Guitars floating around your mind with Bass Booming...

Axe Dub

Jazz 07/12/24

Then She Reaches for the Gun was formed in 2021 by Mat Ward. At its essence is sound collage, experimentation and the desire to merge and defy genres. Ward invites musicians, sound artists, poets and anyone interested to send him files to be used, abused and showcased ‘as suggested by the work’. They are not always musical but field recordings, spoken word, engine noises and drunken rants. Animals participate a lot too! The raw material is arranged one phrase asks for the next in an alchemical and intuitive process that will most often feature dozens of tracks weaving in and out of each other, colliding, harmonising, arguing and laughing along the way.

Both the aesthetic and the compositional methods use what Frank Zappa called Xenochrony - the mixing together of separately recorded and rhythmically opposing musical phrases to create polyrhythmic and polytempi compositions.The work also features fragmented story telling with the human voice (in many languages) appearing unannounced throughout the tracks offering up snippets of thoughts, conversations, jokes and existential angst. The absurdity of humanities desperate claim to have any real understanding of its place in the universe is revealed through the recorded follies and genuine emotions of the participants in these works. The project is a celebration of experimentation, chance, diversity and community. It pays homage to all musical tastes and genres whilst maintaining a sense of humour and irreverence that is needed to stay sane in the climate of early 21st Century contemporary culture.

I Am Never Freer Than When I Am With You features the following artists

Humans

Adam Meredith - Ford XD with XF front mods/Voice
Ambient Annie - Electronica/Field Recording/Voice
Andrew Harper - Field Recordings
Angostura Elwar -  2 x Behringer CRAVE analog synths/Yamaha P200 electronic piano 
Antonella Eye Porcelluzzi - Text/Voice
Ariad Music - Clarinet/Percussion/Piano
Axel Weiß - Electric Guitar/Robot Voices
Banalytic - experimental Electronics
Belial Pelgrim - Digital Strings/Electronica
Brendan Corey Benson - Electric Guitar
Carolyn Wigston - Voice
Chicago Word Brigade - Electronica
Dan Hewins - Bass Guitar
Dane Renshaw - Drums/Voice
Dani Kirby - Keyboard/Piano/Voice
Dylan Banks - Intonarumori/Voice
Frank Wilke - French Horn/Trombone/Voice
Garbage Truck Disco - Drum programming/Electric Guitar/Joyous Pop Punk
Glenn Ward - Electric Guitar/Skyhooks
Hakan - Moog Voyager XL
Hverheij- Drums/Electric Guitar/Synth
Johnny Python- Bass Guitar/Drum Programming/Electric Guitar/Text/Voice
JZsuperstar - Electric Guitar/Field Recordings/Keyboards
Lady ElectroTrek - Organ
Libby Laksmi - Jazzy Loops/Synth Bass
Loop(c)y - Electric Guitar
Malo Bernard-O’Meara - Drums
Maxx Black - Guitar/Ukulele
Minimal Drone Girl - Cat Wrangling/Field Recordings
Oberlin - Eurorack/Piano
Paolo D’Emilio - Electronica
Paul Miller - Electronic Percussion/Keyboards/Phat Electro Bass
Phil Bywater - Saxophones/Voice
Raul Mainer - DAW Programming/Heavy Metal
Robert Jefferson - Akai Rhythm wolf/GakkenSX-150 ll/Korg Kaosilator/Percussion
Rosin Dust - Violin/Field Recordings
Sarah Megahertz - Speedway Noise
Scratch Kelly - Beats/Electronica
Stan Magendanz - Electronica
Ten Atmospheres - Field Recordings/Synths
Texmex Shaman - Electric Guitar
The Windscale Blues Experiment - Clarinet/Flute/Saxophones
Timothy Korstad - Demons/Electronica
Thomas Bergheim - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar
Tobias Schmitt - Electronica/Processed Organ/Text
Tuonela - Demons/Electronica
Vartch - Drones/Things/Trousers (not T-shirts)/Voice
Widar’s Spiritual Front - Electronica/Ms Pacman
W:I:L-o’ the-wisp - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar/Electronica
Wivresse - Electronica/Voice
Zanshin - Acoustic and Processed Drums

Mat Ward - Arrangements/Bass Guitar/Double Bass/Field Recordings/Intonarumori/Marimba/Noise/Percussion/Piano

Dogs
Boogie
Brophy
Buddy
Hancho
Jack
Momo
Neska
Poldo
Senna
Shyamsundara
Star

Oily (cat)
And many cows from Milis, Sardinia

I Am Never Freer Than When I Am With You

I did the picture. (It's a little cropped and re-sized)

ciderpunk

TIC TAC TOE

All You Need Apparently

Chapter 228 of 266

This chapter was written and produced with one ear. Working through getting my right ear back to normal. The show must go on.

