artist: MARC BEHRENS & PAULO RAPOSO
title: Hades
catalog number: and/25
release year: 2006
format: CD
status: sold out
title: Hades
catalog number: and/25
release year: 2006
format: CD
status: sold out
After their first successful collaboration "Further Consequences of
Reinterpretation" (premiered in May 2003 at the Goethe-Institut in
Lisbon, released as a CD album by the Portugal-based label Crónica),
and the project's appendix release entitled "Product", the sound artists
Paulo Raposo and Marc Behrens have created a new dynamic sound
work entitled HADES.
HADES is based on sound recordings made aboard Lisbon ferries and
at the quays of Cais do Sodré, Trafaria and Cacilhas 2001-2005. Both
artists had initially set out to record independently, being fascinated
with the sounds of the ship hull and landing gear, as well as with the
actual passage on the river, which gives a magnificent (maybe the
best) view on large parts of the old city of Lisbon.
During the course of the work which took three years to complete,
some more precisely directed recordings were made together.
Understanding the actual crossing as a symbolic passage, and once it
was reduced to sound and memory, it became associated to the
crossing of the mythic river Styx to enter Hades, the ancient Greek
underworld.
As the different sound recordings provide the artists with very diverse
material (for example low frequencies from the ship's hulls and motors,
high frequencies and beats from the gates at Cais do Sodré), they
understand the composition as hovering on the delicate borderline
between a soundscape portrait and a multi-strata arrangement, in
which things happen parallelly, and individual layers move on more
than one path simultaneously.
In the opinion of and/OAR, HADES is not only one of the strongest
works to surface from either artist, a/O will go out on a limb to state
that it could very well set a new precedent of quality for collaboration
work of it's ilk. Needless to say, a/O is highly honored to be releasing
it. Please give it a very attentive listen. Especially in headphones!
Apart from being collaborating sound artists, Behrens and Raposo
have also worked together since 2001 on the Lisbon based label SIRR.
Reinterpretation" (premiered in May 2003 at the Goethe-Institut in
Lisbon, released as a CD album by the Portugal-based label Crónica),
and the project's appendix release entitled "Product", the sound artists
Paulo Raposo and Marc Behrens have created a new dynamic sound
work entitled HADES.
HADES is based on sound recordings made aboard Lisbon ferries and
at the quays of Cais do Sodré, Trafaria and Cacilhas 2001-2005. Both
artists had initially set out to record independently, being fascinated
with the sounds of the ship hull and landing gear, as well as with the
actual passage on the river, which gives a magnificent (maybe the
best) view on large parts of the old city of Lisbon.
During the course of the work which took three years to complete,
some more precisely directed recordings were made together.
Understanding the actual crossing as a symbolic passage, and once it
was reduced to sound and memory, it became associated to the
crossing of the mythic river Styx to enter Hades, the ancient Greek
underworld.
As the different sound recordings provide the artists with very diverse
material (for example low frequencies from the ship's hulls and motors,
high frequencies and beats from the gates at Cais do Sodré), they
understand the composition as hovering on the delicate borderline
between a soundscape portrait and a multi-strata arrangement, in
which things happen parallelly, and individual layers move on more
than one path simultaneously.
In the opinion of and/OAR, HADES is not only one of the strongest
works to surface from either artist, a/O will go out on a limb to state
that it could very well set a new precedent of quality for collaboration
work of it's ilk. Needless to say, a/O is highly honored to be releasing
it. Please give it a very attentive listen. Especially in headphones!
Apart from being collaborating sound artists, Behrens and Raposo
have also worked together since 2001 on the Lisbon based label SIRR.
This text will be replaced
EARLABS (OCTOBER 2006)
Based on field recordings made while traveling on Lisbon ferry boats
and at various landing places, sound artists Marc Behrens and Paulo
Raposo have composed a four-part sonic exposé in which untouched
sounds blend with processed sounds in such a way as to pull the
receptive listener into that shadowy region in which the real and the
mythical become indistinguishable. Hades is both a sound recording
documenting real experiences and a contemporary soundscape for a
timeless allegory.
As the journey unfolds "Gate" begins with a quiet, but dense, drone as
the low hum of the ferry's engine makes its presence known. About
one-half of a minute into the composition, a stratum of noisy percussive
clatter abruptly is added along with various mechanical scrapes and
groans that juxtapose themselves against the increasingly powerful
drone of the engine creating a noticeably tense atmosphere and, at
times, I hear what can best described as fragments of garbled voices.
As the track reaches the final third of its length, the chaotic noise and
intense drone suddenly cease, the tension dissolves, and all that
remains are the sounds of waves and random shreds of high
frequency tones.
"Crossing Into" is the first of two extended tracks (more than 21
minutes in length) containing a subtle array of eerie tones and high-end
frequencies that interplay with a layer of slightly dissonant low-end
tones along with occasional moments of resonant booms and thuds
making for an uneasy, surreal ambiance. The final few minutes of this
lengthy track find the composition assuming an almost lower-case
atmosphere.
The title track "Hades" is the shortest in duration of the four
movements being just over five minutes in length, but in this short
time an abundance of real sounds allow the listener to become a
virtual passenger on the ferry. "Hades" deserves the recognition of
being the composition that best captures the essence of the original
source sounds. The deep, rumbling whir of the engine drones in the
background, and, in the foreground, the creaks and moans of the ships
architecture reveal in rich detail the stresses it faces as it moves
through the water. Detailed bangs and clangs make known the ferry's
mechanical operations, and there seem to be traces of human voices
and coughs present in the background.
"Crossing Out Of" is lengthiest and most abstract of the four tracks
(approaching 23 minutes) and for me, personally, the most poignant.
