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LP
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BKEDIT 016LP
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Intra is Mark Fell's fascinating study in computer generated rhythm, performed by Drumming Grupo De Percussão on the Sixxen metallophone system: a set of six microtonally tuned instruments originally conceived by Iannis Xenakis for use on Pléäides (1976). Commissioned by Porto's Fundação de Serralves, the eight-part Intra develops from Fell's Focal Music series and his projects with Indian Carnatic musicians. It probes the perceptive difference between ideas of simplicity and complexity by instructing acoustic instrumentalists via electronic triggers relayed through headphones, an idea previously explored on the Time and Space Shapes for Gamelan installation Fell made in collaboration with Laurie Spiegel (Sheffield, 2017), as well as earlier collaborations between Fell and noted virtuoso improvisors Okkyung Lee, Laura Cannell, Sandro Mussida, and Aby Vulliamy. It is important to acknowledge Fell's ongoing interests in the systems of Carnatic music, the Southern form of Indian classical music whose mathematical sound rules are practically inseparable from musical expression in a way that's difficult to comprehend from a Western perspective. In terms of rhythm, Carnatic musicians perform within a set of rules, or tala, whose seven structures each have five variations, resulting in 35 possible combinations -- many more than the usual Western structures of minor and major scales. Heard in context of Carnatic systems, Intra becomes a crafty and even wittily playful piece of sound art, one which undermines deeply entrenched conventions and perceptions of music, both composed and improvised, generated and performed, in a way that's entirely pleasurable, even strangely soothing in its stilted trickle of off kilter tones. Artwork by Joe Gilmore. Edited by Rian Treanor. Mastered and cut by Matt Colton.
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Cassette
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TTW 089CS
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Mark Fell on Focal Music: "This series of works on this cassette began in 2011 when I attended a workshop/residency program led by the British sound artist, composer and performer Jan Hendrickse. During a workshop session I played a pattern generating system via headphones to a drummer, Patrik Jarlestam, who played a single snare drum. The basic premise of the work was that the performer should follow the pattern as accurately as possible, and to see what happened at the moments when the pattern changed - i.e. to foreground the performer's attempts to follow the pattern and their ability to cope with the subtle yet unusual changes. The pattern itself consists of a single percussive sound. The timing of the sound is determined by a list of five values ranging from one to 11 that represent timing intervals... Although the patterns are relatively simple, and as a listener one can assimilate their form quite easily, it can be quite difficult to play along to them especially at those moments of change. So the piece can be thought of as a kind of intervention into the musical training and embedded musical vocabularies that the performer brings to the work. The point of the piece is not a perfect recital, but the difficulties that the performer encounters and the musical moments that these difficulties produce. Unfortunately I believe there is no recording of Jarlestam's first performance of this piece - 'Focal Music #1'. The piece was performed a second time by Okkyung Lee during her residency at Cafe Oto, London 2015. 'Focal Music #3' was performed with Laura Cannell at Baltic 39 (Newcastle, 2015) for Broken Telephone, an event which formed part of Peter J. Evans's exhibition Across Islands, Divides. 'Focal Music #4' was performed with Aby Vulliamy at The Leeds Library (Leeds, 2015). 'Focal Music #5a' and 'Focal Music #5b' were recorded with Sandro Mussida at Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (Karlsruhe, 2016) in the Kubus studio. The piece, performed on piano, takes two forms: the first based upon a six note pitch set of which any two notes are played at the same time; the second is formed of five discreet layers each with a single note. These were played in isolation following the same guide pattern and then later overlaid to form a single pseudo chord." Tracks mastered for this release by Phil Julian; Edition of 150.
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2LP
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EMEGO 143LP
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Double LP version. This recording contains seven remixes by UK-based artist and electronic musician Mark Fell of the first three 12" singles released on the record label Sensate Focus in 2012. These were called 10, 5 and 3.3.... The first of these, 10, was itself a reworking of materials from an earlier project by Fell and Terre Thaemlitz, released on Comatonse Recordings in 2012. The seven remixes were written and recorded in June 2012 at the Upper Lounge, Chatham Street (UK) using a MacBook Pro running Digital Performer, FM8 (featuring manipulated DX100 and TX81Z presets), battery and razor; monitored and mixed with Sennheiser HD 25 headphones. Here hand claps are constructed from the Roland TR707 clap, two copies of which are detuned and panned hard left and right, with an additional Yamaha RX11 Clap 2 panned centrally; kick drums have been constructed with the Roland TR707 Kick 1 pitched up with bass content attenuated, overdubbed with samples from vinyl derived, it is assumed, from the Roland TR909. Two hi-hats are used: the Yamaha RX11 Closed Hat 1, and a sample from Bassmental's "2 Daye Revisit (Kerri Chandler Remix)," released on Nite Grooves, 1994. Recommended contextual materials include: "Can You Feel It (Dubby Dub Marc Kinchen remix)" by Chez Damier, released on KMS, 1992; "Hard To Get" by Choo Ables, released on E-SA records, 1993. Additional DJ notes for playback synchronization: Track 1 has a tempo of 137 beats per minute with a rhythmic loop of 30 units each lasting 109.49 milliseconds. Track 2, 126 bpm with 31 units each lasting 119.05ms. Track 3, 113 bpm with 17 units each lasting 88.5ms. Track 4, 128 bpm with 60 units each lasting 117.19ms, with inserted pauses of between 4 and 80 units. Track 5, 128 bpm with 16 units each lasting 117.19ms. Track 6, 128 bpm with 64 units each lasting 117.19ms. Track 7, 125 bpm with 31 units each lasting 120ms. Mastered and cut by Lupo at Dubplates and Mastering, Berlin, June 2012.