Enter the enigmatic world of "TAFFETA," a musical tapestry woven from the threads of dreams and tragedy. Born from a single night of profound dreaming, this ambitious project embarks on an exploration of the human psyche through the language of instrumental music.

This is a five-year project, comprising of what will eventually end at 266 chapters, each is a standalone piece of sonic artistry, "TAFFETA" unfolds like a novel, with each composition serving as a chapter in a larger narrative. Crafted with meticulous care and creative fervor, every piece is birthed within the span of a week, capturing the essence of inspiration in its purest form.

But "TAFFETA" is more than just a collection of songs; it's a journey of the soul. Set against the backdrop of loss and longing, the project follows the story of a woman who slips into a coma following the untimely death of her husband. Through the evocative power of music, listeners are transported into her world, where emotions ebb and flow like the tides of a restless sea.

Week by week, each chapter of "TAFFETA" unfolds on SoundCloud, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in its haunting beauty. From cinematic compositions to haunting electronic soundscapes, each piece adds a layer to the intricate tapestry of sound, weaving a narrative that transcends the boundaries of language.

As listeners embark on this sonic voyage, they are invited to ponder the mysteries of existence, to confront the depths of sorrow and the resilience of the human spirit. "TAFFETA" is not merely a musical project; it's an experience—a testament to the transformative power of music to touch hearts, stir souls, and awaken the imagination.

If you wish to take a dive into everything that has come before:
The TAFFETA Albums each contain 15 consecutive tracks and are available for free, exclusively on Bandcamp.

TAFFETA VOL. 14 is now available: https://belialpelegrim.bandcamp.com/album/taffeta-vol-14

TAFFETA VOLUMES 1-13 are all available on Bandcamp
https://belialpelegrim.bandcamp.com/

COVER YOUR TORSO WITH TAFFETA! Check out the official TAFFETA t-shirt!
https://belialpelegrim.bandcamp.com/merch/belial-pelegrim-official-taffeta-design

The TAFFETA Playlist is always kept up to date:
soundcloud.com/belial-pelegrim/sets/taffeta-a-266-part-musical?si=d46fc7ad1b50446dadc7ce3ffe1a1b02&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

TAFFETA | 228

perennial

sapere aude
sapere aude
sapere aude
sapere aude
sapere aude
sapere aude
sapere aude
sapere aude

sounds and photographic image: copyright jo richter (there cannot be any copyright claims to the words or the arrangement of the poem - quite in the contrary as they form the neural node of any perennial philosophy)

perennial

Another snippet from Califo Paean, this time featuring bass guitar fighting for its life amongst the reverb. 

Caligo Paean is a 1 hour long sound piece installed on river front property in the town of Franklin, Tasmania as part of the exhibition "When The Fog Clears". It formed part of the Ten Days on The Island Festival March 2025.
The work was installed in several locations across the property including a stack of subs under an old bus, in the main exhibition space and in an abandoned shed some 40 metres from the main area . The speakers were 'tuned' quite differently depending on their location and the sound was not delay corrected with the result of each mini-installation merging with each other in odd sonic ways - kind of calling the listener from one spot to another. The the work features field recordings, percussion, piano, bass guitar and Intonarumori as well as this special one off choir : )

Caligo is the Ancient goddess of Chaos. Born of the fog she controls the darkness, dwells in the void and is as old as the primordial matter that created the universe. This work is a tribute to the goddess as she continues to influence our lives and, in the case of this installation, the site and concept informing the show.

Official press release below for The Fog Clears

Every day, the mists of the Huon Valley perform a seductive dance, gently obscuring and revealing contours of the fertile land and waters. Situated in The Watershed Franklin, When The Fog Clears features six artists from lutruwita / Tasmania exploring the region’s iconic mists through a variety of mediums including installation, sculpture, illustration, sound, and video.

Developed exclusively for Franklin, this exhibit extends from the waterfront itself into the chambers, kilns, and rafters of the shed, inviting visitors to consider fog as an atmosphere that can cloak us in unexpected ways.


image credit: Rosie Hastie

Caligo Paean (Bass solo)

Pour Eliane

There is an orchard that grows where the soil remembers and the trees bloom with silence. The fruit there is darker than midnight and sweeter than sorrow, and once bitten, it teaches your mouth the language of forgetting.

The air here tastes of bruised plums and the voices of those not quite gone. Paths shift when unobserved. Roots whisper beneath the skin. Dreams take on the shape of birds.

No one plants in the Black Orchard.
No one harvests.
It grows by memory alone. 
A myth tangled in vines.
A memory disguised as a tree.

Signals from Black Orchard

Music and things that might sound like music by Mat Ward. Noise Art/A  Piano and Bass Duet with Dani Kirby/A 50 plus member Art Ensemble called Then She Reaches The Gun/Deep Research Into Luigi Russolo and his Intonarumori .. thats just the stuff I post regularly : ) Thanks to everyone thats ever stopped by. Music is The Best!

I Am Never Freer Than When I Am With You

No Mates Ensemble