Pierre Bastien and Michel Banabila return with Nuits Sans Nuit, their second collaboration following their Baba Soirée debut from 2023.
Recorded as an intuitive exchange between Rotterdam and Valencia, the album emerged from a simple ping-pong process: Banabila sculpted sounds and atmospheres, to which Bastien responded with his distinctive instrumental palette: flute-augmented cornet, mechanised log drum, and more. Mixed by Banabila, the result is a raw yet immersive work that resonates with a somnambulant, wide-awake presence.
Pierre Bastien: "The dreamlike quality of our recordings reminded me of a book I read years ago: ‘Nuits Sans Nuit Et Quelques Jours Sans Jour’ by Michel Leiris. Around that same time, some fifty years ago, I was playing in Nu Creative Methods with Bernard Pruvost, a duo that appears on the Nurse With Wound list. Since then, Pruvost has turned to painting, and his work is as dreamlike as our music. We asked him to contribute one of his paintings for the album cover."
"I don't know how to describe the feeling of these crazy times we live in," says Banabila. "Les plus désespérés sont les chants les plus beaux,” Bastien quotes De Musset.
Wordless yet deeply expressive, the album invites listeners into a space of contemplation, where meaning emerges through immersion — like ritual music carrying an unspoken message. Echoes of saudade, blues, fado, and soleá surface in the duo’s playful noise, reimagined through their singular vocabulary.
PIERRE BASTIEN
Cornet augmented with rotary flutes (1), Sintir (2), Rabab and pipe (3), Roll piano (4), Mechanized steel drums (5), Prepared cornet (2, 6, 10, 11), Mechanized log drum / Sanza / Hand drum (7), Cornet and mechanized zheng (8), Mangbetu harp kundi, Talking drum tama (9).
MICHEL BANABILA
Software instruments, Sampler, Melodica (9), Wooden flute (2), Found objects (1+11), Percussion (1, 2, 4), Field recording (5+6), Mexican Turtle Flute (9), E-bow effects (8), Voice (8), Mix.
1. The Unreal Realm * 04:18
2. Lineage (featuring Salar Asid) * 14:57
3. The Process From Birth ** 11:36
4. Timeless Tide ** 06:28
5. Bogus Dominion (featuring Mete Erker) 02:58
6. Banabila & Machinefabriek - Inward Spiral 05:14
7. Pierre Bastien & Michel Banabila - Ambiance Subaquatique 08:15
8. Dave Liebman & Michel Banabila - Night Eyes 06:56
9. Mind Shifts * 11:42
* Excerpt from a score for Yin Yue's choreography 'Somewhere',
New York Live Arts - New York, june 20 - 22, 2024.
** Excerpt from a score for Yin Yue's choreography 'Timeless Tide', BalletMet - Columbus, march 15 - 23, 2024.
All tracks written & performed by Michel Banabila, except
06 written & performed by Michel Banabila & Rutger Zuydervelt,
07 written & performed by Pierre Bastien & Michel Banabila,
08 written & performed by Dave Liebman & Michel Banabila.
A special thanks to Maryana Golovchenko for the contributed sample (vocal snippet in Timeless Tide).
Design / artwork by Rutger Zuydervelt.
Mastering by Marlon Wolterink / White Noise Studio.
Night Eyes with Dave Liebman was previously released as a digital single (june 2023)
Music for Yin Yue commissioned by YYDC, New York, august 2023.
Dance commissioned by Northrop at The University of Minnesota, august 2023.
Album compiled & produced by Michel Banabila, 2024, Rotterdam.
REVIEWS / QUOTES:
DISCOGS
This album is not easy to describe in terms of style, but what is certain is that it far surpasses many contemporary works with similar ambitions. Listening is a tremendous experience and a treat for the ears. I noticed it a long time ago and here Mr. Michel Banabila just proves once again that he has virtually limitless creative potential. (Dove_m)
SUBJECTIVISTEN / HET SCHADUWKABINET:
Ik weet niet precies wat er achter de titel “het onwerkelijke rijk” schuil gaat, maar krijg er wel een idee bij. Er huist een bevreemdende sfeer in het album, die associaties oproept met de huidige maatschappij...
...Afwisselende kruisbestuivingen van ambient, drones, minimal music, neoklassiek, pianomuziek, tribale percussie geluiden, jazz en wereldse elementen. Banabila maakt hierbij mooi gebruik van stiltes en ruimtes, waardoor het veel aan de verbeeldingskracht van de luisteraar overlaat.
‘Een diepgravende schoonheid’. (Jan Willem Broek)
CC RYDER:
Salar Asid is een van de musici die samen met Michel Banabila te horen is op diens nieuwe album, ‘The Unreal Realm’. In het nummer ‘Lineage’ speelt Asid de kamancheh, een fretloos snaarinstrument met een lange hals dat populair is in Azerbeidzjan, Iran en Turkije. ‘Lineage’ heeft een speelduur van vijftien minuten en is afkomstig uit een partituur voor de voorstelling ‘Somewhere’ van de Chinese danseres en choreografe Yin Yue, die in juni 2024 in première gaat bij New York Live Arts.
‘Lineage’ volgt op het langzame en donkere titelnummer van het album, een pianomeditatie en de opener van ‘The Unreal Realm’. ‘Lineage’ begint lichter van toon, met een sprankelende piano die een neoklassieke stroom van muziek op gang brengt, waarin de kamancheh van Salar Asid lange gestreken lijnen weeft.
Dan, na ongeveer zes minuten, transformeert de sfeer en bouwt zich een schurende en knarsende klankwereld op, gedragen door een minimalistische getijdenbeweging, met aan het einde daarvan, even, een zacht en etherisch instrumentaal koraal.’ De kunst die hier wordt gepresenteerd is van grote klasse’.’ ‘Een klein meesterwerk’ (Corné Evers)
Two visionary maestros, Pierre Bastien and Michel Banabila, unite in their first collaborative album, Baba Soirée. The veterans of electronic music bring their unique expertise to the table, resulting in a captivating fusion of experimental styles. Bastien’s mechanical loops and fantastic instrumental setups merge seamlessly with Banabila's sound design and impeccable skills of sampling collages. It's not a dance party, nor is it an avant-garde intervention. It's a soirée: a cultivated evening of sonic alchemy hosted by these two charismatic gentlemen.