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CD
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EMEGO 143CD
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This recording contains seven remixes by UK-based artist and electronic musician Mark Fell of the first three 12" singles released on the record label Sensate Focus in 2012. These were called 10, 5 and 3.3.... The first of these, 10, was itself a reworking of materials from an earlier project by Fell and Terre Thaemlitz, released on Comatonse Recordings in 2012. The seven remixes were written and recorded in June 2012 at the Upper Lounge, Chatham Street (UK) using a MacBook Pro running Digital Performer, FM8 (featuring manipulated DX100 and TX81Z presets), battery and razor; monitored and mixed with Sennheiser HD 25 headphones. Here hand claps are constructed from the Roland TR707 clap, two copies of which are detuned and panned hard left and right, with an additional Yamaha RX11 Clap 2 panned centrally; kick drums have been constructed with the Roland TR707 Kick 1 pitched up with bass content attenuated, overdubbed with samples from vinyl derived, it is assumed, from the Roland TR909. Two hi-hats are used: the Yamaha RX11 Closed Hat 1, and a sample from Bassmental's "2 Daye Revisit (Kerri Chandler Remix)," released on Nite Grooves, 1994. Recommended contextual materials include: "Can You Feel It (Dubby Dub Marc Kinchen remix)" by Chez Damier, released on KMS, 1992; "Hard To Get" by Choo Ables, released on E-SA records, 1993. Additional DJ notes for playback synchronization: Track 1 has a tempo of 137 beats per minute with a rhythmic loop of 30 units each lasting 109.49 milliseconds. Track 2, 126 bpm with 31 units each lasting 119.05ms. Track 3, 113 bpm with 17 units each lasting 88.5ms. Track 4, 128 bpm with 60 units each lasting 117.19ms, with inserted pauses of between 4 and 80 units. Track 5, 128 bpm with 16 units each lasting 117.19ms. Track 6, 128 bpm with 64 units each lasting 117.19ms. Track 7, 125 bpm with 31 units each lasting 120ms. Mastered and cut by Lupo at Dubplates and Mastering, Berlin, June 2012.
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LP
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EMEGO 133LP
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UK-based artist and electronic musician Mark Fell presents Periodic Orbits Of A Dynamic System Related To A Knot, released on Editions Mego. "The music here came about in various ways -- one section is an outtake from my recent Multistablity (R-N 125CD) album and is reworked here, another began as a quadraphonic piece composed for and performed at 'Supersimetria: New Languages In Computer Music' (curated by Anna Ramos and Roc Jiménez de Cisneros in Barcelona 2011), others were taken from live versions of previously-released and unreleased tracks. The idea was to bring these together in an 'almost-live-album' format. The album features three presets taken from Yamaha's four operator frequency modulation synthesizers of the late 1980s -- JazzOrg, LatelyBass and Rich Strg #3 -- modified to produce numerous descendants. The project was entirely written, mixed, and edited with MIDI. No audio recordings were present, with the following exceptions: the sound of a Mac Mini failing to mount a DVD, recorded with the internal microphone on a MacBook Pro (this provided a rhythmic template for the patterns that follow it); and a short section of Pi Saw flute played by Jan Hendrickse. The project was written in transit during a house and studio move, and exclusively produced using the internal speakers on a MacBook Pro. Due to time constraints, the mastering session with Lupo at Dubplates and Mastering was unattended. The cover image is of my partner's arm after cutting the pampas grass in our front garden in preparation for the house's new occupier. Thanks to Paul Emery for early advice and comments about the structure of this album, Jan Hendrickse for Pi Saw flute, Lupo at Dubplates and Mastering, and finally Peter Rehberg for his support of this project." --Mark Fell
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2LP
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EMEGO 116EP
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In January 2011, UK sound artist Mark Fell was invited by Erik Wiegand (aka Errorsmith) to make some presets for his new software synthesizer which he was building for Native Instruments. After developing about 40 sounds (unfortunately NI rejected all of Mark's presets and none were used for the final distribution), Mark decided to rework his UL8 project by extending the pattern-generating systems used in its construction, which he then connected to the sounds produced in Erik's synthesizer. The result is this double EP (42 minutes), featuring 9 tracks and a remix from Mark's friend and colleague, Mat Steel. Mastered by Lupo at Dubplates and Mastering (DE), March 2011. Comes with a full-color A1-sized poster.
