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Friday, September 30, 2016

The Claudia Quintet Celebrate 'Super Petite' with an October 2016 North American Tour

THE CLAUDIA QUINTET
led by composer/drummer John Hollenbeck
OCTOBER 2016 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

celebrating
SUPER PETITE
their 2016 Miniature Masterpiece
of 10 Concise Tunes
released on Cuneiform Records


[The Claudia Quintet | photo credit: Signe Maehler]

“This is post-music. Some jazz, some folk, some pop-rock, some minimalism, some of this influence and more of that influence—and all of it is one step ahead of the current day. It’s the Music of Tomorrow, now.”
– Dave Sumner, Bandcamp

"Forging headlong into uncharted territory on the cusp of its twentieth anniversary, The Claudia Quintet continues to adapt aspects from multiple genres and styles for its melodically harmonious grooves, making Super Petite one of the Quintet’s most engaging and enjoyable releases to date."
–Troy Collins, Point of Departure

"Super Petite is like savoring a long and lingering feast. There is much to enjoy, concentrate on, uncover and sample. The ten tracks each offer a morsel, and the full repast is oh so delicious."
—Doug Simpson, Audiophile Audition



// THE CLAUDIA QUINTET SUPER PETITE TOUR:
OCTOBER 2016
//


October 12 CA L'Off Festival
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
October 20 USA Cornelia Street Cafe
29 Cornelia St
NYC, NY
October 21 USA Firehouse 12
45 Crown St - New Haven, CT



October 23 USA UMBC Concert Hall
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD
October 24 USA Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art
James Madison Univ.

800 South Main St. - Harrisonburg, VA
free concert!
October 26 USA Constellation
3111 No. Western Ave
Chicago, IL
October 27 USA Edgefest
Kerrytown Concerthouse
Ann Arbor, MI


[WATCH: Claudia Quintet plays "Arabic" - Live at Jazz Baltica, 2009]

----



THE CLAUDIA QUINTET
SUPER PETITE


STREAM/SHARE: "JFK Beagle"
stream: @SoundCloud / @Bandcamp / @YouTube

Cat. #: Rune 427, Format: CD / Digital Download
Genre: Jazz / Post-Jazz

Super Petite Track Listing:

1. Nightbreak (6:00)
2. JFK Beagle (3:29)
3. A-List (5:19)
4. Philly (5:14)
5. Peterborough (4:13)
6. Rose Colored Rhythm (8:24)
7. If you seek a Fox (4:16)
8. Pure Poem (1:53)
9. Newark Beagle (3:20)
10. mangold (4:12)

for radio:
FCC: Clean!
Start with: #2, 4, 5, 9

Recorded at Brooklyn Recording in 2015
on the birthday of Chuck D and Nana Vasconcelos.
Recorded and mixed by Andy Taub.
Assistant Engineer: Don Piper.
Music produced by John Hollenbeck.
Mastered by Brent Lambert at The Kitchen Mastering.

Design by karlssonwilker inc.

This work was made possible by the generous support of the
Doris Duke Performing Artists Awards Program.

All compositions by John Hollenbeck, Grand Blvd. Music (ASCAP/GEMA), 2016.

------



Acclaimed Drummer-Composer John Hollenbeck
Pens Rich, Complex Tunes for an Era of Short Attention Spans
on THE CLAUDIA QUINTET's 8th album
- SUPER PETITE -

a Potent Package that Condenses Virtuoso Playing
and a Wealth of Ideas into Ten Compact Songs


“Rigorously executed but earthily grooving, dauntingly precise but flecked with hearty and intriguing improvised solos, the quintet’s set buzzed with freshness and vitality from start to finish. … For all the obvious effort and intelligence to Hollenbeck’s work, his songs could ultimately be straightforwardly emotional and moving.”
- Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen

