http://www.subradar.no/album/teletopa/tokyo-1972

In 1968 the young Sydney composer David Ahern studied in Germany with Stockhausen where he met Cornelius Cardew. The next year he travelled onto London attending Cardew’s classes in ‘Experimental Music’ at Morley College and – in a mammoth seven-hour concert at the Roundhouse on 4 May – participated (with Cardew) in performances of La Monte Young’s String Trio and also took part in the realisation of Paragraph 2 of Cardew’s The Great Learning which proved to be the catalyst for the formation of the Scratch Orchestra. These were revolutionary and defining moments in C20th music.

Returning to Sydney in 1970, one of his aims was to set up an electro-acoustic improvisation group - Teletopa was founded in Sydney in late 1970 by Ahern, Peter Evans and Roger Frampton.

Tokyo 1972 - The Triple LP or Double CD release - features two 50min improvisations from a radio session at NHK studios Tokyo. The group was Ahern, Frampton, Evans and Geoffrey Collins and they were completing a 1972 world tour. The group broke up on their return to Sydney. Only a small example of their work has ever been released before. Liner notes are a manifesto by Ahern from a 1971 pamphlet, and a newly penned Potted History of Teletopa by Geoffrey Barnard, who had been a member of the group from September 1971 until July 1972. The tapes have sat in boxes for 42 years - with this release we can hear that Sydney in the early 1970's had a group at the forefront of musical experimentation with a unique take on free improvisation.
This document is not just important for Australian music – it should establish them posthumously as one of the most interesting developments in experimental music anywhere in the world at this time.

Teletopa - Tokyo 1972 - Improvisation one (Excerpt)

Maximillian Alduca – double bass
Laura Altman – clarinet
Drew Bourgeois – percussion, shakuhachi
Romy Caen – harmonium, electronics
Marco Cheng – acoustic guitar, voice
Jim Denley – wind instruments, voice, objects
Joseph Derrick – trumpet Mel Eden – voice/electronics, objects
Peter Farrar – alto sax and PVC pipes
Andrew Fedorovitch – alto sax, voice, objects
Cor Fuhler – guitar and objects
Prue Fuller – in spirit
Adam Gottlieb – guitar/objects Melanie Herbert – violin
Sonya Holowell – voice Axel Powrie – flutes, objects Shota – umofos (unidentified musical objects from outer-space)
Bonnie Stewart – percussion
Jack Stoneham – alto sax
Tony Osborne – vocals/electronics
WeiZen – little critter, objects, voice.

3 movements:
sunrise Zanci Homestead I – 47:57 Zanci Homestead II - 10:07
sunset Woolshed - 55:26
midnight Airstrip - 38:44

Recorded by Splinter at Lake Mungo National Park 1-3 March 2016. Photos by Splinter
Mixed and mastered by Splinter at Kaloola Artwork Splinter and Clare Cooper Compositions © splinter 2016 (APRA)
For 15 years Splinter have been testing experiments in improvised orchestral music. Over the last two years, we’ve honed specific strategies involving motion that manifest differently wherever and whenever they are played out. In early March 2016 we took these procedures to the dry lakebed at Mungo National Park, far west NSW.

With birds and insects greeting the day
amidst a ruined Zanci,
we move around 2 fixed stereo mics
in specified modes –
Air Hockey and Wheel.

In the Woolshed,
(a massive wooden structure from 1869)
we play Microphony:
two microphonists, each with his/her own stereo mic
weave through and around the space/band.
At anytime they can handover to a fresh microphonist.
After stargazing the desert sky
we record at the dirt airstrip
each of us relate to a pulsing bike light
in the profound dark.
http://www.subradar.no/album/splinter-orchestra/mungo

Splinter Orchestra - Mungo - Airstrip- (Excerpt)

The Splinter Orchestra 

Chris Abrahams - piano + hammond. Robbie Avenaim - percussion. Shannon O'Neill - synth. Milica Stefanovic - electric bass. Peter Farrar - alto sax. Abel Cross - electric bass. Mike Majkowski - double bass. Gerard Crewdson - trombone. Dale Gorfinkel - vibraphone. Ben Byrne - laptop. Finn Ryan - percussion. Simon Ferenci - trumpet. Jim Denley - flutes and flax. Dan Whiting - laptop. Alex Masso - percussion. Karen Booth - alsto sax. Monika Brooks - accordian. Darren Moore - percussion. Rory Brown - double bass. Clayton Thomas - double bass. Cass McGlynn - tenor horn. Clare Cooper - guzheng. Mathew Ottignon - clarinet and flute. Lloyd Honeybrook - alto sax. Ian Pieterse - baritone sax.

"The result is eerie and weirdly beautiful; more diaphanous then dense, which is a tribute to both the subtlety of the interaction and the sophistication of the recording. Remarkable." John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald.
"A CD whose subtle progression rewards careful listening"-- Ken Waxman, In MusicWorks.

