Track Listing:
1. Sonarchy: March 17, 2007
2. Chapel Performance Space: February 29, 2008
3. Contemporary Crafts Gallery: September 16, 2004
4. Hollow Earth Radio: September 8, 2008
5. Decibel Festival: May 24, 2007
A Mimeomeme release in cooperation with and/OAR.
"The Seattle Phonographers Union convene to explore the ways in which we
recognize, differentiate, map, and navigate our sonic environment. Our intent
is to move beyond habitual experience of sound and uncover what is foreign in
the familiar and familiar about the foreign; to explore what we hear and relearn
what we know. Some sounds will be familiar, others less so. Both novel and
familiar sounds will be juxtaposed in ways unique to each event. Our intent is
to investigate and enrich both our intuitive and analytical relationship with
sound. The goal is not to excite, confuse or entertain per se, but to attend to the
world, which is much more detailed and diverse than any one person's
perception of it." (from program notes written by Yitzchak Dumiel for the very
first SPU performance in 2002)
As has always been the case with this particular Phonographers Union group
(there are several in located in other cities in the US and UK), no processing is
used during the performances, so what you hear are straight-up field
recordings mixed within live improvised settings. This release encapsulates
some of the finest performances over the span of four years from 2004 to 2008.
Longtime followers of and/OAR's catalog and history (e.g. the compilations
produced for Phonography.org) will be familiar with names of most of the
members of SPU featured throughout this release:
- Steve Barsotti
- Peter Comley
- Christopher DeLaurenti
- Katie Gately
- Mark Griswold
- Doug Haire
- Susie Kozawa (also of Aono Jikken Ensemble)
- Dale Lloyd
- Perri Lynch
- Robert Millis (also of Climax Golden Twins)
- Toby Paddock
- Heather Perkins
- Steve Peters
- Jonathan Way
The Seattle Phonographers Union also have a CD released by Accretions
(Live On Sonarchy Radio, 2004) that features Marcos Fernandes (founder of
Accretions).
1. Sonarchy: March 17, 2007
2. Chapel Performance Space: February 29, 2008
3. Contemporary Crafts Gallery: September 16, 2004
4. Hollow Earth Radio: September 8, 2008
5. Decibel Festival: May 24, 2007
A Mimeomeme release in cooperation with and/OAR.
"The Seattle Phonographers Union convene to explore the ways in which we
recognize, differentiate, map, and navigate our sonic environment. Our intent
is to move beyond habitual experience of sound and uncover what is foreign in
the familiar and familiar about the foreign; to explore what we hear and relearn
what we know. Some sounds will be familiar, others less so. Both novel and
familiar sounds will be juxtaposed in ways unique to each event. Our intent is
to investigate and enrich both our intuitive and analytical relationship with
sound. The goal is not to excite, confuse or entertain per se, but to attend to the
world, which is much more detailed and diverse than any one person's
perception of it." (from program notes written by Yitzchak Dumiel for the very
first SPU performance in 2002)
As has always been the case with this particular Phonographers Union group
(there are several in located in other cities in the US and UK), no processing is
used during the performances, so what you hear are straight-up field
recordings mixed within live improvised settings. This release encapsulates
some of the finest performances over the span of four years from 2004 to 2008.
Longtime followers of and/OAR's catalog and history (e.g. the compilations
produced for Phonography.org) will be familiar with names of most of the
members of SPU featured throughout this release:
- Steve Barsotti
- Peter Comley
- Christopher DeLaurenti
- Katie Gately
- Mark Griswold
- Doug Haire
- Susie Kozawa (also of Aono Jikken Ensemble)
- Dale Lloyd
- Perri Lynch
- Robert Millis (also of Climax Golden Twins)
- Toby Paddock
- Heather Perkins
- Steve Peters
- Jonathan Way
The Seattle Phonographers Union also have a CD released by Accretions
(Live On Sonarchy Radio, 2004) that features Marcos Fernandes (founder of
Accretions).
artist: SEATTLE PHONOGRAPHERS UNION
title: Seattle Phonographers Union
catalog number: and/mim1
release year: 2009
format: CD
status: sold out (still available through Mimeomeme)
title: Seattle Phonographers Union
catalog number: and/mim1
release year: 2009
format: CD
status: sold out (still available through Mimeomeme)
PARIS TRANSATLANTIC (FEBRUARY 2010)
Until recently, improvisation and field recordings were two occasionally
intersecting areas of sonic experimentalism. Seattle Phonographers Union
– fourteen individuals including Dale Lloyd, Christopher DeLaurenti and
Steve Peters – simply fuse the two concepts into one: field recording-based
improvisation. A manifesto characterized by noble intents (notably "uncover
what is foreign in the familiar and familiar about the foreign; to explore what
we hear and relearn what we know" ) is actuated in five tracks in which the
live dialogue between the collective's members is so seamless that the
results resemble the work of a single composer. The many pros and (very
few) cons typical of this sort of operation are evident: spectacular
juxtapositions of environment and human urbanization are mixed with
cyclical squeaking noises, a combination of pre-recorded tapes from
different eras and the sound of water materializing after the sudden
appearance of potent buzzing drones, with shepherds and muezzins making
their presence heard from time to time. And those marvellous gliding
aeroplane moans which I could die listening to. My personal way of
evaluating a release constructed upon the surrounding sounds of life lies in
its capacity of letting one feel "left behind", faced with distant events that
can be merely guessed, conscious that other people are living that
experience and willing to imagine their reaction while it's happening.
