auralaggravation.com/2024/07/19/gintas-k-electroacoustic-space-drumming-outsiders
Gintas K – Electroacoustic Space Drumming / Outsider’s
Posted: 19 July 2024 in Albums, Reviews
Tags: album reviews, Avant-garde, Electroacoustic Space Drumming,
electronica, Experimental, Gintas K, Outsider’s
May 2024 / July 2024
Christopher Nosnibor
Gintas K is possibly one of the most-featured artists here at Aural
Aggravation, and I’ve written about his work elsewhere, prior to
establishing this site. I’ve often commented – sometimes flippantly,
sometimes in sheer awe – at his rate of output, but it seems appropriate to
make the observation once again, since a little while ago I found myself
simply swamped and a shade overwhelmed by the volume of submissions I was
receiving. Electroacoustic Space Drumming landed in my inbox and I failed to
so much as open it, let alone download it. Then, Outsider’s appeared,
reminding me I was behind on things, only to discover that a split tape
release with Jacob Audrey Taves had come out in between the two.
The first of the releases, Electroacoustic Space Drumming, comes courtesy of
London label Anticipating Nowhere Records, as a download and limited
cassette (in an edition of 20, more than half of which have gone already).
The titles are incomprehensible to me, but I very much doubt this will make
any difference to my appreciation of this jangling, bleeping glitchfest. The
six tracks do very much sound like a circuit meltdown, the digital
xylophonic cadences interrupted by sudden jolts or sound and stuttering
microbeats like an Action Man marching band trapped inside a jam jar
half-full of water. Creaks, groans, and splashes abound and contrive to
create a complex and layered work.
It’s difficult – if not impossible – to unpick everything that’s going on,
and consequently, you simply sit back and let it wash over you. But that
doesn’t mean it’s comfortable, or easy to do so.
And then there is Outsider’s, with its questionably-placed apostrophe in the
title. Outsider’s what, precisely? And with twenty-three tracks, released
digitally and as a colossal five disc CD work, it’s an absolute beast.
The five CDs make sense in a way which is less apparent on the digital
release, as there are essentially five segments or suites, with the tracks
belonging to each names with a suitable prefix: jazz, crunchy, noise,
drones, and piano stuff. Each contains between three and six pieces,
effectively an EP’s worth apiece.
In truth, the track titling isn’t especially helpful: the six tracks of the
first set, ‘jazz’, and entitled ‘jazz good’, ‘jazz also good, jazz
prolongation’, ‘jazz’, ‘jazz’, and ‘jazz.’ Spoiler alert: there’s nothing
especially jazzy about the ‘jazz’ cuts, but there’s electronic percussion
that cuts through foamy bubbling washes and a disarray of oddness that
sounds like machine gun fire, and glitches aside, it almost feels co-ordinated.
And no-one needs a jazz prolongation, although this decidedly unjazz cut, we
can forgive.
The four ‘crunchy’ cuts are riots of bleeps and squips, a riot of sound
that’s no more vigorous than on the first, ‘crunchy.geras greit.’ The two
pieces simply entitled ‘crunchy’ combine haunting, hovering tones, and
collapsing circuits and lurching synaptic stutters, like exposed wires
sparking as they swing, and things become increasingly scratchy, scrapy, a
frenzied buzz of fractured, fizzing, fucked electronics.
The three ‘noise’ pieces build in their noisiness, but at heart aren’t all
that dissimilar from the ‘crunchy’ pieces, although perhaps quieter and less
overwhelming, and overwhelming it is. Then again, the ‘drone’ pieces aren’t
especially droney, and more represent explosions of frothing discord, and
the final suite, ‘piano stuff’ is a cacophonous conglomeration of bubbling
noise down a drain.
These recordings remind me of my early days of reviewing, back in 2018 or so
as my introduction to truly avant-garde, experimental electronic works, and
Gintas K – perhaps one of the first acts I discovered as an exponent of
dripping, bleeping, weppling, weirdness. All this time later. he’s still
proving to be a rare master of electronica. Come 2024, and Gintas K is still
right there at the forefront.
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www.chaindlk.com/reviews/12105
Gintas K: Mountains, runlets, caves & cascades
By Vito Camarretta(@) - Jul 11 2024
Gintas K’s latest release, "Mountains, runlets, caves & cascades", is an
audacious venture into the depths of digital soundscapes, recorded live in
one go, without any overdubs. This Lithuanian sound artist, known for his
Fluxus-inspired performances and granular synthesis, offers an album that is
as enigmatic as it is evocative, drawing from the macabre musings of H.P.
Lovecraft to craft an auditory journey through an eerie, otherworldly
terrain.
The album opens with "Mountains, runlets, caves & cascades #1", a piece that
immediately plunges the listener into an unsettling atmosphere. The use of a
computer and MIDI keyboard as the sole instruments creates a sterile yet
dynamic environment, where electronic pulses and dissonant tones seem to
reverberate from the dark recesses of an alien landscape. This track, like
the ones that follow, shows Gintas K’s skill in manipulating digital sound
to evoke a sense of place and narrative.
Track two, "Mountains, runlets, caves & cascades #2", continues the
exploration with a slightly more structured approach, introducing small,
almost melodic elements amidst the chaos and before the pounding final hits
of a sort of heavy clang. This is where Gintas K’s background in industrial
and electroacoustic music becomes apparent. There’s a method to the madness,
a meticulous layering of sounds that, while initially jarring, reveals a
complex, underlying rhythm upon closer inspection.
"Mountains, runlets, caves & cascades #3" and the lengthy "#4" push the
boundaries of this sonic riding, creating a space where time seems to
stretch and bend over cycles of continuously aggregated and disaggregated
granular sounds. The latter, at nearly 15 minutes, is a slow burn, building
tension through repetitive, droning motifs and gurgling electronic chirps
that give way to sudden bursts of streaming noise. It's like wandering
through a labyrinth where each turn reveals a new, unnerving sight.
The fifth track, "Mountains, runlets, caves & cascades #5", is perhaps the
most accessible, if such a term can be applied to Gintas K’s work. It flirts
with recognizability, offering glimpses of paroxysmal musicality before
dissolving back into abstraction. Here, the influence of his collaborations
with other sound artists and his experience in creating music for
installations and films shines through. There’s a cinematic quality to the
sound design that evokes vivid, albeit unsettling, imagery.
"Eastern bells", the final track, stands out with its use of bell-like tones
that add an almost ritualistic feel to the album's conclusion, being its
general mood the one that maybe better matches one of three sentence by
Lovercraft quoted by Gintas to give a sort of conceptual framework to this
record: "It was a godless sound; one of those low-keyed, insidious outrages
of Nature which are not meant to be. To call it a dull wail, a doom-dragged
whine, or a hopeless howl of chorused anguish and stricken flesh without
mind would be to miss its most quintessential loathsomeness and
soul-sickening overtones" (extracted from "The Case of Charles Dexter
Ward").
Comparatively, Gintas K’s work can be seen as a more visceral, raw
counterpart to the polished, algorithmic compositions of artists like
Autechre. Where Autechre’s music often feels like a meticulously coded
puzzle, Gintas K’s soundscapes are more akin to the chaotic, unpredictable
forces of nature. There’s a sense of immediacy and presence in "Mountains,
runlets, caves & cascades" that sets it apart from more studio-bound
electronic music.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
www.chaindlk.com/reviews/12102.
Gintas K & Michelle O'Rourke: Sorry Gold
By Vito Camarretta(@) - Jul 09 2024 More reviews by Vito Camarretta
cover
Artist: Gintas K & Michelle O'Rourke (@)
Title: Sorry Gold
Format: CD + Download
Label: Zoharum (zoharum.com)
(@)
Rated: * * * * *
"Sorry Gold" is an album that gleefully defies easy categorization, much
like a postmodern scientist gleefully defying the norms of empirical
research. Gintas K., in collaboration with Michelle O'Rourke, has created a
soundscape that feels like the auditory equivalent of speculative fiction—a
series of “what ifs” rendered in sonic form. Recorded live during the
creation of a performance piece at the Project Arts Center in Dublin, the
album is both a soundtrack and a standalone work, challenging listeners to
ponder the dance of biotechnology in a world increasingly defined by its
technological entanglements.
The album begins with "Sorry Gold #1", an introduction that serves as a
microcosm of the album's overarching theme. The track is a delicate
interplay of ambient textures and O'Rourke's ethereal voice, weaving
together in a way that feels both organic and synthetic. It's as if we are
listening to the first tentative steps of a new form of life, emerging from
the primordial ooze of industrial sounds and human emotion. There is a sense
of cautious optimism here, a belief that the future, though uncertain, holds
beauty and possibility.
As we progress to "Sorry Gold #2" and its subsequent iterations, the album
delves deeper into this speculative exploration. The tracks, much like
chapters in a scientific treatise, build upon each other, each one a
hypothesis tested through the medium of sound. "Sorry Gold #4" (where Gintas
flays the sound by a catchy distorted loop) and "Sorry Gold #3" (where the
dissonant peaks seems to get challenged by haunting vocals by Michelle) in
particular stand out for their intricate layering and dynamic shifts,
suggesting a world where biological and technological boundaries blur and
merge.
Gintas K.’s mastery of arrangement and sound design is evident throughout
the album. His ability to craft immersive auditory environments is
complemented by the precious O'Rourke’s vocal contributions, which range
from haunting whispers to powerful crescendos. There is a psychological
depth to their collaboration, a sense that they are probing the very nature
of human experience in an age of rapid technological change. The
improvisational nature of the recording process adds a layer of spontaneity,
making each track feel like a live experiment unfolding in real time.
In comparison to other experimental works, "Sorry Gold" can be seen as a
cousin to the avant-garde compositions of Laurie Anderson or even some
ambient explorations of Brian Eno. However, Gintas K. and O'Rourke bring a
distinct European sensibility to their work, one that is rooted in a rich
tradition of interdisciplinary art. The album’s production, supported by a
slew of Irish cultural institutions, underscores its significance as a piece
of contemporary art rather than merely a collection of songs.
The scientific inquiry embedded in the album’s DNA is perhaps most evident
in tracks like "Sorry Gold #4 #2" (the first of a series of
Frankenstein-like hybridization between previous single-numbered tracks!)
and "Sorry Gold #5". Here, the music takes on a more experimental edge,
incorporating elements of drone, noise, and glitch. These tracks challenge
the listener to engage with the music on a deeper level, to consider not
just what they are hearing, but why it affects them. It’s an intellectual
exercise as much as an auditory one, an invitation to think critically about
the relationship between sound, technology, and emotion.
"Sorry Gold" concludes with the surprisingly quiet "Sorry Gold #6", a track
that feels like a quiet reflection on all that has come before. It is both a
culmination and a coda, a reminder that the journey of exploration is never
truly over. The future, as the album suggests, is an ongoing experiment, a
dance that we are all a part of, whether we realize it or not. This album is
really a thoughtful and provocative exploration of the intersections between
technology, biology, and art. Gintas K. and Michelle O'Rourke have created a
work that is as much about the questions it raises as the answers it
provides. For those willing to engage with its complexities, "Sorry Gold"
offers a rich and rewarding listening experience, a journey into the heart
of speculative sound.
----------------------------------------------------
www.15min.lt/media-pasakojimai/top-30-negrozines-knygos-ziniu-praturtinimui-pramogai-ir-saves-suvokimui-2158
„Žaidimai, arba Lietuvos eksperimentinės muzikos fragmentai“
„Slinktys“
KAM: Besidomintiems Lietuvos underground'o istorija, eksperimentine muzika
Gintas K., elektroninės muzikos „Modus“ įkūrėjas, puikiai žinomas
eksperimentinės muzikos gerbėjams, ir šioje knygoje jis sudėjo ne tik savo
įspūdžius, kaip Lietuvoje vystėsi ši muzika, – tai ir jo paties augimo,
brendimo istorija. Tiesą sakant, nuo to viskas ir prasidėjo – pats
menininkas sako, kad atsiminimus parašė pandemijos laikotarpiu, ir juos
įkvėpė Jurgio Kunčino knyga „Baltųjų sūrių naktis“, kurioje šis aprašo savo
laikmečio Alytų. Gintas nusprendė aprašyti savo jaunų dienų Marijampolę,
tačiau vėliau rašymas taip įsisuko, kad peraugo ir į jo muzikinių projektų
refleksijas, taip pat apimant ir bendresnį Lietuvos kreivesnės elektroninės
muzikos vaizdą.
Tai įtraukiantis, netgi smagus skaitinys, ir bent jau man labiausiai ir
patiko pirmoji knygos dalis, kurioje autorius aprašo savo vaikystės,
jaunystės dienas Marijampolėje, sovietinę buitį ir mokslus, pirmąsias
pažintis su muzikiniu pasauliu, pirmuosius įkvėpimus. Tikiu, kad daugybė
žmonių, gyvenusiųjų tais laikais, nesunkiai atpažins tiek to laikmečio
artefaktus, tiek laisvalaikio leidimo būdus. Tai autentiškas pasakojimas, be
pretenzijos, tiesiog bandant perteikti tai, ką reiškė augti to laiko
aplinkoje.
Vėliau jau – pirmieji muzikiniai bandymai, prasidėję, kai jiems su bičuliu
buvo dvylika metų ir kai jie įsigijo savo pirmas gitaras. Rūsių kultūra,
vėliau jau – didesnės salės, Klaipėda ir Vilnius, besikečiančios įtakos ir
elektroninės muzikos atradimas (pats puikiai pamenu „Modus“ kasetę ir tai,
kad paliko įspūdį, jog panašiuos muzikos tuo metu Lietuvoje nelabai kas
grojo), festivaliai, o dar vėliau – jau ir kelionės į užsienį.
Autorius rašo supindamas muzikinės veiklos aprašymą su asmeninėmis
istorijomis, kartais nepagailėdamas ir griežtokų žodžių kai kuriems Lietuvos
muzikos scenos veikėjams, ir knygos kuo jau kuo, o sausumu negali apkaltinti.
Tai – ne tik to laiko muzikos scenos užfiksavimas, knyga gali būti įdomi net
ir tiems, kas gal Ginto K. muzikos ir negirdėjo, tačiau kuriems įdomus tas
aprašomasis laikotarpis.
The Sound Projector 03/06/2024
Ed Pinsent
The Golden Aerialist
The record Sorry Gold (ZOHARUM ZOHAR 279-2) is a small part of a much
larger visual project which was staged at the Project Arts Centre in
Dublin in 2019, to interpret and express the work of film-maker Emily
Aoibheann, an event which seems to have involved not just the showing of
a film but also stage design and dancers. What we hear on today’s record
though is the singing voice of Michelle O’Rourke and the electronic
music of Gintas K, and the label are already making claims for the
record to be perceived as a soundtrack and a stand-alone piece.
I never saw the original Dublin piece, but from online reviews I learn
that Emily Aoibheann is an aerialist, which I take to be a more artistic
/ performance version of the kind of entertainment we used to get from
trapeze artists at the circus. Sorry Gold was a dance piece for sure,
but the reviewer was impressed by the costumes and masses of coloured
fabric floating in the air, into which performers can mysteriously
disappear. Aoibheann is convinced that “aerial”, as she styles her
craft, is the “dance of industrial technology”, and her piece intends to
communicate certain truths about civilisation and nature. Faint traces –
very faint – of the original dancers can be seen printed on the digipak
of Sorry Gold. Interestingly, the music here has been in part derived
from the music of Monteverdi and Henry Purcell, and Michelle O’Rourke
does a tremendous job updating this classical repertoire, distilling it
to a spectral near-chilling perfection, her voice floating in the mix in
a manner that will find favour with fans of 4AD acts, like Cocteau Twins
or Dead Can Dance. Gorgeous skeletal melodies are rendered with grace
and delicacy by her crystal voice.
Gintas K is the Lithuanian electronic musician, whose solo works and
experiments with granular synthesis have become steadily more
challenging over the years, but his work here is just dandy. He seems to
have forsaken his interest in severe, alienating minimalism in favour of
textures, backdrops, patterns and moods which are all very suitable to
the task in hand – heck, at times he even deigns to play in the same key
as O’Rourke’s singing. I’m none the wiser about Aoibheann’s abstruse
ideas, nor can I see how this record says very much about civilisation
and nature, but I expect you need to have been at the event and seen her
making her graceful aerial passes on the stage. This record, on the
other hand, succeeds like a dose of French perfume inside a Dutch hat
from Prague. From 3rd January 2023.
www.thesoundprojector.com/.../the-golden-aerialist/
---------------------------------------------
„Žaidimai, arba Lietuvos
eksperimentinės muzikos fragmentai“
Gintas K, elektroninės muzikos „Modus“ įkūrėjas, turbūt žinomas
daugeliui eksperimentinės muzikos gerbėjų, o štai dabar turime ir jo
knygą. Apie ją plačiau parašysime portale 15min, o dabar tik galiu
pasakyti, kad įtraukiantis, netgi smagus skaitinys. Kuriame autorius
rašo ne tik apie savo muzikinę kūrybą, projektus, elektroninę Lietuvos
muzikos sceną, bet ir pasakoja apie tai, kaip keliavo link to. Būtent
vaikystės, jaunystės dalys mane labiausiai ir įtraukė, kur Gintas labai
autentiškai perteikia to laiko atmosferą, pirmuosius muzikinius bandymus,
įtakas, Lietuvą 90-aisiais – tai gyvas, įdomių istorijų persmelktas
pasakojimas. Žodžiu, augusieji tuo laiku nesunkiai ras su kuo
susitapatinti ir aptikti to laiko ženklus, ir tam net nebūtina būti
klausius atlikėjo muzikos. - Audrius Ožolas
https://www.15min.lt
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emilijaviso.substack.com/p/muzikos-fursetas-11
Gintas Kraptavičius „Žaidimai arba Lietuvos eksperimentinės muzikos
fragmentai“
Kad būtų bent šioks toks teminis perėjimas, pasakysiu, kad mano
mėgstamiausias marijampoliečių grupės MODUS kūrinys yra „Gašli ir
sielvartinga“. Albumas „Užsikrėtę mirtimi“ su šia daina pasirodė 1995 m.
Gintas K, „Modus“ įkūrėjas, dabar daug metų žinomas kaip eksperimentinės
elektroninės muzikos kompozitorius. Nors pradėjo nuo saksofono
specialybės ir nuo grubios industrinės muzikos. O dabar parašė
autobiografinę knygą.
Knyga nustebino! Skaičiau su malonumu ir net su smagumu. Patiko
nepretenzingas, lakoniškas, santūrus stilius su lengva ironija.
Įdomiausios buvo pirmos trys knygos dalys, skirtos vaikystei,
paauglystei ir jaunystei laukiniais 90-iniais. Ketvirtoje dalyje,
pasakojančioje apie 2000–2023 m., elektroninės eksperimentikos
sužydėjimą ir raidą Lietuvoje, man pasirodė per daug faktografijos (koncertai,
išvykos, pažintys, albumai), bet labiau ta sritim besidomintys, tikiu,
ras vertingos medžiagos.
Pirmosios dalys atpažįstamumu priminė Kmitos „Pietinia kronikas“ –
galėtų būti įgarsintos marijėmpolės akcentu, pridėtų šarmo. Aprašomas
laiptinės, rūsio, kiemo gyvenimas ir pirmieji kūrybiniai bandymai.
„Nėries poezija idealiai atitiko mūsų tuometines įsivaizduojamas,
norimas atspindėti nuotaikas – kapus, neviltį, mirtį.“
„Dažnai gerdavome „Nemuną“ – kažkokį „dratą“, taip vadinamą gėrimą, mat
jį ryjant buvo įspūdis tarsi kas grūstų vielą gerklėn.“
Įdomu, kad kone svarbiausią, lemtingą vaidmenį Ginto gyvenime atliko
tėvo nupirkta vokiška magnetola, buvusi ir radiju, ir kasečių grotuvu,
ir įrašymo priemone. Mokydamasis Vilniuje, Kelpšoje, 1987 m. Gintas ja
įrašė „Lituanikos“ festivalį. Anksti jo rankose atsirado ir videokamera,
užtat tikrai verta nuskenuoti knygos paraštėse sudėtus QR kodus – galima
tik pavydėti kruopščiai kauptų garso ir vaizdo įrašų, nuotraukų, iškarpų
archyvų…
Lietuvai atgavus Nepriklausomybę, Gintui teko paprekiauti Lenkijos
turguose (dantų pasta, muilu, spiritu). Laisvu laiku skaitė „pažangiąją
spaudą“ („Šiaurės Atėnus“ ir kt.). Knygoje daug įdomios medžiagos apie
tuometinius muzikinius barus, koncertus „Parnase“, bendravimą su Artūru
Barysu-Baru. Darius Klišys, su kuriuo buvo suburta „Modus“, iš JAV
parsivežė pažangios garso aparatūros. Tuometiniam kontekste „Modus“
minimalizmo, industrinio roko ir EBM stilių hibridas skambėjo labai
pažangiai ir nišiškai.
„Naktį Prienų kultūros centre laukdami rytinių autobusų praleidome su
muzikos žinovu, muzikologu Virginijum Mizaru. Išsiaiškinau, kad mūsų
nuomonės dėl geriausio „The Cure“ gabalo „A Forest“ sutapo. […] Taip ir
prašnekėjome visą naktį apžiūrinėdami saldžiai miegančius, galvas vienas
ant kito pečių padėjusius, gražius, dar vaikiškus „Funky“ veidelius.“
Amžių sandūroje Gintas K įsitraukė į garso meno judėjimą – viskas
prasidėjo nuo kaistančio virdulio įrašų. Išsiplėtė koncertinė geografija,
Lietuvoje taip pat vyko sunkiai suvokiamas kiekis garso menui ir
eksperimentinei muzikai skirtų festivalių. Gaila, Gintas knygoje
privengia dėstyti savo pažiūras ir įžvalgas (tik keliskart kerta
apvylusiems ar apgavusiems). Skaitant apie eksperimentinės muzikos sceną
norėjosi daugiau subjektyvių pamąstymų, jausmų, vertinimų. Kad ir tokių:
„Kiek teko apvažiuoti mokyklų, pagal privalomus muzikos klasės
modernizavimo reikalavimus gimnazijoms daugumoje mokyklų buvo supirkti
kompiuteriai ir midi klaviatūros […] Apsilankęs šiose ir kitose Lietuvos
mokyklose nesutikau nė vieno muzikos mokytojo, kuris žinotų, kaip jomis
naudotis.“
Gintas Kraptavičius. Maždaug taip kaip šios nuotraukos atrodo ir knygos
pasakojimas
Tokia nedidelė ta lietuviškų knygų apie muziką ir muzikantus lentynėlė,
tai džiugu, kad pasidėsiu į ją dar vieną.
