a r t i s t : Arnold Dreyblatt
t i t l e : The Adding Machine
d a t e : 2002
l a b e l : cantaloupe
g e n r e : Avantgarde
r l s. d a t e : Nov/2007
t r a c k s : 05
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 44,7 MB
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Arnold Dreyblatt's band pulses ecstatically with retuned
strings and looping beats. His Orchestra of Excited Strings -
composed of restrung cimbaloms, piano wire basses, hurdy
gurdys, refretted guitars - creates transcendental layers of
scratching, twanging, plucking, and bowing. A disciple of
LaMonte Young and Alvin Lucier, he has cultivated a strong
underground fan base. File it under ethno-Eastern European
folk techno-microtonal rock.
"A major figure in the minimalist lineage that connects La
Monte Young to Sonic Youth."
- Ann Powers, The New York Times
"Dreyblatt may have composed the perfect soundtrack to an
urban life."
- K. Goldsmith, New York Press
"'House of Twang'... the trio of bass, percussion, and a
specially built thumbnail zither quickly work up an ecstatic
frenzy."
- Tom Perchard, The Wire
Notes on The Adding Machine by Arnold Dreyblatt
The Ensemble
Being an "expatriate" living in Europe for almost twenty
years, it has long been my dream to found an American ensemble
once again in the States. Since the last New York "Orchestra
of Excited Strings" was disbanded upon my leaving for Berlin
in 1983, I have formed a number of ensembles in Europe, from
which a number of CD's have been issued. In 1999, composer and
performer David Weinstein suggested that I form an American
ensemble to perform with new compositions at concerts at Tonic
in New York. After the Bang On A Can All-Stars began
performing (and finally recorded) my composition "Escalator,"
I had been in discussion with a number of the All-Star
musicians about forming a new ensemble. It seemed that the
occasion had finally arrived. A long dormant invitation to
teach a workshop in music and acoustics at the Center for the
Arts at MIT unexpectedly re-emerged, and Evan Ziporyn, with
whom I had long been in dialog about the idea, suggested that
we could make use of the university facilities. A number of
talented students were selected to complete the ensemble, and
the occasion provided a second concert opportunity, as well as
a space to record. The ensemble represents an interesting
collaboration drawing from a number of generations. In
contrast to the well-known talents of Bang On A Can All-Stars
members (Evan Ziporyn, Mark Stewart and Robert Black), Jeff
Lieberman and Laurel P. Smith, both recent graduates from MIT
are both in their early 20's. Danny Tunick, with his extensive
background in both rock/punk and classical styles, provides a
solid driving force which is inspiring for the entire
ensemble. It is a great challenge to compose for musicians of
such caliber, and I would say that it is the best "Orchestra
of Excited Strings" which has existed to date.
The Music
"Lapse" and "The Adding Machine" were originally composed in a
very different form for my former Berlin ensemble, and both
were later completely re-written with support from the
Foundation for Contemporary Performing Arts, in the late
nineties. "Lapse" features a hurdy-gurdy, which was a staple
of my early ensembles in the early 1980's, and which provides
a rich drone of harmonics, into which the rhythmic pulse sits
and "rides." "The Adding Machine," represents my first venture
into consecutive melody, utilizing the vertical tuning
structure found on the fingerboard of an electric guitar which
has been modified to perform in the tuning system used in my
music. The piece gradually makes its way through successive
tonal permutations expressed in "circular" patterns. Both
"International Dateline" and "Meantime" were composed between
October 1999 and January 2000 expressly for this most ensemble
and recording project. "International Dateline" includes an
improvisational section for bowed harmonics, accompanied by
rhythmic patterns on piano and percussion. "Meantime" is my
first composition for an ensemble including two electric
guitars, and is perhaps the longest and most complex
composition I have ever attempted.
