Gintas K – M

Posted: 26 February 2019 in Albums

Tags: Album Review, circuitry, Experimental, Extreme Electronica, Gintas K, Gintas Kraptavičius, M, Noise, Pwer Electronics 0

gk rec – 18th February 2019

auralaggravation.com/2019/02/26/gintas-k-m/

Gintas K’s catalogue continues to expand at a remarkable rate, and yet again, he demonstrates his deep interest in the production of theory-driven experimentation. However, the theory behind M isn’t necessarily as it may appear, as the text on his Bandcamp page for the release indicates:

Ralph Hopper: Is ‘Mimicry’ a re-imagining of the earlier ‘M’? It appears that ‘M’ is computer music and that ‘Mimicry’ is also computer music but in a live performance if I have that right and thus I’m thinking that your are ‘mimicking’ the earlier release. Maybe not?

Gintas K: well, when you said so it looks quite logical. Music inside is a bit similar. But in fact it is not. It is made using a different vst plugins. M is made from live played files, but later from them is made a collage. Mimicry is made just from real time made files, without any overdub.

In effect, M and Mimicry – released here together under the single monograph banner of M – are the product of a process played forward and then in reverse: first, the live performance collaged and generally fucked with, and second fucked-with sounds played as a live performance.

As a consequence of its modes of production, M is very much an album of two halves, a call-and response, an expostulation and reply, a working as a reworking. Comprising two album-length suites of compositions, ‘M’ and ‘Mimicry’, M was originally ‘played, composed & mastered by gintas k by computer in 2012. M (2012)’, while ‘Mimicry’ was ‘played live / real time & mastered by gintas k by computer’ some five years later in 2017.

‘M’ consists of six compositions, numbered in sequence, with the longest being the first, ‘1m’ which clocks in with just shy of 18 minutes of gurgling digital distortion, hissing static, whistles of feedback and fucked-up overloading, glitching gnarliness that sits comfortably in the bracket of extreme electronica. It’s not the frequencies which hurt: it’s the relentlessly stuttering, juddering, fracturing of sound, the jolting, the jarring the cutting out, the intermittency. By nature, the mind works to fill in gaps, and so the subconscious work required to smooth the tremolo effect of the stammering noise mess is mentally exhausting.

‘3m’ and ‘4m’ are substantial pieces, over seven minutes in duration, while the remaining three are snippety fragments of drone and hum, although they all congeal into a morass of brain-pulping pops and whizzes which crackle and creak and skitter and sizzle in erratic tides of discomfiting discord. And yet there’s something oddly compelling about this sonic sup that bubbles and froths and tugs at the nerve-endings without pity.

My synapses are fried and firing in all directions by the time I’m halfway through ‘3m’, a grinding, grating mess of clipped signals with all dials in the red which resembles ‘A Cunt Like You’ by Whitehouse, minus the ranting vocals. And then on ‘4m’… what is that? Some kind of subliminal vocal? Or is my mind just messing with me as it struggles to find orientation and points of familiarity in the stream of inhuman sound. It’s disorientating and difficult – and these are the positive attributes.

The ten ‘Mimicry’ pieces are perhaps re overtly playful – bleeps and whirs, crackles and pops, all cut back and forth so fast as to induce whiplash – not necessarily in the neck, but in the brain stem as the organ shifts into meltdown as it attempts to process the bewildering back-and-forth transmission of sonic data. Tones bounce and ripple at pace in confined spaces, and much of the sound seems to be in reverse, which adds to the dizzyingly fractured, disorientating sensation. There are dark moments, which hum and throb and drill and yammer and chew at the guts, but overall, the ‘Mimicry’ suite is less dense, less brutal, less painful.

The two sections would have worked as standalone albums, but to hear them side-by-side as contrasting and complimentary works is, ultimately, a more fulfilling experience, despite also being something of an endurance test. Its clear that as much as M challenges the listener, Gintas K is an artist intent on constantly challenging himself. And in an era when trigger warnings, entertainment and safe conformity have infiltrated and now dictate every corner of the arts, Gintas Kraptavičius’ unswerving commitment to pursuing his own interests and ends stands out more than ever.

*********************************

*****************************************

Various Artists: LOUD LISTENING (2012)
Reviewed format: Digital compilation on CRÓNICA

Jan 22nd, 2019
https://fluidsf.tumblr.com/
 "Then, on Before One, Gintas K kicks off the reinterpretations of the field recordings with a kind of “cubist” subtly glitched up version of the recordings. Indeed, the piece doesn’t really sound like Gintas K aimed to create “melodies” or rhythms out of the recordings but rather, build a new fictional Industrial facility out of all these recordings and this happens more often on this compilation. Rather than fully twisting the source material towards a recognizably musical piece, many artists on LOUD LISTENING build and manipulate the recordings into new non-existing Industial facilities through sound, though with many differences in sonic progression from the original ones and more abstracted machinery. Gintas K approaches it with a focus on the swishing and whirring sounds, massively phasing them up and twisting the sounds into waterfalls of Industrial processes and deconstruction of these same processes towards the end. A thrilling abstract reimagination of the Industrial facilities."

 "On One, Gintas K gives us a second track of music / sound art based on the recordings. This one is quite an intense track on a more extreme level in terms of listening experience. Gintas K uses a rising scale (that utilizes elements of the shepard’s tone infinitely rising psychoacoustic effect), pitching up pretty harsh resonant machinery sounds in steps for the first half which creates an effect that feels like a siren blasting at you and might be a bit off putting for listeners who don’t like Noise at all, there’s not much calm ambience in this piece, this is some piercing burning sound but for people willing to take this extreme experience it’s a great listen. In the second half Gintas K reduces the machinery to low pitched fuzzy buzzing, very slowly fading out the piece to silence. An extreme but also rewarding piece of raw sonic mayhem that does also feature quite a lot of details even through the screeching machinery siren sound."

*****************************************

11/08/2018
Gintas K — Acousma Light
http://www.datawv.com/2018/11/gintas-k-acousma-light.html?fbclid=IwAR0tR3aNjo3OkbuWaG7zAIf0GXAw4tO4kE-eZOUeTiS79Fv-fjOM9reCaxk
For almost 30 years Gintas K remains one of the leading figures of Lithuanian experimental electronics and sound art. At the beginning of this year he released new albumAcousma Light, dedicated to the tradition of acousmatic music. The term acousmatique has been introduced by legendary French musique concrete composer Pierre Schaeffer in 1955. Acousmatic music in general could be described as a serious and deep sonic experience of the most advanced and progressive composers, producers and listeners
The work of Gintas К is not a pure acousmatica, it's more like an interpretation and personal approach to this unique technique of producing sound compositions . At the same time, all elements, characterizing the previous works of Gintas K, are available here - heavy digital micro and macro processing, glitch, digital noise, high quality extreme sounds etc. Also it's difficult to realize what kind of sound sources have been used during the process of creating of the album. It could be fragments of live sets, based on modular or laptop improvisations, or field recordings and found sounds, transformed into something different and new.
Acousma Light sounds excellent. It's even difficult to stop the process of listening, covered by the flow of multi layered information. One of the best albums in a vast discography of Gintas K!
Author: Alexei Borisov

*****************************************

Gintas K: Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound (2006) 

Oct 23rd, 2018
https://fluidsf.tumblr.com/post/179349440864/gintas-k-lengvai-60-x-one-minute-audio-colours
Reviewed format: 2 CD released on Crónica
Hello again, I’m back with the next volume in my review series of Crónica releases, today I have for you this double CD album Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound by Lithuanian sound artist Gintas K. The 2 CDs are housed in a clear jewel case that also includes a 4 page booklet with more images of the album’s abstract cover artwork.
Lengvai / 60 x one minte audio colours of 2kHz sound are two pieces that each take up one disc of the 2 CD set, a total of 2 hours 5 minutes of music. Lengvai being described on the back of the jewelcase as a rhythmic and textural post-techno inspired piece, while 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound is a more conceptual sound art piece that also literally does take up the 60 tracks on Disc 2, all with other 1 minute variations of 2kHz sound. This 2 CD set is definitely an interesting and enjoyable varied release of music that kicks off on Disc 1 with the first part of Lengvai (easily or easy in English), titled Lengvai.
The first track is the most minimal and microsound influenced part of Lengvai starting with filtered liquid synth ticks moving towards frequency manipulation of sine wave tones accompanied by a soft subtle glitch rhythm and sine chords that kind of sound like Dub Techno stabs completely reduced to the first building block of the synth sounds. Mysterious and abstract but also with frequencies playing with your ears in the sensitive part of hearing, the first part is a calm start of a composition that does get more rhythmic and varied very quickly. No spoilers yet in this first part however. Ilgiau Ilgiau features glitch drums with a very funky groove to them, stereo panned noises and high frequency beeps are also part of the mixture. The sound does remind me a bit of Ryoji Ikeda’s more rhythmic works but with a swing and a “rougher” sound design. The glitch beats drive the music towards three note synth pattern that feels very “homely” and comfortable but also pleasantly clicky. Near the end of this part the music moves towards a more diffuse drone that gets glitched up as well in the rhythm of the music. That’s one of the interesting aspects of Gintas K music, the abrupt chopping up or manipulation of sound and unexpected moments. It creates a very fun kind of playfulness in the music that keeps it from sounding rigid and cold. Kūlgrinda, the third part is a much longer part that features more intense Glitch rhythms that accompany a pretty funny kind of distorted synth melody that features a heavy Wah like filter effect (sounds like manipulation of the Body Resonance of the Scream 4 effect in the DAW Reason), as well as some heavy phaser action. Maybe a little cheesy in its sound but it gives the music a funky and also pretty humorous sound. After this section the music fades to a watery synth sound, very liquid, like a kind of device sucking out water accompanied by high frequency clusters of ticks. This crossfades into a distorted drone and gets accompanied by the glitch beat of the first section. Now however the sound of the full mix gets gradually more and more mangled into distorted, folding and trembling by the manipulation. The added high harmonics give the music a very nice adventurous vibe and I found this manipulation especially great. The full mix gets more and more distorted at the end, ending a full wave of warbly distortion, excellent. Fourth part Koto starts with a great drone mostly at the left side of the stereo image that gets heavily flanged, the flanger settings being manipulated in various patterns that add cool resonances and Noise like harshness to the sound. The music builds with a more sparse, polyrhthmic Glitch beat accompanying the drone. In the second half of this track the drone fades out and the music is more focussed on the glitch rhythm in which now also short tones are added for resonance. This second part also features it’s own microsections of repetition, giving the composition new twists of direction. The piece moves toward the end with a different drone, more similar to first track Lengvai, pure sound in a higher range of frequencies, soft beds of Noise add a bit of rain / wind sounds to the mixture, the piece then ends with only the drone and noise beds. Early Set is the final part of Lengvai and is also the longest track at 27 minutes 19 seconds length. Just like the pieces before, the music flows through various sections but with even more variation. Highlights in this part for me are the bird like sounds in the first half, that also sound like distant car alarms. Then there’s the awesome build up of Noise in the second half that speeds up in a big and loud way, very impressive to listen on speakers with great work in the bass too. In the last section of the piece there is a section of what sounds like music samples being combined with washes of Noise and rising high frequencies, harmonic and harsh at the same time, very nice. At the very end the piece breaks down to a minimal stereo glitch rhythm that gradually gets more and more distorted and mangled, even slammed. Until it sounds like microscoping broken black holes of sound. Great ending to Disc 1 of this release.
Disc 2 features the full piece 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound. Because the piece’s 60 tracks are actually part of the composition and sound manipulation method I will obviously now give an overall impression of the piece rather than go through all the seperate tracks. This piece was definitely a pretty unique listening experience, the 2 kHz sinewave sound is audible on pretty much all the 60 tracks, either pure or manipulated in frequency, rhythm or other ways. The length does of course make the piece a bit challenging because sounds at 2 kHz can sound rather fatiguing on the ears for a long long time, fortunately Gintas K creates quite a lot of variation in the piece, not only manipulating the 2 kHz sound itself but also adding other sometimes glitchy high frequency sounds to it. I guess the best way to describe how this piece felt to me is that it’s somewhere in between a physical experience of raw sound as well as rooms and other places where this sound might be coming from and environments that distort the sound. At one point the sound even gets really loud intense and fast in ticking, sometimes also sounding a bit like an alarm. In general it’s a really unique piece to describe and I definitely like it mostly, but especially at parts where the 2 kHz gets changed up. The more progression the better with this kind of sound. So definitely a unique but challenging piece, a good listen.
Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2 kHz is an equally fun and unique listening experience of double album. Disc 1 is more accesible and suited for repeated listening but Disc 2 also does offer a great kind of study of sound that is at point just as playful and progressive as Disc 1. In any case, this is a great creative release of glitchy sonic work by Gintas K and a good listen, so check it out for sure.
2 CD is available from the Crónica Bandcamp page here:
https://cronica.bandcamp.com/album/lengvai-60-x-one-minute-audio-colours-of-2khz-sound
*****************************************
 

Gintas K – Acousma Light

http://neural.it/2018/09/gintas-k-acousma-light/ 
Sep. 05. 2018
The album title is an immediate reference to acousmatic music, despite Gintas K actually not being part of that “land”. More generically, he prefers the sound art scene and his work focuses on digital, glitch and granular sounds. He had already released 29 album with important labels (Cronica, Zeromoon, Con-v, m/OAR, Copy for Your Records, Baskaru and Ilse) and live performed at the most important international festivals, like Transmediale., ISEA and the IRCAM forum. Actually, as the title suggests, “Acousma Light” shows some respect for this specific tradition, but the author provides his own approach, not so crystallized and more free from dogma and constraint; a light version but not for this reason lacking in seriousness and sensitivity. The most direct reference to the school started by Pierre Schaeffer is that no sound source is noticeable during the listening session or at the concert. So in the first part of the composition the sound is very rough and at the mercy of trembling circuits, fluctuating between bleeps and liquid digressions, reduced to its essential parts but not lacking in shocks, accelerations and losses of adhesion. However, a clear connection between the sounds and their sources of production is missing. The matter is very much felt, especially regarding the electronic lives, to sometimes not be spectacular enough. But the works present some moments of fullness, mostly orchestral, and some basic melodies, together with some pauses and introverted weaves, mixed with the atonies and dense buzzes. But the author likes the idea that all the elements played are modular sound particles. Following the acousmatic way, the physical characters of these audio emissions are invoked: the timbre, the sound spectrum, the variations and the variable speed of movement. Making a whole from some fragments can’t be considered a laboratory practice, but a subjective practice, with its own aesthetics and value provided by the forms and the results the artist got with his work. From this point of view, we can’t make any criticism of Gintas K, because the album’s nine tracks are suggestive and engaging, noisy and chaotic but definitely full of talent and concrete.

*****************************************

Travis Johnson & Gintas K – Into the Void 
Posted: 25 June 2018 
by Christopher Nosnibor 
auralaggravation.com/2018/06/25/travis-johnson-gintas-k-into-the-void/
Into the Void is Gintas K’s second album-length release of 2018, and we’re not even quite halfway through. For this outing, the enigmatic granular sonic artist from Lithuania has delivered an array of 14 fragmentary pieces, the majority titled by number, spanning snippets less than a minute in length to quarter-hour brain-sizzlers, with the majority of pieces clocking in around the two-minute mark. 
The limited notes accompanying the release state ‘Pieces created by Gintas K using Travis Johnson sound material.- rhythms loops.’ It’s perhaps worth noting that this is Travis Johnson (2) as listed on Discogs – the ‘sound designer, electronic music producer, improviser, and farmer from Suwannee County, Florida, United States’, and not the bassist with metal band In This Moment or either of the other two. 
We’re all staring into one void or another, so there’s a degree of universality in the experimental intent of this release. 
Those rhythms and loops are warped, splayed, disjointed, whipping backwards and forwards across the heads in a jumble of crazed anagalogia reminiscent in places of some of William Burroughs’ tape experiments from the late 50s and early 60s, when he and Brion Gysin, with the assistance of Iain Sommerville, who was an electronics engineer and programmer. 
For the most part, it’s about variation – or not so much – on a theme. Beats stutter and funnel into disarray and fuzzy edges dominate the sounds as those beats crackle and fizz. Most of the loops on here sound sped up and pitch-shifted, gloopy electronica and synthy beats shifted up to resemble clicks and bleeps and scratches of static. Everything crunches and collides at a frenetic pace to create an overwhelming blizzard of sound, a sonic soup that batters rather than massages the senses and the brain. A great many of the rhythms are arrhythmic, or otherwise disturbed or distorted in some way or another. At times akin to a palpating heart, and at others a flutter beneath a screeching squall of static, a fizz of treble and a mess of skittering noise, Into the Void leads the listener into difficult territory, and at times threatens to abandon them in a sandstorm of sound that will leave them completely adrift. 
There are some moments of variance: ‘Void4’ is a slow, woozy slice of opiate dub, and ‘Void6’ is largely distorted thumping and rumbling, and ‘Void12’ brings the emptiness of it all into sharp relief, a quavering, oscillating humming drone. It’s minimal, but delivers maximum discomfort. 
Personally, I dig it, but as a listening experience, its uncomfortable and far from easy. 

*****************************************

TONESHIFT
toneshift.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/acousma-light-by-gintas-k/
Extraordinary sounds as heard by TJ Norris
MARCH 11, 2018
Acousma Light by Gintas K
It’s been some time since I’ve experienced new work from Gintas K, and Acousma Light is a quirky and strong re-introduction. At times a jumble of electronics, wired, frayed, tumbling like dice – and at others a groovy, almost a cinematic soundtrack for the making of an arcade game. The record is broken into nine distinct ‘episodes’ which makes for a chapter-like listen. This is active listening, that fades and plays with your ears, at times a bit corny fun in its whirring cartoonish-ness as on ‘episode4′ which is one if the recordings’ most distinct tracks. Stay for the full nine minute plus ride and I promise a magical pixieland complete with bouncing balls, mysterious jangling, and crunchy grit holding it all together. He’s quite an arsenal of recordings floating out there on labels like Portugal’s lauded Crónica, the French imprint Baskaru and the German-based but now defunct (!?) Retinascan— however this is his first on his own imprint, Gk Rec.
Acousma Light is grainy and receding in places that you would least expect and intolerantly vivacious in other respects – but never to the extent where things become unlisten-able, moreso he seems to capture momentary lapses of irritation and live process. This occurrence rears and buries its head on ‘episode6’ creeping in and out of reception until the latter 1/3 of this disc where things play on out jazz sans horns or other typical musical modifiers. What you witness is more akin to a funhouse carnival where the symphonic flare is full of rubberized manipulation and awkward silences. This is until ‘episode8’ and ‘episode9’ finish this off with a refrain of everything you have heard previously here, except remixed and spaced out like a drunken Summer night, the wee hours played live for the unwashed masses. In the end we are treated to a colorful array of toy sounds and faint toots abruptly up-ended.
The Lithuanian composer whose full name is Gintas Kraptavicius has been releasing his unique sound work since the early 00’s and always has something quite modern and obtuse to add to the larger sound scape. It’s great to have him inside my head again, this one is memorable for its unreserved antics and refined subtleties.
*****************************************

Gintas K - Acousma Light [GK Rec. 001]

http://www.nitestylez.de/2018/01/gintas-k-acousma-light-gk-rec-001.html  JANUARY 27, 2018  
Incoming from Lithuania is "Acousma Light", the latest album by Gintas Kraptavicius - better known as Gintas K to followers and fans of the countries experimental music scene - which has been put on the circuit via his freshly launched imprint GK Rec. as the the labels very first release. Following the principles of  Pierre Schaeffer's 'acousmatic music', a term derived from Pythagoras' ancient lecturing methods, in which a sound source is not to be seen via a concert or listening session the Lithuanian artist presents a menu of nine so-called episodes, all subsequently numbered and following a certain principle of sonic deconstruction and recomposition. Without going into detail on each and every episode presented it seems like the source material, in parts based upon beautifully floating strings, is - over the course of each single track - slowly, and digitally, decaying, shattering and falling into granular, highly compressed and overtly dry bits and pieces, creating a chaotic, yet not necessarily fully un-organized wall of fast moving slivers hitting the listeners ear as an overwhelming, unfiltered maelstrom of artificial, probably MAX MSP-generated sonic events, partially interrupted by beauteous static Ambient breakdowns like in the 17+ minutes long "Episode 3" which even caters hints of heavenly melodies and Electronica within its second half. With "Episode 4" we're even getting into more humoristic sonic realms following in array of computer tones evoking thoughts of of playful little robot discovering and messing around with tonal scales, "Episode 5" presents and eerie, hauntingly warped transmission from an interdimensional outerworld whilst the approx. 13 minutes of "Episode 7" take small-grained, multilayered digital chaos to a next level for lovers of Noize (Not Noize), Glitch, Clicks'n'Cuts and other hypermodernist, post-millenial genres alike. Fascinating stuff in here! 

*****************************************
 
 
GINTAS K: ACOUSMA LIGHT

https://radiostudent.si/glasba/tolpa-bumov/gintas-k-acousma-light
LUKA SELIŠKAR 27. 1. 2018 / TOLPA BUMOV  GK rec., 2018
Nocojšnja Tolpa bumov nas bo popeljala proti hladnemu Baltiku, konkretneje v Litvo. V laični kolektivni zavesti Litva nekako ne obstaja kot glasbena velesila, upal bi si celo trditi, da nas večina ne zna našteti niti ene litvanske glasbenice ali glasbenega umetnika, še toliko bolj pa to velja, če se usmerimo v bolj eksperimentalne vode. Da pa naše naivne predstave pogosto lažejo in so napačne, s svojim opusom dokazuje avtor tokratne tolpaške ploščeGintas Kraptavičius oz. Gintas K.
Rojen je bil leta 1969, kasneje pa je bil eden ključnih članov prve litvanske industrial skupineModus. Skupina, ki bi jo lahko na hitro opisali kot z rockom in punkom navdahnjeneLaibach, je delovala v 90-ih in postavila malo mesto Marijampolė na industrial music zemljevid sveta. V izdihljajih starega tisočletja pa so se njihove glasbene poti razšle in Gintas K se je posvetil solističnim raziskovanjem zvočnosti. Od tedaj je sproduciral precej zajetnih 51 del, od katerih je 39 albumov, z njimi pa je raziskoval estetike elektronske in elektroakustične glasbe, od dronov, noisov do abstraktnega techna. Tokrat obravnavamo njegovo najnovejšo izdajo Acousma Light.
Acousma Light z imenom aludira na akuzmatično glasbo; torej glasbo, ki v biti zavrača vizualne aspekte in se fokusira na zvok sam. Akuzmatični performansi ne pripisujejo pomena živi izvedbi, še več, pogosto je zvočni vir namenoma očem skrit, izvor izraza pa gre iskati v antični Grčiji, ko je Pitagora svojim učencem pravil akousmatikoi - poslušalci. Menda so se za časa svojega vajeništva morali zavezati molku, učitelja pa so poslušali izza zavese, brez vizualnega stika. Gintas K v tem oziru deklarativno nadaljuje miljé Pierra Schaeffera in njemu sorodnih ustvarjalcev, ki so z izrazom acousmatique označili izkušnjo poslušanja musique concrète.
Konkretno se Acousma Light ukvarja z granulacijo, torej s seciranjem zvočnih posnetkov na izjemno kratke graine oz. drobce. Opis na Bandcampu pravi, da je plošča koncipirana kot zvočna dekonstrukcija posnetka živega performansa - dekonstrukcija, katere rezultate naj bi avtor kasneje organiziral in razvil v kristalizirano formo. Dekonstrukcija žive izvedbe je očitna, skozi granularni šum in čivkanje slišimo in razločimo udarce na boben, cingljanje zvončkov in pridušene basovske linije, ki pa se proti koncu prve skladbe oziroma prveEpizode (Episode #1), kot so komadi po vrsti poimenovani, utopijo v granularnih artefaktih in zadeva zveni razštelano. Precej manj očitna pa je kasnejša organizacija in kristalizacija. Četudi je plošča deklarativno koncipirana kot destrukcija in ponovna konstrukcija, je imel recenzent z razbiranjem rekonstrukcije velike težave. Zvoki, ki se v epizodah 1 do 9pojavljajo, so si namreč vseskozi preveč podobni. Zvočni artefakti, ki so posledica granularne sinteze z zelo skrajšanimi sempli, so preveč elementarni, pri dovoljšnjem krajšanju drobcev zvoka namreč zvočni rezultat izgubi jasno korelacijo z izvirnim materialom; graini na koncu zvenijo med seboj praktično enako, ne glede na to, iz katerih izvirnih zvokov so nastali. Tako je učinek zvoka granularnih artefaktov skozi celotnih 72 minut, kolikor traja plošča, precej enoličen in se prične hitro ponavljati. Zato lahko narativ bolj kot ne iščemo zgolj v negranuliranih zvokih, ki pridejo na plano, kadar zanojzano bombardiranje popusti. Še največ kristalizacije se opazi v sami strukturi skladb, saj so posamezni glasnejši deli skoraj brez izjeme dolgi med 5 in 10 minut, daljše skladbe tako med bolj zvočno zgoščene segmente vstavijo zelo tihe dele, ponekod celo tišino, kar bi lahko razumeli tudi kot zgostitev vsebine okoli vozlišč kristalne strukture.
Acousma Light kot plošča nekako ne prepriča, precej bolj se zdi, da skladbe delujejo, če jih obravnavamo kot med seboj neodvisne epizode, kakor so tudi poimenovane. V TV žargonu bi lahko rekli, da je Acousma Light bolj nanizanka kot nadaljevanka. Nanizanka, ki sledi akuzmatičnim načelom in od poslušalca zahteva razmislek o zvoku samem, zaradi česar je povprečnemu poslušalcu precej nedostopna, zvočnim raziskovalcem in predvsem navdušencem nad granularno sintezo pa ponuja zanimivo, četudi ne najbolj zapomnljivo poslušalsko izkušnjo.

*****************************************

Gintas K – Acousma Light

4 January 2018
Christopher Nosnibor

https://auralaggravation.com/2018/01/04/gintas-k-acousma-light/
The ever-prolific and some enigmatic Gintas K kick-starts 2018 with his umpteenth album (26 available via BandCamp for a start) in fifteen years. We don’t hear much from Lithuania, and the chances are that the exploratory and chiselling works released by Gintas K will reach the broader populace is an injustice.
Acousma Light is a mangled mass of bubbling analogue bleeps and whistles, R2D2 slowly melting over a sulphurous swamp amidst an immersive smog of low-end hums and disconsolate drones. As such, it very much continues in the vein of one of the most confusingly-titled releases ever, 2014 (Attenuation Circuit 2017), which was released last year.
Gintas K (no relation to Michael K or the associated neoist project of multiple identity associated with the name) sits in the broad bracket of avant-garde in his approach to creation. He describes himself as ‘a sound artist exploring granules, hard digital, memories,’ and has had works released on an impressive array of labels which promote experimental and avant-garde works, including Baskaru and Crónica. But, perhaps more admirably, K continues to release material apace with or without label backing. This is an artist in the truest sense – one who places artistic endeavour before commercialism, and clearly creates by compulsion rather than being motivated by any desire to create ‘product’ of an overtly marketable nature. And there is nothing commercial or marketable about Acousma Light, an album with a detailed theoretical context which I shall sidestep here, because its not integral to appreciating the audio experience.
It’s awkward, uncomfortable, tense, jittery. The compositions – such as they are – are formed around flickering circuitry, skittering notes – not exactly musical, so much as resembling sparks flickering from a defective socket. Much of Acousma Light reminds of the pink noise extravaganza of early Whitehouse releases like Total Sex, or more contemporary works like
Yoshio Machida’s Music from the Synthi and Yasunao Tone’s AI Deviation #1, #2. It’s also an expansive work: the bulk of the nine ‘episodes’ extend far beyond the five-minute mark, with ‘Episode#3’ (17:24), ‘Episode#4 (9:27), and ‘Episide#7’ (12:50) really pushing the parameters with extended sequences of unsettling noise.
There’s nothing comfortable about any of this. There isn’t supposed to be. Unsettling noise, ever-shifting carpets of discomfort casting patters over which snakes slither and crawl: this is the shape of the ever-shifting shape of Acousma Light. Dark, murky, hazy: above all, this is an unsettling scred of noise which offers a different kind of immersive.

*****************************************

https://auralaggravation.com/2017/08/13/gintas-k-2014/
Gintas K – 2014 
Posted: 13 August 2017 in Albums
Tags: 2014, Album Review, Attenuation Circuit 2017, circuit meltdown, dada, Digital overload, electronica, Experimental, Gintas K, Industrial, Nostalgia, Postmodern 0 
Christopher Nosnibor 
It seems as if this release is designed to cause maximum confusion. It’s called 2014 and is being released here in 2017. It was ‘originally’ released by German label Attenuation Circuit on 8th August 2017, and has been – so far as I can make out – independently released by the artist himself, with the subtitle of Attenuation Circuit 2017. Given the album’s contents, it sort of works. 
The accompanying blurb – which is in fact culled from a review published on August 12th (is this chronology messing with your orientation yet?) is a curious mix of hyperbole, unusual metaphors and theoretical reference points: 
‘Gintas K will shower the ears with a whole lot of incredible data streams, all clustering electronica bits and bytes that drop down in a wild way. As if data communications had been flushed through the shower head, tumble down and ending up together in the drain. Strangely when the tap is closed and these electrodes have calmed down in their dripping ways, they actually form beautiful sounding music… well, music might not be the word for all to say, but it does feel like there is a lot of beauty to be discovered in these busy data dada streams.’ 
As much as the quirkily playful application of abstract digitalism does clearly it comfortably within the framework of Dadaism, it’s also a work which readily aligns itself to the postmodern, in the way that it effectively recreates the experience of information overload, and does so in a fashion which is both nostalgic and retro (the sparking circuits are more dial-up than fibre optic) and executed with a certain hint of parodic pastiche. At the pace of progress as it stands, even 2014 feels like a point of nostalgia on the cultural timeline: a year which predates the vote for Brexit and the accession to power of Donald Trump, it may be a year with little going for it and which has little to mark it as memorable, but many would likely concur that 2014 stands in a period which is better than the present. 
2014 is certainly one of Gintas K’s noisier and more challenging releases. While Slow was a subtle and quite quiet, delicate work, 2014 is far more up-front and attacking in every respect. It’s also more difficult to position, in that it absolutely does not conform to simple genre categories like ‘ambient’, instead straddling vague brackets like ‘electionica’, ‘industrial’, and ‘experimental’. 
Hurtling from the speakers from the get go streams a barrage of gloopy digital extranea, a glissando of chiming binaries and a dizzying digital wash that flickers and flies in all directions, an aural Brownian motion of beeps and bleeps. 
The eight-minute ‘max’ starts very much as ‘min’, with a full three minute’s silence, before a brief crashing facsimile of some metallic kind of percussion makes a fleeting appearance. There are sporadic clunks and scrapes and minute glimmers of higher-end frequencies, but for the most part, the silence of space dominates the clutter of sound. 
‘5 zemu ir max2’ sounds like R2D2 having a seizure, with occasional blasts of distortion and random thuds punctuating the frenzied stream of bleeps. It’s ten minutes long. And I have no idea what the title – or indeed any of the titles attached to the individual pieces – stands a s reference to, just as the overarching 2014 has no obvious connection to the seven tracks it contains. 
Crackled a gloops and bloops and whiplash blasts of static, crashes like cars impacting at speed and jangling rings all congeal into a digital mush which bewilders and disrupts the temporal flow. 2014 is disorientating, and not just in the immediate moment, but in terms of a wider placement and sense of time / space.

*****************************************

Artist: Gintas K   title: 2014
https://yeahiknowitsucks.wordpress.com/2017/08/12/gintas-k-2014/

reviewer: Simon Hit August 12, 2017

Gintas K will shower the ears with a whole lot of incredible data streams, all clustering electronica bits and bytes that drop down in a wild way. As if data communications had been flushed through the shower head, tumble down and ending up together in the drain. Strangely when the tap is closed and these electrodes have calmed down in their dripping ways, they actually form beautiful sounding music… well, music might not be the word for all to say, but it does feel like there is a lot of beauty to be discovered in these busy data dada streams.

In a way it’s a bit like experiencing an electrified case of data loss; material that sounds very bright and yet as if it had been decoded to be as small as possible, probably to act as if they had been liquid drops instead of massive loads of secretive compact information. As if it wanted to say “please don’t pay attention to us, we are innocent ‘nothings’ while secretly being a encoded code for the meaning of life, nuclear launch codes or something else that might be of someone important their special interests.

…I don’t know about you, but in this case I’m happy not to be of such importance, making me happy with how these data expressions sound-like just the way they come and ‘are’. Screw their messages or whatever they mean or try to hide or express; to me its music. Well, music might again not be the word for all to say, but I wouldn’t call it noise either; it’s simply too intelligent and there are real structures over here; like compositions that had been planned out with efficient efficiency. I must say that I would love to save water and instead take a shower under this data stream… I don’t think to even dry myself up with a towel; just leave the electricity out to dry on the skin; how nice it would be!
https://emerge.bandcamp.com/album/2014

****************************************** 

Gintas K — Under My Skin

http://www.gonzocircus.com/under-my-skin/

Een kleine verrassing bij Crónica is de nieuwe uitgave van de Litouwse componist Gintas K. Hij is geen onbekende – ook niet op dit Portugese label – maar meneer K komt hier met zijn eerste uitgave op cassette. De reden om voor die geluidsdrager te kiezen blijft onduidelijk. Belangrijker: ook inhoudelijk is ‘Under My Skin’ een aardige verrassing. Het album bestaat uit acht composities waarbij Gintas K binnen een afgebakend sonisch terrein blijft; meer dan op zijn eerdere werk, naar mijn idee. Zoals we dat van Gintas K kennen bouwt hij zijn stukken op uit overwegend kleine elektronische klankjes – ‘Particles’, zoals een van de nummers heet, is een goede aanduiding. Het betreft op dit album veelal hoog tinkelende, rinkelende, klingelende geluides. Die veranderen de ene keer richting de klanken van morseseinen en computerspelletjes, een andere keer richting een druppelend en sijpelend geluid. In nummers als ‘Atmosphere’ en ‘Escape’ klinkt daar onder het ruisende geluid van een beek. Een elektronische dan, want Gintas K verzekert de luisteraar dat alle klanken digitaal zijn opgewekt. Daar valt dan waarschijnlijk ook een digitaal muziekbestand onder: vaag op de achtergrond klinkt in het titelnummer Frank Sinatra’s stem, ‘I’ve got you’, zingend. Alleen de korte afluiter wijkt qua klankkleur en sfeer wat af, als een contrapunt. Verder is het album met acht afzonderlijke nummers een duidelijke eenheid. Dat pakt heel goed uit.

******************************************   

Gintas K — Under My Skin

https://datawv.blogspot.lt/2017/04/gintas-k-under-my-skin.html 4/18/2017

Lithuanian musician Gintas K released his new work on Crónica label called Under My Skin. This is a cassette release in limited edition of 100 copies. I think that with Under My Skin album the author found his original sound, which he was reaching for a long time. 

I’ve listened to a number of his records, but only Under My Skin release was truly impressive to the depths of my soul! Sophisticated progressive electronic, here we have a very fine surgical work with sound – just play Minml and Atmosphere tracks.

To my mind, all the compositions of the album are strongly connected with the circulation of water, blood, liquids. 

I’m not aware where these processes occur - inside the body, in the natural world, in the universe, or maybe it’s 

the sounds of the microcosm. 

The title track Under my Skin is a true example of perfection alchemy of sound. Listening to this music, I definitely had a feeling that this whole album is studying all kinds of manifestations of the water element. A huge number of sounds immerse our consciousness in a special world, making us understand that everything consists of important elements that shape our entire life. In addition, 

I was surprised to learn that all the tracks created only with the help of digital synthesis - I would have never guessed. 

You may listen to the album Gintas K – Under My Skin not only on the cassette – here’s the digital version of this album.

******************************************

Antras Galas

http://www.thesoundprojector.com/2017/04/08/antras-galas/  

April 8, 2017

The enigmatic Lithuanian Gintas K. has featured in these pages numerous times, on each occasion baffling the curious listener with his quasi-scientific studies in glitchy electronica and producing mysterious sounds which seem to be taking place on a sub-atomic level. Maybe he reveals otherwise hidden events; maybe he’s the agency that causes them, dressed in his impersonal white overalls and goggles. His Dimensions (FROZEN LIGHT FZL042) album is mostly devoted to a 35-minute experiment he conducted in Vancouver in 2015, at the 21st International Symposium on Electronic Art. There seems to have been a theme, or even an actual venue, called the “Immersive Sound Room”, where you would have found Gintas K. and his set-up. He did it using Plogue Bidule, which appears to be a particular kind of “virtual instrument” supported by various plugins, and which runs on popular operating systems. When one sees screenshots of this modular creation studio, one can only guess at the possibilities. It so happens the vendor is Canadian, so perhaps Gintas K. was taking advantage of an exhibitor at his stand in Vancouver that day. While he mentions the use of midi keyboards and controllers, the real point of interest here is that he did it live. It kind of shows, too; there’s an urgency and nervousness in this cybernetic jumble that I don’t usually sense from the cryptic, faceless Mr. K. It also sounds fairly loopy and unhinged in places, evidence of the software running away with its own ideas like an army of demented cyber-crabs scuttling across a digital beach of tiny pebbles. The album is rounded out with ‘antras galas’, six mins and 30 secs of even more crazy wriggles and splintered demons, winging their way madly inside a glass jar. One of the more extreme entries in the “glitch” genre, and a jolly time. from 7th September 2016.  Written by Ed Pinsent

******************************************

GINTAS K

"Dimensions"  (Frozen Light)

http://www.darkroom-magazine.it 05-04-2017

Iperproduttivo autore lituano di vecchia data, Gintas K (all'epoca Gintas Kraptavicius) assembla nel 2016 questo "Dimensions" per presentarlo all'ISEA2015, Ventunesimo Simposio Internazionale di Arte Elettronica. Composto da due sole tracce, il lavoro è un coacervo di glitch registrati dal vivo in studio in maniera del tutto improvvisata col supporto di una strumentazione elettronica. Ne viene fuori un mix di rumori post-moderni e vintage che si susseguono in maniera non circolare, scorrendo nel tempo con le fattezze di una linea retta continua e infinita. Le variazioni sono sterminate soprattutto nella lunga title-track, la quale rivela, almeno a livello macrostrutturale, una divisione in momenti più sincopati e ricchi alternati ad altri più dimessi. La piccola traccia "Antras Galas" è invece una caduta libera nell'errore digitale, una sorta di infinita spirale verso il basso fatta di tanti microframmenti dispersi in un cono rovesciato fino all'Uno finale. Il noise, sebbene digitale, ha una resa audio paradossalmente sporca a causa della realizzazione in presa diretta e di una - voluta - assenza di post-produzione: tale aspetto rende il tutto particolarmente sapido, distante da ogni deriva di genere, da ogni atmosfera, riflessione o esito ipnotico, e collocabile esclusivamente nell'ambito della sperimentazione elettronica pura. La metodologia seguita da Gintas può ricordare quella dei New Blockaders (e concettualmente quella di Russolo), elevando il rumore a protagonista essenziale dello spazio e non a mezzo per trasmettere emozioni, messaggi o per rompere schemi. Lavoro di gran pregio per pochi palati esigenti. Confezionato in un digisleeve a quattro pannelli e limitato ad una tiratura di 300 copie. Disponibile anche in versione download nel profilo bandcamp della label.

Michele Viali

******************************************

http://bodyspace.net/discos/3140-under-my-skin/

Para estudar.

