay, shying away from the all too common use of tension-and-release and, instead, relying more on a calming equanimity of texture, and sometimes making sound for sound's sake. The players tend to pulse, allow for energies to cycle through and opt for responding to each others' thoughts.
With sounds are almost more visual than aural, Our Faceless Empire sparks the imagination by conjuring forms, colors and perceptions of touch rather than sound. Perhaps it is the energy fields created by the intersection of the acoustic and electric—or, maybe, the Portuguese and the North Americans. Mark Corroto (All About Jazz)

I've had many occasions to improvise (both live & in studio) with Mr. Diaz-Infante, so I can surely appreciate what I'm hearing on this grand excursion into the depths of moment! If you're a "pure jazzhead", with no room for adventure in your heart (or your ears), you'll probably pass on this CD, but that's not a good way to hear what's REALLY happening in the 21st Century. These folks are masters at the sonic arts, extracting sounds from the ether that are then gently formed into artistic protest (of a sort), albeit with clear recording (Scott Looney did the initial recording, then Gino edited, mixed and mastered it) seldom found on such albums. What they are doing will be exceedingly pleasing to those of you who understand that music doesn't have to be "of a certain pattern" to have that element of discovery that's so sorely needed in these times of empirical idiocy and (perhaps) biblical significance. The key to total enjoyment of O.F.E. is (just as I know the players are doing) allowing yourself to become totally absorbed in what they are creating for you... for starters, make sure you are wearing headphones, turn that durned cellphone & computer OFF, & settle back with your favorite brew... this is sonically epic, and merits your full attention. My personal favorite was the richly dense "Um Lilburn Em Flovilla" for it's gently haunting aura of electronical alchemy... you, of course, will find your own favored composition. This comes MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an "EQ" (energy quotient) rating of 4.99 (very near the top)... it also gets my "PICK" of this issue for "best improvised mystery". Get more information at www.paxrecordings.com. Dick Metcalf ( Rotcod Zzaj)

Bei einer transatlantischen Exkursion 2006 begegneten zwei Portugiesen zwei Gesinnungsgenossen in Oakland. Mota und Diaz-Infante bekrabbeln elektrische bzw. akustische Gitarren, Rodrigues quietschfiedelt und Robair hantiert fragil-perkussiv, wenn auch verstärkt. So entstand, nicht dass es mich überraschen würde, ein meist eifriges und quickes Pollocking aus Klangbröseln und Geräuschfitzeln. Die Erwartung, gemeinsame Vorlieben für mikrobruitistische Improvisation ohne große Vorbereitung miteinander teilen zu können, wurde nicht enttäuscht. Selbst über ganz reduktionistische Momente, in denen man die sprichwörtliche Stecknadel fallen oder ‚Luftzucker‘ rieseln hören kann, wenn Saiten übervorsichtig gepickt und bezirpt werden und Robair Schwingungen wie mit der Pinzette aus der Luft pflückt, bestand intuitiv Einigkeit. Dass auf kleiner Flamme dann doch nur laue Wässerchen aufgewärmt werden, liegt allein an meiner Rolle in der Schizophrenie zwischen aktiv und passiv. Die Spieler erleben die Kommunikation als traumhaft schön und beglückend. Mich drückt dabei nur die Kirchenbank in dieser Church of Musica Absconditus.Rigobert Dittmann (Bad Alchemy)