The first ten minutes is an immensely dark drone, cacophonous at
times, and constructed of heavily processed sounds textured with
pristine noises and a combination of varying frequencies of
harmonious tones. The remaining thirteen minutes or so delivers a
more restrained, but quite sinister atmosphere. Random noises appear
unexpectedly amongst an unpredictable flow of varied and discordant
tones. A tension is present that never gets resolved.
"Hades" is one of and/OAR's strongest releases to date and diligent
listening will prove to be both rewarding and enjoyable. This is an
opportunity to hear contemporary sound art in one of its best moments
with the perfect blend of phonography and masterful processing.
(Larry Johnson)
Based on field recordings made while traveling on Lisbon ferry boats
and at various landing places, sound artists Marc Behrens and Paulo
Raposo have composed a four-part sonic exposé in which untouched
sounds blend with processed sounds in such a way as to pull the
receptive listener into that shadowy region in which the real and the
mythical become indistinguishable. Hades is both a sound recording
documenting real experiences and a contemporary soundscape for a
timeless allegory.
As the journey unfolds "Gate" begins with a quiet, but dense, drone as
the low hum of the ferry's engine makes its presence known. About
one-half of a minute into the composition, a stratum of noisy percussive
clatter abruptly is added along with various mechanical scrapes and
groans that juxtapose themselves against the increasingly powerful
drone of the engine creating a noticeably tense atmosphere and, at
times, I hear what can best described as fragments of garbled voices.
As the track reaches the final third of its length, the chaotic noise and
intense drone suddenly cease, the tension dissolves, and all that
remains are the sounds of waves and random shreds of high
frequency tones.
"Crossing Into" is the first of two extended tracks (more than 21
minutes in length) containing a subtle array of eerie tones and high-end
frequencies that interplay with a layer of slightly dissonant low-end
tones along with occasional moments of resonant booms and thuds
making for an uneasy, surreal ambiance. The final few minutes of this
lengthy track find the composition assuming an almost lower-case
atmosphere.
The title track "Hades" is the shortest in duration of the four
movements being just over five minutes in length, but in this short
time an abundance of real sounds allow the listener to become a
virtual passenger on the ferry. "Hades" deserves the recognition of
being the composition that best captures the essence of the original
source sounds. The deep, rumbling whir of the engine drones in the
background, and, in the foreground, the creaks and moans of the ships
architecture reveal in rich detail the stresses it faces as it moves
through the water. Detailed bangs and clangs make known the ferry's
mechanical operations, and there seem to be traces of human voices
and coughs present in the background.
"Crossing Out Of" is lengthiest and most abstract of the four tracks
(approaching 23 minutes) and for me, personally, the most poignant.
The first ten minutes is an immensely dark drone, cacophonous at
times, and constructed of heavily processed sounds textured with
pristine noises and a combination of varying frequencies of
harmonious tones. The remaining thirteen minutes or so delivers a
more restrained, but quite sinister atmosphere. Random noises appear
unexpectedly amongst an unpredictable flow of varied and discordant
tones. A tension is present that never gets resolved.
"Hades" is one of and/OAR's strongest releases to date and diligent
listening will prove to be both rewarding and enjoyable. This is an
opportunity to hear contemporary sound art in one of its best moments
with the perfect blend of phonography and masterful processing.
(Larry Johnson)
STYLE (NOVEMBER 2006)
One Should be alone when one listens to Hades, the joint work of
experimental composers and sound artists Marc Behrens and Paolo
Raposo. One needs time and, if possible, large headphones. Silence is
an absolute must. Like the CD's name already states, this is an
acoustic journey through the underworld. One can't really prepare for it
- for something that unfolds is a great power, precisely through the
absence of the spectacular.
The CD starts with a type of nervous twitching comprised of
short-winded squeaks that are layered with overtones and rumbling
approaching from the distance until they fade into an oscillating
acoustic movement. A quick, winding sound is resolved by the surf's
even beating. Behrens and Raposo approach Hades like a nervous
animal resigned to it's destiny, listening for what to expect from the
underworld. At first restless, but increasingly compliant over time.
While crossing the Styx, the border between the world of the living and
the underworld, one starts to form one's own pictures: the uncertain
boat, the silent ferryman Charon, the resounding walls, the fear.
Marc Behrens created an atmosphere that makes one's own
uncertainty and vulnerability accessible. One listens so attentively, the
only way one can listen, and finally there is nothing more than creaking
planks and ropes being tugged on. Paulo Raposo's part, which then
follows, describes the departure from Hades. So is there a way back?
The question remains open. At the end, one still hears the beating rope.
Rescue sounds different. The recordings that generated the
composition Hades are from Lisbon. Behrens and Raposo were
fascinated by the old ferry boats that have crossed the Tejo since the
1950s, and their creaking sounds at sea. They meticulously recorded
the sounds of the ships, the docks and steel pontoons. On one trip, the
two artists watched the salvaging of a sunken ship, a 'mud-caked part
suddenly emerged', says Behrens, "and suddenly it was there - the
association with the underworld; this mysterious place under the earth
that one doesn't at all hear or see, but which directs are lives.'
The crossing as a symbolic trip to one's own subconscious.
'We wanted to divide the trip into various strata - high, medium and
deep. The real Hades remains a mystery and inaccessible, because,'
says Behrens, 'it doesn't exist.'
Empty spaces as the actual places.
(Rebecca Menzel - translated from German by Cathy Lara)
One Should be alone when one listens to Hades, the joint work of
experimental composers and sound artists Marc Behrens and Paolo
Raposo. One needs time and, if possible, large headphones. Silence is
an absolute must. Like the CD's name already states, this is an
acoustic journey through the underworld. One can't really prepare for it
- for something that unfolds is a great power, precisely through the
absence of the spectacular.
