Yann Novak/Mise_En_Scene + FOURM – stone.water.glass

We are pleased to announce the official release of the second and third editions in the WHITE_LINE subscription series – a commissioned work by Yann Novak and Mise_En_Scene, “Two Segments”, and a special promotional work by FOURM entitled “stone.water.glass”, an edited version of the piece performed at Cafe Oto in the Spring. This edition comes packaged in a cardboard box, with CD’s,  inserts, a unique watercolour by Yann Novak, and a unique architectural drawing to accompany the FOURM sound works.

There are still subscription slots available, so if interested, e mail me at: whitelineBN@aol.com for more details. Subscriptions are £25 for four editions, with postage and packaging included.

The next edition in the series is a boxed SOUNDPROOFS commission by ultra-minimalists, mimosa|moize, due for release in August.

Photograph (above) courtesy of Robert Crouch

roden.curgenven.fourm. live at Cafe Oto

A chance for you to see and hear an impressive international sonic arts showcase live at Cafe Oto,March 30th 2011.  Specially commissioned performances of lower case and minimal sound, extreme frequencies, and  experimental soundscaping by steve roden (USA), robert curgenven (AUS), and fourm (UK). Tickets on sale now .  This is sure to be a sell out.  Thanks to Soundfjord Dynamic , UK

Pierre Gerard Released + News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings subscribers..welcome to the 2nd WHITE_LINE subscriber newsletter, and many thanks for your  enthusiastic support of the project. Things are off to a great start, with the release of the Pierre Gerard CD, and for those of you who qualified, the FREE Simon Whetham Restricted Access CD.Feedback from you so far is overwhelmingly positive & encouraging,(see comments below) but please remember, this is only the beginning, there is more to come..watch the project grow and evolve!  ALSO, remember to keep the DVD box safe and intact..if we get more subscribers, there will be more to come from Pierre later in the year..there is space in that box for more!

 

The German printed magazine, Beatkultur has just done an article that features an overview of the WHITE_LINE subscription model (it seems we have started a revolution), and our good friend Tobias at Tokafi (who is also a subscriber), has been an incredible and positive supporter of the project. Many thanks and massive respect to you Tobias.

 

TWO SEGMENTS

OK..the next release (April/May)  you can look forward to is a fascinating collaborative project between Yann Novak, and Mise En Scene, entitled TWO SEGMENTS..and I’m really excited about this one..I am not exagerrating when I say it is possibly one of the finest collaborations I’ve heard in the last couple of years.  I’m personally very honoured to be able to release it in a very special  white two piece presentation box, with printed inserts, and a beautiful hand painted watercolour by Yann Novak that we commissioned at the beginning of the year. Add to this a special promotional CD package by FOURM, a new project called SOUNDPROOFS (more about that later), and we have a very special boxed release lined up for you. The other exciting part is that our print partners, “20 Ten”, have agreed to personalise EVERY box with your name and unique subscriber number..just to make it that bit more personal, and a real collectors item for you to treasure.

 

SOUNDPROOFS

In the summer, we hope to bring you another very special boxed release..a commissioned piece by ultra minimal sound artists mimosa | moize. The project is the first official WHITE_LINE commission based on our SOUNDPROOFS concept. This conceptual sound art project focusses on the recording and processing of materials not normally associated with their soundmaking qualities, and we sent  mimosa | moize a box of  “difficult” materials to work with, such as foil, netting, polstyrene veneer etc.. being experts at close microphone work, highly reduced and beautiful soundscaping, and fused with their uniquely elegant design capabilities, we have commissioned the whole box for the artists to curate, and present for you, our valued subscribers in July/August. 

 

Just as an aside, I will be performing as FOURM at Cafe Oto in London on March 30th, alongside sonic luminaries Steve Roden, and Robert Curgenven, both of whom have produced outstanding work over tha last few years. I’m extremely proud to be on the same bill as these two fine artists, and I’ll be presenting a new piece called stone.water.glass. another SOUNDPROOFS related project. I would like to thank Helen and Andy at Soundfjord for being my unofficial agents, and for their enthusiatic support of my work, and the work of many others..long may you thrive!

That’s all for now guys..remember, we still have space for more subscribers, so please do tell your friends to get on board, and you will all see this project evolve and expand in both quality and ambition. This is an exciting model for the marginalised experimental/sound art movement, and without your financial support, new works and new artists will struggle to gain recognition.