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CD
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R-N 125CD
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Sheffield-based artist and electronic musician Mark Fell presents Multistability, primarily an exploration of erratic and non-regular rhythmic patterns. Drawing equally from his work with snd and his many solo projects, this work promotes a minimal complexity; combining meticulous synthetic chordal layering with convoluted, chaotic, yet fundamentally engaging temporal structures. In the field of Gestalt psychology the term "multistability" refers to the effect where one is unable to perceive a single stable object within complex or ambiguous patterns. A famous example is the Necker cube -- a wire frame with no depth cues that oscillates between front/back orientations. The term is also found in systems theory where it describes a condition that is neither stable nor instable, where a system switches between different states. Fell takes these as a starting point for his project, developing compositional structures and strategies that transform and transcend the familiar; structures that refuse to accept parental advice. Split into two halves, the album contains two versions of itself. Using what Fell describes as "extremely basic" pattern-generating systems, passages reappear throughout... yet these are applied and maneuvered into parallel versions of themselves -- often different sounds and parameters are explored, producing no singular or resolved arrangement. In his recent works, Fell's process has been influenced by his collaborative encounters with friend and fellow musician Yasunao Tone -- particularly Tone's approach to ideas concerning intentionality and time within the context of musical practices. In Fell's work, deliberate actions are layered, and distorted; manipulated to produce unforeseen and often extraordinary aesthetic outcomes, documented here in the form of 17 related pieces. Above all, Multistability should be understood in light of Fell's claim that "Music is a technology for constructing an experience of time." Here, in musical form, Fell aims to disrupt familiar temporal divisions and structures and investigate non-repetitive musical process. Last copies.
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CD
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EMEGO 111CD
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Written and recorded in Whitby, York and Rotherham (UK) during summer 2010 by Mark Fell (one-half of the duo snd). Mastered at Dubpates and Mastering Berlin in 2010 by Lupo. Part 1: The Occultation of 3C 273. Using 32 operator frequency modulation synthesis configured in 16 pairs of operator and modulator. Frequency, modulation ratio and amount determined by linear interpolation between two spatial extremes, with further interpolation over variable temporal divisions. Panned at equal positions around the circumference of a circle using high order ambisonics. First implemented for the DVD Attack On Silence (Line Records 2008) and developed for the cassette release Thunder Bollocks with Evol (Alku 2009). The compositions here also feature modified Roland TR707 and Linn kick drum samples. Part 2: Vortex Studies with 2, 4 or 8 channel rectangular waveforms with variable pulse width subject to frequency modulation from synchronized sine functions with variable phase offsets. Initially implemented with synchronized blue light at Algorithm, Glade (Thatcham 2008) with further presentations at Enjoy (Leeds 2008), Centre d'Art Santa Mònica, Sónar (Barcelona 2008), Three Pieces For Unattended, Somewhat Attended and Attended Computer (Sheffield 2008), Avoid (Leeds 2009), Three Neurocognitive Approaches To The Formation Of Cross-Modal Objecthood (Rotherham 2009) Sonic Materialities (Sheffield 2010) and as Supersymmetry at Matter-Space-Motion (Elsecar 2010). Here with percussion synthesis. "This project takes its name from the Celestion UL8 speaker. My older brother bought a pair of these when I was starting comprehensive school, and between his 10cc and Supertramp records, I first encountered very loud electronically-synthesized sound. I soon noticed a pattern emerging in my musical tastes which excluded guitars or drums. Instead, I favored almost exclusively the electronic textures and rhythms of The Human League, Fad Gadget and other synthesizer-based music of that period. I was quite curious about this prejudice and would try to work out why Kraftwerk sounded so much better than a rock band of the time. Since then, my interest was in the texture of synthetic sound -- there was something much more beautiful (and perhaps more emotionally-charged) about a sustained square wave than any guitar solo. Soon, I began to search out and replay sections of music which dropped to a single sound -- these, for some reason, were the best." --Mark Fell
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