“The bottom line? Every member of Claudia Quintet is a virtuoso; and while that may be true, the beauty of Claudia Quintet is that it's a collection of five outstanding players whose focus is on the music, not unnecessary displays of pyrotechnics...though there was certainly more than a few sparks flying during their Back Stage appearance.”
- John Kelman, All About Jazz

"Claudia Quintet alludes to everything from Argentine tango to Pakistani qawwali music. [Hollenbeck’s] music thrives on unique harmonies, appealing melodies, and innovative blends of percussion…The Claudia Quintet deftly covers a large amount of musical territory and…is helping to define jazz today."
- Martin Johnson, The Wall Street Journal

Short doesn't necessarily mean simple. Drummer-composer John Hollenbeck acrobatically explores the dichotomy between brevity and complexity on Super Petite, the eighth release by the critically acclaimed, proudly eccentric Claudia Quintet. The oxymoronic title of the band's newest album on Cuneiform Records captures the essence of its ten new compositions, which pack all of the wit and virtuosity that listeners have come to expect from the Claudia Quintet into the time frame of radio-friendly pop songs.

As always, Hollenbeck's uncategorizable music - which bridges the worlds of modern jazz and new music in surprising and inventive ways - is realized by Claudia's longstanding line-up: clarinetist/tenor saxophonist Chris Speed, vibraphonist Matt Moran, bassist Drew Gress, and accordionist Red Wierenga. Over the course of 19 years and 8 albums, the band has forged an astounding chemistry and become expert at juggling mind-boggling dexterity with inviting emotion and spirit.

Like the band's name, the title Super Petite originated as an affectionate nickname for one of the band's fans. "I thought that was a funny juxtaposition," Hollenbeck recalls, "but it also became a good frame for the album because the tunes are short but can also be grand in a way - just not in length."

The concept was both a personal challenge for Hollenbeck as a composer always dealing with a wealth of ideas, but also a reaction to a tendency in modern music toward the epic. "I'm feeling things in the opposite direction," the composer explains. "When tunes are longer, there tend to be moments when not a whole lot is happening. If you have a really short tune, the whole thing has to be compelling."


[The Claudia Quintet | photo credit: Signe Maehler]
Nowhere is that principle better exemplified than in “Pure Poem,” which clocks in at under two minutes but is the most difficult piece the quintet has ever recorded. It was inspired by “Pure Poem 1007-1103” by Japanese poet Shigeru Matsui, which consists solely of sequences of Roman numerals and was used by controversial poet Kenneth Goldsmith to illustrate his theory of “Uncreative Writing.”

Hollenbeck draws inspiration from a number of diverse sources throughout Super Petite, including two unrecognizable interpretations of classic jazz – which, in its earliest years, demanded short songs due to the limitations of the day’s recording media. The mesmerizing “Nightbreak,” which opens the album, is built upon a slowed-down translation of Charlie Parker’s famous break in “Night of Tunisia,” while “Philly” transforms an infamous Philly Joe Jones lick into an exercise in bebop deconstruction.

Two variations on the same theme, “JFK Beagle” and “Newark Beagle”, were sparked by the contraband-sniffing dogs that patrol the international baggage claim area of airports. They are the living embodiment of Super Petite – utterly adorable but all business. “My problem is I want to pet the beagles but they’re so focused on that one thing,” Hollenbeck laments. “That piece began as a portrait, a combination of being really cute but staying focused. I don't know exactly what that would sound like musically, but that’s the challenge. In the end it doesn’t really matter to me if it happens or not, because it still leads me into a certain world.” In this case, the idea of international travel inspired Hollenbeck to use his passport number as a series of pitches that formed the basis for the pieces.


[The Claudia Quintet | photo credit: Piero Ribelli]

Similarly, “If You Seek a Fox” began life as a dig at the composer’s least favorite 24-hour cable news network, then morphed into an aural description of the eponymous animal. “A-List” began with an even more fantastical scenario, imagining the Claudia Quintet walking the red carpet. (“Think Entourage meets the Geek Squad,” as Hollenbeck wryly puts it in his liner notes.) If the tune’s urgent pulse is unlikely to attract the paparazzi, it’s nonetheless a compelling mood piece that Hollenbeck insists “feels almost like a Led Zeppelin tune in our heads.”