O título pode, à partida, parecer enganador. Só quando chegamos aos minutos finais de “Under My Skin”, tema homónimo que é um de dois pontos finais do disco, e ao sample rouco da canção de Frank Sinatra com o mesmo nome, é que percebemos que existe, aqui, algo de humano ou de carnal; que o é de forma fantasmagórica, como se a pele há muito tivesse sido abandonada, ou trocada, pelos bytes; como se nada mais restasse que a memória de uma máquina que já foi humana, upload de mente para disco rígido.

Há muito que Gintas Kraptavičius, ou Gintas K, explora a música digital – quase vinte anos. Under My Skin prossegue esse trilho laboratorial, sendo um disco no qual, mais que a vontade de fazer música, destoa a vontade de a descobrir por entre muralhas e muralhas de sons artificiais. O resultado final pode não ser, segundo os cânones, considerado música, assim como uma experiência não pode ser considerada arte. Ou talvez possa, dependendo do olhar de cada um.

Os sons aqui ordenados têm a capacidade de transmitir as mesmas sensações que qualquer peça; ouça-se a água correndo sob tilintar tribal em “Song”, ou o choque electrónico – e caótico – de “Minml”. Mas é mesmo no rodopio de “Under My Skin”, que começa numa chuva de dados e desagua numa outra de noise (durante a qual entra, então, o homem via Sinatra), que está o maior impacto de Under My Skin, o disco. Não é um álbum, é um estudo, e só os alunos mais aplicados terão a capacidade de o perceber. Paulo Cecílio

******************************************

Gintas K – „Under My Skin” (07.02.2017 | Crónica)

http://polyphonia.pl/2017/02/nowosci-z-cronica/

W ubiegłym roku pisałem na Polyphonii o interesującym albumie „Low” Gintasa K, czyli  Gintarasa Kraptavičiusa. Kaseta „Under My Skin” to już czwarte wydawnictwo litewskiego artysta dla Crónica. Gintas przygotowując nowy materiał całkowicie zrezygnował z wykorzystania nagrań terenowych, wolał się skupić bardziej na cyfrowej syntezie, ale poniekąd naśladującej dźwięki otoczenia. Miło się słucha choćby cyfrowego szumu fal  i bulgoczącej wody (np. w „Atmosphere”, „Phono”) zamieniających się w rozczłonkowaną lawinę synkretycznych dźwiękowych pikseli („Particles”, „Escape”).

******************************************

“Under My Skin”

The Wire - March 2017 (Issue 397)

Gintas Kraptavičius is a prolific Lithuanian sound artist whose work exists somewhere on the left side of the glitch continuum. His music is composed of many short-term electronic events, most of which are somewhat melodic in-and-of-themselves. Much of the work here occurs inside a fairly tight sonic field, so it can feel a bit repetitious, but that has more to do with palette than technique. It’s definitely an abstract assemblage, so it just allows a lot of listener drift. Which is not always a bad thing. Byron Coley

******************************************

Gintas K (@)Low
Jan 22 2017  by Andrea Piran

http://www.chaindlk.com/reviews/?id=9559

This release from Gintas K is an exploration of a form that could be vaguely defined as glitch but with a sharp sense for the construction of song. The track of this release are short pieces where sound elements which are usually used in long composition are deconstructed into miniatures that could be even enjoyable by listeners of more conventional music.
Upon a context of small noises, "pri" exposes an almost pop melody while "pazr" relies on a slow theme and "git" is almost a noise song focused on sharp sounds. The accumulation of sounds makes "tas" a track which start quietly and ends in a surrounding way while "geras" is based on sustained sounds. In his complexity, "po" sounds as a minimalistic piece and "jodds" oscillated between clean sounds and distorted ones. "gg2" uses the amplitude envelop to creates oscillating masses of sounds and "ziu" uses noises without creating a thick mass of sound but instead generating a sort of melancholic melody while "arsi" is an aggressive track constructed with the same elements and "zrtQEW" closes this release with a quiet ambient watercolor.
This album is a nice example of hijacking an experimental genre into a vague form of pop music without being trivial and with an impressive sense of measure. It's really worth a listening.

******************************************

Gintas K  Low

http://www.liabilitywebzine.com

par Fabien, chronique publiée le 19-01-2017

La boucle est bouclée. En effet, Low vient clore une trilogie entamée par Lovely Banalties et qui fut suivie par Slow. Trois disques, trois labels (Cronica, Baskaru, Opa Loka), Gintas Kraptavicius continue d'explorer une musique électronique aussi minutieuse qu'expérimentale. De manière quasi chirurgicale, Gintas K nous propose onze morceaux qui allie le glitch et l'ambiant tout en ne se contentant pas d'employer une logique contemplative à sa musique. Low peut l'être bien souvent mais n'être que dans cette approche n'aurait eu que peut d'intérêt. Celui-ci réside dans cette volonté de mettre en évidence de multiples textures sonores, les associer, construire des morceaux qui n'auraient rien de linéaires et apporter différentes couleurs à une musique que l'on considère généralement comme froide et peu encline à susciter des émotions trop fortes. C'est sans doute pour cela que Low est très en relief, n'hésitant pas à s'engouffrer dans des sonorités plus abruptes ou plus sales pour que l'auditeur ne soit pas dans une position de confort total. Gintas K tient à ce que celui-ci soit surpris, qu'il ne sache pas comment les morceaux vont se dérouler. Et c'est souvent le problème dans bien des disques. Les premières notes, les premières structures annoncent bien souvent le reste sans pour autant que l'on soit devin, au point que cela en devient presque gênant. On ne pourra pas dire cela de Low car Gintas K change son fusil d'épaule autant de fois qu'il le peut mais sans aller non plus dans les extrêmes. Low se doit aussi d'être un album digeste même si certains instant penchent vers le noise. Low n'est certes pas toujours à appréhender car ambivalent, n'étant jamais deux fois dans le même registre et s'accordant sur le fait qu'il ne peut y avoir de répétition. Pour autant Low apporte son lot de satisfaction car Gintas K sait parfaitement construire sa musique et nous emmener là où il le souhaite c'est à dire dans cette sorte d'inconnu sonore qui appelle la curiosité et le bizarre. Une réussite, une fois de plus.

****************************************** 

Gintas K: „Low“ (Opa Loka Records)

Zwischen Nervosität und Gelassenheit geht noch ein Tee

http://www.taz.de/!5369026/  9.1.2017

GEKRÖSE Großer Unbekannter aus dem Baltikum: Die experimentelle Elektronik des Litauers Gintas Kraptavičius. Sein neues Album „Low“ ist eine Entdeckung

Ein Rauschen schleicht sich an; und es kommt nicht allein. Da sind grandiose Sounds, die an das Einwahlgeräusch eines antiken Modems erinnern, dann bimmeln Glöckchen, eine Orgel pumpt. Leicht kratzige Synthesizerdecken werden aufgelegt, bis das Ganze in einem Schwall von white noise endet. Mit dieser ungestümen Eröffnung leitet der litauische Experimentalmusiker Gintas Kraptavičius sein aktuelles Album „Low“ ein.

„Pri“ heißt das Stück. Es ist eines von insgesamt elf, auf denen der Künstler wechselnde Aggregatszustände erkundet: Unruhe, abrupte Brüche und nervöse Morsesignale neben Gelassenheit, elektronischer Einkehr und majestätischen Soundschleifen. Das kann in schönster Gleichberechtigung in einem Stück wie „Tas“ passieren, an anderer Stelle, so in „Pazr“, oder dem siebenminütigem „Po“ fokussiert Kraptavičius auf die meditativen Momente seines Spiels, das ein durchaus sinnliches ist. Elektronische Musik kann ja dadurch wirken, dass sie ihre Künstlichkeit, ihre Technik gerade in den Vordergrund rückt; Kraptavičius’ Klänge sind durchweg organisch geraten.

Kraptavičius, Jahrgang 1969, lebt und arbeitet im westlitauischen Marijampolė. Er ist auf der transmediale in Berlin in den Jahren 2005 und 2007 aufgetreten. Seit 1994 veröffentlicht er Musik. Den Anfang machte die litauische Industrial- und Elektroband Modus, mit der er zwei Kassettenalben einspielte: „Užsikrėtę Mirtimi“ (1995) und „Megaukis Tyla“ (1998). Musik, die so ungemütlich wie verspielt wirkt und auf der Onlineplattform www.archive.org nachgehört werden kann. Seit 1999 verwendet Kraptavičius für seine Veröffentlichungen das Namenskürzel Gintas K.

Sein Solodebüt „Invite Round For A Cup Of Tea“ erschien 1999 als selbstverlegte Kassette und ist tatsächlich die Interpretation einer Teezeremonie mit einem alten russischen Samowar, als Performance in Vilnius, Kaunas und im russischen Perm aufgeführt. Das Publikum durfte mittrinken, der Sound des Samowars aktivierte das Mikrofon.

Organische Form

Kraptavičius erklärt seine Arbeitsweise: „Das Besondere an der Performance ist, dass sie alle notwendigen Elemente einer musikalischen Komposition enthält: die natürliche, organische Form, wechselnde Rhythmen, viele Klangfarben und ausdrucksstarke Dynamiken – von ‚PPP‘ bis ‚FFF‘.“ Hast Du Töne! Seitdem hat Kraptavičius in einigen Jahren gleich fünf bis sechs Alben veröffentlicht.

Es ist zu verführerisch, in „Low“, seinem 35., einen Verweis auf das gleichnamige, frostige Angebinde von David Bowie und Brian Eno aus dem Jahr 1977 zu hören. Aber an dieser Stelle muss Kraptavičius enttäuschen, wenn er unumwunden zugibt, Bowies berühmtes Werk niemals gehört zu haben. Dabei ist auch sein „Low“ Teil einer Trilogie, einer, die es freilich beschließt. Sie begann 2009 mit „Lovely Banalities“ (Crónica) und wurde 2013 mit „Slow“ (Baskaru) fortgeführt. „Slow“, ein mit der Melancholie vertrautes Album, bot zwölf Soundminiaturen, somnambulen Elektrojazz, die Klänge einer sich stoisch abspulenden, schläfrige Spieluhr inmitten behutsam verwobener Geräusche wie zerklüfteter, scharfkantiger Blöcke.

„Low“ kann man als das deutlich dunklere, harschere Album hören. Kraptavičius hat überhaupt nichts gegen eine solche Deutung, doch möchte er lieber von einer Fortführung sprechen. Er sitzt bereits an der nächsten Produktion. Bowies „Low“ hört er sich bei Gelegenheit mal an, verspricht er dann noch. Robert Mießner

****************************************** 

Sigil Of Brass  October 21, 2016

Gintas K – “Low”

I approached this album blind, having not heard of the two previous albums in the trilogy (the first one was Lovely Banalities (Crónica, 2009), second – Slow (Baskaru, 2013)). I really was not in the mood for this album – but it soon bought me around to it’s way of thinking.

“Low” sees Gintas K continue to explore microgranulated textures, deconstruction of melodic elements, and sonic plasticities that are altogether melted into blurred colors of acidulous tonalities and dynamic mixtures of metallic sonic palettes. Eleven short melancholic reminiscent pieces are presented on the album.

And, boy are they melancholic – emerging from a crysalistic slumber these tracks awaken the sleeper within; there is a sense of optimism within these dark tracks – but is is one of such fragility that I dare not speak of it.

Whilst you may think that the title of this album will be one of dark ambient – it is actually an uplifting body of work. It proves that there is light at the end of the tunnel as you spiral in to a pit of despair.

I felt like the first rays of Autumn Equinox were shining, beaming on to the back of my neck – there was life in the senses around me, not all was dead: this album witnessed that.

An uplifting album when you are in a low place.

A nostalgic, melacholic album that gives birth to new hope.

Summary

It is actually an uplifting body of work. It proves that there is light at the end of the tunnel as you spiral in to a pit of despair.

 ***************************************** 

03/01/2017 / Fabrizio Garau

GINTAS K, Low

http://www.thenewnoise.it/gintas-k-low/

Gintas K, cio? Gintas Kraptavicius, ? un artista lituano che – cito la biografia, dato che non lo conoscevo prima – ha fatto parte della prima band industrial del suo Paese e si muove anche nei campi della performance teatrale e della concept art, cosa non sorprendente se pensiamo ai legami tra industrial originario e avanguardie creative. Negli ultimi anni, aggiungo, si ? spostato verso la sound art e la musica per i film, e anche questo ? un percorso del tutto conseguente.

Low ? parte di una trilogia che comprende gli album Lovely Banalities (Crónica, 2009) e Slow (Baskaru, 2013) ed ? pane per i denti di chi segue etichette come Editions Mego e apprezza la commistione tra disturbi e melodie del Fennesz altezza Endless Summer, con la differenza che Gintas ? molto pi? intimista e dolce, calato in una dimensione ancora pi? morbida ed eterea rispetto alla (gigantesca) pietra di paragone che sto utilizzando. Le tracce si attestano tutte sotto i quattro minuti, un fatto non scontato all’interno di un genere che di solito si sviluppa lentamente nel tempo, tanto che mi viene da immaginarle come dei buoni sketch, non in senso spregiativo, anzi: il disco tiene botta fino alla fine, dove troviamo episodi del tutto convincenti, basta non aspettarsi la scoperta di nuovi mondi.

****************************************** 

GINTAS K  low

freiStil  #70 Jänner/Februar 2017

Opa Loka / opa-loka-records.com

Die elf Stücke auf Low dokumentieren

die Vielschichtigkeit des

litauischen Elektronikers Gintas

Kraptavičius. Ähnlich wie Autechre’s

Meisterwerk elseq, wirken die

Sounds und Kompositionen improvisiert,

und das ist gut so. Die werden

durch die Filter gejagt und da -

mit dekonstruiert, dass es eine

Freu de ist. Die meist melodischen

Soundflächen entwickeln sich weiter

und weiter, manchmal bleibt ein Ton

stehen, oder es entwickelt sich ein

Drone. Die Nummer Arsi als Bei -

spiel entwickelt sich in eine Hymne,

aber im Gegensatz zu Musikern wie

JK Flesh werden diese Hymnen nur

angedeutet und schwingen auch bei

mehrmaligem Anhören immer wieder

mit. Das macht dieses Album zu

etwas Besonderem. Spannende

Sounds! (mr. ri)

****************************************** 

Gintas K - Slow (CD Baskaru)

 http://www.progress-report.co.uk/    20/12/2016

This Lithuanian artist seems to churn out at least a few albums per year and that’s, to be

honest, generally a bad sign in my estimation. Especially when they straddle the spheres

afforded by a home digital set up and are prone to melding patchwork abstract electronics

together with somewhat predictable electroacoustic and glitch works. The pieces here are

forged of grizzled digital flotsam with a vaguely melodic disposition not exactly unlike the

foraging of countless similar artists on this terrain. It all delivers too workmanlike and

perfunctory for my more demanding requirements, doubtlessly falling into that deep chasm

where grown men look as bored as the audience as they reside behind a laptop for the live,

uh, ‘experience’ RJ.

******************************************

Gintas K ‎– Dimensions

October 12, 2016 by darkroomrituals

Если на своей недавно завершенной трилогии «Lovely Banalities/Slow/Low» литовский музыкант-экспериментатор Гинтас К ещё, образно говоря, прогуливался вдоль зыбкой и невидимой границы, за которой заканчивается «привычная» нам музыка и начинается шумовой хаос, не подчиненный человеческой логике, то на новом альбоме «Dimensions» он эту границу смело переступил. Материал альбома был подготовлен для исполнения вживую в рамках программы «Immersive Sound Room» 21-го Международного симпозиума электронного искусства (ISEA2015), состоявшегося 14-18 августа 2015 г. в Ванкувере, для создания материала Гинтас использовал программу «Plogue Bidule» и прочий софт, позволивший ему спонтанно манипулировать большим объемом цифровых шумов, звуками аналоговой техники, генерируя их но ходу действия, создавая сложное для восприятия звуковое пространство. Забудьте о том, что на его предыдущих релизах вы могли слышать минорные, минималистичные мелодии и фрагменты того, что с той или иной степенью вероятности попадало под определение «музыка» – теперь действие происходит совсем в других измерениях, где правит спонтанность, машинная логика и полная свобода действий. «Dimensions» разрастается из разрозненных звуков, вырывающихся из вашей стерео системы, и шершавыми фантомами заполняющими пространство вокруг вас, словно проверяя, готовы ли стены, окна, слух и нервная система к сеансу восприятия. Этот поток звуков обретает непредсказуемые формы, то оглушая напряженным и почти болезненным шумовым наполнением, то проваливаясь в короткие паузы, из которых возникают короткие, обжигающе-цифровые звуки, сбивки, помехи и потрескивания – всё то, что неподготовленный слушатель назовет «мусором» и наверняка будет не прав, потому что в правильных руках всё это превращается в мощный инструмент расширения восприятия окружающего мира, его акустической среды, многие тайны которой скрываются за повседневным фоновым гулом, в который сливаются тихие шумы электрического напряжения и звуки работающей техники, компьютеров и прочих девайсов, в нагретых кремниевых недрах которых тоже зарождается своя, особенная музыка. Шумовой и безапелляционный альбом, напрягающий ваш слух – но, если ничто и никто не помешают вам дослушать его до донца, вы с удивлением заметите, что в возникшей после его окончания тишине мир вокруг вас будет восприниматься совершенно особенным образом. Так что добро пожаловать в новое измерение!

 ******************************************

GINTAS K - LOW (CD by Opa Loka Records)

Vital Weekly number 1052   week 41
From the busy bee that is Lithuanian composer Gintas K now comes the album that is the final
part of a trilogy that started with 'Lovely Banalities' (that wasn't reviewed) and 'Slow' (Vital
Weekly 870). In general I do like the work of Gintas K, but about 'Slow' I wasn't that positive; I
thought it sounded too much like the early laptop music (Ritornell, Mee; the music released by
such labels), and that Gintas K didn't necessarily add much new to this. Now that made me fear
'Low' a bit, I must say, even when I do think that within the niche K operates in he is someone who
knows what he is doing and throughout he does a decent job. As recently as in Vital Weekly 1047,
when I reviewed his 'Dimensions' release, I remarked that it might be worthwhile to think about
some necessary change in his work and look towards a new direction in sound. As such 'Low' isn't
that mighty new leap forward (or wayward) but further carves out the niche in which he operates.
Having said that, I thought the eleven pieces here are not bad at all. They have fine warmth most
of the time, a touch of melancholy and sadness even, while some of it is also with a plink-plonk
metallic sound, and within these eleven pieces Gintas K offers an interesting amount of variation.
Not always very descript, but that goes with the perhaps abstract titles of the pieces ('Pri', 'Pazr',
'Git', 'Tas', 'Geras' and so on). In conclusion: another fine album by Gintas K, but also one that
sounds very much without surprises. (FdW)

 ******************************************

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

http://www.nitestylez.de/

Gintas K - Low [Opa Loka Records]

Recently released via Opa Loka Records is Gintas K's newest album named "Low" which sees the Lithuanian producer cater a menu of eleven tracks which concludes an album trilogy that also includes his 2009-released longplay piece "Lovely Banalities" as well as the 2013 album "Slow". Over the course of roughly 43 minutes the artist explores a musical field we'd rather describe as Unambient because - although Ambient influences and textures are present throughout the whole runtime - the melodic and floating tonality of the album, also influenced by pretty much organic elements reminiscing of Post-PostRock or Indietronics, is somewhat decaying, interrupted by metallic noises and distortions on overdrive which surprisingly never come across as aggressive but tend to be more of an inward looking and pondering nature which, in parts, is not well represented by the tracks truncated runtime rarely exceeding the four minutes mark and therefore feeling more like skits and rough sketches of experimental nature rather than the fully thought out sonic sculptures they could've turned into over time. This said, we feel that "Low" doesn't meet the expectations we had after we've reviewed Gintas K's "Message In The Bottle" album earlier this year and therefore leaves us behind a little unsatisfied for a reason.

******************************************

Gintas K – Low

http://polyphonia.pl/  2016/09

Tym razem odkrywamy litewską muzykę elektroniczną autorstwa Gintasa K.

Pod tym pseudonimem ukrywa się Gintaras Kraptavičius (ur. 1969) – artysta dźwiękowy od wielu zaangażowany w tworzenie litewskiej sceny eksperymentalnej. W 1990 roku został liderem zespołu Modus – jednego z pierwszych

industrialnych projektów na Litwie. Od 1999 roku Gintas K. zaczął nagrywać solowe albumy, na których do dzisiaj prezentuje muzykę na styku elektroakustyki, ambientu, mikrotonalnych struktur czy minimal techno.

Krążek „Low” (11.07.2016 | Opa Loka Records) zamyka trylogię Gintasa K. Dwie poprzednie płyty to „Lovely Banalities” (Crónica, 2009) i „Slow” (Baskaru, 2013). Nowe utwory Litwina balansują pomiędzy delikatnymi/melancholijnymi ambientowymi formami („pazr”, „tas”, „po”, „gg2”) a bardziej chropowatymi/noise’owymi (np. „pri”, „git”, „geras”). Do mnie przemawia te ambientowe oblicze Gintasa K, które kojarzy mi się po trosze z Fenneszem, Alva Noto, Biosphere i Lustmordem. Z całą pewnością warto poznać oraz sprawdzić „Low”.

******************************************

Gintas K 'Low'  
-  Album: 'Low' -  Label: 'Opa Loka Records'
-  Genre: 'Ambient' -  Catalogue No: 'OL16008'
http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com
Gintas K completes a trilogy of albums, consisting of ‘Lovely Banalities’ (Crónica, 2009), ‘Slow’ (Bascaru, 2013), and, finally, ‘Low’. Quite unrelated to David Bowie’s seminal album of the same title, this release continues where its predecessors left off, with its focus on what the artist calls ‘microgranulated textures’, and the ‘deconstruction of melodic elements, and sonic plasticities that are altogether melted into blurred colors of acidulous tonalities and dynamic mixtures of metallic sonic palettes’.
Having spent a lot of time with the minimalist, microtonal works put out on labels like Editions Mego (artists like Mark Fell come to mind in particular), I’ve found that acclimatisation to such exploratory works with a zoomed-in focus requires practice and a degree of patience, and ‘Low’ is no exception. However, I’m probably better equipped to appreciate ‘Low’ than its predecessor three years ago.
It’s an extremely sparse work. The individual tracks are short and self-contained, microcosmic and very much digital.
The album’s longest track, ‘po’, which clocks in at seven and a half minutes, bleeps and whistles – at a pitch attenuated to the hearing of dogs and bats primarily – over a two-note organ sound which shimmers and glides. It’s largely representative, with the album’ eleven tracks combining to sift through the tonalities of the sonic spectrum.
The fact that often, there appears to be very little happening is, arguably, the very point. It’s all about the detail. You need to pay attention. author: Christopher Nosnibor

******************************************

Gintas K ‎– Low

darkroomrituals

September 10, 2016 by darkroomrituals tagged ambient, experimental, gintas k, glitch, idm, opa loka records
Opa Loka Records ‎– OL16008
Альбомом «Low»  литовский музыкант Гинтас Краптавичюс, известный как Gintas K, завершает трилогию, на реализацию которой у него ушло более шести лет. Первая часть вышла в 2009 году на испанском лейбле «Cronica» и называлась «Banalities», вторую, «Slow», спустя четыре года издали на «Baskaru». На новом альбоме Гинтас снова подводит слушателей к той зыбкой границе, на которой заканчивается музыка и начинается хаос – но, как и всегда, этот хаос для Гинтаса превращается в предмет исследований на тему «а можно ли выделить из него еще немного музыки или уже всё, финиш?». На «Low» крайне минималистические мелодичные структуры (вроде бы акустического происхождения, зачастую слух угадывает отголоски металлических структур или вырывает из общем массы партии клавишных, хотя обработка различными эффектами и фильтрами неизменно придает всему этому выхолощенной «электронности») находятся в постоянном контакте с цифровыми шумами, которые, необходимо заметить, звучат весьма интересно и изобретательно, иногда (в начале альбома) еще покалывая барабанные перепонки колючками шумов, но ближе в финалу они стихают и придают «Low» почти что эмбиентное умиротворение.
Олицетворяя ошибки машинных алгоритмов, эти шумы, звуковой мусор, помогают создавать Гинтасу музыку на уровне последних релизов «Autechre», в которых, как и здесь, логика компьютерного кода вроде бы побеждает логику человека, выдавая в итоге странные звуковые построения, распознать и понять которые порой невероятно сложно, а иногда и не возможно ввиду закономерных физических несовершенств биомашины под названием «человек». Но у Гинтаса, в отличии от именитых коллег, победа программы не окончательна – в сложной нейронной сети искусственного интеллекта, генерирующего потоки связанных на каком-то запредельном уровне звуковых потоков  сигналов, хранятся остатки эмоций и переживаний, они-то и присутствуют в каждом треке тихими, предельно простыми мелодиями, настроение которых эволюционирует от светлой меланхолии до угрюмости и обратно. «Low» находит лирику и чувственность там, где ее отродясь не было, и делает это талантливо и очень…человечно, да, именно так. Как всегда и Гинтаса. Хороший, пусть иногда и очень странный на слух альбом.

******************************************

Album: „Low“ von Gintas K

Dennis Schütze Blog

Veröffentlicht am 8. September 2016
„Low“ erschien im Juli 2016 und ist das dritte und letzte Album einer Trilogie von Gintas K. Die Reihe startete mit „Lovely Banalities“ (Crónica, 2009), es folgte „Slow“ (Bascaru, 2013) und den Abschluss bildet nun „Low“ (2016). Das Album erscheint als CD und Download auf dem deutschen Label opa loka records, laut Webseite eine Veröffentlichungsplattform für Klangkunst aus den Fächern „electronic, psychedelic, dark wave, industrial, ambient, experimental, neokraut and freestyle music“, ein recht illustrer Reigen unkonventioneller Stile also.
Mit diesem Label scheint Gintas K eine passende Heimat für seine Produktion gefunden zu haben, denn mit „Low“ bewegt er sich abseits aller etablierten und gefälligen Klänge und bewegt sich hart an der Grenze dessen was allgemein gerade noch so als Musik bezeichnet wird. Die klangliche Basis seiner Mixingprozesse scheinen synthetischen Ursprungs zu sein, entscheidend ist das allerdings nicht, denn sie werden nach wirklich allen Regeln der digitalen Kunst dekonstruiert, massiv nachbehandelt und neu zusammengesetzt. Bei flüchtigem Hinhören kann der Eindruck entstehen, es handele sich bei dem Ergebnis um arbiträr zusammengeschusterten Noise mit hohem Geräuschanteil. Bei aufmerksamen Zuhören, erkennt man Themen, Muster, Strukturen, aus dem Noise bilden sich faszinierende, poetische Konstrukte heraus, zwar weitgehend ohne Melodie, Rhythmus oder gar Harmonie, aber mit viel Gespür für Raum und Sound, vielleicht am besten umschrieben als Ambiente aus digitalen Fehlern und Bruchstücken, ein sensibler Soundtrack für die Zeit nach dem digitalen Systemzusammenbruch.
Gintas K ist ein lettischer Musiker und Soundtüftler. Vom 7.-9. September präsentiert er sein Werk zum Thema „Temporary Autonomous Zones 2016“ beim Festival and Conference der Irish Sound Science and Technology Association (ISSTA).

******************************************

Vital Weekly
number 1047  week 36
GINTAS K — DIMENSIONS (CD by Frozen Light)
Gintas K has been around for quite some time now, and he works these days within
the realm of serious computer music. The thirty-five minute title piece was presented
during the 21st International Symposium On Electronic Art in Vancouver and 'created/
played using Plogue Bidule software and various VST plugins. Plugins were assigned
and controlled by midi keyboard and midi controllers. All the elements were played live',
as it says on the cover. Maybe whatever the computer does is all purely electronic,
like constant filtering and treatment of it's own sound, but maybe there is something
that goes into the machine, like field recordings. I doubt that, as what I hear sounds
very digital and quite distorted at that. This is some serious radical computer music that
requires quite a bit of strength from the listener. The first twelve or so minutes are pretty
hardcore and quite demanding on the listener. Not because it is loud per se, but quite
gritty, abstract and without much logical sequence. In other parts of this piece that is
repeated and while there are also lengthy passages that are quieter, this is music that
remains quite demanding, well, perhaps because it has parts that very quiet. As a sort
of coda there is also 'Antras Galas', which stays on the same level for the entire six
minutes and comes across as a very chaotic piece of computer sounds, that come in
a multitude and they are all demanding your immediate attention. Much of what I heard
here, I heard before, which was a pity, as I sometimes hope for a new direction.(fdW)

************************************

Gintas K – Dimensions

Posted on September 5, 2016 by kainobuko

https://yeahiknowitsucks.wordpress.com
Artist: Gintas K
title: Dimensions
keywords: experimental lithuania strange music elecroacoustic jazz and improvised music musique concrete noise post-rock Moscow
format: limited cd / digital
label: Frozen Light Label http://www.frzl.ru/

Gintas K clearly knows it’s dimensions and by recording them in one single lengthy track the artist clearly wants to share the dimensional knowledge with you. The recording might not capture anything that truly resembles the dimension that most of us are reading this review in, but Gintas K brings the sound of dimensions that are simply a little bit outside our everyday comfort zones.

It’s as if Gintas K is some kind of traveling artist that goes through quantum leaps into these dimensions that we rarely have seen or heard anything about. In a amount of time Gintas K will present you one after another, some of them are easy and calm, others are wildly excessive, but non really seem to resemble anything usually known in our own little comfort zone. You can call these snippets of dimensions a bunch of unrelated noises, expressions, sound bites that can be soft and cozy as well as loud and mentally speedy.

The closest resemblance to things that could be heard in the presence of the ‘now’ would probably be at test faculties of new electric music equipment, noise shows, and retro gamers with circuit bend curiosities.

The last part of this discovery of unknown sound dimensions is clearly a case of being actually a bit stuck into one. Antras Galas’ it is called and seems like one dimension in which we always have to run around and never find a moment to rest or sit still. This is probably a bit how the dimension of pacman would feel like if it was an actual being with feelings and senses, running nonstop around popping pills and being scared of ghosts most of the time. So yes, Gintas K offers an escape from everyday reality into a whole bunch of other dimensions within this album, but don’t think it will be a relaxing holiday; more an active traveling vacation into the unknown. Get this album over here:
https://frozenlightlabel.bandcamp.com/album/dimensions
<KN>

************************************

gintas k DIMENSIONS (2016, CD, Frozen Light): New dimensions of modern music

Mindaugas Peleckis
2016 m. Rugsėjo 02 d., 16:17

http://www.radikaliai.lt/

One of the best modern Lithuanian composers gintas k (Gintas K) slowly and methodically became a classic of his sort. Now, his music is heard in various places of the world, and ex-punk rocker and industrialist (MODUS) is one of the most innovative and interesting creators of modern music which is hard to define. NEW album DIMENSIONS just came out on the 1st of September 2016.

I don't use terms postmodern music or even my own one postmusica for music of gintas k. He has his own style, and lots of releases, concerts in various parts of the world and internet, so the ones who are interested in experimental, abstract music, should check out all his releases: https://www.discogs.com/artist/101392-Gintas-K

My own impression. Music of Gintas K (and now, particularly, DIMENSIONS) creates a new dimension in modern music. I really don't know how i could call it, perhaps i just don't want to make a tag. It reminds something of his earlier work, but don't get fooled: Gintas K only from the first sight seems similar from the beginning of the album, but later he makes a lot of musical movements that are unpredictable. I would even call him Lithuanian John Cage because Gintas K made a sort of revolution in music. In all albums he was very creative and courageous.

Various exotic patterns together with microsounds are mixed as water sprinkles in the Ocean, later his universe expands in many explosions of Nature. Check out 27:40, for example. This terrific wall of sound is so powerful, but it's not a noise music album. It's something much more.

Perfect, as always, and all the time getting better. Thank You, Gintas for Your interesting Music.

The CD, by the way, has only 300 numbered copies.

************************************

************************************

Low by Gintas K. Perfect ambient dreams

http://www.radikaliai.lt

Mindaugas Peleckis
2016 m. Rugpjūčio 11 d.

Lithuanian experimental music composer Gintas K had released his new album LOW. He is one of the most prolific musicians of experimental (earlier - punk, industrial) music in Lithuania. The album is really perfect: ambient meats various sounds. It's good while eating good mushrooms. It's good while sleeping. It's good for just listening. A deep relaxation comes after the album ends. It's the best album of Gintas K, definitely.

************************************

GintasK
Message In A Bottle
LITHUANIA MUSIC INFORMATION CENTER LITHUANIA MICL 087 CD (2015)

 The Sound Projector  July 31, 2016

A return visitor to these pages, Lithuanian sound artist Gintas K’s work is marked by molecular level interactions that bear virtually no trace of human involvement, instigated and monitored with a rigour that suggests scientific ambitions. Going by the reviews, his indistinctly-sleeved albums would seem to be theme-and-variation affairs recommendable to those probing enthusiasts of the inscrutable who are possessed of above average mental stamina. But for those of us in search of a rope ladder into his signpost-free sound sphere, this diversified portfolio arrives not a moment too soon.

While titles such as ‘POpXEnA 9’ and ‘#72’ bear testament to an ongoing process of self-cataloguing, ironic outliers such as ‘Lovely Banalities’ and ‘Grinny Memories’ stand in sharp relief to the composer’s maniacal pursuit of his certain somethings. They may even prompt listeners to question why this music exists at all or, by extension, why we should regard one set of moving vibrations with greater favour than any other. His ‘orchestrations’ exist not in opposition to our predilections but completely outside the dimension of listening-for-pleasure. Each of these tracks is an internally consistent communication relay system that exists in relation to itself; not to you or me. In this sense, we are liberated from complicity in the familiar, affective process of listener-as-participant.

However, in truth no two listening events are the same. Even as I return to events such as ‘5m’ I am reminded of Rutherford’s experiments firing alpha particles at gold foil and the bemusing scattering that was subsequently detected. Anomalous streaks of what sound like electric organ add unexpected warmth and colour to the picture. Perhaps Autechre might choose to spend their holidays in such conditions, relaxing to the pointillistic patter of raindrops evaporating on a heat shield.

Which is also to say that laboratory conditions are not in effect throughout: ‘Love is Love’ (to give but one example) is a 7-8 minute dirty wash of distorted tape manipulation that might be heard through the wall of a provocative youth who only removes his gaze from the abyss as an act of self-rebellion. It could be Fennesz’s shadow on a midnight creep, but it is more certainly a red herring and a reminder that enjoying this Lithuanian lunatic’s sense of humour might require the invention of a new form of radar.

Written by Gunter Heidegger

************************************

Message in a Bottle  

 Gonzo Circus 2016-03-24
Μέλος στα 90’ των Λιθουανών industrial Modus, ο GintasK, μάστορας των ψυχοακουστικών μικροήχων, του θορύβου και του post-techno, κυκλοφορεί το Message In A Bottle ως συλλογή, ήδη στη κυκλοφορία, κομματιών, από το 2004 έως και το 2015. Εξερευνήσεις πάνω στις αισθητικές της πειραματικής digital μουσικής- παραφορτωμένες μαζικές ηχοδομές, στατικές και καταιγιστικές συχνότητες, μελωδικά περιβάλλοντα και fieldrecordingsαλλά και ρυθμικά μέρη, συναποτελούν τον δημιουργικό πυρήνα του συνθέτη.

**************************************

Žinutė su aklojo pasakojimu butelyje
Bernardinai.lt  Kovo 15 d. 2016
Gintas K. „Message in a bottle“. Music Information Center Lituania 2015
Gintas K. „Nota Demo“. Creative Sources Recordings 2013
Gintas K. „Blind Man Tales“. Bolt Records 2014

Gintas K. yra šiuolaikinės lietuvių elektroninės eksperimentinės muzikos kūrėjas, veiklus, darbštus ir kruopštus garso menininkas. Klausytojams, besidomintiems ne žydrojo ekrano propaguojama muzika, jis gana gerai pažįstamas iš įvairiausių elektroninės muzikos festivalių, koncertų ir renginių, beje, šiek tiek žinomas ir užsienio publikai.
Pradėjęs nuo ritminės, faktūriškai gana sukaustytos postindustrinės ir post-techno muzikos, Gintas maždaug tūkstantmečių sandūroje pasuko į glitcht, microsound, minimal muzikos sferą ir neblogai perprato minėtus stilius, ką liudija albumas „Žinutė butelyje“. Čia surinkti pastarųjų 15 metų kūriniai, skelbti įvairiuose rinkiniuose, kurių diduma išleisti užsienyje. Tai margas, spalvingas albumas, kur kompozicijos beveik kaleidoskopiškai kinta, sodrią, pulsuojančią faktūrą keičia meditatyvūs ambientiniai intarpai, rupus „krapštukinis“ garsas lydi švelnius romantiškus „traškėjimus“.
Tai neblogai iliustruoja menininko panoraminį žvilgsnį į šiuolaikinę elektroninę muziką. Tarkim, kūrinys „Love is Love“ – suvaldytos standžios, triukšminės elektronikos pavyzdys, „Grinny Memories“ rodo augantį susidomėjimą musique concrete paveldu, „Blind Man Tale 2“ kiek žemiau aprašyto albumo trumputė reziumė, kritiškai pavadintas kūrinėlis „Lovely Banalities“ – švelnaus post-techno elektroninio skambesio etiudas. Apskritai albumas gali pasitarnauti kaip chrestomatinis vadovėlis klausytojams ir tyrinėtojams, norintiems detaliau ir iš arčiau „pačiupinėti“ minėtus elektroninės muzikos stilius.

Albumas „Nota Demo“ žymi atsitraukimą nuo populiariųjų glitch traškesėlių ir klubinio post-techno mikrogarsyno, autoriaus žvilgsnis krypsta daugiau nei pusamžiu atgal į pokario laiku suvešėjusį avangardinės muzikos musique concrete pasaulį, kuriame garsinius pagrindus sudėjo Pierre Schaefferis, Pierre Henry, Edgaras Varese.
Šiame albume esančiose kompozicijose nebelieka programiškumo, užmaskuoto ritmiškumo, atsiranda erdvės improvizacijai ir daugiasluoksnei garsodarai. Žinoma, Ginto „muzikinis konkretumas“ nėra ano laikotarpio titanų darbas – šiuolaikiniam kompozitoriui nebereikia garsų prirašytų juostų rankomis karpyti, klijuoti, deformuoti, išmagnetinti ir, norint išgauti dar negirdėtų efektų, naudoti ir manipuliuoti įvairiais objektais, nesusijusiais su muzika, o tik su garsu.
Dabartinių eksperimentinės muzikos kūrėjų darbas preciziškas ir švarus: kompozitoriaus instrumentas – kompiuteris, kūrėjui tarnauja moderniausios programos ir programėlės. Besiklausant Ginto muzikos dargi iškyla panašumas su dabar retai minimo japonų kompozitoriaus Isao Tomita muzikiniu palikimu; kaip ir japono, Ginto pjesių tema pristatoma tik keliais štrichais, ji nevystoma, vos prasidėjęs muzikinis pasakojimas pertraukiamas ir tarsi subyra, išsiskaido, išsisklaido. Galbūt darbo procese ištrinto rupumo ir trūktų šiame Ginto darbe, bet tai greičiau skonio, ne estetikos klausimas.