The CD starts with a type of nervous twitching comprised of
short-winded squeaks that are layered with overtones and rumbling
approaching from the distance until they fade into an oscillating
acoustic movement. A quick, winding sound is resolved by the surf's
even beating. Behrens and Raposo approach Hades like a nervous
animal resigned to it's destiny, listening for what to expect from the
underworld. At first restless, but increasingly compliant over time.
While crossing the Styx, the border between the world of the living and
the underworld, one starts to form one's own pictures: the uncertain
boat, the silent ferryman Charon, the resounding walls, the fear.
Marc Behrens created an atmosphere that makes one's own
uncertainty and vulnerability accessible. One listens so attentively, the
only way one can listen, and finally there is nothing more than creaking
planks and ropes being tugged on. Paulo Raposo's part, which then
follows, describes the departure from Hades. So is there a way back?
The question remains open. At the end, one still hears the beating rope.
Rescue sounds different. The recordings that generated the
composition Hades are from Lisbon. Behrens and Raposo were
fascinated by the old ferry boats that have crossed the Tejo since the
1950s, and their creaking sounds at sea. They meticulously recorded
the sounds of the ships, the docks and steel pontoons. On one trip, the
two artists watched the salvaging of a sunken ship, a 'mud-caked part
suddenly emerged', says Behrens, "and suddenly it was there - the
association with the underworld; this mysterious place under the earth
that one doesn't at all hear or see, but which directs are lives.'
The crossing as a symbolic trip to one's own subconscious.
'We wanted to divide the trip into various strata - high, medium and
deep. The real Hades remains a mystery and inaccessible, because,'
says Behrens, 'it doesn't exist.'
Empty spaces as the actual places.
(Rebecca Menzel - translated from German by Cathy Lara)
VITAL WEEKLY (NOVEMBER 2006)
The Hades is the Greek god for death, and as you know, you cross a
river after you die, the Styx. The ferryman puts you on the next border.
I'm not sure if this ferryman has a boat, but ferryboats are the theme of
the collaborative release by Marc Behrens and Paulo Raposo. Over the
course of three years they worked on this, with as a starting point,
ferryboat recordings from Portugal. I only like boats when they are the
size of a ferryboat; anything smaller makes me feel uncomfortable. But
such a big sized ship makes me feel ok, and especially for a longer
period, say going from Germany to Sweden on the night ferry, makes
me want to listen to the motor, the metal bangs, the air condition, the
water. I understand the fascination of Behrens and Raposo fully and
listening to this brings back the memories of the various trips I made.
All of the familiar sounds are in here, and they are carefully processed
by both musicians. 'Hades' is not just a plain recording of sounds of a
ferry, but they compose with the material. In 'Crossing Out Of', the final
piece on the album, they have some sorrowful tune at the bottom of the
piece and scraping sounds on top. A beautiful contemplative piece. The
others are equally strong pieces, less contemplative. 'Gate' for
instance takes us to the ship's motor and after a pretty noisy intro,
things are slowly silenced out in washes of the sea: the boat has left.
This CD is a very fine example of how to treat field recordings in a
highly intelligent way - an example to many, I'd say. Great stuff.
(Frans de Waard)
The Hades is the Greek god for death, and as you know, you cross a
river after you die, the Styx. The ferryman puts you on the next border.
I'm not sure if this ferryman has a boat, but ferryboats are the theme of
the collaborative release by Marc Behrens and Paulo Raposo. Over the
course of three years they worked on this, with as a starting point,
ferryboat recordings from Portugal. I only like boats when they are the
size of a ferryboat; anything smaller makes me feel uncomfortable. But
such a big sized ship makes me feel ok, and especially for a longer
period, say going from Germany to Sweden on the night ferry, makes
me want to listen to the motor, the metal bangs, the air condition, the
water. I understand the fascination of Behrens and Raposo fully and
listening to this brings back the memories of the various trips I made.
All of the familiar sounds are in here, and they are carefully processed
by both musicians. 'Hades' is not just a plain recording of sounds of a
ferry, but they compose with the material. In 'Crossing Out Of', the final
piece on the album, they have some sorrowful tune at the bottom of the
piece and scraping sounds on top. A beautiful contemplative piece. The
others are equally strong pieces, less contemplative. 'Gate' for
instance takes us to the ship's motor and after a pretty noisy intro,
things are slowly silenced out in washes of the sea: the boat has left.
This CD is a very fine example of how to treat field recordings in a
highly intelligent way - an example to many, I'd say. Great stuff.