Det är något speciellt med stränginstrument i improviserad musik som jag alltid lockas av utan att egentligen kunna peka på några specifika orsaker varför. Ljudet av strängarna och den perkussiva resonansen, ett slags snavande, knäppande och rutschande som tycks börja och sluta på samma gång – allt detta trängs samman i min föreställning av det som möjligen skulle kunna vara ljudens ”fibrer”, dess minsta möjliga resonanta trådar.
Strängar är också linjer och den improviserade gitarrmusiken sedan Derek Baileys dagar gör sitt bästa för att bryta dess linjer utan att det blir till runda tonala former. Ur ett estetiskt perspektiv blir strängarna snarare till taggtrådar och ackordens perfekta fingersättningar till ledbrutet och ojämnt krafsande. Det blir vackert på sitt ickevackra sätt.
Skivan Our Faceless Empire är en femtio minuter lång djupdykning i musikalisk strängteori med bidrag av Gino Robairs alltid märkliga surface/voltage-mix av elektroniska och akustiska ljud. Förutom Robair består kvartetten av Ernesto Diaz-Infante på stålsträngad akustisk gitarr, Manuel Mota på elgitarr och Ernest Rodrigues på viola. Kalifornien möter Portugal med andra ord. Det jag gillar med denna skiva är det smått oroliga lugnet, en dynamik i spelet som aldrig hänger sig helt åt larm eller slammer utan vilar i ljuden på ett mycket perceptivt sätt. Ibland kan det stanna till lite för länge vid feedback eller gnissla kraftigt, så som i spåret ”A Cartesian Blaspheme”, men de är hela tiden uppmärksamma på i vilken riktning musiken utvecklar sig.
Elektronik och strängar visar sig vara ett utmärkt par. I spåren ”O, Bursty Bruegel” och ”Um Lilburn Em Flovilla” tycker jag mycket av kvartettens musikaliska tänkande faller på plats, det vill säga huller om buller fast med tystnaden som huvudresurs. Det blir allt glesare mellan ljuden och det rumsliga i musiken växer. Andra spår bjuder på ett mer laddat tempo, som ”E Mético Lability”. Detta är skivans starkaste spår: strängar, stråkar och slagverk når varandra i en taggig barrskog av spinkiga ljud där också kortvariga melodiska fragment tillåts.
I sin helhet är Our Faceless Empire övertygande, även om den kanske inte just är nyskapande. Kvartetten vinner på att hålla tillbaka explosionen, att lita på ett ”väntande lyssnande” och möta varandra i en akustisk underjord snarare än på slagfältet. John Redin (Sound of Music)

It has been a long time since I last reviewed a release of Pax Recordings. So it is a good thing to see they are still in business, as is Ernesto-Diaz Infante who is featured on many of their releases. Recordings for this release came about in 2006 when Rodrigues and Mota - both from Portugal - where traveling the US. ŒOur Faceless Empire‚ documents their meeting with two musicians from California: Diaz-Infante and Robair. It all happened on february 19, in the 1510 Studio in Oakland with Scott R. Looney doing the recording. The line up is as follows: Ernesto Diaz-Infante (steel-string acoustic guitar), Manuel Mota (electric guitar), Gino Robair ( energized surfaces/voltage made audible) and Ernesto Rodrigues (viola). From, what I know from the work by Diaz-Infante this collaboration has a logic. This are improvisations in the style we know well from the Portuguese Creative Sources label, where textures, timbre and concrete sounds make up the aspects they work with. One could call this music highly abstract, in the sense of abstracted from melody, harmony, rhythm, etc. But at the same it is also very concrete, as it deals with concrete sounds and colors. The music is not very dramatic but if you really go into it, it is a very engaging and rewarding experience. With concentrated listening you will surely enjoy all all the movements, short runs and twists, and the interaction between the musicians. It is very delicate music, full of nuance and little motives. Pointillistic, if that makes sense. Dolf Mulder (Vital Weekly)

I haven't heard any recording with Ernesto Sturm Diaz Infante since a few years what made me welcome the cd with great pleasure. Aan in addition there's a fine line up of Manuel Mota (electric guitar), Gino Robair ( energized surfaces/voltage made audible) and Ernesto Rodrigues (viola) which is great.
It's a document of two different passages in improvised music - both represneted by european and american artists which certainly have different styles but complement each other greatly.
I guess with all the collaborations and mostly with collaborations of 3 or more people at the same time here's a need for certain type of composition and logic in it which this recording bears. As with all the Creative Sources recordings we have plenty of action: sudden twists, sizzling sonorous explorations and more free-improv style which is Sturm Diaz Infante's style - a string metal machine mechanics - style that cannot be mistaken.
There's a certain influence of concrete music what is great add - the structure is very delicate and abstract and concrete sounds are always a sort a danger in such context - might be too strong and harsh - an oxymoron.
The pieces are sure shot to enjoy - they are not too exaggerated, and most of all there's plenty of subtleness and delicacy which for me is the greatest asset - communication between musicians is just bloming. More from Pax recordings!!! Hubert Napiorski (Felthat)