Pierre Bastien is a composer and multi-instrumentalist with a background in French literature. He has spent decades crafting an idiosyncratic world of experimental sound with his self-built mechanical orchestra Mecanium. It was most notably showcased in audiovisual releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label. Bastien's creations are a mesmerizing combination of traditional instruments (he has a vast collection) and mechanical automatons. The violin in the track Rotomotor, for example, is physically played by one of his machines. In Baba Soirée, Bastien also plays a prepared cornet (Slow Dance, Banbas Aura), infusing the recordings with a breathy, dreamy dimension.
Michel Banabila, a sound artist, composer and producer, possesses an eclectic musical repertoire that defies genres. His blend of minimal electronica, tribal ambient, and neo-classical influences has earned him a prominent place in the world of experimental music, and an impressive discography (Knekelhuis, Bureau B, Séance Centre, a.o.). Banabila serves as the creative sampling editor for Baba Soirée, expertly weaving together the recordings to craft an evocative sonic tapestry.
The two share a curiosity for traditional instruments from various cultures. The instruments used in the recordings are shown in the cover artwork. A mutual admiration for each other's work paved the way for this fruitful artistic partnership of the Rotterdam-based artists: Collaborating on a single as a fundraiser for Yemen in 2022 set the stage for the creation of Baba Soirée.
For Pierre Bastien, Dada, Fluxus and International Situationism have played a significant role in shaping his artistic vision. The title Baba Soirée is an homage to Kurt Schwitters and Theo van Doesburg's "Kleine Dada Soirée" collaboration which took place exactly a century ago. There's an unmistakable stoicism and an anarchic not-giving-a-f*** attitude in these recordings by Bastien & Banabila, which resonates in the light of this Dada reference.
Pierre Bastien & Michel Banabila ‘Baba Soirée’ Album Out 27th of October 2023.
REVIEWS / QUOTES:
THE WIRE
'The duo’s veteran status is important - they don’t give a flying one about fitting in with our preconceptions, let alone the orthodoxies of so much experimental sound, and Bastien’s fondness for the juxtaposed playfulness of Dada, Fluxus and Situationism is clear throughout (the title Baba Soirée is a homage to Kurt Schwitters and Theo van Doesburg’s Kleine Dada Soirée collaboration which took place a century ago). You can imagine this music accompanying a masked performance of sound poetry in a Zurich cafe at some point between the wars, but after a while you find yourself settling into something mesmeric and hypnotic, because Banabila merges aspects of sound design and collaged samples with Bastien’s Don Cherry-esque improvisations into a true fusion of the ambient and glitchy. Baba Soirée is exactly the right title - this doesn’t hit you round the head with weirdness or let you settle into a groove. rather, you find yourself bearing witness to this strangely unplaceable mix of the live and the layered.' (Neil Kulkarni)
HHV MAG
Zwei Altmeister an den Maschinen, da schnurren sie (die Maschinen) wie afro-polynesische Babykatzen. Tribal-Ambient-Soundguru Michel Banabila und der Mann mit dem mechanischen Orchester, Pierre Bastien, zusammen auf einer Platte, das alleine ist hat ja schon was. Und »Baba Soirée« ist alles andere als ein Gimmick-Album, ist nicht einfach nur die von einem Booker initiierte Ehrenrunde. Die beiden Rotterdam-Residents haben sich hierfür richtig zusammengesetzt, komponiert und hörbar harmoniert. Es ist auch ein fast schon logisches Zusammenspiel. Zum einen teilen beide Musiker seit jeher eine Faszination für strange sounds from beyond, für traditionelle Instrumente aus ganz unterschiedlichen Kulturkreisen. Zum anderen ergänzt sich ihre Herangehensweise perfekt: Die repetitive Urwerk-Musik Bastians und die vollverfriemelte Tröpfelung Banabilas fügen sich auf »Baba Soirée« zu einer lebendigen Struktur. An jedem Zipfel dieses Sounds bewegt sich etwas, Metallkugeln rollen in die endlose Nonsense-Maschine, Larven schlüpfen, Schrotthändler fliegen auf Libellenflügeln durch die Luft. Im Zusammenspiel aus Mechanischem und Amorphem entsteht die ganze Faszination, ständig wächst etwas aus dem Vorprogrammierten heraus, Cornet und Gimbri (o.ä) verleihen den kleinteiligen Stücken zusätzliche Weite. »Baba Soirée« ist durch und durch das Werk zweier Klangkünstler, die, glücklicherweise, niemandem mehr etwas beweisen müssen.
ANXIOUS Mag
„Starcia Tytanów” tak nazywam, dla własnych potrzeb wydawnictwa, tytuły, które koncentrują się na współpracy, pomiędzy minimum dwoma lub więcej artystami. Jednak warunek jest jeden: muszą to być nazwiska, pseudonimy po usłyszeniu których, odzywa się Wielki Dzwon Kanionu Muzycznego, przynajmniej dla mnie. Kilka miesięcy temu, na łamach Anxious magazine mogliście przeczytać recenzje z serii „Starcia Tytanów”: David Toop & Lawrence English – “The Shell That Speaks The Sea”.
Jak zawsze, w takich przypadkach otrzymujemy, albo cudowną perłę przyćmiewającą swoim blaskiem lub jej imitacje, którą odkładamy na półkę i zapominamy szybciej, niż ją odkryliśmy. W zamieszczonym info do przedstawianego wydawnictwa, pojawiają się informacje o nawiązaniu do Dada, Fluxus i Kurta Schwittersa i Theo van Doesburga i ich wspólnego dzieła “Kleine Dada Soirée” – robi się ciekawie. Z drugiej strony mamy zbudowaną i udoskonalaną od lat przez Basteina mechaniczną orkiestrę zwaną Mecanium oraz Banabila i jego miksturę trybalnego ambientu, procesowanej elektroniki i 4th world music – robi się jeszcze ciekawiej. Koniecznością jest dodanie, że obaj panowie są również doskonali w używaniu i kolekcjonowaniu instrumentów z różnych kultur i zakątków świata, czego wszystkiego powyższego możemy doświadczać na wielu płytach wydanych przez obu artystów przez ostatnie lata świetlne – ciekawość mnie pożera.
