Artist : Hauschka
Album : Abandoned City
Year : 2014
Genre : Ambient
Quality : 227kbps / 44.1KHz / Joint Stereo
Source : CD
Playtime : 1h 05m
Size : 114.7mb
Label : City Slang
Catalognr : SLANG50060LTD
Tracklist:
CD 1
01. Elizabeth Bay 5:40
02. Pripyat 7:20
03. Thames Town 4:00
04. Who Lived Here 4:49
05. Agdam 4:55
06. Sanzhi Pod City 3:56
07. Craco 3:31
08. Barkerville 3:55
09. Stromness 5:34
CD 2
01. I Am Walkin 2:03
02. From House To House 2:00
03. Into An Empty Hall 1:37
04. Can You Dance For Me 2:18
05. Until It's Dawn 2:22
06. They Made Us Leave 1:34
07. Hope They Come Back 2:29
08. My Family Lived Here 4:06
09. In Happysadness 1:27
10. Where Am I WHen I Am Old 2:21
Releasenotes:
Hauschka is a composer, songwriter and experimental musician who has brought an
exciting new perspective to the prepared piano. The prepared piano - a technique
for getting new sounds from the acoustic keyboard by resting pieces of paper or
drumsticks on the strings of the instrument - has been used for centuries, but
Hauschka was unaware of the tradition when he began exploring ways to get new
sounds out of his Bechstein grand upright. 'I wanted the sound of a hi-hat
(cymbal) to add a percussive effect to a composition I was writing. I took foil
from a Christmas cake and wrapped it around the strings [inside the piano]. From
there, I was inspired to use other objects on the strings to get bass drum
sounds, or tacks on the piano hammers to get the sound of a harpsichord. When I
was playing techno music, I had samplers where you could get a different sound
on every key. I thought it would be great to have that effect on an acoustic
piano. I was not aware of John Cage (one of the first 20th century composers to
use prepared piano) when I started searching for ways to alter the sound of the
keyboard, but as I got more into prepared piano, I was influenced by Cage's
theories.'
'The Prepared Piano', Hauschka's first recording using prepared piano, was a
solo album of spontaneous improvisations. The sounds he generated changed the
course of his musical journey and he's since used prepared piano in a variety of
settings. On 'Ferndorf', pieces composed in honor of his childhood home in
Germany, he balanced improvisation with compositions that featured cellists,
trombonists and violinists playing his inventive arrangements. The "acoustic
techno" of 'Salon des Amateurs' featured drummers Samuli Kosminen (Mum), and
Joey Burns and John Convertino (Calexico) and dropped subtle electro effects
into the mix. On 'Silfra', an improvised collaboration with classical violinist
Hilary Hahn, he dipped into classical music and ambient pop to create an
expansive soundscape. With 'Abandoned City', Hauschka returns to the solo
prepared piano to produce an evocative work full of unexpected grace notes and
mysterious sounds.
'Abandoned City' was recorded in Hauschka's home studio in a burst of creative
energy following the birth of his first son. 'With the exception of 'Elizabeth
Bay', which is based on a piece of music I wrote for a reinvention of Wagner╩s
Flying Dutchman, the music was composed and recorded in ten days. The
compositions on 'Abandoned City' awaken the loneliness and unattainable romance
of timeless, unfamiliar places, with cinematic melodies full of resonant
overtones, bright cheerful keyboard patterns and dark percussive touches. The
tracks all bear the names of actual vacant cities.
Hauschka chose 'Abandoned City' as the title of the album to convey the sense of
hope and sadness that consumes him when he╩s sitting alone at the keyboard. 'I
was interested in finding a metaphor for the inner tension I feel when I'm
composing music, a state of mind where I'm lonely and happy at the same time,'
Hauschka explains. 'When I saw photos of abandoned cities, I felt it was
perfect. People once lived there, but they left in a rush and now nature has
taken over in a beautiful way, things are growing up from the sidewalk and the
seasons are changing colors. The music is dark, but in a quiet, uplifting way.
The piano is singing the melody but, because of the effects, you can't hear it
directly. It's like the sound of a choir under the earth, something you feel
without realizing it.'
http://www.cityslang.com/releases/SLANG50060/abandoned-city/