Zbigniew Rybczynski - Tango (1980)

"Thirty-six characters from different stages of life - representations of different times - interact in one room, moving in loops, observed by a static camera. I had to draw and paint about 16.000 cell-mattes, and make several hundred thousand exposures on an optical printer. It took a full seven months, sixteen hours per day, to make the piece. The miracle is that the negative got through the process with only minor damage, and I made less than one hundred mathematical mistakes out of several hundred thousand possibilities. In the final result, there are plenty of flaws black lines are visible around humans, jitters caused by the instability of film material resulting from film perforation and elasticity of celluloid, changes of colour caused by the fluctuation in colour temperature of the projector bulb and, inevitably, dirt, grain and scratches.”

- Zbig Rybczynski: Looking to the Future - Imagining the Truth,” in François Penz, Maureen Thomas, Cinema & Architecture. Mþliús, Mallet-Stevens, Multimedia, BFI, London, 1997

"In Tango, Rybczynski exploits this concept of the single offscreen space by filling it with a plethora of actions. It soon becomes obvious that such a small space, that of a small room, could not possibly contain all the actions taking place. Rybczynski also makes critical use of off-screen space, exposing it for the artifice it is. Off-screen space is the imaginary area beyond the edge of the screen, and in front of or behind the camera. There are a number of ways through to off-screen space in Tango - a window and a door in the back wall, doors on either side of the room, and cupboard which also has its uses. Rybczynski orchestrates his entrances and exits with great precision.”
- Roger Noake, Animation Techniques, Secaucus, Chartwell Books Inc., 1988.

Music by Janusz Hajdun

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Moebius, Plank, Neumeier - Zero Set (1983)

Matthew Weiner describes it for Soulmind Online: "Though not a dance record per se, Zero Set is one of the earliest extensions of Krautrock’s possibilities on the dance floor, pitting the profoundly electronic sequence patterns of Plank and Moebius against the hyperactive percussives of Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier. On tracks such as the prophetically titled 'Speed Display' and 'Pitch Control', the phasing, chattering and decidedly Germanic grooves found on Zero Set constitute vibrant proto-techno at its earliest and finest." David Ross Smith, writing for Allmusic, describes the album: "...a highly percussive affair with Mani Neumeier. The album is saturated in drum and synth rhythms and polyrhythms, resulting in compositions that are energetic and infectious." Zero Set was a turning point for Moebius and Plank, a fact lamented by Steven and Alan Freeman in their book The Crack In The Cosmic Egg. They say, in part: "...working with Mani Neumeier on Zero Set strangely took the music too close to techno for comfort..."

I purchased this on vinyl around '83 and instantly loved it. To me, so many albums like this, which never were widely released and were soon forgotten, embody the real creativity of the early 80's.This could accurately be called "intelligent dance music", long before the term was ever coined. It uses sequenced, rhythmic electronics combined with a live drum set -- perfectly syncronized. It is relentless without being monotonous. Every track is unique. Raw rhythmic energy with intricate, shifting layers of accents...

Robert Wilks, Amazon.com

Moebius & Plank - synthesizers, keyboards
Mani Neumeier - drums
Deuka - vocals on "Recall"

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Luc Ferrari - Le Banquet [Patajaslocha - 1984 / L'Escalier des Aveugles 1991]

Patajaslocha

Suite de danses (1984)

1. Paso-doble; 2. Tango; 3. Java; 4. Slow; 5. Cha-cha-cha

durée: 27'52''

L'escalier des aveugles (tracks 6 to 18 on this cd)

Recueil de Nouvelles (1991)

1. L’escalier des aveugles; 2. Intermède; 3. Suzanne et le clochard; 4. Interlude; 5. El cuerpo inglés; 6. Intérieur; 7. Hommage à Lorca; 8. Izaskun et la pomme; 9. Interférence; 10. Sans savoir pourquoi; 11. Nada; 12. Madrid, kilomètre zéro; 13. La nouvelle de l’escalier.

durée: 34'21''

link1 (Patajaslocha)

link2 (L'Escalier des Aveugles)

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About L’escalier des Aveugles

"Œuvre créée sur commande du Centre pour la diffusion de la musique contemporaine (CDMC) et de Radio Nacional de España, Radio-2 (RNE-2). Coproduction du CDMC, de RNE-2 et de la Muse en circuit. Réalisée au studio de la Muse en circuit (Vanves, France). Tous les matériaux sonores concrets de l’œuvre ont été enregistrés à Madrid par l’Auteur, avec les actrices Ana Malaver, Julia Gil, Suzanna Cantero, Izaskun Azurmendi, Laura Notario et Gloria de Pedro. Producteur délégué de RNE-2: José Iges. À l’occasion de la Journée Européenne de la musique, l’œuvre a été donnée en première à RNE-2 le 21 juin 1991.