Albume „Aklojo pasakojimai“ Gintas drąsiai braunasi pro elektroninius brūzgynus, kopia į koliažų viršūnes, leidžiasi į ambientines oazes. Graži ir turininga muzikinė istorija, o jeigu dar sutiksime su autoriumi, kad pagrindinis pasakotojas – aklasis, tai galime drąsiai teigti, kad garsinės spalvos visiškai atstoja regimąjį pasaulį.
Elektroninių garsų pasaulis, kurį čia pristato kūrėjas, leidžia mėgautis ryškiomis garsų spalvomis, rišlia kompozicija, garsiniu nedaugžodžiavimu. Ir tai, kad albumo pavadinimu pristatoma kompozicija nėra ilga, trunkanti apie 40 minučių, taip pat vertintina teigiamai, ji nepertempta, neskylėta. Iki 8-tos minutės karaliauja spalvingas, dinamiškas, beveik noizinis garsynas, primenantis Thomaso Dimuzio kompozicijas, tada įtampa nuslūgsta, stoja ambientinė pertraukėlė; apie 15-tą min. garsinį atokvėpį įsodrina atsiradęs elektrinę gitarą imituojantis garsas, apie 30-tą min. vėl įsisuka sodraus garso centrifuga, paskui stoja ramybė ir į kūrinio pabaigą pasigirsta šnaresiai, brazdesiai, neaiškios kilmės mikrogarsynas, pasibaigęs tiesiog lašėjimu.
Tiesa, albumą pabaigia trumputė 5 min. kompozicija išraiškingu pavadinimu „...“, kuri greičiausiai atspindi keleivio pabudimą ar net praregėjimą. Rekomenduoju šį albumą besidomintiems elektronine ir eksperimentine muzika, nes manau, kad jis, kaip ir kiti Ginto K. darbai, vertas įdėmaus klausymo.
Beje, rašinėjant šias pastabas gavau žinutę, kad atsidarė Ginto K. internetinis puslapis adresu https://gintaskblog.wordpress.com/
Robertas Kundrotas
 **************************************

GINTAS K

Message In A Bottle

Lithuanian Music Information And Publishing Centre

Rockerilla Mar16 2016

Non c’è ombra di dubbio che i paesi dell’Est sono

una fucina di musiche e opere artistiche valide e di

spessore ancora tutte quante da scoprire bene e con

molte sorprese da riservare. Un importante plauso

va al Lithuanian Music Information And Publishing

Centre, struttura no-profit che vuole supportare a

dovere musicisti di natura poco commerciale e attivi

nell’ambito della sperimentazione, elettronica, jazz,

folk, pop, rock, urban. Questo aiuto è pensato proprio

con l’idea di esportare parecchi di questi personaggi

all’estero e dunque farli conoscere ad un pubblico

più ampio e curioso. È un lavoro a tutto tondo che

parte da un database importante, sul sito ufficiale,

fino ad arrivare alla produzione di dischi per alcuni

nomi come quello di Gintas K, in passato attivo con i

Modus, la prima band elettro-industrial lituana. E questi

trascorsi ben si rintracciano nei suoi numerosi lavori

solisti e in questo nuovo capitolo Message In A Bottle,

album che si divide tra microsuoni, visioni ambient

molto delicate ed impalpabili e improvvise esplosioni

rumoriste radicali che lasciano la meditazione e l’estasi

per trascinare l’ascoltatore in territori più angoscianti

e cacofonici. Disco molto interessante realizzato

da un personaggio esperto che ora MERITA DI ESSERE

APPREZZATO ANCHE FUORI CONFINE.

**************************************

GINTAS K - MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE (CD by Lietuvos Muzikos Informacijos Centras)
Vital Weekly  #1016

The K stands for Kraptavicius, but I admit, Gintas K is easier to pronounce. He's from Lithuania and has been around for quite some years with the production of electronic music. In the 1990s he was part of Modus, an electronic industrial group, but later on working solo, mainly focussing on using the laptop as the place to be when it comes to transforming sounds. He has many releases on such labels as Cronica, Baskaru, Copy For Your Records, Ilse and others. Gintas K calls his music, cleverly, electro-acoustic music, and that is very much true. He takes recordings of everyday objects, acoustic events and field recordings and manipulates those beyond the recognition. The outcome however is something that can be very quiet and introspective, but it can also be very noisy or almost rhythmical. This CD is compilation of works he composed since 2004 and which have been released before, so it is not always a surprise, but even for me there is new stuff to explore. Selecting these pieces has been a careful process and also the running order is something that was done with some consideration; while at seventy-three minutes this is quite a lengthy CD, it moves very gently between all the various styles in which Gintas K operates. A gentle piece is followed by a very modern electronics piece, then a bit of noise; rhythm pieces, as in clicks and cuts from ten or more years ago, are
sparse around here. Maybe that's something that is no longer of interest? For me this release wasn't a big surprise. I know his music quite a bit, and while in general I am not blown away by some of his more noisy outings, I quite enjoy his more mellow music, in abundance here. I may not need an introduction release, but if
you heard the name Gintas K before and you are curious to hear what kind of music he produces, then this is a very good place to start. (FdW)

**************************************

Im Geflecht der Krampfadern, minimal

Am 13. Januar 2016, von Stephan Wolf unter News

http://www.amusio.com

„Eine Fli-, eine Fla-, eine Flifla-Flaschenpost/hat ein jeder so gerne, weil sie kein Porto kost//Gestern warn die Flaschen leer/und sie schwammen übers Meer/doch die Zeit ist vorbei/ jetzt sind alle Flaschen voll“ – ganz im Peter Petrelschen Sinne serviert der litauische Tonkünstler Gintas Kraptavičius, einst Vorstand von Modus, seine Bloemlezing aus über zehn Jahren physisch zu erlebender Elektroakustik. Wohl bekomme sie!

Es ist, summa summarum, jene Form von Musik (Die Form würde beipflichten), vor der das Unterbewusstsein stets gewarnt hat. Hinterlistig, unberechenbar, garstig, (überwiegend) minimal und klug. So begehrenswert Veröffentlichungen wie Lovely Banalities (auf Crónica) auch sind, für den Einstieg eignet sich Message In A Bottle allemal, ist es Gintas Kraptavičius hier doch tatsächlich gelungen, seinen variablen Ansätzen eine Grundhaltung zu verpassen, die sich auch ohne Vorkenntnis erschließt. 

Völle nicht als Antagonist der Leere, so doch als Fülle im Sinne einer Formvollendung. Die Verselbstständigung minimal-ambienter Wesenheit unter dem Deckmantel technoider Sinnsuche. Das Abrasive in isolationistischer Camouflage. So es noch der Einordnung in den Annalen der wahrhaft progressiven Klangerzeugung bedarf, so bietet Message In A Bottle Anhaltspunkte. Jedoch keinen Almanach. Selbst das – anhand des zuvor unveröffentlichten und abschließenden Titeltracks – Angebot, mit Gintas K „warm“ zu werden, wirft nur weitere Fragen auf, die allein Medusenhäupter zum Bersten bringen. Keine Quintessenz, nur die übliche Empfehlung.

**************************************

Gintas K - Message In A Bottle [Music Information Center Lithuania 087]

nitestylez.de  Saturday, January 09, 2016

Well, honestly Lithuania is not necessarily the first country that comes to mind when discussing experimental electronic music but, as in every other country, a scene does exist and the ever active Gintas K, who has recently released his x-th album "Message In A Bottle" via the Music Information Center Lithuania label, seems to be one of the scene's main protagonists. Over the course of fourteen tracks rolled out on his most recent longplay piece which is a compilation-style overview of his sonic work created and put on the circuit throughout the years 2004 - 2015 plus two previously unreleased tracks - "5m" and "Message In A Bottle" - the man better known as Gintaras  Kraptavicius to his parents explores a spectrum from pure, highly digital sound modulations to dry, rhythmic Electronica influenced by Rhythm Industrial and interfered by beautiful piano sequences ("Excerpt From"), gets into calm, cinematic Glitch Ambient with "Reloaded Beauty" and even Oval'esque Clicks'n'Cuts in tunes like "Lovely Banalities".  The unreleased "5m" is meant to please those digging the art of chaotic digital synthesis, "Track #72" is more of a warm, embracing contrast compared to its predecessor although a slighty chaotic and random aspect can be found in its sizzling background noises which are layered on top of Ambient Electronics and breaking waves at the shore and the 492 seconds of "Blind Man Tale 2" elegantly combine polyrhythmical percussions and rasping Ambient distortions. More hyperglitched structures are to be found "Nota Demo 3", "Love Is Love 7" brings us some heavy, multilayered Noise outbursts with an undeniable tonal aspect and the needs for scientific sounds of the digital age are catered by both versions of "pOpXEnA". As expected "Love Is Love 8" is more of a noisey affair again focusing on harsh, eruptive outbursts instead of taking care of tonality and finally the title track "Message In A Bottle" amalgamates beautiful Ambient chords and buzzing digital activity within 12+ minutes. After listening to this album Lithuania has been put on our map for electronic experimentalisms for sure. Nice.

posted by baze.djunkiii at 5:43 AM

**************************************

**************************************

GINTAS K' 'Message In A Bottle'  
Whisperin & Hollerin
Label: 'Music Information Centre Lithuania' 5th November 2015'
Gintas Kraptavicius is a Lithuanian sound artist who specialises in non-abrasive noise experimentation.
There are hints of melodies in this 72 minute collection but the digital compositions contain more bleeps than beats so you should not expect to hear any chart bound or hummable material.
Gintas K once stated that his aim was "to study the effect of sounds on the human psyche" and his research take the form of glitchy organic pulses and glistening Fennesz-like fragments.  
Although this challenging, raw-edged machine music is designed to alienate mainstream audiences, titles like Reloaded Beauty, Lovely Banalities and Love Is Love show more than a passing interest in connecting with what makes us human.

author: Martin Raybould

**************************************

Various Artists – Poverty Electronics Vol. 3

June 16, 2015  yeahiknowitsucks.wordpress.com

"Gintas K’s Jesus Safe My Soul’ is indeed a strong second opener; going for an outrageously potent minimal mix of danceable techno nerves, which techno veterans probably will down their meds on. It has something in common with aggressively brushing your left over teeth with an electric toothbrush & it thoroughly excites me in a full frantic way!"

**************************************

gintas k – blind man tales

March 4th, 2015 http://infinitegrain.com/

Gintas K defines his own coordinates in the space-form contract and the aesthetics of sound matter, finding paths in the malleable, dealing with compounds that not only participate in the gestation of new musical variations in the audible element but also invite to an expanded, often challenging listening, largely fertile for those attentive to detail, microform and the recesses of timbre; the bowels of the object. Blind man tales develops such as a granular continuum, with lots of micro-intrusions, organic sequences and modulated melodies, all dancing across inaudible areas and endless combinations of extreme subtlety, setting up an acousmatic topography from which are identified spaces that get multiplied, not functioning as a mere superposition of sounds in time, but as an organism that eventually achieves awareness of a heterogeneous activity present in just a few seconds; unrepeatable, loaded with perpetual fascination. (bôlt)

**************************************

6作目：gintas k 『Blind Man Tales』(2014)

hatenablog.com 2015/02/04/

**************************************

Gintas K - Blind Man Tales (Bôłt)

February 04, 2015  Just outside
Constructed from an archive of "holiday sound files", Gintas K weaves a lengthy, complex electro-acoustic foray that, if anything, reminds me a little of the work of Lionel Marchetti in its combination of abstract sounds with recordings of distant locales, both natural sounds (insects, water, etc.) and manmade (percussion, various urban noises) although, as presented here, I'd have to offer the caveat that it's possible I'm mishearing these sounds, that they're in fact derived from entirely other sources. Many of the more inherently resonant sounds have been distorted, making it difficult to tell if they were originally pianos, balafons or harps, for example, while many of the swirls that wind between have a sandy edged, further scouring those sounds, blurring them into a partial dreamy haze with, nonetheless, sharp corners poking through. Two tracks here, one some 40 minutes long which varies textures quite appealingly, interrupting that cloudiness on occasion with brief busts of near silence and staccato noises, before plunging back into an more Fenneszian state, eventually conjuring up quite a storm with ringing sonorities virtually buried in a blizzard of static.
Strong work, especially for listeners who've been impatiently waiting for musicians like Fennesz to get back on the stick.

**************************************

Gintas K ‎– Blind Man Tales

January 20, 2015 by darkroom rituals

Bôłt ‎– BR 1024, 2014

На своем предыдущем полноформатном альбоме «Greit», изданном на CD, литовский музыкант Гинтас Краптавичюс ушел в такие неизведанные и предельно удаленные от каких бы то ни было привычных музыкальных границ шумовые дали (на мой, чисто субъективный взгляд, конечно) и выхолощенные цифровые фронтиры, что прослушивание вызывало, помимо интереса к неведомому, некие опасения – сможет ли автор «оттуда» вернуться? «Blind Man Tales» в этом плане звучит более понятной работой, основанной на тесном, почти что алхимическом переплетении вполне узнаваемых стилевых канонов современной музыки, превращенных в две насыщенные электроакустические пьесы, действительно, напоминающие попытки слепого человека воспринять, описать и свести к единому целому огромный массив информации, трансформируя ее через свои органы чувств. Все началось с того, что Гинтас, довольно критично восприняв свои многие свои работы последних лет, записал большое количество разнообразных звуковых файлов, которые планировал использовать для выступления на одном из фестивалей, но постепенно, сводя их вместе, трансформируя и пробуя различные варианты их взаимодействия, он понял, что получается нечто интересное. Линейное повествование «Blind Man Tales» погружает нас в калейдоскоп, где в занятной череде преобразований друг друга сменяют залпы мелкодисперсионного цифрового нойза, моменты фри джаза и импровизационной музыки, академические каноны, полевые записи, конкретная музыка, между которых расстилаются замкнутые мирки аморфного эмбиента, выталкивающие из своих бездонных глубин бесконечные петли аккуратных и внятных мелодий. И все это преподносится в насыщенной, темпераментной манере, когда текстуру каждого звука ощущаешь почти что физически, отмечая про себя его жесткость, мягкость, плотность и прочие физические показатели. Очень сильный альбом, абсолютно занимающий внимание и дающий возможность пережить яркий эмоциональный и физиологический опыт, связанный с огромным количеством звуков, между которыми прослеживаются бесконечные и многомерные взаимосвязи.

**************************************

Blind Man Tales

skug magazine Text: Curt Cuisine | 09.01.2015 

Springen wir in die Gegenwart: die »Blind Man Tales« vom litauischen Soundartist Gintas K. wirken anfangs zwar ebenso wie der übliche elektroakustische Einheitsbrei aus Soundschnipsel und sphärischerem Beigemenge, doch mit zunehmender Dauer wird das 40-minütige Hauptstück konziser und entwickelt einen fast hypnotischen Sog. Dass diese Erzählungen eines blinden Mannes als Mehrkanalmix einiger Stücke fungieren, mit denen der Litauer zuvor unzufrieden war, überrascht nicht weiter.

**************************************

GINTAS K - pOpXEnA

Bad Alchemy #83 2014 12

GINTAS K - BLIND MAN TALES (CD by Bolt Records)
Vital Weekly number 957   podcast
These three releases look alike, so perhaps they are part of some series? Bolt Records is all about 'new music in Eastern Europe' and these people surely are from Eastern Europe. I started with Gintas K, simply because of the three I know his work best. He presents here a work from 2010, about which he writes: "At the end of summer a couple of years ago I felt quite disappointed with my latest works. So, preparing program for a radio art festival I dropped occasionally more than 40 summer files to multi-channel software. I started to listen and I was in astonished.... After some tiny corrections it became "Blind Man Tales". That's always the best approach: just do something randomly, let machines run for a while and see what's going to happen, get a fresh look. Gintas K can still surprise us, too. While I don't always like this work, I am always keen to hear it. Sometimes it moves too much along familiar lines of glitch music, and here the glitches are also apparent, but play a part in a bigger picture, the forty minutes of the title piece; the second piece is only five minutes and acts a sort of coda. Gintas K moves, loop-wise, through ambient passages, noise, click and cuts and creates a fine modern composition. Not every second is equally strong here, but Gintas K moves with fine, gentle strokes through the sonic paint and puts on nice big strokes. Not his best work to date, but surely among the best. (FdW)

**************************************

Gintas K  Slow

EtherREAL 11/11/2014

Gintas K, de son vrai nom Gintas Kraptavičius, est extrêmement actif, et tout particulièrement ces dernières années puisque ce ne sont pas moins de 7 albums qui sont sortis depuis ce Slow publié début 2013 sur le label français Baskaru. Très présent sur la structure portugaise Cronica où on le découvrait en 2006, le Lithuanien a élargi son horizon et apparaît désormais chez Reductive Music, Creative Sources, ou encore Bôłt, tout en compilant des lives et anciens travaux sur des sorties autoproduites.

N’ayant pas écouté le travail de Gintas K depuis 4-5 ans, on ne savait pas trop à quoi s’attendre avec ce nouvel album. Par ailleurs le Lithuanien ayant toujours expérimenté autour de différentes techniques et sujets (field recordings, drone, expérimentation et recherche sonore), il est assez difficile de prévoir le son de cette nouvelle production qui sortait en même temps que les Chutes de Mathias Delplanque.
Étrangement on fait tout de suite le lien entre les deux albums. Il s’agit probablement d’un raccourci mais on trouve ici aussi des mélodies timides, minimalistes, alliant cordes frappées et xylophone sur un fourmillement rythmique avec 72#.

Qu’il s’agisse de sonorités acoustiques ou électroniques, le procédé est sensiblement le même sur les 11 pistes qui composent cet album, avec des mélodies chaotiques, abîmées, ou particulièrement timides et au second plan des micro-bruitages électroniques, glitchs, souffles, grésillements et autres erreurs électroniques. Parfois la mélodie se fait particulièrement touchante, comme ce Niekovv un peu triste, tandis que sur Zrtyi la technique prend le dessus avec ce classique effet de hachage sur des nappes de laptop.
Contre toute attente, on découvrira un peu plus loin que la guitare tient une place assez importante sur ce disque avec notamment les deux parties de Dar. Dans un premier temps les pincements de cordes sont découpés en micros samples et utilisés dans une mélodie timide et rebondissante. Dans la seconde partie, la guitare est plus libre, créant une boucle mélodique et légère. Entre les deux, on retiendra le très beau Garsas sur lequel instruments et machines forment un excellent duo, l’électronique venant déformer, voire torturer une douce mélodie de guitare acoustique.

La fin de l’album est un peu moins prévisible puisque le Lithuanien alterne entre un bruitisme subtile (Sdg) et une ambient à peine audible, plutôt mélodique sur Jau et tendance subaquatique avec le caudal Galasd. En définitive Slow est un album très plaisant, cohérent et original, qui tente de faire le pont, mais sans y parvenir complètement, entre émotion et expérimentation. Fabrice Allard

**************************************

Gintas K - Slow

2014-09-23  FEARDROP

D’où vient qu’une certaine gravité puisse s’insérer dans ce qui paraît léger ? La musique de Gintas K, généralement, se situe à l’avant-garde mais une avant-garde codée, en fait un régiment d’avant-garde et non un corps de francs-tireurs à peine réunis par la forme de leur arsenal. Non, Gintas K fait partie de cette nombreuse famille d’artistes que rallient des labels comme Line, 12k, Spekk, Crónica ou… Baskaru. Une musique où les fontaines d’harmoniques empruntent à la forme purement ambiante une largeur de filin, mais qui se minéralisent au point de se rendre torrentielles, troublées d’accidents numériques, d’échos, de bris de temps, de claudications et de superpositions solides. Gintas K maîtrise à merveille ce répertoire mais son aisance est augmentée, c’est-à-dire, pour être rapide, qu’il se distingue souvent des régiments de post-Fennesz ou de post-Noto.
Observons, et rapidement les prérogatives s’inversent ; ce qui troublait, escarpait le flot proto-mélodique prend rapidement le dessus. Les crémaillères et leurs créneaux, les rotules métalliques et leurs membres aux longueurs inégales marquent le paysage sonore au point de s’extraire du courant et de peupler l’ensemble du panorama. Considérons cela comme un agrandissement focal ou, à l’inverse comme une croissance naturelle de ces éléments sonores. Le résultat est identique : les alluvions prennent vie, d’encombrements elles deviennent faune, de calculs elles évoluent en palpes. Une véritable mécanique horlogère est alors mise en œuvre par Gintas K : la percussion légère naît du souffle agrégé et entraîne dans sa danse nonchalante d’autres chocs à peine plus marqués, mais moins machinaux, quasi boisés. Ce tracé méticuleux, si l’on s’attarde à le suivre, devient évolution insectoïde, aussi insouciante et effrénée dans le même temps. Je prendrai pour exemples des plus belles réussites de ce disque les morceaux dar et garsas. Sur le premier, la libération du courant d’harmoniques est complète, mais aucun chaos n’y règne, et le conseil de mandibules se réverbère en courts échos, en réponses aux différentes tonalités, jusqu’à former de fragiles embryons mélodiques. Sur le suivant, cette évolution confirmée s’adonne à une mélancolie remodelant ce que la nappe d’harmoniques avait emporté en disparaissant. Mais alors, ce ne sont que de tout petits sons qui se font chantres de cette tristesse diffuse, notes synthétiques, coassements, grésillements à la limite du perceptible ; c’est bien ici que cette assemblée de kaons, de particules, forme concert pour atteindre à la juste et grave précision du souffle suspendu.

Denis Boyer

********************************

Recenzija. Ginto K „Gelmių ir vandenų“ albumai „Blind Man Tales“ ir „pOpXEnA“ (2014)

Šiemet vienas įdomiausių Lietuvos eksperimentininkų Gintas K išleido net du albumus – „Blind Man Tales“ (spalis, „Bôłt“, Lenkija) ir „pOpXEnA“ (liepa, „Attenuation Circuit“, Vokietija). Abu juos, mano nuomone, sieja gelmių ir vandenų mitologija, užkoduota garsų vandenyne.

***************************************

Gintas K  Greit
USA ILSE ILCD001 CD (2013)
The Sound Projector

No sooner had I reviewed Lithuanian madman Gintas K’s most recent album, Nota Demo, than along pops a predecessor from the same, fertile year of 2013. While Greit (‘Quickly’) is audibly a similar proposition to its digitally volatile, junior sibling, it’s relatively earthy and unrefined nature (only relatively, mind you) owes to the employment of a wider, more ‘try-before-you-buy’ array of psychoacoustic strategies to bore holes in unsuspecting skulls than in that unyielding, magmatic stew. There’s no mistaking Gintas’ handiwork anywhere; certainly not in the digital chatter that resolves into a dense vibration in ‘Greit 2’, though the radiant hum of ‘Greit 4’ – hiss-soaked as it is – betrays more human warmth than he’s hitherto shown off. Still, Nota Demo’s signature sound is signposted by the neon sand-wash that opens Greit: a grainier approximation albeit of those ‘liquid glass eruptions’. As if following Gintas’ eye-line, the scene swiftly microscopes into a crystal clear image of a boulder-battered barricade: an invasive tenacity that matches Gintas’ scientific rigour as he glides around a lab of contact-miked beakers with strangely coloured liquids he cooks to boiling point. The blend of cold curiosity and childlike wonder he affects while abusing a droning synthesizer and other objects, resulting in many pleasant surprises – including three minutes of silence in the closer – reminds us that he was playfully sifting through many a sound source before arriving at the present point of focus.

***************************************

Gintas K Nota Demo
PORTUGAL CREATIVE SOURCES RECORDINGS 244 CD (2013)
The Sound Projector /August 7, 2014
Rather an unforgiving fix of digital fragmentalisations and obliterated data from Lithuanian composer Gintas Kraptavicius, who has appeared on the Sound Projector radar several times now, impressing one and all with the intuitive path he’s been cutting through psycho/electroacoustic music for the past 15-odd years. Perhaps as some sort of atonement gesture for his last set of ‘slow’ pieces, Gintas treats us now to a set of entirely more abstruse and increasingly volatile liquid glass eruptions, which swiftly recall the work of Hecker, whose Chimerizations and Sun Pandemonium have both graced and grazed these ears of late. Had I not been properly briefed I might have mistaken this CD for one of his, though present is a merciful cohesiveness that Mr. Hecker would mirthfully pulverise given half a chance.
Not to be outdone by the Mego veteran however, Gintas is enigmatic to a point with regard to his methods and motivations. One imagines his mute astonishment at the sudden extra-dimensional manifestation of this ever-bifurcating torrent of audio mulch, indeed so much so that its division into eleven parts – perhaps for prime number purposes – constitutes a sincere and wilful break for freedom from such raging chaos. But perish all doubt as to the material’s palatability, for the longer the ears’ immersion, the more distinct becomes the composer’s guided footfall. That said, I’d also venture a claim that a degree of satisfaction in the listener’s bemusement falls not far from his remit.  Written by Stuart Marshall

***************************************

Gintas K : Nota Demo 
Chain D.L.K. Jul 10 2014
I was a little surprised to find a release by appreciated Lithuanian electronic producer Gintas Kraptavicius - we interviewed him on the occasion of the release of "Slow" for Baskaru - on the pack of records from Portuguese label Creative Sources, even if this record could be thought as an interesting assay of computer-driven improvisation. Most of the sounds have been squeezed from Bidule, an amazing modular environment by Canadian audio software company Plogue Art et Technologie Inc.: the sonorities are closer to some 60ies electronic music, but in between more or less regular computational sequences, which sometimes sound like having been crumbled, other sonic entities such as bells, spurts, gushes, gurgles and rifts suddenly appear and stain any electronic eddies. You could imagine this release as the workout of a lively kid who plays on a gigantic control panel with a plenty of mysterious knobs, bright buttons and levers or you could imagine it came from the translation of the sonic language of a computer, who got drunk after its liquid cooling system was filled with vodka.

Vito Camarretta

 ********************************************

Gintas K  Slow

 MAGAZINE/NEWSLETTER de sefronia.com  18/03/2014

Avec "Slow", Gintas K ne brusque pas. Sa discrétion effacerait m?me presque toute idée de mélodie, toute tentative de rythme. Pourtant restent des petites notes tintinnabulantes, des petites touches, des flots de souffles non identifiés. Mieux vaut ici parler d'impression que d'émotion. Cette musique nous place davantage dans un r?ve semi-conscient que dans un récit haletant. Une impression d'apesanteur se dégage de notre parcours onirique, nous nous dépla?ons dans une immensité inconnue. Parfois, les morceaux se remplissent d'une forme de solennité.  

A l'écoute, nous entendons l'amour des sons, de leurs échos, de leurs résonances, de leurs rebonds. Gintas K diss?que chaque son : comme l'anatomiste analyse chaque partie d'un organe, il nous faut tendre l'oreille au plus fin et écouter chaque caractéristique des sons (mati?re, intensité, durée, effets…). Sans un amour auditif pour chacun d'entre eux, point de salut ici. L'unité-son est tout aussi décisive que leur assemblage musiqué. Lorsque nous comprenons qu'il faut en effet entendre chaque son comme une case-temps, nous entrons alors dans une écoute plus active.  

Cependant, notre attention auditive est ponctuée de nombreux décrochages au fil de l'album. L'aridité et les grincements plus prononcés de certaines pistes rendent l'ensemble difficile d'acc?s. Si, par moments, nous fixons avec plaisir quelques figures ent?tantes ("Dar, Pt.1" et "Dar, Pt.2") ou quelques textures particuli?rement surprenantes ("Gal", "Galasd"), nous sortons de notre r?ve mélancolique sans trop de nostalgie 

Hugo Catherine

 ********************************************

 
Gintas K - Slow [ Baskaru - 2013]
Musique Machine 2014.04.07
  Gintas Kraptavicius, abbreviated Gintas K, is an absurdly prolific electronic experimental composer from Lithuania, who operates within the hushed 'lowercase' idiom.  "Slow" is one of 6 releases he put out in 2013.  It contains 11 pieces averaging 4 minutes each.
Gintas K has set himself at the admirable and difficult task of making something beautiful using avant garde means.  He attempts valiantly to extract feelings of domesticism and nostalgia from the sterile digital realm of digital processing artifacts, as accomplished most famously in the many works of Oval.  This album in particularly reminds me often of Oval's masterpiece "O", which was a series of monophonic studies of string and guitar textures.
Despite the heavily processed nature of all sound found on the CD, there is always a circular chord progression dictating the structure of the various pitch stretching processes.  The chime-like, generative melodies are much like Autechre's most ambient moments in recent years, but Gintas K's music is drastically sparser.  He prefers to focus on one layer of sound at a time in each track, allowing the particular character of its texture and organization to sink in.
His approach on this album is heavily granular, as it seems we are always hearing blips and tiny fragmented 'granules' of quasi-melodic sound, arranged into arrhythmic cloudlike structures.  The sound sources used are often unclear, but in a few instances guitars, voices and various rustlings and household sounds can be heard.  Through the clever use of tuning software, Gintas K imbues even the toneless sounds with ringing harmonic resonances.
The most outwardly melodic pieces, "Dar" (the 1st one - there are two tracks titled 'Dar'),  "Garsas", etc., are the best.  In this moments they recall the moon bright melancholic tone of Coil's albums, or Tangerine Dream before them, in which the purity of the synthesizer arpeggios held the lunar energy.  The chord progressions seem to shimmer with rain.
In "Dar (2)", a muffled flanged sound follows every note, like the artifacts that result from overuse of 'noise reduction' tools, or noise from a 'noise generator' plugin.  While I've heard this sound many times during audio classes and speakers checks, I've never heard it placed in a musical context.  At first it was hard to hear it for what it was, but I now appreciate it as an appropriate use for a normally 'cheap' and potentially grating texture.
The tone of the album is resigned yet peaceful.  Perhaps the most straightforward track on the album, "Sdg", is also one of the effective, essentially an organ dirge atop a layer of white noise.  After the emptiness and quietude of the album up to that point, its placement near the ending is quite satisfying.  The actual closer, "Galasd", is fittingly muted, a heavily filtered dripping of water.  It's perhaps the most relaxing piece.
If the album has a problem, it's lack of quality control and selectivity.  Gintas K releases a massive number of records each year; certain types of musicians will always feel every fragment of sound recorded is somehow uniquely vital and individually important.  Personally, I feel there are tracks on this album that have very little to sustain them, particularly in the first half, and that a more focused album experience could have been created.  But then, the emptiness and the impromptu quality of the album sequence are also stylistic.
In the end, I don't feel it's quite on the level of Oval, or my favorite deep listening records, but there's certainly an electric sort of magic mood to the whole album that pleases me, and reminds me of Coil or Nocturnal Emissions.  It's particularly good for late night listening when time seems to glide by.  Recommended for serious fans of the lowercase thing, and labels like 12k, Line and Baskaru, who put out this disk.  I wouldn't be surprised if I fall in love with another album by Gintas K at some point in the future.  
Josh Landry

Slow Motion Music

Skug Text: Curt Cuisine | 21.12.2013

Der in Litauen geborene Gintas Kraptavicius war Gründungsmitglied der ersten Industrialband des Landes, bevor er den Weg in Richtung »Klangkunst« einschlug. Dort stehen wir auch mit seiner schon zu Jahresbeginn erschienenen CD »Slow«, aber auf durchaus angenehme Weise. »Slow« ist ein sphärisches Spiel mit Mikrotexturen, flirrend und sphärisch zugleich, an der Grenze zwischen Ambient und Elektroakustik, immer wieder aber auch mit überraschenden Effekten und Einfällen ausgestattet (z. B. Take 4, »Dar«), was sich vielleicht mit der doch nicht ganz so strengen musikalischen Herkunft von Gintas K erklären lässt. »Slow« ist für Genrefreunde vor allem zu empfehlen.

********************************************

Gintas K   Slow
FRANCE BASKARU KARU:22 CD (2013)

The Sound Projector  December 16, 2013 

Gintas Kraptavicius is from Lithuania and active since 1994. At the beginnings, he was a founding member of the local industrial band Modus, then ran radio shows devoted to experimental music and organized some theatrical Fluxus-like performances. Soon after, he got more and more into digital minimalism, recording the soundtracks for various films and installations. Primarily interested in sinewaves, glitches and noise manipulations, he recorded some interesting material, mostly unpublished or released on small-run CDRs. This situation changed in 2006, when Gintas got in touch with the famous Portuguese label Crónica Electrónica. They released his album Lengvai / 60 x 1 Minute Audio Colours Of 2kHz Sound on a double CD – the self-explanatory title suggested the experimental contents, building a bridge from rude techno minimalism of Raster-Noton tradition to the more conceptual side of his work, presenting the variety of sound transformations in a limited time frame. Another work, Lovely Banalities released in 2009 by the same label, presents skillful microsound manipulations derived mostly from recordings of everyday life. With this really good start, it’s not a big surprise to see his brand new album Slow in the Baskaru roster – this French label has always been interested in electronic experiments and provided an impressive catalogue of international artists whose names should be known to all experimental music lovers. What is absolutely an evident change, is the overall mood of the album – not really slow, but somehow warm and easy. Well, maybe “easy” is not the right word, don’t expect any sweet melodies or relaxed rhythms here. The nature of these compositions is still very abstract and sparse, and the music relies more on the glitchy side of electronic sound. The track titles are more or less typical for this style, formed by letter characters and signs of no particular meaning. Some tracks have a kind of lulling background ambience, recalling many pioneering releases of the 12k label. Others demand more attention to see the intricate relations between loose and staccato sounds while walking through quiet acoustic rooms. Mastered by omnipresent mastermind Lawrence English, the CD is housed in beautiful digipak and awaits careful listeners.

Written by Dmitry Vasilyev

********************************************

Artiest Gintas K   Album Slow

Baskaru / Cod&s | Released: 2013 | CD (karu:22)   Besproken door Vince nt Welleman | Toegevoegd op 24 oktober 2013

http://www.kwadratuur.be/

Wie het veld van de fijnzinnige elektronische muziek exploreert, krijgt vroeg of laat een werk van Gintas K onder de loep geschoven. Deze Litouwer heeft in de loop der jaren een stevig portfolio uitgebouwd en duikt sporadisch op in de catalogus van het Portugese elektronicalabel Crónica. Dat laatste verklaart dat deze artiest het niet al te nauw neemt met de regeltjes van de muziek en zijn vak benadert als een domein van experiment en auditieve ervaringen.

‘Slow’ is een ingetogen winters werkje, dat zich ontvouwt in korte muziekstukjes van om en bij de vier minuten. Elk deeltje is goed voor een prikkelende ervaring met een gezonde dosis klankexperiment. Microscopische tikjes, ruisvormige texturen en kraakjes liggen aan de basis van deze sonische nieuwigheden maar worden met mate ingezet, meestal naast vertrouwde klanken. De luisteraar kan immers berusten op warme melodische (kortom: toegankelijke) tonen die in vele nummers opduiken. Ongeoefende personen zullen zich wellicht het snelst aangetrokken voelen tot de gave snaarklanken van ‘Dar’ en ‘Garsas’. De sudderende elektronische landschappen die zich op de achtergrond voltrekken worden hier eerder braaf gehouden waardoor er niet echt sprake is van een fascinerend reliëf.

In de stukken waarin synth-tonen voor een verwarmde toets zorgen, kan men intenser genieten van een abstractie die inspeelt op de verbeelding. De opener van het album heeft zo’n spaarzame klemtonen die op een bedje van stoffig ruis als wolkjes opstomen. De zachte, knisperende tonen klinken op hun beurt dan weer als voetstappen in een egaal sneeuwoppervlak en zorgen voor een rustgevende stemming. Ook ‘Niekovv’ is voorzien van zulke kruidige snufjes die doen denken aan natuurverschijnselen. Achter de harmonische tonen voldoet zich een fascinerend vertoon van pruttelende, gemanipuleerde geluidjes. Ze lijken in zekere mate voorspelbare doch boeiende veranderingen te ondergaan, als regendruppels die tegen een raam blijven hangen en vervolgens door de zwaartekracht naar beneden of door middel van cohesie naar elkaar toe worden getrokken.

Wanneer Gintas K de melodie weg filtert naar de achtergrond of zich volledig concentreert op precieze ritmes, is het resultaat een stuk minder gratuit. Het korrelige effect dat in ‘Gal’ en ‘SDG’ over de harmonieuze onderbouw wordt gedrapeerd laat de onderliggende tonen fonkelen en knarsen. De plastische vervormingen in ‘Jau’ gaan nog een pak verder en laten zelfs geen melodie meer horen. Schrille piepjes lijken continu te variëren en komen in de buurt van Florian Hecker's digitale klankenstormen.

Het bereik van ‘Slow’ is behoorlijk ruim te noemen. De Litouwer biedt een spectrum aan van erg melodische – haast decoratieve - elektronica naar ongeremde klankexperimenten. Ondanks dit brede aanbod, zijn de beste vruchten net in de evenwichtige midden reeks te vinden, welke ontzettend tot de verbeelding spreekt. 

********************************************

Gintas K  Slow [Baskaru::2013]

Liability Webzine 02-10-2013

Voilà un disque qui porte bien son nom. Slow. La lenteur ne veut pas dire pour autant que l'on est dans quelque chose de mollasson. La lenteur cela peut aussi être quelque chose de sensuel comme ce corps de femme esquissé sur la pochette de cette album de Gintas K. Ce dernier l'a bien compris et il s'efforce ici de trouver le ton juste sans être dégoulinant de sentimentalisme. La chose n'est pas aisé surtout quand on est, comme Gintas K, un adepte des musiques abstraites. Pour autant la lenteur s'adapte assez bien à ce type de musique et comme à son habitude le lituanien s'applique à créer une musique sensible, qui flotte au-dessus du sol et qui sait rester dans une sorte d'instant contemplatif. Slow est alors ce moment un peu irréel qui nous rappelle que la perception de la séduction peut aussi se faire dans ce que Gintas K appelle des mélodies fragmentées. Mais au-delà de cette beauté chirurgicale qui allie électronique minimaliste et instrumentation acoustique intimiste, le territoire exploré par Gintas K ne nous est pas spécialement inconnu. Ce qui est délicatement proposé sur Slow on l'a déjà entendu ailleurs peut-être en mieux mais pas toujours aussi bien que sur ce disque. Alors oui, Slow peut s'écouter avec une certaine délectation qui ne peut être, et ce en aucun cas, coupable. Il y a dans cet album assez d'éléments pour croire qu'il est d'une très grande qualité et qu'il peut traverser les affres d'une critique trop acerbe qui le cataloguerait dans la horde des disques qui se ressemblent trop. Ici, on accepte mieux la chose parce que Slow dégage ce qu'il a de mieux dans le genre mais aussi chez Gintas K. Il est ici dans son élément et aussi à son meilleur. Il n'y a donc aucune raison de bouder ce disque.

********************************************

Gintas K  Slow [Baskaru::2013]

Zonic 02-10-2013

Die ideale Überleitung zu unserem nächsten Halt: Mit »Slow« (Baskaru, 2013) von Gintas K landen wir in Litauen und bei einer mit der Melancholie vertrauten, subtilen Sinnlichkeit. »Slow« enthält zwölf Soundminiaturen; Gintas Kraptavicius, so der volle Name des Künstlers, erö#net mit »72#’’, drei Minuten
somnambuler Elektrojazz, nur echt mit Besenschlagzeug und gezupften Streichern. Doch kann Kraptavicius noch feinsto#- licher klingen: »Niekovv« entsinnt an eine sich stoisch abspulende, schläfrige Spieluhr inmitten behutsam verwobener Geräusche. Zerklüfteter klingende Titel wie »Dar« und
»Gal« könnten ein dezenter Fingerzeig auf Kraptavicius’ musikalisches Vorleben sein: Der 1969 Geborene war Mitglied der litauischen Industrial- und Performanceband Modus, bevor er bei einem Alternativradio
moderierte und bis jetzt 16 Alben verö#entlichte.