Zaskakujące, że “Baba Soirée” do tej pory jest ich pierwszym, wspólnym dokonaniem. Faktycznie, już po odpaleniu pierwszego kawałka duch Dada okrywa i jak opary gęstego opium spowalnia wszystko. Mała scena, na której dziwaczny Mini-Band odgrywa Dada protest song w swoim ślimaczym tempie, pojedyncze uderzenia kontrabasu i nisko strojonej perkusji, zapewne to silnikowo napędzany jeden z „członków” Mecanium orkiestry, w towarzystwie Basteina mini trąbki, która brzmi, pamiętam za dziecięcych lat, jak dmuchanie w grzebień owinięty złotkiem. Nostalgiczny klimat, połamany, zagubiony rytm cymbał czy gamelanów? To jakby bezperkusyjne Volcano The Bear grało w pomiędzy wojennej Europie. Wsiąkam w atmosferę, jednak nie na długo, ponieważ ta podróż dopiero się rozpoczyna i cut up’wy głos zaprasza nas w dalszą podróż z „wściekłą” solówką trąboidalnego instrumentu w tle. Dziwne samplo dźwięki i niskie basy wplatują swoje trzy grosze, tutaj Michel ukazuje nam swoje mistrzostwo w samplinu, korzystając z materiału / pierwowzoru Pierre. Warto wsłuchać się w powstające w ten sposób struktury utworów, które co rusz zmieniają swoją budowę i klimat. Na tym właśnie polega geniusz, pozwalający w granicy jednego dzieła eksplorować szerokie spektrum dźwiękowe, jednocześnie nie gubiąc przewodniego wątku. Dalej jedziemy, więcej zobaczymy / usłyszymy – pojawienie się stabilniejszej rytmiki utworów, to nie są jeszcze te magiczne trybale, udowadnia nam jak egzotyka i odczucie dalekich krajów może zmienić nasze ego. Dlaczego nie odskoczyć czy podskoczyć jeszcze wyżej? “Slow dance” zabiera nas na spacer po kraterowych dolinach księżycowych, organowo-swingujące pasaże zamieniają się w ala Hassellowe trąbkowe podmuchy z oddalającym się przytupem. Geniusz pokazuje nam jak w zaledwie 3:15 zrobić dziurę w głowie, sprawdźcie “Ban Bash Up” – dwa umysły w symbiozie.
Tykanie, cykanie, Mecanium orkiesta w całej okazałości, otwiera kluczowy utwór na płycie “Ancestors Mix”, rozpoczynamy rytuał przodków lub raczej odsłuchujemy go, przeniesionego w nasze realia przez obu guślarzy. Już nie po raz pierwszy Michel udowadnia nam majstersztyk w tworzeniu pierwotnych pasaży łączących egzotykę / alchemię dźwięku z dalekich regionów naszego globu z przeszłością – wsłuchując się, odniosłem wrażenie wyłapywania tego co SPK zrobiło na “Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers”. Nie odpływajmy jednak za daleko, barwna, zmutowana trąbka zarówno w “Ban Bas Aura 1” jaki i drugiej części tego utworu prowadzi nas na akustyczny spacer w nieznane, z tą różnicą, że w drugiej części całość podlega cięższemu procesowaniu co powoduje fantastyczne zgięcia i odskoki dźwięku. Kiedy podróż powoli dobiega końca, żegnamy się galopującym “Roto motor” w towarzystwie skrzypka, którym de facto jest jednym z mechanicznych członków Mecanium. Hipnotyczne, czasami senne, a jednak podążające solidną, mocną drogą wyobraźni. Genialne.
GROOVE.DE
Eine gewisse Kargheit des Sounds und eine Spielweise außerhalb des (neo-)klassisch Erlaubten und Gewohnten zeichnet ebenfalls die Baba Soirée (Pingipung, 27. Oktober) der französischen und niederländischen Experimental-Veteranen Pierre Bastien & Michel Banabila aus. Bastien als Bastler mechanischer Loop-Maschinen und Trompeter, Banabila als Sample-Virtuose und digitaler Collagen-Schnitzler, sie wissen beide sehr gut, wie sich aus dem Abwegigen etwas durchaus Eingängiges konstruieren lässt, ohne allzu große Kompromisse einzugehen, was die gemeinsam entwickelte Soundästhetik angeht.
ONDAROCK
Assecondando la comune attitudine alla sperimentazione libera, i due costruiscono un caleidoscopio che a partire dai loop del Mecanium e da un coagulo di risonanze e glitch genera un itinerario elettroacustico impervio il cui comune denominatore è la ricerca di incastri efficaci quanto stranianti. I collage sonori risultanti, diretti con perizia da Banabila, lasciano prevalere di volta in volta le scie strumentali atmosferiche interpretate da Bastien (“Stray Carrier Pigeon”, Slow dance”) o la loro declinazione più ludica (“At The Party”, “Rotor Motor”). Questa dualità è perfettamente cristallizzata nelle due parti di “Banbas Aura”, dove alla melodia scanzonata della cornetta su un ipnotico andamento meccanico della prima metà si contrappone una compassata armonia sghemba interpolata da frequenze ruvide.
Nell’album troviamo condensata tutta l’arte affinata dai due autori nel corso degli anni, riversata in un microcosmo vibrante di anti musica, apparentemente caotica, votata ad edificare architetture sonore improbabili eppure profondamente suggestive. (Peppe Trotta)
SPECTRUM CULTURE
This collaboration between veteran experimental musicians consistently delivers on a sense of play, to the point where a few of these tracks should make you laugh out loud.