 

What subscribers said about Pierre Gerard Release:

 

“…the most stunning releases I’ve received in years.” – Terje Paulsen, Subscriber 011

 

“..everything looks and sounds amazing. thanks..hope  I will hear some news from you about the future releases soon..” – Arejass Samaitis, Subscriber 012

 

“…I’m very pleased with the final result , and I hope you are too. packages are fantastic!! really..thank you for your work..” – Pierre Gerard, Artist & Subscriber 023

WHITE.LINE subscription only editions

  

A new year, brings with it a new beginning for WHITE.LINE, the shedding of old skin, and a fresh approach to the presentation of ultra minimal sound and art works.
 

 

SUBSCRIPTION ONLY RELEASES
In a bold move that actively circumvents any form of record industry ethos, and operating within a marketplace that is not only changing, but becoming more difficult to maintain a presence in, we are attempting in as intelligent and creative way as possible to make available projects that are no longer deemed suitable for that framework.

 

It is our intention to releases a series of limited editions during the course of the year to a maximum of 100 subscribers. The benefits of this venture being that not only do you gain access to materials not currently accessible in the current marketplace, but also the provision of extra curricular, hand made, and highly original modes of presentation for a modest annual fee.

 

All of these releases will be the sole property of WHITE.LINE, and will not see the light of day in this form anywhere else at any time. Master copies will be destroyed, and all subscription copies will be signed/numbered/and registered to the recipient only, in order to verify the provenance of the materials contained within.

 

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION – £25.00 (UK) Includes three CDR releases and accompanying original artworks, postage and packaging (unless otherwise specified) and one special offer (TBA)

 

MATERIAL AVAILABLE From the following artists for 2011:
FOURM
Pierre Gerard (February 2011)
Yann Novak/Mise En Scene
mimosa|moize
Others to be announced
  
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

 

Step 1 – Send an e mail to whitelineBN@aol.com expressing your interest, and please include your full name and the mailing address that you would like your editions to be sent to. Please note – we cannot be responsible for items sent to bogus or out of date addresses.

 

Step 2 – We will acknowledge your request and allocate you a unique subscriber number. This will be the number that appears on EVERY edition you receive. Once we reach the minimum number of subscribers, we will e mail you with a request for payment

 

Step 3 – Place your payment via Paypal for £25.00 (UK) to: whitelineBN@aol.com

 

Step 4 – You will receive your first release once payment has been cleared, within 28 days.

 

Your name will be registered as a subscriber once payment has been cleared, and you will be informed of release and delivery schedule in due course. Your details will be added to our subscriber database, giving you the opportunity to benefit from news and offers throughout the year. NOTE: The first 25 subscribers will receive a FREE copy of Simon Whetham’s “Restricted Access” recording included with their first order.
We look forward to hearing from you soon, and hope that we can secure your support for this year’s publications.

 

 

Baz NicholsMYSPACE: www.myspace.com/sicomm

WHITE_LINE EDITIONS: http://fourm.wordpress.com

WHITE_LINE REVIEWS: http://whiteline1.wordpress.com

Immersound at The Others, London August 6th

Nestled amongst the hurly burly of the hinterlands of Hackney and Stamford Hill is the alternative arts/music space known as The Others, situated in a former industrial site on Manor Road. This is to be the location of the inaugural event promoted by the newly formed Soundfjord organisation, based in London, UK, featuring renowned sound artists from around the globe. Curators Helen Frosi and Andrew Riley have here assembled a representative cross section of the current sonic arts community, featuring established artists, and introducing burgeoning talent. Within the framework of the increasingly maligned and marginalised genre of sound art, this is no mean feat, however Frosi and Riley wisely manage to enroll the talents of Yann Novak and Robert Curgenven to bolster the event’s status, both being recent additions to the USA’s prestigious LINE imprint curated by Richard Chartier, and NVO recent additions, i8u and FOURM, alongside Dragon’s Eye (Novak’s own imprint) stalwart Ian Hawgood, and relative newcomers, Mimosa Moize

Mimosa Moize open the evening with rapturous swathes of tonal and textural elegance, taking a highly restrained approach that is to be the essential theme of the evening. The duo of Lucia Chung and Martin J Thompson set their stall early, intently crouched over laptops, their work envelops and swirls with graceful, understated activity. Sadly, the set is curtailed by what appears to be an ailing mixing desk, and the duo exit the stage, discontent, but doubtless having learned some of the lessons that live performance brings to bear.