“Peterborough” was written in the titular New Hampshire town, where Hollenbeck spent six idyllic weeks in the fall of 2014 as a resident artist at the famed MacDowell Colony. It was there that Aaron Copland composed his Pulitzer-winning “Appalachian Spring,” which inspired the hint of Coplandesque American optimism in Hollenbeck’s combination of clarinet and vibes. The residency also provided the opportunity to explore the work of master Senegalese drummer/composer Doudou N’Diaye Rose, whose “Rose Rhythm” forms the basis for Hollenbeck’s “Rose-Colored Rhythm.”

Hollenbeck describes the MacDowell Colony as “a beautiful space where you can do whatever you want all day and no one bothers you. You can work hard all day on something, but you can also get out and ride a bike or run if you want. Then in the evening you see all these other people from different disciplines who have been doing the same thing as you, talk about what they’re doing, go to bed and do it all again the next day.”

The album concludes with “Mangolds,” a mood piece built from a slow, elongated melody line named for Hollenbeck’s favorite vegetarian restaurant in Graz, Austria, where he worked with the renowned Jazz Bigband Graz on his 2006 release Joys and Desires.

PROMOTIONAL TRACK //
If you'd like to share music from this release, please feel free to use the following track:
"JFK Beagle": @SoundCloud / @Bandcamp / @YouTube

PURCHASE LINKS
//
ITUNES - AMAZON - BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC

ARTIST WEB SITES //
www.claudiaquintet.com - www.johnhollenbeck.com/band/the-claudia-quintet - www.facebook.com/ClaudiaQuintet/ - www.twitter.com/claudiaquintet


---

CLAUDIA QUINTET RELEASES ON CUNEIFORM

"The Claudia Quintet...is one of the most exciting groups in contemporary jazz. ...Each of the discs comes at you with the force of a manifesto: this band knows exactly what it is about, and the compositions charge forward with inevitability. ... the band now sounds so thoroughly integrated and seamless that you'd think it was a tenor-trumpet quintet or a 16-piece big band. ...The Claudia Quintet, inimitable, deserves to inspire."
- Will Layman, PopMatters




The Claudia Quintet
September
[2013, Rune 377]
Amazon - iTunes
Bandcamp - Wayside


The Claudia Quintet
What is the Beautiful?
[2011, Rune 327]
Amazon - iTunes
Bandcamp - Wayside


The Claudia Quintet
Royal Toast (with Gary Versace)
[2010, Rune 307]
Amazon - iTunes
Bandcamp - Wayside


The Claudia Quintet
For
[2007, Rune 247]
Amazon - iTunes
Bandcamp - Wayside


The Claudia Quintet
Semi-Formal
[2005, Rune 217]
Amazon - iTunes
Bandcamp - Wayside


The Claudia Quintet
I, Claudia
[2004, Rune 187]
Amazon - iTunes
Bandcamp - Wayside

---


www.cuneiformrecords.com
www.twitter.com/cuneiformrecord
www.facebook.com/cuneiformrecords
www.soundcloud.com/cuneiformrecords
www.youtube.com/CuneiformRecords

Friday, September 16, 2016

Richard Pinhas releases Two New Albums (Process & Reality and Mu) TODAY 9/16/16 and Embarks on Mega-Tour of France/USA/Japan


Celebrating TWO New ALBUMS
Released TODAY September 16, 2016
on Cuneiform:
PROCESS AND REALITY and MU