Instruments and Tuning System
I have been developing instruments specifically for my
ensemble for almost twenty-five years, a number of which are
represented in this recording. The "cimbalom" is a rebuilt and
restrung pre-war Chinese children's piano which is played here
horizontally with hand held hammers. One of the electric
guitars has built-in magnetic driver-sustainers for each
string and for both instruments new frets have been installed
in the just intonation scale used for my music. The excited
strings bass violin, one of the mainstays of my music since
the beginning, has been adapted with unwound steel wire and is
struck and beaten with a bass bow. To these are added Hurdy-
Gurdy, Cello, Violin, Double Bass, and Percussion. All
instruments, with the exception of percussion, perform in the
20-tone per octave just intoned microtonal scale derived from
the overtone series with which I composed in the late
seventies.
The Recording
My music is composed of consecutive "loops", which are
visually cued by chosen members of the ensemble. For this
digital recording, each loop was performed and recorded until
it "locked" in harmonically and rhythmically. The long editing
process in which these loops were "reconstructed" into
complete performances was accomplished along with the final
mix by J÷rg Hiller at his studio in Berlin.
About the Artists
Arnold Dreyblatt
Among the second generation of New York minimal composers,
Arnold Dreyblatt has developed a unigue and original approach
to composition and performance. He has invented a set of new
and original instruments, performance techniques, and a system
of tuning. Working closely with various ensembles and in
theatrical and installation projects - he creates a music with
exciting rhythms and rich textures - an exploration of the
potential inherent in the natural overtone series.
Arnold Dreyblatt's compostions involve a re-thinking of sound
making tools. Modified and newly created acoustic instruments
are utilized for specific timbral effect and perform in an
unusual tuning system. Traditional and non-traditional
percussion instruments accentuate the rhythmic character of
the music. Dreyblatt works with musicians which come from
vastly varied musical backgrounds and interests. In common is
a sensitivity for an approach to music making, sonority and
hearing which Dreyblatt has been developing
together with musicians over the last twenty years.
Arnold Dreyblatt was born in New York City in 1953. He has
been based in Europe since 1984 and is presently living in
Berlin. Dreyblatt studied Film and Video Art at the State
University of New York at Buffalo (M.A. from the Institute for
Media Studies) with Woody and Steina Vasulka and later Music
Composition with Pauline Oliveros (1974), La Monte Young
(1974-76) and with Alvin Lucier at Wesleyan University where
he received an M.A. in Music Composition in 1982.
From 1979-1997 he was director and composer for his music
ensemble, "The Orchestra of Excited Strings". The ensemble
performed extensively in the United States from 1979-83 and
recorded an LP for India Navigation Records in 1982 entitled
Nodal Excitation (IN 3024). In 1984, Dreyblatt moved his base
of operations to Berlin where he formed a new ensemble while
composer-in-residence at Kⁿnstlerhaus Bethanien. This ensemble
has performed throughout East and West Europe as well as in
the States at numerous festivals, museums, galleries and other
music venues. An LP entitled Propellers in Love was issued by
Kⁿnstlerhaus Bethanien in 1985. This recording was reissued by
Hat Art Records in 1986 on compact disc along with newly
recorded material. In composing a performance opera entitled
Who's Who in Central & East Europe 1933, Dreyblatt formed a
new ensemble in 1991. The ensemble also recorded a number of
pieces in New York with clarinettist Andy Statman which
appeared on A Haymish Groove, issued by Extra Platte, Vienna,
1992. In 1995 recordings by the ensemble were released by
Zaddik Records (produced by John Zorn) under the title Animal
Magnetism.
In 1998, his first recording, Nodal Excitation, was re-
mastered by Jim O'Rourke and was released by his Dexter's
Cigar label. Also in 1998, Table of the Elements Records
released a compilation of Solo and Ensemble pieces entitled,
The Sound of One-String. In 2000, the Bang On A Can All-Stars
recorded a version of Dreyblatt's "Escalator" for their new CD
on Cantaloupe Records.
In 1991 Dreyblatt composed Who's Who in Central & East Europe
1933 which was a co-production between Inventionen '91/DAAD,
Berlin and Wiener Fest Wochen, Vienna. He has received
commissions from among others: Ars Electronica, Linz (1988);
Oeyvaer Desk, Den Haag (1989); Prime Foundation, Groningen
(1989); DAAD-Inventionen '91, Berlin (1990); Werkstaat Berlin,
1991; Podewil/US Arts Festival, Berlin (1993); Bang in A Can
All-stars Ensemble, New York (1996).