"This is their first recording and it demonstrates an increasingly conceptual approach to their compositions, possibly a survival mechanism to prevent everything from descending into chaos, yet intriguingly enough that never seems to have been one of the dangers, even early on. Perhaps this is because the group includes some of the best instrumentalists that Sydney has to offer, people like Chris Abrahams, Clayton Thomas, Claire Cooper, Jim Denley, and Shannon O'Neil. Here the group offer some rule based performances, split up into sections, and whilst still playing in a free manner they are somewhat restricted in what they can do. What's always been exciting about the Splinter Orchestra is the broad range of their sounds, everything from laptop musicians to accordion players, woodwind, sax, vibraphone and anything else you can think of, extended technique, the kitchen sink, even, gasp, the electric guitar. This means that even in those moments of restrained scratchy tranquillity, you know that hiding behind it is a mountain of controlled mayhem. Yet they never unleash. It seems to be about multilayering, about creating new textures, multifaceted drones, made up of groups of instruments, of peaks of density and subtle troughs, about unlikely associations and being able to draw upon the kitchen sink if need be. It's a remarkable example of control, and whilst you could imagine it would be a nightmare to record, it feels like you can hear, even feel, every squeak and scrape." Bob Baker Fish - Cyclic Defrost

The Splinter Orchestra

The Splinter Orchestra - Second Tutti

Auditory transmogrification of Tasmanian terrain onto disc, Closely Woven Fabrik adds improvisations from three Australian musicians to field recordings, subtly altering the real-time resonance as it's captured.

While recordist Anthony Magen encapsulates the wild and domestic sounds resulting from a guided soundwalk taking place on Maria Island, near Tasmania's east coast, reedist Jim Denley, accordionist Monika Brooks and Dale Gorfinkel's prepared trumpet, roots percussion and automated sonic contraptions add ingenious grisaille to the proceeding. The three-track CD creates a soundworld which is so complete onto itself that applause from the assembled audience, heard on the final track, comes as a shock. Ken Waxman - Jazz Word.

...blending their sounds into the fabrik of those occurring naturally...Often enchanting, this takes the term 'live music' to another level. John Shand - Sydney Morning Herald.

Careful listening confirms the musicians' sympathetic interaction with the captured natural sound. This also substantiates why the overall session works as well ecologically as musically. Ken Waxman - Jazz Word.

Completely dreamy despite deep roots in reality, A Closely woven fabrik plunges the listener into sound territories hypnotic and dense, rich and original. Highly Recommended! - Julien Héraud Improv Sphere.

Part 1 (spruces) has Dale's automated sonic contraptions installed in an avenue of mature trees that lead from the jetty to the former convict settlement of Darlington. His tones are woven with waves from the beach, raucous Cape Barren Geese, Monika's accordion and my bamboo flute. Moving across a ridge to the next valley (roots) Dale plays on dried upended roots as my saxophone engages with the forest acoustic and a distant motorboat. We end (glade) with audience and band sitting on the ground in a grassy glade. Jim Denley 2010.
http://www.subradar.no/album/west-head-project/closely-woven-fabrik

A Closely Woven Fabrik

West head project - Roots

“calibrated, while exploring sound material richly and profoundly, is nevertheless musical,
sensitive, intense, strong and compelling. Recommended!” - Improv Sphere

“It is impossible not to appreciate that the music-making undertaken on Calibrated is part of a
rich and ongoing conversation between two of Australia's most engaging improv artists.” Gail
Priest - Real Time.

* Mike Majkowski (MM) and Jim Denley (JD) formed b l i p in 2008
* They've been members of the Splinter Orchestra (splitrec 17) since 2002, when MM was 19 and JD 45 - a difference of 26 years.
* JD is 55 and MM 29 - still a difference of 26 years.
* c a l i b r a t e d was recorded one afternoon in Narrabeen, Sydney, 24th August 2010 from 2pm –4pm.
* They used 4 microphones.
* There are 3 tracks on the CD 1. p o d – 8.38 2. o a t - 6.33 3. b r a n e s – 26.25. The total length is 41.52.
This is the order MM + JD recorded them in – only 3 edits went on afterwards.
* It was MM + JD s' 6th attempt to make a CD. In the words of Samuel Beckett “Try again, Fail again. Fail better.”
* Paradoxically, they regard the work as being both composed and improvised.
* MM uses double bass, pitch pipes and objects.
* JD uses alto sax, bass flute, dismantled bass flute, prepared flute, Czech school flute, bamboo flute and balloons (although sometimes it's just easier to say wind instruments).
http://www.subradar.no/album/blip/calibrated

Calibrated

Mike Majkowski and Jim Denley - Calibrated blip - Pod

From the 1st track on disc 1, Acid Shower – 0.16, to the last track on disc 2, Angry Climax – 0.36, small scale is rigorously adhered to, but the end result is a major statement over the 198 tracks. It’s as if each of the microorganisms has all the information to develop into bigger organisms – there are some fecund moments, but the players keep moving on. In the end though, the resulting macrostructure of the 2 CDs, is formally unique.

