In Laura Not's series "Sounds Unsaid"
tracklist
1. Amazonas - Naná Vasconcelos
2. Roulette - Lolina
3. /End - Terrapin
4. Armenian Song - Gurdjieff
5. From Here - Molly Berg & Stephen Vitiello
6. Got Away - Sussan Deyhim & Richard Horowitz
7. Yalli Hawak - Asmahan
8. Anthem Of The Trinity - Terry Riley
9. Song Of The Highwire Shrimper - Tim Hecker
10. Urub - Masayoshi Fujita & Jan Jelinek
11. Chapter M (Karenina) - Thomas Fehlmann
12. So Ney - Cluster
13. Swisid Mekanize Reijman - HHY & The Macumbas
Showing posts with label field recordings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label field recordings. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 August 2019
Sunday, 7 August 2016
Biała Woda
Starting to explore my field recordings from the Biała Woda Rezerwat.
Will check the original LS-10 recordings and of course will listen to everything tuned 2 octaves lower too ;-)
Check this out on Chirbit
Although I have a Roland R26 which is better I suppose, I felt more comfortable using the very small Olympus LS-10
Will check the original LS-10 recordings and of course will listen to everything tuned 2 octaves lower too ;-)
Check this out on Chirbit
Although I have a Roland R26 which is better I suppose, I felt more comfortable using the very small Olympus LS-10
Saturday, 6 August 2016
Earth Visitor
Ambient.
A lot of rain in June. Watching NASA videos about the Juno mission. Then this is what happens ...
AMBIENTBLOG:
June was a very rainy month, which was why Michel Banabila spent a lot of time watching NASA videos about the Juno mission. Or, maybe I’d better rephrase that: after watching the NASA videos he spent a lot of time creating this album which was inspired by the Juno mission. In retrospect, we can be happy this was no ordinary sunny month, because inspired him to create this great album! Starting out with a piano theme that demonstrates why his music works very well in theatre and documentary soundtrack settings, the tracks focus on outer space – becoming more abstract while never losing their melodic, human, touch. Alien electronic soundscapes, sometimes ‘earthened’ with violin samples (performed by Salar Asid), piano, cat meows, and many distorted voice fragments (the kind that unmistakably identifies Banabila‘s work). With titles like What Creature Is That and We Are The Aliens, this album’s viewpoint is nót only that of earth’s astronaut, but also of the imaginary Jupiter inhabitant watching the earth invaders approach. After working ceaselessly and tirelessly for more than thirty years, recent re-issues of his early work finally gained the international acclaim it deserves (the Bureau B compilation Early Works / Things Popping Up from the Past and Astral Industries reissue of Chi Original Recordings). But it’s important not to get stuck in the past: Banabila is alive and kicking and still creating an impressive stream of new music! With his recent albums, Michel Banabila has explored many – often experimental – territories. Earth Visitor demonstrates he’s also still a master of cinematic ambient! (Peter van Cooten)
Special thanks to:
Radboud Mens for Izotope edits and check.
Salar Asid for contributed sample on "Earth Visitor" (violin).
Oscar Roelof Peterse for recording the piano on "Earth Visitor."
Tapu, my cat, for contributed sample on "Earth Visitor" (meow).
Rutger Zuydervelt, Gunther Buskies, Marc Weidenbaum, Joeri Mol and Hanyo van Oosterom for essential feedback.
Released July 10, 2016.
Composed & performed by Michel Banabila. Instruments:
piano, synthesizer, sampler, field recordings, voice, guitar.
I took the cover photo from a train from Tokyo to Narita , 2016.
017TR / Tapu Records ℗ 2016
A lot of rain in June. Watching NASA videos about the Juno mission. Then this is what happens ...
We Are The Aliens from Michel Banabila on Vimeo.
AMBIENTBLOG:
June was a very rainy month, which was why Michel Banabila spent a lot of time watching NASA videos about the Juno mission. Or, maybe I’d better rephrase that: after watching the NASA videos he spent a lot of time creating this album which was inspired by the Juno mission. In retrospect, we can be happy this was no ordinary sunny month, because inspired him to create this great album! Starting out with a piano theme that demonstrates why his music works very well in theatre and documentary soundtrack settings, the tracks focus on outer space – becoming more abstract while never losing their melodic, human, touch. Alien electronic soundscapes, sometimes ‘earthened’ with violin samples (performed by Salar Asid), piano, cat meows, and many distorted voice fragments (the kind that unmistakably identifies Banabila‘s work). With titles like What Creature Is That and We Are The Aliens, this album’s viewpoint is nót only that of earth’s astronaut, but also of the imaginary Jupiter inhabitant watching the earth invaders approach. After working ceaselessly and tirelessly for more than thirty years, recent re-issues of his early work finally gained the international acclaim it deserves (the Bureau B compilation Early Works / Things Popping Up from the Past and Astral Industries reissue of Chi Original Recordings). But it’s important not to get stuck in the past: Banabila is alive and kicking and still creating an impressive stream of new music! With his recent albums, Michel Banabila has explored many – often experimental – territories. Earth Visitor demonstrates he’s also still a master of cinematic ambient! (Peter van Cooten)
Special thanks to:
Radboud Mens for Izotope edits and check.
Salar Asid for contributed sample on "Earth Visitor" (violin).
Oscar Roelof Peterse for recording the piano on "Earth Visitor."
Tapu, my cat, for contributed sample on "Earth Visitor" (meow).
Rutger Zuydervelt, Gunther Buskies, Marc Weidenbaum, Joeri Mol and Hanyo van Oosterom for essential feedback.
Released July 10, 2016.
Composed & performed by Michel Banabila. Instruments:
piano, synthesizer, sampler, field recordings, voice, guitar.
I took the cover photo from a train from Tokyo to Narita , 2016.
017TR / Tapu Records ℗ 2016
Passing By from Michel Banabila on Vimeo.