The new set by yours truly (FOURM), showcases a work called “interval.impuls”, loosely based on the Method and Area series of recordings, informed by and through architecture, and using the resonance and harmonics of the performance space to evoke curious and engaging sonic patterns. Performed in near total darkness, the overall effect was (hopefully) intense, with cyclic patterns and tonal bursts revolving around a continuously (r)evolving resonant bass-scape. Not being a fan of live presentations on the laptop, I am an unwilling spectator of my own works, and the success (or not) of the piece depends on others more qualified than I to comment upon. Ian Hawgood took to the performance space with a burst of endearing good cheer and a brief explanation of his recent work with gamelan music and instruments recently purchased from the far east. The husband and wife duo are crouched on the floor for the duration of the set, with wife striking copper bells, and Hawgood himself crash editing and sampling them, fusing them into his now trademark soundscapes, best exemplified by his recent Snow Roads release on Dragon’s Eye. The overall effect is a slightly dreamy, murky gamelan, that to these ears at least would have benefitted from more volume in order to impose itself on the space. That said, the net result was interesting, but once again suffering from interference and unwanted crackle from deficient P.A. wiring. Yann Novak, to those sadly uninitiated souls, hails from the seething metropolis that is Los Angeles, and his more recent works are a harsh counterpoint to what one imagines is a city brimming with activity. Novak’s works are elegantly rendered affairs, taking tones and textures and overlaying and interlacing them with a poise and grace that resembles Richard Chartier’s early forays, however, this is no pallid derivative of Chartier’s work. Naturally, the two have met and performed in the same spaces, yet Novak has carved his own identity into his work, and is here presenting works simultaneously with an installation “Stillness”, also curated by Soundfjord. The entire performance, once again takes place in near darkness, an eerie silence befalls the audience who are doubtless enraptured by Novak’s exquisite tonal renderings.

The diminutive figure of France Joibin, aka i8u, takes to the performance space almost unnoticed, closely followed by a series of muscular, energetic sounds the like of which it is hard to imagine her crafting. “Crafting” here is the key word, and as the piece unfolds, it reveals multiple layers and textural shifts, alongside subtle interplays of dynamics and the building of tension, this for me is one of the high points of the evening, and in uncharacteristic unrestrained manner, I let out a loud whoop as Jobin’s set ends, such is the joy that I felt at such an elegantly crafted work. Having never encountered the work of Robert Curgenven, who only recently burst onto my radar, through having his sublime “Oltre” work just released on LINE, I was intrigued as the man strode in predatory manner, barefoot towards a triptych of record decks, with all manner of bowls and wine glasses strewn around him. The intensity of Curgenven’s work is mirrored by the man himself, whose mild manner and effortless sense of humour dissipate once he enters his space. At soundcheck, Curgenven is scrupulously principled, instantly winning my admiration as he verbally emits a series of clicks and clucks to test the natural acoustics of the space, and then sets about pushing the equipment and the technician to their absolute limits. Curgenven is obviously a man who resists any form of compromise, and his performance is as engaging visually as it is acoustically. Once again marred by the ailing P.A. Curgenven halts his activities to adjust the speaker’s crackling wiring system, only to once again ignite the space with sensuous feedback, and swirling harmonics. It’s a warm, soupy blend that really should be rich and multi –tonal, vivified with sparkling harmonics, and a decidedly bottom heavy affair, but we have to settle for what the ailing rock P.A, ( and presumably slightly bemused soundman) are able to offer.

Technical difficulties aside, this was an encouraging first outing for the Soundfjord organisation, and doubtless, after the initial licking of wounds, promises to carve out a unique path for the UK’s woefully under-represented sonic arts community, as well as visitors with the clout and kudos of Novak. Th event billed itself as “An evening of momentous sonic environments,absorbing, contemplative sound sculpture + sublime, immersive sound art”, and to most of the folks that I spoke with, that remit was admirably filled. The necessary limitations with regard to a specialised space, top quality sound equipment and adequate funding will always rear their ugly head, particularly in marginalised art forms that deserve better, but as events go, and if lessons are learned, the venture has the potential to fill a gap in the sonic arts that is long overdue, and my respect and admiration for the artists and promoters alike is unbounded.