(Frans de Waard)
TOUCHING EXTREMES (DECEMBER 2006)
The sea is an obvious source of fascination; innumerable artists have
tried to come to terms with its sonic power in the past. Marc Behrens
and Paulo Raposo added a "mechanical" nuance to their interests by
recording the noise of ferry boats and quays in various Portuguese
marine locations, placing them amidst other local environmental
recordings to generate this beautiful artifact. "Itinerantly" composed
between 2003 and 2006, "Hades" stimulates and wakes up the
nervous centres, but even more often it leaves a lot of mental room for
concentration and reflection. The raw materials chosen by Behrens and
Raposo allow for an intriguing deployment of gradations that might
sound indelicately harsh in tracks like "Gate 1" but, when sapiently
treated, become mutations of angelic choirs looking for a sky to
dissipate in, ruptured by faraway thuds and bumps, or even studies in
dreams elicited by adjacent pseudo-tones, finally directed to complete
oblivion ("Crossing into"). "Gate 4" is an enthralling, obscure drone in
a reverberant virtual cathedral of noise, exquisitely sober and
impressively layered, later morphing into a siren's lament lowered
three octaves, wind and seagulls barely perceived in this profound
context; it's a masterpiece of the untold, one of the overall best
compositions I've enjoyed in at least a decade. Every sonic object
manipulated by the couple is translated into something utterly
meaningful, and the silences they leave for the sounds to breathe in
are nicely filled by extraneous elements (a faraway bell tower entered
my room at noon this Sunday during this listening session, and it was
wonderful). "Hades" is brilliant, just like everything in the and/OAR
catalogue. (Massimo Ricci)
The sea is an obvious source of fascination; innumerable artists have
tried to come to terms with its sonic power in the past. Marc Behrens
and Paulo Raposo added a "mechanical" nuance to their interests by
recording the noise of ferry boats and quays in various Portuguese
marine locations, placing them amidst other local environmental
recordings to generate this beautiful artifact. "Itinerantly" composed
between 2003 and 2006, "Hades" stimulates and wakes up the
nervous centres, but even more often it leaves a lot of mental room for
concentration and reflection. The raw materials chosen by Behrens and
Raposo allow for an intriguing deployment of gradations that might
sound indelicately harsh in tracks like "Gate 1" but, when sapiently
treated, become mutations of angelic choirs looking for a sky to
dissipate in, ruptured by faraway thuds and bumps, or even studies in
dreams elicited by adjacent pseudo-tones, finally directed to complete
oblivion ("Crossing into"). "Gate 4" is an enthralling, obscure drone in
a reverberant virtual cathedral of noise, exquisitely sober and
impressively layered, later morphing into a siren's lament lowered
three octaves, wind and seagulls barely perceived in this profound
context; it's a masterpiece of the untold, one of the overall best
compositions I've enjoyed in at least a decade. Every sonic object
manipulated by the couple is translated into something utterly
meaningful, and the silences they leave for the sounds to breathe in
are nicely filled by extraneous elements (a faraway bell tower entered
my room at noon this Sunday during this listening session, and it was
wonderful). "Hades" is brilliant, just like everything in the and/OAR
catalogue. (Massimo Ricci)
FURTHERNOISE
(JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2007)
Witnessing an old sunken boat being wrenched from its watery grave
is what gave Marc Behrens and Paulo Raposo the idea to create a
sonic journey towards the depths of the underworld. Though this may
immediately set off the concept album warning light, Behrens and
Raposo base their work on solid, well recorded material collected
from the ports, ferries and the surrounding milieu of various coastal
locations. Their collaboration takes the form of four parts: 2 shorter
'Gates' which work as more active pieces. Machinery squeals and
thuds; tensile coils of metal strain under unknown pressures; sound
becomes dulled by the idea and presence of water. These 'Gates' are
full of spluttery abrasion as they distort and swirl around the listener's
perceptions of real and manipulated sounds. They serve as
introductions the longer 'Crossing into' and 'Crossing out of' pieces
which inhabit the bulk of this release.
The original source material: the sea, the creaking and movement of
these vessels are sensitively constructed and manipulated; modifying,
blurring and focusing reality. Smeared tones and ghostly hollow
sounds drift in and out of the horizon as the real and the processed are
expertly combined, separated, disjointed and lulled. The pace of the
whole album matches the slowed down, thick feeling of slowly drifting
in water. A journey worth taking many times. (Mark McLaren)
(JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2007)
Witnessing an old sunken boat being wrenched from its watery grave
is what gave Marc Behrens and Paulo Raposo the idea to create a
sonic journey towards the depths of the underworld. Though this may
immediately set off the concept album warning light, Behrens and
Raposo base their work on solid, well recorded material collected
from the ports, ferries and the surrounding milieu of various coastal
locations. Their collaboration takes the form of four parts: 2 shorter
'Gates' which work as more active pieces. Machinery squeals and
thuds; tensile coils of metal strain under unknown pressures; sound
becomes dulled by the idea and presence of water. These 'Gates' are
full of spluttery abrasion as they distort and swirl around the listener's
perceptions of real and manipulated sounds. They serve as
introductions the longer 'Crossing into' and 'Crossing out of' pieces
which inhabit the bulk of this release.
The original source material: the sea, the creaking and movement of
these vessels are sensitively constructed and manipulated; modifying,
blurring and focusing reality. Smeared tones and ghostly hollow
sounds drift in and out of the horizon as the real and the processed are
expertly combined, separated, disjointed and lulled. The pace of the
whole album matches the slowed down, thick feeling of slowly drifting
in water. A journey worth taking many times. (Mark McLaren)
ARTFORUM (DECEMBER 2006)
BEST OF 2006: MUSIC
1. Eliane Radigue: Naldjorlank
2. Maryanne Amacher: Gravity - Music For Sound Joined Rooms Series
3. Keiji Haino: Performance at Sound Forest festival, Riga, Latvia
4. Sons Of God: Swedenborg, Stockholm New Music Festival, Sweden
5. Steve Roden: Lines & Spaces
6. Folke Rabe & Jan Bark: Argh! (Kning Disk)
7. John Cage: 18 Microtonal Ragas: Solo 58, performed by Amelia Cuni
and musicians at Festival Marz Musik, Berlin
8. Jonathan Coleclough & Murmer: Husk (ICR)
9. Shinji Aoyama: Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?
10. Marc Behrens & Paulo Raposo: Hades (and/OAR)*
* Behrens draws on his background in product design to create
compositions that are far removed from Frankfurt's click 'n cut
aesthetic - his second collaboration with Paulo Raposo is based on
recordings made on ferries and on harbor quays. (Christina Kubisch)
BEST OF 2006: MUSIC
1. Eliane Radigue: Naldjorlank
2. Maryanne Amacher: Gravity - Music For Sound Joined Rooms Series
3. Keiji Haino: Performance at Sound Forest festival, Riga, Latvia
4. Sons Of God: Swedenborg, Stockholm New Music Festival, Sweden
5. Steve Roden: Lines & Spaces
6. Folke Rabe & Jan Bark: Argh! (Kning Disk)
7. John Cage: 18 Microtonal Ragas: Solo 58, performed by Amelia Cuni
and musicians at Festival Marz Musik, Berlin
8. Jonathan Coleclough & Murmer: Husk (ICR)
9. Shinji Aoyama: Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?
10. Marc Behrens & Paulo Raposo: Hades (and/OAR)*
* Behrens draws on his background in product design to create
compositions that are far removed from Frankfurt's click 'n cut
aesthetic - his second collaboration with Paulo Raposo is based on
recordings made on ferries and on harbor quays. (Christina Kubisch)
DMUTE / LE SON DU GRISLI
(DECEMBER 2006)
Après avoir disposé leur matériel d’enregistrement à l’intérieur d’
embarcations évoluant en rade de Lisbonne, Marc Berhens et Paulo
Raposo montent leurs sound recordings en vue de fantasmer une
traversée du Styx, puis une approche du Royaume d’Hadès.