Jump Cuts
Found sound from youtube. This month I started to sample voices and environmental sounds again... Combining lots of samples, often amazed by synchronicity. I couldn't stop, as I was enjoying it a lot, and two wonderful contributions by Joost Kroon and Maryana Golovchenko completed this little EP, that sounds perhaps more like my previous VoizNoiz albums. Furthermore I used some photos from recent trips for creating the artwork, inspired by the music. These recordings are available as a download, and track 1 & 3 are also available on CD
AMBIENT BLOG
When he introduced his recent digital-only EP-release Jump Cuts, Michel Banabila hesitantly apologized for the fact that it wasn’t exactly experimental music. But because he enjoyed making it so much he decided to release it to the public. While it may not exactly be abstract hardcore experimental music indeed, I can probably safely assume that this is still much too experimental to the ears of about 95% of radiomakers and – listeners. But what is more important: it’s a return-to-style to the music that bears the unique Banabila trademark. The kind of patchwork sounds he created for previous albums like Voiznoiz and Precious Images – let’s call it his pre-abstract-electronic era. The kind of music that also perfectly fits theatre, dance, documentary or movies soundtracks. A jump cut in film editing is a cut in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly, giving the effect of jumping forwards in time. Banabila achieves the effect by synchronizing all kinds of seemingly unrelated found sounds and vocal snippets with a compelling background rhythm track. It’s easy to hear why Michel Banabila enjoyed creating these tracks so very much. I’d say: don’t worry about experimentalism…. more of this, please! (Peter van Cooten)
NIEUWE NOTEN:
‘Jump Cuts’ is het derde recente album en in tegenstelling tot ‘Music for Viola and Electronics II’ en ‘Error Log’ is dit album alleen digitaal te verkrijgen. Naast een gastbijdrage van drummer en percussionist Joost Kroon, die ook op ‘Music for Viola and Electronics II’ meewerkt, horen we zangeres Maryana Golovchenko. Verder maakt Banabila hier veel gebruik van veldopnames en allerhande samples. Dit album is tevens opvallend ritmisch, zeker in vergelijk met de twee andere albums. (Ben Taffijn)
UTILITY FOG - FBI RADIO:
Michel Banabila's latest EP sees him returning to rhythmic sampled vocals, with a pan-world music feel. In some ways it could be a throwback to the '90s ethnomusicology of Deep Forest or something – or even Jean-Michel Jarre's strange, groundbreaking Zoolook, but it has enough of a contemporary sheen to set it apart, particularly with the glitchy vocal interruptions. Calming dubby grooves and lovely disembodied vocals make for great travelling music (even if you're sitting on your sofa travelling in your head). (Peter Hollo)
MUSIC WON'T SAVE YOU:
Reduce da una nuova collaborazione con Rutger Zuydervelt (“Error Log”), Michel Banabila racchiude in un Ep digitale una serie di divertite variazioni su field recordings e samples vocali, rimaneggiate e plasmate in quattro brani dalla poliedrica resa sonora. In “Jump Cuts” l’artista olandese torna ad applicare l’approccio istintivo e impressionista di lavori quali “Voiznoiz” e “Precious Images”, discostandosi in parte da sperimentazioni dotate piuttosto di una matrice cerebrale o concettuale. Se nei brani collocati in testa e in coda della breve tracklist il naturalismo elettro-acustico elettro-acustico della materia grezza delle registrazioni affiora in superficie appena contornata da oscillazioni avvolgenti e minute screziature, nei due pezzi centrali sono le componenti ritmiche a prendere decisamente il sopravvento, sotto forma di pulsazioni sintetiche che, lungo i nove minuti della title track, assumono cadenze incalzanti. Il tutto sembra rispondere a un’estemporaneità persino divertita, che contribuisce a desacralizzate l’essenza stessa del linguaggio sperimentale di Banabila, evidenziandone al contempo potenzialità insospettate e appunto discendenti dalla capacità dell’artista olandese di cogliere l’attimo, assemblandone gli elementi e modellandolo secondo la mutevole ispirazione del momento. (Raffaello Russo)
NOWAMUZYKA:
Michel Banabila to muzyk, kompozytor i producent. Jego kariera zaczęła się wraz z wypuszczeniem albumu „Voiz Noiz” w 2000 roku, który został bardzo dobrze oceniony przez krytyków. Wyprodukował wiele ścieżek dźwiękowych do filmów pełnometrażowych, dokumentalnych, jak i sztuk teatralnych. Holender ma na swoim koncie mnóstwo różnych kolaboracji. W ubiegłym roku wydał znakomitą EP-kę wraz z kolektywem Cloud Ensemble (recenzja). Zaś w tym roku opublikował kilka interesujących wydawnictw: Michel Banabila & Oene van Geel – „Music for viola and electronics II” (recenzja), Banabila & Machinefabriek – „Error Log” i Banabila, Erker, & Samson – „Viewpoint”. Najświeższą jego pozycją jest solowa EP-ka, pt. „Jump Cuts” (Tapu Records, czerwiec 2015). Inspiracją do stworzenia tego materiału były sample z YouTube’a pochodzące z amatorskich klipów. Na EP-ce znalazły się cztery kompozycje, dzięki którym twórca wraca do swoich korzeni, a mianowicie do tego, co prezentował m.in. na krążku „VoizNoiz”. Banabila zaprosił do współpracy dwóch artystów: Joosta Kroona – (perkusja w „Jump Cuts”) i Maryanę Golovchenko – (wokal w „Field Trip”). Z kolei sam odpowiada za gitary, syntezatory, field recording, głos, pad kaoss, meksykański flet turtle, elektronikę i instrumenty perkusyjne. Minialbum „Jump Cuts” to niezwykle ciekawa fuzja przeróżnych brzmień, od elektroniki, jazzu, krautrocka, etno aż po downtempo, ambient czy muzykę eksperymentalną. (Łukasz Komła)
WSZYSTKIE STANY SKUPIENIA:
Jeśli spędzacie popołudnie na jutiubach, to możecie równie dobrze posłuchać najświeższego materiału od Michel Banabila. Jump Cuts to cztery ciekawe utwory inspirowane amatorskimi filmikami na wyżej wspomnianym portalu. Wiele się dzieje w tej przestrzeni. Zarówno muzycznie, jak i instrumentalnie. Szkoda tylko, że tak szybko mija.
