Lucha Libre

And There Is Us

Aqua

Thème 1

Suzanne Ciani
Buchla Concerts 1975
FKR082LP
Finders Keepers Records

Finders Keepers invite you to witness the incredible first ever Buchla synthesiser concerts/demonstrations providing a distinctive feminine alternative to The Silver Apples Of The Moon if they had ever been presented in phonographic form. This is history in the remaking.

This spring Finders Keepers Records are proud to release an archival project that not only redefines musical history but boasts genuine claim to the overused buzzwords such as pioneering, maverick, experimental, groundbreaking and esoteric, while questioning social politics and the evolution of music technology as we’ve come to understand it. To describe this records as a game-changer is an understatement. This record represents a musical revolution, a scientific benchmark and a trophy in the cabinet of counter culture creativity. This record is a triumphant yardstick in the synthesiser space race and the untold story of the first woman on the proverbial moon. While pondering the early accolades of this record it’s daunting to learn that this record was in fact not a record at all… It was a manifesto and a gateway to a new world, that somehow never quite opened. If the unfamiliar, modernistic, melodic, pulses, tones and harmonics found on this 1975 live presentation/grant application/educational demonstration had been placed in a phonographic context alongside the promoted work of Morton Subotnick, Walter Carlos or Tomita then the name Suzanne Ciani and her influence would have already radically changed the shape, sound and gender of our record collections. Hopefully there is still chance.

In short, Suzanne was a self-imposed twenty-year-old employee of the Buchla modular synthesiser company, San Francisco’s neck and neck contender to New York’s Moog. Buchla was run by a community of festival freaks and academic acid eaters whose roots in new age lifestyles and the reinvention of art and music replaced the business acumen enjoyed by its likeminded East Coasters. In the eyes of the consumer the creative refusal to adopt rudimentary facets like a piano keyboard controller rendered the Buchla synthesiser the more obscure stubborn sister of the synth marathon, steering these incredible units away from the mainstream into the homes and studios of free music aficionados, art house composers and die-hard revolutionaries. Championed and semi-showcased by composer Morton Subotnick on his albums The Bull and Silver Apples Of The Moon, Buchla’s versatility began to open the minds of a new generation, but the high-end design features and no-compromise modus operandi was often confused with incompatibility and, in the pulsating shadow of Moog’s marketing, the revolution would not be televised nor patronised. Suzanne Ciani, as one of the very few female composers on the frontline (and also providing the back line) did not lose faith.

These “concerts” are the epitome of rare music technology historic documents, performed by a real musician whose skills and academic education in classical composition already outweighed her male synthesiser contemporaries of twice her age. At the very start of her fragile career these recordings are nothing short of sacrificial ode to her mentor and machine, sonic pickets of the revolution and love letters to an absolutely genuine vision of and ‘alternative’ musical future. In denouncing her own precocious polymathmatic past in a bid to persuade the world to sing from a new hymn sheet, Suzanne Ciani created a bi-product of never before heard music that would render the pigeon holes “ambient” and “futuristic” utterly inadequate. Providing nothing short of an entirely different feminine take on the experimental “records” of Morton Subotnick and proving to a small, judgmental audience and jury the true versatility of one of the most radical and idiosyncratic musical instruments of the 20th century. These recordings have not been heard since then.

Suzanne Ciani - Buchla Concerts 1975 (Excerpts)

I. 2c 
II. Flutter
III. Moments in Love

out 04.28.17 https://boomkat.com/products/grafts

GRAFTS

Suzanne Ciani
Fish Music
FKSP011 (Finders Keepers Records)
7" | MP3

As the first and only dedicated label to liberate the private, non-commercial artefacts from Suzanne Ciani’s groundbreaking Ciani Musica studio vault, Finders Keepers Records presents an incredible cryogenically suspended slice of precious precocious immersive fledgling synthesis for this ultra limited RSD 2107 title.Ironically well removed from the intension of phonographic application in its original inception, this anti-pop wash of marine biology modular synth sound design was originally proposed by a very young Ciani for exclusive infinite loop airings in a giant mid-American shopping mall aquarium in 1977.
Potentially conjuring ambient scenes from the consumerist satirical Dawn Of The Dead while sonically ushering a genuine desire for total musical science reevaluation/revolution via a decidedly mainstream portal, the Fish Music project is a striking eerie example of how Ciani’s “Subversion With A Smile” approach led to a long career breaking boundaries in formal music technology, film scoring, the advertising industry and gender equality – all of which has continued to fuel her passion and channel her life lust and artistic appetite much to the benefit of future ambitious trajectories of music.
Owing much to the memory of genuine synthesiser maverick Don Buchla this conceptual release is very much the product of artistic America at its progressive halcyon but, with its illustrious and idiosyncratic composition, communicates subtle undertones of Suzanne’s feminine Italian origins which seldom reside outside of the efforts of Roman library composers like Casa, Tomassi, Raskovich and siblings Antonioni and Maria Teresa Luciani. Presented here as an isolated one-sided pressing on aquatic clear vinyl and including the original press release and a press cutting this limited release proceeds a wider series of unreleased Ciani work for 2017. File under… water.