Knygą redagavo Robertas Kundrotas, legendinio žurnalo „Tango“ įkūrėjas.
Išleido „Slinktys“, galima įsigyti internetu.
I can’t really type, or
hype, that Gintas K is back, when he’s not been away for five minutes.
But in the world of the indefatigable avant-garde improvisationalist,
being away for ten minutes is the equivalent of being away for a decade
by the standards of many acts.
But then, what does ‘being
away’ actually mean? And by what standard should this be judged?
Daniel Ek is of the
opinion that artists should be more productive if they want to get paid.
But what he really means is that artists should be more productive so
that he can get paid – more. The current model is centred around
maintaining the attention of an audience with the attention span of a
goldfish by pumping out new product every other week, and if you’ve got
no new songs, then it should be a behind the scenes recording videos or
somesuch, anything to maintain a constant level of contact, of output.
This is all about gouging money from fans, and nothing to do with art.
The point is, every artist
produces at a different rate. Sometimes it takes five, even ten years,
to assemble and release an album, due to multiple factors. Dayjobs, for
many. Families, life. Headspace: creativity isn’t something you just
churn out like a conveyor belt, necessarily. Opportunity: labels have
release cycles, which may affect when there’s a window – and budget – to
release an album.
Gintas K is a high-output
artist, but not because he’s on the treadmill of social media engagement
and chasing streams for fractional cents of royalties: he’s a creative
whirlwind, spewing new material like a volcano which never stops
erupting, and he never ceases to arrive from different angles. I had
initially wondered if ‘broken kontrol’ was a reference to some damaged
kit which was used in the making of this album, or if it’s perhaps an
allusion to the crumbling, fragmenting structures of ‘democracy’ around
the globe. Ultimately, I’m not so sure: the accompanying notes drive in
hard from the left in terms of an unpredictable swing which throws us
headlong and quite unexpectedly into academic territory, and as such
it’s worth quoting for context: ‘
Uncertainty and surprise
are in fact key components of an influential predictive-coding model of
neuronal message-passing across the cortical hierarchy [16, 20, 45].
Music may therefore elicit pleasure by encouraging the listener to
continuously generate and resolve expectations as the piece unfolds in
time [16, 20]. Musical pleasure depends on the dynamic interplay between
prospective and retrospective states of expectation. Our fundamental
ability to predict [16, 20] is therefore an important mechanism through
which abstract sound sequences acquire affective meaning and transform
into a universal cultural phenomenon that we call “music” [15].’ There
are extensive quotes and hyperlinked references, and once upon a time,
I’d get excited by footnotes by volume and all the rest.
Once again, Gintas K has
produced a work which was entirely spontaneous, ‘played, recorded live,
at once without any overdub; using computer, midi keyboard &
controller’.
It’s another squelchy,
dribbly, drippy, dribbly effervescent slice of chaos. It’s a bubbling,
frothing, brain-melting froth, an attack of gurgling electronics and
beeps, and it’s pure Gintas K.
www.mic.lt/lt/ivykiai/2023/12/29/2023-uju-ii-ir-iii-ketvircio-lietuvisku-albumu-apzvalga/
Modus 1994-1998
Kadais, dar net prieš 1990-uosius, dabartyje vienas produktyviausių ir
plačiam klausovų ratui pažįstamas garso menininkas Gintas Kraptavičius su
bičiuliu Dariumi Klišiu subūrė industrial grupę „Modus“. Tai buvo ryškus,
provokatyvus ir drąsus ėjimas. XX a. 10 a. dešimtmetyje išleidę porą albumų,
sugroję ne vieną koncertą, „Modus“ pamažu išnyko. Gintas pasuko solinės
kūrybos link ir lyg šiol tą daro. Tačiau „Modus“ pėdsakas iš Lietuvos
muzikos istorijos neišbraukiamas ir šįmet apie šį kiek primirštą perliuką
priminė leidykla „Dangus“.
Vinilo pavidalu išleistame rinkinyje sugulė būtent rinktiniai kūriniai iš
pirmojo „Modus“ albumo „Užsikrėtę mirtimi“ ir antrojo „Mėgaukis tyla“. Vis
tik mėgautis tyla klausant šio leidinio vargu ar pavyks. Šaižūs ir šalti
bytai, masyvios boso partijos, piktos vokalo manieros. Išties rėkiantis
reikalas! Galima čia rasti tokių korifėjų kaip „Godflesh“ ar „Einstürzende
Neubauten“ įtakų, tačiau žvelgiant retrospektyviai matyti, kaip šioje
grupėje atsispindėjo nestandartiniai kompoziciniai sprendimai ir
elektroniniai viražai, kurie persikūnijo į solinę Ginto kūrybą. Būtent šios
savybės padaro „Modus“ industrialą išskirtinį, turintį labai aiškų polinkį į
raw, arba sakykim netašytą skambesį bei nudreifuojantį į tai, ką galima būtų
įvardinti eksperimentine muzika. Lai nesupyksta, Gintas, kuris, kalbėdamas
apie savo solinę kūrybą, nelabai mėgsta žodžio eksperimentinis.
Žiauriai vertingas leidinys muzikos istorijos fanams ir ne tik jiems. Po
šitiek metų „Modus“ vis dar skamba šviežiai ir aktualiai. Šis leidinys
neabejotinai privers atidžiau atsigręžti į „Modus“ ir bendrai į Lietuvos
scenos praeitį, kurioje glūdi daugybė nepelnytai laiko dulkėmis nuklotų
reiškinių.
@Vitalijus Gailius
---------------------------------------------
auralaggravation.com/2023/11/02/gintas-k-catacombs-stalactites
Gintas K – Catacombs & Stalactites
Posted: 2 November 2023 in Albums
Tags: aalbum review, Antenna Non Grata, bleepy, Catacombs & Stalactites,
electronicaal out therre, Experimental, Gintas K,
Antenna Non Grata – 8th September 2023
Christopher Nosnibor
Bloody hell, he’s at it again: Lithuanan soundmachine Gintas K has yet
another album out – and this one is different again. While Catacombs &
Stalactites does, almost inevitably, feature rapid, bubbling, bibbling,
watery electronic skitters, which sound like flurrying insects, bubbling
water racing around a drain., and R2-D2 fizzing in malfunction, the dominant
sonic feature here is not the microtonal bleeps which have been the focus of
many of his albums, but heavy, grating synth sounds which buzz, scrape, and
distort.
Things begin comparatively gently, but by the third track, ‘Into deepness’,
we’re into pretty heavy territory. There are hints of tune
to be found in places – dark, gothic synth motifs briefly emerge from the
thick haze. It feels loud, and the listening experience is oppressive, like
pressure being applied to either side of your skull, and the track really
tests your mettle over its six minute duration, because there’s simply no
let up, and the thick buzz presses at your brain relentlessly. It’s the same
thick, hazy sounds which blare forth on the next piece, ‘Somewhere’ – only
rent with tearing laser blasts and distortion which scratches and scrapes at
the speaker cones, threatening damage, before it culminates in a crackling
blast.
‘Wandering Joy’ wanders through dissonance and discord, warping and scraping
through tearing walls of noise and aberrant glitches, spiralling around and
spinning through territory shared with power electronics and the more
experimental end of industrial (in the Throbbing Gristle sense, not the
latter-day Industrial metal of Ministry et al). For all of its wandering,
whether or not it brings joy is a matter for discussion, I suppose.
The bold, buzzing, abrasive synths sounds are broad and bassy, and the
grinding lower-end oscillations are evocative of Suicide, only amped up to
eleven. ‘Atmosphere / Voices’ crashes in on a wall of feedback and
overloading distortion. At this point, things reach a new intensity, and the
crackling, fizzing buzz at the edges of this enveloping blanket of noise
simply adds to the tension which rips from the speakers.
There are lighter moments, which are more quintessential K: then flickering
flutters, clicks and pops of ‘Mystery’ are almost playful, sounding somewhat
like the pouring of carbonated mortar with twangs and deadened thwaps
creating a muggy texture, and ‘Local Beings’ brimming with zaps and
squelches which fly every which way before trickling down to a dribble
resembling a fast leak.
This is very much Gintas K’s way: his approach to ‘composition’ is very
loose and geared toward improvisation.
The album’s title derives from the ninth and tenth tracks, ‘Catacombs’ and
‘Stalactites’ which both in their way evoke the subterranean, darkness,
tunnels, claustrophobia. ‘Stalactites’ shutters and reverberates, grates and
gyrates, the frequencies registering around the navel amidst another squall
of fragmented, glass-like shattering, and ‘Stalactites’ hangs heavy amidst
blasts of noise. ‘Catacombs’ fractures and disintegrates as it leads the
listener down, down, down. In my mind’s eye, I’m drawn towards recollections
of the Paris catacombs – endless miles of tunnels lined with bones, neatly
stacked, row upon row of old skulls, fibulas and tibias piled high and all
around to forge cavities of death. Few things hold a mirror to mortality
more powerfully than infinite piles of dank bones, and K leads – or moreover
drags – us through these gloomy tunnels, while still electronic sparks skip
and flash like damaged lighting or split cables before explosions of
sparking white noise collapse into nothingness.
We’re grateful for a few light splashes and bubbles near the end, but the
chances are the trauma has already taken hold.
Catacombs & Stalactites is a harsh and heavy album, and one that isn’t easy
to lay to rest, to move on from.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Vital Weekly #1405
GINTAS K - CATACOMBS & STACTITES (CD by Antenna Non Grata)
The full name is Gintas Kraptavičius from Lithuania, and since 1994, he's
been active in experimental music. First in industrial music as Modus, and
since the start of this century, mostly as a computer musician. One can say
he holds the fort for laptop music. Strangely enough, one could also label
his work as improvised music, as everything he does is recorded live, "using
a computer, midi keyboards & controller". Over the years, he played at many
festivals, did various residences and has a lot of releases. 'Catacombs&
Stalactites' is his latest collection of short works, as many of his
releases are. I don't know how Gintas works, if these works are culled from
many hours of doodling, or if he sits down with a very defined plan of what
to record, how to execute, etc. Listening to the music, I didn't have a
clearer idea. Certainly, Gintas K owes quite a bit to the world of musique
concrčte, but he is playful and open in his work, sometimes leaning towards
actual noise. I didn't notice that on his previous works, so maybe there is
some kind of expansion here. He has thirteen pieces in forty-eight minutes,
ranging from just over one minute to just over six minutes. In this music,
he bends and shapes, pitches and granulates, and the result is, as before,
quite some intense music. That makes this album quite a sonic tour de force,
one that is quite a challenge to hear and something that only, after
repeated playing, opens with layers beyond and below the surface. Uneasy
listening music that requires your most total attention. (FdW)
vitalweekly.net/1405.html...
-----------------------------------------------
Inner Ear: Lithuanian
Music For June Reviewed By Jakub Knera
Jakub Knera , May 31st, 2023 09:35
thequietus.com/articles/32989-best-lithuanian-music-braille-satellite-sarunas-nakas
Gintas Kraptavičius was once a member of the industrial band Modus, and
afterimages of their music can often be heard in the cold, metallic nature
of his solo work. Resonances comes from a live session where he used a
computer, a midi keyboard, and a controller. He modulates sounds, slows down
and speeds up the layers, and sinks into sound waves
and musical constellations. At the same time, he keeps an eye on structures
– the compositions are relatively short, apart from two which reach eight
minutes. Overpowering drones rumble from one side, a mass of noise and
interweaving atmospheric layers from the other – an impressively constructed
mesh of sonic sketches.
---------------------------------------------
Gintas K – Resonances / Fluxus
+/- / Sound & Spaces #2
Posted: 4 May 2023
auralaggravation.com/2023/05/04/gintas-k-resonances-fluxus-sound-spaces-2
Christopher Nosnibor
‘I’m sorry, I’ve been busy’. We’ve probably all heard it: and most of us
have probably spoken the phrase. I’m guilty, too, and hate myself for it.
Everyone is fucking busy. Too busy to text, to open a message even, too busy
to reply to emails, catch up with friends, too busy to
fucking live. What is everyone so busy doing, and why is it that in a time
when technology was supposed to make our lives easier, and in supposedly
affluent western cultures, people are both fiscally porr and time-poor?
Naturally, I blame the current strain of capitalism: keep everyone too busy
to live, to breathe, and too skint, and they’re not going to be protesting,
they’re going to be too busy wondering where the next meal is coming from to
fuck shit up. After everything, they’ve only got the juice to be ‘busy’
bingeing Netflix or the new season of The Mandalorian.
Admittedly, I have been genuinely busy parenting, publishing stuff, and
writing a review a day while battling through an evermore overwhelming
volume of submissions, but is that really a reason, or just an excuse? Right
now, I’m not sorry either way. I keep myself to myself and I write when I
can when I’m not doing laundry or cleaning or paying bills or feeding the
cat
Gintas K is always busy, and he’s been having albums released at a ratee
beyond that at which I can even download them, let alone listen and digest.
And so it is that March and April have seen the release of three – yes,
three – albums by the prodigious Lithuanian.
I must have been absolutely nuts to have set myself the task of reviewing
all three together. The idea was to soak it all in with an evening of
electronica, and report on what I expected to be an immersive experience.
But knowing Gintas K’s work over the years, this was, in hindsight, an
unlikely outcome. The headline here is that there is no overarching theme,
there’ s no evolutionary trajectory, and nothing to really take hold of. But
that in itself is K’s selling point: his work is exploratory, varied,
sometimes playful, and often difficult.
Resonances, the first of these, ‘was recorded live, using computer, midi
keyboard & controller on Autumn 2021’ and has been released by Sloow Tapes
in an edition of 70 copies. It spins slow-swirling vortices around hovering
hums and low-humming drones over the course of its ten, comparatively short
(only a couple extend beyond four minutes), ponderous tracks. It’s perhaps
one of his more varied works, both sonically and atmospherically – and
Resonances really does explore atmospheres and cavernous swampy echoes.
Fluxus +/- is a split collaborative release, which finds him working with
Kommissar Hjuler Und Frau on a longform track, while a piece by Wolfgang
Kindermann & PAAK occupies the other, and what we get here is just shy of
eighteen minutes of really weird shit, bubbling swampy noise and loose
collage layering of all sorts of snippets and a mish-mash of all kinds of
everything that’s not easy to digest.
And then April saw the arrival of Sound & Spaces #2, which is perhaps more
Gintas K’s standard fare of bubbling, foamy froth and stuttering, stammering
glitch-heavy sonic mayhem. It stutters and scuffs, bleeps and wibbles, and
at times sounds like the speakers are shredding, the cones torn and flapping
in the blasts of random noise bursts, while at others… well, at times it’s a
foaming froth and as others, it’s really not very much at all. The pieces
run into one another to create a continuous stream of crackling distortion
and bibbling trickles of tweeting and twittering, and while the effect is
the most incomprehensible and difficult to digest, it’s by far the most
quintessentially K. If it’s what I’d expected, then what this trio of
releases demonstrates is that Gintas K continues to defy expectations and to
produce work that’s different and diverse.
-------------------------------------------------
takeeffectreviews.com/april-2023-2/2023/4/15/gintas-k
The Lithuanian artist gintas k returns with another iconoclastic batch of
tunes, where all the pieces were played and recorded live and use a
computer, midi keyboard and controller with no overdubs present.
“Mountains, runlets, caves & cascades #1” opens the listen with a warm
backdrop alongside creative percussive sounds that unfold in a sci-fi sort
of way, and “Mountains, runlets, caves & cascades #2” follows with faint
hissing sounds that shimmer in ambience.
On the back half, the longest track, “Mountains, runlets, caves & cascades
#4”, is a busier display of noise manipulation that’s sometimes haunting but
always inventive, while “Mountains, runlets, caves & cascades #5” drones
with a cinematic presence.
“Eastern Bells”, the final track, makes great use of dense bells that are
well timed and make quite an interesting companion to the rest of the
listen.
A driving force in the Lithuanian experimental scene since 1994, gintas k
was an important piece of the industrial/electronic outfit Modus, and his
seemingly unbounded creativity is still very much intact.
www.darkentries.be/recensies/gintas-k-michelle-o-rourke-sorry-gold
Dit klinkt wel echt speciaal en doet me wat denken aan het
samenwerkingsverband van Klaus Schulze (RIP) met Lisa Gerrard, maar dan in
een experimentelere versie. Op dit album horen we een soort ambient-industriële
drone tracks met daarop de klassiek geschoolde vocalen van een operazangeres.
10 tracks staan er op het album “Sorry Gold” (61 minuten speelduur),
simpelweg getiteld “Sorry Gold #1” tot “Sorry Gold #6” en sommige
composities krijgen nog een soort alternate takes mee: “Sorry Gold #2 #2”,
“Sorry Gold #3 #2”, “Sorry Gold #4 #2 en “Sorry Gold #4 #3”.
Gintas K (Gintas Kraptavicius) is een Litouwse geluidsartiest, geboren in
1969 en het kernlid van Modus, ‘de eerste electro-industrial band van
Litouwen’ die in de jaren 90 twee tapes uitbracht. Er bestaan ook nogal wat
kortfilms met beeldmateriaal van hun performances. Later was Gintas
Kraptavicius actief als performer en interdisciplinaire artiest, bekend om
zijn performances en happenings op een soort post-fluxus manier. In 1999
ging hij solo verder onder de afgekorte naam Gintas K en verkende hij
muzikale terreinen van experimentele, elektroakoestische, elektronische en
computer muziek en granulaire synthese. Hij bracht tot op heden maar liefst
34 albums uit en deed talrijke performances met live elektronische muziek.
Michelle O’Rourke is dan weer een Ierse klassiek geschoolde zangeres. Vorig
jaar bracht ze een folkalbum uit (“Folk Songs”) met het kamermuziek ensemble
Ficino Ensemble en in datzelfde jaar verscheen ook dit album op het Poolse
experimental/(dark) ambient/industrial label Zoharum in samenwerking met
Gintas K en Emily Aoibheann.
Vooral in de tracks met geďmproviseerde woordloze vocalen doet dit me denken
aan Lisa Gerrard (de zangeres van Dead Can Dance) in haar samenwerking met
de betreurde Klaus Schulze. Bij de meeste tracks is Michelle O’Rourke de
vocalen echter gaan lenen bij de barokke componisten Claudio Monteverdi (“S’il
Dolce E'il Tormenti”) en Henry Purcell (“The Fairy Queen” en “O Solitude”)
en dan heeft het wel wat van Sigrid Hausen (Qntal, Estampie). De muzikale
achtergrond waarop deze vocalen floreren bestaat dus uit een soort minimaal
ambiente tot meer industriële repetitieve geluiden of drones, gegenereerd
door Gintas K. Het is een unieke en weinig voor de hand liggende combinatie
die echter wonderwel werkt.
“Sorry Gold” werd ‘live on stage’ opgenomen in 2019 in het Project Arts
Centre in de Ierse hoofdstad Dublin tijdens de productie van de gelijknamige
film “Sorry Gold” onder de directie van Emily Aoibheann, een soort
multidisciplinaire artieste met een voorliefde voor experimentele dans,
circus en acrobatie. Aldus werd “Sorry Gold” een boeiend multimediaproject
voor de liefhebbers van avant-garde en experimentele kunsten. De cd komt in
een 6 panels tellend zwart/goud ekopack in een gelimiteerde editie van 300
stuks.
Tot slot geven we nog mee waar het in deze performance allemaal om draait en
om het onderwerp en karakter van deze interdisciplinaire kunst zo goed
mogelijk weer te geven, gebruiken we de woorden van de artieste zelf:
“If aerial is the dance of industrial technology, what will the dance of
biotechnology be? This new work reinvigorates performance as a living and
speculative environmental form, counter to a culture of repetition and
resurrection, holding fast to an idea that the future is possible, desirable
and beautiful. This performance is part one of a twin-production project on
the themes of civilisation and nature”.
www.musiquemachine.com/reviews/reviews_template.php?id=9660
Gintas K and Michelle O’Rourke - Sorry Gold [Zoharum - 2022]
Gintas K is a Lithuanian sound artist, formerly of industrial music group,
Modus. Over the last 20 years, he has been incredibly prolific releasing a
host of solo albums, and collaborations with other artists. He is joined on
this release by Dublin-based Michelle O’Rourke on vocals, who has a
background in baroque vocal music, but has a fairly diverse portfolio of
work that includes contemporary classical music and a folk ensemble album.
The album opener, "Sorry Gold # 1" is a fairly atmospheric slice of ambient
electronica that features some particularly avant-garde style vocals from
Michelle O’Rourke that don’t sit too far from those of Diamanda Gallas.
"Sorry Gold # 2" features some fairly sparse instrumentation with some more
traditional-sounding classical vocals from O’Rourke. Just to complicate
matters, "Sorry Gold # 4" is up next and provides something more akin to
Gintas K’s roots in industrial music. This is followed by "Sorry Gold # 3",
which sits somewhere between the noisier industrial electronica of Part 4
and the more chilled smooth ambient soundscapes of the album’s first two
tracks with some stunning vocals from O’Rourke. "Sorry Gold #4 #2" is an
altogether noisier industrial affair. There is a harshness to the
monotonous, motorik beat that is juxtaposed against O’Rourke’s stunning
vocals which give the track a certain melodic quality. These two very
different aspects to the track sit together beautifully, despite their
stylist differences. "Sorry Gold #2 #2" takes us back to the lighter sounds
of the album’s opening tracks before "Sorry #4 #3" takes us back to the
darker side with some evil-sounding distorted electronic industrial noise
that is a little closer to HNW drone than anything that has gone before.