GONZO CIRCUS 129:
Op het alleen digitaal verkijgbare Jump Cuts laat Banabila zich van een toegankelijke kant zien. 'Field Trip' is met zijn ritme en betoverende stem van Maryana Golovchenko misschien wel zijn meest poppy nummer ooit opgenomen. Tussen haar stem zijn veel omgevingsgeluiden te horen en dat is ook elders op dit album het geval. Zoals in het lange ambient-achtige eerste deel van de titeltrack waarin het tempo gaandeweg word opgevoerd door ritmische percussie. In 'Take Me There' zit je dankzij gemelanklanken en omgevingsgeluiden ineens in Nederlands Indie. In 'Tortoise' waan je je door de combinatie met trompet in een nummer van Jon Hassell. Bij de bandcamp-versie van 'Jump Cuts' zit een gratis bonustrack met alleen maar rustige elektronica en field recordings. (Oscar Smit)
Released June 21, 2015.
Michel Banabila: guitar, keys, field recordings, voices, kaoss pad, samples from youtube amateur video recordings, mexican turtle flute (with ZPlane treatment), electronics, percussion, logic audio, melodyne and artwork.
Joost Kroon: drums & percussion [3]
Maryana Golovchenko: additional vocal [4]
008TR - 2015 © Tapu records
All tracks composed by Michel Banabila.
AMBIENT BLOG
When he introduced his recent digital-only EP-release Jump Cuts, Michel Banabila hesitantly apologized for the fact that it wasn’t exactly experimental music. But because he enjoyed making it so much he decided to release it to the public. While it may not exactly be abstract hardcore experimental music indeed, I can probably safely assume that this is still much too experimental to the ears of about 95% of radiomakers and – listeners. But what is more important: it’s a return-to-style to the music that bears the unique Banabila trademark. The kind of patchwork sounds he created for previous albums like Voiznoiz and Precious Images – let’s call it his pre-abstract-electronic era. The kind of music that also perfectly fits theatre, dance, documentary or movies soundtracks. A jump cut in film editing is a cut in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly, giving the effect of jumping forwards in time. Banabila achieves the effect by synchronizing all kinds of seemingly unrelated found sounds and vocal snippets with a compelling background rhythm track. It’s easy to hear why Michel Banabila enjoyed creating these tracks so very much. I’d say: don’t worry about experimentalism…. more of this, please! (Peter van Cooten)
NIEUWE NOTEN:
‘Jump Cuts’ is het derde recente album en in tegenstelling tot ‘Music for Viola and Electronics II’ en ‘Error Log’ is dit album alleen digitaal te verkrijgen. Naast een gastbijdrage van drummer en percussionist Joost Kroon, die ook op ‘Music for Viola and Electronics II’ meewerkt, horen we zangeres Maryana Golovchenko. Verder maakt Banabila hier veel gebruik van veldopnames en allerhande samples. Dit album is tevens opvallend ritmisch, zeker in vergelijk met de twee andere albums. (Ben Taffijn)
UTILITY FOG - FBI RADIO:
Michel Banabila's latest EP sees him returning to rhythmic sampled vocals, with a pan-world music feel. In some ways it could be a throwback to the '90s ethnomusicology of Deep Forest or something – or even Jean-Michel Jarre's strange, groundbreaking Zoolook, but it has enough of a contemporary sheen to set it apart, particularly with the glitchy vocal interruptions. Calming dubby grooves and lovely disembodied vocals make for great travelling music (even if you're sitting on your sofa travelling in your head). (Peter Hollo)
MUSIC WON'T SAVE YOU:
Reduce da una nuova collaborazione con Rutger Zuydervelt (“Error Log”), Michel Banabila racchiude in un Ep digitale una serie di divertite variazioni su field recordings e samples vocali, rimaneggiate e plasmate in quattro brani dalla poliedrica resa sonora. In “Jump Cuts” l’artista olandese torna ad applicare l’approccio istintivo e impressionista di lavori quali “Voiznoiz” e “Precious Images”, discostandosi in parte da sperimentazioni dotate piuttosto di una matrice cerebrale o concettuale. Se nei brani collocati in testa e in coda della breve tracklist il naturalismo elettro-acustico elettro-acustico della materia grezza delle registrazioni affiora in superficie appena contornata da oscillazioni avvolgenti e minute screziature, nei due pezzi centrali sono le componenti ritmiche a prendere decisamente il sopravvento, sotto forma di pulsazioni sintetiche che, lungo i nove minuti della title track, assumono cadenze incalzanti. Il tutto sembra rispondere a un’estemporaneità persino divertita, che contribuisce a desacralizzate l’essenza stessa del linguaggio sperimentale di Banabila, evidenziandone al contempo potenzialità insospettate e appunto discendenti dalla capacità dell’artista olandese di cogliere l’attimo, assemblandone gli elementi e modellandolo secondo la mutevole ispirazione del momento. (Raffaello Russo)
NOWAMUZYKA:
Michel Banabila to muzyk, kompozytor i producent. Jego kariera zaczęła się wraz z wypuszczeniem albumu „Voiz Noiz” w 2000 roku, który został bardzo dobrze oceniony przez krytyków. Wyprodukował wiele ścieżek dźwiękowych do filmów pełnometrażowych, dokumentalnych, jak i sztuk teatralnych. Holender ma na swoim koncie mnóstwo różnych kolaboracji. W ubiegłym roku wydał znakomitą EP-kę wraz z kolektywem Cloud Ensemble (recenzja). Zaś w tym roku opublikował kilka interesujących wydawnictw: Michel Banabila & Oene van Geel – „Music for viola and electronics II” (recenzja), Banabila & Machinefabriek – „Error Log” i Banabila, Erker, & Samson – „Viewpoint”. Najświeższą jego pozycją jest solowa EP-ka, pt. „Jump Cuts” (Tapu Records, czerwiec 2015). Inspiracją do stworzenia tego materiału były sample z YouTube’a pochodzące z amatorskich klipów. Na EP-ce znalazły się cztery kompozycje, dzięki którym twórca wraca do swoich korzeni, a mianowicie do tego, co prezentował m.in. na krążku „VoizNoiz”. Banabila zaprosił do współpracy dwóch artystów: Joosta Kroona – (perkusja w „Jump Cuts”) i Maryanę Golovchenko – (wokal w „Field Trip”). Z kolei sam odpowiada za gitary, syntezatory, field recording, głos, pad kaoss, meksykański flet turtle, elektronikę i instrumenty perkusyjne. Minialbum „Jump Cuts” to niezwykle ciekawa fuzja przeróżnych brzmień, od elektroniki, jazzu, krautrocka, etno aż po downtempo, ambient czy muzykę eksperymentalną. (Łukasz Komła)
WSZYSTKIE STANY SKUPIENIA:
Jeśli spędzacie popołudnie na jutiubach, to możecie równie dobrze posłuchać najświeższego materiału od Michel Banabila. Jump Cuts to cztery ciekawe utwory inspirowane amatorskimi filmikami na wyżej wspomnianym portalu. Wiele się dzieje w tej przestrzeni. Zarówno muzycznie, jak i instrumentalnie. Szkoda tylko, że tak szybko mija.