The LP begins with mild amusement, or maybe more, depending on what you think of the title, “Stray Carrier Pigeon.” It’s taken at the pace of a dirge, and the watery percussion conveys the passage of time with a somber tone. But the “lead” instrument, though something of a blues-inflected performance, has the buzz of a kazoo, or even the beloved British children’s television character Sweep. At any rate, the image is both humorous and tragic, on a small scale, and that buzzing lead melody reads as a sad clown in avian form. The track isn’t quite three and a half minutes, but it tells a rich story in that time, and feels even shorter than it is.
Think of these tracks as vignettes. “Senseless” ups the distortion and introduces a vaguely human onomatopoeia, and if it lives up to its title and does not suggest a narrative, the electronic bombast has hints of a crime drama theme song. It’s part of a sequence that plays like an evening of prime time television, leading into the hilarious “At the Party,” a bossa nova number with a melody played deliberately flat on prepared cornet. The tune would work just as well without the distortion, but that sonic tweak adds drunken personality. You can practically visualize the lampshade on its head.
The title Baba Soirée is a play on the artists’ names and on the Kleine Dada Soirée (Small Dada Evening) that artists Theo van Doesburg and Kurt Schwitters developed in 1922 as a touring event that brought Dada to audiences across the Netherlands. Like the Dadaists, Bastien and Banabila are happy to make art out of whatever is at hand, from more conventional electronics and traditional instruments to machines of their own invention. The cover art shows you what they played on the album, and one of their axes looks suspiciously like a coffee grinder.
Bastien is a Frenchman with a history of musical invention; his Mecanium is a 60-piece orchestral automaton that plays loops of his devising. Banabila is a Dutch composer with a penchant for using found objects and field recordings. Remarkably, given their common interests, this is the first time they’ve collaborated, and you can hear their musical chemistry on every track. You don’t know where Pierre ends and Michel begins.
But music isn’t all laffs, and on the album’s longest track, the nine-and-a-half minute “Ancestors Mix,” is a dizzying layered drone that sounds something like what Terry Riley’s “A Rainbow in Curved Air” might have been if it were constructed from birdsong and babies — and were funnier.
The motorik closer “Roto Motor” is played in part by one of Bastien’s automatons, taking a violin line that would fit right in on a Penguin Café Orchestra album. It’s a fitting up-tempo end to a delightful anarchy. While press notes characterize these recordings with “an unmistakable stoicism,” that does a disservice to the joy of discovery you can hear on every cut. One can easily imagine Bastien and Banabila touring Baba Soirée in some European country, and leaving audiences cheering at every stop. Don’t let the Dada reputation for nihilism color your perception of this mischievous duo. In fact, the two came together for a shared humanitarian cause, collaborating on a single in 2022 in order to raise funds for the crisis in Yemen. As meaningless as the music may seem, it means a lot to create something positive in this thoroughly broken world. (Pat Padua)
YELLOW GREEN RED
Been seeing a few of these dream-team experimental pairings lately – Anla Courtis and Vomir, for example – and now this one featuring French junk-drawer electronicist Pierre Bastien and Dutch new-age experimentalist Michel Banabila. Both of these guys have LPs on my shelves already, and while the playfully unhinged manner of Bastien’s work might not immediately seem compatible with Banabila’s soothing fourth-world atmospheres, the sonic consensus they’ve reached here is lush, sensual and strange. As expected, there’s really no telling who is doing what… a rickety rhythm box might be Bastien’s, and a looped didgeridoo might’ve been pulled from Banabila’s closet, but their cohesion is surprisingly consistent throughout, and never bogged down by too many ingredients at the same time. Samplers, synths, loops, horns, flutes, percussive instruments and at least one guitar (“Roto Motor (Erbil Mix)”), there’s just a cornucopia of instrumentation here, most of which is performed in exploratory or non-traditional ways. Even their unlikeliest of instrumental combinations work well here, a testament to the keen ears these guys have developed over their many decades in the game. Much of Baba Soirée can call to mind the self-guided wonder of Ghédalia Tazartès and the alternate realms of Jon Hassell, but Bastien and Banabila were peers of those guys, traversing similar sonic territories of unknown origin at roughly the same time. Nice to see that they’re still out there in the thick of it, teaming up, and at the top of their respective games, no less. (Matt Korvette)
Michel Banabila is an indispensable part of the Dutch experimental music scene, where he has acquired a special place with many, in the 40 years that he has been releasing music. Michel is also just as active as a composer for the theater and ballet world, as well as for TV productions, to considerable fame. The threat of drowning in the sea of his oeuvre is real in view of the unprecedented amount of output, but once sailing unmissable monolithic rock formations loom up rapidly.
Echo Transformations' is one of them. It's a magical album, where everything falls into place in a rich domain inspired by the Fourth World dimension. A world of sound arises from our imagination, stimulating the senses. A concept album where every sigh has its place and where no superfluous tone can be heard. What remains is to embrace the inevitable surrender that accompanies unstoppable change. This is Banabila at his best (knekelhuis, 2021)
A1 - DRAGONFLY II
Original soundtrack for the choreography 'A Trace of Inevitability'
by Yin Yue with Pennsylvania Ballet, in accordance with Yin Yue Dance Company & Pennsylvania Ballet.
This music was commissioned by Pennsylvania Ballet and premiered at 'World Premieres 2019' in the Merriam Theater, Philadelphia, USA, November 7th, 2019.
Musicians on Dragonfly II:
Peter Hollo: cello
Gareth Davis: bass clarinet
Oene van Geel: viola & stroh violin
Gulli Gudmundsson: el. bass, double bass & e-bow
Michel Banabila: midi instruments, sampling, electronics
PATRICK O’ BRIEN for CUNY DANCE INITIATIVE:
B1 - ILLICIT ACQUIREMENT
Composed for the choreography 'Enough' by Patrick O’Brien with Patrick O’Brien Dance Collective.
