Name: Terra Incognita by KatherineYoung
Duration: 3 min 59 s
Description: from "Further Secret Origins" (Porter Records)

from "Further Secret Origins" (Porter Records)

Terra Incognita

Editions Mego reissue the 2001 release Asuma by Finnish artist Ilpo Väisänen. Originally released on CD this is the first ever vinyl issue, remastered by Rashad Becker. 2001 is a landmark year for the artist following a wave of success from the notable outfit Väisänen formed alongside Mika Vanio, Pan Sonic (as they were now known then). Following a string of highly acclaimed and influential releases such as “Vakio”, “Kulma”, “A’ and “Aaltopiiri” Pan Sonic had toured the globe extensively leaving a trail of blown expectations and rumours of all manner of objects in venues cracking or falling apart due to the immense sound the duo concocted with their unique instruments.

Taking a break from the ecstatic cacophony of Pan Sonic, Väisänen retreated to work on a solo release which conjured the spirits of the former outfit whilst simultaneously carving out a more personal take on these new electronic forms.

Asuma is a precise study of drones, rhythms, clicks, ambience and gentle confusion. Whilst inhabiting a zone of abstraction the results also move in a natural field as Väisänen’s native Finland permeates these recordings as much as the idea of experimentation itself.

Autioitu 1 opens the album as delicate pinball rhythms bounce across the spectrum as a hairy drone hovers underneath. The mood is both intriguing and unsettling. Tukahduttaja is a delightfully disorientating sound sculpture that is hard to pinpoint what it actually is. Klikki is comparable to a microscopic version of Pink Floyd’s “Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict”. Asumaton is a foreboding miniature acting like a segway to Vallitseva which embraces the icy clicks that punctuates much of the Pan Sonic output. Arvioimaton Ongelma is an audio riddle whilst Jaettu jitters around a dancefloor crawl. Autioitu closes proceedings as a gentle ambient thumper. Asuma is awash with contradiction and mystery. This is time wrapped in twisted turns and rewards a neat payoff for those interested in the absolute fringes of electronic ‘dance’ music.

Ilpo Väisänen 'Autioitu 1 [2025 Remaster]' (EMEGO037)

"y nuestros pasos caeran como gotas de lluvia"

Performed by Spencer Schaffer and David S. Carter April 16, 2023, at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, California.

Subalpine - Spencer Schaffer, trombone; David S. Carter, marimba

In "A Drift, a Thought, a Prayer," fragmentation is fundamental. Ordinary sounds, some “musical” and some not, are broken into pieces. There is a suggestion of a trajectory, yet we primarily hear fragments that have to be perceived only in the here and now. At the center of the piece is the transformation of the human voice - both spoken and sung - via technology. This can happen with implements as simple as using a microphone and as complex and estranging as a vocoder. The transformed voice differs from the natural voice, yet is still recognizable and connects with how air pushes through a larynx.

A Drift, A Thought, A Prayer

Premiered by Daria Binkowski and David S. Carter February 26, 2022 in Azusa, California.

Settling Up - Daria Binkowski, flute; David S. Carter, piano

Composer and bassoonist Katherine Young creates acoustic and electro-acoustic music that uses curious timbres, expressive noises, and kinetic structures to explore the dramatic materiality of sound, constantly shifting ensemble energies, and the tension between the familiar and the strange. 

Recent projects include "slam creak bzzz" for amplified string quartet and electronics, a premiere by Talea Ensemble of "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" for mixed ensemble and 8-channel playback, and a commission from the String Orchestra of Brooklyn. Katherine also wrote the music for choreographer Daria Fain’s TARGET: Furnace for solo dancer and three musicians. The piece had a week-long run at the Chocolate Factory, and The New York Times described the work as “full of absorbing elements...a lushly spare aural landscape...marvelously charged.”  

Katherine has documented her work on numerous recordings, including the 2012 debut of her quartet Pretty Monsters (Public Eyesore), which, according to Neil Tesser "threatens to upend any comfortable divisions between music and noise." Her 2009 solo bassoon release, Further Secret Origins garnered praise in The Wire (“Bassoon colossus”) and Downbeat (“seriously bold leaps for the bassoon”).   

As an improviser, Katherine has toured with Anthony Braxton, recorded with Hans Joachim Irmler from Faust and F.M. Einheit from Einsturzende Neubauten. Over the years she has shared bills with John Zorn and Zeena Parkins and performed with musicians such as Peter Evans, Guillermo Gregorio, Mary Halvorson, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Jeff Parker, Jessica Pavone, Dan Peck, Sam Pluta, Tomeka Reid, and Weasel Walter. Katherine’s active projects also include the duo Architeuthis Walks on Land with violist Amy Cimini and the chamber music collective Till by Turning, who has a recording forthcoming on Klangbad in 2013. 

Terra Incognita

KatherineYoung

Related tracks