GONZO CIRCUS 129:
Op het alleen digitaal verkijgbare Jump Cuts laat Banabila zich van een toegankelijke kant zien. 'Field Trip' is met zijn ritme en betoverende stem van Maryana Golovchenko misschien wel zijn meest poppy nummer ooit opgenomen. Tussen haar stem zijn veel omgevingsgeluiden te horen en dat is ook elders op dit album het geval. Zoals in het lange ambient-achtige eerste deel van de titeltrack waarin het tempo gaandeweg word opgevoerd door ritmische percussie. In 'Take Me There' zit je dankzij gemelanklanken en omgevingsgeluiden ineens in Nederlands Indie. In 'Tortoise' waan je je door de combinatie met trompet in een nummer van Jon Hassell. Bij de bandcamp-versie van 'Jump Cuts' zit een gratis bonustrack met alleen maar rustige elektronica en field recordings. (Oscar Smit)
Released June 21, 2015.
Michel Banabila: guitar, keys, field recordings, voices, kaoss pad, samples from youtube amateur video recordings, mexican turtle flute (with ZPlane treatment), electronics, percussion, logic audio, melodyne and artwork.
Joost Kroon: drums & percussion [3]
Maryana Golovchenko: additional vocal [4]
008TR - 2015 © Tapu records
All tracks composed by Michel Banabila.
Gardening
Music for Gardeners
AMN Reviews:
Gardening by Dutch sound artist Michel Banabila is electroacoustic scrutiny of the pastime from the point of view of the flower bed; a musique sol rather than musique concrète, if you will. Field recordings looped, lengthened and lingering, the earth is sprinkled with water from cans, automatic sprinklers and the clouds and irradiated by a synthetic sun. Rubber boots cross the lawn and “Chance the Gardener” from Jerzy Kosinski´s novella comes to rhythmically tend the weeds with his rakes, spades and trowels as children play just within earshot but beyond its high walls. As their commotion drifts off, the piece itself ends and an ambient remix drifts in. For this extended release, Banabila has added a healthy appendix of remixes, one by himself and six by fellow countrymen and a couple of associates from abroad. In remixing as in gardening, “as long as the roots are not severed”, as Chance himself would say, “all is well”. Each artist conscientiously worms down deep into the earth. Machinefabriek isolates a few of the sounds, rounds them off, and hints at gathering bad weather. In a live radio broadcast mix, Radboud Mens charges the air with the buzz and burrow of insect life and joins the serenade on accordion. Peter van Cooten´s remix is delicately arranged, a quiet, microclimate symphony, while Naoyuki Sasanami lets himself in through the gate and gives the foliage a good spray. Banabila returns to offer a watering can gamelan. The final two contributions, by Lukas Simonis and Zenial, respectively, arc from the children´s perspective so close to the gardener that, as he tends his plants, we can hear him strain and breathe. (Stephen Fruitman).
VITAL WEEKLY 879:
Another work of electronically processed sounds, but with extensively use of field recordings, and judging by the title of this work, as well as what we hear, these field recordings might have been taped while gardening. The amplification of a spade for instance. Raking the grass, picked up with a rusty contact microphone. Then electronic processing which Banabila uses here is not heavy, or extensive, but rather gentle. Sometimes he creates a loop or two, which by itself already form a small song, and let's the other crackles just continue. It's not music for which we could use the word excessive, but it's not exactly 'ambient' either. Intimate seems to me a word that is more appropriate for this music. A tinkle on the piano, more loops, but essentially also a work of gardening, which if it always sounded like this, I would indulge in it too. But gardening is easily in the top three of activities I don't like. Listening to 'Gardening' is of course something else. This is great! Thoroughly relaxing music, and with the balcony doors wide open because spring more or less seems to be arriving, this is a most pleasant release. Banabila's work spans eight tracks, but also invited seven friends to do remixes of this work, and those seven remixes follow straight after his eight originals. Here we have many of his Rotterdam chums, such as Radboud Mens, Lukas Simonis, Machinefabriek but also Peter van Cooten, Naoyuki Sasanami and Zenial. They all seem to capture a similar atmosphere in their pieces, but all seem to be using more electronics to transform the original sounds, which are a bit removed/remote here, except, funnily enough in Banabila's own remix, and make occasionally massive waves of sounds, such as in Machinefabriek's work. It's very nice to have these remixes as an added bonus, but maybe altogether it wasn't that necessary to have a an equally strong album. (FdW)
MOUSIQUE.NL
Gardening is feitelijk musique concrète: alledaagse omgevingsgeluiden (found sounds) worden electronisch bewerkt om een collage-achtige compositie te creëren. Tegenwoordig wordt dit genre vaak `field recordings’ genoemd, maar dat is toch net iets anders en gaat hier bovendien niet helemaal op: Banabila heeft de geluiden daarvoor teveel bewerkt en er tevens hier en daar extra klanken aan toegevoegd. Toch houden de composities wel een `field-recordings’ achtige sfeer: je hoort een breed palet aan min of meer herkenbare `natuurlijke’ geluiden: ritselen van bladeren, veeggeluiden, voetstappen over verschillende ondergronden, krakende bomen, piepende scharnieren, spelende kinderen, vogeltjes, verkeersgeluiden op de achtergrond, zagen en kappen van hout, allerlei tuingereedschap, hamergetik, de ratelende rotorbladen van een grasmaaimachine (gokje), regendruppels, de wind, onweer, etc. Banabila ordent deze geluiden zo dat er ritmische patronen worden gevormd, dat het muziek wordt. Vervolgens kleurt hij het geheel verder in met subtiele electronische geluiden en klanktapijtjes. `Digitaal tuinieren voor gevorderden’, schreef Jan Willem Broek er vorig jaar over. Banabila bracht het album vorig jaar dus al uit, maar toen alleen als digitale download. Inmiddels is het album alsnog in een gelimiteerde cd-uitgave van 100 stuks beschikbaar (op=op dus), en dan aangevuld met 6 naadloos in elkaar overgaande remixen (exclusief voor de cd-versie) door Machinefabriek, Radboud Mens, Peter van Cooten, Naoyuki Sasanami, Lukas Simonis en Zenial. (Peter)
WORM / CONCERTZENDER:
Another work of electronically processed sounds, but with extensive use of field recordings, that sound as if indeed they were taped while gardening. The amplification of a spade for instance. Raking the grass, picked up with a rusty contact microphone. No heavy electronic processing, but rather gentle. Sometimes a loop or two, giving the feeling of a small song, backed up by other tiny events. It's not music in the generally accepted sense, but it's not exactly 'ambient' either. Intimate seems the right word here. (Mariette Groot)
TRBOP 14 ℗ Tapu records
Recorded August 2012 in Rotterdam & Krzezsowice.