********************************************

TERZ 07/08.13

GINTAS K: SLOW (baskaru) Und der Frühling, der keiner war, wurde zum Sommer, der keiner sein wollte. Darin lag die junge Frau im hellblauen Traum und ließ all die Schwärze treiben. Die Luft war klar, sie klirrte und flirrte zugleich, der Gestus des Denkens war: Klein. Umso größer kam sie bei sich selbst an, und so gelang es ihr, die Gefühle kleinzuhalten, um zu noch mehr kühler Klarheit in flirrender Hitze zu gelangen. 11 unspektakuläre Post-Glitch-Studien von Hr. Kraptavicius aus Litauen. Was soll die Hektik? Es ist Sommer.

********************************************

BOTFLY & HOLZKOPF/GINTAS K - SOBER MATERIALS #7 (cassette, private)

VITAL WEEKLY number  886  2013-06-11
It seems to me a bit of an odd pairing here. On the first side of this cassette we find Botfly, also known as John Brennan and Holzkopf, Jacob Hardy that is. Since 2011 they work together with an odd form of improvised music, in which low resolution samplers play an important role, in which they blend with cruel pleasure rock rhythms, jazz licks and sauer kraut rocks. It's sounds mildly distorted and pleasantly insane. Like a bunch of demented rock musicians recorded by a guy who does a 360 degrees dance while holding a microphone. Sometimes it seems to give in under its weight. On the other side we find Gintas K, who is since 2011 a member of the Lithuanian Composers Union - altogether probably a more serious bunch of sound makers, I'd say. He has here a recording from 2011 in which he plays laptop - Plogue Bidule software and a bunch of cycling 74 VST plugins - which he plays, I'd say, in a more or less improvising way. If that is at all possible with a laptop (some would a
 rgue
this
is not possible). This is quite a different bunch of sounds. Nothing wild, no distortion, nothing insane, but just plain old fashioned, well made, if not too out of the ordinary computer music. Maybe a bit raw too, but nothing compared to the other side. See: odd pairing, but I must say it works rather nice indeed. The wild on one side and the more quiet, introspective on the other. Nothing spectacular, but nice enough indeed. (FdW)

********************************************

Gintas K "Slow"

Essmaa  2013 -05- 29

Ce disque est sorti, il y a quelque mois.
Mais il m’apparait qu’aujourd’hui, semblant dire.

"Entend le bruit du vent et celui de l’eau"

Sur la berge du lac. Une lumière de fin de journée. Une humide odeur douce. Un parfum ensoleillé remonte jusqu’à moi. Sur l’eau le reflet des visages. Un chuchotement derrière mon épaule. Rester là, à regarder la nuit tomber.

Gintas K s’empare doucement de phrases musicales simples, de cliquetis délicats, de sons, de bruits, de textures, de boucles bancales. Sa musique se joue tout en équilibres. Comme une volonté d’imaginer le souffle du vent, sur lequel il nous invite à égrener vignettes délicates et chuchotements.

********************************************

Reportažas iš Kauno, balandžio 26d. renginio  video>1,2,3

HOLZKOPF & BOTFLY+ Gintas K  Underground Pube, Kaunas 2013-04-26, LT 

...iš pradžių laikiausi atokiau – atėjusi vos promilės, iš poetų sambūrio, kur vyravo pokalbiai erotikos tematika, apie HOLZKOPF & BOTFLY kartu su scenos retenybe GINTU_K pagalvojau – „neišgėręs nesuprasi“. Tai buvo medijuotas seansas, kur įsikišęs žmogaus balsas žymėjo keistas amplitudes sąmonėje, nes buvo neįmanoma suprasti kas yra sakoma. Tarsi 01010101 kalba. Alaus. Tvanku. Acid punk‘as man įsiklausė kaip muzika, pagal kurią reikia taškytis, segint baltą bilietą ant krūtinės, bet toji beprotybė – patraukliai gundanti dėl esamo retumo ją pajausti. Vizualizacijos būtų nepakenkusios, bet fantasmagoriški garsai – stiprūs ir vienišumo rolėje. Man tai buvo veikiau kelionė į platesnius vandenis, gilesnė aprėptis, naujas pavadinimas pakliūnantis į sąrašą tų, kurių youtubės peržiūros neviršija 150. Būgnai įsiliejo į kratinį kaip ritmas, Jacob‘o balsas – kaip iliuziją keliantis šauksmas. Ausiai patiko, plota ir kvykta iki paraudimo. Indrė Bė 

********************************************

Gonzo Circus #115   2013-05-16

..In de eerste maanden van dit jaar komt Baskaru al met drie platen van namen-die-er-toe-doen. Om te beginnen trakteert het label ons op ?Slow? van Gintas K. Elf kleine composities heeft de Litouwer opgebouwd uit eenvoudige, minimale melodieën en percussieve, schijnbaar willekeurig geplaatste geluiden die continu voortratelen, -rinkelen en ?borrelen. In nummers als '72 #' en 'Niekovv' lijken we te luisteren naar een elektronische regenbui, met alle weemoedige gedachten die dat oproept. Soms doet Gintas Kraptavicius denken aan Fennesz met zijn dichte ruis en vervormd gitaargeluid, zoals in 'Zrty' en 'Sdg'...    robert muis

********************************************

GINTAS K - GREIT (CD by Ilse)

VITAL WEEKLY number 882 2013-5-14
As recently as Vital Weekly 870 I was less charmed by Gintas K's release 'Slow'. Lithuanian Gintas K has been playing laptop music for years now and while he explores different routes - processed field recordings, sine waves, rhythmic music, noise, that last one seemed to be harking back too much to the Mille Plateaux label of the late 90s/early 00s. A bit outdated, but listening to 'Greit' I can't help to think this is apparently a road he wants to take. In the ten pieces here he explores the boundaries of laptop music, meeting noise, and that's perhaps the biggest difference with the previous release. Maybe to meet up with the wishes of Ilse, who releases their first real CD with this one and who are known to release more noise based music? Perhaps not, and things turned just a bit more noisy here. Much of this is at the peculiar edge where we find noise based electro-acoustic treatments, almost like early musique concrete, but perhaps all a bit more crude and simplified, certainly when it comes to such notions as compositions. Throughout however I though this was nicer than the 'Slow', even when perhaps the differences aren't that big between the two. It works best here when Gintas K keeps his pieces around three to four minutes and effectively explores a few sound sources and then moves on the next. If pieces get a bit longer than it usually starts to be missing something; it simply doesn't have enough elements to be fully captivating. But otherwise I thought this was a great release, following the somewhat disappointing 'Slow' release. (FdW)

********************************************

Gintas K – Slow

Déphasage #17 - 18.04.13

J’ai continué avec Gintas K et son album “Slow” sorti en janvier dernier chez Baskaru. C’est un artiste lituanien qui nous offre des sons déconstruits, granulés, hachés mais qui n’oublie pas pour autant un certain sens de la mélodie dans ce contexte sonore.

********************************************

Gintas K | 'Slow' | Baskaru | 2013

Loop  2013 –04-08

Gintas Kraptavicius aka Gintas K is a Lithuanian electronic artist who has been active since 1994. He was a founder of Modus, the first Lithuanian industrial electronic music band. He worked at Kapsai an alternative radio between 1997 and 2000 and participated in the underground scene of Lithuania in art actions and sound art exhibitions.
Since 1999 he has been exploring the electronic minimalism, glitches, digital sounds and sound design through the laptop. He has several releases on Crónica Electrónica, Copy For Your Records and Zeromoon, among others.
'Slow' is a melodic album made with microscopic stripped-down digital sounds well as the inclusion of acoustic instruments such as classical guitar and field recordings.
There are beautiful songs here as 'Dar' and 'Reik' through minimalist guitar chords, glitch and heavily processed sounds and cinematics create warm atmospheres that evoke abstract images.

Guillermo Escudero

********************************************
 

Gintas K Slow

Whisperin & Hollerin 2013 -04-02

Gintas K is Lithuanian Gintas Kraptavicius, and ‘Slow’ is an exploration of a textured world of microsounds. The 11 tracks are clustered with fractional sonic flickers and fractional details... Ripples of sound… The synthetic replication of the sound of rain… shivers… shudders… shakes… stutters… scrapes… growls and gravels, below the radar pulses and subtle throbs, waves rising and falling and a funnelling wind across a deserted mountain side, scratched through on a nagging glitch that drags on the listener’s senses and destroys the potential for any settled, smooth listening experience. Interesting, certainly, but not entirely engaging and at times rather frustrating.  Christopher Nosnibor

********************************************

Gintas K   Slow

Musik an sich 29.03.2013
Gintas K, bürgerlich als Gintas Kraptavicius geboren, ist ein der litauischen experimentellen Musik entstammender Künstler. Hier ist er bereits seit 1995 unterwegs, startete mit einer Industrial Band Namens Modus. Nach seinem Ausstieg hier widmete er sich anderen Klängen und erforscht seitdem elektronische und klang dominierte Welten. Bei seinen Suchen und Experimenten vielen inzwischen viele Alben ab, Slow ist sein 15. mit dem er nun beim inzwischen renommierten französischen Label Baskaru gelandet ist, welches sich einen Namen im Bereich der elektronischen Musik ebenso wie der Musique Concrete gemacht hat.
Slow sondert sich schon durch die eher kurzen Stücke von den meisten Seiner Kollegen ab, die ja häufig einen Drang zu sehr langen Klangfahrten haben, die sich auch schon mal in Geräusch verlieren. Slow beweist, das dies nicht zwingend nötig ist. Mit sanften digitalen Klängen baut Gintas K Stimmungen auf, mal sehr melodisch, mal mehr Klang. Natürlich produziert auch Gintas digitale Sounds wie in "Garsas", wo schleifende und knisternde digitale Klänge dominieren. Und doch werden auch hier gesampelte Gitarren hinzugenommen, die eine Grundmelodie geben und so einen kleinen melancholischen Soundtrack für die Sinne schaffen. Dieses Kunststück gelingt auf ganze Albumlänge und generiert so ein optimales Einsteiger Werk in die Welt dieser experimentellen Klänge.
Slow ist ein kleines digitales melancholisches Meisterwerk, ein kleiner Kosmos der melodischen und berührenden Klänge aus dem kalten Computer.  Wolfgang Kabsch

********************************************

Gintas K | Slow

Kindamuzik

Ongekend verbazingwekkend.
CD, Baskaru/Dense

Tekst: Sven Schlijper

Publicatiedatum: 20 maart 2013

Gintas Kraptavicius is een product van de experimentele muziekscene in Litouwen. Ken je die? Niet of nauwelijks wellicht. Daarin moge Slow onder de nom de plume Gintas K dan gezwind verandering brengen. In deze elektro-akoestische biotoop ontstaan uit microgeluiden en -tonaliteiten tussen boven- en ondertonen, zuivere tonen en (fieldrecording)ruis namelijk ijle sculpturen in klank die de luisteraar steeds opnieuw versteld doen staan.

Slow vindt zijn gelijke in werken zoals gekend van Fennesz. Soms dwingt het geluid je te focussen op de technische achtergrond van wat je hoort, het andere moment neemt de melodie je mee. Textuur maakt een niet mis te verstaan groot deel uit van de droomachtige ambientcomposities; zoals een beeld in een galerie naast het ver- of uitgebeelde ook een aanwezigheid heeft in materiaal en structuur.

Tussen sensueel en studieus eist Slow de volledige aandacht op om alle opkomende associatieve gedachten even zo vaak de volledig vrije loop te gunnen. Van trippeltrappelgeluiden tot druppelklanken en van lichtelijk ontstemde accordeon tot knisperende statische ruis op een substraat van orgel, houdt Gintas K de toehoorder gevangen in een stemming die lichtelijk melancholisch is, maar ook euforie brengt in de presentatie van een aaneenschakeling van klanken waarvan het bestaan vóór Slow niet of nauwelijks vermoed werd; althans, niet in dit samenspel. Dat maakt het album ongekend verbazingwekkend.

********************************************

Gintas K ‎– Slow

darkroomrituals  March 12, 2013

Обнаженная фигура женщины на обложке «Slow», нового альбома литовского музыканта Гинтаса Краптавичюса (некогда участника «Modus», говорят, культового для прибалтийской сцены индустриального акта) изображена с некоторой условностью, однако сплетение линий, образующее ее изящное тело, дает нам возможность почувствовать его «живую энергетику» – легко представить себе, что эта неизвестная нам дама о чем-то мечтает в этот навечно застывший на голубом фоне момент, кого-то ждет, прибывая в теплой неге. Нечто подобное можно сказать и о музыке Гинтаса – она довольно условна, но авторский талант позволяет нам сполна прочувствовать ее. Хотя, казалось бы, состоят эти одиннадцать треков из самых обычных звуковых дефектов и ошибок, которые любой профессионал неизбежно вычистит из своего музыкального полотна. Но, увлеченно экспериментируя с бесконечными, как выясняется здесь и сейчас, возможностями этой случайной и ошибочной антимузыки, Крапчавичюс создает уютный микромир из микрозвуков, живущий по своим законам, понятным, однако, и самому «обычному» слушателю. Понятными, впрочем, не всегда, но в те впечатляющие моменты, когда обрывки «правильной» музыки, почти что физиологический распад октав и паттернов, глубокое проникновение между нот в симптомы процессорных сбоев помогают создавать насыщенные деталями работы, в которых сквозь колючий шелест и тихий перегруженный гул проникают звуки, напоминающие, ни много ни мало, величественную органную музыку или тяжелую угрюмость академического фортепиано. Также можно получить настоящее удовольствие, слушая, как абсурдно и тихо дрожат и скрипят зажатые рукой гитарные струны, блуждая по лабиринтам еле слышного шума и гулкого эха голосов. В чем причина обаяния «Slow» – так сразу не разберешь. Хотя и ловишь периодически себя на том, что звуковой поток поглощает внимание полностью и вызывает сильное сопереживание происходящему, даже в те моменты, когда термин «музыка» меньше всего подходит этому хаотичному шевелению молекул, напоминающему порой о поздних и самых странных экспериментах «Autechre». И это настоящее искусство.

********************************************

GINTAS K-Slow

2013 (Baskaru) | electro-acoustic minimalism (12/03/2013)

Ondarock   di Matteo Meda

Gintas Kraptavicius è un'altra di quelle figure che hanno giocato un potenziale ruolo cardine nelle ali più sotterranee del movimento avant-industrial post-ottanta. La sua creatura prima, il collettivo Modus, fu la responsabile principale dell'importazione e diffusione del genere in Lituania, per poi rimanerne l'emblema e divenire uno dei marchi più amati dagli avventurieri dell'ascolto. Come avvennuto in precedenza già al “maestro” Ralf Wehowsky (P16.D4, forse i padri ispiratori dei Modus stessi), una volta concluso il percorso del collettivo Kraptavicius si è imbarcato in una carriera solista allineata alle moderne sonorità elettro-acustiche, saturando il mercato con una ventina di uscite nel giro di dieci anni sotto il semi-moniker di Gintas K.
“Slow” segna il suo approdo presso la Baskaru, label francese dal catalogo in netta e costante crescita (Lawrence English, Mathias Delplanque e, soprattutto, Stephen Mathieu fra i nomi di spicco) e punta la lente d'ingrandimento sul versante più intimo e docile delle sperimentazioni del lituano. Delle rimostranze industriali dei Modus negli undici acquarelli di questo nuovo lavoro vi sono ben poche tracce: al loro posto, un mix equo ed equilibrato di levigature acustiche, distese di glitch sublunari, tappeti melodici semi-nascosti e rimasugli concreti.
Il risultato è un lavoro dunque decisamente accessibile rispetto alle usuali sonorità legate alle sperimentazioni elettro-acustiche, che fa del clima pacato e gelido il suo tratto somatico principale, dai lividi rintocchi dell'iniziale “72#” alle trasudazioni concrete delle due “Dar”, passando per i gorgheggi filtrati di “Gal” (Raglani docet) e per i tintinni silenziosi à-la-Richard Chartier della conclusiva “Galad”. Anche laddove la mole sonora si fa più corposa, il disco non abbandona la caratura minimale del proprio sound: è il caso di “Reik” - sorta di sonata per mandolino trattato – e delle onde in costante propagazione di “Garsas”. A fare eccezione sono solo due episodi, candidati primi al ruolo di vette del disco: la pura ambient di “Zrtyi”, pregna di echi del Fennesz di “AUN” e del Mathieu più intimista, e il pastiche sweet-noise di “Sdg”, non distante dalle trame più rumoristiche degli ultimi Mountains.
Pur non riuscendo ad evitare in toto il rischio di sconfinare nel manierismo, “Slow” è un'elegante prova di un musicista alla perenne ricerca di spunti e stimoli per evolvere il proprio percorso. La trasmutazione che ha portato Kraptavicius da temibile terrorista industriale a meticoloso analista sonoro può dirsi completata in un'opera che apre le porte del suo laboratorio consentendo l'ingresso anche ai non addetti ai lavori, legando con astuzia semplicità e sperimentazione.

********************************************

GINTAS K. – Slow

01. März 2013  WESTZEIT Text: Klaus Hübner
Gintas Kraptavicius kommt aus Litauen und ist dort in der experimentellen Musikszene etabliert. Sein musikalische Sozialisation begann 1994 als Mitglied der ersten landeseigenen Industrial Music Group namens Modus. Seit dem realisierte Gintas K. viele Klanginstallationen, spielte Live Performances und schrieb Filmmusik. Besonders beeindruckend sind seine Kombinationen und Wechselbezüge zwischen klaren melodischen Klangelementen (in „garsas“) und komplett mikrotonal strukturierten Soundscapes (in „gal“). „Slow“ zeigt ihn von einer eher seltenen melancholischen Seite, die ihn an sein bei Crónica im Jahr 2009 erschienenes Album „Lovely Banalities“ heran führt. Gintas K. garantiert durch das sparsam ausgestattete Soundkonstrukt einen konzentrierte Höreindruck, der Überflüssiges ausspart und Entscheidendes hervor hebt.

********************************************

GINTAS K: Slow  CD Baskaru

blackaudio February 26, 2013

‘Slow’ doesn’t start too well.  General experimentation has it’s place but sometimes just seems pretty pointless.  Luckily Lithuania’s Gintas K does start building on this come track two, ‘Zyrti’ as a more ambient piece; although this does have a tendency to meander off as well.

I see where K is coming from, I genuinely do; unfortunately though it’s not entirely something I appreciate.  Most tracks are built upon just random collections of sound and there must be a whole group of ‘artists’ out there (along with the now disgraced Hecker in my book) who needlessly produce reams upon reams of this sub art form.

If random electronic bleeps and scratches and taps of sound are your thing, go knock yourself out to this.  I have little to say about such minimalism, as it’s most certainly not music.

********************************************

Gintas K Slow

Baskaru KARU:22

Sound of Music 2013-02-22

Av: Mattias Jonsson

Det franska bolaget Baskaru har precis släppt tre påsar med riktig hörlursgodis. Jag

blir aldrig klok på om det är ljudkonst eller elektroakustisk musik eller någon annan etikett

som bör användas – men som vanligt är det väl meningslöst att prata genrebeteckningar.

Jag drar mig också lite för att komma med värderingar. Det går inte så bra att prata i

termer om ”bra” eller ”dåligt”, bättre kanske med ”spännande” eller ”inte så spännande”.

Det intressanta blir i min värld att undersöka om musiken lever upp till sina ambitioner,

om den når fram till mig och vad som händer med mig när jag lyssnar. Även, helt krasst,

om musiken lyckas behålla min uppmärksamhet, om den får mig att vilja återkomma och

lyssna fler gånger. Inte ens dessa frågor går det alltid att få raka svar på.

Så tänker jag när jag närmar mig dessa tre album. Sinsemellan skiljer de sig åt på

många sätt, det är ju bevars tre olika artister. Men de har också flera gemensamma

nämnare och det är naturligtvis ingen slump att de släpps på samma bolag. Bakom

namnet Gintas K döljer sig litauern Gintas Kraptavicius. På Slow arbetar han med

mikroljud, små digitala glitchar och strimmor, ensamma knäppande gitarrsträngar; det är

verkligen musikens allra minsta beståndsdelar som sätts under lupp. Ibland låter det som

ett mekaniskt regn på ett plåttak eller kanske som en slumpartat droppande vattenkran.

Ibland påminner det mer om surrande, svärmande trollsländor eller kanske om arga bin i

en glasburk. Jag gillar den rena ljudbilden, det är ofta högst två eller tre ljud i taget som

tvinnas ihop, man hör detaljerna och tänker sällan att det känns grötigt. Ett par spår

bråkar och brusar mer än de andra men i övrigt är det lugnt och koncentrerat. Slow

förflyttar inga berg men bygger snabbt upp en fin och stämningsfull känsla av digital

melankoli.

********************************************

Literatūra ir menas   2013-02-15 nr. 3414

Gintas K – „slow“ (2013)

Emilija VISOCKAITĖ. Giedrė RAMONĖ. Garsalaivių poetika

 Apie eksperimentinę (kaip ir apie kitokią) muziką Lietuvoje mažai rašoma ir nelabai aišku, kaip tai reikėtų daryti. Siūlome dvigubą eksperimentinį bandymą klausytis ir vertinti vienus naujausių šios krypties „produktų“.

Emilija VISOCKAITĖ.  >

Su Ginto K vardu pirmąkart susidūriau prieš kelerius metus atradusi pirmąją Lietuvoje (Marijampolėje) industrial grupę „Modus“. Jų piktas albumas „Užsikrėtę mirtimi“ (įrašytas 1993 m.) iki šiol kartais iš niekur nieko pradeda skambėti ausyse. Viena iš kompozicijų vadinosi ne mažiau gražiai – „Gašli ir sielvartinga“. Moteris ant naujojo Prancūzijoje išleisto Ginto K albumo „slow“ nebeatrodo sielvartinga, bet vis dar mažumėlę gašli, viliojanti, laukianti. Tiesa, jos poza ganėtinai nepatogi, galima įtarti, kad moteriškė tik apsimeta atsipalaidavusi. Jos kontūras trūkinėjantis, blyškus, ir iš tiesų tai visai ne ji čia ryškiausia, ji tik debesėlis dangaus žydrumo fone.

Nepatyrusio klausytojo čia niekas nešokiruos, albumas tylus –­­ jį dažniau pasigarsini nei pasitylini. Gal ir daugiau gyvumo, žiupsnio agresyvumo, keleto netikėtumų, bet nedora kritikuoti dėl to, ko nėra. Melancholija, aistringa monotonija čia yra pamatinė dimensija, kaip ir tas žydras fonas – vientisas, pastovus, pilnas.

Minėtąjį nepatogumą galima išgirsti traškioje kompozicijoje „jau“ ar nervingoje „sdg“, bet dauguma kitų yra tiek melodingos, kiek tik melodinga gali būti eksperimentinė elektroninė muzika. Jos kontūrai išties minimalistiniai, trūkinėjantys, kompozicijos trumpos, o ir jų pavadinimai kuklūs – vidutiniškai iš trijų raidžių.

Jei būčiau užkietėjusi eksperimentinės muzikos specialistė, galbūt kurioje nors vietoje pavartočiau žodį „nuobodu“. Tačiau paprasto klausytojo ausiai tai labai maloni muzika, švelniai seksuali, tvarkingai estetiška, klausytina naktį dirbant namie, pavargus nuo stiprių įspūdžių

Giedrė RAMONĖ>

Pasirodo, ausų turiu dvi. Ne vieną didelę abstrakčią ausį, apkurtusią nuo savo pačios idėjos, ir ne milijonus bevalių ausų darbininkių, nuolatiniu srautu transliuojančių į (mano) pasąmonę beprasmybės ūžesį. Pasirodo, teturiu dvi ausis: čia ir dabar vaikštinėju nuo vienos prie kitos, apeinu iš visų pusių, žvalgau kiekvienos jų vidų, tyrinėju po mikroną. Ši netikėta (garso) tikrovės apraiška ištinka kažkur ties albumo viduriu, kada asociacijų greitkeliais jau esu apkeliavusi visą „vidinį“ pasaulį, prisirankiojusi pakeliui citatų, veidų, įvykių, pojūčių nuotrupų, prisiminimų –­ atseit, savęs; klydusi ir pa(r)klydusi; kada visam šitam patirties koliaže nebeišeina atskirti vaizdo nuo vaizdo nuo garso nuo garso; kada šitame fantastiniame nevirtų elektroakustinių ryžių lietuje (vaizdiny, ištikusiame pačioje kompozicijos 01 pradžioje) pagaliau pradeda ryškėti realybės kontūrai: čia nėra jokio lietaus, juo labiau ryžių. Regis, šiame etape tegaliu apibrėžti, kas tikra, tik taip – per tai, kas tai nėra. Sakau „pagaliau“, nes pagaliau išaiškėja, kas yra mano siekis, kas tas mano vertės objektas, kas tas aš, iš kokio geismo aš susidedu, kokia mano prasmė šiame šviesiai mėlyname, melancholiškame stichijos sūkury. Susitaikau su garsu per se ir leidžiuosi jo vedama per atsiveriančias savo kaukolės erdves: jas lėtai ir švelniai (esu už tai dėkinga) apeina Ginto K garsas ir išmatuoja tarsi aklasis nepažįstamo kambario sienas. Nežinojau, kad tai turiu. Nežinojau, kad jos tokios. Jaučiuos taip, tarsi apskritai dar niekad nesu to patyrusi – savo vidinės erdvės, jos ribų, savęs. Grožis, manoji estezė, ištinka netikėtai ir galutinai. Geisminga ir kartu svajinga (o gal atvirkščiai) nuogos moters, kontempliuojančios garsą savy, save garse, povyza, kurią atpažįstu tysančią ant albumo viršelio negrabia, trūkinėjančia linija, – kurią atpažįstu. Jos gulinčio kūno sintagmoje tarpai ir plyšiai, ji madingai skubota ir tarsi nebaigta, vienkartė, beveidė. Ji – ta pertrūkių tąsa, tėkmė, ta ne melodija, kurios nieku būdu negali atkartoti, nes tai ji atkartoja tave.

Jei kalbinčiau šią mūzą telefonu, nenustočiau irzliai kartojus: „Mieloji, aš tavęs negirdžiu, pakartok, ką sakei“, tikėdamasi aiškios, tolydžios pranešimo melodijos, švaraus balso. Deja (o gal kaip tik priešingai), šio mudviejų dialogo autorius „miręs“, įsitaisęs laikui nepavaldžios amžinybės soste (neturiu galimybės prašyti jo pasakyti kitaip, atseit, suprantamiau; banaliai tariant, tenka tenkintis tuo, ką turiu), todėl jo kvietimą išeiti už įprastų komunikacijos akto ribų priimu kaip įsakymą brautis prasmės link pro terpę, pripildytą to, ką vadiname traškesiais ir brazdesiais, ryšio trukdžiais ar kosmoso šiukšlėmis. Nenutrūkstamos kanalo nešvaros, nesusikalbėjimo įspūdis atveria ausiai pačią terpę, atitraukia į save. Virpesių, kurie trokšta pasisakyti už mus ir kurie neatpažįstamai iškreipia viską, ką norėjome pasakyti, neiškoduojamų kodų perteklius virsta stygiaus stygiumi. Ir aš nežinau, ar šį nepasotinamą troškimą iš tikrųjų girdėti, šį negirdimai virpantį geismą liesti garsą, nesąmoningą susiliejimo su pasauliu laukimą aš nešiojuos savy nuo tada, kai patyriau jo pradžią, ar tai ji, ši lėtapėdė mūza, manyje tai pagimdė, flirtuodama su manimi subtiliais mirktelėjimais tarp kompozicijų pavadinimų albumo nugarėlėje („dar“ ir dar kartelį „dar“, „reik“...), čia pat negailestingai atsitraukdama į neapibrėžtąjį „gal“ ir grįždama atgal – į „galą“. Kad ir kaip būtų, be jos to nepatirčiau. Taigi, pasirodo, mūsų yra dvi.

********************************************

Literatūra ir menas   2013-02-15 nr. 3414

Lietuvos garso menas (2012). Sudarė Gintas Kraptavičius

Emilija VISOCKAITĖ. Giedrė RAMONĖ. Garsalaivių poetika

Emilija VISOCKAITĖ>

Muzikos rinkiniams jaučiu silpnybę nuo ankstyvos paauglystės, kai pradėjau iš radijo įsirašinėti mėgstamiausių dainų kasetes. Kompiliacinių CD nemėgstama pirkti, recenzuoti taip pat, bet jų klausytis – vienas įdomumas. Juo labiau jei dar nežinai, kas tau patinka. Leidi kiekvienai kompozicijai tave nustebinti, su kiekviena viską pradedi iš naujo.

Šį rinkinį sudaro 10 skirtingų autorių kompozicijų, sukurtų per pastaruosius porą metų. Teoriškai tai turėtų bent iš dalies atspindėti šiandienį garso meną Lietuvoje.

Jau anksčiau yra tekę žavėtis garso menininkų, eksperimentininkų išrandamomis koncepcijomis, savo muzikos aprašais. Kai kurie –­ poetiški: A. Ruigys tiria „žmogiškumo sietumą posaulietiškame visume“. Kai kurie –­ siužetiški: „Tai gali būti pamirštas fotografinis prisiminimo apie tam tikrą erdvę ilgesys; (...) eskizas vaikiškų vargonėlių. Virstantis grūdu metalinių varnų pulkui ir išnykstantis, pasiduodantis savo paties nusivylimui –­ ar tai iš tiesų galima pavadinti istorija? Jei taip, ji yra labiau apie fragmentus“ (audio_z).

Bet kurią filologę parguldytų ad_OS (T. Grunskio) kompozicijos paaiškinimas: „Iš architektūrinės grafinės informacijos perdirbta garso struktūra. Jos pagrindui paimtas miesto skaitmeninis brėžinys ir jo elementai – upė ir miesto audinys. Ši neklausoma ir nehumaniška skaitmeninio garso informacija (trukmė – apie 4 sekundes) transformuota į audio takelius“. Rinkinį užbaigia lakoniškiausias kūrinys (?) – projekto SALA „Fermentacija“. Išklausiusi jį bent tris kartus, galėčiau pasakyti tik tiek, kad skamba tarsi lytų į viršų. Paaiškinimas štai koks: „Kontaktinių mikrofonų pagalba įrašytas vieno iš pagrindinių giros (...) gaminimo procesų – rūgimo (kuomet išsiskiria angliarūgštė) – garsas“. Nežinau, ar visa tai teikia kokį džiaugsmą muzikologams, bet mano draugams fizikams tai tikrai.

Kelios kompozicijos dar turi gamtos, natūralumo ženk­lų (A. Ruigio kūrinyje nuo irklų lašantis vanduo, plaukiojant Žaliuosiuose ežeruose; L. Lapelytės smuikas), kitos grynai iš technikos (intensyvus V. V. Jurgučio „Hi Fi“), pastarosioms išklausyti prireikia daugiausia kantrybės. Tokiame kontekste žmogiški balsai įgauna naujos vertės: A. Dombrovskio „NNN broken jazz“ panaudotas R. Kurklietytės balsas primena „An­tony and the Johnsons“ raudų įrašus, sukamus priešinga kryptim. Šis kūrinys išsiskiria daugiasluoksniškumu, ritmo ir temų įvairove.

Degančias ausis švelnumu ramino audio_z (T. Bajarkevičiaus) varpeliai – liūdnas kūrinys apie ištuštėjimą, priminęs B. Tarro „Turino arklį“; tas pats hipnotizuojantis gintas k (šįkart mažosiomis raidėmis); ir daina iš A. Bumšteino kurtos fiktyvios naktinės radijo laidos kankinamiems nemigos. A. Jasenkos ir ad_OS kompozicijos nemigos ribą netgi peržengia – pereina į beveik nebegirdimus garsus.

Garso menas reikalauja eksperimentams pravalytos ausies, pastangos priimti „kaip yra“, nustebti, o ne atmesti kaip „nemuziką“. Gal ir ne muzika, bet poezija visai galėtų būti.

Giedrė RAMONĖ>

Vilniuje ties vienu prekybos centru vakaro prietemoje vyrai keičia lauko reklamą, ir, matyt, todėl vienas jų išnyra iš tamsos tiesiai priešais mano akis nešinas didžiule konstrukcija lengvo metalo raidžių, kurias skaitydamas paeiliui iš kairės į dešinę sujungsi į žodį „Lietuva“. Netikėtai užklupęs signifikanto nuogumas, jo pilkai plikas materialumas patraukia mane kažkur už reikšmių pasaulio: akimirką negaliu patikėti, kad Lietuva yra gabalas kampuotomis formomis išpjaustinėto metalo grubiose, vasario šalty žvarbstančiose darbininko rankose. Žodžio priklausomybė nuo nešėjo, atsidavimas jo valiai many evoliucionuoja netgi iki budistinės atjautos pasauliui.

Panašiai šoko terapijai pasirengiau ir prieš „Lietuvos garso meno“ albumo perklausą –­­ kas be ko, apie rinkinį sudarančių kompozicijų užmačias dekonstruoti mano audialinę pasaulėtyrą iki soties prisiskaičiau visuose albumo viršelio atvartuose. Akimirką suabejojau, ar dar reikia klausytis, kad susidaryčiau vaizdą... Erzinanti reprezentacinė, gal ir pažintinė šio muzikos rinkinio funkcija aršiai grūmėsi su tyru ir smalsiu mano vaikiškos ausies geismu patirti garsą, užmegzti tiesioginį kontaktą su ta tikrove, kuri slepiasi už vardų ir istorijų generuojamo prasmių ūko. Dėkuidie, pasipainiojo juoda katė iš viršelio nugarėlės, ir aš prisiminiau, kaip meistriškai jos moka pasilikti už pasaulio banalybės – ten, iš kur jis regisi visai kaip smagus siūlų kamuolys, tinkamas praskaidrinti kasdienybę.

Šių žaidimų ir užėjau į vidų. Kambary, išmuštame garso menininkų biografijų ir jų kūrinių aprašymų tapetais, žaidžia dešimt vaikų, rimtais veidukais ieškančių garso paslėpties, skaidančių ir jungiančių ne tik tai, ką neabejodama pavadinčiau garsais, bet ir tą kažką, kas dar nėra garsas, ko kaip garso dar niekad nesu suvokusi. Šiame alchemikų kambaryje, kur pasaulis verčiamas garsu, prie kiekvieno medžio stovi po garso kolonėlę – tarsi sarginį šunį entropijai nuginti ar bebaimį herojų, pasiųstą užimti naujų, neatrastų mano minties teritorijų.

Taigi, širdis mano pagirdyta: šis rinkinys – tai pasaulio garsai, kalbantys apie garsų pasaulį, klausiantys, kas yra kūryba. Aš beveik rami. Vis dėlto dar priešinuosi tai antraštėje prilipdytai lietuviškumo etiketei, kuriai nerandu pakankamo pateisinimo būti. Lietuviškos autorių kilmės man negana. Neatrodo gana ir pirmosios kompozicijos eksperimento lietuviškais garsažodžiais ir lietuvių liaudies dainos citatomis, nors ir neabejoju unikalia lietuviakalbių pasaulėvoka. Neužtenka netgi žinojimo, kad transliuojamo garsavaizdžio šaltinis yra Lietuvos teritorijoj (juolab kad čia pat, kitoje kompozicijoje, vyrauja „svetimi“ Afrikos laukų garsai). Panašu, kad „Lietuvos garso menas“ prisitraukia kitą, galbūt periferinį, tačiau man nuolatos aktualų tautinės tapatybės klausimą. Ieškant, ką bendra gabena visi šitie dešimt garsalaivių, už uodegos pačiupti pavyko vandens motyvą, vienokia ar kitokia forma išnyrantį irklo teškėjime, giros burbuliavime, insomnijos giesmėse, peizažo su ežeru eskize, atvirkščiam antraštės atspindy. Ir štai čia vėl netikėtai mane ištinka antroji atvanga į nebūtį, kurios akivaizdoje vieną akimirką Lietuva tėra tik (metalo) raidė, o kitą – tik (vandens) garsas.

********************************************

Gintas K - Slow

[Baskaru - A-Musik] 11.02.2013 De:Bug

Baskaru haben ja einen Hang zum Unscheinbaren, zur spröden Schönheit. Der Litauer Klangkünstler Gintas Kraptavicius, der schon einige Alben insbesondere auf Crónica unterm Gürtel hat, ist mit seinem neuen hier sofort zu Hause. In den sparsamen Arrangements der Stücke treten o nur zwei kontrastierende Charaktere in einen friedlichen, um sich selbst kreisenden Dialog. Prototyp: eine aufgerauhte,sich windende granulare Textur und pointillistisch gesetzte Akkordtropfen,denen man nachlauscht; Tetuzi Akiyamas Gitarre kommt inden Sinn, oder auch Origamibiro ("dar"). Höhepunkt dann: melodisch morphende, sich umschlingende Texturen. Kommt Verzerrung dazu, hebt sich die Intensität ("sdg"), schließlich fallen die Tropfen in einen Formantbrunnen ("galasd"). Leider letztendlich alles recht unspektakulär, aber angenehm beruhigend zu hören. multipara

********************************************

Gintas K. „Slow“ (2013). Metamorfozės: elektroakustika, virtusi akustine elektronika

radikaliai.lt Mindaugas Peleckis  2013 m. Sausio 23 d., 04:09

Lietuvoje dar nėra tradicijos (tad laikas ją pradėti) rašyti apie netrukus pasirodysiančius muzikinius albumus. Manau, kad melomanas, perskaitęs tekstą, bus ne tik gerai informuotas (interneto okeane nelengva sugaudyti visas naujienas), bet ir žinos (kad ir subjektyvią) recenzento nuomonę apie kūrinį, kitaip tariant, pasiruoš sutikti naują albumą.
Pastaba. Remdamasis dominuojančia muzikologijoje vakarietiškąja tradicija, nuo šiol grupių pavadinimus rašysiu nebe kabutėse, o didžiosiomis raidėmis pradėsiu kiekvieną jų žodį (jei jie du ar keli).

Ginto K (Kraptavičiaus, g. 1969) albumas (CD, digipack) „Slow“ išeis tik vasario 4-ąją. Jį leidžia nedidelė, bet labai įdomi Prancūzijos leidykla „Baskaru“ (http://baskaru.com, https://soundcloud.com/baskaru/sets/radio-baskaru) specializuojasi eksperimentinėje muzikoje. Tarp daugiau kaip 20 jos išleistų kompaktinių plokštelių yra tokie vardai ir pavadinimai kaip Francisco López, Pyo, Pirandèlo, 35 Mutant Seconds, Urkuma, ENT, (etre), Lawrence English, GoGooo, Yoshio Machida, Michael Santos, Symbiosis Orchestra, Ethan Rose, Rothkamm, Maurizio Bianchi (M. B.), Emanuela De Angelis (E. D. A.), Lugano Fell, Laura Gibson, @c, Emmanuel Mieville, Parallel 41.

Be Ginto K „Slow“, artimiausiu metu „Baskaru“ išleis Stephan Mathieu ir Mathias Delphanque albumus.

„Slow“ – tai vienuolika kompozicijų, trunkančių 45 minutes. Labai maloni akiai albumo dizaino koncepcija – tiek svajingos nuogos moters kontūras ant viršelio, tiek minimalistinis dangaus spalvos  dominavimas. Verta paminėti, kad moters piešinys – Mortos Griškevičiūtės, dizainas – Valentinos Reolon. Na, visa muzika, suprantama, Ginto K, o masteringą atliko Lawrence English (http://lawrenceenglish.com), žinomas Australijos rašytojas ir kompozitorius eksperimentininkas, minimalistas, mėgstantis ir drone, field recordings stilistiką, tad puikiai nardantis po Ginto K kūrybos labirintus.