Ingrédients concrets de l’ambient expérimentale proposée ici, le
souffle des vents et quelques vagues, les craquements du bois des
nacelles puis des chocs métalliques. Relevant l’ensemble concret, le
traitement électronique se charge d’amasser les nappes grondantes, d’
allonger les enregistrements brefs offrant la possibilité de leur propre
changement en bourdon hésitant.
Aux portes d’Hades, donc, la tempête est simulée, qui marie les zones
d’ombres portées aux menaces des flammes, et transporte l’auditeur
de l’appel étrange d’une soufflerie inquiète à l’abîme abstrait de
silences troublants. Le tout déposé lentement, conseillé paisiblement ;
imposé avec confiance et audace. (Guillaume Grisli)
(DECEMBER 2006)
Après avoir disposé leur matériel d’enregistrement à l’intérieur d’
embarcations évoluant en rade de Lisbonne, Marc Berhens et Paulo
Raposo montent leurs sound recordings en vue de fantasmer une
traversée du Styx, puis une approche du Royaume d’Hadès.
Ingrédients concrets de l’ambient expérimentale proposée ici, le
souffle des vents et quelques vagues, les craquements du bois des
nacelles puis des chocs métalliques. Relevant l’ensemble concret, le
traitement électronique se charge d’amasser les nappes grondantes, d’
allonger les enregistrements brefs offrant la possibilité de leur propre
changement en bourdon hésitant.
Aux portes d’Hades, donc, la tempête est simulée, qui marie les zones
d’ombres portées aux menaces des flammes, et transporte l’auditeur
de l’appel étrange d’une soufflerie inquiète à l’abîme abstrait de
silences troublants. Le tout déposé lentement, conseillé paisiblement ;
imposé avec confiance et audace. (Guillaume Grisli)
NEURAL (JANUARY 29, 2007)
Marc Behrens and Paulo Raposo made these recordings one by one at
the beginning, on board a ferry boat and in other places near the Lisbon
area's landing places within the space of three years (2001 - 2003). All
the recordings were afterwards edited and condensed into only four
tracks, poetically hovering between analytical vocations and
audio-narrations. The work is effective in the extremely refined
assemblage tidiness, varied in drones and textures. The sequences
are then dilated, and the harmonies and the iterations, very well
structured following sensitive attractions to (even) immaterial
atmospheres. These practices becomes really influential when the
skills are so unequivocal. These methods are not new in experimental
music, but in this case they reflect the most inspired environments of
the genre. This is an incomparably limpid (lucid) sound art work, even
in the uncertain lack of specific programs and theories supporting what
the music extensively tells and charms. (Aurelio Cianciotta)
Marc Behrens and Paulo Raposo made these recordings one by one at
the beginning, on board a ferry boat and in other places near the Lisbon
area's landing places within the space of three years (2001 - 2003). All
the recordings were afterwards edited and condensed into only four
tracks, poetically hovering between analytical vocations and
audio-narrations. The work is effective in the extremely refined
assemblage tidiness, varied in drones and textures. The sequences
are then dilated, and the harmonies and the iterations, very well
structured following sensitive attractions to (even) immaterial
atmospheres. These practices becomes really influential when the
skills are so unequivocal. These methods are not new in experimental
music, but in this case they reflect the most inspired environments of
the genre. This is an incomparably limpid (lucid) sound art work, even
in the uncertain lack of specific programs and theories supporting what
the music extensively tells and charms. (Aurelio Cianciotta)
ALL MUSIC GUIDE (MARCH 2007)
In the minds of Marc Behrens and Paulo Raposo, Hades, the abode of
the Dead, is a water-world, but only because they elected to focus their
attention on the Styx, the river one must cross to get there. Hades (the
album) is definitely water-centric. The two artists have recorded their
sound material on ferry boats and quays in Lisboa (Portugal). The album
also features additional material recorded by Patrick McGinley (aka
Murmer) who also has a very strong water-based release to his credit
("They Were Dreaming They Were Stones"). Hades consists of four
pieces with titles depicting a journey to and back from the Greek
underworld. The two different “Gate” pieces are portals made of wood:
the creaking wood of old boats, the sound of floating objects hitting
piers. These portals are quickly behind us and lead to the two main
tracks: "Crossing Into” and “Crossing Out Of”. Here we are treated to
delicate and disquieting compositions made of splashing water, (not
quite) silent sailing, mournful foghorn calls, wincing metal brackets,
and various other sounds evoking a ghost ship sailing through a
haunted area. These pieces are more eventful and image-filled than
Behrens’ usual output, but they are just as carefully paced and
artistically shaped as ever, turning Hades into a vivid cinema for the
ear and a must-have for sound art afficionados.
Note that the sleeve announces five tracks (“1. Gate”, “2. Crossing
Into”, “[3. Hades]”, “4. Gate”, & “5. Crossing Out Of”), but the third one
is placed between brackets, as it does not exist. There isn't a piece for
Hades per se on this album, only the journey leading to and out of it.
