Various
Duets with Blanca
Regina. SPONTANEOUS MUSIC
UK Unpredictable
Series no number CD / DL
(2018)
A video artist and lecturer by profession, also “…involved in creating audio-visual
performances, sound works, multimedia installations, photography and book arts…”;
in this project, improvisor Blanca Regina brings a different facet of her
musical practice to each duet. Sometimes
she utilizes her voice, sometimes instruments or objects, sometimes software,
sometimes combinations. With the
exception of the inclusion of a live performance with Wade Matthews in Madrid,
these recordings were made in a London studio by Syd Kemp, (who I believe at
the time of writing is gainfully employed as bassist with Ulrika
Spacek), this year, all in one summer day.
As Blanca points out in the notes for this release, there is “…a strong tradition of free improvisation
(or spontaneous music) for which London is renowned throughout the world…” Indeed, the title itself makes reference to
the late great John Stevens’ Spontaneous Music Ensemble (SME). In Trevor Barre’s overviews of the London
Free Improvisation scene in the 60s/70s, Plink
Plonk and Scratch, and Covergences,
Divergences and Affinities, the SME were a key grouping along and sometimes
overlapping with AMM and Derek Bailey and his Incus label – players who came to
be known as the “first generation London improvisors”. Those with an interest in this area should
peruse Trevor’s works and also David Toop’s excellent recent book, Into The Maelstrom and Brian Olewnick’s
new biography of Keith Rowe to get a nice rounded overview of the scene.
It’s a nice idea for an album; Blanca chooses other
Londoners with whom to collaborate, friends as well as fellow musicians, no
doubt, such is the nature of London’s improvising scene; a small – although
much bigger now than it has ever been - friendly and supportive community of
like-minded practitioners. She possesses
a strong voice and is clearly as familiar and comfortable with traditional song
form as she is with extended technique and improvising freely. On “Elrington” where she duets with long-time
collaborator Steve Beresford, she extemporises in an almost Kurt Weill-ian
manner while simultaneously rippling and squashing her vocals in real time
through the processing software on her trusty laptop. There is a playful use of a tape-speed effect
on “Lavender”, for example; the first of two pieces with saxophonist John
Butcher. Another long-term collaborator
is Matthias Kispert, and on “Wilton”, they produce a very intense experience;
close-mic’ed, claustrophobic, intense, familiar…
Blanca has collaborated with John Burton aka Leafcutter
John since 2013 as far as I’m aware, and they certainly produce an intricate
and effective piece in “Nayim”, as you might expect from a five-plus year
working relationship. Keyboard-type
sounds are detourned by John while Blanca repurposes a variety of sound-making
objects, thumb piano, whisks(?!,) and wordless, cocktail-jazz vocal irony.
“Penpoll” is a detourned torch song of sorts thanks to
the pop-classicist in pianist Jack Goldstein, while on “Forest” Hyelim Kim plays
Taegūm;
a “large bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music”. Limpid, restrained, flowing, like a really
great acupuncture session or an Indian head massage. “Pitwell” teams Blanca with fellow vocal improviser
Sharon Gal; both musicians playing to their strengths and on “Navarino”, Aneek
Thapar gets powerful tones from a Bechstein grand using only a handheld fan.
Other tracks feature violinist Benedict Taylor, whom I
know from his involvement with Carousel Collective and the Brighton improvisors
Thomas Mindhouse, Wade Matthews, where Matthews’ electronics/software produce a
Pointillist, conversational approach and glassy electronic tones.
As the sleeve-notes state, Blanca’s “…presence on each track gives the resulting
recording a unity…”
A lot more can be gleaned from Pierrre Bouvier Patron’s
short film about the session, here:
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