O’Rourke’s ethereal vocals seem to dilute the distorted noise, creating
something that once again juxtaposes the beauty of the voice with the
harshness of the music. "Sorry Gold #3 #2" follows, mixing some pretty harsh
electronic sounds with a blend of beautiful ethereal vocals and avant-garde
screeches to create something that takes in a few different moods and
musical styles. "Sorry Gold #5" is in essence led by O’Rourke’s
classical-style vocals with some sparse, creepy electronica backing that
reminds me a little of Japan’s Ghosts in places. The album closer, "Sorry
Gold #6" follows in a similar fashion, all creepy atmospheric bubbling synth
noise and gorgeous vocals.
Sorry Gold is at times dissonant and noisy and at other times beautiful and
fragile, but it generally sits somewhere in between these two extremes. The
juxtaposition of the almost industrial-sounding distorted electronica and
Michelle O’Rourke’s beautiful almost operatic voice creates something that
defies logical explanation and makes it difficult to categorise. However,
it’s also the reason that the album is so successful in my mind. It manages
to balance these vastly different styles to create something that works
perfectly. If you like music that takes chances to create something unique
then this may be for you.
Darren Charles
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vital Weekly number 1377
Gintas K has been on these pages a lot of times. I must admit that, despite
not knowing Sloow Tapes all too well, I am a bit surprised to see his work.
I always think of him as a serious operator of laptop music, which seems not
to be the home at Sloow Tapes. He creates ten pieces of music using his
computer, midi keyboard and controller, but as this is a cassette (the label
has no Bandcamp), I found it hard to tell where a track starts and stops.
This cassette could very well contain one track per side. Oddly, perhaps,
there is also an element of free play in Gintas
K's music. Other than what I think is his stricter approach to composing,
these pieces arrive in a free-flowing modus. Sounds drop in, quite
uneventful, but are just 'there' and change in form, may grow, or reduce or
simply, as unexpectedly disappear again. Yet there is never silence because
there are many sounds, each fighting for our attention. It never becomes
chaotic, as Gintas K manages to control the proceedings, which he does quite
well. A certain psychedelic, ambient quality is part of this music, and I
can see why Sloow Tapes found this to be an interesting addition to their
catalogue. (FdW)
www.mic.lt/lt/ivykiai/2023/02/09/2022-uju-iv-ojo-ketvircio-lietuvisku-albumu-apzvalga/
Gintas K & Michelle O'Rourke – Sorry Gold apžvalga Vitalijus Gailius
Respektabilus ir tamsų garsyną propaguojantis lenkų leiblas „Zoharum“
išleido Ginto Kraptavičiaus arba tiesiog Ginto K ir airių vokalistės
Michelle O'Rourke albumą Sorry Gold. Tai nėra pirmasis kartas, kuomet Gintas
klausytojams pristato ne solo, bet dueto darbą.
Sorry Gold – ne visai tipinis albumas. Tai medžiaga, kuri gimė, visų pirma,
kaip performanso, sumanyto airių menininkės Emily Aoibheann, dalis.
Performansas buvo pristatytas 2019 m. Dublino festivalyje „Fringe“ ir
gvildeno civilizacijos ir gamtos santykio problemas. Taigi, albume garsas
atitrūko nuo vaizdo, kurį galima tik fragmentiškai pamatyti Youtube, ir tapo
savarankišku pažinimo objektu.
Albume nėra tiek daug stipriai granuliuotų, kapotų mikrotoninių tiradų,
kurių galėtume tikėtis iš Ginto. Priešingai, ausis pasiekia labiau
tekstūriniai, ritmingi viražai, o Michele vokalas praturtina medžiagą
klasikiniais/sakraliniais sluoksniais. Be to, įraše labai stiprus akcentas
skiriamas noisui, kuris nuolat išnyra ir tarsi bando pasiglemžti ramius
pasažus, ir neretai verčia prisiminti power electronics sceną. Galima tik
spėti, jog tokia priemonė buvo pasitelkta siekiant iliustruoti civilizacijos
ir gamtos priešpriešą.
Sorry Gold – kontrastingas, pasižymintis įdomiais garsiniais sluoksniais (pavyzdžiui,
už triukšmo pasislėpusi trip-hopinė ritmika kūrinyje „Sorry Gold #4 #2“) ir,
vertinant Ginto K kūrybos kontekste, šviežiai skambantis albumas.
------------------------------------------------------------------
www.versacrum.com/vs/2023/02/gintas-k-michelle-orourke-sorry-gold.html
Disco molto particolare e concettuale questo di Gintas K e Michelle O’Rourke
pubblicato dalla Zoharum. Sorry Gold č, in effetti, una sorta di performance
multimediale. Siamo di fronte, indubbiamente, a qualcosa di molto criptico
come possiamo capire dalla presentazione del disco fatta dallo stesso autore
in cui dice testualmente: “Se la danza della tecnologia industriale č aerea,
quale sarŕ la danza della biotecnologia? Questo nuovo lavoro rinvigorisce la
performance come forma ambientale vivente e speculativa, in contrasto con
una cultura della ripetizione e della resurrezione, aggrappandosi all’idea
che il futuro č possibile, desiderabile e bello. Questa performance fa parte
di un progetto di doppia produzione sui temi della civiltŕ e della natura”.
Parole oscure ma se vogliamo non prive di un loro fascino. La registrazione
č stata effettuata al Project Arts Center di Dublin, dove gli artisti hanno
improvvisato infuenzati dall’ambiente visivo, dalla scenografia e dai
ballerini. La musica č molto astratta e, probabilmente, per essere
pienamente apprezzata, andrebbe gustata nel giusto contesto come puň essere
appunto un teatro. Le ambientazioni alternano momenti piů pacati ed eterei (anche
grazie alla voce femminile) ad altri in cui le sonoritŕ diventano piů
ritmiche o addirittura ai limiti dell’industrial. Certo Sorry Gold non č un
disco di facile ascolto e mi sento di consigliarlo solo a chi non ha paura
di confrontarsi con la musica di avanguardia. Il cd esce in un’edizione
limitata a 300 copie in un formato ecopack nero e oro a 6 pannelli.
Disponibile su Bandcamp:
zoharum.bandcamp.com/album/sorry-gold.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GINTAS K. & MICHELLE O’ROURKE
„Sorry Gold”
www.metalcentre.pl/2023/02/gintas-k-michelle-orourke-sorry-gold/
„Sorry Gold” to album artystów, litewskiego muzyka Gintasa Kraptavičiusa (tym
razem) współpracującego z irlandzką wokalistką Michelle O’Rourke. Materiał
jest ścieżką dźwiękową do spektaklu i filmu „Sorry Gold” Emily Aoibheann.
Nagranie zostało zarejestrowane i odtworzone na scenie w Project Arts Centre
w Dublinie, właśnie podczas kręcenia filmu „Sorry Gold”. A wspomniani
artyści improwizowali do wizualnego pejzażu sali prób, scenografii i
tancerzy…
Muzyka zawarta na materiale to swoiste scalenie dwóch biegunów, dwóch
zupełne innych wymiarów. Jeden wymiar zawiera neo-folkowe pieśni i wokalizy
Michelle O’Rourke… bardzo melancholijne, smętne, czasem rzewne, przepełnione
smutkiem, jakaś tęsknotą i zadumą. Owe pieśni rozbrzmiewają w wysokich,
miękkich tonacjach, swoim klimatem mogą czasami nasuwać skojarzenia z DEAD
CAN DANCE. Śpiew Michelle jest bardzo emocjonalny i zaraża swoimi emocjami,
snuje się jako główny element utworu lub rozbrzmiewa w tle, wprowadzając
słuchacza w obniżony, wręcz depresyjny nastrój. Chwilami śpiew ten
przechodzi w dziwaczne, niepokojące wokalizy, przerażające zawodzenia i
pomruki.
Natomiast drugi wymiar to zazwyczaj złowieszcze industrialne dźwięki,
rytmiczne noise’owe nagrania, przesterowane trzaski, buczenia oraz „cybernetyczne”
odgłosy, ale też i strzępki jakichś melodii… spreparowanych elektronicznie
(z brzmień instrumentów analogowych, jakby wiolonczeli czy kontrabasu oraz
syntezatorów).
Momentami wydawałoby się, że oba wymiary kłócą się ze sobą, próbują siebie
zdominować. Jednak są momenty kiedy to wymiary te dopasowują się do siebie
tworząc spójną synchroniczną melodię…
Całość brzmi bardzo mrocznie, onirycznie, także w pewien sposób transowo.
Niestety poniższe klipy nie są w stanie zobrazować majestatu tego materiału
(gdyż raczej są to urywki spektaklu) ale słychać skrawki muzyki z „Sorry
Gold”.
11 lutego 2023 By Pavel
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ci siamo occupati piů
volte di Gintas K, prolifico artista sperimentale lituano i cui lavori sono
spesso tutt'altro che facili da decifrare e ben lontani dal concetto
d'intrattenimento, e per questa nuova uscita lo ritroviamo alla corte della
Zoharum, affiancato dalla cantante irlandese Michelle O'Rourke. L'occasione
era quella di fornire un corpo sonoro alla performance "Sorry Gold",
prodotta e diretta da Emily Aoibheann a Dublino, cittŕ dove l'inedita coppia
artistica ha potuto fare la propria parte in un contesto di reale
improvvisazione. Le qualitŕ vocali della O'Rourke le avevamo potute saggiare
solo l'estate scorsa nel bel disco folk assieme a Ficino Ensemble, fra canto
tradizionale e lirico, ed ora le ritroviamo ampliate nelle soluzioni a
corredo delle tessiture di Gintas K. Queste ultime, nelle dieci tracce dalla
numerazione sconnessa e senza titoli, spaziano tra minimalismi ambientali,
lievi tocchi para-sinfonici, bizzarrie sperimentali e pattern di ruvida
electro-industrial, lasciando Michelle libera di prodursi con teatrale
istrionismo in lamenti, urla, rantoli e tutta una serie di vocalizzi,
cantilenosi come evanescenti, assieme a tanto canto di qualitŕ, dal sacro,
al tradizionale, alla lirica, con estratti da Monteverdi e Purcell. Tanto
estro e possibilitŕ ben sfruttate nella notevole mole di lavoro prodotta dai
due, che mostrano di funzionare bene in simbiosi in un lavoro decisamente
godibile, anche in assenza della performance che supporta. Bene Gintas K e
benissimo la O'Rourke, in un disco - prodotto nei 300 esemplari
dell'elegante ecopack a sei pannelli - decisamente riuscito e ricco di
spunti (anche extramusicali) che non faticherŕ a trovare estimatori da piů
ambiti, specie fra gli esploratori degli spazi d'avanguardia sperimentale.
Roberto Alessandro Filippozzi-
www.darkroom-magazine.it/ita/107/Recensione.php?r=4894&fbclid=IwAR0fU1onpmcSgdSRWFIM438D0acoHy4rz-gfonkvggJRPnAZGYJBF9JioMs
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Side-Line Reviews
Gintas Kraptavicius & Michelle O’Rourke – Sorry Gold (Album – Zoharum - new
experimental art)
Genre/Influences: Experimental, Industrial, Minimal, Classical.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: This album is a collaboration between Lithuanian artist
Gintas Kraptavičius -involved with Modus, and Michelle O’Rourke. The work
was conceived for a live performance in Dublin (Ireland) “Sorry Gold”.
Content: This work brings opposites together; it sounds like the symbiosis
between pure Experimental and Industrial sound treatments and the voice of a
classically trained female singer.
+ + + : “Sorry Gold” took me by surprise for its originality and sonic
challenge. It’s not very common to hear Experimental/Industrial sound
treatments with a great classically formed vocalist on top. Several parts
have been taken from classical compositions by Claudio Monteverdi and
especially Henry Purcell. The heavenly vocals inject a sacred touch to the
music resulting in different great songs of minimalism.
- - - : I regret some of the tracks aren’t that longer which is probably due
to the concept of the work. It’s a pity we only get the music and have to
imagine the performance.
Conclusion: Hard to define but simply divine, this production definitely
deserves your attention.
Best songs: “Sorry Gold #4”, “Sorry Gold #2”, “Sorry Gold #10”, “Sorry Gold
#3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
GINTAS K & MICHELLE O’ROURKE “SORRY GOLD” (ZOHARUM NEW EXPERIMENTAL ART,
noviembre 2022) (Reseńa / Review #1895).
Posted on 12 enero, 2023
Presentado oficialmente a finales del mes de noviembre del ańo 2022 a través
del mítico sello discográfico polaco Zoharum New Experimental Art en formato
digital, y en esta preciosa edición limitada de 300 unidades en ecopak CD de
seis paneles, el grandioso álbum “Sorry Gold” sorprenderá a los melómanos
lectores de Lux Atenea por su impulso artístico pionero y de vanguardia.
Engalanado con este fantasmagórico diseńo creado por Maciej Mehring, alma
máter del sello Zoharum, tras los trazos cromáticos dorados de su portada se
oculta esta imagen inquietante de una mujer con vestido y zapatos que parece
provenir de otro mundo, de otra dimensión, o de otro estado de la realidad.
Una figura que no se aprecia claramente en las imágenes de portada incluidas
en la webstore y en la página oficial del sello Zoharum en Bandcamp, pero
que mirada directamente en esta edición en ecopak CD es muy evidente como
pueden comprobar en las imágenes adjuntas. Un aura siniestra en su belleza
visual que se convierte en la tarjeta de presentación del halo sonoro que va
a envolver al melómano durante la audición de estos diez temas que lo
vertebran. A nivel musical, el álbum “Sorry Gold” es la grabación de la
performance creada y dirigida por Emily Aoibheann, Gintas K, Michelle
O’Rourke, Robert Mirolo, y Peter Power, habiendo contado con la colaboración
profesional de Monika Palova, Lena Selivanova, Ariadna Vendelova, y Tori
McGrory en su coreografía, y de artistas visuales como Liing Heaney. Con
Gintas K aportando su talento dentro del apartado musical y con Michelle
O’Rourke interpretando con maestría estas definiciones sonoras y líricas a
través de su bello registro vocal, el álbum “Sorry Gold” es una inmersión en
otra dimensión artística donde el eclecticismo conceptual en su
configuración musical final es absolutamente innovador. Un contundente
impacto sonoro que les cautivará y les sorprenderá en cada nuevo tema,
teniendo siempre como esencia el espíritu transgresor de lo pionero
totalmente alejado de normas y fronteras que lo limiten. Un eclecticismo
donde se engloba conceptualmente el experimental, dark ambient, ethereal,
minimal, música contemporánea, industrial, electroacústica… perfilando esta
libertad creativa y esta entrega en la composición para definir estructuras
musicales tan seductoras y obscuras. Todo ello les llevará a valorar este
álbum como uno de los más sorprendentes que se hayan publicado en el ańo
2022.
GINTAS K & MICHELLE O'ROURKE SORRY GOLD ZOHARUM pic1
Iniciamos la audición de esta impactante performance adentrándonos la
tenebrosa atmósfera sonora del tema “Sorry Gold #1”, adquiriendo este
minimalismo musical donde el dark ambient, la música contemporánea, y lo
ethereal entretejen artísticamente esta composición cargada de misticismo y
aflicción. Planos vocales que se presentan con el decaimiento del lamento y
con la apatía vital de aquel poseído por el desasosiego, y que terminan
diluyéndose en el tiempo. Impresionados, a continuación, el excelso tema
“Sorry Gold #2” traerá consigo algo más de luz y este plano instrumental en
primer plano donde las iridiscencias sonoras tienen ese encanto de lo mágico.
Según va evolucionando el tema, la inmersión en lo sacro quedará resaltado
con esta lírica de esencia religiosa tan ceremonial y sobrecogedora
interpretada con absoluta maestría. ˇˇˇ“Sorry Gold #2”, impresionante!!! En
cambio, el tema “Sorry Gold #4” será un cambio de estilo radical,
sumergiéndonos en esta angustiosa atmósfera sonora industrial donde la
presencia de la lírica interpretada con estos registros de voz femeninos no
hacen más que amplificar su fuerza artística de vanguardia. “Sorry Gold #4”
es una auténtica delicia musical que sorprenderá a los melómanos lectores de
Lux Atenea afines a la innovación conceptual más avanzada, y su reaudición
está más que asegurada. Desembocando en el tema “Sorry Gold #3”, aquí la
electrónica experimental es protagonista a través de la vibrante alma sonora
de la electroacústica situada en primer plano, y con la lírica en un segundo
plano no tan alejado en la distancia. “Sorry Gold #3” tiene un regusto
decadente, incluso post-apocalíptico como si fuera el testamento abandonado
de lo dionisíaco escrito antes de su colapso. Con “Sorry Gold #4 #2”
elevando la intensidad musical en esta performance, aquí todo se acelera, se
magnifica, y es arrastrado por este ciclón sonoro incontenible que va
arrasando todo a su paso. Una versión extrema del tema “Sorry Gold #4”.
GINTAS K & MICHELLE O'ROURKE SORRY GOLD ZOHARUM pic2
En “Sorry Gold #2 #2”, la atmósfera musical se volverá a equilibrar al
presentar un abanico de detalles más armonizados dentro de este entorno
siniestro, cruzando en algunos momentos la frontera conceptual con el ritual
ambient. De nuevo, con la electroacústica como protagonista sonora en el
tema “Sorry Gold #4 #3”, lo emocionalmente gélido paralizará al melómano
cautivado por la intensidad y por la aplastante crudeza que son proyectadas
durante su audición, entrando en un escenario sofocante donde el plano
lírico queda muy alejado en este espacio, aproximándose solamente un poco al
final del tema. La entrada en “Sorry Gold #3 #2” será perfecta y sin perder
la esencia sonora del tema anterior, pero integrando esta lírica en clave
ethereal como manifestación del contraste, de la agreste dinámica
tecnológica admirablemente recreada con estos planos musicales
experimentales e industriales, y con esta interpretación lírica tan
posesivamente siniestra. ˇˇˇ“Sorry Gold #3 #2”, brutal!!!En el tema “Sorry
Gold #5” retornaremos al minimal pero dentro de un ambiente sonoro fluido en
su belleza lírica, expandiéndose y difuminándose posteriormente con la
entrada de estos cromatismos sonoros experimentales analógicos tan
cristalinos. El preciosismo conceptual de “Sorry Gold #5” conduce a lo
hierático, a lo reflexivo, a ingerir este loto capaz de anular nuestra
realidad cotidiana para permanecer en este Hades musical que huele a
eternidad. Una belleza que tendrá su continuidad en el tema “Sorry Gold #6”
para clausurar esta magna obra con nuestra sensibilidad a flor de piel,
mecidos por la lírica y por estas pinceladas sonoras de vanguardia que
parecen tener vida propia. “Sorry Gold”, este grandioso álbum es la puerta
de entrada a otra dimensión musical seductoramente pionera en su concepto
artístico. ˇˇˇDisfrútenlo!!!
-------------------------------------------------------
auralaggravation.com/2023/01/08/gintas-k-and-michelle-orourke-sorry-gold/
Gintas K and Michelle O’Rourke – Sorry Gold
Posted: 8 January 2023 in Albums
Tags: Album Review, electronica, ethereal, Experimental, Gintas K and
Michelle O’Rourke, Haunting, minimal, operatic, Orchestral, Sorry Gold,
10th December 2022
Gintas K wraps up a(nother) truly prodigious year with a collaboration – and
an apology. The Lithuanian sound artist hasn’t strayed so far from his
experimental electronic roots, at least fundamentally, but at the same time,
Sorry Gold does mark something of a substantial and significant departure.
As the accompanying text explains, ‘this recording was made on stage at the
Project Arts Center in Dublin, during the making of the film Sorry Gold
Emily Aoibheann. The artists improvised to the visual landscape of the
rehearsal space, stage design and dancers…’ it was funded by the Arts
Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and Dublin City Council, supported by Dublin
Fringe Festival, add the performances premiered as a part of Dublin Fringe
Festival at Project Arts Centre in September 2019.’
With additional production and resigned from the original project, the album
is only sort of a soundtrack, and the track numbering is both confusing and
frustrating, with #1, #2, #4, #3, being followed by #4 #2, #2 #2, #4 #3 and
#3 #2 before the more sequentially logical #5 and #6 conclude this most
eclectic listening experience.
Replacing the glitching frenzy of bubbling, frothy digital frenzy that is
Gintas K’s trademark is a much sparser, more minimal approach to
composition, with single notes that sound like ersatz strings being plucked,
atop quivering drones and low-rumbling organ sounds that fliker erratically
like gas lights and resonating out into a spacious room. It has an almost
orchestral feel, albeit distilled to absolute zero. The notes are a little
fuzzy and ring out into emptiness, while the haunting vocals of Michelle
O’Rourke are utterly mesmerising and border on transcendental. In
combination, the atmosphere is deeply absorbing and heavily imbued with a
spiritual, other-worldly element.
The first piece introduces us to a strange, haunting space beyond the
familiar, and while it’s not by any means unpleasant, it is disconcerting,
and sets the tone, ahead of ‘Sorry Gold #2’, which is melancholic, brooding,
spaced-out notes hovering while O’Rourke ventures into almost operatic
territories. It’s a not only a different atmosphere, but a different mood
when placed alongside K’s other works: it feels a lot more serious, and has
a different kind of energy, a different kind of intensity. I’m accustomed to
feeling bewildered by the frenetic kineticism and abundant playfulness of
his work. Sorry Gold isn’t entirely without joy, but it is much darker and
much, much slower-paced, delivering a different kind of intensity.
It’s not until ‘Sorry Gold #4’ that things even hint at K’s more
characteristic and overtly electronic noodling, and as the album progresses,
we do encounter more of his feverish electronic tendencies, notably on the
grinding ripples of ‘Sorry Gold #3’, but they’re much more restrained. ‘#4
#2’ brings a surging swampy wash of noise that’s a buzzing, grinding
industrial blast of fizzing distortion. O’Rourke, barely audible in the
sonic storm, sounds lost, detached.
