That high lonesome sound
Keiji Haino recorded a solo hurdy gurdy album, and with its title, 21st Century Hard-y Guide-y Man, gave himself one of his undoubtedly few commonalities with Bad Religion. Jim O'Rourke, too, has such an album, or so I recall. (Even Sting played one during the Oscars a few years ago.) I would like to hazard a guess: the next hard-to-play instrument with a whiff of the antique to find use in avant-garde noisery will be the bagpipes. Can't you imagine a concert featuring someone sitting on stage, squeezing the pipes, pedals festooned about his feet? Or maybe two mutually slightly out of tune bagpipes. That piercing keen—looped? I can, and I can't wait.
Maybe Richard Youngs can start the trend; what I'm imagining would be up his alley, and he is Scottish.
Comments
on 2007-01-13 12:41:20.0, rone commented:
One of Page & Plant's musicians played one on the "Unledded" MTV show.
and, further, on 2007-01-13 6:35:10.0, Jacob Haller commented:
There's a guy in Providence named Steve Jobe who owns a couple of ten-foot hurdy-gurdies. If you click on 'Open Rehearsals' on his home page there's some information about them. One of them has three cranks!
There are also a couple of videos of him playing them. Unfortunately they load at an ungodly slow pace, but I think the second one in particular repays your patience.
http://as220.org/~stevenjobe/video/big_gurd_01.mov
http://as220.org/~stevenjobe/video/big_gurd_02.mov
and, further, on 2007-01-13 6:45:20.0, Jacob Haller commented:
Also, there's an avant-garde accordionist in Providence: http://www.aleckredfearn.com/ I like him.
and, further, on 2007-01-13 11:17:11.0, ben wolfson commented:
Yeah! Redfearn is cool.
and, further, on 2007-01-15 8:25:09.0, Jeremy Shipley commented:
Parts & Labor have a bit of a bagpipe sound on this song, but I think they get it from synthesizers and circuit bending.
and, further, on 2007-01-15 18:42:13.0, ben wolfson commented:
Mr Haller: tomorrow, 9-11am PST, I will be playing two hours of accordion music, with two contributions from Mr. Redfearn (as part of the Eyesores and the Amoebic Ensemble).
and, further, on 2007-01-17 7:18:33.0, Matt Weiner commented:
And.
Not sure if this counts. (If he's an avant-gard jazz musician, he's probably the first one I've ever heard, since the track he plays on on Big Science comes before the tracks George Lewis plays on.)
and, further, on 2007-01-17 7:51:39.0, ajay commented:
the next hard-to-play instrument with a whiff of the antique to find use in avant-garde noisery will be the bagpipes. Can't you imagine a concert featuring someone sitting on stage, squeezing the pipes, pedals festooned about his feet
Bagpipes have no pedals. They are also rather tricky to play sitting down.
and, further, on 2007-01-17 8:55:57.0, ben wolfson commented:
These would be effects pedals.
and, further, on 2007-01-17 9:02:46.0, ben wolfson commented:
Also, thanks Matt. I have an album with Wishart on it, but I didn't realize there was hurdy gurdy as well.
and, further, on 2007-01-17 17:22:49.0, Matt Weiner commented:
I have hereby been inspired to listen to the only album I own on which Dunmall plays bagpipes. The opening is kind of like the review describes it; there's this drone, with this skronky skirling on top--recognizably bagpipes but definitely not traditional. I'm not sure I've heard Wishart play hurdy-gurdy (not positive I've heard her at all).
Evan Parker did a improvising festival where one of the participants played launeddas, which are kind of bagpipes without the bag (the drones are sustained by circular breathing). The two long tracks with the launeddas are perhaps something like you imagine, big old smeary drone things with electronic modification on the first track. But I can't say you should go out and buy the 2CD set for that; it's a little uneven. Maybe KZSU has it.
Are you playing any Oliveros tomorrow?
and, further, on 2007-01-17 17:31:30.0, ben wolfson commented:
(the drones are sustained by circular breathing)
What little I know of circular breathing makes me believe that anyone who can play launeddas must be very very talented.
This is the album I have with Wishart. I can't remember much about it but I do remember that I like it. I think it's fairly quiet.
KZSU does indeed have that album.
As for your reference to "tomorrow": I used "tomorrow" on the 15th; today is the 17th—"tomorrow" was yesterday. I ended up playing some Oliveros from 11 to 12 (not that entire time, but during that time), because the next DJ didn't show; she wasn't part of the original plan. Here is a playlist for the show proper; there's another one for the extra hour. Here are recordings of the show proper, though the last piece is cut off by a few minutes because I went over.