(François Couture)
In the minds of Marc Behrens and Paulo Raposo, Hades, the abode of
the Dead, is a water-world, but only because they elected to focus their
attention on the Styx, the river one must cross to get there. Hades (the
album) is definitely water-centric. The two artists have recorded their
sound material on ferry boats and quays in Lisboa (Portugal). The album
also features additional material recorded by Patrick McGinley (aka
Murmer) who also has a very strong water-based release to his credit
("They Were Dreaming They Were Stones"). Hades consists of four
pieces with titles depicting a journey to and back from the Greek
underworld. The two different “Gate” pieces are portals made of wood:
the creaking wood of old boats, the sound of floating objects hitting
piers. These portals are quickly behind us and lead to the two main
tracks: "Crossing Into” and “Crossing Out Of”. Here we are treated to
delicate and disquieting compositions made of splashing water, (not
quite) silent sailing, mournful foghorn calls, wincing metal brackets,
and various other sounds evoking a ghost ship sailing through a
haunted area. These pieces are more eventful and image-filled than
Behrens’ usual output, but they are just as carefully paced and
artistically shaped as ever, turning Hades into a vivid cinema for the
ear and a must-have for sound art afficionados.
Note that the sleeve announces five tracks (“1. Gate”, “2. Crossing
Into”, “[3. Hades]”, “4. Gate”, & “5. Crossing Out Of”), but the third one
is placed between brackets, as it does not exist. There isn't a piece for
Hades per se on this album, only the journey leading to and out of it.
(François Couture)
PARIS TRANSATLANTIC (FEBRUARY 2007)
Marc Behrens and Paulo Raposo have been running the Sirr label
together since 2001, but this collaborative release appears on the
increasingly wonderful and/OAR imprint, which is going from strength
to strength these days. After some early cassette only releases,
Behrens' first CD Advanced Environmental Control appeared on
Bernhard Günter's Trente Oiseaux label in 1995, but, as is also the
case with Francisco López, it's a mistake to associate him exclusively
with the quieter end of abstract electronic music. Hades in fact is quite
noisy, especially 34 seconds into the opening track, "Gate", a
clattering, squeaking assemblage of sounds recorded on Portuguese
ferryboats, but it eventually settles into more familiar territory: low
rumbling drones and ghostly wails, accompanied by meticulously
transformed natural sounds (footsteps, doors slamming, distant voices,
and waves breaking). Hades, as Wikipedia will tell you (hey, if Wiki's
good enough for Phil Freeman it's good enough for me – 'scuse me if I
haven't got time to re-read The Odyssey), was "the gloomy abode of the
dead, where almost all mortals go. There is no reward or special
punishment in this Hades, akin to the Hebrew sheol. In later Greek
philosophy appeared the idea that all the dead are judged after death
and rewarded or punished. In this view, Hades was the destiny of
those who were not particularly good or bad." Indeed; if you were good
you ended up in the Elysian Fields (not my idea of fun, the Champs-
Elysées, I can tell you), if you were bad it was off to Tartarus and if they
couldn't make up their mind what to do with you you went to Asphodel.
That probably explains why DJ Spooky ended up there. Anyway,
whether the south bank of the River Tagus is Lisboan Paulo Raposo's
idea of "the gloomy abode of the dead" or not is open to question (it
looks a far nicer place to hang out than certain parts of Manchester I
know), but if it's as beautiful as the music on this album I'll take my
place in the queue to cross the Acheron right now. I'm waiting for the
silent boatman / To ferry me across the unknown waters.
Oops, wrong album. (Dan Warburton)
Marc Behrens and Paulo Raposo have been running the Sirr label
together since 2001, but this collaborative release appears on the
increasingly wonderful and/OAR imprint, which is going from strength
to strength these days. After some early cassette only releases,
Behrens' first CD Advanced Environmental Control appeared on
Bernhard Günter's Trente Oiseaux label in 1995, but, as is also the
case with Francisco López, it's a mistake to associate him exclusively
with the quieter end of abstract electronic music. Hades in fact is quite
noisy, especially 34 seconds into the opening track, "Gate", a
clattering, squeaking assemblage of sounds recorded on Portuguese
ferryboats, but it eventually settles into more familiar territory: low
rumbling drones and ghostly wails, accompanied by meticulously
transformed natural sounds (footsteps, doors slamming, distant voices,
and waves breaking). Hades, as Wikipedia will tell you (hey, if Wiki's
good enough for Phil Freeman it's good enough for me – 'scuse me if I
haven't got time to re-read The Odyssey), was "the gloomy abode of the
dead, where almost all mortals go. There is no reward or special
punishment in this Hades, akin to the Hebrew sheol. In later Greek
philosophy appeared the idea that all the dead are judged after death
and rewarded or punished. In this view, Hades was the destiny of
those who were not particularly good or bad." Indeed; if you were good
you ended up in the Elysian Fields (not my idea of fun, the Champs-
Elysées, I can tell you), if you were bad it was off to Tartarus and if they
couldn't make up their mind what to do with you you went to Asphodel.
That probably explains why DJ Spooky ended up there. Anyway,
whether the south bank of the River Tagus is Lisboan Paulo Raposo's
idea of "the gloomy abode of the dead" or not is open to question (it
looks a far nicer place to hang out than certain parts of Manchester I
know), but if it's as beautiful as the music on this album I'll take my
place in the queue to cross the Acheron right now. I'm waiting for the
silent boatman / To ferry me across the unknown waters.
Oops, wrong album. (Dan Warburton)
AQUARIUS RECORDS (APRIL 2007)
Sourced from recordings made aboard Lisbon ferries and at the quays
of Cais do Sodre (one of the neighborhoods in the Portuguese capital),
Marc Behrens and Paolo Raposo have constructed an allegorical set of
compositions on Hades that intentionally mirror the mythological
journey in crossing the River Styx. According to the ancient Greek
beliefs, Styx was a border between the Underworld and Earth; and a
ferry was the only means of transportation across the river. When put
into a modern context of sound art and field-recording based collage,
quotidian sounds such as the rumble of a diesel motor as it spews
crusty exhaust and the creaking of the hull against the pier takes on a
much more profound significance.