Of the ten tracks, only two are under four minutes in length, and the pair
use these extended formats to really push outwards: the ten-minute ‘Sorry
Gold #4 #3’ brings helicoptering distortion that crashes in waves, at times
low and rumbling, at others, crackling and fizzing with treble, and it
creates a different kind of disturbance. Dissonance howls desolately on ‘#3
#2’, and so does , wracked with pain and spiritual anguish.
By the time we arrive at the brief and delicate bookend that is ‘Sorry Gold
#6’, one feels inexplicably drained. The experience is somewhat akin to
wandering ancient tunnels by flickering candlelight, observing ancient wall
art while a subliminal mind-control experiment blasts random frequencies
directly into your brain. You’re left feeling somehow detached, vaguely
bewildered and bereft. And you feel deeply moved. Sorry Gold is special:
Sorry Gold is bleak and harrowing, but it’s solid gold.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry Gold: Soundtrack einer Performance von Gintas K und Michelle O’Rourke
africanpaper.com/2023/01/05/sorry-gold-soundtrack-einer-performance-von-gintas-k-und-michelle-orourke/
Veröffentlicht am 5. Januar 2023
Zoharum bringen den von dem Klangkünstler und Producer Gintas K und der
Vokalistin Michelle O’Rourke zu der im vorigen Jahr in Dublin uraufgeführten
Performance “Sorry Gold” unter der Regie von Emily Aoibheann heraus.
Filigrane Soundscapes mit O’Rourkes verletztlicher Stimme welchseln sich mit
zerfledderten Noisetracks ab. Zum Hintergrund der Performance sagen die
beteiligten Musiker: “”If aerial is the dance of industrial technology, what
will
the dance of biotechnology be? This new work reinvigorates performance as a
living and speculative environmental form, counter to a culture of
repetition and resurrection, holding fast to an idea that the future is
possible, desirable and beautiful. This performance is part one of a
twin-production project on the themes of civilisation and nature”. Die
Tracks wurden für die Veröffentlichung einer neuen Produktion unterzogen.
Das Album erscheint auf 200 CDs und zum Download.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
subjectivisten.nl/het-schaduwkabinet-week-52-2022/
Soms komen er twee werelden samen, die prima bij elkaar blijken te passen.
Neem nu bijvoorbeeld de Litouwse experimentele geluidskunstenaar en
componist Gintas Kraptavičius, wiens artiestennaam om begrijpelijke redenen
afgekort is als Gintas K., die nu samen met de Ierse stemcoach en zangeres
Michelle O’Rourke het album Sorry Gold heeft gemaakt. Gintas K., tevens in
Modus, brengt al sinds 1999 zijn solomuziek naar buiten en verkent daarmee
de meer experimentele en abstracte kant van het muzikale spectrum. Hij heeft,
al dan niet samen met andere artiesten, inmiddels een lijvige discografie
opgebouwd. Michelle O’Rourke was eerder dit jaar nog te horen bij het folk
gezelschap Ficino Ensemble met haar dynamische zang, die soms ook richting
sopraan gaat. Ze roert zich dan ook meestal in hedendaags klassiek en folk.
Maar deze twee brengen met hulp van producer Emily Aoibheann iets
uitzonderlijks. Gintas K. levert namelijk een gruizig en dikwijls gitzwart
industrieel decor, waar je soms zelfs wat dansbeats ontwaart. Daar laat
O’Rourke haar prachtige, soms haast sacrale zang horen. Het is een wat
bevreemdende combinatie, maar op de één of andere manier past dit geweldig
bij elkaar; licht en donker, experimenteel en klassiek of yin en yang.
Daarnaast laten ze ook echt bezinnende stukken horen, zij het dat die op
niet alledaagse wijze ingekleurd worden. Beide hebben goud in handen, waar
ze bepaald hun excuses niet voor hoeven aan te bieden.
---------------------------------------------------------------
www.nowamuzyka.pl/2022/12/20/nowosci-z-zoharum-34/
„Sorry Gold” to spotkanie dwójki artystów z dwóch różnych światów. Gintas K
jest litewskim artystą z kręgu sound artu, który ma w swym dorobku
niezliczoną ilość płyt, publikowanych od 1999 roku. Michelle O’ Roruke to z
kolei wokalistka z irlandzkiej sceny muzyki współczesnej. Para spotkała się,
by stworzyć soundtrack do tanecznego spektaklu „Sorry Gold” Emily Aoibheann.
Teraz materiał ten ukazuje się na płycie wydanej przez Zoharum.
Krążek zawiera dziesięć kompozycji, które syntetyzują dotychczasowe
fascynacje swych autorów. Gintas K sięga przede wszystkim po field
recording, uzupełniając go brutalną elektroniką o typowo noise’owym tonie, a
Michelle O’Rourke wprowadza dźwięki rodem z neoklasyki i eksperymentalnej
opery. Efekt jest ciekawy – choć jego odbiór wymaga od słuchacza poświęcenia.
Spektakl miał swoją premierę w ramach Dublin Fringe Festival w Project Arts
Centre we wrześniu 2019 roku.
----------------------------------------------------------
Coraz
częściej zdarza mi się trafiać na płyty, które stworzone zostały pod kątem
dźwiękowej ilustracji do filmu lub przedstawień teatralnych. Część z nich w oderwaniu
od tego pierwotnego dzieła traci swoja siłę i charakter, niektóre jednak
bronią się jako osobne muzyczne dzieła. Do tych drugich można zaliczyć
wydany właśnie wspólny album pochodzącego z Litwy kompozytora i artysty
dźwiękowego Gintasa K oraz irlandzkiej wokalistki Michelle O’Rourke.
Sorry Gold
– to tytuł zarówno płyty jak i przedstawienia (a później i filmu), do którego muzycy
stworzyli ścieżkę dźwiękową. Oparta jest ona na improwizacji wykonywanej do wizualizacji,
scenografii oraz tańca aktorów. Słuchając tego albumu nie sposób uciec od skojarzeń
właśnie z jakimiś surrealistycznymi, onirycznymi pejzażami, za sprawą
których dźwięki zmieniają się w plastyczny obraz. Skojarzenie z tańcem,
które nasuwa się tu jakby samoistnie, jest naturalne. Sama autorka
przedstawienia mówi o nim: „Jeśli taniec technologii przemysłowej jest
powietrzny, to czym będzie taniec biotechnologii? Ta nowa praca ożywia
przedstawienie jako żywą i spekulatywną formę środowiska, w opozycji do kultury,
jej powtórzeń i odradzania się, trzymającej się mocno idei, że przyszłość
jest możliwa, pożądana i piękna. Ten spektakl jest pierwszą częścią
bliźniaczego projektu o tematyce cywilizacji i natury.”
Nie widząc
przedstawienia, ale słuchając samej płyty, trudno nie zgodzić się z tą inspiracją.
Utwory zawarte na krążku tworzą zróżnicowaną, lecz zarazem spójną całość. Z początku
słyszymy bardzo delikatne dźwięki klawiszy (lub organów), które płyną z oddali,
jakby były ukryte za grubą kotarą. Na ich tle wybrzmiewają delikatne, ale wyraziste
wokalizy Michelle. Z każdą kolejną minutą dźwięki robią się coraz bardziej
chropowate, zimne i intensywne. Te nasilające się harmonie sprawiają, że kontrast
między tłem a śpiewem robi się coraz bardziej wyraźny. Daje to bardzo
ciekawy efekt. W dodatku, wsłuchując się dokładnie w te noisowo-elektroniczne
podkłady, można wyłapać z nich fragmenty melodii, choć ukryte to jednak
podkreślające charakter całości. Pod koniec ta intensywność jednak znów
maleje, kierując ponownie całość w stronę bardziej łagodnych dźwiękowych
przestrzeni.
Ciekawa
to i bardzo wymagająca płyta wychodząca daleko poza schemat teatralnej
ścieżki dźwiękowej.
Civilization, nature...
the fusional duo, controversy and laudable intentions!
Developed within the
framework of a performance, combining the multi-disciplinary talents of
MM. Emily Aoibheann, Michelle O'Rourke and Gintas K, "Sorry Gold"
depicts the questions, the doubts and our deeper determination to see a
possible future, radiant and more enchanting than the sinister statement
of evidence, currently in force.
Clever emulsion, fusion,
voluntary frictions, dazzling contrasts whose alchemy reveals a strange
dialogue between the magnificent coloratura of Michelle O'Rourke and the
dark sequential roughness, tormented drones, harsh noise, industrial
hammering but also the delicate pointillism of Gintas K, under very high
voltage.
Sorry Gold has the
glowing, uncompromising beauty of very high-flying works and, we hope,
some perspectives and rejoicing consequences.
thierry massard / 19
décembre 2022 - 12:35
---------------------------------------------
Gintas K – Jingles With
Bells
auralaggravation.com/2022/11/14/gintas-k-jingles-with-bells/
Posted: 14 November 2022 in Albums
Tags: Album Review, analogue emlation, beats, Birdfriend, distortion,
electronica, Experimental, festive, Gintas K, Jingles With Bells, laptop,
Lithuanian
Birdfriend – 2nd September 2022
Christopher Nosnibor
Gintas K is at it again! Last year I was compelled to break my vow not to
listen to, or write a word about any Christmas-themed releases on account of
his album, Christmas Till the End, released on December 25th, and now, just
when I’m getting into full foaming at the mouth mode over how there’s
Christmas stuff everywhere since the week before Halloween, I discover he
dropped an album bearing a title
with overly festive connotations, which was, in fact, released at the start
of September – and which was recorded in July!
Jingles With Bells was, like a number of other works, recorded live, using
computer, midi keyboard, and controller.
Despite the album title being in English, and offering something of a play
on words with jingles suggesting advertisements as well as festive chimes,
the track titles are in K’s native Lithianian, and I’m not entirely sure I
trust Google translate when it tells me that ‘irgi dugnai auksti ir aopacia
garsai gerai visai’ is ‘the bottoms are also high and the background sounds
are quite good’ – although it is a fair description of the
six-and-a-half-minute opener. It begins with sparse drips and drops echoing
as if in a giant cave, before Kraptavičius introduces his trademark
flickering electrostatic glitches and whirs. The layers build as crunches
and crackles clamour into a frenzy of fucked-up robotics.
Stammering, fractured beats collide and disperse in all directions, a
wheezing, groaning, creaking array of electronic simulations and rapidfire
thumps like hammers and nail guns, jazz percussion and despite the complete
absence of any actual percussion, Jingles With Bells is marked by a complete
absence of any actual beats, instead being driven by clattering short sounds
that resemble beats and even trick the ear and mind with their (ar)rhythmic
explosions. The last thirty seconds of the seven-minute ‘is to pacio tesinys
geras’ (which may or may not translate as therefore the continuation is
good’ is marked by silence, and it’s a welcome reprieve from the blindingly
busy blitzkrieg blast.
‘istisinis is to pacio’ is a snarling drilling grind of bass, but also
introduces the first jangling treble that might pass at a distance as a
jingle, but it more resembles a dentist’s drill than sleigh, and the whole
experience is less jingle and more nerve-jangling and uncomfortable.
Echoic droplets and sounds reminiscent of jangling jamjars trickle through
the album, and the ten-minute monster that is ‘varpeliai noiz bugn bosas
neblogai’ (‘bells noiz bugn boss not bad’ – yeah… nah) begins with what
sounds like a bath being run down the plug and a crackling blast of blocks
of distortion against – finally – chimes. But against a creaking croaking,
cracking low end like the bow of a wooden ship breaking against rocks in a
storm, those melodic tinkles soon build to forge an oppressive,
head-compressing sonic torture; it’s simply all too much. But too much is
never enough, and as such, it all adds up to another album that bears all of
Gintas K’s quite unique hallmarks forged from some mangled laptop
machinations, manipulated in real time.
----------------------------------------
www.classicalmusicdaily.com/2022/09/gintas.htm
A Very Worthwhile Experience
GEOFF PEARCE listens to the latest album from Gintas K
'Every time I listen, I feel a different perspective and hear different
things ...'
This is the latest creative offering from Gintas K (born 1969) who is a very
interesting soundscape artist. I enjoy his creations and this latest set
contains six tracks, five of which form the set that falls under the
umbrella of the tile of this recording, mountains, runlets, caves and
cascades. He provides three quotes from H P Lovecraft (1890-1937) who was a
master writer of supernatural horror fiction.
The first track lasts about five minutes, and starts from silence and grows
with a kind of block, until this ceases and you are left with drips of
liquid, as if you are standing in a subterranean cave and hearing water drip
down from the roof. Occasionally louder sounds and rumbles appear for short
periods of time, as if they are in the distance. This could be water flowing
and the sounds being distorted through the tunnels to reach the listener.
This fades away back to nothing. It gives the feeling of being an a damp
underground cave.
The second track, of about the same length, also starts in silence. Every so
often there is a gentle background roar, suggestive of an underground stream
moving gently, gaining in power, and perhaps moving small stones and
crystals as it moves. The sounds gradually intensify as perhaps you are
being drawn closer to the source, but this is intermittent so the direction
is not fixed. There are gentle tinkling and clicks that make you wonder if
there are creatures of the dark or some sort of presence. In the last few
moments the sound becomes more intense: perhaps you are at a waterfall
underground, or something similar.
The third track starts with a background trickling that grows and then
subsides, and one can sense something moving around, gently disturbing
brittle rocks or crystals. The trickling intensifies and there is a muffled
roar which gradually gets louder. One gets a feeling of dread, without
actually getting to the point of feeling threatened, but it is quite
ominous, and almost of a mechanical nature. This subsides but is still
present. This is the sort of music to listen to in darkness and let your
imagination run wild. I have been into caves a few times, or into river
canyons with narrow steep rock walls that are dripping and mossy and also
where little sunlight reaches, and I feel a similar effect here.
The fourth track is by far the longest, being almost fifteen minutes long.
One hears all of the elements from the previous movements, present here and
expanded. An eerie silence, followed by deep groans, shot with higher
sounds, and all growing in strength and energy. Various elements in turn
have their prominence and one feels as if one is in an ancient world, but
with a futuristic presence. The mood, energy and sounds are constantly
shifting, but the feeling of water trickling over brittle rocks is always
there. This is punctuated by moments of uneasy quiet. There are moments
where one feels an almost ghostly presence in the fact that it does not
quite materialise. Sometimes the sounds are as if from a distance, and at
other times they seem very close, but the perception can phase from distant
to close very quickly. Sometimes the sound appears above, and at other times
below you. About two thirds of the way through this track, the energy
becomes almost frantic, but it pulses and one has the feeling that all this
energy will not be maintained and this does dissipate. There is a long
period of almost static quietness at the end of this track.
The final movement, which lasts about nine minutes, begins in a much louder
fashion than the previous ones, and almost an echoey bell effect, before the
trickling and tinkling emerges, and this grows in power and energy under a
background roar. This contains elements of the previous tracks, but
consolidates them, and is the most dynamic of all the tracks but there are
passages that are calmer and gentler, or ominous. Most of the energy of this
movement happens in the first few minutes, and by the end, the track
retreats into silence.
There are common elements that unite all of these five tracks and I find the
recording's descriptive title - mountains, runlets, caves and cascades -
very apt.
The last track, Eastern Bells, starts with a peal of bell-like sounds, and
this grows and subsides by varying degrees. There are similarities with the
bell type sounds of the last movement of the previous work, but they are a
more important element through this track, and one has the sense of a
sunrise (at least I do!), or perhaps an emergence from a cave into the wider
sunlit and brighter world. There is a central note around which all the
other sounds emerge, an F sharp, and this note is present right until almost
the end, where the work fragments into nothing.
Coming in all the way from
Lithuania is Gintas Kraptavicius' - a.k.a. Gintas K - new album
"Mountains, Runlets, Caves & Cascades" which has been released as a
limited to 100 copies CD edition on the artist run imprint Gk Rec as the
labels cat.no. 006. Released on August 13th, 2k22 and originally
recorded back in 2k20 the six tracks and roughly 47 minutes spanning
longplayer once again sees the Lithuanian experimentalist employ his
tested and proven setup of computer, midi keyboard and controller to
perform a deep dive into hyperdetailed and partially hypergranular flow
composition. With the opening set of tunes subsequently named
"Mountains, Runlets, Caves & Cascades #1 - #5" and the additional
closing tune "Eastern Bells" Gintas K provides a well minimalist view on
spatial, cavernous DarkAmbient atmospheres accompanied by chiming, ever
busy and moving, partially glitched out background motifs as well as
sweeping filters and the occasional hard hitting, yet heavily
reprocessed percussion burst, probably generated from originally field
recorded sounds that bring to mind bands like Einstürzende Neubauten in
their "Kollaps" phase whereas the rest of the album would rather apply
to those deeply entrenched in the sounds of artists like Yves De Mey,
Aleph-1, Oval, Shapednoise, Aube and other producers of partially
Glitch-leaning Deep Listening Avantgarde Music of electronic origin.
Good stuff. Check.
-------------------------------------
GINTAS K - MOUNTAINS, RUNLETS, CAVES &
CASCADES (CD by GK Records)
www.vitalweekly.net/1350.html
The only 'information' here are three quotes from stories by HP Lovecraft, the
author of supernatural and horror fiction (and more, of course). Are we to hear
the music by Gintas K as a sort of soundtrack to the stories? I know Gintas K
(as in Kraptavicius) as a man of laptop music, and this new CD is no different.
And yet, reading these quotes (and thinking that I should start on that
Lovecraft book I bought years ago!), one is almost obliged to think of Lovecraft,
and I am trying to figure out a connection. He says there are no field
recordings used in the music here and that all music was played, recorded live,
at once, without any overdub using a computer, midi-keyboard and controller. I
don't know which software he uses on his laptop, but there is a lot to choose
from these days. Max/MSP would be my best guess. I certainly believe in hearing
a 'cave-like' sound. Gintas K reshapes his computerized sounds so that they
sound like droplets in a cage. Sometimes they sound like bells, like rattling
fences or anything one thinks of when thinking about the supernatural and
horror. Sounds like slithering snakes, the howl of a monster or a grave opening
at night; the unleashing of a beast out of the swamp. What Gintas K does here,
and he is doing a great job as such, is to make it all sound not very
computer-like. Yet, if you zoom in, you may recognize these to be computer
sounds. This play with analogue/digital or real/unreal works very well and fits,
for me, the Lovercraftion background of the music. Be I remember that if Gintas
K had chosen H.G. Wells, I would probably have heard something about science
fiction in this. And, if no such references were made, I would have applauded
the abstract nature of computer music. The only downside was that Gintas K could
have used a bit more imanigination when titling this pieces. Five parts of the
CD's title, plus 'Eastern Bells' is, perhaps, a bit thin. (FdW)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Good new work from Gintas Kraptavicius (Gintas K), 'mountains, runlets, caves &
cascades', with his unique, sparkling approach to electronics. -Brian Olewnick
------------------------------------------------------------
Gintas
Kraptavičius says his new album Mountains, runlets,
caves & cascades reflects nature in a manner similar
to the writing of American horror legend H.P.
Lovecraft. “There was a lot of meaning behind
Lovecraft’s descriptions of mountains and nature in
general,” says the artist, who records under the
name gintas k. “His descriptions were seldom shiny.”
Rather
than incorporate field recordings, the new work is
an entirely digital affair recorded live with no
overdubs. “Conceptual explorations,” says gintas. It
is a sound artist’s take on nature, as familiar as
it is unsettling.
On one
level, the album works as an intense electroacoustic/musique
concrčte experience. With more than 50 solo and
collaborative releases on his resume – produced over
the last two decades – gintas has earned a place
among the world’s great electronic music producers.
He is every bit the master over the course of these
47 new minutes.
"Electroacoustic
music is like cinema for the ears".-
gintas
k
Understanding his intention though, to produce a
“sonic picture of nature: forest, mountains, rivers
and caves,” adds valuable context. The execution is
gorgeous. Among the album’s highlights is the
replication of a slowly gathering thunderstorm on
the album’s third piece. (At least, that’s how I
hear it.)
Like
much of his catalogue, the work is deeply visual.
“People tell me that a lot,” he says.
“Electroacoustic music is like cinema for the ears.
But I don’t think about visuals when I’m recording
music.”
That
comes later, says gintas. “I am honoured to have
been able to work with the visual artists that I
have.”
Since
2004, he has collaborated with the visual artist
Donatas Juodišius-Juodo. His daughter Indra
Kraptavičiūtė designed the new album’s cover.
De ‘strijkkwartetten’ van
Frieda Bertelsohn Martholdy die hier gsiteren voorbij kwamen, vormen een
mooie overgang naar een serie recensies over elektronische muziek. Te
beginnen met de uit Litouwen afkomstige Gintas Kraptavičius, ofwel Gintas K.
Hij komt hier regelmatig voorbij, voor het laatst begin vorig jaar met ‘The
Ways’ en blijft mij altijd weer verrassen. Vandaag aandacht voor het in
eigen beheer uitgekomen ‘Nervus Vagus’ en het bij het Portugese Crónica
verschenen ‘Lėti’. Twee totaal verschillende albums, de veelzijdigheid van K
aantonend.
De dertien delen van ‘Nervus
Vagus’ vormen een eenheid. Kraptavičius over dit album: “‘Nervus vagus’ is
an electroacoustic music work that consists of stretched granular motives
during the entire piece. They are mixed with voices and stories told by
people of different ages and gender. Stories blossom out of humorous
fairytales told by 5 years’ child, stories about death, narrations of
mindfulness, stories about consequences of WW2, deportation during Stalin
regime and life in Siberia.” Een album dus met een ziel. En het moet gezegd,
de combinatie van de vaak industrieel aandoende elektronica, iets wat we bij
deze musicus vaker aantreffen en de stemsamples is een bijzondere. Mooie
voorbeelden zijn ‘Paštys Story’, waarin we redelijk zacht een man horen
praten, gecombineerd met een sloom ritmisch patroon en het vrij lange ‘+ All
We Are’ waarin diverse stemmen en futuristische geluiden prachtig samen
oplopen. ‘Paštys Story’ loopt overigens uit in een schitterend
klanklandschap, ‘Saulė fairy tale about dogs, piglets & a wolf’, waarbij een
meisjesstem de futuristische klanken doorsnijdt. ‘Art Story’ is een ander
voorbeeld van Kraptavičius’ rijke klankwereld.
