Showing posts with label Ghost in the House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ghost in the House. Show all posts
December 12, 2023
April 17, 2021
November 18, 2020
September 24, 2020
May 3, 2020
December 17, 2017
Edgard Varèse articles/mentions
Ghost In the House
Oakland Winter Live ~
Journeys Beyond the Cosmodrome
Edgard Varèse
date & photographer unknown
December 13, 2017
John Cage articles/mentions
Golding & Brydon ~ Tales from a Non-Existent Land
Like "Picasso at the "Lapin Agile"
Oakland Winter Live ~ Journeys Beyond the Cosmodrome
Terry Riley - A Rainbow In Curved Air
Like "Picasso at the "Lapin Agile"
Oakland Winter Live ~ Journeys Beyond the Cosmodrome
Terry Riley - A Rainbow In Curved Air
John Cage - June 23, 1988
photo by Rob Bogaerts/Anefo
Iannis Xenakis articles/mentions
Ghost In the House
Oakland Winter Live ~
Journeys Beyond the Cosmodrome
Iannis Xenakis
date & photographer unknown
August 13, 2017
December 4, 2016
August 24, 2016
picture dis(c) 1: David Michalak ~ Dreamlife the soundtrack
photos by Styrous®
David Michalak ~ Dreamlife
picture disc detail
I came across this recording while organizing and
documenting my collection last
week; I had completely forgotten all about it. It could have fit nicely in my 45 RPM section but it sparked a desire to start a brand new record section, picture dis(c), with it as the subject.
I have always been fascinated with vinyl LP picture discs. To be honest, the sound is often inferior to regular vinyl discs but the imagination that goes into creating one has intrigued me. This was not the first picture disc I ever bought nor are the physical characteristics particularly spectacular but it is the caliber of the music on it that I love. No other picture disc is as intriguing and captivating musically. Also, there is a personal history I have with Michalak, although I have never met him, and Dean Santomieri, whom I have met, that comes full cycle for me; more on that below.
This is a 12" 45 RPM record that did not come in the typical vinyl LP cardboard jacket cover but rather in a clear vinyl envelope.
I have always been fascinated with vinyl LP picture discs. To be honest, the sound is often inferior to regular vinyl discs but the imagination that goes into creating one has intrigued me. This was not the first picture disc I ever bought nor are the physical characteristics particularly spectacular but it is the caliber of the music on it that I love. No other picture disc is as intriguing and captivating musically. Also, there is a personal history I have with Michalak, although I have never met him, and Dean Santomieri, whom I have met, that comes full cycle for me; more on that below.
This is a 12" 45 RPM record that did not come in the typical vinyl LP cardboard jacket cover but rather in a clear vinyl envelope.
Picture discs are usually issued in limited editions. This pressing consisted of 1,000 copies, this is copy number 323.
The
soundtrack is a mostly acoustical, with some electronics, sound trip
through a dream that at times becomes a nightmare. It is experimental
music at its best utilizing acoustic instruments, voice and synthesizer played by Dean Santomieri.
The first piece on side one, Time Theme, is quiet with a slow echoey flute, clarinet and sax. Carry On (The Worst Is Yet To Come) is a gentle, ditty with voice, piano and sax about the vocalist's hopes and dreams.
The third piece, Musical Metropolis, consists entirely of an echoey, metallic, mechanical beat that never changes with occasional electronic highlights. The final cut, Sax To Max, is a short, dissonant and erratic sax solo.
The first piece on side one, Time Theme, is quiet with a slow echoey flute, clarinet and sax. Carry On (The Worst Is Yet To Come) is a gentle, ditty with voice, piano and sax about the vocalist's hopes and dreams.
The third piece, Musical Metropolis, consists entirely of an echoey, metallic, mechanical beat that never changes with occasional electronic highlights. The final cut, Sax To Max, is a short, dissonant and erratic sax solo.
David Michalak ~ Dreamlife picture disc, side 2
Side two opens with, Temptation, a slow synthesizer fade-up that goes into a slow, dreamy, multi-layered drone.
The last Rainbow starts suddenly with a bouncy clarinet that is joined by flute for a short but brilliant interpretation of We're Off to See the Wizard.
The last Rainbow starts suddenly with a bouncy clarinet that is joined by flute for a short but brilliant interpretation of We're Off to See the Wizard.
The third piece, Strangulation, is a slow dissonant doppelgänger-like trio with a short burst of static at the end.