This music was commissioned by Patrick O’Brien with support from CUNY Dance Initiative and premiered in LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, New York, USA, November 14th, 2019.
CONNY JANSSEN for CONNY JANSSEN DANST:
C1 - CROWDS (Big Data Poetry Mix)
Was originally created for Big Data Poetry, an audio visual live performance by Geert Mul & Michel Banabila and was used in the choreography 'Home' by Conny Janssen for Conny Janssen Danst with Michel Banabila & Maarten Vos, and premiered in the Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam, NL, January 20th, 2017.
C2 - I WON’T PLAY YOUR GAME
C3 - GUERRILLA TACTICS
C4 - NEW ENERGY FORMS
Were commissioned by Conny Janssen Danst for the choreography 'Zout' by Conny Janssen with Conny Janssen Danst & Anne Soldaat and premiered in the Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam, NL, February 13th, 2011.
ANNABELLE LOPEZ OCHOA for SAN FRANCISCO BALLET and BJM DANSE MONTREAL
D1 - JUMP CUTS II
Was created for 'Guernica' in accordance with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Company & San Francisco Ballet and premiered in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, USA, April 24th, 2018.
D2 - A STRONG SENSE OF URGENCY
Was used in the choreography 'Zip Zap Zoom' by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, in accordance with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Company & BJM Danse. Zip Zap Zoom premiered in San Diego CA, USA, October 18th, 2009.
NORMAN RECORDS:
These eight tracks represent a decade of Banabila’s career - ‘Dragonfly II’ and ‘Illicit Acquirement’ premiered barely a month before 'Movements (Music For Dance)' came out while closing number ‘A Strong Sense of Urgency’ dates from 2009. When heard in this light it becomes fascinating to chart the development of Banabila’s practice across these ten years. The earlier pieces are concerned more purely with rhythm, channelling a cinematic sense of foreboding through driving drumlines that verge on techno at times. Vatican Shadow is not a million miles away, though the dance context inevitably gives tracks like ‘Crowds (Big Data Poetry Mix)’ a bit more of a high-art feel.
While this sound remains in the recent work, Banabila’s touch has become more deft of hand. This is apparent from before you even put ‘Dragonfly II’ and ‘Illicit Acquirement’ on - both tracks are afforded a whole side of wax here, their length a testament to Banabila’s widened scope. While they do eventually blossom into driving groove-based music - ‘Illicit Acquirement’ has a cool Venetian Snares-type thing going on - their opening passages are characterised by a hitherto-unheard lack of drums. There’s both Penguin Cafe and Steve Reich to ‘Dragonfly II’s nimble-fingered string work, and ‘Illicit Acquirement’ begins with some of the most abstracted sounds on 'Movements (Music For Dance)'. Banabila executes both moves expertly, successfully broadening his sonic palette without sacrificing the emotion and muscularity of those earlier compositions. (Fred MG)
Released December 25, 2019
All tracks composed, performed & produced by Michel Banabila.
Design: Yasar Saka / YAY Music & Media.
Front cover photo: Deberían Permitir (Buenos Aires, 2012)
by Mista Stagga Lee under CC 2.0 license
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Back photo Yin Yue: Arian Molina Soca.
Now on bandcamp: And We Fall And We Murmur And We Sing. (March 14th, 2019)
I collaborated on a second project with Martin Hoogeboom.
With Ulrich Langenbach, Aoki Satoru and Wodwo.
Previous collaboration with Martin Hoogeboom (January 14, 2016):
Michel Banabila & Willem Cramer first worked together in Chi (1984-1986), (banabila.blogspot.com/2016/08/chi-original-recordings_6.html) and later in East Meets West (1990-1991), (banabila.blogspot.com/2016/08/east-meets-west-hoy-babo-hoy.html). In 1996 they collaborated with Chris Grem making a score and performing live in a dance production by Lieber Gorilla. (banabila.blogspot.com/2016/08/lieber-gorilla-visioenen.html)
This 2018 EP is their first new collaboration in 22 years.
Viola sounds were contributed by Oene van Geel and violin sounds were contributed by Salar Asid. Willem Cramer is a composer & multi instrumentalist, living and working (like Banabila) in Rotterdam. www.willemcramer.com/audio
Willem Cramer: ebow guitar, bass, synthesizer & programming.
Michel Banabila: sampler, turntable & synthesizer.
Oene van Geel: viola (1 & 2).
Salar Asid: violin (2).
Composed, recorded, & produced by Michel Banabila & Willem Cramer. Artwork by Michel Banabila.
A special thanks to Marc Weidenbaum for suggesting the album title.
Cok van Vuuren: electric guitar (5, 6).
Oene van Geel: viola (1, 2, 3), stroh violin (5).
Michel Banabila: turntable & sampler (1 - 7), synth (2 - 6), voice (5).
Artwork / design by Rutger Zuydervelt.
Mastering by Marlon Wolterink / White Noise Studio.
'A Sense Of Place' video by Nan Wang / NanWang Org.
Imprints promo video by Dejan Radovanovic / Ummagumma.
Recorded, composed, mixed & produced by Michel Banabila.
except track #3 composed by Michel Banabila & Oene van Geel.
A CLOSER LISTEN:
The title is an inversion of expectations; we’re used to reading the words, “just below the surface.” Sound artist Michel Banabila has been defying classifications for years, and here he does so once again. The irony is that while the attention is drawn to the sounds that lie just above the surface ~ tape noise, viola, bass clarinet ~ there’s still a lot going on just below. Take for example the dolphin noises in “The Ripple Effect” (which we believe to be Gareth Davis, sounding like a dolphin), providing imagery to accompany the track. Tumbling bass and boat samples reflect the ripples while the clarinet imitates the unpredictable nature of the sea. In the final minute, slow drum hits add drama while unexpected melodies emerge from the aether.