Zestien jaar geleden verscheen
‘Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound’ bij Crónica, het
eerste album van K bij dit label. Sindsdien werkte K regelmatig mee aan
compilatie albums en volgde er vier volwaardige albums, gevolgd door het
vijfde dit jaar, ‘Lėti’. Zoals gezegd is dit een totaal ander album dan
‘Nervus Vagus’. Hier laat K zich van zijn ingetogen kant horen. Om te
beginnen in het prachtige ‘Bells’, maar meer nog middels de wonderlijke
bliebjes in ‘Hallucination’. Aansluitend een vrij donkere klankwolk in
‘Various’, dit moet je live horen, verderop doorspekt met gruis. In ieder
van de elf stukken op dit album creëert K een andere, bijzonder consistente
geluidswereld en altijd is deze en dat onderscheidt dit album met name van
‘Nervus Vagus’ bijzonder sfeervol. Het hierboven genoemde ‘Various’ is een
voorbeeld, maar ook de gruizige klankwereld in ‘Savage’; de wijze waarop hij
de gitaar inzet in ‘Guitar’, korte aanslagen, waarvan het geluid zich
langzaam door de ruimte beweegt; het lome ritme in ‘Nice Pomp’, afgewisseld
met allerhande futuristische klankuitingen en het enigszins aan minimal
music verwante ‘Query’. Maar het best komt het tot uiting in ‘Ambient’, het
stuk heet niet voor niets zo. Al kan K het ook hier niet laten het
sfeervolle landschap te interrumperen.
Portugalijos leidybinė kompanija „Crónica“ šįmet išleido naują Ginto
Kraptavičiaus albumą Lėti. Tai nebe pirmas Ginto albumas po šio leiblo
vėliava. Be to, jau anksčiau į field recoring ir elektroakustinius
eksperimentus orientuotos kompanijos akiratyje buvo atsidūrę ir kiti
lietuviai – Arturas Bumšteinas ir Darius Čiuta.
Naujausio
Ginto albumo pavadinimas Lėti taikliai nusako, kaip jis skamba: albumas
tikrai lėtas. Žinoma, jis nėra toks lėtas kaip galėtų įsivaizduoti drone ar
funeral doom metal fanai, bet turint omenyje kitą Ginto kūrybą, Lėti tikrai
gali būti laikomas vienu lėčiausių jo darbų. Gintas pastaruoju metu tampa
vis draugiškesnis neeksperimentų ištroškusioms ausims. Bent jau pernykštis
jo albumas Nervus Vagus ir naujai pasirodęs Lėti leidžia taip teigti.
Pajuokaujant galima sakyti, kad Gintas popsėja.
Lėti –
labai harmoningas, darnus leidinys. Čia nuo šaižių ir kampuotų mikrotoniškų
struktūrų pereinama į darnesnes kompozicijas, tačiau Gintas išlaiko sau
būdingus tembrus, sterilumą ir, žinoma, granuliatoriais į trumpus garsus
skaidomą garsyną. Albumas pakankamai įvairus. Kompozicija Various skamba
kiek griežtai, primena senesnius Ginto darbus, o štai Nice Pomp pabaiga
skamba tarsi nuo glissando prasidedantis galingas pianisto Cecilo Tailoro
solo, transformuotas į elektroninę Ginto kalbą. Ambient, kaip ir sako pats
pavadinimas, suskamba ambientiškai, yra kupinas vandens tėkmę imituojančių
garsų. Be to, albume Lėti Gintas pakankamai gausiai naudoja styginius
instrumentus primenančius tembrus, kuriuos galima girdėti Guitar, Nice Pomp,
Bonus Sound ir kitur.
Naujajame
savo albume Gintas vengia drastiškų kontrastų, kuriuos neretai girdėdavau
ankstesniuose jo darbuose, ir kuria nuosaikų garsyną, kuriame nuotaikos
kinta palaipsniui. Lėti – meditatyvus įrašas, kurio su malonumu gali
klausytis ne tik hardcoriniai šaižių mikrotonų fanai, bet ir kur kas
platesnis ratas melomanų. Svarbiausia išdrįsti pasitraukti į šalį nuo
kasdienės skubos ir pabandyti sulėtėti.
-----------------------------------------
https://inactuelles.over-blog.com/2022/05/gintas-k-leti.html
Gintas K - Lčti
Publié le 20 Mai 2022
L'artiste sonore et compositeur lithuanien Gintas K sort, seize ans aprčs
son premier disque chez Crónica, l'excellent label portugais consacré aux
musiques électroniques et expérimentales, Lčti, « Lent » en lithuanien. Onze
titres de musique électronique ŕ la fine granulation : regardez bien la
pochette !
Clochettes, touches de synthétiseur : un clapotis, un tintinnabulement
enchanteur, c'est "Bells", surprenante vignette pastorale qui s'enfonce dans
la touffeur des herbes électroniques. Vous y ętes ! Et ce n'est pas une
"Hallucination" (second titre) désagréable. La musique gonfle, fait des
bulles, danse imperceptiblement. De la musique pour des toiles d'Yves Tanguy.
De petites toiles arachnéennes. Ce qui n'empęche pas l'envol de "Various",
synthétiseurs grondants et dramatiques, toute une cavalerie grandiose jamais
pesante en effet, du Tim Hecker micro-dentelé, avec une belle stase onirique
ŕ la respiration sous-marine. Superbe travail !
Avec "Variation", la musique devient borborygmes, boursouflures minuscules
du matériau sonore : surgit un monde étrange prčs de s'engloutir.
"Atmosphere" est au contraire saturé, débordant d'événements sonores qui se
ralentissent, s'étalent autour de virgules ironiques sur fond de drones
poussiéreux. Pas le meilleur titre, selon moi, ventre mou de l'album. Je
préfčre "Savage", granuleux en diable, crapaud sonore pataugeant dans une
bouillasse électronique vaguement monstrueuse, dont émerge une poussée
formidable, pustuleuse de bruissements métalliques serrés, qui retourne ŕ la
vase lourde. "Guitar" ? Souvenir énigmatique d'un instrument fantôme, réduit
ŕ des griffures courtes, espacées, accompagnées de gribouillis balbutiés !
L'un des meilleurs titres de l'album, le miraculeux "Nice Pomp", est d'une
délicatesse confondante, ce qui n'exclut pas une belle force. Le
foisonnement électronique est travaillé en couches ŕ multiples facettes qui
s'estompent avant un finale hoquetant. "Query", ŕ l'énigmatique beauté
transparente, se charge peu ŕ peu de poussées cascadantes d'orgue avant de
retourner ŕ un calme bucolique parsemée de fleurettes sonnantes : Gintas K
est le maître de ces petites pičces précieuses ! L'avant-dernier titre,
"Ambient", s'inscrit parfaitement dans cette esthétique raffinée. Il associe
jeux d'eau et nappes synthétiques légčres, créant une sorte de jardin
japonais sonore, apaisant et nimbé de mystčre grâce ŕ son chemin de drones
amortis.
Le "Bonus Sound" conclut ce parcours par un hymne ambiant somptueux,
feuilleté de frémissements, ŕ la magnifique granulation électronique.
Indéniablement un grand disque, subtilement ciselé !
Lithuanian sound artist Gintas
K is one of those musicians whose discography contains literally dozens of
albums, and on his new Lėti LP, he’s seemingly mastered the art of symphonic
glitch. Emotionally stirring and distinctly inorganic, the album at times
recalls the work of artists like Oval, although the shimmering waves of
“Various” are strikingly beautiful in their own right. They actually sound
like the work of a simulated orchestra, but as they’re joined by the song’s
chittering array of clicks, blips and other digital imperfections, the music
becomes truly intriguing. “Bonus Sound,” another standout cut, follows a
similar path, even as its melodies sound more like a virtual chorus of
Mediterranean lutes, sparking visions of seaside cliffs and vast olive
groves.
Having seen various videos
of Gintas K’s improvisations, involving a keyboard and a dusty old
Lenovo ThinkPad running some custom software, it’s apparent that his
approach to composition is nothing if not unusual, and it’s matched by
the results.
His Crónica debut,
Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound was sixteen
years ago, and his return to the label is a very different offering,
although as has been a common factor throughout his career, Lėti
– Lithuanian for slow – consists of comparatively short pieces – and
here, the majority are four minutes long or less. Less is more, and
what’s more, Gintas K invariably manages to pack more into a couple of
minutes than many artists do in half an hour. Here, we have a set of
eleven short pieces ‘created from recording and improvising in studio
followed by extensive mixing and editing using software.’ There’s no
more detail than that: some artists accompany their releases with essays
explaining the creative process and the algorithms of the software and
so on, but Gintas K simply leaves the music for the listener to engage
with and to ponder.
Where Lėti is
something of a departure is in the emphasis on the editing and mixing of
the material and the fact that, as the title suggests, the arrangements
are a little more sedate. The signature crackles and pops, chines and
static are all present and correct, but there’s a sense of deliberation
as we’re led through ethereal planes of delicate chimes and tinkling
tones that resonate and hang in the air, drifting in open expanses, with
time and space to reverberate and slowly decay. With this more measured
feel, melodies become more apparent, with simple motifs, repeated,
giving ‘Hallucination’ a sense of structure and, I suppose you might
actually say ‘tune’.
It isn’t that Gintas’
works lack tunefulness as such, but that any tune is surrounded by froth
and extranea, and so much is going on it’s often hard to miss. Listening
to Lėti is a fairly calm, even soothing experience, at least for
the most part, conjuring a mood of reflection, of contemplation. The
album’s longest piece, the seven-minute ‘Various’ brings a dense wave of
sound that surges and swells slowly like a turning tide. There’s almost
a stately grandeur to it, but then, there’s a rattling kind of a buzz
that’s something of a distraction, and a glitch that nags away and seems
to accelerate. These little headfucks are quintessential Gintas K, and
Lėtiisn’t all soft and sweet: ‘Savage’ brings thick,
fuzzing distortion and discomfort.
The flurries of sound, the
babble of bubbling bleeps and bloops that are his standard fare are
slowed to sparse, irregular drips in a cave on ‘Variation’, and the
application of reverb is impressively nuanced, to the point that the
reverbs almost become music in their own right. ‘Atmosphere’ and
‘Ambient’ are appropriately titled, while ‘Nice Pomp’ would comfortably
serve as a soundtrack to a slow-motion film of a moon landing or
somesuch, and again none of the pieces are without depth or detail, as
the layers and slivers of sound that intersect create so much more than
mere surface.
Lėti is a genuinely
pleasant and pleasurable listening experience, but is most certainly
isn’t straightforward or simple in what it delivers. There are many
sonic nuggets to unearth, and so many tones and textures along the way,
that what is, superficially ‘less’ is, in actual fact, a whole lot more.
Der litauische Klang-,
Performance- und Konzeptkünstler Gintas Kraptavičius alias Gintas K bringt
dieser Tage ein neues Tape heraus. “Lėti”, das im Litauischen “langsam”
bedeutet, enthält elf Miniaturen, gebaut aus filigranen Sounddetails
unterschiedlichster Herkunft, die einer ebensolchen Vielfalt an
Bearbeitungsstufen unterzogen wurden und in ihrer finalen Gestalt einer
großen Wunderkammer gleichen, in der man bei jedem neuen Besuch imemr wieder
neue Stilreferenzen und einiges mehr entdecken kann.
Gintas K ist seit der ersten
Hälfte der 80er aktiv, zunächst als Teil des Post-Industrial-Duos Modus, ab
Mitte der 90er dann mit seinen soundorientierten Soloarbeiten. Vom Label
heißt es: “He became known for his sound actions, theatrical performances
and conceptual art in the manner of Fluxus and now works in digital
experimental and electroacoustic music, film music, and sound installations.
His compositions are based on granular synthesis, live electronic, hard
digital computer music, and small melodies”. “Lėti” erscheint auf CD und als
Download bei Crónica. via African
Paper
Rather Joyous in Effect
GEOFF PEARCE listens to ‘Lėti’
by Gintas K
‘… different pitched bells and a rather strange crackly background.’
This is my second review of
the works of Gintas K, a fascinating and innovative sound artist, born in
Lithuania in 1969 and a person who has generated considerable interest. As
with the previous album I reviewed, this electronic music work needs a good
sound system or headphones and a nice quiet environment to truly be
appreciated. The title of this release, Lėti, is Lithuanian for
‘Slow’ and comprises eleven short tracks.
The first track, Bells,
consists of different pitched bells and a rather strange crackly background.
It starts off relaxed, and grows in intensity before fading away to silence.
The middle section is rather joyous in effect.
The second track, Hallucination,
starts in a slightly fragmentary fashion, but a pattern soon emerges that is
present throughout the whole track, the sounds around it changes as does the
pattern itself, but it is always recognisable and I tend to focus on that
more than the sounds around it. The pattern is shortened towards the end of
the track, but sometimes the memory fills in the rest. This quite a
fascinating movement. It does portray what the title suggests it might.
Track 3, Various,
starts almost organ-like and swells and pulses and grows increasingly
louder. Eventually it becomes more complex as other sounds cut across and
some are absorbed into this pedal note. A slow melodic figure grows around
this pedal note. About half way through, the intensity of the pedal note
becomes less and the music relaxes and becomes quieter, apart from the
rather spiky interjections. This reminds me of some of the very early
electronic music I heard in my youth and is the longest work on this disc.
Towards the end of the track the music is much less dense and it fades away
to a single point of sound.
Variation seems
to revolve around the pedal note in the previous track and there are various
short abrupt tones that suggest that the pedal is there, without it
generally being so. Maybe this is just my imagination, but I believe this
music leaves it wide open for you to feel or imagine what you will. Every
time I listen, I hear new things and my perspective changes.
Atmosphere,
is announced by a couple of guitar notes, and then a dense field is built up
around that, sometimes two note patterns, sounds that are a little like
whale song, again with a pedal being maintained, although this does change
in pitch slightly as the work progresses. This track is certainly
atmospheric, perhaps also being a statement of the atmosphere that envelopes
and nourishes us all.
Savage begins
with a core distorted sound that becomes the pedal around which other sounds
move. This grows in intensity as the movement progresses, and in the middle
grows rather menacingly and the activity generally becomes more intense.
This starts subsiding towards the end and the movement ends quite abruptly.
Guitar is
a short track of recorded and filtered guitar sounds that have other sounds
added around them. The internal resonance of the guitar is also either
captured or simulated, and the three-note guitar figure that repeats
throughout the movement is the unifying factor.
Nice Pomp is
interesting and varied with bell sounds and organ, and is quite melodic and
relaxing. Even though the overall pulse is slow, the work is busy with many
different sounds and effects that create a rich tapestry without
overwhelming. In the middle, excitement bubbles over and the music becomes
quite exultant before becoming calmer. Just when you think it has stopped,
it bubbles up again and then rapidly subsides.
Query begins
with a fairly rapid rhythmic pulse over a pedal and other sounds start
growing around it, including some bell effects, some of which sound like an
alarm bell. This grows in intensity and then subsides but the whisper of a
pedal, maintained in the bell, remains as the music disappears into silence
leaving the idea of the query behind.
Track 10 is entitled Ambient.
This music grows from nothing and a chord emerges, again with a pedal note
underneath. On this CD, the pedal note seems to be a frequently used device.
In this movement it comes and goes but there is always one present in one or
another register. There is a bubbly background and the music is quiet and
reflective.
The final track, Bonus
Sound, grows like a swarm of bumble bees that create the pedal around
the note A. The sounds around it that grow in the middle suggest a
melody, but every time I listen, the melody seems to slightly change with my
awareness.
This CD is not something that everyone
would appreciate, but again there are rich rewards for those that do. The
Gintas K works I’ve heard impress me because they are free from gimmicks or
pretentiousness and are honest. There seems to be a unifying factor and
sense of purpose that leads you gently but purposely, but does not thrust
itself upon you. I did enjoy this journey. Geoff
Pearce via Classical
Music Daily
GINTAS K - LĖTI (CD by
Crónica)
I leave my head hanging down a bit ... In shame, I had never heard of Gintas
K before until this CD except for one single track on a sampler. And the
reason why I love samplers (exploration time, finding out about new names)
should have given me a hint towards this man, but well, sometimes, things
probably slither through the net's mazes.
Gintas K hails from Lithuania, and he has been active since 1994. According
to his Discogs page, his output is quite massive, so he will be researched
further these coming years, especially when the promo sheets talk about his
theatrical performances, Fluxus, experimental, electroacoustic & film music
well, as sound installations. And when I read the added granular synthesis
(one of my favourite synthesis methods), my musician's heart throbs more
intensely.
"Lėti" - Lithuanian for slow - is a CD released on the Portuguese Crónica on
which Gintas K had already released four albums and a few 'digital-only. The
composition on "Lėti" is between two and seven minutes, and it's a lovely
album to play in the background while you're getting stuff done. The titles
refer to the atmosphere that's being created on the particular track.
"Bells" highlights the use of a somewhat ringing sound, "Guitar" sounds like
a guitar. Still, it could also be something different that's manipulated to
sound like a guitar and "Ambient" is a really nice minimal ambient tapestry.
So the titles are more like a reference than highly creative titles; Maybe
that's a leftover from the Fluxus part where I've seen this more often.
The 'slowness' and heartbeat of the album makes it an album worth playing in
rotation. Time goes faster when the heartbeat is slow, and maybe that is why
I think this is a very powerful release. And for those who - like me - never
heard of Gintas K before, this is a good starting point to start exploring.
(BW)
www.mic.lt/lt/ivykiai/2022/01/06/2021-uju-iv-ketvircio-lietuvisku-albumu-apzvalga/
Gintas K – „Nervus Vagus“ Vitalijus Gailius
Jei vyktų produktyviausių kūrėjų apdovanojimai, Gintas Kraptavičius
neabejotinai būtų tarp nominantų, o gal net pelnytų pagrindinį prizą. „Nervus
Vagus“ – tai trečiasis Ginto leidinys 2021-aisiais (Kalėdų pirmą dieną G.
Kraptavičius spėjo išleisti ir ketvirtąjį, kalėdinį albumą), kuriame šis
elektroakustiniuose garsų telkiniuose plaukiojantis kūrėjas įkiša koją į
naujas teritorijas.
Pirmoje kompozicijoje „Beginning. Laughter“ girdime gana
tipišką, greitai besikeičiančių mikrotonų garsyne skendintį Gintą, tačiau
netrukus pasigirsta mažos mergaitės pasakojimas, praskaidrintas fone
besijuokiančios moters, tikėtina, mamos. Tada viskas pereina į kiek tamsesnį
kūrinį „Rising“, po kurio „Nervus Vagus“ tarsi netenka dalies Gintui būdingo
glitchinio kampuotumo ir šiurkštumo. Garsynas tampa ramesnis, dinaminis
diapazonas ne toks platus. Garsų gurmanams čia apstu ausis glostančių
dovanėlių, tokių kaip subtiliai trapios bosinės linijos kūriniuose „Tartu
story“ ir „Keep Walking“ ar dark ambientu dvelkiančioje kompozicijoje „All
We Are“ atpažįstamos ankstesniųjų epizodų detalės.
„Nervus Vagus“ klajojame ne tik garsuose. Albume Gintas naudoja įvairių
žmonių – vaikų (pvz., savo jaunėlės dukros Saulės), senolių ir t. t. –
pasakojimų ištraukas, kuriose atsispindi ne tik pasakos, bet ir mintijimai
apie trėmimus, mirtį ir kitas gyvenimo negandas. Kaip sako albumo aprašymas,
šio įrašo nereikia bandyti suprasti, verčiau tiesiog atsipalaiduoti ir tegul
fantazija neša, kur valioja. Taip ir darykime, tiesiog mėgaukimės šiuo labai
įtraukiu Ginto albumu, kuriame, mano galva, jis tarsi atsitraukia nuo savųjų
klišių ir suskamba kiek kitaip.
-------------------------------------------------------
Il lituano Gintas K dŕ alle
stampe l'ennesimo album, in un coacervo produttivo che vede una media di
almeno 3 o 4 uscite l'anno tra supporti fisici e materiale digitale. "Nervus
Vagus" č effettivamente l'ultima produzione di Gintas in ordine cronologico,
risalente allo scorso ottobre (sebbene composta nel 2020) e incentrata su
storie narrate da bambini, riguardanti questioni risalenti alla seconda
guerra mondiale e alle deportazioni di Stalin. I suoni uniscono una
deframmentazione, in cui si mira a destrutturare le fonti audio come se
fossero tessere di un puzzle, a partiture elettroacustiche lineari che
compongono basi sonore semplici e ascoltabili. In sovrimpressione
intervengono voci narranti che si mescolano alla massa audio, a volte
architettata unendo rumori e para-melodie, a volte incentrata su una sola
fonte compositiva. Nel complesso prevale una forte vena sperimentale, con
lampi audio alla deriva senza un trait d'union evidente se non, in alcuni
casi, le voci sovrimpresse. Difficile lasciarsi andare ad un ascolto,
eccetto in quei casi dove i rumori riescono a seguire una logica, fatto che
rende il disco sin troppo ostico, a fronte di una tecnica e di un tema di
fondo mai troppo organizzati nei riferimenti e nello stile compositivo (nomi
come Nurse With Wound o Throbbing Gristle sono lontani anni luce, sebbene se
ne avverta una vaga eco stilistica). Edito in un dignitoso digisleeve
apribile.
Michele Viali
------------------------------------------------
Gintas K – Christmas
Till The End
auralaggravation.com/2021/12/31/gintas-k-christmas-till-the-end/
Posted: 31 December 2021
Christopher Nosnibor
I vowed not to cover anything Christmas-related, simply because, well,
because, and also because fuck it. Christmas releases tend to be mawkish,
and / or shitty cash-ins, which I have simply no time for, and even a
general distain. Charity fundraisers are laudable, although in a just world
there should be no need for them because ultimately the state should be
supporting the needy and vulnerable without musicians, most of who make next
to nothing from their art, having to donate their small royalty fees to food
banks and the like. Christmas sucks on so many levels that it’s an essay or
even a book in its own right, but this perhaps isn’t the place to begin
expounding any of that.