Kaip matome, greito interneto laikai leidžia greitai (Gintas K – itin produktyvus kompozitorius, tačiau nuo to jo darbų kokybė nė kiek nenukenčia) sujungti Lietuvą su Prancūzija, Australija ir gautasis produktas, pavadintas „Slow“, skamba kiek ironiškai. Tai tarsi bandymas atitrūkti (kaip tai padarė „Slow Movement“ įkūrėjai su Carlu Honoré priešakyje; plačiau apie jį  ir Lėtumo judėjimą - www.radikaliai.lt/knygos/242-tebunie-paslovintas-letas-gyvenimas-garbe-letumui-pasaulinis-judejimas-meta-issuki-greicio-kultui) nuo greičio kulto, greito gyvenimo (rašydamas „greitas“, šiuo atveju turiu galvoje „skubotas“, „paviršutiniškas“).

Gintui K tai puikiai pavyksta. Grįžtant prie viršelio, „Baskaru“ CD anonse pastebėjo, kad Ginto K muzika gundo kaip ir graži moteris viršelyje. Pridėsiu nuo savęs – čia svarbios detalės: pavaizduotoji mūza (?) yra NUOGA ir MĄSTO, taigi ji – LĖTA, NATŪRALI, niekur neskubanti, gyvenanti pagal gamtos ritmą. Tai – priešingybė ant panašios muzikos albumų viršelių dažnai vaizduojamoms abstrakcijoms.

Antras svarbus dalykas – šis albumas, šiek tiek primenantis melancholiškąjį 2009 metų Ginto K „Lovely Banalities“, ir savo muzika yra kitoks. Suabejoju: ar tik nekeičia Gintas K savo pamėgtos stilistikos? Tiesa, esu beveik 100 procentų tikras, kad ne, nes kiekvienas jo albumas – skirtingas, savitas, tad tai tikriausiai – dar vienas iš daugelio jo eksperimentų. Kita vertus, tradicinė microsound ir elektroakustinė muzika albume „Slow“ virsta akustine elektronika. Bent kai kuriuose kūriniuose tai daugiau nei akivaizdu. Ir – sveikintina: tokio įdomaus skambesio dar neteko girdėti. Atrodo, jog klausai tą patį, gerai pažįstamą Gintą K, tačiau prasiveržia ir kitas klodas – švelnus kaip toji svajonių moteris, derinantis pasaulio priešybes ir vienijantis jas.

Štai kad ir kūrinys (o jų pavadinimai, kaip ir visuomet, „gintiški“ – pvz., „niekovv“, „galasd“, „zrtyi“, „sdg“; tačiau vėlgi esama išminčių – „Slow“ pasaulyje atsiranda paprasti, nekoduoti žodžiai: „dar“, „garsas“, „gal“, „reik“, „jau“) „garsas“ (pavadinimai CD rašomi mažąja raide), kuriame girdimi ne tik kosminių sinusoidžių dūžiai, bet ir „normali“ melodija. Atrodo, kad mikrogarsai šiame albume nusprendė surengti garso puotą (lėtą, neskubrią, be abejo) ir susirinko į vieną visumą, idant atšvęstų naujo stiliaus gimimą. Asmeniškai man neteko klausyti panašios stilistikos albumo (nesu visko pasaulyje perklausęs, nes, sako, esama apie milijardą muzikos albumų, tačiau abejoju, ar kažkas panašaus jau sukurta) – jis unikalus ir koncepcija, ir pačia muzika, ir apipavidalinimu. Malonus ausiai ir akiai, dar ir pilkosioms ląstelėms.

Yra paslaptingas septintasis kūrinys „dar“ (ketvirtasis irgi vadinasi „dar“, tačiau jis kitoks), kurio stilistiką galima būtų lyginti netgi su Donato Bielkausko projekto d.n.s., Kristijono Lučinsko grupės Driezhas kūryba, vietomis šis „dar“ (ar tai rodo naujų horizontų ilgesį?) netgi mena Vangelio kūrybą – šviesią, kiek debesuotą, bet su pragiedruliais.

Ginto K biografijos neperpasakosiu, ją ir daugybę informacijos apie jo albumus, projektus, fliuksiškus performansus galite rasti asmeniniame tinklalapyje, neseniai pakeitusiame pavadinimą į http://gintask.puslapiai.lt.

Paminėsiu tik tiek, kas itin svarbu. Ankstyvoje jaunystėje pankavęs, grojęs Marijampolės roko grupėse Pesimistai (apie 1985 metus), Modus (dar 1988 metais pradėta kūryba vėliau virto tai, kas laikoma Lietuvos industrial muzikos pradžia), Juodos Rožės ir klaipėdiečių Karo Stovis, vėliau Gintas K susidomėjo elektronine, elektroakustine muzika, microsound, glitch, click & cutstilistika, „lauko įrašais“ (field recordings), ir 1999-aisiais jo kūryba kardinaliai pasikeitė. Ėmęs tirti garso meno gelmes, per 14 metų muzikantas įrašė ir išleido (priklauso nuo to, kaip skaičiuosime) keliolika ar net keliasdešimt albumų, podcast‘ų, sukūrė performansų, dalyvavo festivaliuose ir parodose įvairiose pasaulio šalyse, o jo kompaktinės plokštelės, kasetės (http://radikaliai.lt/radikaliai/100-lietuvoje-atgimsta-kaseciu-kultura) imtos leisti daugiausia užsienyje.

Lietuvoje, deja, tokia muzika kaip Ginto K mažai ką domina, tačiau vis dėlto esama ir malonių išimčių. Muzikanto darbai buvo palankiai įvertinti Lietuvos kompozitorių sąjungos, į kurią jis buvo priimtas 2011-aisiais. Pasak Muzikos informacijos ir leidybos centro (www.mic.lt, www.facebook.com/MILCnaujienos) Komunikacijos ir leidybos koordinatorės Veronikos Janatjevos, Gintas K – vienas darbščiausių ir įdomiausių eksperimentinės muzikos, garso meno kūrėjų Lietuvoje. Visiškai sutinku su specialistės nuomone.

Beje, Gintas K taip pat yra ir profesionalus saksofonininkas. Save kompozitorius išbandė ir kaip rašytoją. 2009 metais literatūros almanache „Varpai“ (Nr. 24; p. 127-135; www.mpeleckis.eu/photo_files/additional/files/varpai_2009_po%201psl(6).pdf)publikuotas jo poetinis-eseistinis kūrinys „Posterezija. Baltasis sąsiuvinis“.

2012-ųjų rugsėjį pasirodė Ginto K sudaryta kompaktinė plokštelė „Lietuvos garso menas / Lithuanian Sound Art“ (http://www.radikaliai.lt/radikaliai/1099-recenzija-lietuvos-garso-menas-lithuanian-sound-art).

Panašiu pavadinimu šiais metais, tikiuosi, pasirodys ir mano knyga apie Lietuvos garso menininkus, dėl kurios atsiradimo pirmiausia turiu asmeniškai išreikšti padėką būtent Gintui K. Tai jam 2006-ųjų lapkritį aš parašiau elektroninį laišką su beprotiška idėja – išleisti knygą apie Lietuvos muzikus eksperimentininkus. Per šešerius metus įvyko nemažai pokyčių, atsirado daug naujų įdomių grupių, projektų, muzikantų, ir tai tikrai labai džiugina.

Grįžtant prie „Slow“ CD, po kelių perklausymų drąsiai rašau 10 balų iš 10. Tai – brandaus kūrėjo solidus albumas. 

********************************************

Gintas K – Slow

nowamuzyka.pl  20 -01- 2013

Gintas Kraptavičius to ważna postać dla litewskiej eksperymentalnej sceny. Za jego sprawą w ubiegłym roku została opublikowana kompilacja „Lithuanian Sound Art”, będąca przeglądem najciekawszych dokonań nurtu, który sam współtworzy od dwóch dekad. Globalny zasięg sieci pozwolił mu zaistnieć w międzynarodowym środowisku – jego nagrania wydano nakładem portugalskiej oficyny Crónica, brytyjskiego and/OAR czy amerykańskiego Copy For Your Records. Gintas K, bo tak podpisuje się artysta (skojarzenie z kafkowskim Józefem K przypadkowe), porusza się w granicach estetycznych wyznaczonych orientacyjnie takimi określeniami jak glitch, microsound czy post minimal. Jego brzmienie jest precyzyjne i wyraźne, emocjonalnie wyważone, gdyż chłodne tony z procesora ociepla paletą analogowych barw.

„Slow” można zaklasyfikować do albumów nurtu cyfrowego romantyzmu, gdyż taka nazwa wydaje się odpowiednia dla nagrań pokroju „Endless Summer” Fennesza i jego późniejszych kontynuacji. Ukryte pod warstwą usterek melodie nie tracą swej podstawowej funkcji – zachowują ulotny powab i nutę melancholii. Od pierwszego numeru, w którym zakłóceniom towarzyszy samplowana linia syntezatora, Gintas K uderza w elegijny ton. Jak sugeruje tytuł płyty, w kompozycjach brak pośpiechu, za to z uwagą konstruowany jest nastrój. Podobnie jak u autora „Venice”, gitara to podstawowe i najlepiej rozpoznawalne źródło dźwięku, grane na niej akordy zostały pokawałkowane, ale nie zmasakrowane.
Gintas K nawet gdy przez moment decyduje się na chaos usterek, szybko go porządkuje, robiąc miejsce melodiom. Rozwiązania kompozytorskie wydają się chwilami zbyt proste i schematyczne. Słuchanie jest przyjemne, ale wątpię, abym często chciał do tego albumu powracać. W głośnikach miłośników estetyki glitch i jej lirycznej postaci krążek „Slow” powinien jednak gościć częściej. Michał Fundowicz

********************************************

Gintas K, Gintas K [Copy For Your Records]
Fluid Radio  January 5, 2013
Noise can be tough to nail on cassette, partly because the platform is a fairly noisy one as it is. But Gintas K (aka Lithuanian sound art veteran Gintas Kraptavicius) achieves a clarity of tone that manages to transcend any lo-fi limitations with this blistering collection on NYC’s Copy For Your Records. Five quivering ear-bleeders with titles like ‘geras visaic+3-1.5db’ might not sound like everyone’s slice of cake, but Kraptavicius is such an absorbing musician you’ll find yourself drawn in no matter. In places the music howls by on a wildfire crackle and at others it breaks down almost completely, leaving the tiniest pops and clicks to announce it still exists at all. In these brief moments of respite, it’s like Gintas K controls the very fabric of the tape itself – an experience that is unsettling and compelling in equal measure. -- Steve Dewhurst for Fluid Radio

********************************************

The Wire #347  2012-12

Lithuanian Sound Art

Various

Gintas Kraptavicius CD

Gintas K

Gintas K

Copy For Your Records MC

 “Away with dodecaphony, polyphony, harmony and cacophony!” wrote Vytautas Lansbergis in a 1966 manifesto.  “We must learn to marvel at truth. We shall again have aesthetic pleasure in such simple acts as drinking water, spitting into a well or blowing our noses.” During in 1990s, Landsbergis was Lithuania’s first post-Soviet head of state, bur during childhood he was a close friend of Jurgis Maciunas, who later initiated Fluxus. These two releases from Gintas Kraptavicius show current crop of Lithuanian experimentalists are working with sound beyond the conventional term of music.

 Andrius Rugys’s Augik gir gir gar gar gar (garsas), which opens the sound art compilation, confronts full on the challenge life. A rowing boat trip on a lake near Vilnius. Oars creak, water drips, birds tweet, two passengers sing a folk song. Another piece, by SALA, captures the fizz of fermentation during the brewing process. But there’s no formula governing these ten pieces. Antanas Dombrovskij’s NNN broken jazz is a sonic cicatrix of cranky synths, blown plumbing pipes and sampled vocal improvisation. Vytautas Jurgutis’s Hi Fi is a grainy, crackling computer composition. Lina Lapelyte’s PAR is an atmosphere conjured up live at London’s Café Oto, using violin, electronics and environmental sound recordings. Arturas Bumsteinas even ventures over the border, into song.

 If Gintas K’s own contribution, a seeping flow of popping granules, melodic fragments and gassy blasts, leaves you wanting more, his ear-catching cassette, limited to 50 copies, features five sprightly digital improvisations in a comparable textural vein. All enjoyable alternatives to spitting in a well.   Julian Cowley

********************************************

Various Artists – Lithuanian Sound Art

The Baltic Scene  Nov 14, 2012

A compilation which serves as an introduction to the state of modern sound art in Lithuania.

On the back cover there is a good detailed description of the „sound art“ term; „[Sound art] was born as an opposition to the traditional universally understandable notion of music“. It‘s a music genre that is and will never be publicly acceptable, but yet we hear it everywhere and many of the times we don‘t even notice it. I can by no means consider myself any expert in the field of sound art, so what you get is the lay mans view – not an academically educated review. So … let‘s give it a listen.

The first track by Andrius Rugys brings us to the Green lakes near Vilnius and morphs into a Lithuanian folk song about a duck swimming across the lake. It‘s meditative and relaxing. The field recording is top notch and the listener is positioned on a peaceful pier observing mysterious sirens. Nice start.

Antanas Dombrovskij breaks the peace with his NNN broken jazz. Paranoid samples make the listener feel disoriented and confused. Music is not always meant to make us feel fuzzy and pleasant.

udio_Z, a project of Tautvydas Bajarkevicius, offers the listener an excerpt from his work Bits pieces and so far beyond. The piece is haunting, yet atmospheric. The broken chimes fluctuate in and out of pitch with covers of white noises. In the second half of the track a guitar is introduced. It starts out confused and disorganized, yet unfolds itself as the guitar ends in harmony with all the sounds around it.

Vytautas V. Jurgitis starts with the high frequencies in his track Hi-fi. The whole wave spectrum gets to join in as well as the work progresses. The work is highly technical and requires patience, but for the patient ones there is reward.

The academically-trained violinist Line Lapelyté offers a live excerpt from her work Par. It‘s a sound scape piece with violin, electronics and environmental sound recordings. It‘s a framework for improvisation rather than a finished composition. Its frantic and chaotic. The violin is used in an inventive way to create a sense of turmoil. The chaos develops into a high-frequency „calmness“ and leaves the listeners unease.  

The composer and sound artist Arturas Bumsteinas does a nice attempt in calming things down with his work We watch TV. This personal favourite of the compilation offers a beautiful sound scape alongside a haunting duo vocalists – who sound a tad like Einsturzende Neubauten in the best way possible. This work is a part of the Sleep (an attempt of trying) which was commissioned by the Deutschland Radio Kultur broadcasting service and the idea of it is that it takes the form of a late night radio show for those who suffer insomnia. Beautiful!

Grainy textures, sonic structure and melodic ambiance symbolize the epic Blind Man Tales by Gintas K. This piece is calming and impressive in many ways. It received the 2nd price in an international sound art contest, held in Spain 2010. If this got 2nd, then how godly must the 1st place sound!

The veteran Antanas Jesenka takes the listener to a dark state of mind, though with a powerful message: „While you live, shine. Don´t suffer anything at all; life exists only a short while. And time demands its toll“. It‘s a hard piece which tests your patience, but still has this extra something that makes it worthwhile.  

The sound artist and architect Tomas Grunskis works under the pseudonym ad_0 S and has been developing the concept of audio recycling, the use of sonic structure as a mental information. He takes an 4 second unlistenable sonic structure and transfers it into an audio track. The arrangement is quite minimal and effective. The work, which spans almost 10 minutes gradually evolves from a simple tone into a thumping heartbeat of a machine.

The project SALA has been an active for 20 years already and offer us their minimalistic piece Fermentacija. It‘s less than 2 minutes long and is recorded using contact microphones. Very calming end to a emotional ride into all aspects of Lithuanian sound art scene.

The main purpose of the compilation was to introduce current situation of sound art in Lithuania and it‘s safe to say that it sounds like its in a healthy state at the moment. With its variations and delightful experimentations it will hopefully keep evolving. As pointed earlier, i‘m stepping into this scene without prior knowledge so I don‘t have many other sound art scenes to compare to. I would still presume its a good thing if a lay man, such as myself, can listen through entire compilation and feel refreshed and pleased with given it my time and thought. I started with a hint of prejudice toward the sound art genre, but now I believe i‘m with open mind toward it. That‘s a good thing, right?-Jonas

********************************************

VITAL WEEKLY #850  2012-10-02
LITHUANIAN SOUND ART (CD compilation) 
Did I ever mention that reviewing compilation albums is my least favorite business when it comes reviewing. I'm sure I did. Especially those which have no theme attached to it, such as this one: the state of sound art in a certain country. Nothing against such countries, nor against such composers, far from it, and I'm sure these compilation serve a purpose. Usually funded by the state, given away at conservatories, music festivals or magazines, they will reach a group of interested listeners. But would anyone rush out to get a compilation like this, based on the good review I am about to write? How would I/we know this is a complete picture of what Lithuania has to offer, soundwise? I name checked Lina Lapelyte, Antanas Jasenka, Arturas Bumsteinas, Audio_Z and Gintas K, who curated and released the CD. I hear various interesting computer works, a piece that was a bit too noisy for my taste (by Antanas Dombrovskij), instrument processing and field recordings - the latter by Sala in a piece of fermentation ('the emission of carbon dioxide'), which was short and to the point. Actually most of it I thought was quite good, without any real surprises. From my experience in the field, I could have told you Lithuania has fertile soil for sound art. But perhaps this CD proofs it. (FdW)

********************************************

VITAL WEEKLY #850  2012-10-02

GINTAS K (cassette by Copy For Your Records) 
On cassette we have solo music by Gintas K, which contains five pieces of his computer music. What I remembered from his older releases was something that was rather clean cut, not too dissimilar to the sound world of say Raster Noton, but here we have a rather more noisy mood going on. Some kind of sounds are let loose in the world of max/msp patches and go wild in there. But the opening track of side one takes with eighteen minutes way too much I think. The second piece is much nicer, more contemplative but also lasts only three minutes. Side two opens also with a longer track - thirteen minutes here - which is not as chaotic or noisy but also doesn't know how to convince me. Here again I have the impression that someone is testing a software patch. You could call it improvised music as well, but either way… Same I can say for the other two, shorter, pieces on this side. It's all in the world of computerized noise, and it's perhaps releases like this, the easiness of how this was made, which give cassettes a bad name. A medium for inferior music. I heard Gintas K do much, much better. (FdW)********************************************

Išleista kompaktinė plokštelė „Lietuvos garso menas“

2012-09-24 Bernardinai.lt

Šiuolaikinės muzikos entuziastas Gintas K surinko ir išleido Lietuvos garso menininkų rinkinį, kuriame dalyvauja daug žinomų Lietuvos garsininkų. Tai Andrius Rugys, Antanas Dombrovskij, audio_z, Vytautas V. Jurgutis, Lina Lapelytė, Arturas Bumšteinas, gintas k, ad_OS, Antanas Jasenka ir SALA.

Stilingas rinkinys sudaro gerai mėtyto ir vėtyto albumo įspūdį. Įvairiems eksperimentinės muzikos požanriams priklausantys kūriniai dera vienas prie kito, elektroakustinis kūrinukas lydi aplinkos garsų karpinį, koliažinė kompozicija pratęsia glitch atmosferinį darbą, kompiuterinės elektronikos etiudas papildo ambientinį kūrinį. Nėra iš konteksto iškrintančių arba išsiskiriančių kūrinių, iš albumo sklinda geros vibracijos.

Albumo viršelyje rašoma, kad „garso menas atsirado tada, kai garsų imta klausytis ne vien koncertinėse salėse, bet ir galerijoje, šiuolaikinio meno centruose bei pro plačiai atvertus langus“. Ši mintis tiesiogiai siejasi su Johno Cage‘o teiginiu, kad šiuolaikinė muzika ir jos klausymas yra neatsiejama dalis mus supančio pasaulio, kuriame skamba įvairiausi garsai ir triukšmai, ir jie negali nustelbti, užgožti, iškreipti ar pažeisti muzikos. XX amžiaus vidury ši idėja akademiniams menininkams kėlė erzelį, vėliau kelių kartų eksperimentinės muzikos kūrėjų pastangomis įtvirtinus šį drąsų teiginį, dabar jis suvokiamas kaip savaime suprantamas dalykas.

Kaip žmogus, didžiąją gyvenimo dalį praleidęs prie knygų ir tekstų, perskaitęs albumo pavadinimą susimąsčiau. Jeigu taikytume analogiją knygoms, albumams ar antologijoms, tai, tarkime, paėmę į rankas knygą pavadinimu „Lietuvos rokas“, „Lietuvos plokščiapėdžiai“ ar „Lietuvos bitininkai“ būtume patikinti, kad joje kalbama apie visą epochą, galbūt net nuo 1918 m. iki mūsų dienų. Jeigu ir šis darbas pretenduoja į visuminį, tai jame žiojėja spragų, tačiau jeigu tai tik pirmas atviras langas į didelį ir spalvingą Lietuvos šiuolaikinės muzikos pasaulį, tai, pasigedęs tokių pirmeivių, kaip Darius Čiuta, Raimundas Eimontas, Orlandas Narušis ar atrac, tikiu, kad kitame monumentalaus darbo tome atsiras vieta ir jiems.   Robertas Kundrotas

********************************************

http://radikaliai.lt/ 2012-09-23

"Lietuvoje atgimsta kasečių kultūra" Mindaugas Peleckis

...Bene naujausia kregždė – 2012-ųjų gegužę pasirodžiusi vieno žymiausių Lietuvos eksperimentininkų Ginto K (Ginto Kraptavičiaus) kasetė, pavadinta tiesiog „Gintas K“, išleista nepriklausomos amerikiečių leidyklos iš New Yorko „Copy For Your Records“ (http://cfyre.co/rds). Ši leidykla veikia tik nuo 2009-ųjų rugpjūčio, išleido 23 kasetes (Ginto K kol kas – naujausioji). Kasetė – pilnavertis albumas, kuriame yra penkios Ginto K improvizacijos, įrašytos 2011-ųjų vasarą. Albumas solidus, jame esama, kaip visuomet, „gintiškų“ posūkių ir garsų, tačiau galima rasti ir kažko įdomesnio, ko nerasime ankstesniuose, CD formatu išleistuose, albumuose. Intriguoja ir netikėti kūrinių pavadinimai, pvz., „Improvizas geras l perziuret2“, „Geras visaic+3-1.5db“, „Nieko geras letas+5db“. Pati kasetė – žalia, išleista 50 egz. tiražu, taigi galima konstatuoti, kad šis leidinys niekuo nenusileidžia „rimtoms“ kompaktinėms plokštelėms. Albumo trukmė – 44 minutės.

Perklausęs šią kasetę, pradėjau prisiminti, kad kasečių kultūra mūsuose nemirusi, priešingai – ji tyliai ir sėkmingai egzistuoja.

Gintas K, grodamas bene pirmojoje lietuviškoje industrial  stiliaus grupėje „Modus“, buvo išleidęs dvi kasetes („Užsikrėtę mirtimi“, 1995, „Dangus Productions“ ir „Mėgaukis tyla“, 1998, slovakų „Black Orchid Productions“).

Paklaustas, kodėl dabar vėl grįžo prie MC formato, jis atsakė: „Todėl, kad tai daugiau improvizacinio pobūdžio kūriniai, o ne griežtos kompozicijos, kažkaip kilo noras išsileisti jas kasetėje. Kasečių kultūros Lietuvoje beveik nėra. Šiaip MC – tai fetišas, bet kasetės gerai dėl to, kad platinti jas piratiniu būdu yra sunkiau“...
********************************************

http://radikaliai.lt/    2012 -09-22

Lietuvos garso menas / Lithuanian sound art  Mindaugas Peleckis

 Keistokas, bet smagus įvykis: Kultūros ministerijos bei LATGA-A paremta, ką tik pasirodė eksperimentinės muzikos kompaktinė plokštelė „Lietuvos garso menas / Lithuanian sound art“, skirta ne pardavimui, o reprezentacijai. Ar tai reiškia, kad kadaise undergroundine buvusi eksperimentinė muzika tapo valstybės pripažinta?

Pradėti reikėtų nuo gerų žodžių, o baigti kritika. Manau, taip būtų padoru. Taigi vardijam kompaktinės plokštelės nuopelnus: estetiška (digipack), jos fotografija su katinu pasirūpino vienas iš CD bendraautorių Audrius Šimkūnas (SALA), dizainą kūrė Donatas Juodišius, tekstus apie muzikantus rašė Jurijus Dobriakovas, o idėjos autorius ir leidinio sudarytojas – gintas k (Gintas Kraptavičius). Visi šie vardai, besidomintiems "garso meno" (galime vadinti tai eksperimentine, elektroakustine muzika, field recordings‘ais – lauko įrašais) raida Lietuvoje, pažįstami.

Rinkinyje – dešimt kūrinių, kuriuos sukūrė dešimt autorių. Tai – jau minėti gintas k ir A. Šimkūnas, taip pat (vardiju nuo leidinio pradžios) Andrius Rugys (PB8), Antanas Dombrovskij („Betoniniai Triušiai“), audio_z (Tautvydas Bajarkevičius), Vytautas V. Jurgutis, Lina Lapelytė, Arturas Bumšteinas, Antanas Jasenka, ad_OS (Tomas Grunskis).

Kompozicijų trukmė labai skirtinga: asmeniškai man norėjosi kur kas ilgesnės SALA kompozicijos „fermentacija“,  kuri truko vos 2 minutes. A. Šimkūnas pastaruosius kelerius metus išsiskiria Lietuvoje (žinomas ir užsienyje) savo įdomiais gamtos ir kitokių garsų įrašinėjamais, savita garso ekologija. SALA kadaise, prieš 20 metų ir vėliau, grojo ritualinę, industrial, dark ambient muziką, dabar žaidžiama su kontaktiniais mikrofonais.

Ilgiausias kūrinys – audio_z „bits pieces and so far beyond“, trunkantis 12 minučių, pasirodo besąs tik kažkokio didesnio kūrinio ištrauka ir, atvirai kalbant, pabosta. Į ausis krenta tai, kad albumas darosi vis įdomesnis, kuo toliau klausai. Po pirmų trijų kūrinių kompaktinę plokštelę kartais norisi išjungti. A. Rugio (jo kūrinyje įdomu tai, kad jis įrašytas valtyje, kurią irkluoja Rytis Saladžius) ir A. Dombrovskij bei T. Bajarkevičiaus eksperimentai šaižūs, įdomūs nebent jiems patiems. Tačiau jau nuo ketvirtos kompozicijos darosi įdomiau: nenuostabu – nenuspėjamas akademinį išsilavinimą turintis V. V. Jurgutis savo 8 minučių „Hi Fi“ priveda klausytoją iki ekstazės, grodamas kažką artimo noise stilistikai. Darosi įdomu, atmosfera kaista: L. Lapelytė (kūrinys paremtas įrašais, darytais Pietų Afrikos Respublikoje) bei A. Bumšteinas (fiktyvi radijo laida, sergantiems nemiga) irgi neatsilieka savo išradingumu. Gintas K (čia prisistatantis kaip gintas k) įkomponavo savo kūrinį „Blind man tales2“, laimėjusį pagrindinį 2010 m. Ispanijoje vykusio 2-ojo tarptautinio garso meno konkurso „Broadcasting Art“ apdovanojimą. Gal sudarytojui ir nederėtų pačiam afišuotis, tačiau kompozicija verta grieko, tai – kelionė aklo žmogaus pasakojimais.

A. Jasenkos pirmosios elektroninės kompozicijos sukurtos dar 1992 metais su paprasta įranga, nuo 2000-ųjų imtos naudoti cut-off ir mix-up technikos. Tai – unikalus menininkas, kurio tokios muzikos mėgėjams pristatinėti plačiau nereikia.

Albumą užbaigia beveik 10 minučių kompozicija „Analog underWAVE“ (T. Grunskis arba ad_OS – architektas, plėtojantis audiorecycling koncepciją) ir jau minėtas SALA kūrinys „fermentacija“, kuris, mano nuomone, yra brandžiausias rinkinyje.

Bendra išvada: leidinys geras, reikalingas, įdomus, skaniai klausosi, nors iš pradžių įsivažiuoti į jį sunkoka ir nuobodoka.

Kokia šio rinkinio koncepcija? Iš esmės, kaip pripažino pats G. Kraptavičius, tai – jo asmeninis požiūris į Lietuvos garso meną.

Žiupsnis kritikos ar tiesiog pastabų. Pripažįstu, jog subjektyvumas yra gerai, ypač mene, tačiau skambus pavadinimas „Lietuvos garso muzika“ neatspindi tikrovės. Tai – „Lietuvos garso muzika pagal Gintą Kraptavičių“ (beje, visai neblogas pavadinimas būtų gavęsis).

Pasigedau Dariaus Čiutos („NAJ“) kūrinio, tokių žinomų eksperimentininkų kaip Jaras Ramūnas („Echidna Aukštyn“, „Endiche Vis.Sat“), „Maldur Atai“, „Girnų Giesmės“ kūrybos. Galbūt tam tikra priklausomybė nuo kultmino įpareigojo G. Kraptavičių rinktis būtent šiuos autorius? Kai paklausiau jo, ar buvo kažkoks konkursas, kurio metu jis kaip sudarytojas pasirinko dešimt, jo manymu, geriausių kūrinių, sudarytojas tai paneigė. Ką gi, tai jo valia.

Dar norėčiau prisikabinti prie paties termino „garso menas“, kurio koncepciją bandyta išaiškinti ant paskutiniojo leidinio viršelio (kiek nusikalbėta - prie ko čia "plačiai atverti langai"?). Iš esmės nesuprantu, ką jis reiškia. Jei spiriu koja į varpą ir jis (ne ji) gaudžia, o paskui šio garso įrašą panaudoju apdorodamas visokiausiomis ultramoderniomis mašinomis, - ar tai „garso menas“? A. Šimkūnas įrašinėja tik gyvus garsus (čia – giros fermentacijos procesą), galbūt paskui kiek juos pakoreguodamas, tačiau ne itin nutoldamas nuo realybės. Kai kurie kūrėjai naudoja sintezę tarp įvairiausių – kompiuterinių ir gyvų - garsų, kiti „groja“ tik kompiuterinėmis programomis. Ar visa tai turi bendrą vardiklį?

8 balai iš 10. Antroji dalis, kuri, tikėkimės, bus, turi kur pasitempti. 

********************************************

August 17, 2012  The Watchful Ear 

So tonight I returned to the cassette tape by Gintas K released not that long ago by the Copy for your Records label that I played a few times yesterday. The tape does not seem to have a title, and the name Gintas K is the musician name of Lithuanian digital/electroacoustic musician Gintas Kraptavičius. When I played the tape yesterday it left me somewhat cold, or maybe just somewhat ambivalent to it if anything, not really liking or disliking the music and struggling to think of anything to say about it. Tonight my thoughts haven’t really evolved that much further, except to say that while I can appreciate some of its qualities I’m probably not the biggest fan of the tape.

There are five tracks spread across the two sides of the tape, with the points whereby one track ends and the next begins somewhat blurred. All five pieces seem to have been evolved out of either the same, or at the very least a very similar set of sounds, perhaps acoustic sounds recorded and then treated digitally, or maybe just something borne out of a laptop soundcard. Its difficult to tell, but certainly right throughout the album there is a slight digital edge to everything, that synthetic feel never heard anywhere before computers were invented. The sounds often resemble little bursting bubbles of air, sometimes becoming more squelchy, sometimes merging into something nearer white noise, but always digital in feel and never straying too far from the basic template.

So the five tracks here are made up of these sounds, which thicken, thin out, merge, amass into something more dense, and break down again to form the compositions. Its all quite nicely done, and not really understanding the processes involved in making this music I can only assume a fair amount of skill has been involved, particularly as I think the tape is all improvised. The problem for me personally though is that the final music is not really all that interesting. The sounds used feel a bit old hat to me, lacking the warmth and texture of acoustic sound but not really containing enough depth and variety to make up for this loss. They are then put to work in a perfectly OK, but really not all that extraordinary manner. A lot happens as sounds fly in an out, but they are all a bit too similar and digitally cold for my taste, and the structure of the works, mostly starting and ending sparsely with a more energetic plateaux in between doesn’t do enough to distract me from the sounds themselves.

This is probably just a taste thing, and others may well marvel over Gintas K’s artificial landscapes as I miss the point entirely, but after listening through six or seven times now I end up just shrugging my shoulders a bit and moving on to the next release. Your own mileage will doubtlessly vary.  Richard Pinnell

********************************************

Sonic Stress Test of a Composer’s Historic Home (MP3)

October 24, 2011 Disquiet

When the MoCA, in Los Angeles, and the Hirshhorn, in Washington, D.C., combined forces in 2005 to produce the exhibit Visual Music, one of the key precedents it cited for audio-visual synaesthetic engagement was the work of Lithuanian composer and painter Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911). The sound artist Gintas K created a tribute to the composer during a residency in the composer’s one-time home in the city of Druskininkai. It takes the form of a rough assemblage of noises, of moving throughout the house, and what may be recordings of his works echoing in its halls, slowly gaining volume and intensity. There is, of course, the suggestion of ghostly apparation, but what’s especially intriguing is that echoing, the room tones of a place where a composer spent much of his time (MP3). As a kind of sonic stress test of that space, the piece is a map of the environment that no doubt helped give shape to the composer’s music. The work was performed in late August of this year at the Čiurlionis Memorial Museum. Piece originally posted at cronicaelectronica.org. More on Čiurlionis ciurlionis.lt.

By Marc Weidenbaum

*****************************

06.2011 Gonzo Circus

Het nieuwe soloproject van Gintas K heet ‘So On’; vijfenveertig minuten elektronische klanken in veertien op zichzelf staande en tamelijk uiteenlopende tracks. Gintas K lijkt zo’n beetje alles dat er met digitale klanken is uitgeprobeerd hier te willen verzamelen. Van zachte tinkeltjes en tikjes, fluittonen en ruisende klanken in de eerste track tot de clicks en snerpende noise van track drie. ‘So On’ biedt veel, maar de vraag in gerechtigd of Gintas K nog iets heeft toe te voegen aan wat collega’s al aan digitale geluidsmuren en klankvelden hebben gecreëerd. Ja, naar blijkt. Na verloop van tijd maakt de (schijnbaar?) volledige willekeur steeds vaker plaats voor structuur in de vorm van - en dat werkt verrassend - melodieën. Daarmee blijkt ook dat de op zich staande en uiteenlopende tracks samen toch een ontwikkeling en coherentie vertonen. Overigens is het niet zo dat ‘So On’ na een tijdje gaan meefluiten, maar uit de abstracte ruis, kraak, tikken en wat dies meer vormen zich steeds meer melodische lijnen. Die overigens ook abrupt onderbroken kunnen worden of desintegreren tot weer losse tikjes en kraakjes. Lieflijk willen de melodieën zeker ook niet worden, door de sterke distortion. Al komt de afsluiter een beetje in de buurt.

**********************************

03.2011 De-Bug

Gintas Kraptavicius aus Litauen hat mittlerweile ein gutes Dutzend Alben mit experimenteller Elektronik, Fieldrecordings, Ambiente, Stimmexperimenten und komplexen digitalen Kompositionen veröffentlicht. "So On" ist eine Sammlung der unterschiedlichsten Tranks mit Spieldauer unter fünf Minuten zwischen melodischen kleinen Dornes, knisterigen, krabbeligen Soundscapes, Noise-Experimenten, Loop-Konstruktionen, und atmosphärischen Notizen. Vieles klingt "nicht ganz fertig", eher skizzenhaft. Das mag einem zusammengewürfelt vorkommen, man kann es in seiner Vielfältigkeit aber durchaus auch spannend finden. asb

**********************************

02.2011 Monsieur Délire

Following up on Lovely Banalities, Gintas K releases So On, this time in Crónica's "Unlimited" series - and therefore freely available in mp3 or Apple Lossless format. As in Lovely Banalities, So On consists in several short tracks of experimental electronica, all self-standing yet all sharing a similar aesthetics. This time, the music is less ambient and more arid, stripped-down and raw, almost 8-bit-sounding at times. Gintas K gets close to Pita's glitch and to the formalism of Florian Hecker. Not an easy listen, esthetically interesting and strong, but not really enjoyable.

**********************************

02.2011 Dark Entries

In het kader van “geschifte geluiden” presenteren we u Gintas K.
Neen, wij weten er niks van behalve dat deze Gintas K een mens is die graag experimenteert en dan bedoelen we geluiden die op het eerste zicht niks met elkaar te maken hebben.
Het zijn zelfs geluiden die niet eens op muzieknoten lijken ook al zouden we zweren dat bepaalde tracks te vergelijken vallen met één of andere elektronische beiaard die op hol geslagen is.
Jawel, het zou best kunnen dat je mixer uit uw keuken meer melodie voortbrengt dan het experiment gekraak en gebiep van deze Gintas K.
We geloven ook best dat er mensen zijn die braakneigingen krijgen als ze dit soort muziek op hun boterham krijgen, maar als ochtendmuziek op je radio zou het impact maken geloof ons. Ook al zouden de mensen plots in paniek schieten dat hun favoriete radiostation herschapen is tot monotoon gekraak.
U zegt dat we zot zijn? Waarschijnlijk wel.
U zegt dat u best van die krankzinnigheid wil proeven? Dit kan want “So on” is een gratis downloadrelease geworden en dat vind je door hier te klikken.
Didier Becu

**********************************

01.2011  Far from Moscow

v.a. con-vpilation (Lithuania)

Minimalist Improvisation and Unmusic from Vilnius: The Con-Vpilation

....An exit from this awkwardness comes, thankfully, in the work of Gintas K (whose last name is Kraptavicius). With an established catalog of industrial compositions to his name, Kraptavicius (below, right) has long been interested in these same limits of expressibility. More specifically, he has worked with what some have termed a "post-Fluxus" viewpoint, i.e., with the uses of indeterminacy. Where logic ends, chance begins - including the random noises that lie beyond language. Hence, no doubt, the rubber duck - for no reason whatsoever. For Kraptavicius, this interest in randomness, rather than order, leads to celebrations of vagueness and chance. Fittingly enough, therefore, the CONV compilation also includes a tribute to John Cage's "4.33." The 1960's spirit of the Fluxus movement, reappearing more than forty years later, is still fueling a celebratory attitude towards Lady Luck or the paradoxes of endless, pointless difference. After all, unending randomness, taken to an extreme, will rob any state of a stable center - or periphery! - and therefore approximate something widely unchanging. Impermanence will itself become permanent. Kraptavicius' own love for such inconclusive processes helps to close the gap between movement and immobility that we saw with Twentytwentyone and Skardas. It also avoids the kind of faux-Buddhist phrasing to which such opposites can so easily lead... as we found. Kraptavicius' catalog has been recognized widely, with concerts and sound-art installations all across Europe. These events have helped to develop what he calls an aesthetic of "unnecessary notes." Hence his particular love for digital compositions, since he feels that computers help to "pull" elements of unmusic into his portfolio: machines show scant regard for compositional norms. As he says: "Art and music without a framework are possible."....