Baz Nichols – WHITE_LINE / FOURM/ Level August 2010

FOURM live performance

There will be a very rare live performance of exclusive FOURM material in London’s premier sound art venue, The Others on August 6th. I will be airing new material from unreleased “impuls.interval” works currently in progress. Expect FOURM’s characteristic reduced and distilled sound, interleaved with contemplative piano fragments. I will be performing alongside some of my most esteemed contemporaries in a brand new venue. Tickets are sure to sell fast.

    More info at www.soundfjord.org

FOURM set.grey Released

Austria’s most prestigious  minimalist label, Non Visual Objects has just released a clutch of CD’s inlcuding the newest FOURM work, set.grey, recorded in late 2008. This is presented alongside Asher, and will be limited to 300 copies. Visit NVO website for more details, and FOURM artist profile.

set.grey is a continuation of the “set” series of microsound and generative works that began with set.neutral here on WHITE_LINE, and consists of two pieces – Occupying and Connecting, and Parametrics and Parallax. The series explores themes that were established in my interview with Italian glossy mag, Sentire Ascoltare, where I proposed a set of sonic pieces that embody the concept of sound as sculpture, a reducing principle where a body of sound is recorded with no layering or blending, and is simply presented in linear form. This challenges some of the major principles of musical orthodoxy, and re-iterates my stance as a “non musician”,  presenting sounds purely as “audible art”. 

Simon Whetham Greyscale Update

The first part of our GREYSCALE series, Simon Whetham’s “Restricted Access” recording is released on 8th May 2010. Details below – reserve copies direct from us are now available, and also through our ususal distribution.

GREYSCALE series launched

 WLED: 001.2010

We are pleased and proud to introduce the first release in our Greyscale series of ultra minimal works. Inspired in part by the purist, and reductionist releases on Bernhard Gunther’s Trente Oiseaux imprint of the early 1990′s, the Greyscale series will focus on simple, elegant sound works by prominent and upcoming artists.

The first release features the work of field recording maestro,  Simon Whetham.  Entitled “Restricted Access”,  this 60 minute piece is an epic sonic journey consisting of enigmatic atmopherics collected at industrial sites that have fallen into decay and disuse. These now deserted spaces in Estonia still resonate with the imprint of former industrial activity, and Whetham’s skill is in evoking an atmosphere of utter desolation, injected with sparse,  melancholic drones interspersed with taut, melodramatic scrapes, rumbles and splinters. 

Once again, this release will be a highly sought after edition of 100 copies only. The CD comes attached to a single grey card insert, housed in a  translucent metallised foil wallet.

Release Date: May 2010 (date to be confirmed – visit this site frequently)

Price: £8.50 direct from this site, or via our usual distributors

Paypal: whitelineBN@aol.com  to reserve your copy

FOURM | Method 8cm Special Editon

In true WHITE_LINE  Christmas tradition, Fourm has released a very special,  ultra limited edition (30 copies) recording of new sound works. Housed in an 8cm x7.5cm aluminium tin, with printed inserts, this release marks the coming of age of the FOURM project. Inspired by naturally occuring and man-made patterning systems, Method hinges on slowly mutating, semi-rhythmic iterations, that gradually swell and decay. Each loop incrementally changes and develops, but with FOURM’s trademark ultra-minimal  approach, this is a fascinating and engaging journey, with prolonged silences filtered through enticing sounds.

Method is the first part of a one hour recording currently being produced, and marks the initiation of  FOURM’s Nine Harmonic / Pattern Research project, a sub-division of last year’s Archisonics programme.

“Patterns are arrays of units that are similar, but not neccessarily identical, and that repeat, but not neccessarily regularly, or with a well-defined symmetry. Form is loosely, the characteristic shape of a class of objects, like the elements of a pattern – objects with the same form do not have to be identical or even similar in scale, they simply have to share certain features that can be recognised as typical”

From “The Self Made Tapestry- Patterns in Nature” By Phillip Ball

FOURM | Method

Price : £7.50 + P&P

Paypal: whitelineBN@aol.com

also available in small quantities from Smallfish.co.uk