He has been a guest composer at STEIM, Amsterdam; Het
Apollohuis, Eindhoven; Kⁿnstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin and has
received numerous grants and stipendiums including: Creative
Artist Public Service Program, New York (1979-80); Overbrook
Foundation, New York (1983-85); Luftbrⁿckendank Stiftung,
Berlin (1985); Philip Morris Art Prize (1991); Kunstfonds
e.V., Bonn (1992), Kulturfonds e.V., Berlin (1995), Foundation
for Creative Performance Arts, N.Y.C. (1998) and F÷rderpreis,
Akademie der Kunste, Berlin (2000). In recent years, Dreyblatt
has been increasingly involved in integrating archival and
biographical texts with his sound work in performance and
installation.
The musicians who perform with Dreyblatt generally come from
vastly varied musical backgrounds and interests. In common is
a sensitivity for an approach to music making, sonority and
hearing which Dreyblatt has been developing together with
musicians over the last fifteen years. All the members of the
ensemble contribute to this music with their own ideas and
performance techniques, gradually forming an individual
musical role within the ensemble dynamic. Just as this music
essentially exists only in performance, so the combined
acoustic effect results from a sum which is greater than its
parts.
Robert Black
Robert Black's interests range from traditional orchestral and
chamber music to solo recitals, collaborations with actors,
music with
computers and MIDI, movement-based improvisations with
dancers, and live action-painting performances with artists.
He has commissioned, collaborated or performed with a diverse
number of musicians from John Cage to D.J. Spooky; Meridth
Monk to young emerging composers. Robert's recital activites
frequently take him to 5 Continents. In addition, Robert
performs with the Bang On A Can All-Stars (New York City's
hard hitting new music ensemble), Basso Bongo (an electronic
duo, with percussionist Amy Knoles) and with The School of
Hard Knocks (a post-modern dance company). He has collaborated
with theater companies, made music for films by Rudy
Burckhardt and performs action-painting improvisations with
the Brazilian painter, Ige D'Aquino. He also maintains a full
teaching schedule at The Hartt School at the University of
Hartford (Hartford, CT) and the Festival Eleazar Carvalho
(Fortaleza, Brazil). A recipient of numerous grants, he
received a 1998 Bessie Award for his collaborative work with
The School of Hard Knocks in NYC. His solo CD, State of the
Bass, was released on O.O. Discs to critical acclaim. His
second solo disc, the complete solo bass music by Christian
Wolff, will soon be released by Mode records. Currently, he is
working on a recording of the complete bass music of Giacinto
Scelsi. He also has recorded for Sony Classical,
Point/Polygram, Koch International, CRI, Neuma Records,
Gasparo, Opus One, Artifact Recordings, and Folkways Records.
Additionally, Robert is on the Board of the International
Society of Bassists as well as serving on the Board for All
Aboard, Inc., a Connecticut mass transit advocacy group.
Jeff Lieberman
Jeff Lieberman recently graduated from MIT with degrees in
math and physics, and is attending their masters program to do
robotics in the fall. He has been composing classical, jazz,
rock, and electronic music for about ten years, and performing
in Boston, NYC, Los Angeles, DC, Miami, and abroad in Europe.
He started a student-run full improvisation music group at MIT
called listen/silence, that performs weekly. Besides music he
works developing educational software, teaches math and
science to high schoolers, and works on photography,
stone+metal static+kinetic sculpture, painting, and his
unfinished screenplay.
Laurel P. Smith
Laurel P. Smith graduated in 2001 from MIT with an MEng and BS
in computer science and electrical engineering, along with a
BS in music. She has performed on a wide range of musical
instruments within the MIT music community, playing in the MIT
Symphony Orchestra, Garnelan Galak-Tika, MITCAN (as chief
booty shaker), along with a whole host of other ensembles. She
is also a co-founder of the prodigious and infamous Herb Trio.
and has studied violin in London with Linder Jan Schmolck and
with Alexey Shabalin in MIT's Emerson Music Scholars program.
