silk | mp3

'in november' is the belated debut solo release from us-born, wismar germany-based composer john r. carslon. the trained ballet dancer turned to music (and moved to east germany) in the early nineties and never looked back. his hitherto scant discography belies a wealth of composition for theatre, tv and radio - to date over 70 productions, as well as countless concerts throughout central europe, russia and beyond. however for 'in november' (no guesses as to when this was recorded!) john returns to his first love, solo piano improvisation.

recorded live with no editing, across five tracks of varying lengths, 'in november' shows a truly original talent at work in a music area that likes often to fall back too easily on certain names - keith jarrettt, george winston, harold budd, maybe more recently max richter or goldmund - as points of reference. the melodic lines could be described as instant compositions. unfolding trains of thought detach themselves from the tradition theme and variation forms of improvised jazz. rigorously recorded without breaks or second tries, each track has its own mood and musical intention. moving from almost classical clarity to minimal density, the tracks document journeys into the sub-consciousness of the player and his search for truth and authenticity in the moment of creation. sometimes a child-like simplicity emerges, infusing the music with an uncanny approachability oft lacking in music of this genre.

john placed great importance on the genuine sound of the recordings and shunned modern techniques of sound manipulation and mastering. the improvisations were played on john´s own bechstein C grand piano, built 1903. the quirks and sonic artefacts are vital ingredients to the improvised experience.

john always hesitated in making recordings of his work, believing that the essence of improvised music was greater than the mere sonic signals left on tape or CD. but, through this process of naked honesty and almost scientific 'objectivity', he found a way to capture something of this illusive essence without sacrificing any artistic integrity.

samples

duncan o ceallaigh first came to note through his debut release 'distant voices, still lives' in november 2007 on the renowned belgian U-Cover label. whereas that release had a broad palette of styles incorporating elements of ambient, microsound, guitar drone and folkatronica, the 'esr' EP concentrates more on the former two directions with a unified theme - the paradox between stasis and movement, whether in space or time, 'always now' versus 'the only constant is change' as it were.

taking martin luther's motto for the protestant reformation 'the church in constant reform' as its inspiration, the title track appears at first static - in both senses of the word. however as it progresses there occurs an ever-changing collision between a series of simple melodic tones and pulses of unequal length, all unfolding without ever superficially altering form. 'perpetuum mobile', as its title suggests, continues this conceit, based on a drone (tense? relaxing?) interrupted by occasional artefacts and melodies. the intervening two sketches act as 'palette cleansers', drawing the listener back into 'real time' by exploring how 'artificial' (computer generated or manipulated) sounds react in real spaces.

despite its conceptual premise, the 'esr' EP is a truly ambient recording - one that can be enjoyed in superficial and deep listening modes alike, thus tending perhaps more to the 12k school of electronic music than say the more purely intellectual approach of raster-noton. nevertheless, no previous knowledge of the genre or concept is required to enjoy the release.

duncan o ceallaigh, of scots-irish descent but based on the baltic sea coast of germany, played in dublin during the nineties with various indie bands. he has spent the last few years in germany, initially in the west and since 2003 in the east, developing several projects spanning an experimental singer songwriter / post-rock project, theatre music and electronic music, as well as producing local artists. in addition, he works as a graphic designer, and has published a book of his landscape photography, subsequently exhibiting it.