Michel Banabila: field recordings, turtle flute, shakers, rainstick, balafon, garden tools, wood, grass, water, found objects, cymbal, electronics, pianostring, Szymon Kaliski's microtones app, Michael Norris plugins, Micropony by Skriða., Korg Monotribe, and Logic pro. Recorders : Olympus LS 10 & Tascam DR05.
Discogs
AMN Reviews:
Gardening by Dutch sound artist Michel Banabila is electroacoustic scrutiny of the pastime from the point of view of the flower bed; a musique sol rather than musique concrète, if you will. Field recordings looped, lengthened and lingering, the earth is sprinkled with water from cans, automatic sprinklers and the clouds and irradiated by a synthetic sun. Rubber boots cross the lawn and “Chance the Gardener” from Jerzy Kosinski´s novella comes to rhythmically tend the weeds with his rakes, spades and trowels as children play just within earshot but beyond its high walls. As their commotion drifts off, the piece itself ends and an ambient remix drifts in. For this extended release, Banabila has added a healthy appendix of remixes, one by himself and six by fellow countrymen and a couple of associates from abroad. In remixing as in gardening, “as long as the roots are not severed”, as Chance himself would say, “all is well”. Each artist conscientiously worms down deep into the earth. Machinefabriek isolates a few of the sounds, rounds them off, and hints at gathering bad weather. In a live radio broadcast mix, Radboud Mens charges the air with the buzz and burrow of insect life and joins the serenade on accordion. Peter van Cooten´s remix is delicately arranged, a quiet, microclimate symphony, while Naoyuki Sasanami lets himself in through the gate and gives the foliage a good spray. Banabila returns to offer a watering can gamelan. The final two contributions, by Lukas Simonis and Zenial, respectively, arc from the children´s perspective so close to the gardener that, as he tends his plants, we can hear him strain and breathe. (Stephen Fruitman).
VITAL WEEKLY 879:
Another work of electronically processed sounds, but with extensively use of field recordings, and judging by the title of this work, as well as what we hear, these field recordings might have been taped while gardening. The amplification of a spade for instance. Raking the grass, picked up with a rusty contact microphone. Then electronic processing which Banabila uses here is not heavy, or extensive, but rather gentle. Sometimes he creates a loop or two, which by itself already form a small song, and let's the other crackles just continue. It's not music for which we could use the word excessive, but it's not exactly 'ambient' either. Intimate seems to me a word that is more appropriate for this music. A tinkle on the piano, more loops, but essentially also a work of gardening, which if it always sounded like this, I would indulge in it too. But gardening is easily in the top three of activities I don't like. Listening to 'Gardening' is of course something else. This is great! Thoroughly relaxing music, and with the balcony doors wide open because spring more or less seems to be arriving, this is a most pleasant release. Banabila's work spans eight tracks, but also invited seven friends to do remixes of this work, and those seven remixes follow straight after his eight originals. Here we have many of his Rotterdam chums, such as Radboud Mens, Lukas Simonis, Machinefabriek but also Peter van Cooten, Naoyuki Sasanami and Zenial. They all seem to capture a similar atmosphere in their pieces, but all seem to be using more electronics to transform the original sounds, which are a bit removed/remote here, except, funnily enough in Banabila's own remix, and make occasionally massive waves of sounds, such as in Machinefabriek's work. It's very nice to have these remixes as an added bonus, but maybe altogether it wasn't that necessary to have a an equally strong album. (FdW)
MOUSIQUE.NL
Gardening is feitelijk musique concrète: alledaagse omgevingsgeluiden (found sounds) worden electronisch bewerkt om een collage-achtige compositie te creëren. Tegenwoordig wordt dit genre vaak `field recordings’ genoemd, maar dat is toch net iets anders en gaat hier bovendien niet helemaal op: Banabila heeft de geluiden daarvoor teveel bewerkt en er tevens hier en daar extra klanken aan toegevoegd. Toch houden de composities wel een `field-recordings’ achtige sfeer: je hoort een breed palet aan min of meer herkenbare `natuurlijke’ geluiden: ritselen van bladeren, veeggeluiden, voetstappen over verschillende ondergronden, krakende bomen, piepende scharnieren, spelende kinderen, vogeltjes, verkeersgeluiden op de achtergrond, zagen en kappen van hout, allerlei tuingereedschap, hamergetik, de ratelende rotorbladen van een grasmaaimachine (gokje), regendruppels, de wind, onweer, etc. Banabila ordent deze geluiden zo dat er ritmische patronen worden gevormd, dat het muziek wordt. Vervolgens kleurt hij het geheel verder in met subtiele electronische geluiden en klanktapijtjes. `Digitaal tuinieren voor gevorderden’, schreef Jan Willem Broek er vorig jaar over. Banabila bracht het album vorig jaar dus al uit, maar toen alleen als digitale download. Inmiddels is het album alsnog in een gelimiteerde cd-uitgave van 100 stuks beschikbaar (op=op dus), en dan aangevuld met 6 naadloos in elkaar overgaande remixen (exclusief voor de cd-versie) door Machinefabriek, Radboud Mens, Peter van Cooten, Naoyuki Sasanami, Lukas Simonis en Zenial. (Peter)
WORM / CONCERTZENDER:
Another work of electronically processed sounds, but with extensive use of field recordings, that sound as if indeed they were taped while gardening. The amplification of a spade for instance. Raking the grass, picked up with a rusty contact microphone. No heavy electronic processing, but rather gentle. Sometimes a loop or two, giving the feeling of a small song, backed up by other tiny events. It's not music in the generally accepted sense, but it's not exactly 'ambient' either. Intimate seems the right word here. (Mariette Groot)
TRBOP 14 ℗ Tapu records
Recorded August 2012 in Rotterdam & Krzezsowice.