But here we are, and here I am making an exception, and for what I feel to
be the right reasons, with the additional bonus that this is no crappy
cash-in, and no motive beyond itself.
The prodigiously prolific Gintas K celebrated Christmas unconventionally
with yet another release, this time in the form of a
Christmas treat entitled Christmas Till The End. With five tracks in all,
which are mostly shorter pieces, apart from the twelve-minute title track,
it’s quite a departure from much of his back-catalogue, not least of all
some of his experimental digital explosions of recent years which have seen
him move from microtonal explorations to squelch-laden sonic chaos delivered
by means of some nifty software run though an ancient Lenovo Thinkpad
(something I have infinite respect for: so many musos have state of the art
hardware, while I’ve discovered for myself that reconditioned corporate
laptops even from a decade ago have better specs and are built more sturdily
than the majority of consumer-orientated laptops). Whatever the sonic
differences, though, he’s maintained the same process, namely recording each
track live in a single take with no overdubs.
Christmas Till The End may not be the frenzied digitised froth of recent
releases, whereby GK simply blasts out various strains of laptop-generated
whirring, blooping, crackling noise, and you couldn’t exactly call it a
conventional Christmas album, or a celebration of the festive season,
either. It’s more of an assemblage of elements of Christmas collaged,
crossed out, crunched together.
If the first track, ‘Bah’, perhaps speaks for itself, ‘Für Elise’ presents a
picture that highlights the complexities of Gintas’ work. It features
Beethoven’s ‘Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor’ (aka ‘Für Elise’) and mangles the
absolute fuck out of it, because it’s a Gintas K digital mess mash-up.
There’s no overt or explicit statement here but trashing the piece feels
more like a desecration of the Christmas spirit than a celebration, an act
of destruction that feels wonderfully irreverent and more than just a little
cathartic in context. It is, also, an ultimately avant-garde act of
destruction, in keeping with the principle of destroying the old to build
anew. Here, Gintas renders that destruction performative, integral to the
form and content.
‘Hymn Lithuania’, at first, does sound overtly Christmassy: a rendition of
the Lithuanian national anthem on a glockenspiel, the notes ring out,
chiming, bell-like and charming. But after about a minute, it begins to
degrade and disintegrate as extraneous noise, feedback and bleeping whistles
begin to disrupt the tranquillity, while the delicate piano of ‘vivaLIDL
spring’ is ruptured by bomb-like detonations and the clatter and thud of
descending rubble. If I’m not mistaken (and I may well be), a corruption of
Vivaldi’s ‘Spring’ played at about a quarter pace provides the backdrop to
this grim scene; you can almost picture the pianist playing, the film in
slow motion, while the building collapses in flame around him. The wordplay
is also worth noting – I’m assuming LIDL is bigger in Lithuania than Aldi,
as VivALDI would have been the most seamless pun by which to highlight the
commercialism of the season.
The title track wraps it all up nicely, and ventures closer to K’s whiplash
blizzard off whirrs and bleeps, although in a relatively restrained form,
whereby the discombobulating discord whirs and warps over delicately chiming
tones. As things slowly disintegrate – both on the album and in the real
world, it feels more like Christmas for the end: this is the soundtrack to
the decline. May the end come soon.
---------------------------------------------
Mindaugas Peleckis
2021 m. Gruodžio 17 d., 17:13
www.radikaliai.lt/garsas-sound/5218-apie-paslaptinga-netiketa-ir-unikalu-ginto-k-garsu-pasauli
Apie paslaptingą, netikėtą ir unikalų Ginto K garsų pasaulį
Iš Marijampolės kilęs profesionalus saksofonininkas, pirmosios industrial
grupės Lietuvoje „Modus“ (ji išleido du albumus 1995 ir 1998 metais)
įkūrėjas Gintas K nuo 1994-ųjų kuria eksperimentinę muziką, kuri gerokai
išsiskiria ne tik Lietuvoje kuriamos muzikos kontekste, bet žinoma ir šios
muzikos gerbėjų plačiajame pasaulyje. 2011
metais Gintas K (Kraptavičius) tapo Lietuvos kompozitorių sąjungos nariu.
Daugiau nei penkių dešimčių albumų autoriui ir bendraautoriui šie metai buvo
itin produktyvūs: išleisti net trys soliniai albumai, o per visą pandeminį
laikotarpį (2020-2021 m.) – keturi soliniai albumai („Sound & Spaces“ 2020
m., „The Ways“, „Art Brut“ ir Nervus Vagus“ 2021 m.) ir trys kolaboracijos
(„Environmental Framework by Two K“ su Ianu Krumlu 2021 m., „Live at
Noise=Noise by Richard Crow & Gintas K 2014“ 2021 m. bei „Pop Will Generate
Itself“ su Jukka-Pekka 2020 m.).
Kaip papasakojo produktyvusis Gintas K, pandeminiu laikotarpiu sukurta dar
daugiau muzikos, kuri dienos šviesą išvys greičiausiai jau kitais metais. „Kūryba
šiuo atveju - tai ne bandymas bėgti nuo naujos realybės, ar tiesiog
įkvėpimas, bet bandymas gyventi realybėje, kokia atsirado. Matyt, atsirado
daugiau laiko, kurį aš skyriau kūrybai. Ir daugiausia - per pirmąjį
karantiną. Antrojo metu prisigalvojau ir kitokių kūrybos formų, todėl
muzikai liko gal kiek mažiau laiko. Be to, nors ir vertinu metodišką,
pastovų kūrybinį procesą, vis tik kūryba turi būt įdomi ir pakankamai nauja,
kad būtų įdomi. O nauji dalykai greitai nei ateina, nei darosi. Naujieji
albumai, mano manymu, dažniausiai pasižymi ekspresyvumu, kuris būdingas
gyvam grojimui. Bet, kaip sakoma, ir tai praeina“, - pasakojo
radikaliai.lt
kalbintas Gintas K.
Kompozitorius prisipažino šiemet labiausiai susižavėjęs Douglaso McCauslando,
apdovanoto „Award of Distinction“ per „Ars Electronica“ apdovanojimus,
muzika: „Po politizuotų ar tiesiog privalomai reprezentuojančių šios dienos
realijas apdovanojimų buvo smagu vėl išgirsti gerą muziką.“
Kol kas naujausias Ginto K albumas „Nervus Vagus“ (lot. „nervas klajoklis“)
pasirodė spalio 31 dieną. Šiame albume menininkas toliau tyrinėja sudėtingą
microsound, granulių ir glitch synthesis pasaulį, kurį jūs galbūt šiek tiek
pažįstate iš tokių kompozitorių kaip Alva Noto kūrybos.
Kaip ir keletą kitų albumų, taip ir šį iliustravo Ginto K vyresnėlė Indra
Kraptavičiūtė. Viršelis, kaip ir ankstesni jos piešti, - puikus. Jaunėlė
Saulė pernai, būdama vos 12-os, išleido solidžią debiutinę fentezi knygą.
Albume „Nervus Vagus“, trunkančiame lygiai valandą, - klajonės itin
paslaptingame garsų pasaulyje, kurio nereikia nė bandyti suprasti, o geriau
tiesiog atsipalaiduoti ir tegul fantazija neša, kur valioja. Šįsyk albume
girdime ne tik mikrogarsus, bet ir įvairių žmonių – nuo vaikų iki gerokai
vyresnių – pasakojimų nuotrupas: apie mirtį, karą, trėmimus, gyvenimą Sibire
ir kitus dalykus. Tuo šis albumas išsiskiria ir iš paties Ginto K kūrybos,
gerokai praplėsdamas jos ribas (kurios ir taip buvo kosminio platumo).
Nervas klajoklis sujungia mūsų skausmus ir jausmus per granuliuotą, graduotą
mikromuziką. Kas gali būti įdomiau nei klausyti tokį nuostabų eksperimentą
šiuo nelengvu, nors ir prieššventiniu metu?
Tarp trylikos istorijų rasime ir S. Kraptavičiūtės pasaką, taip pat Marytės,
Antano, Paščio ir kitas istorijas. Šis muzikinis dokumentas rodo
kompozitoriaus brandą, kuri sulig kiekvienu albumu atskleidžia naujus
kūrybinius sumanymus. Kažkada nė galvoti nebūčiau galėjęs, kad
eksperimentinė, elektroakustinė muzika gali būti tokia įdomi. Gali, dar ir
kaip.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
GINTAS K "Nervus vagus"
(2021 )
www.musicmap.it/recdischi/ordinaperr.asp?id=8810
Nervus Vagus č un’affascinante e ambiziosa opera di musica elettroacustica
che inserisce all’interno di motivi granulari e patinati dissonanze, voci e
storie raccontate da persone di differenti etŕ e sessi, storie che parlano
delle conseguenze della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, delle deportazioni durante
il regime di Stalin, di morte, vita e meditazione, voci che diventano il
nervus vagus (dal vagor latino che significa errare, vagare) della storia
stessa dell’umanitŕ e del nostro corpo umano.
Con Nervus Vagus Gintas K, al secolo Gintas Kraptavičius, artista
sperimentale lituano, attivo nella scena internazionale sin dal 1994, dŕ
vita a un progetto esaltante e vivido, che, pur narrando il dolore e la
disperazione, pulsa di vitalitŕ e di speranza, rendendo ogni singola parola
e ogni singolo suono un monumento aere perennius, piů duraturo del bronzo,
come scriveva Orazio sulla sua stessa opera in uno splendido carmen; Gintas
K, inoltre, ha all’attivo collaborazioni prestigiose con decine di colleghi
e pubblicazioni con numerose etichette ed č membro della Lithuanian
Composers Union sin dal 2011. Con questo lavoro continua a far valere il suo
nome e a dimostrare la propria rilevanza e originalitŕ nel contesto della
musica digitale sperimentale ed elettroacustica, attraverso la quale ha
operato componendo anche musiche per film e occupandosi di installazioni
sonore.
Nervus Vagus č un ulteriore passo avanti nel suo prestigioso cursus honorum:
forse qui troviamo Gintas K alla sua personalissima akmč. L’opera si snoda
in tredici composizioni in qualche modo impossibili da isolare l’una
dall’altra, esplorazioni sonore, ritmiche e vibrazionali ricercate,
complesse ma al tempo stesso fruibili anche a un pubblico non completamente
pronto a ciň che lo aspetta; voci nel tempo e nello spazio che si frantumano
in sussurri demoniaci come in “Art Story”, tiepidi trilli su parlottii
insistiti che raccolgono dolori, paure, morti e resurrezioni come in
“Paštys Story”, lugubri frequenze che paiono instaurare connessioni con
pianeti lontani nella spettrale “A Dream: Relatives Story”. Voci, rumori
ambientali e sperimentazioni elettroniche si legano gli uni agli altri
reciprocamente fino a distinguersi sempre meno; č questo lo scopo di Gintas
K, che fa delle persone e del mondo circostante un’unica, grande
installazione sonora.
In un’ora esatta di musica, Gintas K dŕ sfogo a tutte le proprie tendenze e
idee, raccontando storie sociali e musicali dal valore straordinario e
dall’evidente originalitŕ, dove le field recordings sono incrociate a motivi
musicali spesso ostici e sempre riusciti, con le voci narranti che si
incrociano meravigliosamente con il tappeto sonoro elettroacustico digitale
e sperimentale che l’autore dipinge. Per questo Nervus Vagus č un’opera che
viaggia nel tempo. (Samuele Conficoni)
---------------------------------------------------------------
muzikosantena.lt/2021/12/02/ona-jarmalaviciute-nervo-istorijos-ginto-k-nervus-vagus-recenzija/
ONA JARMALAVIČIŪTĖ. NERVO ISTORIJOS. GINTO K „NERVUS VAGUS“ RECENZIJA
Byp…trekšt…pa…bet…kodėl….na…a…lapap…pyp…aš…čia…ir…dabar…trumpa…kas…pa.pa.pa…o..gal..jeigu…trekšt…tik…kas.nors…pyp….atsidūsėjimas…lyt..up.h..i…nors…na….iš.tiesų.bam…labai…įdomu…at.r.e.k.šš.
Galbūt būtent taip mums savo istorijas pasakoja nervai. Be pradžios ir
pabaigos, atrištais logikos galais, nenutrūkstamu garsų srautu,
išjudintu impulso. Tai nuolatinė jungtis – tarp smegenų ir galūnių, tarp
pojūčių ir informacijos, kuri kontroliuoja nesąmoningas žmogaus motorines
būsenas. Panaši ir Lietuvos garso menininko Ginto K kūryba – motoriška ir
natūrali, juslinė ir intelektuali vienu metu.
Produktyvus kūrėjas, leidžiantis vieną albumą po kito, neseniai pristatė
naujausią, jau 34-ąjį savo leidinį – „Nervus Vagus“. Pavadintas nervų
klajoklio vardu, albumas fiksuoja impulsyvius balsų, garsų ir triukšmų
mazgus. Čia muzika kvėpuoja, kalba, dūsauja, čiaudo ir kosėja. Balsai,
apraizgyti elektronikos, tarsi krūtinėn implantuotas dirbtinis Nervus Vagus
stimuliantas, elektroniniais impulsais siuntinėjantis nervo signalus ir
aktyvuojantis visą organizmą. Dėl to trylika albume pasakojamų istorijų
kibirkščiuoja. Jos marginamos smulkiais, intensyviais garsų motyvais, o jų
prasmės užrakinamos po elektronikos kodais.
Ginto K. kūrybos niekada nebūčiau pavadinusi naratyvia. Paprastai ji neseka
vieniša istorijos linija, vengia būti griežtai apibrėžiama laike, nesivaiko
klasikinių dinamikos, struktūros modelių. Tai, greičiau, scenos, erdviniai,
patyriminiai kūriniai, tam tikros būsenos, savyje slepiančios daugiau negu
vieną prasminę giją, visą siūlų kamuolį.
Dėl to gana netikėtai naujausiame albume pasigirsta balsai: improvizuodama
penkiametė Saulė pasakoja apie vilką, tris paršiukus ir labai daug šuniukų,
Paščio krantinėje vyras apmąsto tobulą akimirką ir negebėjimą ja pasimėgauti,
senolis dalinasi prisiminimais apie karą, o Marytė taip ir neprabyla.
Pasakojimų temas sužinojau tik iš aprašymo lankstinuke, mat skambesyje jos
nusėda į antrą planą ir tampa sunkiai atpažįstamomis. Čia žodžiams
nurengiami pasakojimo rūbai. Viskas prasideda nuo juoko. Nuo abstraktaus,
pritildyto murmesio, šnabždesių, atodūsių ir traškesių iki aiškiai
artikuliuotų, bet tuoj pat nutraukiamų frazių, iki pauzių. Tarsi spiečius
idėjų, kurios maišosi viena su kita, juda niekam nesuvokiamomis orbitomis,
bet gale grįžta į tą pačią vietą, nuo kurios pradėjo.
Taip Gintas K savo garsinėje visatoje „sumala į miltus“ įsitikinimą, kad
pasakojimas visada turi būti linijiškai išsidėstęs laike, ar paremtas
loginiais sąryšiais. Paliekami kalbėjimo garsai tai išnyra, tai vėl grįžta į
negirdimybę. Po kurio laiko atrodo, kad pačios istorijos pradeda suktis ratu,
kuomet žmonės pasakoja tą patį per tą patį, kartoja žodžius, vis grįžta prie
tų pačių detalių.
Vos tik pradedi užčiuopti jų istorijos reikšmę, už kito posūkio garsai vėl
išsprūsta iš suvokimo lauko. Tarsi žvejojant dar nesusiformavusią mintį.
Palaikyti pasakojimo pulsą, o tuo labiau sekti juo iki galo, laukiant kada
bus atskleidžiamos kortos, neįmanoma. Ko gero, net ir nėra svarbu. Čia
muziką varo ne žmogaus konstruojamas muzikinis pasakojimas, o vėjas,
virpinantis varpelius ant slenksčio, o gal vabzdžiai, gūsiais čirpiantys
troškiame nakties danguje ar informacijos srautai, narstantys pirmyn atgal
po smegenis. Daug mažųjų, susiburiančių į sunkiasvorę stichiją, kuri gyva ir
nevaldoma, nešioja smulkiąsias daleles į visas puses. Aplinkui sproginėja,
purpia burbuliukai, kapsi lašeliai, brazda gitaros, blerbia variklis, šaudo,
maišosi triukšmai. Vis kyla įtampa. Vėtra ošia.
Nebelieka už ko užsikabinti. Neišnarpliojamas chaosas neleidžia svaigintis
klaidinančiu komforto ir kontrolės jausmu. Įskyla įsitikinimas, kad tikrovė
turi neginčijamą logiką, dėsnius, tiesas ir faktus. Lieka trikdantis
realybės skonis. Aštrus, reikalaujantis dėmesio, prikaustantis kaip vinis.
Grynas nervas.
Šis paradoksalus būsenos ir istorijos susidūrimas tempia klausytoją vienu
metu priešingomis kryptimis. Viskas sukasi kosminiu greičiu ir stovi vietoje.
Laikas juda pirmyn ir, kartu, ratais. Garsai individualūs ir išbarstyti,
kaip lašeliai, tačiau tuo pat metu bendri ir sutelkti, kaip bangos. Negali
nei išgirsti istorijos iki galo, nei jos paleisti, kaip dar vieno skambesio.
Taip ir klausaisi šio albumo, žvejodamas nuotrupas. Jos pasirodo, kaip
šviesos atspindžiai. Pablizga prieš akis ir vėl neria tolyn. Palieka tave
vieną.
Lietuvos muzikos antena
----------------------------------------------------
Vital Weekly number 1312 week 48
vitalweekly.net
GINTAS K - NERVUS VAGUS (CD by Gk Records)
Gintas Kraptavičius was born in 1969 in Lithuania. That makes him look young
in my eyes, but in fact, he is already over fifty now. He was the core of
the first Lithuanian industrial band 'Modus', but in 1999 took an interest
in purely electronic music. Since then, he has published over 60 releases,
across all formats, according to Discogs.
His main interest is in 'granular synthesis', the use of micro-sounds
(fractions of a note), inherently the dynamic bits of a sound, that are
tweaked, treated, slowed/speeded up, and layered, to produce completely new
sounds, sometimes reminding of, or even the substance of, Glitch. This is an
ongoing trend, maybe even coming to a close, and many electronic artists
have been using this method over the past decades.
Since following his work, I have found a lot of it completely abstract and
not necessarily enjoyable to listen to. It is, actually, much more fun to
watch him produce it, as he does quite a number of live performances of his
work. Although granular synthesis does not exclude melodies, these are again
small bits of melodies and you do feel you long for some strain of notes,
sounds to cling to, or simply an arc of tension that would build and subside
to create a 'piece'. Gintas is best, in my eyes at least, when he combines
computer-based electronic work with field recordings and other sounds.
This is the case here, where abstract sound droplets intertwine with other
electronic sounds and spoken word bits. Not the 'dramatic', impact seeking
razzle-dazzle I have bashed in the past weeks, but voices whose words you
cannot understand if you do not know Lithuanian become a textural part of
the work. I am told, the voice of a child tells a funny fairy tale. Other
stories are about death, the consequences of WW2, or the deportation to
Siberia. You can pick a bit of the mood from the sound of the voice, and the
rest is left to imagination. The music contains all I lamented was missing
from other work: slight melodies, tension, continuity. Not all tracks
contain voices, or least not recognisably, which adds to the more dreamy and
remote, i.e. sightly sad impression the music makes. As we go along, we
start with a 'laughing' track, move into some abstract pieces including more
or less voices, add layers (I have the impression) until the culminating
crescendo of '+All we are', and end with a child laughing and a toy playing
music. There is a beautiful tension in this release. (RSW)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
GINTAS K Nervus Vagus (GK
Rec #05): O Jesus, ein Kinderspiel zum Lachen? Kapriolende Klangmoleküle
als kristallin-granulares, quecksilbriges Juckpulver für die Synapsen?
Doch das brodelige Prickeln des litauischen Tausensassas entpuppt sich
als Music to tell Stories: 'Tartu story', spieluhrbeprickelt und sanft
berauscht. Nach einer welligen, zuckeligen Passage 'Paštys story',
gebettet auf flirrende, dumpf bepochte Soundpixel von Saiten- und
Tastenphantomen. 'Saulė fairy tale about dogs, piglets & a wolf',
erzählt von einem 5-jährigen, ist schnurrig umklirrt, impulsiv
durchzuckt, hyperquick überschauert und zerknarzt. 'A dream. Relatives
story', bebend beprickelt, windverzerrt, rau übertönt und dann doch
ländlich mit Grillen und Krähen, wird, sirrend umsponnen, wie mit
Kittelschürze gesprochen oder dunkel geraunt. 'Marytė story', erneut aus
dem Mund einer Alten, verharrt, knarzig ruckend und knisternd, erst
gedämpft und schießt dann sirrend, brodelig, spritzig über. 'Art story'
pollockt chaotisch und dreht durch auf schwellendem Gedröhn...
Litauische Geschichten, vom Sterben, von Stalins Deportationen nach dem
2. Weltkrieg, vom Leben in Sibirien, nur wenige Sätze, aber jeder in
Litauen weiß Bescheid. Der rote Faden ist der zu allen Organen in
dunklen Kaskaden und pressender Reibung umherschweifende Botenstoff des
Hirnnervs X. 'Antanas story' ist ganz leise, glasmurmelig und
glockenspielzart, doch eine Uralte erinnert sich wieder an die bitteren
Zeiten. Für 'All we are' entfesselt Gintas Kraptavicius dann seine
quecksilbrig sprudelnden, zuckenden Clicks, Blips und Glitches zum
vielspurigen Delta, während im Untergrund 'Antanas story' weiter rumort,
knistrig verunklart und so, als wollte man die Vergangenheit in hastigem
Tempo hinter sich lassen. K dagegen bündelt einen kakophonen Chor, der
kichernde und spielende Kinder, Gegenwart und Zukunft einschließt. Als
Wahn & Sinn, der, wie K bei „The Way“ (GK Rec #04) auf 1, 2, unendliche
Weisen und bei „Art Brut“ (WHY068) extrabrut expliziert hat,
algorithmisches Chaos als Methode mit Katzenhumor praktiziert. 'AI
sublime' erscheint dazu nicht als Gegenpol, sondern als direkt am
Tohuwabohu abgefüllter, schreiender Dschinn. [BA 113 rbd]
---------------------------------------------
www.nocovision.com/2021/11/gintas-k-nervus-vagus.html
Gintas K :: nervus vagus
Ŕ la sinueuse croisée des quętes sonores et des entités singuličres du
langage, se situe un rire magnifique et magnétique (beginning.laughter) -
Nous sommes (peut-ętre) sauvés - Nul autre, qu'un simple et fondamental rire
pour occire les sinistres carapaces d'une nature humaine asservie aux
anfractueuses rudesses mortifčres qu'elle s'inflige éternellement.