A RECORD STORE DAY 2017 EXCLUSIVE

www.finderskeepersrecords.com
https://finderskeepersrecords.bandcamp.com/album/fish-music

Fish Music

Suzanne Ciani - Fish Music

Experimental cinema sonics, electroacoustic research practice and shadowy wind instruments come together to form this unique interpretation of the mythical city of gold. Utilising rare, half forgotten Soviet era synthesisers Vladimir Karpov creates immersive soundscapes under the name XYR. The Formanta mini keytar and the Alisa 1377 lend Karpov’s music strange, seldom heard atmospheres which the St. Petersburg native then combines with field recordings, toy percussion and wood flute to further build upon his utopian narratives.

Part concept album, part nod to Popol Vuh, his attempt to channel the thematics of the ancient tale of the Muisca people through his modest home studio left a lasting impression on us here at 12th Isle and we’re proud to present a selection of the tracks on vinyl for the very first time. Originally confined to just 25 cassette tapes, for this edition we have assembled some of the most inspiring tracks from the sessions as well as the bonus closing piece ‘Aguirre Song’. Immediately engaging, sincerely heartfelt and strikingly original, these are recordings we have returned to time and time again.

Limited edition LP comes housed in screenprinted sleeve. ‘El Dorado’ recorded April – August 2014, originally released via Illuminated Paths (March 2015).

https://12thisle.bandcamp.com/album/x-y-r-el-dorado

ISLE003

XYR - El Dorado LP (ISLE003)

From the LP "Velocity of Sleep" co-released with XKatedral 2017

Kali Malone "1113"

Zaumne - Élévation

Just before 2020 comes to an end, Berlin-based artist @leozylberberg graces this crazy (!) year  with an oddball of a track: “Sheshells” is a total earworm and at the same time a bit off, maybe. It’s chill, it’s haunted, and it might be the most appropriate end to 2020 one can imagine. “Despite its imperfections, it feels like some sort of antidote to something,” as the Australian artist puts it herself.

Sheshells is published as a digital single. It features an artwork from Paris-based graphic designer and art director Olga Prader’s Ftantasy series. The track is Präsens Editionen’s fourth audio release in 2020, following music by Remo Helfenstein, @samuelreinhard , and @damexlove , that is ranging from gospel and dark ambient-informed lullabies to proper sad-boy-reggaeton-heat.

Zylberberg is a mainstay at @sameheads , Berlin’s most infamous pub / fashion store / club / art space / what not. In 2017, she came to attention with a split tape realized with the wonderful Belia Winnewisser. Earlier this year, the Australian artist published Greatestings on @noisekoelln , a label that came back to life just for this highly limited 10” after a four-year period of inactivity. Zylberberg is part of Balance Crew alongside partner in crime @dane-close .

Sheshells

Buy the Track

L.Zylberberg - Sheshells (PE-022)

Valentina Magaletti is a drummer, percussionist and composer whose goal is to strategically enrich a folkloristic and eclectic palette through endless listening and experimentation with new materials and sounds. She has performed and co-written with many artists including Nicolas Jaar, Jandek, Helm, Raime,Moin, HOoy Tongue,Czn Malcom Catto, Charles Hayward, Graham Lewis (Wire, Dome), Tightpaul Sandra (Coil, Spiritualized, Julian Cope), Thurston Moore, Bat for Lashes, Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), and many more. In her current project, Vanishing Twin she has a more conventional jazz approach that finds its escape in the drone/field recordings of the percussive narrative in other  experimental/avant-garde productions. Valentina was born in Bari, Italy, and lives in London.

She has performed widely with festivals including:
UnSound (Toronto,Krakow),Wysyng Art Centre(Cambridge)
Atonal(Berlin),Festival International Musiques Actuelle (Victoriaville),Festival de la Cité (Lusanne)Museum of Modern Art(Moscow),The Great Escape (BBC Stage),(Brighton),Incubate festival Tilburg),Nuits Sonores(Lion),Hyperreality(Vienna)
Tauron Nowa Muzyk Festival(Katowice) Bozar(Bruxelles),Hyperreality(Vienna)ANLG(NYC),EcoFestival(Madrid),
Loop Festival(Los Angeles),Phono Festival (Odense),Tremor(Azores),
Roskilde (Roskilde),Jazz is Dead(Turin),Le Guess who?(Utrecht),RewireTheHague),Glastonbury(Glastonbury),Supersonic(Birmingham),Sonar(Reykjavik),Time Zones(Bari),Tempo Reale(Florence).

Other performance highlights include several improvised or repertoire presentations at Cafe Oto (London),commissioned work for Zabludowicz collection(London),The Barbican(London),Southbank Center (London),National Theatre and Dance (Lisbon),Sonoscopia (Porto),VAC(Palazzo Delle Zattere, Venezia)

Valentina has performed or composed music released on labels including Editions Mego, Trilogy Tapes, Offen,Takuroku,Marionette,Hands in the Dark,Blank Editions,Confront,Latency,Horn of Plenty,Meakusma,Emotional Response,Other People,Soundway,Fire Records and mony more.

For bookings pleaase contac:
Meri Bonastre
meri@futura-artists.com