Michel Banabila: field recordings, turtle flute, shakers, rainstick, balafon, garden tools, wood, grass, water, found objects, cymbal, electronics, pianostring, Szymon Kaliski's microtones app, Michael Norris plugins, Micropony by Skriða., Korg Monotribe, and Logic pro. Recorders : Olympus LS 10 & Tascam DR05.
Discogs
Gardening (2012) from Michel Banabila on Vimeo.
Hilarious Expedition
Theatre music.
Originally made for 'Eiland' , (a theatre play by Orkater) , 'Beam Me Up' (multimedia performance by Angelika Oei & R.A. Verouden), 'Mama Please Call Me' (Tegenlicht documentary by Marije Meerman), and 'Never Let Go' (short film by Claudia Hauri).
Note:
The 2 CDr digipak release from 2005 was an extended mix with 41 tracks, without pauses. The iTunes release does not have included the free downloads from the version here on bandcamp.
Crime Scene (originally on the 2CDr version) is now only available on Precious Images in a remix with Eric Vloeimans: banabila.bandcamp.com/track/crime-scene
UNDOMUNDO:
This double cd release called 'Hilarious Expedition' is pretty different from everything. This is a compilation from four theatre productions and two films, and pretty much experimental, it reminded me of Bertrand Burgalat's "Quadrille" soundtrack. It's composed of field work, pizicatto orchestra sounds, ambience, vocal snippets etc. It's really a Hilarious journey which spans over 41 songs. The pastoral orchestral song 'Bouwtekening' will give you the idea. (Mersenne-Twister).
CHAIN DLK:
Hilarious Expedition is a very worthwhile listen--there are some great tracks to cherry-pick: "Salar's Dream," on Disc 1 with its sad Gypsy violin; the freaky, computer-voiced "Speech" and "My Brain Is Electric;" and the hushed, subtle menace of "Metals" on Disc 2. Most of the music is not "hilarious" at all, but downright somber and brooding. I would only recommend a work of this scope and magnitude (nearly two and a half hour's worth) to serious soundtrack enthusiasts (Perry Bathos).
KWADRATUUR. BE:
Een gelimiteerde dubbelcd met maar liefst 41 (!) tracks; de nieuwste uitgave van de Nederlandse ambientmeester Michel Banabila is niet bescheiden. Deze release is dan ook een geheel van gecomponeerde stukken voor theater en filmproducties in 2004. Hoewel deze bijdragen bij momenten muzikaal onderbouwd zijn, betreft het hier een hutsepot van erg filmische klankcombinaties waarbij de beelden enkel door de fantasie kunnen worden aangevuld. Zoals Banabila met vorige platen al duidelijk maakte: die fantasie mag erg weelderig genoemd worden. Voor zijn beeldende producties moet Banabila een onmetelijk groot klankarchief aangelegd hebben. Vooral de eerste plaat van deze dubbelaar bestaat uit niet meer dan een samenraapsel van verhakkelde geluiden, veelal afkomstig uit andere films of de straat, die af en toe met ver dreigende, elektronische impulsen werden aangevuld. Dat maakt het allemaal niet eenvoudig om te doorluisteren. Gelukkig heeft de man in deze collectie van impressies ook regelmatig wel degelijk muzikaal onderbouwde bijdragen gestopt. Die variëren van wandelende jazzstukken ('Betegelaars') over spookachtige walzen ('Plein (1)') tot diep industriële, elektronische stukken ('Shortwave') of ritmisch opgebouwde puzzels uit geluiden van straatwerken ('Overlast'). Verder steekt Michel Banabila zijn voorliefde voor de piano ook niet onder stoelen of banken en dat geeft vaak sfeervolle, rustgevende momenten tussen de soms drukke geluidscollages. Ook die worden echter regelmatig overgoten met een veelvoud aan achtergrondklanken die van op het marktplein, uit taalcassettes, b-films of andere geluidsbronnen afkomstig zijn. Een mooie uitzondering vormt de diepe triphop van 'Bicycle Exotica' die met een kabbelend loopje en een wandelende piano een sfeervol lied vormt dat doorheen de Amsterdamse achterbuurten zou kunnen klinken. Verder verraden titels als 'Oproer!', 'Vreemd Gesprek (1-2-3)' of 'Plein (1-2-3-4)' op het eerste schijfje echter abstracte muzikale onderwerpen. Het tweede schijfje bevat gelukkig een pak meer muzikale impressies en toont Banabila van zijn prachtige ambient-en dubkant. Heerlijk relaxte en zweverige elektronische bijdragen rusten op een bedje van triphop of teren op zelf uitgevonden ritmen die uit toverland ontsnapt lijken. Ook de met Sandhya Sanjana ingezongen bijdrage 'Speech' vormt een muzikale verheerlijking van Oosterse klanken en werd door het Japanse Respect Record ook mee opgenomen in zijn Ryukyu Underground sampler. Verder neemt de akoestische gitaar vaak de plaats in van de piano als sfeermaker, wat zorgt voor een erg warm en rijk gevoel. Drukte van geluiden heeft plaatsgemaakt voor minimalisme en dat maakt het tweede plaatje een stuk aangenamer dan het eerste. Op deze dubbelaar toont Banabila twee totaal verschillende muzikale aspecten van sfeerbeelden creëren. Het eerste plaatje leent zich met een veelheid van alledaagse klanken prima tot het aanvullen van toneel, terwijl het tweede zich met zijn filmische, sfeervolle impressies meer leent tot een filmische omkadering. Dat bewijst dat deze kunstenaar veel met zijn omgevingsgeluiden bezig is en goed weet wat hij doet. Verder levert dat in dit veelvoud van muzikale creaties niet enkel erg verrassende, maar ook erg mooie resultaten op. (Johan Giglot).
