Imagine a single 50 minute track album with contributions from more than 150 artists….
I can’t even begin to list names here but you should definitely check the list on the Bandcamp page – I’m sure it’ll raise your interest to find out more about Rutger “Machinefabriek” Zuydervelt‘s project“Stay Tuned“.
Before listening, it may help to know some more about the background of this project:
“More than 150 musicians and singers were asked to record an ‘A’ (which is the note an orchestra normally tunes to), using whatever technique or style they please. So each ‘A’ has its own unique characteristics, but is also a small part of a much bigger drone.”
It must have been a hell of a job merging and mixing all these contributions into one single drone piece dedicated to an orchestra tuning, but the result is a beautiful homogenous, and indeed orchestral sound … as if all musicians are playing their “A-note” together in a concert performance.
The drone has an organic flow, because Zuydervelt introduces all sounds ordered by groups of instruments.
Also, all contributors play “real” (meaning “orchestral” here) instruments: no synthesizer or electronic devices are included – which is remarkable in itself because most (if not all) contributors are artists working in the ‘experimental’ musical fields, which often includes electronic treatments. But not here!
Also worth noting is that the original concept for this project is a multi-channel sound installation, where visitors could walk their way between the different speakers, thus creating their own composition (there are some short videos of this on Rutger’s website). The Baskaru release is a stereo adaptation from all the contributions for this installation.
If you think a continuous performance of a single “A”-note can hardly be interesting enough to keep your interest for the full 50 minutes, you owe it to yourself to try it out. I’m sure you’ll be surprised. Ánd amazed!
I suggest you start by looking at the list of contributors more closely.
MACHINEFABRIEK – STILLNESS SOUNDTRACKS
And – while we’re on the subject of Machinefabriek – I might as well recommend to check out the beautiful re-release of the “Stillness Soundtracks”.
Originally released as an USB-clip (including the arctic Esther Kokmeijer movies), which sold out quickly after the original release (reviewed here).
But fortunately the soundtrack found a new home on the single one label where it conceptually belongs: Glacial Movements. With a beautiful cover and two extra tracks not on the original USB-clip!