David MacFadyen

**********************************

06.2010 VITAL WEEKLY  #734
v/a MUU FOR EARS 2 (CD by MUU)
...Over more than 20 years Gintas K is working with minimal sounds and his two compositions are very fragile and exclusive.... (JKH)

**********************************

01.2010 Liability

Après avoir sorti une longue pièce électronique de 54 minutes (Frozen Time) sur mOAR (sous label de and/OAR) disponible en téléchargement, Gintas Kraptavicius aka Gintas K s'est mis en tête de donner une consistance artistique à ces moments du quotidien, ces sons auxquels on ne fait attention qu'inconsciemment tellement ils sont ancrés en nous et qui provoqueraient une certaine perturbation s'ils venaient à disparaitre. Lovely Banalities, ce titre n'est donc pas un hasard. Gintas K s'est évertué à recueillir chez lui à Marijampole les sons qui lui sont familiers et les ont associé à une musique électronique minimaliste et conceptuelle. Evidemment, l'ambiance est des plus intimiste. On pourrait rester immobile, laisser le temps s'écouler et ne faire qu'écouter cette musique curieuse et minutieuse qui s'installe durablement dans notre cerveau. Ce n'est pas une musique que l'on retient ou que l'on pourrait fredonner. Gintas K n'est pas dans une optique de construire des morceaux aux formes classiques couplet/refrain. Le lithuanien bâti une musique plus aléatoire, diffuse et qui, ici, fait appel à des émotions enfouies. On devrait se sentir en sécurité mais les choses ne sont pas aussi simples.
Qu'on ne s'y trompe pas, Lovely Banalities est une oeuvre ultra-personnelle et qui, en premier lieu, ne parle qu'à son auteur. Ici Gintas K nous ouvre sa porte et nous fait partager son quotidien. Il n'est pas toujours facile de s'y identifier mais on reconnait sans peine que les créations de Kraptavicius dépassent l'ordinaire. Ce disque fait cotoyer l'abstrait et le mélodique, le sensoriel avec le virtuel, tout ce qui pourrait s'opposer chez des musiciens aux conceptions trop classiques. Gintas K, lui, prend ce risque aussi parce que le concept de l'album l'exigeait. Le résultat est souvent étonnant, clair, d'une évidence à toute épreuve. Le sentiment que Gintas K a voulu faire passer n'atteint pas forcément l'auditeur mais, dans l'absolu, on est happé par la beauté même des morceaux. Il suffit juste de se mettre en tête quel était l'objectif de l'artiste pour porter un regard différent, plus juste sur ce disque et ne l'apprécier que mieux.
Fabien

*************************************************

11.2009 The Sound Projector

Everyday life is just full of surprises, according to Lithuanian sound-artist Gintas K, and to prove it he made Lovely Banalities, a suite of 14 pieces which we are invited to visit and revisit like pictures on the wall, as they continue to reveal hidden depths to otherwise unremarkable moments or fleeting impressions. Gintas' approach to electronic music is credible and slightly eccentric, yet I feel there isn't quite enough breathing space or room to manoeuvre in these rather busy digital doodles. It's as though he's so concerned with pointing out his lovely banalities to us (like some hyperactive tour guide) that he won't allow us time to observe them.

***********************************

11.2009 Neural
There are fourteen different tracks in “Lovely Banalities”, the second release on Crónica for the Lithuanian sound- artist Gintas K. Although there are multiple “field recording” interludes, they result in a rather continuous, and evocative flow of sound. They are made of synthetic articulations, improvised digital digressions, or minimal modulations. Finally, those that are in a sophisticated and calibrated shape are used in abstract sound events. Modulations that integrate elements from alien melodies, natural and artificial sounds, in a poetic setting, not detached from unexpected events, are artfully reworked and handled. White noise, tonal inflections, “glitches”, floating pulses, and noisy drifts, giving rise to imaginative narratives, pervaded by a familiar estrangement, effective – ultimately – in immersing us even deeper, in subtly adventurous listening. Aurelio Cianciotta
************************************************

11.2009 Blow Up
La sequenza di 'banalità adorabili' si snocciola in piccoli quadri di elettroacustica — digital music sovente penetrati da registrazioni sul campo raccolte nella città natale di Marjampole. Dalla title track in poi la crudezza timbrica si addolcisce di melodie glitch e ninna nanne incerte (Music Box). Gintas Kraptavičius è molto bravo nella rifinitura della scheggia, nel fare di un'inezia un piccolo universo. Se si accetta la programmatica frammentarietà, il disco dà più di uns soddisfazione. Interessanti i podcasts free sul suo sito.
***************************************

10.2009 Rif Raf
Porté sur les fonds baptismaux en 2003, le label portugais Crónica est véritablement issu de la rencontre entre les musiques électroniques et les cultures digitales. A l’instar des multiples installations et collaborations qui entrecroisent monde des arts plastiques, pratiques scéniques et univers musical, la maison de Porto s’inscrit dans une démarche souvent radicale, certes. Elle est toutefois, et plus souvent qu’à son tour, une immense bouffée d’oxygène libre dans un monde où les conformismes de tous les suiveurs ont bien trop souvent pignon sur rue.
Emanation du trio, aujourd’hui duo, @c, Crónica est issu de l’imaginaire fertile de deux de ses fondateurs Miguel Carvalhais et Pedro Tudela, avides de mettre sur pied ‘une plate-forme pour réaliser, distribuer et promouvoir leurs propres réalisations et celles d'autres activistes ayant les mêmes préoccupations esthétiques’ (interview parue dans la magazine MCD n°22, juin 2004). Entièrement fondé sur une vision numérisée de la musique qui tient cependant plus de la performance multimédia que de l’art de faire danser les foules, le catalogue de la maison lusitanienne s’est enrichi d’une quarantaine de titres, dont le fameux Happiness Will Befall de notre Australien préféré Lawrence English ou le plus ambient Hidden Name des excellents Stephan Mathieu et Janek Schaefer. Les trop rares spectateurs présents un soir de février au Netwerk d’Alost ont pu le vérifier, la très bonne réputation du label n’est pas un vain mot, comme en témoignent trois sortes récentes, dont le magnifique Lovely Banalities de Gintas K, notre recommandation absolue du moment.
Second effort de l'artiste sonore lituanien, les charmantes banalités succèdent au très bon double album Lengvai / 60 x One Minute Audio Colours Of 2 kHz Sound. Tout sauf... ban(c)al, composé de quatorze miniatures que l'auteur n'hésite pas à comparer aux Tableaux d'une Exposition du compositeur romantique russe Moussorgsky, l'oeuvre alterne moments de musique digitalisée et field recordings - le cours d'une rivière, la pluie - enregistrés à Marijampole, ville de résidence de notre homme. Certains titres sont absolument remarquables de justesse harmonique et de précision dynamique. Ainsi, l'introductif In intègre en toute fantaisie une menace extra-terrestre bourdonnante éprise d'Andrei Tarvosky et de bruits épars, dont un drone obsédant bien que familier. Le second titre Q est tout aussi réussi. Evoquant la pulsation d'un téléphone qui sonne occupé revisité par les Boards of Canada, la track est traversée par un brouillard épars d'où l'on s'attend à voire surgir le commandant Spock aux manettes d'HAL 9000. Traversé, d'une manière plus globale, de ses sonorités banales - au sens le plus étymologique - du quotidien, Lovely Banalities n'est cependant pas qu'une exploration de plus des non-événements d'une vie sans relief. Puisé dans une inspiration jusque dans ses meilleures sources, l'essai emprunte autant à alva noto (Something In The Grass) qu'à Svarte Greiner ou Lawrence English (HH3), sans même parler des évidentes connections dépoussiérées avec la maison Editions Mego, (C2, Just 1). Vous l'aurez compris, nous sommes - très - très fans.
Fabrice Vanoverber
**********************************************

10.2009 Kwadratuur
'Lovely Banalities' is de tweede cd-release van Litouwer Gintas Kraptavičius (kortweg Gintas K) op het Portugese Crónica-label. In 2006 bracht hij het dubbelalbum 'Lengvai / 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of 2kHz Sound' uit, waarbij hij onder het goedkeurende oog van de verzamelde gespecialiseerde pers een cd met experimentele, minimale microtechno koppelde aan een geluidsstudie van 2kHz-geluiden. Op 'Lovely Banalities' doet Ginta K iets gelijkaardigs, al wisselt hij ditmaal op één en hetzelfde schijfje een reeks veldopnames af met kleine, opnieuw redelijk korte digitale geluidswerkstukjes.
Net als heel wat van zijn collega's heeft Kraptavičius een voorliefde voor onherkenbaar verminkte, digitale geluiden en artefacten. Meer dan eens bewerkt hij aanvankelijk redelijk conventioneel klinkende synthloops met distortion-, delay- en bitcrush-effecten tot vervaarlijk knisperende, fluitende en stuiterende geluidsprojectielen. Wie in deze sonische spielerei op zoek gaat naar structuur of een 'verhaal' is er aan voor de moeite: Gintas K maakt abstracte geluidsschilderijen, geen songs. In tracks als 'Music Box' en 'Found Feelin' duikt er uitzonderlijk een (kinderlijk eenvoudig) melodietje op, maar voor de overige veertig minuten speelt de Litouwer klinische, onaardse stereospelletjes die soms meer weg hebben van een gehoortest dan muziek. De korte stukjes zomerse tuingeluiden die de verschillende meanderende niemendalletjes aan elkaar linken, dragen weinig of niets bij aan de plaat.
'Lovely Banalities' zal ongetwijfeld in de smaak vallen bij de harde kern van fans van alternatieve elektronica, maar voor de modale muziekliefhebbers is dit soort digitale experimenten hoogst waarschijnlijk een kwelling voor de trommelvliezen. Hier en daar duiken interessante klanken en ideeën op, maar van genieten van is geen moment sprake.
Filip Martens
*************************************************

09.2009 Etherreal
Après le double album Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound en 2006, voici le deuxième long format du Lithuanien à paraitre sur le label portugais chez qui il a entre temps sorti quelques productions en format numérique.
Son précédent album était composé de deux facettes très distinctes de son travail, avec d'une part un CD d'une electronica minimale du plus bel effet (que l'on comparait à un croisement entre Frank Bretschneider et Pan Sonic) et d'autre part un travail purement conceptuel sur une fréquence sonore. Heureusement, Gintas K semble être revenu à un travail artistique plutôt que scientifico-didactique, avec comme son titre l'indique un travail sur la beauté des banalités du quotidien, essayant de s'attarder sur ce que l'on ne voit plus, ne perçoit plus car complètement intégré dans notre quotidien. Pour cela, il travaille sur des field recordings mais au lieu de les présenter tel quel à la manière d'un Chris Watson qui va chercher sa matière première aux quatre coins du monde, Gintas Kraptavi?ius enregistre les sons de sa ville un après-midi de grands vents, et les met en musique, jouant des contrastes entre composition et sonorités ambiantes.
L'album est découpé en 14 pistes qui sont autant de compositions électroniques minimales, aux sonorités pures voire brutes quand elles se font plus dures. Les field recordings ne sont ici pas forcément apparents, généralement réservés aux introductions et conclusions, servant de liant entre chaque vignettes sonores. On pourrait trouver le choix artistique décalé (est-ce que pour traiter des banalités du quotidiens ces fields recordings ne devraient pas être les éléments centraux ?), mais le Lithuanien tend à composer sa musique comme une banalité, quelque chose de simple. Si le travail de recherche sonore est indéniable, les compositions se révèlent être minimales, jouant énormément sur les boucles, la superposition de notes répétitives en multiples strates (Lovely Banalities, Music Box), s'essayant au drone (C2) avec une montée monstrueuse puis laissant filer le cours d'une rivière (HH3), usant d'effets de frétillements et autres bouillonnements (Q, Just 1), clapotis numériques (Before When) ou tintements de bois créant une sorte de pluie mélodique (When I Was Able To Laugh 2) comme pour reproduire ou évoquer des bruits de notre quotidien.
Gintas K produit ici une musique a priori difficile d'accès, plutôt abstraite, avec des sonorités inhabituelles, des mélodies rares mais superbes, bref une musique expérimentale mais avec une démarche particulièrement poétique. 7/8
Fabrice Allard
**********************************************
 

09.2009 De:Bug

Gintas Kraptavicius verarbeitet Mikrotonales von (meist nicht erkennbaren, loopartigen und relativ kurzen dynamischen Stücken, Stimmungen und Skizzen. “Lovely Banalities” hat fast so etwas wie Pop-Appeal, so dass die Musik nie “banal” sondern meist völlig unakademisch gut verdaulich klingt.

*******************************************

09.2009 Groove

Unter dem programmatischen Titel Lovely Banalities (Cronica/A-Musik) sammelt der Litauer Gintas K unauffällige Feldaufnahmen und verknüpft sie mit massiv bearbeiteten synthetischen Klangsplittern. Diese clevere Mischung durchbricht die unpersönliche, von Labels wie Raster-Noton bekannte, kaltdigitale Bit-Ästhetik und gibt den Stücken eine menschliche Note.

***************************************************

08.2009 Sonic Seducer

Skizzenhafter Musik haftet leider immer ein wenig der Hauch des Halbgaren an, erst Recht auf Albumlänge. Dass dem nicht so sein muss und Musik in kleinen Happen durchaus auch von Vorteil sein kann, beweisen die liebenswerten Banalitäten von Gintas K. 14 kurze elektronisch Stücke, manchmal nicht viel mehr als das schnelle Ausloten eines Sounds, oftmals aber auch umfassend eingefangene Stimmungsbilder. Stücke wie "Q" zeigen, wie mit einfachsten Mitteln wunderbare Moodmusik erschaffen werden kann, die trefflich die Stimmung und Atmosphäre langer Nächte verbreitet. Wohlgemerkt - allein mit Mitteln der Kleinstteilelectronica - mit Knistern, Bleepen, Rauschen und Knacken. Tipp!

***************************************************

08.2009 Orkus

Es kann auch mal zu viel Gezirpe sein. Wie viel tatsächlich zu viel ist, verdeutlicht in dem Fall Lovely Banalities von Gintas K. Auf einer nebensächlichen Ebene durchaus als Hintergrundmusik für ein psychologisches Science Fiction-Filmexperiment geeignet, verlangen die 14 Tracks dem Hörer eindeutig zu viel Konzentration und Geduld ab, um tatsächlich als genießbares Etwas konsumiert zu werden. Brodeln, Fiepen, Zirpen, Quietschen, Knistern, Rauschen. Brummen, Summen, Schwelen, Dröhnen, Knacken. Klar so weit ? Bei aller Liebe zu technischen Details und Aufnahmen bleibt zu wenig von dem hängen, was als "Hörvergnügen" klassifiziert werden könnte, sodass Lovely Banalities letztlich genau das bleibt, was der Titel suggeriert: eine im Ansatz gut gemeinte, für die nächste Science Fiction-Rollenspielrunde geeignete, aber insgesamt blasse Tonsammlung.

***************************************************

08.2009 Bad Alchemy
Via Berlin und Lissabon erreichten mich Klänge aus Litauen. GINTAS K hat daheim in Marijampolé aus Klängen, die er an einem windigen Sonntagnachmittag beim Spazierengehen einfing, und Alltagsgeräuschen im Haus - ein Besetztzeichen des Telefons z.B. - 14 Lovely Banalities (Crónica 040) für ein Audiopoesiealbum gesammelt. Seine beiläufigen Funde, der Wind, Vögel, der Klang seiner Schritte, ein plätschernder Bach etc., sind eingebettet, eingearbeitet in laptop-typisch rauschendes Gedröhn, gelegentlich rhythmisiert, meinst nur flatternd zermulcht, kraus gewellt, aufgeregt tüpfelig, gesprüht, kullerig. Melodisches Summen mischt sich mit einer brachialen Kaskade, Glitches brodeln, es furzelt, blitzelt, funkelt, stottert. Die immer wieder hörbaren Schritte erinnern, wohl gewollt, an Musorgskys Bilder einer Ausstellung und an sich Unbemerkenswerten. Die Ästhetisierung des Alltags durcht den Alltag ? Warum fällt mir jetzt der Politiker ein, der vorkaute, dass man mit 5€ am Tag fürstlich leben kann?
************************************************

Gintas K Lovely Banalities  Cronicaelectronica

2009-08 Dark Entries

De titel verraadt al ergens waar deze Litouwse geluidsartiest ons mee naartoe wil brengen: nar de geluiden van het alledaagse bestaan, daar waar we er net geen oor voor hadden. Gintas vertrok aan de hand van geluiden die hij –al dan niet impulsief- op één dag tijd buiten opnam en dewelke hij in de studio gebruikte als basismateriaal voor zijn geluidsminiatuurtjes. Natuurlijk blijft het geluid van stromend water herkenbaar als het geluid van stromend water, ook al is het elektronisch zwaar bewerkt. Over de andere geluiden kan je echter niet zo zeker zijn…
De vraag is: welke waarde heeft dit nog? Ik weet zeker dat er genoeg mensen zijn in het avantgarde wereldje die hier zeker van zullen genieten. Wat mezelf betreft had ik liever gehad dat Gintas wat selectiever zou zijn in z’n keuzes en die keuzes wat breder had uitgewerkt. Maar da’s uiteraard een eigen mening.[JD]

***************************************************

07.2009 ae mag

Feldaufnahmen heutzutage nach eigenem Gutdünken zu verarbeiten ist lange kein Kunstgriff mehr, umso erstaunlicher mutet da Gintas K’s Titel von »lieblichen Banalitäten« an. Schätzt der eigenen Künstler seine Musik so gering ein, oder verweist der Name des Albums eher auf das vielbeachtete Verarbeiten diffuser Außengeräusche hin? Banal ist die Musik sicher nicht, dazu steckt zuviel Dynamik und Differenz in den Aufnahmen.
Während der Anfang recht lärmig beginnt, wird ab Stück 3 eher klar, wohin es gehen soll. Teilweise an Marc Behrens reduzierte Musik erinnernd, wird kein klanglicher Kniff ausgelassen, dem zugrundegelegten Material die nötige Bearbeitung zukommen zu lassen und sich dabei auch durchaus aus der üppigen Kiste zeitgenössischer experimenteller Ausdrucksformen zu bedienen. Kurgefasste Delays und Feedbacks bilden die sonore Unterlage mancher der 14 kurzweiligen Titel. Chords werden hinweggerafft und neu zusammngesetzt, Noiseinfluenzierte Versatzstücke werden durch digitale Berarbeitung zu verschmierten und klitterigen Klangmauern. Teilweise schwingt ein gewisser reduzierter Gestus mit, der sich auch in der Auswahl der klanglichen Bearbeitungsmöglichkeiten erschöpft. »Lovely Banalities« als Stück Nummer 10 wirkt da wie ein schöner Moment, der alles andere als banal wirkt- weil das Album sich einfach selber nicht zu ernst und wichtig nimmt. 5/5

***********************************************

07.2009 D-Side

S'il utilise principalement l'électronique, le Lithuanien Gintas K, n'est pas, comme d'autres artistes oeuvrant dans la sphère IDM, réfractaire au monde extérieur. Au contraire, dès lors qu'il décide de faire de Lovely Banalities une sorte de journal de sa vie quotidienne, c'est bien dans celui-ci qu'il tire la matière de son travail de retraitement, enregistrant une masse de field recordings un dimanche après-midi d'été venteux dans sa ville de Marijampole, avant de les passer au filtre de la machine. Largement méconnaissables, ces évocations du quotidien le plus ordinaire, utilisées largement en intermèdes entre les morceaux, n'en infusent pas moins la totalité de Lovely Banalities qui, sous, ses glitches, ses glissements, ses craquements et ses souffles, respire en permanence de cette brise venue du monde réel, prenant à parti l'univers informatique pour le rendre faillible et incertain. Et lè où Gintas K réussit parfaitement son enterprise, c'est quando Lovely Banalities, sous ses dehors d'évocation quotidienne, presque "superflue", se fait plus complexe et dramatique que nombre d'albums réalisés dans l'austérité d'un concept aliénant.
Jean-François Micard

***********************************************

The Sound Projector  2009-06

From the Portuguese Crónica label, there’s the Lithuanian player Gintas K with Lovely Banalities (CRÓNICA ELECTRONICA 040), an appealing collection of minimal electronica; what I like about it is that Gintas keeps most of his pieces quite short (nothing over five minutes), and each one explores a single idea relentlessly, despite temptations to widen out the sonic horizons. Through observing these two simple disciplines, he makes good and realises his intention to celebrate ordinary, everyday things. The remote and abstracted cover art by David Muth slightly undercuts this intention, but no matter. Ed Pinsent

***********************************************

GINTAS K - LOVELY BANALITIES (CD by Cronica Electronica)

VITAL WEEKLY number 683 2009-06
Following many MP3 releases and a double CD on Cronica Electronica before,Gintas K from Lithuania now returns to Cronica with a strange album called'Lovely Banalities'. Not that we shouldn't take this seriously, but'banalities' may sound a bit odd. One windy summer Sunday afternoon,Gintas K went out to do field recordings in the city where he lives,Marijampole, which he then transformed into fourteen little sketch likesound pieces. Whatever those field recordings were is hard to say, butthey are surely sketch like. Often employing a few sounds per track, set to 'loop', he creates a very light album - which is were the 'banalities'come in I guess. I wouldn't say that Gintas K isn't serious about what hedoes, I am pretty sure he is serious. But for this occasion he set out todo some nice microsound work which hasn't have that ultimate seriousapproach, but nice tinkling cracks 'n cuts and it's a rather refined album. Nothing perhaps that we haven't heard before, but not often in such light hearted way. (FdW)

****************************************************
 

Gintas K & GYS – When the Drummer is Smoking (CONV, 2009)

ore.lt  2009-05-09

Dar neseniai kalbėjau apie naują Ginto Kraptavičiaus (Ginto K) albumą Lovely Banalities. Kuo daugiau klausau jo muzikos, tuo prasčiau apie ją rašau. Atrodytų nelogiška, tačiau išties sunku, jei ne beviltiška, aprašyti įdomią muziką.

Visgi džiaugiuosi galėdama paminėti, jog garso kūrėjas Gintas K bei vizualaus/garso menininkas GYS (Gytis Skudžinskas) išleido naują, šįkart online patalpintą, leidinį, When the Drummer Is Smoking. Kūrinys egzistuoja jau apie porą metų, tačiau tik neseniai jį paviešino leiblas CONV. Jį galite nemokamai parsisiųsti iš čia.

Pradinė kolaboracinio kūrinio struktūra turėjo būti tokia: Gintas K ir GYS apsikeičia tam tikrais garsais. Tuomet jie, naudodami vienas kito kūrybą, sukuria apie 20 minučių trukmės kompozicijas. Rezultatas turėjo būti iš dviejų dalių sudarytas albumas. Realybėje viskas vyko panašiai, tačiau proceso metu GYS kompiuteris sugedo ir išliko tik Ginto K dalis – t.y. GYS garsai, perdirbti Ginto.

Šiame mini albume randame penkis kūrinius. Tik vienas iš jų turi pavadinimą ir vadinasi kaip visas albumas – „When the Drummer Is Smoking“. Leidžiantis į Ginto K vaizduotę, rūkantis būgnininkas - tai toks būgnininkas, kokį būtų turėję dramatiškieji Coil ar Bauhaus (tik Coil niekada neturėjo). Šis žodžių žaidimas yra, matyt, nuoroda į būsimą žaidimą garsu, o galiausiai ir mūsų muzikos suvokimu.

Nepaisant pretenzingo albumo pristatymo teigčiau, jog ir neišrankesni klausytojai į kūrinį nespjautų. Būna, jog įjungiu savo kambariokams garso meno darbus ir išgirstu tokius komentarus, kaip „kas nutiko mūsų šaldytuvui?“. Bet šio albumo autoriai pateikė kompozicijas gražiai ir neprimityviai – dainos įtalpintos į gana nuspėjamas formas. Nors garsai ir yra abstraktūs ar pavieniai, jie sudaro visumą, kuri neatstumia, o tai pavyksta tikrai ne kiekvienam garso menininkui. Gitaros skambesį Gintas K apipina elektronika ir taip sukuria gaudesio muziką. Po jos perklausos mano galvoj išlieka lėtumo pojūtis. Jei išplėščiau įsimintiniausią kūrinį iš visų – tai būtų jau minėtas „When the Drummer Is Smoking“. Šaižus, tačiau neerzinantis, „stalkeriškos“ atmosferos darbas, savo garsais yra drąsesnis už kitus.

Vienas man iškylantis When the Drummer Is Smoking minusas – albumo trukmė. Pasibaigus penktajai kūriniui, lieka tuštuma, nesijaučia aiškios albumo pabaigos. Tuomet sudėtingiau atsiminti visą darbą bei jo sukeltą nuotaiką.

Apskritai albumas sukuria ganėtinai tamsią, bet jaukią atmosferą. Sėdint saulės apšviestame kambaryje kyla idėja, jog tai puikus pavasario-vasaros kūrinys. Vasarą nebūtina visko piešti tik geltonai-rožinėmis spalvomis. Muzika nupieš metų laikus kitaip.

ORE vertina: 8 iš 10       Miglė Bareikytė

************************************

“Lovely Banalities”

tokafi.com 2009-03-16

lietuviškai bernardinai.lt
“Lovely Banalities” is the second Gintas K-CD released by “Cronica”. Both collaborations of this Lithuanian sound artist and the Portuguese label specialising in electronic music seem to foster fascinating outcomes that are real discoveries for admirers of digital music rooted in various branches of microsound. This time, it is an album intended for careful and adventurous listening and an intense musical experience.

Already on first track “In”, you might suddenly realize that you’d like to listen to “Lovely Banalities” with your eyes closed. The track begins with a few simple vibrating tones, gradually evolves into a major chord, then dissolves into generated melodies which fall into various spacious points in between right and left of your speakers. Finally, it grows into a tin-consonance colored by a slight distortion. At that point, the sonic, compositional logic of the album has been all but completely revealed to you. If you accept it with grace, you’ll enter a marvelous journey through pretty sophisticated sound spirals, which are highly dynamic, dense, lavish (in the sense of offering a colorful timbre palette) and spacious, as it seems as if your speakers are put into a highway of (micro) sonic flow – both horizontally and three dimensionally, quite schizophrenic in a way of constantly diverging and unifying sonic objects.

You will find these elements in nearly every piece, especially in those, where sonic plasticity is the key. “Just 2” divides listeners’ attention in between an intensifying murmur of blunt bubbles (you can hear a few layers of them) and resonating timbre, which dives in and out. “27” evolves with a few nets of pinging transformator-like sounds and step-by-step wraps up a simple melody. All tracks are centered around hardly palpable compositional ideas and cranked up or gently directed towards a textured sonic tapestry, painted by granular sounds. That is why your thoughts might barely move as they’re trapped into this grainy sparkling of sound, which insensibly infects the way you perceive space and time at that particular moment.

However, the tracks are interconnected by short episodes of field recordings, made in Gintas K hometown Marijampolė. The recorded sections are not too cinematic and one can treat them simply as gestures of remembrance. It’s the most opportune time for the listener to grasp the meaning of the title of the album, “Lovely Banalities”. And that’s how one realizes the narrative and imagery that lies behind the sonic forms: they become expressions of moods. “Found feeling” isn’t just one of those sonant and bright chords, sounding like a crystal – but it’s also this poetic “found feeling”, maybe from somewhere there, in Marijampolė, or anywhere else in the listeners mind and her/his own experience. There is quite a hypnotizing bit of melancholy and transparent (and somewhat tricky) sentimentality in “Lovely banalities”. It might leave this taste after a thorough listening, as the last track, already mentioned “Found feeling” creates a lazy sunny mood, but it’s scratching composition and microscopic changes of mood-shapes might resemble somebody sitting in a terrace one summer afternoon enjoying the purposeless dance of the meaningless gaze.

Gintas K once drew a parallel between “Lovely Banalities” and “Pictures at an Exhibition” – a famous suite by Modest Mussorgsky, where every piece becomes a musical interpretation for a picture and one is listening to the suite as if she / he would be passing the doors from one imagery to the other and having promenades in between them. I find this parallel amusing, as “Lovely Banalities” is full of adventurous transitions between sonic perception, sophisticated compositions and imaginary moods, feelings and memories. by Tautvydas Bajarkevičius

************************************************

Gintas K – Lovely Banalities (Crónica, 2009)

ore.lt 2009-03-16

Gintas K (Gintas Kraptavičius) – vienas žinomiausių Lietuvos elektroninių garsų kūrėjų. Muzikine veikla šis garso menininkas užsiima jau nuo 90-ųjų: pradžioje buvo industrialas ir grupė Modus, po to sekė iki šiol besitęsianti solo karjera.

Šiais metais pasirodė jau dešimtasis Ginto K albumas pavadinimu Lovely Banalities. Šį kartą, kaip beveik visuomet, Ginto albumas nebuvo išleistas Lietuvos leidybinėje kompanijoje, bet portugalų Crónica. Vietiniai lietuvių garso menininkai kuria įdomius kūrinius, tačiau išleisti praktiškai nėra kam. Galbūt tai ir jokia problema, mat interneto pasaulyje geografinė padėtis vis rečiau ką nors lemia, svarbiausia – rezultatas. Albumas įpakuotas minimaliai išdailintame kartono dėkle, kuris, deja, atlaiko neilgai. Bet apie rezultatą čia noriu parašyti…

14 kūrinių albumas – ramių, kompiuteriu sukurtų ar tiesiog lauke geros kokybės aparatūra įrašytų virpesių, kartais nustebinančių ar erzinančių triukšmų prisodrintas darbas. Kaip albumą pristatančiame tekste rašoma: „tai darbas, talpinantis 14 individualių momentų, kurie parengti pašalinio klausytojo apsilankymui; kūrinys, savo forma ir struktūra lyg ir paprastas, tačiau tas paprastumas – kaip ir gyvenimo kasdienybė – yra iliuzija“.

Dažnai klausydama elektroninių garsų, ar elektronikos sumišusios su fieldrecordings negalvoju apie idėjinę darbo pusę, man svarbu, kaip sugebės ir ar sugebės kūrinys/albumas „užkabinti“, sudominti. Visgi garso menas kartais būna tikrai nepakenčiamas, ir be poros išklausymų (kurie nutinka dėl bendro išsilavinimo ar tiesiog noro paklausyti) albumą metu į šalį.

Neretai muzikoje ieškau kažko patrauklaus, įdomaus, kažkokių aiškesnių struktūrų, arba tiesiog įdomių, o gal ir gąsdinančių, bet traukiančių garsų ar panašiai. Jei taip nenutinka, kad ir kaip tai būtų modernu, nauja ar „ant bangos“, savęs neprievartauju.

Tačiau su Ginto K elektronikos žaidimų ir lauko garsų įrašų Lovely Banalities taip neatsitiko, albumas tiesiog įtraukė. Po kiekvieno albumo išklausymo norėjosi jį vėl dėti į grotuvą. Lovely Banalities – nebanali, jauki muzika bei šilti garsai iš aplinkos: žmonių balsai, vandens čiurlenimas (nors ir dažnas motyvas fieldrecordings elementų turinčioje muzikoje), sukuria gero ir stipraus albumo įspūdį. Autorius sugeba atskirus garsus sujungti į originalią visumą, į struktūrą, po kurios jaučiamas garsų ir melodijų vientisumas; muzika paveikia tave. Pateikiamo nei per vieną, nei per penkis kartus įsisąmoninti nepavyksta. Tačiau ir po daugelio klausymų išlieka noras įsigilinti į albumą. Sakyčiau, įdomu ir vertinga.

ORE vertina 9/10   Miglė Bareikytė

***********************************************

“Lovely Banalities” reviewed by

Boomkat 9 February 2009

Lithuanian sound artist and composer Gintas K returns to Cronica with a selection of self-confessed Lovely Banalities - a set of beautiful auditory trifles, often rather short and lacking in any defined sense of structure. These are more like objects, loitering around in the ether and establishing loop-based sequences like ‘Q’ or the strange and otherworldly ‘Music Box’. Elsewhere, the watery modulations of ‘Before When’ brings to mind the sort of digital experiments heard on Pita’s album for No Fun - but only for a couple of minutes, before Gintas halts proceedings and re-boots with some other slice of electroacoustic meandering. Far more interesting than its title would have you believe, this album is a rather entertaining, unstuffy piece of microsound.

*******************************************

GINTAS K - 13 TRACKS (WWW.PERCEPTS.INFO)

Raves.com  2008-06

From tinkered-with noise to abrasive sound to minimalist ambient, the musical arc tread by this batch of tracks represents a whole, regardless of the different places one has to go to complete the journey. Some tracks are challenging (read: difficult to listen to) while others are mindsweeps of transcendent ambient and experimentation. The set of tracks as a whole makes experimental diversity into a project that somehow seems like everything fits. It's less harsh than some fringe audio work but not as accessible as others. I wouldn't start an experimental newbie off with this but someone who's had a chance to dry off behind the ears might take this as a gateway to the next level of out-there music.

-- review by Kristofer Upjohn

**************************************

ROBERTAS KUNDROTAS & GINTAS K - SEPTYNI TILTAI PASAULIO CENTRE (MP3 by Zeromoon)

VITAL WEEKLY#625 April 2008
The title translates as 'Seven Bridges In The Centre Of The World' and brings together Lithuania's most active force of laptop glitch, Gintas K, together with Robertos Kundrotas, who can be held responsible for bringing new music (as in Vital's world) to the same country, since a long time, when he started to publish 'Tango' (in 1990). In October 2007 the two of them performed at an audiovisual poetry festival 'Tarp: Vasaros 5' in Vilnius. It's a bit hard to say what the texts are about. They are not easy to understand, even if I would speak Lithuanian. The voice is pushed to the back and Gintas waves over it a network of sounds - starting rhythmically but slowly more and more heavy sounds drop in, like washes from the sea until the voice has entirely disappeared. Towards the end it returns and things seem to come to a natural conclusion. Quite a heavy piece, which is unmistakably a live recording which could have perhaps trimmed down a bit more, but nevertheless is a well rounded piece. (FdW)

**************************************

Gintas K  13 Tracks  PERCEPTS CD

THE WIRE  #289  MARCH 2008

Gintas Krapatvicius has been a fixture on the Lithuanian experimental music scene since 1994. Today, using synthesized tones, sinewaves, echoes, reverbs and noises, his aim is to "study the physical effects of sounds on the human psyche". On 13 Tracks, he makes these investigations in the most discreet manner: the human psyche has to cock its ear sharply in order to take in tracks like "Ritmas", which could be taken for the amplified operations of a microchip, or "Kruva Tempu", which makes "Ritmas" sound like a symphony for factory horns -the veritable footprints of angels dancing on the head of a pin. All the same, these tiny interiorities are elaborate and curious enough to be worth attending to.

Electronica Reviewed by David Stubbs

********************************************

13 Tracks - Gintas K

Furthernoise  January 2008 

I first became aware of Gintas K when when we both contributed remixes to Jody Roses' Singing Bridges album a few years ago and being impressed with his contribution, I have kept up his exploits ever since. Subsequent investigations have also revealed that he was an early contributor to Furthernoise and the grapevine of micro / experimental lists, so I felt compelled to put his new album 13 Tracks on my player the moment it came through the door
If the first track Nezinau Kas Tai was anything to go by, this was going to be one hell of a relentless assault on the senses and by the time it had finished, I wondered how much room he had left for any further dynamic trajectory. Not that I didn't enjoy this first foray into hypnotic noisy oblivion but once into (tracks 2 & 3) Ritmas 100 Fonas and Kruva Tempu, what emerges is a gentle journey through minimal sines, glitches and feedback, in an album that is wistful & playfully contemplative. There are definite resonances of his Bridges remix here i.e. manipulating a sounds inherent rhythm or tone as a starting block, only here he creates layers minimal compositions without them sounding forced or too academic. His audio palette is a mixture of electronic and found sounds, meshed in seamless collages that are at times quite cinematic. Think man running through industrial plots, pursued by unknown agents resting to catch his breath only to be transported to futurist landscapes of frogs conversing in Morse code. He also likes his sub bass, which balances the high end of some of the more glitchy tracks and compliments great production and inventive stereo panning. Ka As Zinau has to be my pick and features a general mix of all of the above with building crescendos of feedback, and at a mesmeric length of 12 minutes 50 you are really floating on air by the end of it. I also really like his recurring signature of crackly hypnotic rhythms and discerning use of sound, which is what gives his work a unique appeal.
Review by Roger Mills

*********************************************

Gintas K  "13 Tracks"

Brainwashed    06 January 2008

Lithuanian conceptual artist and performer Gintas Kraptavicius manipulates minimal digital sources and acoustic vibrations in the service of narrative rhythms and electro-acoustic wand waving. Rather than merely barricading himself behind walls of atmospherics, Kraptavicius uses his tools to explore sound in ways that are both unpredictable and inviting.

This is not to say that there aren't austere or abrasive moments on 13 Tracks. In fact, the album has plenty of them. Yet Kraptavicius' methodology disarms rather than alienates, favoring surprise over antagonism. "Nezinau Kas Tai" kicks off to an alarming start with an eruption of pummeling beats and raising pitches. The only thing keeping the tension at bay are the soft melodic drones shimmering in the background. The insistence eventually fades, replaced by what sounds like crinkling foil and bursts of air. The track ends shortly afterwards, mysteriously but unsentimentally vanishing mid-measure. Tricks like these are constant but without foreshadow, which is what makes them so effective.

Each song contributes something different without repeating any ideas from its predecessors. The music achieves a pleasant balance between rhythm and abstraction that revitalizes the ear and maintains interest the whole time. Even the song lengths differ drastically, ranging anywhere from the minute and a half of "Ritmas 100 Fonas" to the almost thirteen minutes of "Ka As Zinau." The latter starts with the patient beeps and bleeps of what could be medical equipment or other scientific measurement devices, supplemented by intermittent tests of an emergency broadcast system. While a bit sterile, it works as an effective palette cleanser before hollow beats and bursts of air wrestle over fields of mechanical crickets only to evolve into a pulse-driven razor wire crusade. The change is drastic but not incongruous.

Not every track is equally entertaining, but nothing wears out its welcome either. 13 Tracks isn't necessarily groundbreaking, but it has more than enough strange noises and turns regardless to make it a fun, worthwhile experience from beginning to end.