When someone is listed as playing "voltage made audible," there's very little doubt as to the sounds on the album. Diaz-Infante and friends manipulate twiddles and squarks into lively conversations. Maybe not the sorts of things you say when tossing down a brew or two, but certainly something worth comprehending. Or attempting to comprehend, anyway. (A&A)
Musique bruitiste dans la confusion de Babel, quand la différence n'est pas venue au jour et que l'entente est immédiate. Ces quatre là s'offrent le luxe, et surtout nous l'offrent, d'atteindre ça sans le moindre sentiment de retour en arrière. Autrement dit, c'est encore en avant de nous et les différences à quoi nous nous accrochons n'ont guère de sens.
Je ne prétend pas que cette manière de lire leur musique soit celle d'un seul membre du quartet, formé pendant une tournée des deux portugais aux Etats-Unis. Mais assurément la notion même de différence ou de confusion perd tout sens dans la musique qui leur est venue sous le pied. L'alliance des trois cordes et des "surfaces /voltage rendu audible" de Robair rend parlant le silence. Les rencontres semblent se faire comme par hasard, par le collage de bandes séparées, chacun rendu à sa solitude, à ses silences et à ses paroles par moment, et ce qui n'est pas dit/pas joué prend autant d'importance que l'audible. Dans quelques sons s'entend un orchestre entier, une musique toute écrite. Ce que ce qui se joue là n'est pas le produit de la rencontre d'individ ) us communicants mais le croisement de partitions et de coups de ciseaux sous forme d'humains déambulants. Grand disque. Noel Tachet (Improjazz)

Deux émissaires portugais (Ernesto Rodrigues au violon et Manuel Mota à la guitare électrique) sur la Côte Ouest américaine – plus précisément à Oakland où les attendaient Gino Robair (« Energized Surfaces ») et Ernesto Diaz-Infante (guitare acoustique) – provoquèrent Our Faceless Empire.
Au départ : Gino Robair agit en discret dans les cordes : un théâtre miniature se met alors en place, dont les personnages se disputent et dont les choses qui composent le décor ont aussi leurs sons à dire. Tous peinent pourtant à clamer et, à la place, soupirent ou expirent. A-t-on même jamais entendu improvisateurs aussi discrets ? Les instruments sont caressés – de la main, de la bouche ou de l’archet – et les notes qui s’échappent se fondent en drones multiples, qui se balancent et s’évaporent. Pour conclure, les musiciens abandonnent toutes prévenances – vocabulaire télégraphique et râles endurants – mais il est trop tard : l’essentiel a été dit plus tôt, entièrement et dans les soupçons. Guillaume Belhomme (Le Son du Grisli)

Interessante l'organico originale impegnato in questa performance dovuta all'incontro tra i due musicisti portoghesi Ernesto Rodrigues alla viola e Manuel Mota alla chitarra elettrica con i californiani Ernesto Diaz-Infante alla chitarra acustica e Gino Robair, percussionista che, oltre a modellare fenomeni elettrici e a tradurli in suoni, si è occupato della realizzazione del CD (editing, missaggio e masterizzazione).

Mentre gli ottimi improvvisatori sono impegnati in contesti non facili da gestire, nei quali si può rischiare realmente di perdere un filo conduttore, la chiave di lettura del CD, e questa è la sua forza, viene fuori da sola, come un entità esterna che un po' alla volta avvolge l'ascolto.
La stessa, quasi materializzata, attraversa e supera strusciando tutti gli ostacoli che il terreno offre, mentre la musica, con decisa attenzione all'aspetto materico del suono, ci racconta di queste microinterazioni, dalla parte del suolo, e la sua percezione prende forma lentamente... Nulla di preoccupante, è solo una suggestione personale!

Altrimenti, si puo' avere la sensazione di assistere al racconto di un tessuto metropolitano, che spesso releghiamo involontariamente in background, ma ciondimeno si presenta ricco di eventi di diverso genere.

Suoni frastagliati su uno sfondo silente, perché filtrato da tutti gli eventi in primo piano, accompagnati da pulsazioni ricorrenti e di forte carattere, si alternano e si mescolano con suoni prolungati dai lenti inviluppi. Si raggiungono così lentamente momenti anche molto intensi e capaci di grande coinvolgimento.
Si hanno ovunque complesità sonico-strutturali notevoli, a diverse scale di tempi e di intensità, giocate su impasti timbrici pure complessi, ma ben definiti.
Dunque ci colpisce la coerenza, l'interplay nelle improvvisazioni, la pulizia e la definizione degli eventi sonori ottenute anche attraverso un'attenta collocazione dei microfoni al momento dell'incisione, ma, se vogliamo anche dare un riferimento "classico," potremmo dire che a tratti ricorda, in chiave più tecnologica, lo spirito di People in Sorrow dell'Art Ensemble, sia per l'atmosfere che produce, sia per la sua (lenta) evoluzione, ma anche questa e,' naturalmente, una suggestione personale... Ignazio Prignano (All About Jazz)

