P53 (album)

Last updated
p53
P53 AlbumCover P53.jpg
Live album by
p53
Released1996 (1996)
Recorded16 September 1994
Venue25th Frankfurt Jazz Festival, Germany
Genre
Length44:08
Label Recommended (UK)
Producer Chris Cutler, Lutz Glandien

p53 is a 1996 live album by experimental music group p53. It was their debut album and was recorded at the 25th Frankfurt Jazz Festival in Germany on 16 September 1994. It was released in 1996 in the United Kingdom by Recommended Records. [1]

Experimental music is a general label for any music that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilites radically opposed to, and questioning of, institutionalized compositional, performing, and aesthetic conventions in music. Elements of experimental music include indeterminate music, in which the composer introduces the elements of chance or unpredictability with regard to either the composition or its performance. Artists may also approach a hybrid of disparate styles or incorporate unorthodox and unique elements.

p53 was an experimental music group commissioned by English percussionist Chris Cutler to play at the 25th Frankfurt Jazz Festival in Germany in September 1994. Their performance was recorded and released by Recommended Records in 1996 on a live album entitled p53. The group reassembled in May 1997 to play at the Angelica International Festival of contemporary music in Bologna, Italy. In November 2006 an orchestral version with three soloists, Jon Rose, Zeena Parkins and Chris Cutler performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow, Scotland, which was recorded and broadcast by the BBC in March 2007. This version was performed again at the Opera House in Milan in 2014 with the Orchestra de Teatro Communale, with soloists Daan Vandewalle and Thomas Dimuzio.

Recommended Records British independent record label

Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.

Contents

p53 was a musical improvisational project that involved two classical grand pianists, a percussionist, a homemade guitarist and turntablist, and a real-time sampler/processor. [2] [3] [4]

Musical improvisation spontaneous musical composition technique

Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians. Sometimes musical ideas in improvisation are spontaneous, but may be based on chord changes in classical music and many other kinds of music. One definition is a "performance given extempore without planning or preparation." Another definition is to "play or sing (music) extemporaneously, by inventing variations on a melody or creating new melodies, rhythms and harmonies." Encyclopædia Britannica defines it as "the extemporaneous composition or free performance of a musical passage, usually in a manner conforming to certain stylistic norms but unfettered by the prescriptive features of a specific musical text. Improvisation is often done within a pre-existing harmonic framework or chord progression. Improvisation is a major part of some types of 20th-century music, such as blues, jazz, and jazz fusion, in which instrumental performers improvise solos, melody lines and accompaniment parts.

Classical music broad tradition of Western art music

Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western culture, including both liturgical (religious) and secular music. While a more precise term is also used to refer to the period from 1750 to 1820, this article is about the broad span of time from before the 6th century AD to the present day, which includes the Classical period and various other periods. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common-practice period.

Percussion instrument Type of musical instrument that produces a sound by being hit

A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. The percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments, following the human voice.

Music

The instrumentation of the p53 project consisted of two grand pianos, amplified turntables, a homemade electric guitar, percussion, electronics and real time processing. [2] [4] Cutler's interest in sampling and turntablism began when it became possible to "play" them as instruments, and not just "run them in". [5] This led to the idea of "real-time montaging", which formed the basis of p53. [5]

Sampling (music) reproduction of short extracts from a musical work

In music, sampling is the reuse of a portion of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise rhythm, melody, speech, or other sounds. They are usually integrated using hardware (samplers) or software such as digital audio workstations.

Turntablism the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer

Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system for live events and/or broadcasting equipment so that a wider audience can hear the turntablist's music. Turntablists manipulate records on a turntable by moving the record with their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on a record, and by touching or moving the platter or record to stop, slow down, speed up or, spin the record backwards, or moving the turntable platter back and forth, all while using a DJ mixer's crossfader control and the mixer's gain and equalization controls to adjust the sound and level of each turntable. Turntablists typically use two or more turntables and headphones to cue up desired start points on different records.

In music, montage or sound collage is a technique where newly branded sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage. This is often done through the use of sampling, while some playable sound collages were produced by gluing together sectors of different vinyl records. In any case, it may be achieved through the use of previous sound recordings or musical scores. Like its visual cousin, the collage work may have a completely different effect than that of the component parts, even if the original parts are completely recognizable or from only one source.

Cutler established p53 as a free improvisation project within a predetermined structure to investigate the notion of making "improvisation a compositional endeavour". [3] Cutler wanted it to question the nature of music and how listening to music has changed. He wanted to "pit acoustic sounds and the classical music tradition", two grand pianos, against "electronic timbres and the contemporary sound world", amplified turntables, electric guitar, computer generated sounds and real-time processing. [3] He also wanted to contrast the difference between "early 20th century concert listening and the channel-hopping aesthetic of the fin de siecle '90's". [3]

Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right.

The pianists were instructed to play "a few small sections from the classical repertoire", in any way and at any tempo, while the other musicians were free to, according to Rick Anderson of AllMusic, "romp around them wreaking gleeful havoc". [2] [3] Glandien periodically played back amplified and distorted live samples of the pianists, making them, in effect, human samplers, providing raw material for him to manipulate. [5]

AllMusic Online music database

AllMusic is an online music database. It catalogs more than 3 million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musical artists and bands. It launched in 1991, predating the World Wide Web.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Wired favourable [6]

Peter L. Herb of Wired magazine described p53 as a "surrealist adventure that must have been stunning to witness". He added that "the disc's transitions from sonic tranquillity to chaos and back are unpredictable and delightfully abrupt. It's comforting that someone somewhere is still ignoring musical orthodoxy." [6] Rick Anderson of AllMusic said while p53 is not the "stuff for everyone", "for those with ears to hear, [it] is one of the most enjoyable albums to come from the avant-garde scene in years." [2]

Wired is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has been in publication since March/April 1993. Several spin-offs have been launched, including Wired UK, Wired Italia, Wired Japan, and Wired Germany. Condé Nast's parent company Advance Publications is also the major shareholder of Reddit, an internet information conglomeration website.

Track listing

  1. "p53" (Cutler, Goyette, Krauze, Glandien, Yoshihide) – 44:08

Personnel

Production and artwork

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References

  1. ↑ p53 CD liner-notes.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Anderson, Rick. "P53". AllMusic . Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chris Cutler interview at a Public Symposium in Tokyo, Japan (10 June 1998)". Chris Cutler homepage. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  4. 1 2 "P53". Chris Cutler homepage. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  5. 1 2 3 "Chris Cutler interview by Jason Gross (March 1997)". Perfect Sound Forever . Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  6. 1 2 Herb, Peter L. "P53". Wired . Retrieved 2009-10-09.
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