Experimental Rock Icon
RICHARD PINHAS

TOURS Three Continents in Fall/Winter 2016



Performing at the Rock in Opposition Festival and Cities in France,
and Touring Southeastern USA and Japan
with Fellow Sonic Innovators
from Europe (Pascal Comelade, Arthur Narcy), the USA (Wume),
and Japan (Yoshida Tatsuya, Keiji Haino, Masami Akita/Merzbow,
Yamamoto Seiichi, Ryoko, Vampillia)





Tour Dates: Richard Pinhas'
Process & Reality and Mu Mega-Tour
France / USA / Japan
Fall/Winter 2016


2016 FRANCE TOUR

Cap Découverte, France – Saturday, September 17, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Arthur Narcy

Rock In Opposition Festival - France
Cap Découverte, Le Garric (near Toulouse & Albi)
http://www.rocktime.org/rio/index.php/en/program/saturday-17

Bordeaux, France – Monday, September 19, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya

I-Boat
Bassin à Flot n°1, Quai Armand Lalande, 33300 Bordeaux, France
http://www.iboat.eu/Home/Iboat.sls

Paris, France – Thursday, September 22, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tasuya

Le Triton
11 Bis Rue du Coq Français, 93260 Lilas (Les), France
http://www.letriton.com

Paris, France – Saturday, October 1, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Pascal Comelade
Set Time: 19h30
La Maroquinerie
23 Rue Boyer, 75020 Paris, France
http://www.lamaroquinerie.fr/Accueil/
12€

for tour updates, please see:
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/tours.html

***
2016 SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES TOUR
WITH WUME


Richard Pinhas

Wume (Albert Schatz & April Camlin)

Brooklyn, New York – Monday, October 3, 2016
Richard Pinhas
Park Church Co-Op

129 Russell St - Brooklyn, NY
http://www.parkchurchcoop.org/
http://www.parkchurchcoop.org/music-off-mcgolrick/

Queens, New York – Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Wume

Trans-Pecos
9-15 Wyckoff Avenue, Ridgewood, Queens
http://www.thetranspecos.com
@transpecos


  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Wume

Brillobox
4104 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA15224
http://www.brillobox.net/home/
http://www.brilloboxpgh.com/events/


  Detroit, Michigan – Friday, October 7, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Wume

Marble Bar
1501 Holden St, Detroit, MI 48208
phone (313) 551-3158
https://facebook.com/marblebardetroit/

Chicago, Illinois – Saturday, October 8, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Wume

Elastic Arts
3429 W Diversey Ave #208, Chicago, IL 60647
http://elasticarts.org
http://elasticarts.org/events/


Nashville, Tennessee – Monday, October 10, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Wume

American Legion
3204 Gallatin Pike, Nashville, TN 37216
http://www.legion.org


Asheville, North Carolina – Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Wume

TBA
Asheville, NC

Raleigh, North Carolina – Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Wume

Nightlight
405 1/2 West Rosemary St, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
phone (919_ 960-6101
http://www.nightlightclub.com

Richmond, Virginia – Thursday, October 13, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Wume

Strange Matter
929 W Grace St, Richmond, VA 23220
http://www.strangematterrva.com
http://www.strangematterrva.com/events.php


Baltimore, Maryland – Friday, October 14, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Wume

Metro Gallery
1700 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21201
http://www.themetrogallery.net
http://www.themetrogallery.net/calendar/


Washington, DC – Saturday, October 15, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Wume & Boat Burning

Comet Ping-Pong
 
5037 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
http://www.cometpingpong.com

TBA, TX – Tuesday, October 18, 2016

TBA, TX – Wednesday, October 19, 2016

New Orleans, Louisiana – Thursday, October 20, 2016
Richard Pinhas

Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center
 
1618 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70113
http://www.zeitgeistnola.org
$20

Houston, Texas – Friday, October 21, 2016
Richard Pinhas
14 Pews
800 Aurora St, Houston, TX;
phone: (718) 389-0854
http://www.parkchurchcoop.org/
http://www.parkchurchcoop.org/music-off-mcgolrick/