VITAL WEEKLY 463:
A very mixed bag this time from the dutch ambient master Michel Banabila, which proves that he is still very capable of a surprise. Maybe the variety can be explained by the fact that this double cd brings together work Banabila composed for six different occasions: four theatre productions and two films. But also Banabila seems to be in the mood for experiment. Not that he leaves the ambient-path, but he is trying hard to expand the universum of his approach of ambient music. Thirdly for the projects included here, Banabila worked with a even greater variety of musicians. Jazz and impro musicians from the Rotterdam scene as well as some more well known musicians like Ernst Reijeseger and Eric Vloeimans. Other musicians have a background in pop. His old mate Yasar Saka with whom he made two ethnic flavoured ambient cds in the past is also involved. All these aspects help to constitute the wide spectrum of Banabila's music. That Banabila is open for jazz influencens we already know since his third "Voiznoiz" album where he cooperated with trumpetter Eric Vloeimans. The critics let us know that this was a very succesfull collaboration. Maybe it's because of this succes that Banabila continues here to work with jazz and impro musicians. Again with Eric Vloeimans but also with more unorthodox musicians from the Rotterdam impro-scene. In melting together ambient and jazz his music is sometimes comparable to that of M.F.Cote. He is not afraid for extremes. He even combines ambient music with completely free improvised parts that are of a totally different order. For example, in a track like "Plein (1)" we hear a Rota-like filmtune, but the free improvised interludes give it a special twist. Of course we hear on this double the trip hop - with or without ethnic touch - as we know from earlier recordings. But other pieces offer a different meal: assemblages of fieldrecordings, often with the human voice in the center. "Mobiles" is a very funny piece based around the sounds of mobiles. The musical form perfectly illustrates our hasty and never ending culture of communication. "Phonema (2)" is a curious attempt of dadaistic soundpoetry, something one does not expect from Banabila. "Bouwtekening" ends with an orchestral climax that is never heard before in the work of Banabila. "Crime scene" starts with a long percussive intro that brings Organum to my mind. In "Salar's Dream" the violinplaying of Salar Asid from Iraq introduces some explicit Eastern influences. "Bottle Groove" is a very bluesy piece, etc., etc. The crosscultural "Hilarious Expedition" proves once more that Banabila is able to integrate great many influences and ideas in his concept of ambient music with great subtlety and souplesse. Through his multifaced talent he is able to introduce new challenges within the realms of comfort. (DM)
CALEIDOSCOOP:
'De eerste cd, waarop de muziek voor de theaterproducties, bevat als je het totaal in ogenschouw neemt een soort musique concrète met een Franse, nachtelijke atmosfeer. Op kleiner niveau bekeken is het in feite een continue afwisseling van stijlen, uiteenlopend van ambient, theatermuziek, industrial, plunderphonics en uiteraard wereldmuziek. Het doet soms denken aan Zelwer en zou zo in de prestigieuze Made To Measure -serie van het Crammed label passen. Prachtige muziek, die misschien nog het meest aansluit bij zijn Voiznoiz-serie. De tweede cd, waarop de muziek voor de films, doet meteen meer industrieel en elektronisch aan. Ook hier duikt zo nu en dan de wereldmuziek weer op en tevens vele andere stijlen. Maar het is abstracter en experimenteler en het doet meer aan zijn twee Spherics CDs denken. Het bevat soms ook grillige elementen die aan een band als The Residents herinneren. Toch ademt ook deze CD sfeer uit en wel een mysterieuze. Hierdoor klinkt het geheel consistent terwijl de muziek fijn gevarieerd is. Het is een expeditie die de hele wereld overgaat en middels vele soorten muziek beschreven wordt. Met niets en niemand te vergelijken. Een uniek klankenpalet, dat ook nog eens lekker is om naar te luisteren. Banabila levert een meesterwerk af !' (Jan Willem Broek)
PLATOMANIA:
Opmerkelijke release van een opmerkelijk muzikant. Met een opmerkelijk oeuvre: in de vele jaren dat hij al meedraait maakte hij zowel ambient-, jazz-, dance- als wereldmuziek. Niet echt in een hokje te vangen dus. Wie denkt Banabila te kennen zal toch waarschijnlijk behoorlijk verrast zijn bij de eerste beluistering van Hilarious Expedition: een bont allegaar van theater- en filmmuziek (o.a. voor de Orkater produktie 'Eiland') waarin het gehele kaleidoskopische verleden lijkt samen te komen. Ik moest er in ieder geval even goed voor gaan zitten. Na de eerste luisterbeurt maakte verbazing en verrassing plaats voor bewondering. Twee CDs (41 tracks!) vol schetsen, soundscapes, experimenten en subtiele melodieën waarbij je van de ene verbazing in de andere valt ! Het is bijna onmogelijk om referenties voor deze muziek te benoemen, maar als het echt moet ; zoek het dan ergens tussen Hector Zazou en een instrumentale Spinvis. Of zoiets. (Peter van Cooten, maart 2005)
Released February 10, 2005.
All tracks recorded, composed and produced by Banabila. (2005) TRBOP 01
(This was the first Tapu Records release.)
Eiland from Michel Banabila on Vimeo.
VoizNoiz - Urban Sound Scapes
Electronic. CD &12inch vinyl (Pork Recordings / Tone Casualties)
WAX MAGAZINE:
A thoroughly engaging, amusing and charming debut from new Pork signing Michael Banabila. Slightly more random than your usual Pork output, but still retaining the essential ingredients, Banabila strings together 20 soothing skunk funk oddities that delight and bemuse in equal portions. Tender beats, oddball samples, live instrumentation and vocal snippets weave together to make a warming abstract picture, one of those ones that looks good whichever way you hang it. (Nov 2000)
ALL MUSIC GUIDE:
The strength of this fascinating found-sound pastiche will be enough to send fans of musique concrete, advanced turntablism, and trip-hop scouring the import bins. Most of the material that comprises these 20 tracks comes from field recordings of human voices speaking, singing, declaiming, and arguing, all of them reportedly made in the streets, buildings, and train stations of Holland and Yemen. The recordings are cut up and pasted together in sometimes eerie and frequently downright funky ways: the result sometimes sounds like a collaboration between Jon Hassell and African Head Charge (as on the danceable "Do Something About It" and the even more Hassell-ish "Sorokin Blues") and sometimes like a cross between Tricky and the Residents (as on the darkly funky and melodically quirky "Chickensoap). On "Where?" the snippets of speaking and singing are arranged by pitch, and the result is a sort of techno version of hocketing; it's an example of medieval technique meeting 21st century technology, and the result is wonderful. This is an exquisite album by an artist who deserves much wider recognition. (Rick Anderson).