According to that criterion, Seattle Phonographers Union largely succeeds,
improvisation or not. (Massimo Ricci)
Until recently, improvisation and field recordings were two occasionally
intersecting areas of sonic experimentalism. Seattle Phonographers Union
– fourteen individuals including Dale Lloyd, Christopher DeLaurenti and
Steve Peters – simply fuse the two concepts into one: field recording-based
improvisation. A manifesto characterized by noble intents (notably "uncover
what is foreign in the familiar and familiar about the foreign; to explore what
we hear and relearn what we know" ) is actuated in five tracks in which the
live dialogue between the collective's members is so seamless that the
results resemble the work of a single composer. The many pros and (very
few) cons typical of this sort of operation are evident: spectacular
juxtapositions of environment and human urbanization are mixed with
cyclical squeaking noises, a combination of pre-recorded tapes from
different eras and the sound of water materializing after the sudden
appearance of potent buzzing drones, with shepherds and muezzins making
their presence heard from time to time. And those marvellous gliding
aeroplane moans which I could die listening to. My personal way of
evaluating a release constructed upon the surrounding sounds of life lies in
its capacity of letting one feel "left behind", faced with distant events that
can be merely guessed, conscious that other people are living that
experience and willing to imagine their reaction while it's happening.
According to that criterion, Seattle Phonographers Union largely succeeds,
improvisation or not. (Massimo Ricci)
VITAL WEEKLY (JUNE 2010)
The Seattle Phonographers Union is a group of people who improvise live
with unprocessed field recordings. A floating membership, but we
recognize such names as Dale Lloyd (who co-released this on his and/OAR
label), Steve Peters, Christopher DeLaurenti, Steve Barsotti but also people
I never heard of, such as Perri Lynch, Rob Millis, Toby Paddock, Heather
Perkins and more. The deal is that people bring field recordings to the
concert venue and play them, from a laptop, mini disc or such like, while
listening what the others bring to the table, and make a sonic construction
out of that. I must say I really like the idea behind that. There are five
unedited bits from live concerts, between nine and twenty minutes. The
problem might be a bit with this, that it perhaps all sounds a like. There is a
steady stream of sounds of sounds fading in and out and sometimes they
are familiar (rain, wind, human labor, birds, talking) and sometimes harder
to pin down, but its all a bit too much presented as a flow. A sudden break,
a swift change, or maybe some sort of effects, even it be only a loop of a
sound, would have a made a small but interesting difference and make a
more musical piece, but perhaps that is not the intention of The Seattle
Phonographers Union. Now, don't get me wrong, if field recordings are your
cup of tea, and its mine, then this is a great work. You can tune into the
world around you, lie back and enjoy this continuous stream of sound. Quite
nice. (Frans de Waard)
The Seattle Phonographers Union is a group of people who improvise live
with unprocessed field recordings. A floating membership, but we
recognize such names as Dale Lloyd (who co-released this on his and/OAR
label), Steve Peters, Christopher DeLaurenti, Steve Barsotti but also people
I never heard of, such as Perri Lynch, Rob Millis, Toby Paddock, Heather
Perkins and more. The deal is that people bring field recordings to the
concert venue and play them, from a laptop, mini disc or such like, while
listening what the others bring to the table, and make a sonic construction
out of that. I must say I really like the idea behind that. There are five
unedited bits from live concerts, between nine and twenty minutes. The
problem might be a bit with this, that it perhaps all sounds a like. There is a
steady stream of sounds of sounds fading in and out and sometimes they
are familiar (rain, wind, human labor, birds, talking) and sometimes harder
to pin down, but its all a bit too much presented as a flow. A sudden break,
a swift change, or maybe some sort of effects, even it be only a loop of a
sound, would have a made a small but interesting difference and make a
more musical piece, but perhaps that is not the intention of The Seattle
Phonographers Union. Now, don't get me wrong, if field recordings are your
cup of tea, and its mine, then this is a great work. You can tune into the
world around you, lie back and enjoy this continuous stream of sound. Quite
nice. (Frans de Waard)