Austin, Texas – Saturday, October 22, 2016
Richard Pinhas
Farewell Books
913 East Cesar Chavez St, Austin TX 78702
phone: (512)473-2665
http://www.farewellbookstore.com/
https://www.facebook.com/FarewellBooks/

for tour updates, please see: http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/tours.html ***

2016 JAPAN TOUR WITH YOSHIDA TATSUYA



Tokyo, Japan – Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya & Keiji Haino & Masami Akita

Koenji High
166-0003, Tokyo, Suginami-Temple South 4-30-1
http://koenji-high.com

Ohmi-Hachiman, Japan – Thursday, November 3, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya
Syuyukan

Omihachiman Shiga Sakederik space Syuyukan
Yubinbango 523-0862, Shiga Prefecture, Omihachiman, Suwaichonaka 21
http://www.shuyukan.com/index.html

Kyoto, Japan  – Friday, November 4, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya w/ Seiichi Yamamoto

Club Metro
Japan, 606-8396, Kyoto Kyoto, sakyo-Ku, Kawabata log town under
http://www.metro.ne.jp

Tokushima, Japan – Saturday, November 5, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya

Txalaparta
770-0915, Japan Tokushima Prefecture, Tokushima Tomita-Cho 2-18 B1
http://bartxalaparta.jimdo.com
http://bartxalaparta.jimdo.com/schedule/

Kobe, Japan – Sunday, November 6, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya

Helluva Lounge
650-0011, Japan, 3--1 - 18 under the Yamate Dori Chuo-ku, Kobe-Shi, Hyogo, Japan
http://helluva.jp

Osaka, Japan –  Monday, November 7, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya w/ Vampillia

Conpass
 542-0083 Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Chuo-ku, East heart Shinsaibashi 1-Chome 12-20
http://www.conpass.jp

Nagoya, Japan – Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya w/ Ryoko Ono

Tokuzo
8, novel imaike 1-Chome-6 - 12 Uchiyama, Chikusa-Ku, Nagoya-Shi, Aichi 464-0075
http://www.tokuzo.com

Hamamatsu, Japan – Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya w/ Up-Tight

Kirchherr
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirchherr/328022840718727

Shizuoka, Japan – Thursday November 10, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya w/ Atomic Farm
So-gen
10th Shizouka SOGEN
420-0032, 2 Chome-5-7 Ryogaecho, Aoi Ward, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture 420-0032
http://sougen0228.wixsite.com/live
https://twitter.com/sougen0228
Kofu, Japan – Friday, November 11, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya
Sakuraza Cafe
Yubinbango 400-0032 Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture center 1-1-7
Japan 1-1-7 Chuo koufushi, Yamanashi City Japan
Doors 19:00; Curtain 19:30
Advance 3,500 yen; Day 4,000 yen
Drink 500 yen separately
http://www.sakuraza.jp/
http://www.sakuraza.jp/schedule_.htm
http://www.sakuraza.jp/furaiya.pdf
https://twitter.com/sakurazakofu
Tokyo, Japan – Friday, November 12, 2016
Richard Pinhas

Disk Union

Diskunion Shinjuko Progressive Rock Store (3F)
Yamada Bldg. 3F, 3-31-4 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0022
http://diskunion.net/shop/ct/shinjuku_progre
Event starts at 18 hr
http://diskunion.net

Koenji, Japan – Saturday, November 13, 2016
Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya
Showboat
Oak Hill Koenji B1F, 3-17-2 Koenji Kita
Tokyo Suginami high yen North Temple 3-17-2 B1
http://www.showboat1993.com/
https://twitter.com/ShowBoat_1993

for tour updates, please see:
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/tours.html




[WATCH: Announcment Video for Pinhas, Tatsuya, Ryoko - 2015 tour]

To BOOK Richard in EUROPE, please contact Julie Tippex:
http://julietippex.com/

To BOOK Richard in JAPAN and/ or the USA, please contact Richard via the contact section:
http://www.richard-pinhas.com/contact.php