KORTEX Electronica:
VoizNoiz c'est avant tout, des collages sonores mélodiques et urbains. C'est aussi Michel Banabila et une fantastique collaboration de musiciens de Rotterdam. L'ensemble ainsi crée s'aventure dans des territoires voisinants l'Acid Jazz, le trip hop et la peinture sonore abstraite. VoizNoiz c'est un film qui défile dans notre tête : l'ambiance cinématographique propagée par les différentes pièces de l'album s'impose à notre esprit et nous fait voyager un peu partout à travers le monde à l'aide d'un fond musical riche doublé de différents échantillons hétéroclites. Chaque mouvement est pourtant bien clair, et on peut facilement associer les pièces à tel ou tel événement fictif. VoizNoiz est un album diversifié qui bénéficie pourtant d'un solide fil conducteur qui permet à l'auditeur de ne pas se perdre au sein des myriades de sonorités exploitées par Michel Banabila et ses copains. Une belle et amusante expérience auditive. (Yanik Trudeau)
'Where ?' by MAITE KLIS & YUNFENG FU from Michel Banabila on Vimeo.
ALTERNATIVE PRESS:
Post modern assemblage of found sounds and vocal fragments. Sound collage can often be more conceptually interesting than listenable. Michel Banabila handily avoids this on the unclassifiable VoizNoiz. He uses location recordings from Holland and Yemen, along with live guitar, voices, bass and percussion to construct what he calls "urban sound scapes". Banabila assembles riffs from found-sound and vocal fragments into oddly conversational grooves. This approach recalls Coil, but without their inward-looking menace. VoizNoiz is every bit as post-modern as the work of today's DSP-terrorists, but it's a much easier listen. (Kent Williams).
COOL AND STRANGE MUSIC:
Holland's Michel Banabila is one of those rare musicians who can take an avant-garde conception and turn it into a highly entertaining work of art. VoizNoiz is a masterpiece of found sounds and voices used rhythmically and humorously with obvious nods to Jean Michel Jarre's classic collaboration with Laurie Anderson, Zoolook, without the dark psychological edge, and Coil, without the homo-erotic magick. VoizNoiz is an update of the genre into contemporary trip-hop, with touches of exotica and Asian house music. There is a slight Carribean edge in some parts, but the jack-hammer editing of the sound montage is so intense that by the time one is able to digest an influence, it has been replaced by something completely different. Think of a tropical island version of Tipsy, only more cartoony (which is no surprise as the executive producer is the legendary animator Gabor Csupo.) Though the CD is separated into 20 different tracks, I defy anyone to figure out which one is which without looking at the track indicator. It's like a lovingly unified vision of schizophrenia done Tex Avery style. (Wilhelm Murg)
PITCHFORKMEDIA:
The Pork folks discovered Banabila and flourished this remarkable disc with "Mono/Metro," a holler-sampling-and-contorting fragment of genius that Moby would stomp Fairfield County, Connecticut into the subsoil for. (Paul Cooper).
'Where ?' by TIM VAN HELSDINGEN from Michel Banabila on Vimeo.
Banabila, Club Cult, Moscow, 2005.
Pork Recordings
Steamsounds Publishing
Buy at CD BABY
EARPOLLUTION : VoizNoiz 2
Michel Banabila has an ear for sound and a pulse which runs through his fingers. Taking a nearly limitless number of samples, he finds a common pulse that they gravitate towards, and produces groovy - nearly trip-hop style - songs. There are no voices other than the stolen ghosts which become halting, tripping verse-chorus-verse arrangements under his skillful manipulation. "Voiz IX" is a wheezing street orchestra, a tiny marching band made up of two kids banging on trash cans, one over the hill tuba (worked over by a much younger player with a decent set of lungs), a couple of single-stringed guitars, a kid with an old radio sporting exposed wiring, and a drum major with a three-dollar megaphone. Banabila reworks all these elements (and the echoes which their street performance leave rattling down the long alleys) into something else, something a little less than a recognizable tune and more into a musique concrete abstraction. At the other end of the spectrum is the following track, "Speak," which hums along at 144 bpm, hammering and jabbering beneath a cut-up vocal track that speaks in starts and stutters. Like all good pastiches, you find comfort in the recognizable elements and thrill in their unexpected juxtaposition. Banabila's work on VoizNoiz II is a soundtrack to the urban chaos which is the overwhelming reality of city living. (Mark Teppo)
INK 19 : VoizNoiz 2
Considering you can give a whole group of people a fancy recording studio, tons of personal attention and pampering and they create audible crap, artists such as Banabila are all the more wonderful. His sophomore release in the Urban Sound Scapes series, Banabila recorded VoizNoiz 2 completely in his home studio. Mainly, sounds are used to create "words" of sound that speak in the language in which we hear. There is a world flavor, a little "trip-hop" label floating around, and one visionary artist behind every moving track. Creepy, loungy, jazzy, sexy, mysterious, fun, and artsy, this is for anyone who's bored with their current musical interests. This album makes you open so many musical doors. A few standout tracks: "Heavy Gravity," the bouncy, tribal "U Beat," sporadic "Speak," and "To The Angels." Learn a new language with Banabila, the language of sound. (Vanessa Bormann)
ALL MUSIC GUIDE : VoizNoiz 2
The second volume in Banabila's series of Urban Soundscapes is much like the first, a kaleidoscopically funky collage of found sound, aural experimentation, trip-hop beats, and promiscuous sampling. As on his first effort, a willfully bizarre sonic design sense is constantly counterbalanced by a thoroughly populist approach to the groove ‹ there is nothing on this disc listeners won't be proud to dance to and nothing that won't catch them by surprise if they listen hard enough. A few examples: the creaking door, splashing water, and severely altered voices on "Voiz VIII" that rub sensuously up against metallic guitars and a thick, slow groove ; the lurching, Tom Waits-ish "One for the Road," with its turntable-scratching and locomotive sample; and the slow-building "Dinoh Dinoh," which starts off with layers of deeply tweaked voice samples and slides into an irresistible mid-tempo breakbeat with horn section and Hammond organ. The avant-garde is at its best when it's funky, and funk is at its best when it's avant-garde. (Rick Anderson)
Steamin' Songs Publishing released October 9, 2001
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