a r t i s t : Giuseppe Ielasi & Howards Stelzer
t i t l e : Brombron 08: Night Life
d a t e : 2006
l a b e l : Korm Plastics
g e n r e : Noise
r l s. d a t e : Feb/2006
t r a c k s : 04
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 43,5 MB
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Korm Plastics is proud to present the eigth release in the
Brombron series. Originally a co-production between Staalplaat
and Extrapool, it is now hosted by co-curator Frans de Waard.
In the year 2000 Frans de Waard and Extrapool started the
Brombron project. Two or more musicians become artists in
residence in Extrapool, an arts initiative in Nijmegen, The
Netherlands, with a fully equipped sound recording studio.
These artists can work in a certain amount of time on a
collaborative project; a project they always wished to do, but
didn't have the time or the equipment to realize.
"I was introduced to Giuseppe Ielasi over email in 1999 or
2000 (I don't remember presicely), by a guy who ran a music
magazine in Italy called BlowUp. He was writing about CDs on
my label, Intransitive, and suggested that I get in contact
with his friend Giuseppe, who was starting a label called
Fringes in Milan. Giuseppe and I exchanged some CDs of our
music, corresponded for awhile, and discovered that we had
much in common.
Giuseppe came to the US to promote his "Right After" album
with Domenico Sciajno, and we got along immediately. We're
about the same age, have a similar temperament, play a similar
sort of music, are from a similar kind of background, are
excited about records, we love to eat, we're both kinda
nerdy... yeah, Giuseppe is my kind of guy! We had spoken about
collaborating at a few points over the years, but somehow it
just never happened, probably because we're so busy with our
various projects and labels. So when I was offered a Brombron
residency, I thought it would a perfect opportunity to spend
some time hanging out and playing music with Giuseppe.
The method we chose was to first proceed to the closest coffee
shop for a breakfast of cheese and meat sandwiches (me) and
cookies (Giuseppe), then we'd record improvisations for a few
hours until lunchtime. I primarily used cassette tapes and
Giuseppe used a guitar, but we also both played synths and
electronic doodads and microphones, and I made some tape
recordings around the city that I brought back in to our
improvisations. Our minds were open, and we experimented
without deciding in advance what sort of album we might be
making. We'd then take a long walk, go to the Nijmegen record
shops (where Plurex records are still cheap!), have some
lunch, maybe also a snack, and then start to edit out the good
bits from the morning. We'd also add some effects and change
some parts, use the recordings as source material in a small
way. Then we'd return to the record shops to buy the records
we hesitated on in the afternoon, have some dinner and relax.
The next day, we'd wake up, have coffee, and do it again. Our
pace of working and comfort matched quite well. For the final
few days of the residency, we started to piece together our
bits until they worked as compositions. Then we edited some
more until the album emerged.
About the title.... we gave a duo concert at Extrapool as part
of the requirements of our residency. There was an art opening
happening at the same time, so the gallery was packed with
people. It was a lot of fun, but it also made us both feel a
bit strange; we're somewhat awkward in social situations, and
didn't know anyone at the Extrapool party except for Frans and
Roel Meelkop, who drove out from Rotterdam. After our set, we
split to go get more fried Dutch snacks. Along the walk, we
talked about how we used to go out to parties more often when
we were younger, but now we aren't even so old and we
generally enjoy staying at home where it's quiet, listening to
records and reading. Giuseppe was reminded on the song by
Arthur Russell, "Losing My Taste for the Nightlife". Maybe we
are. Or, maybe that's just how we felt on that evening. It
doesn't matter, really, I suppose."
- Howard Stelzer. Cambridge, MA (USA)
December 2005
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01-Ruin 1 [07:22]
02-Ruin 2 [07:13]
03-Ruin 3 [04:55]
04-Losing Our Taste For The Nightlife [10:43]
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30:13 min