Carry On (the Clone Sings) opens with guitar then goes into a slow, stroll kind of beat with vocals that speed up then fade out. Not sure if it is meant to be humorous or sarcastic.
Carry On (the Clone Sings) opens with guitar then goes into a slow, stroll kind of beat with vocals that speed up then fade out. Not sure if it is meant to be humorous or sarcastic.
The last cut on this side, Song for the Victims,
is terrific! It is slow and VERY weird! Although, it is dreamy, it has a
nightmare edge to it. It concludes the album with synthesizer and an
eerie chorus of groans and hums. A maniacal laugh comes in at the end,
repeats over and over then slowly fades into oblivion. A nice touch!
Dreamlife picture disc, side 1 detail
David Michalak, who created the film/album, has made over 50 films with original soundtracks. He worked exclusively in super-8 for ten years, completing over 25 films, including 3 features. He was a guest writer for White Ox Films in Rochester, N.Y. and for the international magazine Super-8 Filmmaker in San Francisco. In 1978 he moved to San Francisco and started a mail-order record business called EARWAX to produce 16mm films.
Dreamlife, the first 16mm film by Michalak, premiered at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in 1982. This 45 RPM picture disc soundtrack of the original music was released later in that year. A two-part retrospective of his work was held in San Francisco from 1992 - 1993. Part 1, When Dinosaurs Roamed The Earth, was held at The No Nothing, and Part 2 Eye-Full Films Revisited at the Cinematheque.
Dreamlife picture disc, side 2 detail
In
1996 Michalak completed Inside-Out, which featured The Kate Foley Dance Company, a score written with Nik Phelps and performed by the Club Foot Orchestra. The film had it's premiere with the orchestra playing
live, at The Victoria Theatre in S.F. as part of his 2nd Retrospective
called 25 Years Of Eye-Full Films.
His
work, When The Spirit Moves, premiered in 1999. It is a mystical
fairy-tale featuring (Joe Goode) dancer Vong Phrommala and silent-movie
style actress Billie-Marie Gross, at The Film Arts Festival.
I caught his performance of Ghost in the House at the Berkeley Arts Center on University Avenue in Berkeley, CA (link below).
Dreamlife picture disc, side 2 detail
Dean Santomieri has been working with electronic music and musique concrete
since 1971. He moved to the Bay Area in 1975. I would meet him thirty
years after the recording of this album when he performed at the
Berkeley Arts Festival in 2003 with Sarah Cahill.
He worked in the media center of the California College of Arts & Crafts (now the California College of Arts).
You can check out the 2003 Garden of Memory performances, in which he appeared; and the Michalak and Santomieri performance of Ghost in the House at the Berkeley Arts Center on University Avenue in Berkeley, CA (links below).
He worked in the media center of the California College of Arts & Crafts (now the California College of Arts).
You can check out the 2003 Garden of Memory performances, in which he appeared; and the Michalak and Santomieri performance of Ghost in the House at the Berkeley Arts Center on University Avenue in Berkeley, CA (links below).
Dreamlife
Side one:
Time Theme
Carry On (The Worst Is Yet To Come)
Musical Metropolis
Sax To Max
Side two:
Temptation
The last Rainbow
Strangulation
Carry On (the Clone Sings)
Song for the Victims
Musicians:
Michael Austin - sax, flute, clarinet, vocals
David Michalak - voice and kitchen sink
Dean Santomieri - sybthesizer
Muziki - piano
Billie Marie Gross - voice
Thanks to 2.3 Children and Dana Frischer
Side one:
Time Theme
Carry On (The Worst Is Yet To Come)
Musical Metropolis
Sax To Max
Side two:
Temptation
The last Rainbow
Strangulation
Carry On (the Clone Sings)
Song for the Victims
Musicians:
Michael Austin - sax, flute, clarinet, vocals
David Michalak - voice and kitchen sink
Dean Santomieri - sybthesizer
Muziki - piano
Billie Marie Gross - voice
Thanks to 2.3 Children and Dana Frischer
Viewfinder links:
There was a hell of a lot of stuff packed into this 45!