In 2000, she received the Gregory Tucker award for excellence
in musical studies and also an Eloranta Fellowship to
investigate relationships between classical and techno music.
Mark Stewart
Multi-instrumentalist,singer, composer and instrument designer
Mark Stewart has been heard around the world performing old
and new music. Mark spent much of 1999,2000, and 2001
recording, touring, and performing with Paul Simon and the
previous summer performing at Lincoln Center in Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night with Helen Hunt, Kira Sedgwick, and Paul Rudd. A
founding member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Mark is also a
member of Steve Reich and Musicians, David Krakauer's Klezmer
Madness, the manic duo Polygraph Lounge with keyboard and
theremin wizard Rob Schwimmer, The Fred Frith Guitar Quartet,
among others. His New York Lower East Side "lab" is home to an
instrument workshop and sonic salon where traditional and new
instruments cohabitate. He has also played for the Broadway
shows Showboat, The Who's Tommy, The Sound of Music, Carousel,
and The Lion King.
Danny Tunick
Percussionist and conductor Danny Tunick performs in the
classical, rock, and jazz scenes in and around New York City.
As conductor, he has conducted works by the likes of Pierre
Boulez and Charles Wuorinen, and premiered music by composers
such as Zhou Long and 'New-Complexitist' James Boros. As a
performer, he's played or plays with New Zealand-spawned
beauty-pop legends The Mad Scene, the Euro-cabaret-rock
ensemble Barbez, the dream chamber music of Rebecca Moore's
Prevention of Blindness, the Digital-Chamber-Punk trio What Is
It Like to Be a Bat?, Bang On A Can's Spit Orchestra, Bun-
Ching Lam's Wenji and Child God ensembles, Indie legends
Guv'ner, Arnold Dreyblatt's New Orchestra of Excited Strings,
the Princeton Composer's Ensemble, L.A. Punk stalwarts Stukas
Over Bedrock and Hated Principles, the Common Sense Composers
Collective, and Petr Kotik's SEM Ensemble. His latest
recordings have been with sound artist Stephen Vitiello, for
an upcoming release on the New Albion label. But that doesn't
pay the bills. For money, he is a "weed-and-rod-catcher";
traveling around the island of Manhattan in his small wooden
boat, Tunick harvests the slowly growing shoots of bamboo and
floral detritus that are constantly pushing up through the
water at an alarming rate, hindering commercial boats and
swimmers alike.
Evan Ziporyn
Evan Ziporyn is a composer/clarinetist whose work draws
equally from world music, the avant garde, and jazz. His
recent solo CD, This is Not A Clarinet (Cantaloupe), appeared
in numerous 2001 Top Ten lists, including the Boston Globe,
Tucson Citizen, and Berkshire Eagle. His collaboration with
Balinese puppeteer I Wayan Wija, "Shadow Bang," was premiered
at MASS MoCA last fall. As a member of the Bang On A Can All-
stars, he has performed at international venues across the
globe, as well as co-producing and co-arranging their
acclaimed recording of Brian Eno's Music for Airports. He has
also recorded and toured with Paul Simon ("You're the One"),
Steve Reich ("New York Counterpoint," "Music for 18
Musicians"), and Tan Dun ("Fallen" and "Symphony 2000"). In
Boston, he is founder and director of the Gamelan Galak Tika,
a Balinese music and dance troupe, for whom he has written
numerous works combining gamelan with western instruments and
electronics. He received his BA from Yale University and his
MA and PhD from UC-Berkeley.
Credits
Produced by Arnold Dreyblatt.
Recorded at the Endicott World Music Room, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Boston, 2001.
(http://www.cantaloupemusic.com)
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01-International Dateline [09:42]
02-The Adding Machine [08:16]
03-Lapse [07:36]
04-House of Twang [03:15]
05-Meantime [14:36]
-------
43:25 min