French guitarist, electronic musician and global sonic experimenter
RICHARD PINHAS
simultaneously releases two new, startling different albums on Cuneiform, recorded on opposite side of the Pacific Ocean with two vastly different yet equally stellar groups of collaborators:
Process and Reality and Mu



Richard Pinhas / Tatsuya Yoshida / Masami Akita
Process and Reality
Street date: September 16, 2016
Genre: RockElectronicExperimental / Noise 
STREAM/SHARE: "TVJ 33 (Core Track)" [excerpt]
stream: @SoundCloud / @Bandcamp / @YouTube

"We are in the Industrial Age Final Times. The Page will soon be turned OFF...
We will transition from Petrol and Gas Wars to Water Wars..."

- Richard Pinhas

Three founding fathers of experimental music join forces to conjure an unholy serenade for a society on the verge of collapse on Process and Reality, an hourlong whirlwind of pessimistic prophecy transformed into a heady monolith of sound.

Boundary-stretching guitarist Richard Pinhas, founder of the influential French electronic-rock band Heldon, teams with two icons of the Japanese avant-garde – drummer Tatsuya Yoshida, mastermind of warped-prog legends Ruins, Koenjihyakkei and Korekyojinn, and Masami Akita, a.k.a. noise guru Merzbow – to summon a brutally honest, politically potent, sonically tumultuous reflection of the last gasps of the industrial age.

Process and Reality marks the first recorded convergence of these three avant-rock giants, though Pinhas has recorded with both Yoshida and Merzbow in the past and all three have toured extensively together in Japan. The album, recorded in Tokyo during a recent high-profile tour, captures the fevered intensity and violently textured depth of the trio’s collaborative improvisations.

Pinhas' aggressive, combustible music has always been honed to a keen edge by its philosophical bent. Process and Reality takes its name from an influential 1929 book by English mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, which posits reality as a continual process of becoming. That’s an apt summation of the music made by Pinhas, Yoshida and Akita, which seethes and roils in a constant state of both turbulent flux and visceral realization. The guitarist says of his collaborators, “They explore 100% of their possibility. We have the same kind of spirit.”

The bleak outlook embodied by the music on Process and Reality is stunningly pictured in cover art worthy of a cyberpunk novel, rendering an oil tanker as a surrogate for the decaying post-industrial future. It was created by Patrick Jelin, the gifted designer also responsible for the covers for classic Heldon albums Interface (1977) and Stand By (1979), as well as Pinhas’ 1979 solo effort Iceland.

If that’s all too downbeat for an evening’s listening, Pinhas also sees the album as a celebration of his cherished friendship with these Japanese artists. “Japan is the best scene in the world,” he asserts, and while he foresees a radical change in his sound approaching in 2017, he continues that, “Always I will work with my forever friends.”

PURCHASE LINKS for
Richard Pinhas / Tatsuya Yoshida / Masami Akita (Merzbow) - Process and Reality:
ITUNES - AMAZON - BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC


French guitarist, electronic musician and global sonic experimenter
RICHARD PINHAS
simultaneously releases two new, startling different albums on Cuneiform, recorded on opposite side of the Pacific Ocean with two vastly different yet equally stellar groups of collaborators:
Process and Reality and Mu


Richard Pinhas / Barry Cleveland
featuring
Michael Manring & Celso Alberti
Mu
Street date: September 16, 2016
Genre: Rock / Ambient / Space-Rock / Electronic / World Fusion / Avant Progressive / Psychedelic / Experimental / Fourth World
STREAM/SHARE: "Zen/Unzen" [excerpt]
stream: @SoundCloud / @Bandcamp / @YouTube


"The album title is Mu, a Japanese word commonly translated as “no,” or “nothingness.” ...there are parallels between the state of mind cultivated in koan meditation and the state of mind that results in transcendent improvisational performances. Call it Zen and the art of musical improvisation... "
- Barry Cleveland

One day a troubled monk approached Joshu, a renowned Chinese Zen master, intending to ask him for guidance. A dog walked by and the monk asked Joshu, "Has that dog a Buddha Nature or not?" The monk had barely completed his question when Joshu shouted: "Mu!"