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, August 24, 2016
~
~
February 15, 2013
Ghost In the House
Ghost In the House CD
I have loved experimental music since I discovered it in college in the late 1950's. From the French experimental musique concrète by Pierre Henry, of the 1940's up to the early experimental ambient work in the late 1970's, I have loved it all. From the deliciously tranquil work of Brian Eno to the make-your-teeth-itch sounds (or none-sounds) of John Cage (see: Happy Birthday, John Cage), acoustic and electronic, I have loved it all. Olivier Messiaen, Jean Barraqué, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Edgard Varèse, Iannis Xenakis, Michel Philippot, and Arthur Honegger, I have loved them all.
(click on any image to see larger size)
Circa 1930
photographer unknown
Iannis Xenakis in his studio in Paris, c. 1970
photo by Michèle Daniel
October 1994 in the Studio for Electronic Music
of WDR Cologne,
during production of the Electronic Music
from FRIDAY from LIGHT.
Date: October 1994
photo by Kathinka Pasveer
Date: October 1994
photo by Kathinka Pasveer
The experiments in 1942 when the French composer and theoretician Pierre Schaeffer began his exploration of radiophony and he joined Jacques Copeau and his pupils in the foundation of the Studio d'Essai de la Radiodiffusion Nationale are marvels to experience.
Pierre Schaeffer working with the phonogene in his studio
circa 1948
photo by Serge Lido
About the same time, the Egyptian composer Halim El-Dabh, then a student in Cairo, was independently experimenting with tape music.
Halim El-Dabh
2009
2009
photo by James Vaughn
These and many other experiments in music have built a rich body of work in the field. Last night I had the pleasure of experiencing this wonderful tradition being kept alive in a dynamic performance at the Berkeley Arts Center on University Avenue in, where else, Berkeley.
photo by Styrous®
The music was performed by the experimental music group, Ghost In The House. The group was conceived by filmmaker & musician David Michalak. The first part of the program was, Dreams & Dance in D minor ~ an eerie dream narrative by The Dreamer accompanied by dance and set to otherworldly music described as a soundtrack for the subconscious.
Ghost In The House.
photo by Styrous®
The tale about a giant head was read by Dean Santomieri (The Dreamer) who wrote the main part of the story, with the beginning and ending text written by David Michalak. It is a strange and creepy tale with the music/sound appropriately matched by Ghost in the House. The reading and the soundtrack combined so well you could almost smell the rotting, putrid head there in the performance space. A brilliant piece of theater!!
The Dreamer (Dean Santomieri)
photo by Styrous®
As The Dreamer read, the dance was performed behind a screen by internationally renown Butoh dancer, Kinji Hayashi.
photo by Styrous®
photo by Styrous®
The audience sat enthralled by the performance until the intermission when we were able to talk to the performers during the break. I was introduced to Kinji by Dean at that time.
During the second half of the program, Kinji danced practically in the faces of the audience. It was quite an experience.
photo by Styrous®
photo by Styrous®
I bumped into Pamela Z, an extraordinary sound/performance artist who has been doing her stuff in the bay area for over 30 years. We hadn't seen each other for years and it was good to touch base with her again. She told me she was performing with the Kronos Quartet at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on February 21 and 22, a week from now. I'm looking forward to seeing it.
photo by Styrous®
The Ghost in the House performers:
Polly Moller: bass flute
Karen Stackpole: percussion & gongs
John Ingle: soprano & alto saxophone
David Michalak: lap steel
Tom Nunn: inventions,
Dean Santomieri: narration & resonator guitar
Richard Waters: waterphone
Karen Stackpole: percussion & gongs
John Ingle: soprano & alto saxophone
David Michalak: lap steel
Tom Nunn: inventions,
Dean Santomieri: narration & resonator guitar
Richard Waters: waterphone
Dean Santomieri, narration & resonator guitar
photo by Styrous®
Polly Moller, bass flute
photo by Styrous®
John Ingle, soprano & alto saxophone
photo by Styrous®
Karen Stackpole, percussion & gongs
photo by Styrous®
Tom Nunn, inventions
photo by Styrous®
Performances by Dean Santomieri can be seen on YouTube.
The Boy Beneath the Sea by Dean Santomieri is available on Amazon.
Music by Polly Moller is available on cdbaby.
Music by Karen Stackpole can be heard on YouTube.
Music by Tom Nunn is available on iTunes.
Music by Richard Waters can be heard on YouTube.
It was an evening of anticipated delights and wonderful surprises. My thanks to Ghost In the House for the fantastic event.
What a delightful Valentine!
Styrous® ~ Feb 14, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)