Gerco D. Ruijter’s cover art is a perfect match for the music. Ruijter’s art finds abstraction in concrete images, typically snapped from above. In this image one might see the aforementioned ripples, but one might also see mountains or frosted plains. The same is true of Banabila’s music. “Snake Bite” features Oene van Geel and Salar Asid on viola and violin. For the first half, it sounds like an elegy until Banabila turns it into a dirge, exposing the dual nature of death and remembrance. The title “Out of Sync” highlights the friction, as loops circle at different speeds, the howls of dogs set against the cries of gulls. Again a breakthrough arrives in the final minute, a sudden synching akin to the saying that even a broken clock is correct twice a day.
If we had a year-end list featuring track titles, we’d certainly include “Cassettes and Polaroids in the 21st Century.” Just as a great cover can draw attention to great music, a great title can prompt one to take a spin, especially when the track is instrumental. (In contrast, consider the title “Dreams” – not a Banabila track! – and ask yourself, “Am I curious about that song?”) Before we put the digital needle down, we’re already thinking about lost formats, engaging in pleasant nostalgia while wondering what the piece will sound like. Thanks to Marcin Barski’s contributions, it implies the abraded memories of bygone days. Once again, Banabila revisits the ripple effect, as if the entire project had been recorded on a quiet boat. The waves have died down. Just above the surface, all is calm. (Richard Allen)
AMBIENTBLOG:
Just Above The Service, his latest release, is released almost casually, unannounced. It is a digital only release, which is an understandable choice at this time – but I feel a bit sorry for those that treasure all things physical… this music deserves to be available on a less ethereal level. Because of the music, but also because of the stunning cover artwork by Gerco de Ruijter. There are six long tracks (most around 9 minutes) and a (shorter) closing track which is taken from a Disquiet community release dedicated to Bassel Khartabil (coder and open-source advocate from Syria, imprisoned and executed). With the exception of the last track, the material for this album was created with parts and fragments made for a live performance. Banabila’s flawless wide-screen production is created with the help of some friends he worked with before (Oene van Geel, viola, Salar Asid, violin). As far as I know it is the first time that Gareth Davis adds his bass clarinet sound to Banabila’s music: on the shuddering opener The Ripple Effect. Martin Barski adds tape sound on Tapes and Polaroids in the 21st Century (great title!) It is fascinating how easily Banabila navigates between different kinds of styles and moods, even within the span of one single track. From emotional, melancholic to abstract experimental, from subdued calm to a threatening tribal rhythm that makes your palms sweat. And the transitions never sound forced. (Peter van Cooten)
IRREGULAR CRATES:
Why isn’t Michel Banabila more famous? This is music which deserves large cinema screens and at least as much press as Nils Frahm and his Erased Tapes cronies! I’ve a few of Banabila’s releases – I came across them through my buddy Rutger Zuyderveldt aka Machinefabriek – very attentive Netherlands sound designer folks the pair of them – and their four albums together. Banabila is more overtly ‘musical’ than Rutger, and these tracks present a nice worldview and warm electronics which you could imagine being on reel to reel tapes. And one thing I like about Michel’s work is that it’s not afraid to be emotional at times… very warm. There’s impressive instrumentation and very good mixing.
Listing boats, field recordings, loops, polyrhythms and sonic incantations. I wrote that without even reading the title ‘Just Above The Surface’ and it does what it says. I feel I am following a day, perhaps a few, from boats on surfaces of different depths. It’s as if we start on marsh land with all the rich birdlife and move through passages where we witness – from a distance – activity far out at sea. Can’t always make out the horizons as the album but I’m happy at this surprise release and the journey I’ve been on. Ferry to Holland please (Dr. Chris Dooks)
WSZYSTKIE STANY SKUPIENIA:
Ziennik pokładowy =
doprawdy straciłem rachubę ile już czasu płyniemy po tych nieznanych człowiekowi wodach. mapy pokładowe od wielu mil zdają się zgodnie rozrysowywać nasze wielkie zagubienie. jaskółczy niepokój koją skutecznie ataki lekkiej agarofobii i przyjemnej maligny słonecznej - błogosławiony udar wielkiego dnia.
kapitan nasz, Michel Banabila, wydaje się mieć w tym wszystkim plan specjalny. od początku wędrówki zapętlał wrażenia z prawdziwie marynarskim sznytem, roztaczał wokół chmury dźwiękowych wrażeń, mieszał syntetyczne z prawdziwie organicznym. a wszystko to miksturą doświadczenia, co każe się sobie poddać.
i niby leżę w miejscu, lecz kołyszę się coraz śmielej. dryfuję, niemącony życiem, prosto w egzotykę kolejnego Wdechu.
Released January 10, 2018.
All tracks composed & performed by Michel Banabila.
Gareth Davis: bass clarinet on The Ripple Effect.
Additional sampled parts contributed with kind permission by:
Oene van Geel (viola) and Salar Asid (violin) on Snake Bite.
Marcin Barski (tapes) on Cassettes and Polaroids in the 21st Century.
Title of track 4 borrowed with kind permission by Bence Meijer.
Some of the material in this album was originally made for an ableton live performance at the Haperende Mens Festival, Amsterdam, December 2017. haperendemens.nl
Track 6 added with kind permission of Rupert Lally & Marc Weidenbaum. Source: afutureincommons.bandcamp.com/album/a-future-in-commons-a-tribute-to-bassel-khartabil
1-5 recorded in December 2017, Rotterdam.
6 recorded in August 2017, Rotterdam.
Mastering: Marlon Wolterink / White Noise Studio
whitenoisestudio.com
Trespassing is out now. A Séance Centre release.
Available at Rush Hour
2LP vinyl record in a gatefold sleeve, featuring with archival pics, essay and artwork by Alan Briand.