Mu is often translated as “nothingness,” but as the response in Zen’s most famous koan, the gesture speaks to a truth deeper than rational dualistic thinking can obtain—therefore also resonating with the creative mindset accompanying the purest forms of musical improvisation.

The music created by French guitar iconoclast and electronic music pioneer Richard Pinhas and insistently inventive San Francisco Bay Area guitarist Barry Cleveland on Mu originated in just such a way, arising seemingly from “nothingness.” The two had contemplated performing as well as recording together for several years before their stars finally aligned, and they played several Bay Area shows during the same period that Mu was recorded.

Unfettered by genre conventions, Mu is a mesmerizing combination of entirely improvised music and Cleveland’s post-production compositional development. The four long pieces unfurl as a confluence of overlapping musical currents informed by art rock, ambient, electronic, avant-garde jazz, and various “world” music inflections. Joined by two longtime Cleveland collaborators—electric bass innovator Michael Manring and Brazilian-born drum master Celso Alberti — these expansive and timeless soundscapes will have definite appeal to fans of artists like Jon Hassell, Arve Henriksen, Nils Petter Molvær, Bill Laswell, David Torn, Brian Eno, David Sylvian and David Bowie.

Pinhas’ distinctive musical aesthetic is facilitated by his Metatronic live-looping and effects system that enables him to create an astonishing variety of tones and textures and layer them into continually changing stream-of-consciousness soundscapes. His approach on Mu was especially dynamic. “Besides opening up fresh sonic horizons himself, Richard did an impressive job of responding to the rapid shifts in tempo, tonality, and intensity of the quartet, which is far from easy when using a looping system such as his,” explains Cleveland. “His performance on ‘I Wish I Could Talk In Technicolor,’ in particular, may be the most dynamic and nuanced I’ve heard from him yet.”

Cleveland’s aesthetic is equally sui generis. In addition to playing guitar in the conventional manner he plays with a bow, a bowhammer, an Ebow, and other devices, as well as using sophisticated electronics and looping to access intriguing new aural realms. On Mu, he also played Moog Guitar, sitar guitar, Vocalizer 1000 woodwind synth, M-Tron, zither, kalimba, gong, and incidental percussion.

“Hyperbassist” Michael Manring’s mind-blowing virtuosity is equaled only by the richness of feeling expressed in his playing. He and drummer/percussionist Celso Alberti, a master of multiple rhythmic traditions, share a near-psychic connection that enlivens their truly uncanny interactions.

In bringing together this singular quartet, Cleveland and Pinhas take another bold step with Mu. Given their long histories of innovation and experimentation it shouldn’t be surprising to find them venturing into the unknown. But there’s still something inspiring about witnessing veteran artists willing to follow a thread of inspiration into the void, only to emerge with new revelations. “In many ways,” says Cleveland, “this album represents the culmination of concepts and techniques I’ve been developing my entire life.”

PURCHASE LINKS for
Richard Pinhas & Barry Cleveland [Featuring: Michael Manring & Celso Alberti] - Mu
ITUNES - AMAZON - BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC





Recent Recordings by Richard Pinhas on
Cuneiform Records

First-Ever Vinyl Reissue of Richard Pinhas'
Chronolyse




Street date: October 16, 2015


RICHARD PINHAS
CHRONOLYSE
[Vinyl LP Reissue]

STREAM/SHARE: "Sur Le Theme De Bene Gesserit VII"
stream: @SoundCloud / @Bandcamp / @YouTube