Tout au début, quand je parlais de mon projet de conte radiophonique, j’avais employé le mot «clip» pour évoquer la forme que j’imaginais. Et puis, en travaillant, je me suis rendu compte que ce que j’étais en train de faire était une métaphore sonore de la technique littéraire des «nouvelles». En effet: forme courte, qui raconte chacune une histoire, une situation, une ambiance, mais dans un climat d’ébauche, une manière indirecte de conter, allusive, irréaliste tout en employant des matériaux réalistes. Une manière aussi de laisser l’auditeur (j’allais dire le spectateur) en suspens, peut-être frustré de n’avoir pas une fin pour chaque anecdote.

Chaque nouvelle est construite sur un petit événement: un son, une atmosphère, un mot anodin porteur d’émotion par la voix qui le prononce, un cliché entendu. Et ainsi, l’ensemble se tisse à l’intérieur de multiples langages: le musical, le bruitiste, le réaliste, le synthétique et enfin l’espagnol et le français, proposant au public des pistes à suivre et à délaisser. À propos de chemin, celui-ci est un escalier qui revient comme un thème: l’idée qu’un lieu de Madrid s’appelle L’escalier des aveugles m’a fasciné, comme une réalité poétique, ou plutôt comme une surréalité; mais aussi comme un symbole de ce que j’étais en train de faire, une composition avec des sons et pour la radio. Et comme chacun sait, la radio est pour ceux qui ont des images pleins la tête." in reseauxconcerts.com

"A passionate journey into Ferrari's obsessions with Spain and Sexuality; enchanting, ironic, beautiful, humorous, sometimes glorious. An absolutely unique listening experience: where else would you find the dialects of pasodoble, chamber music, cha cha cha, field recordings and electronics merged into a single, coherent language?" The Ewings Short Reviews

Martin Tétreault - Des Pas et Des Mois (1990)

"Des Pas et Des Mois was Montreal turntablist Martin Tétreault’s first record, and still remains his most enjoyable project. This CD contains two suites, “Des Pas” (“Footsteps”) and “Des Mois” (“Months”). The first one is written and performed with guitarist René Lussier. It follows a young couple learning to dance the tango and the cha-cha-cha from records in order to participate in local competitions. The material used for these fifteen short movements mostly come from such dance instructional and self-improvement records, all in french. Tétreault applies his techniques of cut-up records and mixed storylines from different sources. Lussier brings in a handful of melodies that could have been found on his Le Trésor de la Langue or Le Corps de l’Ouvrage. Between the suites are two short pieces illustrating two of Tétreault’s key techniques: the three-in-one (three slices from different records pasted together) and the skid.

Then comes “Des Mois,” written with drummer Michel F Côté, and also featuring Lussier and clarinetist Robert Marcel Lepage. This suite relies less heavily on humor: Côté’s complex textural arrangements bring another dimension to the music, but Tétreault’s incredibly cheesy record collection delivers a few more surprises (especially on Juin). The first suite is similar in style (with the addition of Lussier’s touch) to Tétreault’s cassette Snipettes, while the second one drifts closer to the first Bruire (Michel F. Côté’s project) album Le barman a Tort de Sourire. In any case, Des Pas et Des Mois remains one of Ambiances Magnétiques’ strangest, funniest and finest moments".
François Couture, All Music Guide

Martin Tétreault: turntables, records, rhythm montage, wave feedback with magnetophone, friction on the "pick-up plateau", guitar solo on pick-up, cassettes, voice.
René Lussier: guitar, electric bass, percussions, voice.
Jean Derome: flute, alto sax.
Michel Coté: maracas, electronic and acoustic percussion, synth, cd, cassettes, short waves
Robert Lepage: clarinet, alto sax

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