This CD comprises the sonic outcome of a meeting that occurred in Oakland in 2006 between two couples of improvisers, one Portuguese (Manuel Mota on electric guitar, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola), the other Californian (Ernesto Diaz-Infante on acoustic guitar, Gino Robair on his customary "energized surfaces/voltage made audible" palette). The keyword is "moderate discordance": the artists' dissimilar backgrounds and the reasonable unsteadiness of the textural tapestry don't give many chances for an accurate categorization of this music. The album is released by one of the historic labels dealing with the documentation of the alternative scene in the Bay Area, PAX, but could have easily been published by Rodrigues' Creative Sources, finding similarities in a number of records from that imprint.
In that sense, there's no actual point in attempting a mere description of the events, given the fickleness and the variegated poverty (meant as a compliment) resulting from the interplay. More than rejoicing for a collective accomplishment, we appreciate the manifest peculiarities of the single timbres, utilized either as silence-probing factors or as a response to instrumental questions that otherwise would risk remaining unanswered and unremembered. The strings are scraped, plucked, hit and picked according to the spur of the moment, the temperate disparity between acoustic and electric guitar among the interesting features in the general picture.
The proliferation of asymmetrical spurts (enhanced by Robair's educated noise-making) and the influence of relatively static segments — "Um Lilburn Em Flovilla" a favorite in its delicate droning — balance the whole effectively, although certain extended pitches (replete with jarring harmonics) derived from the viola involve the brain quite a bit. And yet, the core of the matter remains fragmentary, uneven, occasionally harsh but absolutely not invasive. An intelligent demonstration of restrained electroacoustic multiplicity that keeps good company for almost 50 minutes. Massimo Ricci (The Suid's Ear)

Elettroacustica angolare, frutto di un'intensa giornata di registrazioni in quel di Oakland nel 2006.
Incontro/incrocio, fra i due statunitensi, Gino Robair (energized surfaces/voltage made audible), ed Ernesto Diaz-Infante (chitarra acustica), con i portoghesi, Manuel Mota (chitarra elettrica), ed Ernesto Rodrigues (viola).
Dialogo spontaneo e misterico, in aperto flirt con il silenzio.
Di Diaz-Infante, Mota e Rodrigues, abbiam più volte parlato su Kathodik (la ricerca non sarà difficile).
Gino Robair, è sperimentatore singolare, che utilizza strumenti autoprodotti, modificati, o semplicemente trovati.
Tom Waits, John Butcher, Anthony Braxton, ed un migliaio d'altri, in diversa formula e varietà, si son avvalsi del suo contributo artistico.
Praticamente nel guado, fra folk ruvido di strada, scossoni jazz e sperimentazione.
"Our Faceless Empire", è un susseguirsi, elusivo, fra elettrico ed acustico.
Eseguito con spirito Cage e Feldman, microscopiche eruzioni blues, e pratica Bailey.
Le superfici amplificate, e le frequenze rese udibili, di Robair, che suggestionano, ed indicano la direzione da prendere.
Combinazioni acustiche, che si tramutano, per raffinata ricerca timbrica, in sezioni percussive elettroniche.
Gioco riduzionista, che rispetta il silenzio, e lo riempie di brulicante ispirazione.
Quando la viola di Rodrigues, incrocia in perfetta simbiosi, la sollecitazione del metallo stridente, siam folgorati da un ricordo/miraggio, i Velvet con Cale, in combutta con Eddie Prévost.
Non semplice, ma dotato di un fascino, che ascolto dopo ascolto, cattura ed avvince.
Bertoia e Partch, avrebbero annuito soddisfatti.
Non per tutti, ma d'intenso, spigoloso, fascino. Marco Carcasi (Kathodik)

Just a few introductory words are enough to give an idea about “Our Faceless Empire”.
The line-up is self-explanatory of what to expect from this record. Bumping into four improvisers such as Diaz-Infante, Mota, Robair and Rodrigues, all at the same time, is a prelude to great things to come.
The disc has origins that date back to 2006, year in which Ernesto Rodrigues (the mind behind Creative Sources, one of the most prominent labels in the improv scene) and Manuel Mota (electric guitarist, have a look at Headlights’ catalogue), both from Portugal, met, in California, Ernesto Diaz-Infante (outstanding acoustic guitarist and composer) and Gino Robair (over two decades of creative effort, widely documented by his own label, Rastascan Records; he deals here with energized surfaces/voltage made audible).
This was the place where their paths converged, and a singular collaboration came out: nine pieces endowed with a special, multifaceted nature: large improvisational sections alternated to more conceptual levels of expression or, frequently, tangled instances.
What emerges is a surprising ability of the performers to amalgamate sounds coming from both acoustic and electric instruments which reach an exceptional degree of compatibility.
Measured interactions, harmonious nuances, overlaps in a delicate, subtle way; also noticeable is an appropriate balance among the roles of the protagonists, who act in concert and, moreover, with passion.