Cat. #: Rune 30, Format: CD / LP / DIGITAL DOWNLOAD
Genre: Rock / Electronic Music / Experimental
Release Date: October 16, 2015



cd tikkun
cd yoshida
Richard Pinhas
& Oren Ambarchi
Tikkun
"Washington, D.C. - T4V1"
SoundCloud / Bandcamp / YouTube

Purchase @
ITUNES - AMAZON
BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC
Richard Pinhas
& Yoshida Tatsuya

Welcome in the Void
"Part One - Intro"
SoundCloud / Bandcamp / YouTube

Purchase @
ITUNES - AMAZON
BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC

cd tikkun
Richard Pinhas
Desolation Row

STREAM "Circle" from Desolation Row
SoundCloud / Bandcamp / YouTube
Purchase @
AMAZON - ITUNES - BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC

************

Cuneiform Records is honored to have released and/or reissued the complete
RICHARD PINHAS and HELDON catalogs as well as collaborative albums by PINHAS/MERZBOW, PINHAS/AMBARCHI and PINHAS/TATSUYA.
For more information on any of these titles and more, click on any cover below:
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns
5 Suns





RICHARD PINHAS: BIO MATERIAL

[Richard Pinhas]

Richard Pinhas is still a force in world music today… his music has the emotive depth that most other electronauts hardly begin to grapple with. Add to this its other attributes: alien atmospheres, futuristic imagery, feelings of the mystery of technology, precise clinical production, belief in creative and political revolution, an obscure intellectual base and references to science fiction…then there is a musical force that has little or no rival."– Audion

Ceaselessly innovative in a career spanning nearly 40 years, Richard Pinhas is recognized as one of France's major experimental musicians. A composer, world-class guitarist and electronics innovator, he is a key figure in the international development of electronic rock music. During the 1970s, Pinhas' stature in France was analogous to Tangerine Dream's in Germany: the father figure of an entire musical movement. Years before MIDI existed, Richard was creating sophisticated electronic music using vast walls of the available components of the day. His band Heldon fused electronics, "diabolical guitar work" and rock to create a pioneering, aggressive music that was a precursor to the industrial music and techno to come. The groundbreaking music he created in the '70 with Heldon and solo remains vital and unsurpassed today, evident in its worldwide revival among a new, younger generation of musicians and fans.

In the 1990s, Cuneiform began working with Pinhas to reissue his Heldon and early solo recordings. The label also began releasing Pinhas' new recordings, as Pinhas continued to explore and expand rock's sonic edge in multi-layered instrumental works infused with influences from sci-fi and philosophy. Pinhas' subsequent work, featuring his "Metatronic" system of electronically treated solo guitar compositions, was as radically innovative as anything in his early career. Incorporating influences from and sharing aesthetics with the work of Fripp, Eno and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pinhas' guitar / electronics / spoken word works have appealed to longstanding fans while also attracting new admirers.

In the 21st century, Pinhas' uncompromising sonic quest has led him to joined forces with some of Japan's top noise artists, including Merzbow (Masami Akita), Yoshida Tatsuya, and Keiji Heino, as well as such other global sound explorers as Wolf Eyes, Oren Ambarchi, and Barry Cleveland. In recent years, in an astonishing creative surge, he has released numerous new solo and duo/collaborative instrumental works recordings on Cuneiform that fuse his guitar work variously with electronics, noise, other guitar work and/or drums, and continue to expand the parameters of rock. Pinhas new releases, inspired by 21st century political and philosophical concerns, are astoundingly powerful and sophisticated musical works that rival those from his Heldon days.

Pinhas is also an active live performer. In recent years, he's toured multiples times throughout Europe, Japan, and North America. Both solo and in various groupings, he's performed as headliner for festivals of avant-garde and electronic music worldwide.

For more information about Richard Pinhas, see:
Richard Pinhas @ CuneiformRecords.com
(recordings & activities on Cuneiform)

http://www.richard-pinhas.com/
(official website)