artist: HERIBERT FRIEDL
title: Raumzitate
catalog number: and/17
release year: 2004
format: CDR
status: sold out
title: Raumzitate
catalog number: and/17
release year: 2004
format: CDR
status: sold out
This is the first release by Austrian sculptor/sound artist Heribert Friedl. This five
part work of fractured soundscapes subtitled "...to reserve the necessary space"
evokes a sense of spatial perception without the use of familiar points of reference
such as human voices or footsteps. The word "raumzitate" translates in English to
something akin to "room quotations."
part work of fractured soundscapes subtitled "...to reserve the necessary space"
evokes a sense of spatial perception without the use of familiar points of reference
such as human voices or footsteps. The word "raumzitate" translates in English to
something akin to "room quotations."
TOUCHING EXTREMES (SEPTEMBER 2004)
Raumzitate is a brief essay on microsounds by Viennese Heribert Friedl, whose
work is centripetal towards silence - itself an important factor in these pieces.
Observation and purpose yield a series of sonic fingerprints which stand alone or
accompanied by suggestive faraway drones, like in a fascinating segment of the
final track "Proposal". The crumbling of patterns juxtaposed with these distant
evocations are always of interest, while the rippling hiss of certain separated
frequencies work well when listened amidst the sounds of the outside world,
provided it's not a noisy urban ambiance. Friedl seems to know where his direction
is and I'm willing to trust him for future elaborations: for sure, there's more than
glitches and pops under here. (Massimo Ricci)
Raumzitate is a brief essay on microsounds by Viennese Heribert Friedl, whose
work is centripetal towards silence - itself an important factor in these pieces.
Observation and purpose yield a series of sonic fingerprints which stand alone or
accompanied by suggestive faraway drones, like in a fascinating segment of the
final track "Proposal". The crumbling of patterns juxtaposed with these distant
evocations are always of interest, while the rippling hiss of certain separated
frequencies work well when listened amidst the sounds of the outside world,
provided it's not a noisy urban ambiance. Friedl seems to know where his direction
is and I'm willing to trust him for future elaborations: for sure, there's more than
glitches and pops under here. (Massimo Ricci)
VITAL WEEKLY (SEPTEMBER 2004)
Debut release from this Austrian sculptor/sound artist, of whom I know nothing else.
The work is subtitled "...to reserve the necessary space" and since the title can be
translated as "room quotations", everything here deals with the spatial quality of
sound. It's hard to tell what it is exactly that he does here, but let's assume that
Friedl is using field recordings which he processes with a lot of computer
techniques. That sounds like a lot but in fact, Friedl plays on the edge of softness
here. A sound sounds for a while, and then it dies out, some new sounds come in,
dies out, silence etc. But each new sound that comes in, shows a distinct
development to the previous sound. The sources are only used sparsely, maybe
like the recording of a rolling marble or the sound of a door being closed. Friedl's
work comes close to that of Richard Chartier, Marc Behrens or Roel Meelkop, but
is even more, and yes, that is possible, more austere and silent. In that respect
there is nothing new under the micro-sun, but nevertheless the material is
interesting enough by itself. A most promising start. (Frans de Waard)
Debut release from this Austrian sculptor/sound artist, of whom I know nothing else.
The work is subtitled "...to reserve the necessary space" and since the title can be
translated as "room quotations", everything here deals with the spatial quality of
sound. It's hard to tell what it is exactly that he does here, but let's assume that
Friedl is using field recordings which he processes with a lot of computer
techniques. That sounds like a lot but in fact, Friedl plays on the edge of softness
here. A sound sounds for a while, and then it dies out, some new sounds come in,
dies out, silence etc. But each new sound that comes in, shows a distinct
development to the previous sound. The sources are only used sparsely, maybe
like the recording of a rolling marble or the sound of a door being closed. Friedl's
work comes close to that of Richard Chartier, Marc Behrens or Roel Meelkop, but
is even more, and yes, that is possible, more austere and silent. In that respect
there is nothing new under the micro-sun, but nevertheless the material is
interesting enough by itself. A most promising start. (Frans de Waard)
E / I MAGAZINE (WINTER / SPRING 2006)
In Friedl's Raumzitate, slap-back pointillism and faux-instrumental extensions trade
time with frontline drummerly textures that are respiratory without being explicitly
rhythmic. A Vienna-based "sensory artist" (famous for using fragrances in his
installation work), here Friedl paints with crackling timbre, often able to sustain
taut interplay well longer than he has right to. "Raumzitate" must mean "hail on a
tin roof," "Bayle in a reticent mood," "prop planes outside and overhead," and
stark, "matter-of-fact" sonic punctuation performing syntactic acrobatics. The
difference over materially similar works by RLW or Stephen Vitiello is the
difference between dialog in space and monologue in a vacuum. The tracks do
not develop as much as reveal their structure; it is a rare gift that Friedl
understands the durations required for such revelation and does not extend his
compositions beyond them. (William S. Fields)
In Friedl's Raumzitate, slap-back pointillism and faux-instrumental extensions trade
time with frontline drummerly textures that are respiratory without being explicitly
rhythmic. A Vienna-based "sensory artist" (famous for using fragrances in his
installation work), here Friedl paints with crackling timbre, often able to sustain
taut interplay well longer than he has right to. "Raumzitate" must mean "hail on a
tin roof," "Bayle in a reticent mood," "prop planes outside and overhead," and
stark, "matter-of-fact" sonic punctuation performing syntactic acrobatics. The
difference over materially similar works by RLW or Stephen Vitiello is the
difference between dialog in space and monologue in a vacuum. The tracks do
not develop as much as reveal their structure; it is a rare gift that Friedl
understands the durations required for such revelation and does not extend his
compositions beyond them. (William S. Fields)