Behrens and Raposo have done quite a good job in highlighting
particular sounds, frequencies, and vibrations from the aquatic journey
in traveling through Lisbon by way of boat, as a way of transforming
that experience into a sombre event of mournful bellows and
anguished sighs. Yet on occasion, Hades becomes agitated with
rasping clatters of mechanical noise, alluding that the end of life is
certainly not an easy journey. For an album about such a portentous
subject as death, Behrens and Raposo do well to concentrate upon
their sounds through the lens of a minimalist conceptual framework
and allow the mythological and allegorical images to flow around their
well-grafted sound. (Jim Haynes)
Sourced from recordings made aboard Lisbon ferries and at the quays
of Cais do Sodre (one of the neighborhoods in the Portuguese capital),
Marc Behrens and Paolo Raposo have constructed an allegorical set of
compositions on Hades that intentionally mirror the mythological
journey in crossing the River Styx. According to the ancient Greek
beliefs, Styx was a border between the Underworld and Earth; and a
ferry was the only means of transportation across the river. When put
into a modern context of sound art and field-recording based collage,
quotidian sounds such as the rumble of a diesel motor as it spews
crusty exhaust and the creaking of the hull against the pier takes on a
much more profound significance.
Behrens and Raposo have done quite a good job in highlighting
particular sounds, frequencies, and vibrations from the aquatic journey
in traveling through Lisbon by way of boat, as a way of transforming
that experience into a sombre event of mournful bellows and
anguished sighs. Yet on occasion, Hades becomes agitated with
rasping clatters of mechanical noise, alluding that the end of life is
certainly not an easy journey. For an album about such a portentous
subject as death, Behrens and Raposo do well to concentrate upon
their sounds through the lens of a minimalist conceptual framework
and allow the mythological and allegorical images to flow around their
well-grafted sound. (Jim Haynes)
E / I (SEPTEMBER 2007)
With The Sun, Andrew Deutsch aims to construct a sound event that is
static, or which, at any rate, shimmers in its fixed place. Towards this
end, an ocean’s wave is adopted as the sound source which becomes
the object of an excessive fixation on the part of Deutsch. Over the
course of the work, however, the recording moves from its largely
immobile, frozen state, and comes alive as a spectral apparition. What
remains fixed, that is, what one experiences as stationary, is the gaze
of Deutsch itself. Through various digital processing devices, then,
Deutsch not only makes the ebb and flow of the waves chime, rattle
and clang along an expanded dynamic range, he stands himself in as
the frozen point of immobility, creating a fine catch and retreat game
between him and his source sounds. Hovering clusters of organ-like
notes and panoramic spaces are thereby seen from a fascinating
perspective, one that participates in rather than frames the
proceedings. Deutsch himself makes efforts to point out that this is
music specifically intended to aid in the process of painting. While this
work is no doubt successful on that front, intentions be what they may,
the simple appearance of this work, with its sonorous humming and
eloquent, effulgent tones, is becoming in and of itself. Successful, too,
is Hades, a collaborative work between Paulo Raposo and Marc
Behrens, which took place over some three years. Sounds featured
are the knocking of a ship’s hull, the clanking of gates and thrum of
motors, all of which were captured aboard Lisbon ferries at the quays
of Cais do Sodre, Trafaria and Cacilhas. Quite clearly, the pair are not
only interested in the exhibition of a sonic environment, with all its
respective particularities and manners, but their arrangement in a
complex structure of many levels that feed into each other, overlap,
and separate in a partially controlled yet spontaneous fashion.
Unlike The Sun, which is largely serene, Behrens and Raposo favor
abrupt oscillations, doleful pauses, and more or less sudden changes
of attack. It stands as an approach that comes to work as well as it
does on account of the concise and insightful way that it is employed.
The boom and squeal of machinery, while exaggerated many a
sawtooth edge, providing a leap in intensity, is shaded well by metallic
monochrome reverb and brooding, suspended chords and hovering
atmospheres, which approach and recede like the tides. Although more
manic, then, with so many muffled squawks and rasping, churning
drones that enable one pleasure through displeasure, it also oozes a
sublime oceanic stillness. A most remarkable document, it seems to
give a presentiment of the dimension of the kernel from whence this
environment came. (Max Schaefer)
With The Sun, Andrew Deutsch aims to construct a sound event that is
static, or which, at any rate, shimmers in its fixed place. Towards this
end, an ocean’s wave is adopted as the sound source which becomes
the object of an excessive fixation on the part of Deutsch. Over the
course of the work, however, the recording moves from its largely
immobile, frozen state, and comes alive as a spectral apparition. What
remains fixed, that is, what one experiences as stationary, is the gaze
of Deutsch itself. Through various digital processing devices, then,
Deutsch not only makes the ebb and flow of the waves chime, rattle
and clang along an expanded dynamic range, he stands himself in as
the frozen point of immobility, creating a fine catch and retreat game
between him and his source sounds. Hovering clusters of organ-like
notes and panoramic spaces are thereby seen from a fascinating
perspective, one that participates in rather than frames the
proceedings. Deutsch himself makes efforts to point out that this is
music specifically intended to aid in the process of painting. While this
work is no doubt successful on that front, intentions be what they may,
the simple appearance of this work, with its sonorous humming and
eloquent, effulgent tones, is becoming in and of itself. Successful, too,
is Hades, a collaborative work between Paulo Raposo and Marc
Behrens, which took place over some three years. Sounds featured
are the knocking of a ship’s hull, the clanking of gates and thrum of
motors, all of which were captured aboard Lisbon ferries at the quays
of Cais do Sodre, Trafaria and Cacilhas. Quite clearly, the pair are not
only interested in the exhibition of a sonic environment, with all its
respective particularities and manners, but their arrangement in a
complex structure of many levels that feed into each other, overlap,
and separate in a partially controlled yet spontaneous fashion.