Décrire "nervus vagus" revient ŕ effectuer un exercice bien délicat,
un exercice dont la seule description risquerait d'en rompre
l'indicible charme.
Espičgles que nous sommes, car avertis, nous nous y refusons, et vous
invitons ŕ faire de męme - Pas un mot !
Laisser s'opérer la saisissante alchimie totale, mélodies granulaires,
signature euphonique aux frontičres poreuses, étincelles autonomes, graciles,
filiformes ou harmonies limpides et soundscapes ombrageux, Gintas K en
orchestre une singuličre et trčs remarquable maestria, un indéniable talent
synchrone.
Laisser s'opérer la non moins saisissante émulsion d'une réalité juxtaposée,
beaucoup plus épineuse, bien que nécessaire, celle de vibrants témoignages (Antanas
Story Finish) ou celle de contes de fées enchanteurs (Saulė fairy tale about
dogs, piglets & a wolf) - N'en disons pas plus - Il vous appartient d'en
apprécier toute l'intense proximité sensorielle, celle d'un "nervus vagus"
parfaite conjugaison révélatrice de nos tourments, de nos tumultes, de notre
innocence et d'une possible humanité - Pas un mot !
thierry massard / 25 novembre 2021 - 18:12
--------------------------------------------------
Monday, November 22, 2021
www.nitestylez.de/2021/11/gintas-k-nervus-vagus-gk-rec-05.html
Gintas K - Nervus Vagus [GK Rec. #05]
Coming in all the way from Lithuania recently is "Nervus Vagus", the latest
and October 31st, 2k21 released album outing by Gintas Kraptavicius, better
known as Gintas K to many fans and followers of experimental electronic and
electro-acooustic music. Put out as
cat.no.
#05 of his very own label GK Rec. the album explores the depth and
possibilities of granular synthesis in combination with, and this is a
first, Spoken Word narratives which explore the world from a variety of
angles and standpoints in terms of age, gender and topics according to the
accompanying press sheet even though the vocal contributions are oftentimes
fragmented and buried deep within the ever changing flow of bleeps,
singular, yet digitally clean clangs and sterile atmospheres - plus: maybe
most importantly, the language in use is probably Lithuanian and therefore
incomprehensible to us in terms of content. This said, pieces like "Keep
Walking" or "Pastys Story" provide a beautifully brittle, almost glassy and
subaquatic take on Ambient minimalism defying any boundaries of our
space-time-continuum as a singular entity, a closed sonic cosmos beyond our
planes of existence whilst "Saule Fairy Tale About Dogs, Piglets & A Wolf"
reveals a bubbling, chromatic array of cascading, highly detailed
micro-glitches, "Maryte Story" weighs in a brooding, dystopian sci-fi Dark
Ambient feel alongside minimalistic, scraping sound textures whereas the
nearly 14 minutes spanning bonus cut "+ All We Are" reveals a fascinating
array of computational sounds blips just to name a few. Great stuff for
lovers of advanced avantgarde music. Check.
'It is a fascinating journey that takes about an hour.'
This a very unusual disc for me to review as it is an electroacoustic music
work comprising of thirteen tracks of varying length. I do not think that I
can review it track by track, but the overall idea is that it tells thirteen
stories. There is a mixture of subjects ranging from a child's laughter, to
the telling of a humorous folk tale by a five-year-old child, the
consequences of World War 2, a story of forced
deportation during Stalin's time and life in Siberia, and a depiction of the
state of mindfulness. These stories are all connected from axon to axon
along the Vagus nerve which is realised by the electronic collage that
envelopes everything.
It is a fascinating journey that takes about an hour. I think the best way
to listen to his would be through a good pair of headphones with your eyes
closed and just let the experience wash over you. The work was composed this
year, 2021, and I could not find anything else about it.
Unfortunately, there are only a couple of paragraphs about the work in the
cover that comes with the disc, and there's nothing about the composer.
However this is what I have found on Wikipedia :
Gintas K (real name Gintas Kraptavičius; born 1969) is a sound artist born
in Lithuania in 1969. He was the core member of the first Lithuanian
industrial music group 'Modus'. Performances, actions, even short films
shape the activities of 'Modus' (which is translated as 'the way of life').
Later Gintas Kraptavičius was active as a performer and interdisciplinary
artist, known for his actions, happenings, written instructions in a post-fluxus
manner.
In 1999 Gintas turned his scenery name into Gintas K and started exploring
experimental, electroacoustic, electronic, computer music, granular
synthesis, live electronic music aesthetics. Since 2011 member of Lithuanian
Composers Union. Till now he has released 34 albums, took part in various
international festivals, conferences, symposiums as transmediale.05 :
Basics, transmediale.07 : Unfinish!, ISEA 2015: Disruption, IRCAM Forum
Workshop 2017, ICMC2018, ICMC-NYCEMF 2019 , NYCEMF 2020 , Ars Electronica
Festival 2020 , NYCEMF 2021 . Winner of the II International Sound-Art
Contest Broadcasting Art 2010, Spain. Winner of The University of South
Florida New-Music Consortium 2019 International Call for Scores in
electronic composition category.
For those who generally listen to more traditional forms of music, I urge
you not to dismiss this work out of hand, but you do need a good listening
environment and equipment to get the best out of it.
It could have been useful to inform the listener with better notes or a link
to a description of what each track is about, but perhaps the composer and
recording label decided that it might be better for the listener to be
immersed in the work without any preconceptions?
This was an interesting experience.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
auralaggravation.com/2021/11/10/gintas-k-nervus-vagus/
Gintas K – Nervus Vagus
Posted: 10 November 2021
Christopher Nosnibor
I have a sort of anguish-tinged relationship with artists who I admire who
are super-prolific. First and foremost, I hold the utmost respect, where
it’s not just the occasional creative burst, but a way of working that means
they can maintain an almost endless stream of creativity and output. The
anguish, selfishly, comes from the awareness that their output pisses on
mine and my aspirations – and while I am of course aware that quantity is no
real measure of anything, the ability to simply produce, relentlessly, is
something that provokes, if I’m honest, a degree of envy. How do they do it?
How do they have the headspace? How do the even have the time?
Gintas K is an artis whose work I’ve been covering for quite some time now,
and I’ve long-marvelled at his output. Having come to understand his process
over this time, and having watched some of the videos of his improvised
recording sessions, the means of production is a significant factor in his
ability to produce so much output. But that is by no means to say that he’s
tossing out any old thing, and when it comes to his album releases, there
are always multiple elements and sources involved, and if there isn’t
specifically a theoretical element that’s integral to the process, there’s
nevertheless a theoretical aspect in the mix.
For this album, ‘an electroacoustic music work that consists of stretched
granular motives during the entire piece’, there are ‘voices and stories
told by people of different ages and gender’, where ‘Stories blossom out of
humorous fairytales told by 5 years’ child, stories about death, narrations
of mindfulness, stories about consequences of WW2, deportation during Stalin
regime and life in Siberia.’ It’s a mish-mash that features abstract voices
in the most disturbing way. Then again, GK has a knack for the disturbing as
well as for extranea.
There’s a lot of that to find here on Nervus Vagus. The album is dominated
by GK’s trademark bubblebath of bloops and gloops, fizz and fuzz, and it’s
often difficult to tell what’s going on. This kind of abstract mish-mash of
electronica is difficult to process. ‘Rising’ is a whiplash blizzard or
blips and blops, while on ‘A Dream. Relatives Story’ the dank atmosphere is
hard to penetrate, and while the album may be abrim with stories, following
any form of narrative is nigh on impossible. That’s no obstacle to enjoyment
or appreciation of the work, though, provided you’re not averse to chaos and
cacophony, and besides, the notion that narrative should be linear, or even
cogent, is outmoded and based on the construct of linearity, which is by
absolutely no means representative of lived experience or perception in
real-time. Linear narrative exists simply to enable us to process things
more readily, to simplify, and to make us feel more comfortable by imposing
order on disorder. But that comfortable, ordered way is not the reality.
Gintas K’s chaotic concoction is a slice of life. Granular bubbles and
extraneous noise dominate as ambient drones undulate, eddy and swirl into an
uncomfortable mess of awkward noise. There are rumbles of thunder amidst the
endless froth of microtones that cloud the brain and claw at it. The whole
experience is quite bewildering. Sound familiar? Feel like life? It may not
sound exactly like life as you know it but Nervus Vagus is likely to be
uncomfortable because it’s real and interrupts the mediated flow of linear
perception. But believe me, it’s good.
------------------------------------
The Ways https://takeeffectreviews.com/august-2021-4/2021/8/28/gintas-k
A Lithuanian artist with a penchant for electronic exploration, Gintas K is
well versed in experimental and electroacoustic ideas, and that’s quite
evident across the 10 very creative tracks of The Ways.
“one way#1” starts the listen with no shortage of glitchy, abstract
manipulation as the highly technical approach instantly draws the listener
in, and “one way #2” follows with 8+ minutes of precise and unpredictable
sounds that buzz, bleep and boop in frisky ways.
Elsewhere, “another way#1” embraces an unconventional form of rhythm in its
unusual delivery, while “both way Longer” spends 20 minutes amazing us with
its sci-fi and certainly otherworldly approach to electronica. The aptly
titled “almost the end”, the record’s best, then takes on an almost
meditative quality that bursts into an artistic display of fascinating,
unclassifiable territory.
The final pair of tracks, “yet again” and “infinity way”, are, thankfully,
more of the same, as the former flows with a futuristic videogame-esque
demeanor, and the latter takes on a sonically charming execution that’s
capable of swift, hypnotic moments as well as bare bouts of minimalism.
Active since 1994, and also working in the area of film and sound
installations, amazingly, Gintas played and recorded this live, without any
overdubs, where his computer, midi keyboard and controller make for a
captivating and aesthetically distinct experience you’re not going to hear
anywhere else.
------------------------------
www.mic.lt/lt/ivykiai/2021/04/19/2021-uju-i-ketvircio-lietuvisku-albumu-apzvalg/
2021-ųjų I ketvirčio lietuviškų albumų apžvalga
2021 m. balandžio 19 d. Vitalijus Gailius
Gintas K – „Art Brut“
Vienas ryškiausių garso manipuliatorių Gintas Kraptavičius dažniausiai per
metus pristato po keletą albumų. Šie metai ne išimtis. Vasarį išleidęs
albumą „The Ways“, po mėnesio klausytojams pateikė dar vieną dovanėlę „Art
Brut“. Būtent pastarajam norėtųsi skirti kiek daugiau dėmesio.
Ginto kūryba nėra lengvas riešutėlis, o daugeliui tai išvis gali pasirodyti
antimuzika, kur garsai labiau primena ne penklinėje
surašytas natas, bet chaotišką Brauno dalelių judėjimą. Tačiau ausylam garsų
mylėtojui G. Kraptavičiaus garsiniai kūriniai yra tikrų tikriausias lobynas.
Lyginant su „The Ways“, „Art Brut“ nėra toks sterilus, girdime ne tik
trumpus įvairių dažnių šokčiojimus, bet ir triukšmines linijas, kurios
pereina į beveik drone ūžesius („AI sublime#1“ kompozicijoje) ir gana
darniai, kiek tai įmanoma Ginto kūryboje, sluoksniuojasi tarpusavyje.
Kartkartėmis net galima pajusti ritminių momentų, nors Gintas yra sakęs, kad
ritminė muzika jam tapo nebeįdomi dar 2008-aisiais.
„Art Brut“, žvelgiant į pastarųjų kelerių metų Ginto leidinius, atrodo
artimiausias „Sounds & Spaces“ estetikai, tačiau toli gražu nėra klonas.
Turiniu albumas panašus į sunkiai nuspėjamą laisvąjį džiazą, kuriame girdime
ir itin garsius visų instrumentų susiliejimus į vientisą garso bangą, ir
delikačius vieno instrumento solo. Atrodo, kad jei Evano Parkerio, Barry
Guy’aus ir Paulo Lyttono trio muziką paverstume į grynuosius dažnius ir
perkeltume į kompiuterį, viskas skambėtų būtent taip kaip „Art Brut“.
GINTAS K “The ways”
(2021 )
www.musicmap.it/recdischi/ordinaperr.asp?id=8337
Gintas K, al secolo Gintas Kraptavicius, č un sound artist e compositore
lituano attivo dal 1994 e colonna della musica sperimentale locale. Negli
ultimi tempi, la sua attivitŕ si č concentrata sulla musica elettroacustica
e sulle sperimentazioni digitali, oltre che per colonne sonore, con un
frequente intreccio di sintesi granulare, elettronica live e musica digitale.
L’ultima fatica discografica, rinvenibile sulle piattaforme digitali e in
versione limitata anche su supporto fisico, si intitola “The Ways” e
raccoglie dieci brani suonati con computer, controller e tastiera midi e
registrati in presa diretta, per una durata complessiva che supera di poco
un’ora. Gintas K trascina l’ascoltatore in un mondo fatto ancora di suoni
elettronici, a tratti apparentemente glitchati, che si susseguono e si
sovrappongono senza soluzione di continuitŕ, come nei tre brani stipati in
apertura (“One Way #1”, “One Way #2”, One Way #3″). La successiva “Another
Way”, nelle sue due parti, martella con suoni percussivi ma scheletrici, con
un contorno pressoché inesistente, mentre “Both Ways – Longer” e “Both Ways
– Shorter But Not a Solution”, nonostante una certa essenzialitŕ, si
riavvicinano a “One Way”, con un effetto liquido e acidulo. In chiusura,
dopo il profluvio elettroacustico di “Almost the End” e i rintocchi di “Yet
Again”, arriva un pezzo sorprendente, i cui stilemi sono sempre
riconoscibili, ma che approda in ambientazioni rarefatte e oscure (“Infinity
Way”). Rispetto al lavoro precedente “Sound & spaces”, “The Ways” si mostra
piů ispirato e piů vario, raggiungendo un risultato complessivamente
migliore. (Piergiuseppe Lippolis)
——————————-
auralaggravation.com/2021/04/07/gintas-k-art-brut/
Gintas K – Art Brut
Posted: 7 April 2021
Tags: Album Review, Art Brut, electronics, Experimental, Gintas K, Noise,
WHY Record Company (WRC) – 20th March 2021
Once again, Gintas Kraptavicius, aka Gintas K has shamed me with his
relentless output. Sure, Art Brut is only his second released of the year,
but then, it is only the first week of April, and he’s maintained a pretty
steady flow of two or three albums a year since 2003, and that’s before you
get to the collaborations and visual projects. And if cranking out
improvised sets using various permutations of keyboard and battered laptop
with software seems to be something that can be done relatively quickly in
principle, the setting up of said software for optimal effect, and devising
how best to exploit it to achieve one’s aims and objectives can be
time-consuming.
Art Brut finds Gintas delve deep into the most extreme digital territory in
a while, with some wild improvisation and some pretty harsh keyboard
battering conjuring a brain-frothing array of stammers and glitches, bleeps
and bloops, all stop-starting, stutters, judders and clunks. This is one of
those ‘everything all at once’ efforts that leaves you dizzy and bewildered,
drowning in a digital foam. The experience is jittery and intense.
Although a digital release, it’s clearly designed as an album of two halves,
corresponding with two sides of vinyl or cassette, with the three parts of
‘Art Brut’ in combination spanning some twenty-two minutes, and virtual
B-side, the three parts of ‘Al Sublime’ stretching out over a similar
duration, with the ten-minute ‘Al Sublime #2’ extending beyond the
ten-minute mark.
The three movements of ‘Art Brut’ melt together in a transistor-troubling
digital meltdown. Tractor beans and laser blast tear through warped tapes
spinning on fast forward, and the whole bathful of bubbling noise swashes
and sways in lurching waves. Fizzes and crackles and sparks fly like a
heater dropped in, and you can almost hear the sizzling of flesh as
electrodes pop at a rate of a hundred a minute. Everything fizzes, pops,
squeaks, squeals and crackles in a crunching blizzard of scrappy, scratchy
skitters and scrapes, and every single second is different.
‘Al Sublime’ isn’t radically different from ‘Art Brut’, but it is different
nevertheless, with the effervescence countered by a broiling volcanic
low-end simmer that grumbles and ferments. The low-end thrumming is at times
almost subliminal, a humming drone that buzzes and grates, but is so often
almost buries in the hectic insectoid clamouring. But this is also slower,
lower, more warped and droning. Twisted tones resemble human voices,
elongated moans droning become quite unsettling as gurgling electronic
trails rise and fall and as jangling, chiming blips bounce off one another
at random angles atop the gurgling discombobulation as if a blender is being
sucked into a minuscule black hole, it all becomes to much to digest and
assimilate… but then save for the two minute scrabble and scrape of a
curtain closer in the form of the stammering ‘Al Sublime#3’ – a brief but
tense bookend to an extended exercise in fractured fragmentation that digs
deep into the cranial cavities and leaves you feeling slightly violated.
It’s a return to previous territory for Gintas K, and Art Brut finds him on
peak form. Christopher Nosnibor
------------------------------------------
Master of contemporary
squelch, Gintas K, provides a new, engaging swathe of riotous, slippery,
burbling electronics on ‘The Ways’. Check it. – Brian Olewnick
———————————
Can you have harsh bubbles? That was my first impression upon hearing ‘Sound
and Spaces (Powdered Hearts), a new release from Gintas K. Tough, ornery
electronics, bubbling harshly. Check it out. – Brian Olewnick
—————————————————-
Wild, hyper-colorful and imaginative new work for electronics, field
recordings, samples and who know what else from Gintas K. (Gintas
Kraptavičius), ‘Amnesia’ – Brian Olewnick
——————————————-
www.nitestylez.de/2021/03/gintas-k-ways-gk-rec-004.html
Sunday, March 14, 2021
Gintas K – The Ways [GK Rec. 004]
Coming in all the way from Lithuania these days is “The Ways”, the fourth
album in four years released by Gintas Kraptavicius a.ka. Gintas K on his
very own and self-run imprint GK Rec.. Spread out over ten tracks – all
named in some or another way related to or including the word ‘way’ and a
total playing time of 65 minutes the Lithuanian sound artist follows his
usual approach of live recording with a set up of computer, midi keyboards
and controller once again, creating a bleepy, glitched out and highly
abstract, probably Max / MSP-infused sonic realm that defies any further
categorization and exists in a secluded bubble beyond any genre, albeit
things like Glitch and most abstract takes on Electronica come to mind,
especially in clean, polished cuts like the opener “One Way #1” or the
surprisingly rhythmic “Another Way #1” which show loose, decaying and ever
changing patterns of repeating motifs whereas others like “One Way #3” as
well as the albums 20 minutes spanning main piece “Both Ways. Longer”, which
btw is our main favorite on “The Ways” as well, do exist entirely on their
own like shiny, highly detailed, probably encoded and chrome-resembling
sculptures of sound flung back in time from a faraway future or an
extraterrestrial or even interdimensional layer of the space time continuum
whilst the final cut “Infinity Way” redefines Minimal Ambient as well as
Minimal Music as an entire genre for 2k21. Fascinating.
———————————————————————-
GINTAS K - THE WAYS (CD
by gk rec)
www.vitalweekly.net/1275.html?
The sounds emitting from the speakers when playing The Ways by Gintas K (the
K abbreviates his last name Kraptavičius) explore glitch and cut-up
technique in live improvised performance settings: as if data systems run
AWOL and amok on the fucking hairy amp like a skittish yet controlled
bouncing Perpetuum mobile ball.
The live - no overdub - improvisations on this collection roughly span the
last two years of computer, midi keyboard and
controller instant composing by the Lithuanian mastermind. A productive
period which also saw the release to the mesmerizing Sound and Spaces
cassette, Amnesia CD and - above all - the monumental work Variations in
a-moll for a granular synthesis as published on CD by esc.rec. And in a way,
no pun intended, The Ways coalesces elements of the mentioned works into new
and uncharted broken up and scattered action-composing pieces, wholly
experimental and recorded bristling with live-wire energy.
Where Sound and Spaces veered into the world of "veritable musique
concrčte-ishness" (as I wrote at the time), The Ways races past this post
and heads straight for a horizon way beyond even the most uneasy nervous or
irrational patterns we recall from the likes of for example Hecker or
Russell Haswell. Maybe most of all, these sounds bring to mind explorations
Pierre Boulez could've undertaken if he had been equipped with present-day
technical means like Gintas K is using - an aural vista devoid of notions of
here, there, were, real, abstract, romantics. And in the case of Gintas K, a
resonance beyond the cerebral: somewhere above and beyond man & machine and
as such - at least in my ears - a logical companion to for example Zeno van
den Broek's work Ma(n|chine) (for drum robots and human percussionists). (SSK)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3/05/2021
Gintas K — The Ways
www.datawv.com/2021/03/gintas-k-ways.html
Famous Lithuanian electronic musician and composer Gintas K (Gintas
Kraptavicius) began his year with yet another solid release, thus
contributing to his already vast discography consisting of 36 full LPs and a
large amount of compilations and collaborations. Last year, Gintas released
an excellent concept album Amnesia (please refer to the Data.Wave review of
it) which, in my personal opinion, further increased the musical scope of
his work.
This time around, the musician decided to demonstrate his signature approach
to sound editing, its processing and formatting. The title of the album, The
Ways, could probably be interpreted as "the means" or "the methods", which
would make it a reference to the ways and methods of creating music in real
time, although the words "path" and "direction" could also be applied in
this context. In fact, what we're looking at is an improvisation that got
recorded with software and a midi-controller, without any additional
layering.