1.Michel Banabila & Mehmet Polat - In A Dark Time (03:07)
2.Michel Banabila & Mehmet Polat - Dream Stories (02:03)
3.Michel Banabila & Eric Vloeimans - Autumnal Equinox (01:12)
4.Michel Banabila & Eric Vloeimans - Forest Road (01:47)
5.Michel Banabila & Eric Vloeimans - Trust In You (02:06)
6.Michel Banabila & Mehmet Polat - Jabal Haraz (04:34)
7.Michel Banabila & Eric Vloeimans - Little Steps (01:56)
8.Michel Banabila & Mehmet Polat - Aerial View (01:00)
9.Michel Banabila & Eric Vloeimans - Looking Back (03:06)
10.Michel Banabila & Mehmet Polat - In Search For A Quiet Place (04:26)
11.Michel Banabila & Eric Vloeimans - Plume (02:20)
12.Michel Banabila & Eric Vloeimans - Speed Walk (03:52)
13.Michel Banabila - Eric Vloeimans - Mehmet Polat - Forest Road - Discovery Mix (04:52)
New Land credits:
Mehmet Polat: oud. Eric Vloeimans: trumpet. Michel Banabila: keys & electronics.
Unfolding Michel Banabila´s Precious Memories is like opening up an old chest filled with old wind-up toys and brightly-wrapped candies. You want to bury both arms up to the elbow, pulling out one trinket after the other to play with, admire, or slowly savour before moving on to the next. Subtitled ”Datafiles 1999-2008”, this double omnibus includes tracks selected from all his releases on Dutch label Steamin´ Soundworks beginning in 1999. He is a man of many genres, or perhaps more correctly, he is trans-genre, for there seems to be no particular base from which he prefers to work. He just composes. And collaborates eagerly, to the listener´s delight. The first disc displays a range that is giddily eclectic and includes a few clunky little pieces that could have served as interludes on a latter-day Tom Waits record (”Wonderful Mistakes”, ”Sorokin Blues”, ”One for the Road”), a song in collaboration with Moroccoan Sufi singer Bahia El Idrissi, a hyperreal tribal dance ("Do Something About It!"), edgy electro-funk (”Heavy Gravity”) and a groovy bit of space age bachelor pad jazz showcasing Eric Vloeimans´ trumpet (”Damned”). Some of the programmed rhythms will remind you of Brian Eno´s ”Another Green World ” or ”Nerve Net”, like ”A Strong Sense of Urgency”. Central to most of the pieces is the human voice, often dozens of them threaded together to create a kind of dada poetry. What unites them all is the way Banabila tweaks and crafts them just enough to defy expectations. Take for example the slow and laidback late night jazz session ”A Virtual Meeting”, with muted trumpet, bass clarinet and fleet-fingered piano cruising prettily above quiet squonks and squeeks. A perfectly executed hybrid. Although Banabila appears to relish combining the digital with the acoustic, there are some nice, purely electronic pieces featured as well, like ”Low Pulse + High Noiz”. There is little on the first disc you could call "ambient", except perhaps the two pieces which conclude it, in particlar the beautiful ”Voiz Recycled”, with its smattering of Jon Hassell-like horn, that I would happily hear extended far beyond its eight-and-a-half minutes. Disc two contains music made for television and theatre in 2008. Banabila claims not only to be inspired by photography, video, film and theatre, but also to ”think” in terms of transforming visual impression into sound. Perhaps necessarily, most of the pieces featured here do not have the strong personalities of many of the tracks on its sister disc, since they were intended to complement a foreground. But there are moments when the music is too engrossing to merely take in passively. The sweet meanderings of ”Migrations” is an exciting musical journey that could very well represent a trip around the globe or at least reflect how the globe is setting up shop in and influencing Europe. It´s a true mongrel and all the more loveable for it. Another attention-grabber, "Ears Tell Us Where We Are in Space", showcases Dutch guitarist Anton Goudsmit and is hauntingly introspective, with a slight Jaco Pastorius patina. The album ends with a slow ambient descent beginning with ”Night”, continuing with ”Crime Scene” – hardboiled noir again featuring the sensitive, muted monochromes of Vloeimans - and the dark ”A Moody Guy´s Audible Dream” with Polish electronics wiz Zenial. As an introduction to the work of Michel Banabila it is laudable. As a retrospective over his recent career, it is something for him to be very proud of. (Stephen Fruitman).
Edison Jazz Award 2003. From the Edison jury report (July 10th, 2003):
"This is jazz in its most revealing form. It is a pleasure for the antennas and senses of music lovers with an open, aural mind."
Edison Jazz Award verslag, 2003:
Soms word je gewoon aangenaam verrast, soms ook maakt muziek je met een mokerslag wakker. VoizNoiz 3, het derde album van geluidstovenaar Michel Banabila speelt allerlij interessante spelletjes met de zintuigen. Eerst komt het geruisloos als achtergrondmuziek voorbij maar daarna grijpt het je hardhandig bij de keel. Na de toch twee eerder opvallende delen (VoizNoiz 1 en 2) gaat de in Rotterdam woonachtige Banabila samen met Nederlands beroemdste jazztrompettist Eric Vloeimans hand in hand een bruggetje over en betreedt een muzikaal landschap waar beiden nooit eerder waren geweest. Dat heeft alles te maken met de onorthodoxe aanpak van Banabila en het onwaarschijnlijke improvisatietalent van Vloeimans. Banabila's intrigerende spelletjes van samples vol stadsgeluiden en menselijke stemmen maar ook door mensenhanden ingespeelde partijen inspireerde de trompettist tot een aantal werkelijk adembenemend mooie solo's die hier fragmentarisch maar daardoor oh zo spannend aan je voorbij trekken. Urban Jazz Scapes, de subtitel van deze CD, dekt dan ook maar half de lading. Je krijgt de neiging om dit werkstuk te categoriseren in de dance- en lounge-hoek maar daardoor doe je de autonome kwaliteit van VoizNoiz 3 danig tekort. Dit is het resultaat van een danige zoektocht van twee totaal verschillende muzikanten. Een zoektocht die nog maar net is begonnen maar nu al volledig tot de verbazing spreekt en ook de jury van de Edison overrompelde. Dit is jazz in de meest grensoverschrijdende vorm. Dit is een genot voor de voelsprieten en zintuigen van muziekliefhebbers met een open auditieve geest. Dit is een waardige winnaar van een Edison.