Written by Matthew Amundsen

*********************************************   

GINTAS K - ELEMENTARY PARTICLES (3"CDR by Retinascan)

VITAL WEEKLY 603

One my favorite CDR labels is Retinascan, who take great care for the covers, a rare thing in the world of CDRs. Both of these three inch releases come in nice printed cardboard boxes. Gintas K is of course someone who came across before and here he goes into conceptual edges of sound, working very specific frequencies that reflect male or female speech, 80hz sine wave 'which sometimes goes below the scale of human hearing - hell, and 10 khz sine wave which goes above the scale of human hearing - heaven'. Originally made for a podcast, but of course it's hard to translate these frequencies into MP3 (a format unsuitable for any kind of experimental music, but that is probably a different discussion). It may seem altogether quite complicated, but Gintas K actually manages to create some nice music. Continuing his somewhat more crude

sine wave cut ups of his previous releases, like a bastard (although in a positive manner) son of Alva Noto, his sine wave music has balls. Deep rumbling, cut to fit beats that are hardly danceable, but which are surely groovy. Still under the influence of early Pan Sonic, this is actually another fine release by this Lithuanian composer. (FdW)

********************************************

Gintas K - 13 Tracks (CD, Percepts, Noise/experimental)

babysue®  November 2007
Given the fact that his full Lithuanian name (Gintas Kraptavicius) would be difficult for most Americans to remember and/or pronounce, Gintas K has probably made a wise marketing move by making the decision to shorten his name. 13 Tracks is weird...really, really weird. And it is also bound to alienate 99% of those who hear it. Gintas records from the "noise is music" school of thought. He has been involved in the undercurrents of the music scene since the mid-1990s. This lengthy album (over 70 minutes) features strange, cold, electronic instrumentals that don't involve traditional instruments and/or song structures. Gintas takes sounds and manipulates them into music. The results...are stark and peculiar. Many of these pieces spin like the soundtrack to a really weird science fiction film. Quite difficult to describe indeed. While we certainly can't recommend this to everyone...folks into the more peculiar sounds of the universe will be enchanted with oddball compositions like "Nezinau," "Ritmas," "12-03," "WWW," and "Maiden." While some folks may hate this kind of stuff...we absolutely love it...
********************************************

Gintas K- 13 Tracks

Smother Magazine

Post-minimal techno that drives one to the rhythm of hard jungle, sine waves, and drones. This is music for all kinds that have left the realm of your standard fare electronica for something far leftfield and different. “13 Tracks” is just that, thirteen tunes that are tuneless, magnificent, and creepy. All in a post-Brian Eno sort of world. Weird experimental crunches that have few lapses in quality post-techno whirls.

by - J-Sin

********************************************

Gintas K  13 Tracks

25-10- 2007 ReGen Magazine

Minimalist electronic noise from a pioneer of the Lithuanian industrial scene.Gintas Krapatvicius is perhaps best known for his role in Modus, Lithuania's first industrial band, but for the past several years he's been working in a more minimalist electronic palette, composing soundscapes from glitches and buzzing. His latest album, the unimaginatively titled 13 Tracks, plays with expectations from the beginning; "Nežinau Kas Tai" begins with a distorted drum loop that builds into a crescendo of feedback, but just when you expect the bass to drop into a power noise onslaught, the piece retracts into glitch-laced ambience. Ranging in length from under two minutes (the eerily modulating "Ritmas 100 Fonas") to near epic-length explorations (the 12-minute "Ka Aš Žinau," which builds from insect clicks into grating industrial squeal and clattering rhythm), Krapatvicius makes a conscious choice to avoid almost any resemblance to conventional music. Though it never approaches the violence of extreme noise or power electronics, Krapatvicius' work is nonetheless characterized by a certain abrasiveness. "12-03" is particularly torturous in its own unassuming way, with quiet tones reminiscent of childhood hearing tests repeated at just a high enough frequency to be intensely painful. While this sonic passive-aggressiveness makes for a difficult listen, it does render the occasional hints of melody all the more effective. When tambourines and hints of a muffled piano line emerge from the subsonic bass of "EEE2," it comes as a complete shock. "Maiden" offers similar surprises; though it starts with a soft humming frequencies employed throughout 13 Tracks, added buzzing layers eventually form harmonies in the conventional sense, their natural accord creating a subtle sense of pleasantness that's amplified by the all the dissonant minimalism surrounding it. While Krapatvicius' sonic experimentation isn't for everyone, fans of similar European minimalists like Coh's Ivan Pavlov will appreciate, if not necessarily enjoy, his contributions to experimental music.  By: Matthew Johnson

**********************************************

Gintas K  „13 Tracks“  /  Percepts 2007

2007-10-24 bernardinai.lt

Žinoma amerikiečių eksperimentinės muzikos leidykla išleido vieno garsiausių Lietuvos garso meistrų, industrial stiliaus mūsų šalyje pradininko (pavadinimu „Modus“) marijampoliečio Ginto K (Kraptavičiaus) naujausią albumą „13 Tracks“ („13 kūrinių“). Beveik 71 minutę trunkantis albumas – vienas solidžiausių Ginto K diskografijoje, kurioje – beveik tuzinas albumų. Tiesa, daugelis jų išleisti ne Lietuvoje (čia, deja, tokia muzika dar menkai suprantama) – Portugalijoje, Vokietijoje, Slovakijoje, JAV ir kt. Kompaktinė plokštelė „13 Tracks“ amerikiečiams padarė didžiulį įspūdį. Tai – išties brandus muzikanto darbas. „Percepts“ albumą pristato taip: „Tai – grožio, kuris kyla iš garso nuolaužų, pavyzdys: spragsėjimai, traškesiai, sinusoidiniai gausmai ir subtiliai sukurtos tekstūros, kurios susilydo į post-techno stiliaus estetiką. „13 Tracks“ žanras – nuo į Briano Eno kūrybą primenančio ambient iki šalto, maršą primenančio, minimalistinio ritmo. Albume galime išgirsti ir abstrahuotą gitarų skambesį, ir jungle ritmą. Gintas K parodė, jog sugeba iš paprasčiausių garsų sukonstruoti sudėtingas, pribloškiančias struktūras“. Iš tiesų šis albumas – neeilinis produktyvaus lietuvių muzikanto kūrinys. Jo klausyti nesunku, tačiau kūrinių gelmė įtraukia ir stebina savo originalumu.

 @ Mindaugas Peleckis

*****************************************

Gone in 60 Minutes: Electronic Compositions Showcased atNC State University

by Alexandra Jones

Some pieces, like Lithuanian Gintas Kraptavicius' "Godot in hurry" (synth-static hits in backbeat, static crackle, [crescendo]), began as sonic particles made by synthesizers or chopped up and scattered from a preexisting source, coalescing and building into apocalyptic waves or shrieking layers of feedback.

**********************************************

GINTAS K - 13 TRACKS (CD by Percepts)

VITAL WEEKLY  592
After some MP3 and CDR releases, this is the second release on a CD by Lithuanian Gintas K, a work he produced for the Transmediale 2007 exhibition. I am not sure if the pieces are linked together or that they should be seen as standing by themselves. Gintas K is a man behind the laptop screen, where the blocks of sound are neatly organized. Rhythmical music but not to dance to. Head nod music. Your head moves along the rhythm, but not your entire sweaty body on the floor. Some of the more austere pieces around here, remind me of the older Alva Noto such as in 'Ka As Zinau', but in general Gintas K is less organized and less conceptual than the master himself. Which is actually nice, since the thirteen tracks are a pretty varied bunch of music. Always based on rhythm, but at times with a bit more synthesizer/sine wave sounds, different kinds of sounds making the rhythm, this is not always a surprising new look on what was once called clicks 'n cuts, but which stands fully in that tradition, but nice produced with a certain fresh look with some more anarchistic approach. (FdW)

******************************************
 

07.2007 Auf Abwegen
Die Computerwelt öffnet sich zusehends für andere Quellen. Ging es vor ein paar Jahren noch darum zu zeigen, was innerhalb dieser abgeschlossenen Welt alles für Sounds möglich waren, so geht es heute eher um einen Dialog und das Durchbrechen von Ästhetiken, die einer bestimmten Produktionsweise geschuldet sind. Flow ist genau das: ein Fluß aus warm-pulsierenden Klängen, die nicht nur rein synthetisch sind, sondern Gitarre und Stimme inkorporieren. Und dies auf perfekte und bereichernde Weise. Die akustischen Signale scheinen das digitale Umfeld zu neuen Bewegungen zu motivieren. Die Matrix lebt. Kryptischen Datapop gibt es von Gintas K, der gleich auf einer zweiten Disc 60 einminütige Audiofarben einer bestimmten Frequenz mitliefert. So kann sich jeder seinen alternative Version zu seinem strottelnden, leicht federnden Prototechnosound basteln.

**********************************************

06.2007 e/i magazine

For this effort, a pure sound at the frequency of 2kHz forms a malleable network which is lubricated by steady rhythmic formulations. Accordingly, the concerns of these compositions, specifically those featured on the second disc, are technical, not musical. Cold, clinical and transfixing in its sparse, endless motion, these works slowly suss out infinitesimal combinations, seeking their optimal modulation and technical sophistication. Even when certain pieces seem but an unending stretch of tonal stasis, a gritty glow or subtly shifting set of tones will fizzle to the surface, reminding one that, like a gambler who tries to exhaust all of the permutations in a game of chance, Gintas K is trying to explore all of the possibilities of his program. With each study set at just over a minute ‘s length, Gintas K ventures through a spectrum which ranges from alienated high notes, frenetically vibrating shards of sound and malevolent streams of white noise which speak of chaotic disintegration. Despite the fact that certain moments are clotted by intense pressure, the mathematical precision of the movements means that they don’t cast a shadow on matters of a sublunary nature. Instead, this is a universe of calm indifference, unmarked by memory or a clear sense of time. The first album strikes a markedly different poise, though one which is nevertheless staid and aseptic. Individual compositions resurrect a post-techno formula, but in its overly strict adherence to the model, it endows them with a certain aping quality. This approach opens up a sort of ironical distance in the heart of the works, just enough for a bit of play and interaction to begin again. On “Koto,” the electricity from the brisk pointillism of the electronics introduce a certain physicality, but is then camouflaged by a monotone drone. Similarly, numerous other tracks direct the rarefied minutiae of the high frequency tones into a relation of structural tension against the relentless flux of the rhythmic movements. The sudden appearance and disappearance of gaps in these works thereby permits one to pass from a somnambular absence in the simple decoding of the tightly sealed segments, while the airier compositions call for reception and a certain pleasure in their subsequent interpretation. (MS)

**********************************************

geiger  03.2007

Mange kedelige ting er i tidens løb blevet lavet i avantgardens navn, men som Brian Eno har pointeret, så kan man sagtens glæde sig over, at der er nogle, der laver de helt ekstreme og abstrakte lydeksperiementer, også selvom man ikke nødvendigvis selv orker at høre dem. Der er stadig tale om en slags musikalsk grundforskning, hvis resultater siden kan vise sig brugbare i helt andre og langt mere givende sammenhænge. At sige, at der er tale om ”grundforskning” er samtidig det absolut pæneste, man kan sige om Gintas Ks 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound, selvom forskningen samtidig må siges at være så banal, at det er svært at forestille sig, at den nogensinde ville kunne bruges til noget som helst. For en halvtreds år siden eller mere, hvor simple elektroniske tonemanipulationer stadig var en relativt ny ting, ja, der kunne det måske have været brugbart, men den dag i dag er det ærlig talt svært at se, hvem der har brug for – endsige kunne finde på at høre – en hel time med en 2 kHz-tone, som mere eller mindre systematisk køres gennem en række digitale modulationer, med en ny hvert minut.

Det er måske ikke teoretisk umuligt, at der kunne komme noget godt ud af denne tilgang, man kan trods alt komme ret langt omkring rent lydmæssigt ved modulation af rene toner. Imidlertid går Gintas K meget puritansk til sagen, og mere end halvdelen af værket lyder som et prøvebillede hørt med forskellige mængder af ørevoks i ørene. Dette kombineres så med passager, hvor der er lidt mere ”gang” i den, hvilket stort set vil sige forskellige former for simpel puls i varierende hastigheder, og momentvise udbrud af støj. Ud af den time det hele varer, er der måske alt i alt en fire-fem minutter, hvor det tangerer noget let stemningsfuldt. Resten er endnu mere dræbende kedeligt, end man havde troet muligt ud fra det teoretiske udgangspunkt.

Så er der langt mere at komme efter på Lengvai, den første halvdel af den dobbelt-cd, som 60 x one minute udgør anden halvdel af. Også her er der tale om abstrakt atonal ”lydkunst”, blot med den markante forskel, at numrene har fået lov til at udvikle sig som lange, flydende og varierede forløb i stedet for at være underlagt en benhård teoretisk spændetrøje. Gintas K viser sig her som en fin repræsentant for hybrid-stilen mellem minimalistisk glitch og atmosfærisk støj, beslægtet med navne som Pan Sonic og Pixel, og fyldt med skærende blip-lyde, mørkt rugende loops og hakkende digitalfejl-grooves. Intet af dette er videre originalt, og Lengvai er samlet set også lige lidt længere end det har godt af, men den musikalske kvalitet er ikke desto mindre ganske høj, og det bliver aldrig decideret kedeligt eller overflødigt – højst en smule anonymt i perioder. For tilhængere af stilen skulle der således nok være noget at komme efter, hvis de ellers kan bide i sig også at skulle betale for 60 x one minute i samme ombæring.

Jannik Juhl Christensen

***********************************************

02.2007 Phosphor

Gintas K: Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2KHz sound 2CD
The latest output by the mysterious Gintas K can be divided in two parts. The first CD offers digital post-techno, as if Raster-Noton meets Esplendor Geometrico or Sonar. Deep hypnotizing betas go along with high-pitched peeps and rhythmic noise fragments. But always keeping a mathematical abstractness and systematic, precise

built-up.
The second CD features 600 tracks, each one minute long. All sonic material is created from pure sound at the frequency of 2kHz. It's like a test CD for your speakers, in this case more for your brain, because those sinus waves are rather abstract. Nevertheless getting more complicated later one. Interesting, but very conceptual.

*********************************************

01.2007 Big Load

Das neue Doppelalbum des aus Litauen stammenden Sinuswellensurfers Gintas Kraptavicius beschränkt sich auf ein übersichtlich gehaltenes Sortiment an Ausgangsmaterial und liefert zwei gegensätzliche Entwürfe im kompromisslosen Umgang mit diesem . "Lengvai" ist dabei das am Reißbrett gefertigte Rhythmusmonster, das aus ultrapräzise strukturierten Kleinstbestandteilen eines reduzierten Clicks'n'Cuts-Sprachschatzes mittels hypnotischer Grooves

und vorsichtiger Dramaturgie einen beeindruckend komplexen Post-Techno herausfräst. Dabei folgen die fünf Stücke dem Prinzip von kontinuierlich verlaufender Verdichtung - im Extremfall bis zum weißen Rauschen hin -, im Zuge derer noch einige mehr oder wenige schräge Melodielinien aus den überladen knisternden Elektrostatik-Texturen lugen. Im Gegensatz dazu wird auf der zweiten, recht treffend betitelten CD kein Spannungsaufbau in diesem Sinne betrieben. Alle Stücke sind klangfarbliche Variationen eines 2kHz-Sinustones von exakt einer Minute Dauer, von denen sechzig Stück in Form einer Dröhn-, Pfeif-, Puls-, Noise-Collage vorüber geführt werden. So begrüßenswert es prinzipiell ist, der Idee eine so konsequente Umsetzung zukommen zu lassen, so wenig ersprießlich ist letztendlich das Ergebnis. Der praktische Vorteil dieses Doppelpack soll dabei jedoch nicht verschwiegen werden: mit "Lengvai" als erlesenem Partygeber, gesellt sich der böse Zwillingsbruder nötigenfalls als zuverlässiger Rausschmeißer

 zu einem so gesehen schlüssigen Ganze

***********************************

Gintas K's Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound

reviewed by The Wire    09/06

On this double CD containing two separate but related works, sound artist Gintas Kraptavicius organises dry moments into neat sets. Lengvai is a sequence of four tight compositions that allow complexity to emerge from small things but in a precise order. Working with a simple rangle of clicks, sinewaves, silences and repeated effects, Kraptavicius shows a remarkable facility for arranging the largest number of changes over the shortest periods of time. The accompanying work, composed entirely of a single 2kHz tone changing its time once every 60 seconds for an hour, follows a similar behavioural line. Even when hidden by the dirtiest hues, the time retains a luxurious gleam. You can only imagine how tidy this guy's bathroom looks.

*************************************

12.2006 Ox

Vom gleichen Label, aber von einem ganz anderen Kaliber ist die Doppel-CD "Lengvai/ 60 x One Minute Audio Colors Of 2kHz Sound" (cronicaelectronica.org/A-Musik) von GINTAS K. "Lengvai" bedeutet soviel wie "einfach, leicht oder unbeschwert" und es hört sich auch so an, obwohl unheimlich viel Arbeit und Innovation in diesen Sounds steckt. Wie ein besessener Schatzsucher frisst sich GINTAS K durch die aktuellen elektronischen Spielarten und nagt sie bis auf das minimalste, noch überlebensfähige Rhythmusskelett ab. Konsequent selektiert und reduziert, werden aus ein, zwei reinen Tönen Rhythmen und ans extremen Dynamiksprüngen Basslinien, die dann in ihrem ausgewogenen, filigranen und perfekt aufeinander abgestimmten Zusammenspiel einen meditativen und unglaublich hypnotischen Sog erzeugen. Noch einen Schritt weiter in Richtung radikaler Reduzierung geht GINTAS K dann auf der zweiten CD. Alle Klänge wurden auf der Basis eines 2kHz-Tones produziert und die Klangfarbe, Modulation und so weiter werden konsequent jede Minute ausgewechselt. Für Menschen mit Tinnitus sicher nur schwer zu ertragen, wird eine weitere, höhere Stufe der Meditation erreicht. Ein kompletter Klangkosmos wird durch Suggestion individuell im Gehirn des Hörers erzeugt, sofern er bereit ist, sich auf einen solchen Trip einzulassen.

******************************************

11.2006 Wreck This Mess

Avec Gintas K nous sommes à la croisée des chemins, entre expérimentation sonore et technologique. La notion de "musique" étant finalement rendue aussi abstraite que les sons générés avec son ordi : bleeps, clicks & cuts, interférences, bruits blancs, glitch, infra-bass, effet de masse, etc. Une véritable autopsie de la musique électronique. Et pourtant, avec ces matériaux disparates et pas forcément agréables à l'oreille, il parvient à élaborer des rythmiques elekto-groovy, rugueuses et synthétiques. Entre Roger Rotor, pour le côté mécanique et techno-indus, et Ryoji Ikea pour son approche clinique et "microscopique". Cette démarche étant "palpable" sur le deuxième CD, 60 x One Minute Audio Colors Of 2kHz Sound, qui propose à nos oreille déjà bien fatiguée pas moins de 60 courtes séquences (une minute) en forme de variations sur des hautes fréquences (2KHz, à la limite de l'audible), des bruissements numériques et autres pulsations ultra-toniques…
Laurent Diouf

******************************************

Lengvai / 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of 2kHz Sound

10.2006 Etherreal

On découvrait Gintas K en juin dernier lors d'une soirée aux Instants Chavirés autour de la scène musicale balte. Lors de cette soirée globalement d'une très bonne tenue, le Lithuanien nous avait alors présenté un set honnête mais dont on regrettait le systématisme : introduction façon minimal techno, puis éléments de plus en plus denses, apparitions de textures pour finir de manière plus abstraite et bruitiste.
Sorti quelques mois avant ce concert, Lengvai est logiquement assez proche de ce concert. Il s'agit d'un double album présentant deux facettes du travail du Lithuanien. D'une part cette électro minimale revisitée, et sur le deuxième disque un travail purement conceptuel de recherche sonore.
Lengvai est en fait le premier disque, qui se découpe en cinq pièces d'une durée de 4 à 27 minutes. Avec ses 4 minutes le morceau titre qui ouvre l'album fait figure d'introduction dans le sens où c'est le plus court mais aussi celui qui permet de rentrer dans l'univers de Gintas K. Ultra minimal, sorte d'ambient-click avec quelques nappes de laptop, sa fonction est uniquement d'éveiller les sens et de préparer l'auditeur aux prochaines pièces. On rentre véritablement dans l'album avec Ilgiau Ilgiau : les clicks sont plus francs et construisent une rythmique à la Frank Bretschneider. Minimale et efficace, ponctuée de sifflement stridents et de bruits blancs, en extrapolant un peu on pourrait comparer ça à un croisement entre Bretschneider et Pan Sonic, ou plus globalement à COH, avant que de délicieuses notes limpides n'apportent une certaine douceur à l'ensemble. On est un peu surpris de trouver ce genre de production chez Cronica, généralement plus difficile d'accès, mais on est aussi content de trouver ce type de morceau sur un album globalement assez austère.
Alors qu'on avance doucement dans l'album, le son s'affirme, les bruits sont plus secs, plus fermes, les jets de bruit blancs fusent de toutes parts sur Kulgrinda, les nappes chargées de la part mélodique sont saturées, et après un break aquatique le son devient lourd, et aux influences industrielles. Avec ses 27 minutes Early Set est forcément construit différemment. Introduction ambient minimale avec basses rebondies et rythmique faite de gouttes d'eau. les éléments de densifient, et le tempo s'accélère sur une première partie fort prenante. La suite joue sur l'abstraction : arrêt de la rythmique, superposition de notes limpides, sifflements de laptop, grésillements jusqu'à l'obtention d'un calme relatif, ponctué d'infrabasses et de gazouillis suraigus. La dernière partie et conclusion de l'album révèle un nouveau changement de ton, sorte d'ambient hypnotique à la Vladislav Delay marquée de textures grésillantes, et souffles bruitistes. Une magnifique et étonnante conclusion d'un disque intéressant mais qui souffre d'un manque d'organisation de ses idées.
On sera assez bref sur le deuxième CD, purement conceptuel. Le titre expose le principe : 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of 2kHz Sound. Il s'agit donc pendant une heure de 60 manipulations sonores sur un son qui est une fréquence pure de 2kHz. Gintas K lui applique divers effets déformant le son, créant des syncopes, chacun donnant une couleur différente à ce son qui parait tour à tour plus grave ou plus aigu. Il s'agit là uniquement de recherche sonore, dont la rigueur lui confère le statut de document : toutes les minutes un nouvel effet apparait alors que le tout aurait pu s'enchaîner en douceur au profit d'une unique pièce sonore.
Considéré dans sa globalité, Lengvai et 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of 2kHz Sound forment une curiosité. Deux CD complètement différents, album un peu à part au sein de la discographie du label portugais, on ne doute cependant pas de la sincérité du travail de Gintas K qui devrait séduire les fans de COH, Bretschneider et Pan Sonic.
Fabrice Allard

********************************************

10.2006 Freemusic

DvojCD Lengvai / 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of 2kHz Sound je takřka čistokrevný "hard listening". Jinými slovy se připravte na to, že Kraptavičiusova sonická minimal vyšinutost na hranici ultrazvuku made in Lithuania dá vašim uším pořádně zabrat.
Po dvou albech vydaných německým labelem Retina Scan se zvukových experimentů Gintase Kraptavičiuse tentokrát ujímá malé portugalské vydavatelství Crónica. (Za zmínku stojí i fakt, že jedna deska tohoto Litevce produkujícího mikrosonické výlety za obzor vyšla dokonce u slovenského labelu Black Orchid.) Gintas K sice první kotouč svého dvojalba nazval Lengvai (což v překladu znamená "lehko, snadno"), z čehož by jeden odtušil, že se po roztočení disku v přehrávači dočká příjemného a odpočinkového "easy listeningu", ale ono je to s pěti tracky, které dávají dohromady více jak hodinovou stopáž, přesně naopak. Vysokofrekvenční minimalismus, jenž Gintas K jen velmi zlehka (že by právě tady byl skrytý význam onoho zatra-slovíčka Lengvai?) modifikuje a obohacuje dalšími prvky, není žádný balzám pro hlukem všedních dní unavená sluchová ústrojí.
V jednu chvíli jsou zvuky použité na Lengvai až podezřele podobné těm, jež vyluzovala stará analogová rádia, když jste na nich manuálním otáčením ladícího knoflíku v pásmu AM, potažmo FM hledali rozhlasové stanice. Krátce nato zase křupání a neustále přerušované syčení přímo vybízí k černým myšlenkám o správném fungování vašich reproduktorů (všichni známe to nepříjemné lupnutí, které se ozve v momentu odpojení beden od proudu, aniž by se před tím regulérně vypnuly, hm?), načež se vzápětí ujišťujete, že ne, to vám nehvízdá k zbláznění v obou uších najednou, to jen Gintas Kraptavičius experimentuje s takřka nesnesitelným zvukem o kmitočtu 2 kHz.
Při obzvlášť hlasitém poslechu Lengvai bych se ani příliš nedivil, kdyby u citlivějších osob došlo k "únavě materiálu", jímž myslím v tomto případě bubínky. (I když mě nenapadá jediný důvod, proč by si někdo chtěl užívat zrovna tuhle obskurnost opravdu hodně nahlas.) Gintas K jde ve své vizi digitálního "pure soundu" skutečně až na zvukovou dřeň, ale pořád je to ještě slabý odvar toho, co na posluchače čeká na disku druhém, s podtitulem 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of 2kHz Sound.
Jestli u Lengvai váhám, nakolik mám onu pětici "skladeb" brát vážně, zda-li má smysl pokoušet se ji pochopit a najít její skryté krásy, pak u šedesáti minutových tracků o frekvenci 2 kHz mám jasno. Zde není co chápat, brát vážně, nedej bože hledat nějakou skrytou krásu v tom sonickém experimentu šíleného doktora Gintase, který snad nemůže vydržet v kuse doposlouchat do konce ani opravdový hudební sadomasochista. Ostatně proč taky, pokud je během prvních pěti bolestivých vteřin prakticky každého tracku jasné, jak bude (když ne zcela, tak velmi podobně) po zbylých pětapadesát pokračovat... A nutno podotknout, že vyhlídky to většinou nejsou nikterak radostné či příjemné. Varovná nálepka "explicit content", která by na druhém disku rozhodně plnila svou funkci, se mi zdá být jako naprosto nedostačující a navíc ne zcela přesně vystihující podstatu věci. Možná předpona ultra- by to spravila.
Jarda Petřík

***********************************************

10.2006 Terz

Harter Stoff - oder easy listening for the hard of hearing? CD 1 untersucht post-technotische Fre- und Sequenzen, sehr abstract und kristallin und leider relativ baßlos, daher leicht spaßlos. CD 2 ist nur was für Buffs: 60 x gibt es eine Minute lang Klangfarben eines 2kHz Tons. Wer sich da nicht beim Hörtest wähnt oder gar Tinnitus vermutet, ist wohl schon etwas fortgeschritten.

**********************************************

GINTAS K – lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound  

(CD, Cronica)

 Gintas K presents both the most exciting and the most tedious example of what the label calls “experimental digital post techno” on this double release. But it is also sort of like the victory of the organic and naturally flowing musical structure over the completely structural and structurally constructed approach towards music. But, let’s get things straight beforehand and say first things first.

  “Lengvai”, CD one in this double back, consists of five richly structured and multilayered pieces of evolving sounds that build, grow and rise from various subtle sounds into impressive walls of sounds, building up a beat and a groove together with an exciting transition of noises, however small they might be at the beginning, into big parts of accomplished electronic composition. Gintas K keeps the balance between the minimal monotony and the flourishing growth of sounds perfectly while he also keeps an eye on the development of the overall track. Within these rather long tracks (except for the title intro track) you suddenly find yourself groving to beats so tiny and reduced that they are almost inaudible. A stroke of genius far above the multitudes of superficial electronic acts within the cologne school of minimal techno and thereby probably the best electronic whatever release up to now.

  From the strictly noise turned to percussion complexity of “Külgrinda”, where sharply cut white noise, digital clicks and other ticks form a post electronic rhythm group constantly shifting and changing beat patterns, adding complexity and syncopation, to the long winding bleeps and peeps turning into harmony of “Koto” or “Early Set”, Gintas K shows one of the most audacious yet most harmonic approaches to sound experiments within this genre. When the electric guitar sounds in “Külgrinda” add the opposing layer to the more and more frenzied percussions it is clear that the aim is a fusion of old and new approaches, forfeiting various styles and ways for blandness and conceptually going straight for the main pathway – even if the result is richly masked and adorned. Especially when that track turns into a burning thunderstorm of percussive noise after about a quarter of an hour before dissolving into nothing quite quickly. It is sharp, witty and keen on one side and natural, organic and harmonic at the other side, both at the same time, with a sharp does of eclecticism to round things up.

  The other CD in this package is a completely different thing, though. It is exactly what the title says: 60 times 60 seconds of static electronica, changing after exactly sixty seconds into the next groove, layer, beat or whatever it will be. I never had much of anything for those legendary loop records, where every single line on a vinyl record was a single loop, and things like these. The single pieces don’t get their time to evolve, they stand next to each other like commodities on a supermarket shelf, with no life or development of their own. The transition from one to the next is arbitrary and sharp. Maybe some people like that. With a fitting dose of masochism, it is imaginable. On the other hand, lots of people like lots of things and even more things are imaginable. Anyway, in my book this kind of arbitrary strictness doesn’t count for anything, even if it is theoretically appealing and consequently executed.

  Fortunately, “Lengvai” is over sixty minutes of great electronic experiments that sounds nothing like experiments and completely able to stand on its own. It bridges a wide area of electronic noise and groove without ever straying to far from its core concept, so that it has compositional precision and overflowing natural abundance at the same time. That may sound like opposites, but every good piece of art has its paradoxes and inherent discrepancies.   07/2006 monochrom.at/cracked/

*******************************************

GINTAS K – lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound Crónica 024~2006

09.2006 touchingextremes

I'm certainly not attracted by the large part of contemporary glitch-and-skip electronica, but this double CD by Gintas Kraptavicius is surely a good antidote against the "light-hearted laptop" syndrome that is affecting the world today. Will anyone ever prevent all these nondescript twiddlers from releasing neat-sounding "bell-and-whistle" tiny songs slightly disturbed by electrostatics to give them that oh-so-experimental aroma? Luckily, Gintas K is not one of these entities. "Lengvai" contains five pretty long pieces of "techno vs industrial" with perfectly clean, but also horribly dirty crunches to spare (a few sections sound like a cybernetic version of Muslimgauze's late production); ear-tickling frequencies and harsh stabs of hissing noise alternate with nerve-massaging combinations of distorted/flanged waves. The title of the second disc is self-explanatory: starting from a single 2kHz tone we're pierced, intrigued, distracted and often amused by the bleeping hypnosis and test-like pulse of this digital ultra-minimalism. Near-inaudibility deprivations and ice-cold headaches are all contained in a simple concept that work better than honey-dripping, third rate Fennesz-ism. With this stuff you could even punish, if so desired, your "thing-that-wouldn't-leave" kind of undesired home guests.

************************************************

GINTAS K – lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound        Crónica 024~2006

10.2006 Sands-zine

Gintas K è un agitatore elettronico/sperimentale della scena lituana, noise, glitch, digital sounds, esplorazioni del minimale, studi sulle vibrazioni acustiche, realizzazione di musiche per film, teatro ed installazioni; sono tutta farina del suo sacco.
È stato membro di una delle prime band lituane di elettronica/industriale (Modus), ha lavorato in radio alternative come la stazione Kapsai dove presentava un programma intitolato The Ways And Mistaken Pathways; insomma: uno di quelli che non si ferma mai!
Ora la label portoghese Crónica ci offre con questo doppio cd un esaustivo reportage all’interno dell’arte di Gintas K.
Il primo dei due cd (“Lengvai”) si muove lungo algide strutture minimali radicalmente post-techno, spettri frenetici di Pan Sonic ambientali e rancorose movenze Daniel Menche ad agitarsi sullo sfondo; in controluce traspare anche una grossa affinità con il Thomas Brinkmann inceppato di “Klick” (la strepitosa Kulgrinda tutta ritmo e guitar sound electro a disegnarne la melodia).
Bello veramente lo stile di Gintas!
Battiti frenetici al silicio ed interferenze ambientali più melodiche che stemperano l’atmosfera opprimente; mirabile esempio di digitale con anima!
Ci si muove comunque sempre lungo coordinate ostiche, ma le secche del genere vengono abilmente eluse grazie ad un approccio istintuale alla materia che sembra possedere le stigmate del (possibile) genio in divenire.
Le conclusive Koto ed Early Set sono tutte una serie di rigogliosi cascami elettronico/ambientali a bassa battuta che regalano ampi spazi meditativi senza scadere mai nell’offesa brutale gratuita.
Stupefacente!
Il registro muta radicalmente (sigh!) nel secondo cd (60 x One Minute…).
60 composizioni sui 2kHz della durata di un minuto ciascuna, statiche/microscopiche variazioni; sibilanti passaggi fisici che incollano i timpani ed alterano la struttura temporale.
Ikeda colto da ictus nel suo studio di registrazione?
Colonna sonora ideale per installazioni spaziali; meditativa autopsia sul suono.
Nessun facile ascolto da queste parti (a me ha causato un bel mal di testa!).
Preferenza scontata per Lengvai.
Comunque; da tenere d’occhio.

*********************************************

GINTAS K – lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound Crónica 024~2006

10.2006 D-Side

(...) le Lithuanien Gintas K porte en lui l'heritage de la post-techno minimale inaugurée par le label Raster Noton et ce format double en est un digne représentant. Tout en beats secs et saccadés, en glissements numériques, LLengvai est certes très bien fait en ne manque pas d'ampleur (les seize minutes de "Kulgrinda" par exemple), mais n'en apparaît pas mons daté, et surtout déjà entendu. Plus radical et dépouillé encore, le bien nommé 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of 2kHz sound présente exactement ce qu'il announce, à savoir soixante titres constitués d'une variété d'expérimentation autour d'une fréquence unique de 2kHz. Parfois étrangement lyrique et habitée, ailleurs terriblement bruitiste et presque tout le temps perçante et aiguë, la "musique" alors produite par Gintas K rend audible l'infinitement petit et c'est dans cet esprit d'analyse méticuleux, bien plus que dans les titres convenus de Lengvai qu'elle prend toute son ampleur. 
Jean François Micard

************************************************

GINTAS K – lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound        Crónica 024~2006

09.2006 Musiques & Cultures Digitales

Avec Gintas K nous sommes à la croisée des chemins, entre expérimentation sonore et technologique. La notion de "musique" étant finalement rendue aussi abstraite que les sons générés avec son ordi : bleeps, clicks & cuts, interférences, bruits blancs, glitch, infra-bass, effet de masse, etc. Une véritable autopsie de la musique électronique. Et pourtant, avec ces matériaux disparates et pas forcément agréables à l'oreille, il parvient à élaborer des rythmiques elekto-groovy, rugueuses et synthétiques. Entre Roger Rotor, pour le côté mécanique et techno-indus, et Ryoji Ikea pour son approche clinique et "microscopique". Cette démarche étant "palpable" sur le deuxième CD, 60 x One Minute Audio Colors Of 2kHz Sound, qui propose à nos oreille déjà bien fatiguée pas moins de 60 courtes séquences (une minute) en forme de variations sur des hautes fréquences (2KHz, à la limite de l'audible), des bruissements numériques et autres pulsations ultra-toniques...

*******************************************

GINTAS K – lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound        Crónica 024~2006

10.2006 Orkus

Vorsicht, Verletzungsgefahr. Was Acts wie Sutcliffe Jügend oder Masonna mit ihren Noise-Orgien längst nicht mehr schaffen, gelingt Gintas Kraptavicius spielend und ohne jeglichen Gewaltgetus. Es geht um die körperlich schmerzhafte Erfahrbarkeit von Tönen. Ob dies tatsächlich beabsichtigt ist, sei dahingestellt, aber derart unangenehmne Frequenzen wie auf Lengvai have ich seit langer Zeit nicht mehr gehört. Ein streng durcharrangiertes Werk aus Sinuswellen und White Noise, nicht nur im weitesten Sinne tanzbar, sondern ohne Wenn und Aber auf ganz eingene Art und Weise groovend. Aber eben auch in einem Frequeszbereich angesiedelt, der jedem, dessen Ohren hier nicht schmerzen, einen Besuch beim HNO-Arzt nahelegt. Das zweite Album dieses Doppelpacks enthält, wie der Titel schon sagt, 60 einminütige Tracks, bei denen Kraptoavicius ausschließlich mit unterschiedlich modulierten 2kHz-Tönen arbeitet. Liest sich sehr arty, klingt aber dennoch streckenweise ziemlich unangenehm.
Sascha Bertoncin

**********************************************

GINTAS K – lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound        Crónica 024~2006

09.2006 Neural.it

Dalla Lituania via Crónica Electronica (Portogallo) arriva un doppio cd deflagrante nelle articolazioni soniche di raffinate sequenze sperimentali, astratte e minimal. Incursione nei territori post-techno operata da Gintas Kraptavicius, aka Gintas K, coerente e sistematica nelle strutture non immuni da influenze anche noise-industrial. In 'Lengvai', diviso a sua volta in altre cinque incisioni, le ricche scale armoniche c'inondano con le loro dinamiche in vibrazioni altamente fluttuanti e dall'attitudine sintetica. Inviluppi d'onde, effetti, click e 'gliccerie', oscillanti nell'elaborazione che confluisce talvolta in densi momenti ritmici. '60 x One Minute Audio Colours·' registrato appunto alla frequenza di 2kHz, insiste in maniera certo ancor maggiormente sperimentale in variazioni millimetriche che si susseguono incalzanti ma eteree. Microsuoni assoluti, sostanza acustica per estreme, radicali, esperienze auditive.
Aurelio Cianciotta

*************************************************

GINTAS K – lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound        Crónica 024~2006

08.2006 chaindlk.com

This time for none can say Crònica hasn't been followed a sort of ideal unexspresive thread for its last releases and with an interesting result. Also Ginta K can be filed in that same grey area where you could also meet Vitor Joaquim I mean somewhere abstract melodies e microstructures. Considerably different from his label mate Ginta K is more focussed on minimal electronics bastardised with microwave sounds all mixed in a really soft texturr. Lengvai (the first cd) features five sketches of rhythmical but yet minimal electronic music with a definite post echno feel. Kaptavicious taste for proportion has the undoubtfully quality of duelling to save everything from getting boring without falling in the compistional trap of hyperstructures. This cd is far from being immediate, infact I think the more you listen to it the more you tune your ears to his hidden qualities but at last isn't that the real essence of minimal electronic music (Yoshihiro Hanno for exemple). This self described as containing "Colourful Hypnotizing beats" and that's true but going to the second cd it all changes. "60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound" is developed around a 2kHz frequency that keeps changing minutes after minute, it's a creative study/work based on a minimal but yet interesting idea that many would describe as microsound. The result is quite good for both of the cd and the second one is undoubtfully interesting but I still prefer the "Lengvai" one.         Andrea Ferraris

********************************************

Gintas K Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound

2006  Crónica  

bodyspace.net  19/08/2006

Não surpreende assim tanto que o apurado faro especializado da Crónica indique muito espontaneamente caminhos diversos até viveiros de talento a que poucos antecipariam a riqueza. Não se trata de sacar um “coelho da cartola” para esbugalhar os olhos ao público expectante (esse que a Crónica continua a consolidar interna e externamente), mas, em vez disso, preencher os requisitos editorais mais favoráveis a que um trabalho de relevo a nível nacional possa pular a fronteira e ser recebido por adeptos de electrónica cuja pesquisa territorial não alcançaria um país como a Lituânia. A bem da sinceridade, devo confessar que Gintas K. (o “k” responde por Kraptavičius) será a primeira descoberta pessoal sequestrada ao reino digital que pode ocultar a Lituânia. Ainda que o nome e proveniência possam provocar alguma estranheza, Gintas K. já conta com um sólido currículo interno, reputação na área do industrial enquanto membro dos Modus e cunho manifestado em colaborações várias durante mais de uma década. Com a habitual convicção, a Crónica decidiu-se pelo formato mega ao tratar de unir no seu vigésimo quarto lançamento dois trabalhos distintos – com a duração de uma hora cada um – que traduzem compreensivamente duas das facetas que preserva o homem que veio do Báltico.
Incidir a lupa sobre Lengvai a partir da perspectiva do país que lhe deu origem fará crer que estamos perante um colosso elaborado por aquecimento laboratorial de texturas e resíduos frios. Ou num sentido mais directo, sensorialmente confrontados por uma triunfante assembleia de mecânicas pós-techno que, por meio de contextualização sensorialmente estimulante de elementos, produzem pequenos desafios lúdicos cuja eficácia imediata é tão invulgar encontrar na Crónica como em discos de tão complexo e preciso labor (e este sucede a vários anos de aperfeiçoamento). Não será levianamente que se atribui o estatuto de dançável a Lengvai (que em português significa facilmente) – depois de dar rédea solta ao que parece ser uma guitarra eléctrica, “Külgrinda” ainda comete o arrojo de roubar alguns pontos a Sutekh e Akufen (Gintas será mais endiabrado que ambos) com o metralhar combinado de “glitch” e graves densos por todo o perímetro que alcança a audição. Além disso, é tal a habilidade para a gradual sobreposição de camadas que movimentos a rondar os 15 minutos nunca chegam a entediar. As quantidades avulsas de perfurantes sons micro-tonais – intercaladas pela breve aparição de uma voz totalmente deformada por cirurgia digital - surgidas bem perto do ponto final de “Early Set” e, coincidentemente, de Lengvai, servem como prenúncio ao que reserva a face 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of 2kHz Sound. Contudo, nada a partir daqui anularia as garantias dadas por Lengvai. Tanto mais quando o auto-suficiente colosso chega certamente para assinalar o seu autor como um nome a ter em altíssima conta no panorama do techno adaptado a absorção cerebral.
Antes de alinhar quaisquer apontamentos com vista à sua descrição, importa frisar que 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of 2kHz Sound muito dificilmente perfaz o gosto musical de alguém, pelo simples facto de por aqui não existir música, mas tão somente um aglomerado de 60 exercícios – de um minuto cada – à espera que alguém os explore como objecto de estudo ou lhes atribua o enquadramento certo numa instalação sonora.. Projectado como uma sucessão de “coloridos auditivos” limitados à frequência reduzida do título, chega a ser insuportavelmente doloroso percorrer alguns dos minutos mais ensurdecedores aqui reunidos. Provavelmente estará aqui um trabalho de revelo para os académicos ou arquivistas de som. Para quem aqui escreve não aparenta utilidade de maior.