“…the analogy with germs is entirely appropriate – pieces flit to life like mating cells, making skewed, surprise lurches and appearing generally feverish throughout. The interplay between artists is never less than enthralling, their actions raw, revealing, and lovingly recorded, a ceaseless procession of sounds veering off in all directions. Instrumentally its an odd pairing, sure, but seen as an updated form of the violin sonata, in Webern-esque miniature, drawn by post-onkyo minimalists, it begins to make sense.” Joshua Meggitt – Cyclic Defrost
https://splitrec.com/shopcatalogue/

Germ Studies For Guhzeng & DX7

Clare Cooper and Chris Abrahams - Germ Studies -  Competitive Edge

Recorded at the UTS studios in Sydney May 2005 by Inge Olmheim, this duo finds Sinclair (Botborg) and Denley in a sprawling noisy, and much picked over area of activity – the guitar sax duo – but managing to sustain themselves with some overlooked discoveries.

“I could sit and listen to Denley’s slow intake of air for hours on end. The sound is that exciting. Don’t mistake this duo for a noise fest. It’s as far from that as night is from day. Rather, these two corral the tiniest sounds from the most common of instruments imaginable.” Tom Sekowski – Gazeta
https://splitrec.com/shopcatalogue/

Gleanings [2007]

Jim Denley and Scott Sinclair - Gleanings -  Exhibit B

eleased June 1, 1998 

Amanda Stewart voice and text 
Jim Denley wind instruments and vocals 
Rik Rue digital and analog tape manipulations 
Stevie Wishart violin, voice, hurdy gurdy and electronics 
with guests 
Satsuki Odamura koto 
Trey Spruance synth 
Jamie Ludbrooke vocals 

produced by Jim Denley 
Track 1 Recorded At – The Palladium 1997 by Julian Knowles 
Track 5 Recorded At – Harbourside Brasserie 1998 by Julian Knowles 
Recorded At – Big Jesus Burger Studios 1997 by Chris Townend 
mastered by Rick Oneil at Turtle Rock 
image and artwork Jesse Mastrogianidis
https://splitrec.bandcamp.com/album/dissect-the-body

Dissect the Body

Machine for Making Sense - Dissect the Body - Only

Rhys Mottley // Prepared guitar
Recorded at Tempe Jets // January-April 2018 
Mixed & Mastered // Jim Denley at Kaloola
Artwork & Layout // Ida Lawrence
Music © 2018 Rhys Mottley(APRA)
https://splitrec.bandcamp.com/album/parasite

Rhys Mottley - Parasite - Gut Feeling (excerpt)

180º is a new group formed in August 2018 – Nick Ashwood acoustic guitar, Jim Denley bass flute, and Amanda Stewart voice and text. Amanda and Jim first met in the late 1980s, founding Machine for Making Sense in 1989, as well as performing numerous duos over the years — a long and fruitful association. They’ve always been interested in what their music instinct can learn from language and vice versa. Nick is from the southern tip of Tasmania. Jim and Nick have been developing a strong association together the last 3 years, despite the distance from Hobart to Sydney, mainly listening, playing and recording in outdoor spaces.

180º has been working on a set of studio recordings, that have become this release, Submental. The word refers to anatomy beneath the chin, mentum – Latin for chin. There are a number of triangular spaces and muscles in the human neck. There are 8 tracks:

Scalene 2. Equilateral 3. Oblique 4. Isosceles 5. Obtuse 6. Acute 7. Degenerate 8. Equilangular

This release sits in a liminal space between music and poetics — but wait, isn’t that a definition of song? Are these recordings a set of songs? Yeah-Nah. Does Amanda sing? Nah-Yeah.Does Nick play chord sequences? Sorta… naaah. Does Jim play melodies? Naaah… yeah.

At Splitrec we’ve listened closely to the material and find it extremely difficult to put our finger on what this music is. All 3 performers enter and exit the music with clear and sometimes opposite statements — hence the analogy of triangles. All opposites unite at the point at which they diverge. Whatever the angle at that divergence, the total angles of the triangle are always 180º.

180º - Equilateral

180º Live at Tempe jet for the Splinter magic festival 2019

Full CD available here splitrec.bandcamp.com/album/submental

180º - Live at Splinter Magic, 2019

180º Rehearsal/Soundcheck Splinter magic 2019

Full CD available here splitrec.bandcamp.com/album/submental

180º - Splinter magic rehearsal/soundcheck

Recordings from Sydney’s vibrant exploratory/spontaneous music scene. Splitrec is now the recording arm for the Splinter Orchestra. https://www.splinterorchestra.com/

The label was set up in 1989 to release Mind Body Split “If it’s not on it’s not on” and went on to release CDs by Machine for Making Sense.

We’ve produced recordings by Amanda Stewart, Jim Denley, Germ Studies, Great Waitress, Peter Blamey, Clayton Thomas, Splinter Orchestra, Mike Majkowski, Dale Gorfinkel, Peter Farrar, Robbie Avenaim, Cor Fuhler, Teletopa, Truancy and West Head Project.

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