Unlike The Sun, which is largely serene, Behrens and Raposo favor
abrupt oscillations, doleful pauses, and more or less sudden changes
of attack. It stands as an approach that comes to work as well as it
does on account of the concise and insightful way that it is employed.
The boom and squeal of machinery, while exaggerated many a
sawtooth edge, providing a leap in intensity, is shaded well by metallic
monochrome reverb and brooding, suspended chords and hovering
atmospheres, which approach and recede like the tides. Although more
manic, then, with so many muffled squawks and rasping, churning
drones that enable one pleasure through displeasure, it also oozes a
sublime oceanic stillness. A most remarkable document, it seems to
give a presentiment of the dimension of the kernel from whence this
environment came. (Max Schaefer)
THE SQUID'S EAR (APRIL 2007)
Hard to believe that Marc Behrens once made abstract, reductionist
techno (under his Feedback Bleep and Eyephone guises), as his
recorded output since those early 90s operations are literal
three-sixties, manifesting themselves instead via installation, field
recordings and sound art work. He seemed to shed his former skin
completely, turning his back on all things rhythmic - and harmonic or
melodic, for that matter - for "serious" artistic endeavors of more
site-specific, concretized and politicized natures. Paulo Raposo,
whose modus operandi virtually mirrors Behrens' own, founded the
Portuguese experimental imprint Sirr, and has built up just as
provocative a career muddying the waters between audio, visual,
space, and architecture by highlighting the situationist malleabilities
of sound.
On Hades, both Raposo and Behrens integrate natural sounds and
"synthetic" occurrences so seamlessly that the environment created
is rendered totally physical, a subliminal actualization of minutely
coarse, occasional texture. What goes in between the sounds is every
bit as important as what our ears duly render - grey area becomes a
third dimension in the stereo field, the mind effectively filling in the
blanks during each "epic" bit of sonic grandeur, thanks to the duo's
cinematic acumen. Using sonic flotsam coaxed off of ferry boats and at
the quays of Cais do Sodré, Trafaria, and Cacilhas, Portugal, despite
the inherent proclamation of the album title, Behrens and Raposo want
to offer glimpses and sensations rather than broad portraits of
whatever seventh circles they've witnessed visually. The opening
"Gate" is about as clangorous as the recording gets, as a river's tidal
rush, scraping ship's hulls against scabrous pilings and the rusting
shells of buoys, explodes into an index of metals and whitewash,
nature's own ambience subverted into a twisted soundscape. On
"Crossing Into," random squeaks weep between taut pulses, metal
fibers are scored so their resonances seem to decay indefinitely;
timbre is altered in an engrossing enough fashion that each steel ping,
knock and shiver achieves an epic, otherworldly heft.
Though broken up into five distinct points of reference, Hades' long
day's journey into night has been constructed to flow effortlessly along
its Stygian parameters, Behrens' and Raposo navigating the compass
of the soundscape with a bracing intensity of purpose. Eclipsing
contextual margins that reaches far beyond mere installation
wallpaper, Hades supple imagery informs a powerful work that ballasts
its exotic origins. (Darren Bergstein)
Hard to believe that Marc Behrens once made abstract, reductionist
techno (under his Feedback Bleep and Eyephone guises), as his
recorded output since those early 90s operations are literal
three-sixties, manifesting themselves instead via installation, field
recordings and sound art work. He seemed to shed his former skin
completely, turning his back on all things rhythmic - and harmonic or
melodic, for that matter - for "serious" artistic endeavors of more
site-specific, concretized and politicized natures. Paulo Raposo,
whose modus operandi virtually mirrors Behrens' own, founded the
Portuguese experimental imprint Sirr, and has built up just as
provocative a career muddying the waters between audio, visual,
space, and architecture by highlighting the situationist malleabilities
of sound.
On Hades, both Raposo and Behrens integrate natural sounds and
"synthetic" occurrences so seamlessly that the environment created
is rendered totally physical, a subliminal actualization of minutely
coarse, occasional texture. What goes in between the sounds is every
bit as important as what our ears duly render - grey area becomes a
third dimension in the stereo field, the mind effectively filling in the
blanks during each "epic" bit of sonic grandeur, thanks to the duo's
cinematic acumen. Using sonic flotsam coaxed off of ferry boats and at
the quays of Cais do Sodré, Trafaria, and Cacilhas, Portugal, despite
the inherent proclamation of the album title, Behrens and Raposo want
to offer glimpses and sensations rather than broad portraits of
whatever seventh circles they've witnessed visually. The opening
"Gate" is about as clangorous as the recording gets, as a river's tidal
rush, scraping ship's hulls against scabrous pilings and the rusting
shells of buoys, explodes into an index of metals and whitewash,
nature's own ambience subverted into a twisted soundscape. On
"Crossing Into," random squeaks weep between taut pulses, metal
fibers are scored so their resonances seem to decay indefinitely;
timbre is altered in an engrossing enough fashion that each steel ping,
knock and shiver achieves an epic, otherworldly heft.
Though broken up into five distinct points of reference, Hades' long
day's journey into night has been constructed to flow effortlessly along
its Stygian parameters, Behrens' and Raposo navigating the compass
of the soundscape with a bracing intensity of purpose. Eclipsing
contextual margins that reaches far beyond mere installation
wallpaper, Hades supple imagery informs a powerful work that ballasts
its exotic origins. (Darren Bergstein)
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