NRC:
Het moest er een keer van komen en nu is het dan zover; Eric Vloeimans waagt zich op het pad van de Nu-jazz. Nederlands beste jazztrompettist volgt daarmee in de voetsporen van collega's Cong Vu, Nils Petter Molvaer en Eric Truffaz. En in dat internationale veld kan Vloeimans moeiteloos meekomen. Dat is grotendeels zijn eigen verdienste ; zijn bekende fluwelen toon kietelt de trommelvliezen. Vloeimans gebruikt veel minder effectpedalen dan Vu en heeft een gevarieerdere toon dan Molvaer, waardoor de elf nummers op VoizNoiz 3 een eerlijke en pure uitstraling houden. De blazer heeft het ook wel bijzonder getroffen met zijn partners in dit project. Samplekunstenaar Michel Banabila blinkt uit in het compileren van geluidsdecors die een duidelijke sfeer ademen zonder opdringerig te worden. Stadsgeluiden, ondefinieerbare radiostatische kraakjes, gespreksflarden, gebubbel en geratel vormen de ingredienten voor een stijlvol, bijna filmisch klankuniversum. Een volwaardige band met drummer, gitarist, turntablist en rietblazer houdt de cd ritmisch in het juiste spoor. Het eindresultaat is een verzameling sfeertekeningen die zich ongehaast ontvouwen en zich behaagelijk tot in de verste hoeken van het vertrek nestelen. Dit is loungemuziek van hoog niveau. (Edo Dijksterhuis)
JAZZ NU / BD / DE STEM:
Soms word je gewoon aangenaam verrast, soms ook maakt muziek je met een mokerslag wakker. VoizNoiz 3, het derde album van geluidstovenaar Michel Banabila speelt interessante spelletjes met je zintuigen. Eerst komt het geruisloos als achtergrondmuziek voorbij maar daarna grijpt het je hardhandig bij de keel. Na de toch twee eerdere opvallende delen (VoizNoiz 1 en 2) gaat de in Rotterdam woonachtige Banabila samen met Nederlands beroemdste jazztrompettist Eric Vloeimans hand in hand een bruggetje over en betreedt een muzikaal landschap waar beiden nooit eerder waren geweest. Dat heeft alles te maken met de onorthodoxe aanpak van Banabila en het onwaarschijnlijke improvisatietalent van Vloeimans. Banabila's intrigerende spelletjes van samples vol stadsgeluiden en menselijke stemmen maar ook door mensenhanden ingespeelde partijen inspireerde de trompettist tot een aantal werkelijk adembenemend mooie solo's die hier fragmentarisch maar daardoor o zo spannend aan je voorbij trekken. Urban Jazz Scapes, de subtitel van deze cd, dekt dan ook maar half de lading. Je krijgt de neiging om dit werkstuk te categoriseren in de dance- en lounge-hoek maar daardoor doe je de autonome kwaliteit van VoizNoiz 3 danig tekort. Dit is het resultaat van een natuurlijke zoektocht van twee totaal verschillende muzikanten. Een zoektocht die nog maar net is begonnen maar nu al volledig tot de verbazing spreekt. (Jean-Paul Heck)
Aloha:
Jazzy was de beeldende collage muziek van geluidsarchitect Michel Banabila al eerder, met name in het VoizNoiz project. Dus dat hij voor het derde deel van deze Urban Sound Scapes - voor deze gelegenheid veranderd in Urban Jazz Scapes - een samenwerking zou aangaan met Nederlands hotste trompettist Eric Vloeimans, was niet zozeer een logische als wel een voorvoelbare stap. Een stap die bovendien erg goed uitpakt. De chemie tussen Banabila's uit electronisch gemanipuleerd stemmenmateriaal gebouwde sampletaal en Vloeimans' veelal filmische improvisaties zorgt voor een spannend geheel dat eigentijds klinkt zonder in hippe hokjes als ambientjazz of nu-jazz te vervallen. De Rotterdammers lijken tikkertje te spelen, een kenmerkend VoizNoiz-element, een spel waar de soms in de verbeelding geboren, dan weer daadwerkelijk door gasten van vlees en bloed ingespeelde ritmes als water doorheen spoelen. Pure hersengymnastiek, zonder er bij na te hoeven denken. (Swie Tio)
VOLKSKRANT:
Er komen werelden vol bijzondere klanken voorbij terwijl de grote lijn nooit uit het oog wordt verloren. VoizNoiz 3 is een superspannende organische plaat die van zowel jazzfans als popliefhebbers het hart zal laten smelten. (Koen Schouten)
Photo by Paul Bergen.
Muziekrant OOR:
Michel Banabila uit Rotterdam is al jaren en jaren met ambient-achtig moois in de weer. Eric Vloeimans, trompettist uit datzelfde Rotterdam, geniet onderhand bijna wereldfaam in jazzkringen met zijn fraaie talent. Omdat trompettisten doorgaans voorop schijnen te lopen in crossovers van jazz naar wereldmuziek en electronica (denk Miles Davis,Don Cherry,Jon Hassel,Nils Petter Molvaer, Eric Truffaz), was het een kwestie van tijd eer Vloeimans die kant op zou stuiteren. In de persoon Banabila, die er het derde deel van zijn VoizNoiz-serie voor inruimde, trof hij de ideale partner. Vloeimans rekt zijn prachtige, melodisch rijke spel uit over de altijd boeiende sample-collages van Banabila, die een zekere ritmische component bovendien noiit uit de weg gaat, zonder dat beide partners ooit op de dansvloer terecht komen. Als de boel een enkele keer ('Damned') zelfs ouderwets en uitgesproken jazzy klinkt, is er sprake van een forse knipoog. Vloeimans en Banabila zetten hier spannende dingen neer, vol klamme verbeelding en bevrijdende openheid. (Jacob Haagsma).
Eric Vloeimans – trumpet.
Michel Banabila – sampler.
Bobby - tapes & turntable.
Hans Greeve - drums and guitar.
Frank vd Kooy - sax en bassclarinet.
Guus Bakker - double bass.
Yasar Saka - voice-processing.