Slight touches of strings, a relaxed dialogue between viola and guitar (“Nosso Rosto Empire”), the produced sounds appear enigmatic and dense, deeply sharp.
Manipulated objects, high-pitched tinkles, screeching noises in “Luftzucker”, more frantic than the previous one: all happens swiftly, syncopated sequences of gentle movements.
This theme is resumed in the next piece “Mi Conde, El Odiosas” that runs without stopping for about two minutes, then a break before another set of sound fractures.
“O, Bursty Bruegel” shows two faces: minimal at first, when interventions are sporadic, largely structured in the second part, played collectively, this time also including bold strokes of melody.
“Intervalos De Confianza” has a distinctive character: based on a beautiful, moody texture that seems endless, turned into compulsive passages rich of rhythmic tension.
“Vida De Lujo” is basically built on bow effects: the result is close to a long, hypnotic, persistent, shrill scream.
In “Emético Labilty” the acoustic environment gets in touch with electronics more than elsewhere, whereas “Um Lilburn Em Flovilla” has an intuitive language and leads into an introspective ambiance.
Finally “A Cartesian Blaspheme”: layers carved by Rodrigues, the rest is moulded on them.

Eclectic work that depends on several variables, with intriguing solutions ranging in different research areas. Four musicians who share their techniques, develop challenging ideas, moving away from individualistic approaches, wisely. Well conceived, beyond all expectations. Spiritual Archives

 

leurs nuances et les approches, devient un prétexte à lancer des sons, souvent sur un mode minimal parfois négationniste comme s'il s'agissait de créer un univers sans substance palpable hors de fugitives étincellcs. Un monde insaisissable et pourtant insidieusement présent. Pierre Durr

La rencontre dans un studio californien de deux improvisateurs locaux et de deux musiciens portugais est en même temps une interaction entre l'acoustique (la guitare de DlAZ-INFANTE, l'alto de RODR1GUES) et l'électrique (la guiyarre de MOTA, les effets électriquesdc voltage de ROBAIR). Toutefois. cette confrontation, au lieu de nourrir unc musique contrastée multipliant lcs couleurs, Revue & Corrigée)

Out of all of these artists, the only one I had heard of was Ernesto Diaz-Infante, but you never quite know what you will get, as he tends to vary his approach. But you know it's going to be an interesting ride when one of the artists, Gino Robair, is credited with the instrument 'Energized Surfaces / Voltage Made Audible.' The others are credited with steel string acoustic guitar (Diaz-Infante), electric guitar (Mota), and viola (Rodrigues). Put it all together and you have an interesting improvisation-fest. At times it is minimalist, at times it is noisy, and at times it is reminiscent of Cage's experiments with treated piano, but for the most part this is engaging, interesting stuff. Maybe it's me, but I got a whimsical sense in the music. The only drawback is that at times it seemed to blend together and become a bit repetitive. I get the sense that it would have been a lot of fun to watch these improvisations live. This disc weighs in at around 49 minutes. eskaton (Chain DLK)

Este encontro dos portugueses Manuel Mota e Ernesto Rodrigues com os californianos Ernesto Diaz-Infante e Gino Robair proporcionou-se aquando de uma viagem dos primeiros aos Estados Unidos em 2006. Só agora o registo teve edição, mas mais vale tarde do que nunca. A música tocada não está distante das premissas da improvisação "near silence", mas com a ressalva de que se identifica mais com a privilegiação de um trabalho textural do que com estratégias de utilização do silêncio ou de redução do volume e dos sons produzidos. A verdade é que "Our Faceless Empire" parece uma colmeia em plena laboração, com muitos pequenos elementos a acontecerem em simultâneo. A utilização da guitarra clássica por Diaz-Infante surge na herança de Derek Bailey, Mota está mais discreto do que é seu costume, intervindo com oportunos comentários que ora lembram uns blues "fingerpicking" geométricos, ora exploram a electricidade da sua "solid body", Robair move-se entre as "energized surfaces" (tambores da bateria sobre os quais aplica objectos vários, à maneira de Lê Quan Ninh) e o que apelida de "voltage made audible" (circuitos electrónicos) e Rodrigues está apostado em tornar a viola numa fonte bruitista. Muito bom. Rui Eduardo Paes

A strong free improvisation session between two Portugese musicians (Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Manuel Mota on electric guitar) and two Californians (Ernesto Diaz-Infante on steel-string acoustic guitar and Gino Robair on energized surfaces). Abstract music, rather emotionless, consisting of scratchings and scrubbings and tweakings, producing fuzzy textures that take on a life of their own. Definitely not an easy listen, but a fine meeting of creative minds. François Couture (Monsieur Délire)