 Miguel Arsénio migarsenio@yahoo.com 

**********************************************

ZAN HOFFMAN & GINTAS K - GENTLE KNIFING

(MP3 by Mixthemixthemix )

Zan Hoffman is a legendary activist in the world of cassettes (rumored to have over 900 releases!), who uses the internte these days to work on new collaborations. Here he teams up with perhaps the best known representative of the Lithuanian laptop scene, Gintas K. I must admit that despite the 900+ recordings by Hoffman I don't have a clear picture of what he does, but he seems responsible here for the works electronic sides of skipping CDs and field recordings

to which Gintas K adds his 'usual' blend of sine waves and stomping rhythms. Over the course of thirty minutes things built up in a pretty strong and heavy way, heading for a full crash towards the end. Quite a nice piece this.(FdW)
VITAL WEEKLY #534

*********************************************
 

Gintas K, dvigubas CD: „Lengvai“ ir „60 x One Minute Colours of 2kHz Sound“

    Gintas K (Gintas Kraptavičius) – vienas žinomiausių lietuviškosios eksperimentinės elektronikos ir garso meno scenos menininkų – apėjęs dar vieną ratą nomadiškais tarptautiniais internetinio ir fizinio bendradarbiavimo kanalais, 2006-ųjų pavasarį  žinomos Portugalijos leidybinės firmos „Cronica Electronica“ pagalba eksportavo dar vieną savo leidinį – dvigubą kompaktinę plokštelę „Lengvai“ ir „60 x One Minute Colours of 2kHz Sound“. Leidinys, atspindintis jau beveik dešimt metų plėtojamos Ginto K stilistikos raidą – stilistikos, tirštos kaleidoskopiškomis post-techno ritmikomis (nuo hipnotinių iki beveik kviečiančių šokti), organizuojamomis griežta ir preciziška logika paremtomis kompozicijomis, įsisiūbuojančios švytuoklės principu balansuojančios tarp grynojo elektroninio minimalizmo ir perkrautų garso masių ar sintetinio triukšmo konvejerių. Juos papildo melodingi pasažai, įgaunantys neįprastas variacijas ir įkrauti nuosekliai augančios įtaigos. Neretai grynieji dažniai ir oda juntamas oro judinimas Ginto K muzikoje susieja aukštąjį  garso amplitudžių pilotažą ir verčia klausytojo psichosensorinę sistemą rezonuojančių akustinių nuotykių instrumentu.

   Niekad nesinori pernelyg pasitikėti vardais ir „patikrintos kokybės sertifikatais“, tačiau šis dvigubas CD vertas ypatingo dėmesio ir todėl, kad Portugalijos leidybinė firma „Cronica Electronica“, besispecializuojanti skaitmeninės eksperimentinės elektronikos srityje, yra gerai žinoma tarptautiniuose šiuolaikinių garsynų kataloguose. Tarp jos leidinių yra eksperimentinei scenai gerai pažįstamų garso menininkų Franso de Waardo, Paulo Raposo, Marco Behrenso, Pita, Pure, Stephano Mathieu ir kitų darbai.            

    Leidinio struktūra neįprasta ir įdomi dviejų konceptualiai ir muzikaliai skirtingų albumų deriniu. Pirmoji kompaktinė plokštelė „Lengvai“ yra gana tipiška Ginto K stilistikai. Palyginus su ankstesniais jo darbais, „Lengvai“ iš tiesų skamba lengviau. Nuo pat to paties pavadinimo („Lengvai“) minimalistinės įžangos, skaidri ir šviesi atmosfera apgaubia visas penkias kompaktinės plokštelės kompozicijas. Virtuoziški ir neskubūs ritmo vėriniai atsiskleidžia ilgesniuose kūriniuose „Ilgiau ilgiau“ ir „Kūlgrinda“. Nors „Kūlgrindoje“ (lietuviškas žodis, reiškiantis saugų taką pelkės apsuptyje; nors itin mėgstamas lietuviškojo neofolkloro fanų, šiuo atveju neturi su juo jokių tiesioginių ryšių) garso karuselė įgauna ritmiškų suktinių pagreitį, versdama kolonėles siūbuoti nuo sodrios melodingo garso masės, besisukančios aplink elektrinės gitaros tembru hipnotizuojančius akordus (ištrauka). „Koto“ vėl sugrąžina minimalistinį ir kiek asketinį sintetinių ritmų skambesį (ištrauka), o ilga kompozicija „Early Set“ nuosekliai perbėga per visą dinamikos skalę – nuo lėtai įsibėgėjančių grynųjų dažnių ritmikos (ištrauka) iki dar vienos masyvios – šįkart jau galutinės – kulminacijos. Vienas iš kompozicijos paradoksų – po itin preciziškai išvystytų pasažų, vedančių kulminacijos link, seka netikėti posūkiai, laužantys įprastus kompozicijos stereotipus, kas kartais kiek trikdo, tačiau palaipsniui atveria netikėtus ir intriguojančius motyvų persipynimus.

    Antroji kompaktinė plokštelė „60 x One Minute Colours of 2kHz Sound“ yra konceptualiai vientisas Ginto K albumas, susidedantis iš šešiasdešimties vienos minutės trukmės kompozicijų. Visų jų pagrindas – grynas dviejų kilohercų dažnis, įgaunantis statiškas transformacijas kiekviename iš šešiasdešimties garso takelių arba, metaforiškai tariant, šešiasdešimties vienos minutės 2kHz dažnio spalvų. Tai nėra lengvo klausymo albumas, nors jame gausu įvairovės – nuo mikroskopiškų tyliųjų pasažų iki fiziškai itin paveikių dažnių. Klausomas namuose, jis gali tapti savotiška erdvine garso instaliacija, kuriai tiktų japoniškosios grynųjų dažnių virtuozės Sachiko M prierašas: „Naudok savo galvą kaip instrumentą“. Jis tinka netgi tiesiogine prasme – keičiant kūno padėtį erdvėje, keičiasi ir skambesys. Šioje kompaktinėje plokštelėje skambanti garsinė medžiaga buvo panaudota garso ir švesos instaliacijoje festivalyje „Jauna muzika 2004“. Kita vertus, greta erdviškų ir fizinių klausymosi įspūdžių, „60 x One Minute Colours of 2kHz Sound“ suteikia ir įdomią statišku garso organizavimu perteikiamą laiko patirtį. Šešiasdešimties vieno dažnio atspalvių spektras siūlo intensyvias, atidaus klausymo teikiamas akustines patirtis.    

Keturi garso takeliai iš antrosios šio dvigubo CD plokštelės: 12, 24, 33, 37.

audio_z 2006 06 23 @  Balsas  txt in  english

***********************************************

Directamente da cena electrónica experimental da Lituânia para a  editora portuguesa Crónica Electrónica, Gintas K. (K. de  Krapatvicius) expõe os ambientes rarefeitos e o minimalismo da sua  maquinaria. Gintas trabalha sobretudo com micro-sons em baixa  frequência. Experimenta combinações dinâmicas e cromáticas e  interessa-se pelo impacto das frequências sonoras no ouvinte, através  dum acervo sonoro que desafia as concepções mais comuns e arreigadas  no meio da arte sonora electrónica.
No duplo CD recém-editado pela Crónica, Gintas K. reuniu duas peças,  a primeira (“Lengvai”) sob a forma de um conjunto de painéis  oscilantes, com alguns vestígios rítmicos referenciáveis à parentela 
do techno minimal, assim dito por comodidade de expressão, resíduos  glitch, vibrações e ruídos perfurantes que animam uma paisagem em que  os acidentes são a excepção, dada a quase linearidade do fluxo em que 
a mesma se processa.Mais plano ainda é o conteúdo do disco 2, sugestivamente intitulado  “60 x one minute audio colors of 2 kHz sound”, em que a coloratura  sonora desenvolvida na citada frequência altera a configuração do 
ciclo em cada ciclo de 60 segundos, a duração de cada “fotograma” de  uma instalação sonora planante e sem ritmo evidente (um ouvido muito  atento captará intervalos microscópicos entre sons), que se transmuda 
como se de um enorme e infindável loop se tratasse. Experiências  bálticas (uma e outra) fortemente apelativas compõem um disco de que  a Crónica de pode orgulhar de ter publicado. Grafismo de Pedro Tudela.
         jazzearredores review

***********************************************

Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound" 2CD by Cronica**

Gintas K is perhaps the best known of this lot, or perhaps to the readers of Vital Weekly. He has released a whole bunch of CDRs before, and I believe this is first real CD, a double right away. It displays both sides of his work. 'Lengvai', which translates as 'easily', shows his more up-tempo, almost techno like work. In each of the tracks he takes a lot of time to build up the pieces, but when he is there, things really rock the house. I was reminded of PWOG's 'Record Of Breaks', as Gintas K has a similar long built up per track, and the tracks have that similar groovy sound, that isn't exactly techno, but are rhythmical as hell. The second CD is made out of a 2Khz frequency, which is transformed in all sorts of ways, and cut into sixty different pieces, which make a good flow. This material, deals with the idea of changing colors, and therefore could be seen as ambient music, although I think the high pierced sounds are a bit far off for the ambient posse. But those are in favor of the works of Ikeda and Alva Noto, and especially the non rhythmical side of it, may surely know how to appreciate this, even when Gintas K occasionally cuts the material up and brings out small microscopic rhythms.

FdW  04.2006 VitalWeekly

*******************************************

GINTAS K
‘Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2KHz sound’

Gintas Kraptavicius is een bezig mannetje uit Litouwen. Al sinds 1994 is hij bezig met het onderzoeken van de grenzen van muziek. Gintas K. zoekt naar de grens tussen geluid en muziek. Op zijn laatste dubbelalbum 'Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2 KHz sound' probeert hij de luisteraar bewust te maken van de dunne grens tussen puur geluid en muziek, jammer genoeg met wisselend succes.
Lengvai is Litouws voor 'makkelijk' maar het is niet 'Lengvai' dat de makkelijkst gemaakte schijf is, maar wel '60 x one minute'. In zestig tracks van telkens één minuut laat de geluidskunstenaar een geluidsgolf van (hoe raad je het) 2KHz horen. Gintas K. verandert elke minuut wel iets de geluidsgolf, maar die aanpassing is uiterst miniem. Verwacht geen ritmes, variaties, melodie, kortom iets wat muziek tot muziek maakt. Hier krijgen we gewoon een toon die zestig minuten lang door je boxen komt. Een must have voor iedereen die de scherpte van zijn boxen eens wil testen?
'Lengvai' zelf is dan wel een goede poging om een definitie te geven van de grens tussen geluid en muziek. In elk van de vijf tracks speelt Gintas K. subtiel met geluiden en ritmes. Hij bouwt de vijf nummers op 'Lengvai' steeds op dezelfde manier op. Kraptavicius orchestreert een constant spel van ritme en tegenritme wat deze 'Lengvai' een ongelooflijk boeiende luisterplaat maakt. Ook de keuze van de glitches is uiterst experimenteel. Op 'Kulgrinda' bouwt Kraptavicius bijvoorbeeld een heel ritme met geluiden die verdacht veel lijken op de geluiden die onze tv maakt als het op sneeuwscherm staat. 'Koto' is zo een donker nummer vol digitaal geknars en lome zware beats dat het zonder meer evenwaardig is aan het donkerdere werk van elektronica-wizard Plastikman. Ook afsluiter 'Early Set' doet terugdenken aan de geluidsexperimenten van Plastikman. Een hoge toon, waarschijnlijk één van 2KHz, vormt de achtergrond waartegen een a-ritmisch basritme zich onder verschuilt. Subtiel vervangt Gintas K. de hoge toon door een druppelgeluid dat een mooie symbiose begint met de stilaan regelmatig geworden baslijn. Na zeven minuten 'Early Set' sluipt de hoge klank weer geheimzinnig de track binnen. Dan is het beste van de track (en de cd) wel voorbij. Gintas K. laat 'Early Set' nog 20 minuten langer doorgaan met allerlei willekeurige geluiden van zeer (zeer!) hoog tot onhoorbaar laag en natuurlijk alles ertussen. Pas rond de 22ste minuut vallen alle stukjes weer in elkaar en ontstaat er weer iets wat zich 'mooie muziek' kan laten noemen.
Gintas K. is een geluidkunstenaar en daarom moeten deze twee cd's hoogstwaarschijnlijk anders benaderd worden. '60 x one minute' is muzikaal niets waard, maar zal ongetwijfeld als kunstproject wel wereldschokkend zijn. 'Lengvai' is muzikaal dan weer wel een ontegensprekelijk hoogtepunt. Gintas K. experimenteert op verrassende, subtiele en gedurfde wijze met de grenzen van muziek en geluid. En alleen daarom is deze 'Lengvai' een aanrader. Alleen jammer dat er nog een schijfje in het hoesje zit.

Rik Van Lembergen

************************************************

CD / Crónica / Matéria Prima (Crónica 024-2006)

Gintas K Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound

Crónica 024~2006

 De sa Lituanie natale, Gintas K adresse au reste du monde sa vision d’une musique électronique expérimentale, qui oscille entre une efficacité narquoise et un parti pris plus difficile à entendre. Meilleur exemple en date, le double album produit cette année par Cronica Electronica.

D’un côté, Lengvai, manifeste post-techno léger à force de minimalisme revendiqué. Avec peu, Gintas K construit de mini structures rythmiques faites pour accueillir les inserts de toutes natures : bourdon, larsens, souffles et craquements. Quelque soit les matériaux utilisés, le musicien adopte une posture ludique qui surprend souvent l’auditeur, l’amuse parfois, pour le convaincre enfin de l’évidente originalité de ses dynamiques malléables.

De l’autre côté, 60 X One Minute Audio Colours of 2 KHz Sound, sur lequel 60 échantillons d’une minute respectent la fréquence annoncée. Se contentant d’abord d’un larsen au ton changeant au gré des plages, l’homme lui destine ensuite quelques effets : oscillations, découpes, adduction de crachins ou d’inserts acoustiques divers. L’aigu, malgré les obstacles, court toujours, faisant naître rapidement pour divulguer ensuite crescendo une lassitude insurmontable.

Reconnaître qu’ici le divertissement, réussi, aura eu raison de la recherche, vaine et sourcilleuse. Pour apprécier comme il se doit les rythmes fabriqués à partir de presque rien de Lengvai, plutôt que de chercher, sinon un sens, du moins une qualité, aux 60 minutes suivantes.

Grisli    04.2006 infratunes.com

********************************************

GINTAS K - TITLED# (CDR by Retinascan)

VITAL WEEKLY  445

It has been quiet with the music of Gintas K, or maybe that's just my perception. Gintas from Lithuania hoovers around in what can be called micro-scopic beat music, also known as 'Click & Cuts' (if that term wasn't hijacked by some label which name eludes me right now). For Retinascan, one of the better CDR labels in the world, thanks to their excellent presentation, he has recorded a whole new album, which starts out in a strong Goem/Pan Sonic minimal fashion. Strong, uptempo, minimal beat material which made my toes tap. But halfway through - or maybe even a bit further - with "Maru" the discs sort of collapses. "Maru" is a very long, unfocussed piece of disjointed sounds and the three after that aren't that great either. So up until '+++', which is the seventeenth track anyway, it was a strong disc. I guess you can always switch it off after that.(FdW)

**************************************************

Gintas K Titled# 

sutemos.net 

Vienas aktyviausių ir darbščiausių Lietuvos experimentinės elektroninės muzikos kompozitorius Gintas K neseniai išleido naują albumą, pavadintą Titled#. Tai ketvirtasis autoriaus pilnas darbas, jis realizuotas Vokietijos modernios muzikos leidykloje Retinascan. Titled# sudaro 21 pakankamai skirtingos stilistikos kūrinys - post-industrial muzika iš mikro bangų, triukšmų, traškesių ir minimalistinių elektroninių garsų.
Ketvirtasis konceptualaus menininko darbas gali būti apibūdintas kaip įdomiausias Ginto K diskografijos skirsnis. Titled# išlaiko projektui būdingą kreivų ultra garsų ir dažnių perkrovų bagažą, tačiau albumas savotiškai priimtinesnis paprastam klausytojui savo kokybiška garso erdve bei dinamiškumu. Ypač pirmoji albumo dalis, pasižyminti minimalistiniais ritmais ir subtiliai sukomponuotais psy garsais, kuriančiais mistiškus patyrimus. Čia paliekama daug "baltos" garso erdvės, meditatyvios dalys įgauna sąsajų su Tolimųjų Rytų estetika. Kurdamas kai kurias dalis autorius bendradarbiavo su kitu įdomiu menininku Marufura Fufunjiru.
Malonu, kad kūrėjas neleidžia sau užsižaisti su semplais, kas yra dažnas ir nuobodus reiškinys eksperimentinėje muzikoje. Titled# stilistiškai yra gan įvairialypis - mikro-garsologas naudoja įvairias skaitmenines ir akustines vibracijas bei technikas - nuo sinosoidžių ir ambient iki glitch ir cut-up - taip balansuojant tarp šilto ir šalto, nostalgijos ir tuštumos. Albumo pabaiga ekstremalesnė ir primena mums įprastą Ginto K veidą - triukšmingi, pratisi garso lūžiai ir firminiai spengiantys audiopsichikos testai, primenantys TV programos pabaigos lentelę.

www.dangus.net

******************************************************

VITAL WEEKLY#398
GINTAS K - WITHOUT OUT (MP3 by [Surfaces])
The second available release from Surface is a thirty-one minute piece by Gintas K, whose work was reviewed before. His piece was recorded at the Garso Zona festival. It starts out with what seems to be sound of skipping
vinyl, but then is guarded by majestic sweeps of oscillating noises which built up intensely. Everything comes to a full stop half way through and Gintas K moves into more ambient areas, but effectively distorts the deep ambient sound by cranking the volume up. It must have been quite an intense concert that evening. (FdW)

***********************************************

Lithuanian Gintas Kraptavicius' titled#9dub seems one of those pure sinewave experiences that for all its apparent abstraction hits like a 100%alcohol Vodka-chaser.
Keith Gallasch   realtime  magazine  
***********************************************

Space Junkies Magazine - Vol #2, Issue #9
GINTAS K. - Without OUT [Live]
By: Wednesday Elektra
GINTAS K is a Lithuanian soundscape artist that has breached my aural senses once again with his droning and pulsating sound waves of minimalist music in
this live performance CD. This is by far one of my favorite GINTAS K releases, his last album was a bit too soft and monotonous for my liking, I guess you could say it was a bit "fluffy," but this new release has more power, more persistence, more intensity, more drudging beats and lots of synaptic energy. It wouldn't be a worthy GINTAS K release without the flip-flop of tempos, rhythms and soundwaves and "Without" definitely has it all. Hopefully GINTAS K will continue to release more superb atmospheric
soundwave music in the future, especially if they're of this quality of dynamics and beautiful drones. It was a much enjoyed live album release!
Rating: 10/10

***************************************

From  STNT magazine  review
http://www.stnt.org/UneChroniqueDeDisque.php3?i=516
v/a NO REWIND  october of ( Mrw44 Records 2003 http://www.mrw44.co.uk/)
"Puis GINTAS K. donne dans 20 minutes de musique électronique froide et hypnotique : un beat qui se dédouble, une nappe venteuse au fin fond du
morceau qui se développe, un cri strident, un lituanien avide de sensation forte, qui n'hésite pas à bidouiller dans les hautes fréquences, bref, un souffle au coeur qui ère à la liaison entre l'ambient et la musique expérimentale bien violente ! pas des plus joyeux le type !"
***********************************************

v/a  phonography 5 www.phonography.org

then finally gintas k whose “invite round for a cup of tea” was my first encounter with his work (which is more “electronica” as far as I’m concerned) and is the cdr’s longest piece clocking for some 13 minutes but frankly I believe that works perfect for a closing track. because on one hand the whole comp is made in such a way that works as a sonic trip so cleverly gintas’s track is put as final, cos after a hard day’s recording then some rest is needed. besides the recording of the teapot’s while making tea is something great.

http://anet.gr/absurd

************************************

Space Junkies Magazine - Anniversary Issue - Vol 1, Issue 12

Gintas K- Mp3 reviews from album "////"

By: Wednesday Elektra

Gintas K, is back with a new album, uniquely labeled "////," from these three tracks "Kurybos," "Alcohol Free" and "1 kHz 48#3 Pure" it sounds as if Gintas K has encapsulated the minimalist soundwave experience into one architectural album.

With a steady heart beat sound thumping rhythmically in the background of "Kurybos," the sound waves tumble in and out of audible ranges in a layered foreground. Don't let the first 9 minutes of this track fool you though, near the end a rumbling begins, growing louder and louder with each passing minute, the music becomes more violent and distinguished. In ways, "Kurybos" is like a heart beat, it starts off soft with moderately slow beats, then grows fast like an adrenaline rush as it moves in and out of dynamic peaks and valleys of beats until the end when the rush becomes so great that it just fizzels out.

"Alcohol Free," starts off sounding like the buzy signal on your telephone, a steady pulse that occassional changes its speed and repetitive pattern to create a steady flow of sound. The signals fade out and change direction, becoming faster and louder with a more "echo" like sound attached to it. It has a more "buzzing" feel that becomes more progressive as the song lingers on. Near the end of the track, where it always seems to get more interesting and dynamic, a new indescribably noise appears. Its almost like a talking machine that's been placed underwater and is slowly malfunctioning.

"1 kHz 48#3 Pure," this track will more then likely set off a chain reaction of dog howls and barks in your neighborhood, with its piercing and shrill high pitched whistles mixed with keyboard/pipe organ like tones. Its one of the shortest Gintas K, tracks I've come across, and probably for good reason! Its definitely harsh on the ears at loud volumes (almost reminiscent of Flatline Construct's works). It does have a nice catchy rhythm to it though. These were a nice set of layered tracks that were well enjoyed. Hopefully, more Gintas K tracks are in the works!

********************************************

GINTAS K - ////  

http://www.retinascan.de
Texts like these normally start with something like "gintas k, a promising artist from Lithuania" and by doing so mean to contextualise a certain area of the world with a certain style of sound. The usual subtext for Eastern
Europe would then be "made by compensating the lack of hyperupfront techno gadgets through a surplus of creativity and avantgarde tradition". Gintas never felt in a race with the western electronic standard, he never
suffered from what he calls "a complex of the former eastern block". However, his music makes a very different approach than most of the electronic new school buddies today, which are aestheticalizing their sound
to death, turning their music into designed monochrome sonic tapestries for backgrounding exhibitions. On his already second release, Gintas K is again
resisting this kind of tasty reception. (First one appears on Black Orchid records by the way...) Gone through an industrial socialisation, he up to today sticked to the physicality of sound. No abstraction is carrying the
content. The sonic experience of his tracks is denying every way of functionalization. His sines and noises never try to represent something else than what they are, and these tones are massive, manifestating their presence on themselves. Move around when you listen to the music. Get in contact. Become sound. But beware: This is not nice, this is ...real.
************************************************

GINTAS K. VS. DDN :: The Pulse and Click of Your Cyberheart is Melody to My Analogue to Digital Converter,CD (Ltd. to 77) :: Burning Emptiness    . . . . ½

:: This is called a "random collection" of a collaboration by Lithuanian Gintas K Pasienieciu and Arles' DDN that encompasses a variety of whip short tracks - samples sort of. From the start, though, its more than a simple
sampler - its more of a belligerent set of pirated codes, channels of sound that take you to another level of consciousness. Playing on pitch and rhythm
with a sense of staggered timing. This is where the phrase "ghost in the machine" came from, even after the fact, it makes perfect sense. All of the sources used here are live, all the sine waves, plugins, synths, theremin
and other wired things. In moments where galloping quips meet sweet synth organs the two meet in harmonic curiosity. The percussion is high hat to blurring when apparent in these electronic haikus, each under two minutes in length. They tease a bit as each transition is gently different with a variety of gurgling to alarm sounds. With something akin to an open mic to a
buzz saw, a volcanic growth build in the background and morphs the engine that this one flew in on until a cavern of technical difficulty is overcome by the shimmy of radio interference. What have I stumbled upon here?
 M I C R O V I E W :: Volume 16 By TJ Norris igloomag.com

************************************************

GINTAS K & DDN - THE PULSE AND CLICK OF YOUR CYBERHEART IS MELODY TO
MY ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL CONVERTER (CDR by Burning Emptiness)

Vital Weekly 425
From the ever active Burning Emptiness, no longer dark underground
techno, but maybe even a 'pop-label', more and more releases deal
with collaborations between artists. Here Gintas K, from Lithuania
and DDN, the men behind the labels, swapped sounds for over a year,
which were 'remade and destroyed, sampled and resampled, cut and
copypasted, mixed and edited'. Gintas K on his laptop full of
software and DDN on guitar, theremin, synths and computer. The result
is an odd mixture of semi-cosmic music, with arpeggio's from synths
but at the same time some high-end software sound synthesis. Could
sound like a drag, but it's not, and that has mainly to do with the
fact that all tracks are shorter than two minutes and there is a
great variety in approaches throughout this CDR. There is a funny
cut-up style of analogue and digital means, which makes this into a
very short but nevertheless long enough release. (FdW)
**************************************************

GINTAS K - taip taip
http://www.zeromoon.com  GINTAS K, the core member of the first Lithuanian industrial group MODUS, is a unique and intricate entity of human evelopment. Don't let the simplicity of his sound compositions fool you.
You won't find any melodic influence or progressive percussion here, let alone anything that 99.9% of the population would consider remotely musical.
But then again, that's not what he's about. With pieces such as "Taip Taip" and "Kai Nuvaziuosin", GINTAS K draws from the John Cage and Iannis Xenakis school of thought, manipulating everyday sounds and stretching the definition of what sound is, and how people relate to sound. His minimalistic surreal aural landscapes feast on timbre development and manipulation of standard dynamic ranges. Although, not something this critic can listen to on a daily basis, it's a very interesting glimpse into the
world of sound art. [D. Panfili]   http://www.spacejunkies.net

***********************************

Gintas K "Taip Taip" [zero019-r]
Zeromoon, 2004 Литовский музыкант Гинтас К охвачен идеей возможности воздействовать тем или иным образом на психику слушателя, его произведения - попытка работы с сознанием и рефлексами. Он использует генераторы синусоидальных волн, сложные ритмические структуры, скрежет и треск. Из этого почему-то получается нечто, что вполне можно назвать музыкой - такой себе майкро-нойз.

Двадцать минут протяжного воя и ювелирных скрипений, временами вполне себе ничего, но не более. И только на последних минутах случается нечто любопытное: громкость резко набирает обороты, звук распухает и становится невыносимо колюче громким. Как будто кроткий и застенчивый электронно-ограниченно-писклявый музон вдруг рвет на себе манишку и ревет во всю глотку "Довольно!". И не вдруг - снегом на голову, а вначале присматриваясь к окружающим звукам - можно ли здесь такую выходку устроить, поймут ли? Ехидно пролезая в сознание, входя в доверие, даже предлагая послушать почти тишину. Чтобы в свою очередь устроить как можно громче. Формат 3" CD-R

indie [review #4]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gintas K "Without out" [srfc002]  Surfaces, 2003

Получасовая запись живого выступления Гинтаса К на экспериментальном фестивале Garso Zona, проходившем в литовском Каунасе в 2003. Один тридцатиминутный трек, который бездушно и скучно начинается, но быстро становится изменчивым и разнообразным при неизменной общей заторможенности. Как парад - картинка сменяется, но медленно. Иногда интересно, особенно когда все начинает гудеть с чувством неотвратимости.

Знакомый прием с резким разбуханием громкости. Только непонятно: то ли это всего лишь прием, то ли использование "того самого" трека в программе, то ли вообще импульсивный само-ремикс. Собственно, не так уж и нужно это понимать. Формат: 192Kbps mp3

indie [review #4]

***************************************************

v/a extreme music from Russia ,CD Susan Lawly

GINTAS K. «Virtuoso sound sculptor» из Литвы по имени Gintas Kraptavicius представил 10-секундную композицию, составленную из реверберированного нойзового сэмпла и короткого писка. Коротко и ясно. На то оно и виртуозо.

darkindustry.darkside.ru

******************************************

gintas k - taip taip (zermoon)
i'm following gitas k's work with the years because he is in the acid fake recordings roster from its very own beginning, before he had some noticeable particular releases. and yes, his is one of fines lithuanian electronic artists. after that he putted much material on other labels around; and this
is his 3" release on zeromoon. sound can be described as recognizable zeromoon sound, similar to what violet and zeromoon works. gintas k work is also recognizable and he is always moving in his own, very good established
sound paths; of course varying in the sound from release to release as much as he could. high or low pitched sinewaves and static noise pads that vibrates around with glitchy or micronoise cracklings in them. last track which is longest (twelve minutes) shows his drone perspective. starting very calm with waving sound slowly grows into loud noisy drone flow, ending with loud harsh noise taking enormous dimensions. on moments ear piercing and static noisy, on moments very calm and melodic or even using amorphous
blurry bass or beat, gintas knows how to combine all that sounds into fine
beautiful and listenable fusion.

 fakezine

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

GINTAS K - TALP TALP (3"CDR by Zeromoon)

vital weekly 423

Gintas K is known for his organisation of Garso Zona festival (see last week's issue) but he is slowly getting around with his music. Here on a 3"CDR on the US Zeromoon label. It's a strange release. Five tracks in total, of which the first three don't last very long and the last one is over twelve minutes. In these first tracks it's hard to get an idea about his music. It's rhythmical, with some high end peeps, some deep bass but they are over before you know it. 'Talp Talp' is a bit longer but at the same time also a bit more minimal. Here the Pan Sonic influence is the strongest. Digital, bit-rot drones are the central theme of 'Kai Nuvaziuosin', which unfortunally do not sound original. Like I said, this is probably not the best introduction to the work of Gintas K.(FDW)

******************************************************

GINTAS K -Taip Taip
http://www.zeromoon.com

GINTAS K, the core member of the first Lithuanian industrial group MODUS, is a unique and intricate entity of human development. Don't let the simplicity of his sound compositions fool you. You won't find any melodic influence or progressive percussion here, let alone anything that 99.9% of the population would consider remotely musical. But then again, that's not what he's about. With pieces such as "Taip Taip" and "Kai Nuvaziuosin", GINTAS K draws from the John Cage and Iannis Xenakis school of thought, manipulating everyday sounds and stretching the definition of what sound is, and how people relate to sound. His minimalistic surreal aural landscapes feast on timbre development and manipulation of standard dynamic ranges. Although, not something this critic can listen to on a daily basis, it's a very interesting glimpse into the world of sound art. [D. Panfili]

http://www.spacejunkies.net

***************************************

Lithuanian electronicist Gintas K creates light rhythms with the familiar click/sine pallete, but allows them to evolve intro drones and dramatic shifts akin to Aube. Check out his MP3.com page for almost another half hour of his recordings.
Retinascan is a CD-R label hosting a number of electronic producers that I haven't heard of (Gintas K. as the exception). Each release includes at least a couple of tracks, sometimes the entire album.

www.kittyspit.net/

**********************************

GINTAS K - //// (CDR by Retinascan Records)

vital weekly 366

Only a few weeks ago, I reviewed a CDR by Gintas K from Lithuania.
This is a new release, this time on a German label. Like on his
previous release, Gintas explores the minimalist beat material, in
the best Pan Sonic fashion. Mostly quite lengthy, just like on the
previous one. A piece like 'Dc Pagal gk' lasts around twenty four
minutes and shifts back and forth with sounds and plug ins. Like I
said about the previous release, I think it would better if Gintas K
would limit himself a bit more and would be more critical as to what
a piece of music should do, rather then keep it running on end. His
work works better in shorter pieces, even when most of the pieces are
still over eight minutes long. 'Alcohol Free' with its Ikeda/Nicolai
influences is the best piece around.(FDW)

**********************************************
 

Vital Weekly 361
 GINTAS K - O)O(O (CDR by Black Orchid Productions)
From Gintas K a CDR was released in Slovakia - hey, why not? – and 'O)O(O' is his first solo release. Gintas is actively involved in the Lithuanian music scene since 1994 in various bands, under which is the industrial band Modus. Other then his piece on 'Garso Zona' I have not heard anything else by Gintas (or his group work), but this goes into different areas. The opening piece 'Not Quite But Right' is some twenty seven minutes, built around a pulse in the best Pan Sonic
tradition, but with an elegant sine-wave drone hum in the background. The track changes into more low end bass before the rhythm is turned up again. It sounds like a live recording. Maybe it would have been an idea to cut this track into various parts. The other tracks on this lenghty release are much shorter (except for the twenty two minute 'Long One' - a good title is always easy to find), and those proof to be more coherent by themselves. Here too, the strong Pan Sonic influence is apparent, with it's pulsating pieces and hum drones in the back. As said, I prefer the shorter pieces over the longer ones (plus it would make it altogether in a more coherent release), but it's a promising debut. (FdW)

**********************************

Artist: Gintas K
Review: Misc. Song Reviews
By: Wednesday Elektra
Date: October 24th, 2002

Gintas K's music reminds me of going to see a live show and catching a tune-up and sound check session. Imagine if you will, the sounds of crackling speakers that last a good two minutes in length then imagine what it would sound like if you had a handful of instrumentalists tuning their instruments all at the same time. If you can imagine all of that, then you have a ball park of an idea of what some of Gintas K's tracks sound like (especially "Paksejimas"). If you like minimalist atmospheric sounds, with occasional samples and lots of repetitive noises then this is definitely the artist for you!! Personally, I'd like Gintas K's music much more if it had a more in-depth involved less hollow sound (though there's definitely nothing wrong with the tunes the way they are now!) and more harsh digi sounds that started to come out in the song "Tratatata." I can't wait to see what Gintas K will do on upcoming releases, it should be interesting nonetheless. http://www.mp3.com/gintask

*******************************

v/a  EMIT TWO  www.room40.org  CD

Svarbiausia juk yra Gintas Kraptavičius - Gintas K. Apmaudu, kad jis, kaip ir daugelis kitų lietuvos ekperimentinės scenos atlikėjų, daugybę metų buvo nežinomas Lietuvoje. Net ir dabar, svetur Gintas K ryškesnis nei pas mus, tačiau po truputį viskas juda pozityvia linija pirmyn. Keli relyzai Surfaces virtualiame leible, vis garsiau skambantys lietuvos eksperimentikos festivaliai, vis daugiau žmonių priversti išgirsti, kad Lietuvos eksperimentinės muzikos scena skamba taip pat gerai, kaip ir svetiam, ir lenkia beveik visų kitų muzikinių stilių lietuviškus projektus. Taigi, sutikti Australijos leiblo kompiliacijoje Gintą K nėra didelis netikėtumas, tai tiesiog sėkmingo bei ilgo ejimo pirmyn rezultatai. 35 metų atlikėjas daugiau nei 10 metų kontempliuoja ir ieško neatrastų muzikinių kampų garso. Jo muziką lengviausia apibrėžti žodžiu „eksperimentika“, tačiau nebūtinai tai tūri būti avangardas ar elektroninis menas. Jis turi be galo platų muzikinį žvilgsnį. Mikse skambanti jo kompozicija DDDDD - aiški nuoroda į eksperimentinę stratosferą. Lietus perteikiamas elektronių leidų traškesiu. Subtiliai perteiktas traukinio judėjimo garsas virsta bytų linija. Konceptuali ir garsi tyla, skęstanti mūsų galvoje, skamba pritrenkiančiai gyvai. Dar ir dar kartą priverčia pasidžiaugti Lietuvos eksperimentikos talentų darbų kokybiškumu. Vienas įdomiausių Emit Two žingsnių. Tačiau, savaime suprantama, — tai nėra muzika kiekvienam, kaip ir bet kuriam garsui reikia tinkamo adresato.   

Sutemos.net

***********************************************

GINTAS K - WITHOUT OUT [LIVE]

gintas k's music can be described as microsound or noise, but his purpose is not to create within the frames of these styles. his primary interest is studying the physical effects of sound on the human psyche. in result, gintas k utilizes sine waves, expressive synthesized tones, noizes and complex rhythmical structures. surprisingly, the result is not mechanistic - rather, it is quite organic and flowing. in addition, gintas k is (and has been) involved in numerous conceptual art actions that are dedicated to experimental sound and its interaction with the human body/consciousness.

the composition that has been selected for the label's second release is a 31-minute-long live piece that was recorded for the GARSO ZONA experimental sound festival organized in 2003 in kaunas, lithuania. although the sound is certainly challenging, it is well worth the effort of trying to dissolve in it. as in many compositions by gintas k, the sound is very diverse, ranging from barely audible frequencies to intense and emotional noised sweeps, all supported by intricate glitch textures. when listened to on proper equipment, the changes in sound almost seem to produce changes in the listening space as well. this release is recommended to listeners who enjoy complex sound structures and non-conventional arrangement.

surfaces/info_srfc002

*************************************

Review in Noisegate Magazine 10  www.noisegate.org.uk

Gintas K .Format CDR.Exploring digital sine waves, microwaves and acoustic vibration. There is a glitch aesthetic to the work, mixed with hard sine tone electronics, pulsing, resonant strains, hums intermodulate. Plips, on, off, space invaders, disjointed, bleeping and throbs. There are seventeen tracks on the CD ranging from clean pure, austere, to rhythmical, melodic, and ethnic.

**********************************************

from "A Perfect Match [2004] - Trondheim Matchmaking"

"Lithuanian Gintas K's performance was obviously on the same sonic wavelength as the candle on my table - its flame performed a mesmerising dance in response to the pulses and modulations of sound and air (and no, I wasn't on drugs at the time)."

Reviewer: Helen Varley Jamieson http://www.furtherfield.org/

*********************************************

It's amazing how much energy, beauty, and imagination can emerge from the barest hint of melodic progression and the most minimal of rhythms, built with tiny, shiny sine waves and glistening glitches. And that's exactly what makes the work of Lithuanian electronic artist Gintas K so compelling.

editor's review

http://music.download.com/gintask

**********************************************

Singing Bridges: Vibrations/Variations

Sonicartstar, 2005, 001 , www.singingbridges.net

Gintas K's Under the Bridge (track 3) is highly looped and rhythmic, but concentrates on the smaller sounds found in the recordings–airy hisses, gurgles and bubbles creating a welcome contrast to the epic-ness of some of the other tracks.

Gail Priest