The result is 10 tracks of very dense electronic sound, which simultaneously
manages to stay rather diverse in terms of focus and saturation. The
compositions of the album could easily be branded abstract, yet, upon
careful examination, one can discover micro and macro-structures, various
vibrations and even sequences. The process that is being taught to us by
Gintas is infinite in its nature. It is no coincidence that the last track
is called Infinity Way. One can only hope there will be a sequel!
Author: Alexei Borisov
Eksperimentinės muzikos
veterano Ginto K jau ketvirtas šiemet albumas tinka… gal geriau pasakysiu,
kam jis netinka. Netinka romantiškam vakarui su dama, kalėdiniam
pasisėdėjimui su vaikais, o jeigu jūs šio albumo klausysitės mašinoje, jus
koks nors dėmesingas kito automobilio vairuotojas gali sustabdyti tikindamas,
kad jūsų mašinos kompiuterinė sistema eina šaibom. Klausiate, kodėl? Nes iš
pirmo žvilgsnio visa tai skamba lyg „Žvaigždžių karų“ droido 3PO veblenimas,
padauginus kokaino. Tačiau su visa šia kakofonine keistuma, šia
elektroakustine ataka, šia postapokaliptine sprogstančių burbulų vonia
ateina ir suvokimas, kad netgi ir ši su melodija, ritmu ar gero elgesio
taisyklėmis nieko bendro neturinti garsų mozaika yra muzika, kurios verta
klausyti ir prisiversti išgirsti. Taip, iš pradžių tikrai raižys ausis, o
gal net ir skrandį, bet kaip ir viskas gyvenime tikrai gera ateina su laiku.
„Sounds & Scapes“ yra būtent toks įrašas, kuriame net sunku pasakyti, ko yra
pilna: chaoso, agresijos, meditacijos? Nežinau, nes ir pačiam reikės prie jo
augti – Gintas K tikrai nesirenka lengviausių būdų patraukti klausytojo
dėmesį. Iš kitos pusės, nepaisant albumo antikomformizmo (lengvai tariant),
šis darbo klausyti santykinai nesunku: priėmęs žaidimo taisykles, imi
pastebėti pagrindinius motyvus, esminius akcentus ir pasineri į abstrakciją,
kuri galbūt ir nėra iki galo aiški klausytojui, tačiau jos struktūra
neišeina iš krašto ir turi bent kažkiek aiškią formą. Taip, žinau, kad
„Sounds & Scapes“ gali virsti valios išbandymu. Bet juk žinote posakį „Per
aspera ad astra“, todėl nesiginčijate ir klausote. Rašė Jonas Braškys
Dit voorjaar besteedde
ik hier aandacht aan het bij Esc.rec. verschenen ‘Variations
in a-moll for a granular synthesis’ van Gintas
K, ofwel de uit Litouwen
afkomstige Gintas Kraptavičius. Inmiddels ligt er weer nieuw werk van deze
musicus die zich specialiseerde in elektronische muziek. In eigen beheer
verscheen de Cd‘Amnesia’,
terwijl Powdered Hearts Records de cassette ‘Sound
& Spaces’ uitbracht.
‘Amnesia’, opgenomen in 2017,
bestaat uit één lang stuk van drie kwartier, waarin Gintas K een bizar
klanklandschap ontvouwt vol botsende interacties. Het is duidelijk dat de
meester hier een groot aantal verschillende bronnen op zeer creatieve wijze
door de mangel heeft gehaald. We horen flarden van melodieën en ritmes,
stemmen, noise en synthesizer geluiden, maar dusdanig versneden dat iedere
vorm van structuur volledig teniet is gedaan. Op ongeveer een kwart van het
stuk lijkt er iets meer vorm te ontstaan, een vaag ritme en een vreemd
melodisch kraakgeluid zetten hier letterlijk de toon. Het blijkt de opmaat
tot een veelkleurig ritmische passage, met op de achtergrond een hoge
pulserende noot, een ritme overigens dat langzaam maar zeker weer tot chaos
uiteen valt. Bizarre klanken volgen, soms kunnen die zo als soundtrack bij
een schietspelletje dienen, op andere momenten heeft de muziek veel weg van
een soort van noise ambient. Wat echter blijft zijn de tegendraadse
structuur, het toevallige element en de gelukkige vondsten.
Het uit zes naamloze delen
bestaande ‘Sound & Spaces’ – alsmede een fragment met glasgerinkel tussen
deel 1 en 2 en een ‘Prolonged’ aan het eind – waar Gintas K dit jaar de
opnames voor maakte, kent een al even creatieve, kleurrijke klankwereld. Te
midden van een eindeloze serie plopjes en bliepjes, vermengd met
ongecompliceerde ruis en veldopnames, valt deel vijf nog het meest op
vanwege de doordachte wijze waarop Gintas K het melodietje van een
speeldoosje monteerde te midden van een noise stortbui. Het is één van de
spaarzame momenten, de uitzondering die de regel bevestigt, van enige vorm
structuur. Ook op deze cassette ontbreekt die verder nagenoeg. Van ritme is
geen sprake, van melodie al helemaal niet. Integendeel, deze muziek – en
velen zullen dit begrip voor deze composities zelfs in twijfel trekken –
heeft nog het meest weg van een abstract schilderij waarin het toeval een
allesbepalende rol speelt.
The Wire magazine Issue 442
December 2020
Gintas K
Sound And Spaces
Powdered Hearts DL/MC
Five of the seven tracks on this tape from Lithuanian sound artist Gintas
Kraptavicius are called “Sound And Spaces”, a useful catchall term fro what
he’s doing here. There are nice squalls of tape hiss that rub up against
gently bubbling electronics, or long dribbles of dripping water and bleeps.
Then a meteorite storm of bells and more bleeps hits. It becomes very easy
to get lost in this music; indeed, it feels strangely uplifting in parts, as
if you’re listening to circuits perky and benign robots being born again
after an unexpected surge of electricity. By Claire Sawers
------------------------------------------------------------------
bamnetwork.org/blog/baltic-selections-10
by Justinas Mikulskis
Gintas K - Sound & Spaces Gintas Kraptavicius has been a part of Lithuanian
experimental music scene since 1994. This new tape release of him feels that
are based on explorations of static, micro and tonal sounds, various
accurate experimentation’s with sine waves and accidental digital
modulations, also overloaded, yet lightly noisy sound structures, acoustic
vibrations. It's a really good pieace of sound design.
----------------------------------------------------------
vitalweekly.net/1258.html
GINTAS K – SOUND AND SPACES (cassette by Powder Hearts)
Following quite some massive, deeply impressive and intense releases this
year (a.o. Amnesia and the sure Year’s Best List highlight variations in
a-moll for a granular synthesis) composer and sound artist Gintas K is back
with the equally captivating new work for cassette: Sound and Spaces. All
material on this tape was recorded, live, on the fly, on the go, at once. No
overdubs. Only using the computer, MIDI keyboard and controller. But one
would be forgiven to think there’d be more than a passing element of
veritable musique concrčte-ishness in the mix here; brutalist recordings
from the fields of everyday or production line assembly factories. On Sound
and Spaces Gintas K – again, but also more so than ever before – dives into
the aural intensity of his works to arrive at a sound stage of composition
(in the sense of Kandinsky) that is both deeply active and all-over
energetic like for example Jackson Pollock and also, very much so at the
same time, saturated beyond known factors of colour depth and frequencies
resonance – think Klein’s IKB, the brownish-blacks from Soulages, the
deepest blue-blach by Reinhardt or the sfumato washes of layered intensities
Mark Rothko deployed. Sound and Spaces sucks you in, like more than a
fleeting instant spent with Cathedra by Barnett Newman for example. Your
ears scurry around the sonic canvas, trying to make sense, find a common or
red thread, grasp something to call ‘home’. But all too often – in the best
of senses – you find yourself all alone, in the midst of the deepest of your
isolation dealing with the barrage of impressions. Standing at the bottom of
the staircase in Berghain also comes to mind, hearing pounding basses,
fragmented squeaks and spikes, jarring clashing glitches coming from above –
as if you’re preparing yourself to face the strange of a KTL-meets-Yasunao
Tone-gig gone madly off the rails, to jubilous jeers from a packed audience,
hugging the massive quadraphonic PA in glee and transporting abandon. Play
loud this formidable work of cassette tape madness.
by Sven Schlijper-Karssenberg
———————————————————————–
Gintas K: Sound & Spaces
By Stuart Bruce(@) – Nov 09 2020
www.chaindlk.com/reviews/11529
There’s something consciously small about the tone of established Lithuanian
sound artist Gintas K’s work in “Sound & Spaces”, which was recorded in one
take with no overdubbing, using just “a computer”, MIDI keyboard and
controller. Obviously “a computer” can mean almost anything nowadays and
almost any genre can be created using one, but the sounds created here are
largely throwbacks to what people would think of as computer sounds in the
1970’s- lots of dot-matrix-printer-esque whirring, curt bleeps and beeps.
This is layered up live predominantly driven by contrasts, such as in the
first numbered piece where a steady rhythmic motor sound is pulled against
sporadic and impulsive heavy glitching. The fourth part broadens the
contrast further, with high watery bubbly notes in opposition to deep,
toothy synthetic bass impulses that sometimes sound (and not in a bad way)
like a broken hedge trimmer. The contrast between chaos and calm is also
present in reasonable abundance- part five is frantic and disorientating,
others less so. Piece 6 manages to contain both. It’s a 41-minute audio bath
with a certain amount of abrasion, and at times, a feeling of randomness
rather than improvisation. But it’s a rich abstraction of sound that
enjoyers of a difficult listen will emerge from smiling at the end
October 31, 2020
Gintas K - Sound & Spaces [Powdered Hearts Records 036]
Coming in via mail all the way from Lithuania recently was "Sound & Spaces",
the latest album outing created by Gintas Kraptavicius a.k.a. Gintas K for
the US-based label Powdered Hearts Records. Released as a highly limited
glitter cassette tape edition of 40 copies worldwide the seven tracks
provided by the long-standing composer who has been on the experimental
electronic music circuit since 1994 once again dive deep into the realm of
hyper-abstract sound explorations, fusing a foundation of crisp, highly
digital crackles, scrapes, crunches and feedback noises which make up the
forefront foundation of basically all compositions on this album whilst the
oftentimes intricate, in part slightly more harmonic, details and
atmospheres are oftentimes hidden deep in the background of the mix, only
revealing themselves to the most observant and attentive listener throughout
the first listening session whilst others might need several takes to truly
embrace every deep layer provided by Gintas K over the course of "Sounds &
Spaces". A demanding longplay outing for true avantgarde connaisseurs.
Artists: Travis Johnson
and Gintas K
Title: into the void
Keywords: experimental, electronic, glitch
Into the good might be a
title implying something that we have heard before, as weirdly the word
void seems to be unstopable in its popularity among experimental sound
musicians. I don’t know why, I guess because it looks nice, sounds
perhaps mysterious or leaves some room for the imagination as a good
void might be hard to encounter these days. But because of me
alreadyfalling over the title of this album, I like to proceed and tell
you what this one seems to be filled up with. As just like many of the
audio voids around, this one is not at all empty or refraining from
shapes and forms.
To get a good idea of it’s
content td best to look at the front cover as that might go and gives
you a good enough hint of what this void is filled up with. The exciting
electric sounds of what I imagine as a wonderful lovely bug that I so
happy to be alive that it simply can’t stop moving it’s tiny legs and
rms, flapping and wobbling them around like a fresh born little one who
is just discovering it’s wealth of energy and it’s use to make it’s mini
muscles move freely.
Now you might think, oh
but that will be weird for us humans to listen, but let me tell you,
none of it will be weird if you dive in with a open mind and open ears.
You will find out that if you listen carefully you might spot all kind
of various exciting sound variations that at times strangely seem to
form technoid patterns and at other ones like a great energetic glitch
that makes you feel as if you just drank a lot of caffeine and
discovered something completely new and exciting. Which of course is not
strange as if you listen to this album for the first time it is indeed
very new and exciting to endure and face. You might feel like you need
to study it with a magnifier or simply pick up one of the forgotten glow
sticks from the cupboard and give into that rave feeling that you will
certainly come across when giving this void a chance.
It’s not your average kind
of dance music though, but I’m pretty sure you don’t need to be a
critter or a bug to get that hidden secret wealth of glitchy grooves in
here. With music like this it’s even possible to dance or move in any
way that you want and feel, as the beauty of this content of void is
that it won’t judge you and neither is there a real right or wrong way
of reacting, moving or simply listening to it all. I mean, i’m no great
dancer but you had to see me dancing around like a lady bug in the
middle of having a stroke.
But not everything is
hectic chaos or full on turbulent in buggy speeds, as within this void
there is also plenty of room to chill out and relax. Sometimes you feel
like you are listening to the sound of an biologist’s bsckpocket, out in
the field stepping around to collect information of weird nature, at
other times it’s like listening to hip hop, crickets relaxing at night
or ants doing wicked jazz drum solos…
All those variations
simply exist in this brainmelting endeavor of Travis Johnson and Gintas
K, clearly showcasing that you can never underestimate the electric
elements of the void. That in fact it’s more full than you can imagine,
it just takes a little bit of your own imagination and inner feels to
hook into it and fall into a scientist wet dream of fascinating micro
glitchy electronics. Do with it as you please, but for sure give it a
try… You might be flabbergasted by what you’d discover along the way.
https://gintask.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-void-2018
KN
Gintas K releases albums
more often than I change my clothes. That’s of course intended as a
comment on the prolific nature of his output, rather than a confession
about my personal hygiene post-lockdown, although not going into the
office or being around people – or ever within two metres of them – has
meant I’ve maybe made slightly less effort of late.
The same clearly can’t be
said of Gintas K, at least in terms of his work, since I don’t know if
he’s been tweaking away at his circuitry in his pyjamas or the same
jeans for a week and a half or if he’s been bothering to shave or
deodorise daily. I don’t need to, either, of course.
Anyway: Sound & Spaces
explores what’s become established as familiar territory for Gintas K,
with gloops and bibbles, froth and foam, squelchy bubbles of sound
rising up randomly against the crackling burrs of electronic distortion.
Sound & Spaces is less attacking and less abrasive than some
previous outings, and is les intense and intensive in its interrogation
of microcosmic space than some of his previous microscopic, microtonal
explorations.
The first track – the
thirteen-minute ‘Sounds & Spaces #1’ is a challenging mess of stammers
and jolts, fizzing and crackling in a swampy slosh of analogue synth
soup. It very much sets the tone, but in context, it’s a comparatively
gentle start to what ultimately unravels to be quite a brain-shredder of
a set.
‘Per aspera ad astra’ is a
brief interlude of tingling, jangling dissonance before ‘Sounds & Spaces
#3’ brings a bit of low-end grumbling, whining, and distortion, yawning
undulations whizzing and popping all over.
By ‘Sounds & Spaces #4’,
it’s almost impossible to differentiate distortion from percussion, and
what originates where, although there are distinctly snare-like cracks
in the feverish melting-pot of contrasting textures and tones, which
become increasingly fragmented, fractured, and overloading as the album
progresses. As an album it’s a frothy foment, and while some may find it
simply uninteresting or a wash of so much noise they can ignore, I’m
unlikely to be alone in finding the experience quite tense and
uncomfortable – and nothing more so than the twenty seconds of silence
at the end of the overwhelming chaos of ‘Sounds & Spaces #5’
If disorder offends your
sensibilities, avoid this recording: once again, Gintas K has captured
metal turbulence in aural form. It’s hard to process, but well worth
enduring the turmoil for.
GINTAS K “Amnesia” (2020 )
www.musicmap.it/recdischi/ordinaperr.asp
“Amnesia” č il nuovo album di Gintas K, al secolo Gintas Kraptavicius,
compositore e sound artist lituano attivo nel campo della musica
sperimentale da oltre venticinque anni. La nuova vocazione di Gintas K č la
sperimentazione digitale: negli ultimi lavori, rispetto ai quali “Amnesia”
si colloca in perfetta continuitŕ, l’artista lituano ha esplorato le
potenzialitŕ dei suoni elettroacustici, della sintesi granulare,
dell’elettronica live e dei computer in generale, sviluppando quella che,
nel settore, viene comunemente descritta come “hard digital music”.
“Amnesia” si presenta come un unico brano che si ferma poco prima dei tre
quarti d’ora, con un inizio di fatto in medias res, in cui suoni digitali
granulosi sono accompagnati da un percuotere intenso, ma piů rado col
passare dei secondi. Intorno ai sei minuti, il percorso comincia a essere
maggiormente segnato da suoni elettroacustici, che si ripuliscono un po’
rispetto ai primi minuti, anche al netto di un martellare caotico che
testimonia quanto le due diverse anime coesistano pacificamente e sempre in
simbiosi l’una con l’altra. Nella fase centrale, “Amnesia” si adagia un po’
e si fa decisamente piů essenziale, riprendendo un po’ quanto giŕ ascoltato
nei primi minuti, ma per approdare verso soluzioni diverse, mentre nel
finale confluiscono un po’ tutte le idee forti di questa fase artistica di
Gintas K. “Amnesia” č certamente destinato a una nicchia: si tratta di un
lavoro puramente sperimentale per tutta la sua durata e che, per tale
ragione, si rivela non immediato e non sempre fluidissimo, ma il discorso
generale convince per la sua capacitŕ di legare indissolubilmente elementi
apparentemente inconciliabili. (Piergiuseppe Lippolis)
-----------------------------------------------
Gintas K – Extensions
(NEUS-318 2020)
Posted: 31 August 2020 in Albums 29th August 2020
Christopher Nosnibor
True to form, details of the theory or process behind Gintas K’s third
release of 2020 are sparse: ‘Played & recorded live by Gintas K 2019.
Recorded live at once, without any overdub; using computer, midi keyboard &
controller assigned to vst plugins’.
What he presents here are three longform compositions, between fifteen and
twenty-one minutes apiece, each accompanied by an ‘extension’ piece, of
around five minutes or so, which tacks on to the end. The pieces are
untitled, beyond ‘Track One’ and the date and what I assume to be the end
time of recording.
K works from a palette of synapse-popping digital froth, tiny bleeping tones
that fly around in all directions like amoeba in a cellular explosion, which
builds to some neurone-blasting crescendos of whirring electronics and
fizzing bursts of static and sparks. Amidst a swampy swirl of squelchiness
rises a hum of interference, like an FM radio when a mobile phone’ been left
next to it. ‘track one’ dissolves into a mass of amorphous midrange; its
counterpart ‘extension’ reprises the glitching wow and flutter, ping and
springs of the majority of the preceding twenty minutes, and follows a
similar structural trajectory, only over a quarter of the time-frame.
‘track two’, recorded the following day in November of 2019 is, ostensibly,
more of the same, with birdlike tweets and twitters fluttering around random
clunks and thuds. Here, initially, there is more restraint, fewer fireworks,
and more space between the sonic somersaults, until, briefly but intensely,
about five minutes in, when a fierce blast of static cuts the babbling
bleeps, washing away the sound to silence. Granular notes trickle in a
minuscule but rapid flow which hurries keenly toward the conclusion, only to
return for the extension piece, sounding rather like the tape being rewound.
Bloops, glops, tweets and twangs abound once more on ‘track three’, and if
the pieces on Extensions are given to a certain sameness, it’s testament to
Kraptavičius’ focus and dedication that he explores such a small sonic area
in such intensely obsessive detail. Gintas K creates intensely insular
music, which picks through the details of its own creation in a microscopic
level, and if his spheres of reference seem suffocatingly introverted and
inwardly-focused, then that’s precisely because they are, and it’s welcome.
Instead of eternally reflecting on his emotions, like so many musicians, his
work emerges from an infinite loop of self-reflectivity concerning its own
content, and as such exists in a space that is free of such emotional
self-indulgence. If this is indulgent – and perhaps it is – it’s equally
scientific and detached, which very much paces it in a different bracket.
And as Gintas K continues to pursue a most singular journey, it’s most
educational to be able to tag along.
——————————————
Vital Weekly # 1245 week
32.
GINTAS K – AMNESIA (CD by Gk Rec)
Lithuanian sound artist,
composer and digital explorer Gintas K(raptavičius) has released a steady
flow of works throughout the years, on labels as diverse as esc.rec,
Attenuation Circuit, Bölt and Baskaru. His roaming and inquisitive ear for
the new and uncharted in terms of aural or musical form has been a constant
in his releases, ranging from pretty and rather hushed to densely layered
and deeply immersive or even oppressive and invasive. And it all started
with a boiling kettle, using an invitation for a cup of tea. Quite the way
to set the sound art scene, so to speak. On Amnesia, his latest CD released
on his own Gk Rec, Gintas K produces one track of close to 45 minutes of
intense Warp-ish glitches, drums, noises and ambient synth washes with thick
granular textures and space-age chromium melodic leads. By no means
soothing, the ambiance of Amnesia is one of unease and disturbance, of
jittery fragments of drum beats and nervous noise eruptions, of a place
between Severed Heads, Autechre and Mark Fell, with the added bonus of an
exquisite attention to aural detail, not unlike Nurse with Wound or Hafler
Trio. Plus: a dash of pure power electronics, for good measure. Amnesia is a
caress and a sledgehammer, all at once. A work of delicate beauty and brutal
force. A piece of aural and musical construction redefining sound art,
musique concrčte and electronic composition all in one essentialist gesture
of expertly executed noise control. And one of the best abstract works I’ve
heard this year. (SSK)
-------------------------------------------------
Gintas K: Amnesia
By Stuart Bruce (@) – Aug 03 2020
Artist: Gintas K
Title: Amnesia
Format: CD + Download
https://www.chaindlk.com/reviews/?id=11448
Long-established Lithuania-based sound artist Gintas K has offered up a
single-track 44-minute work Amnesia, and it is experimental noise work
that really demands the listener’s attention. A controlled chaos of
glitches, squeaks, and distorted percussive sounds, played out on a bed
of rumbling drones and slow creaks and with garnishes of high-pitched
hisses and noise washes, it’s a soundscape with a great deal of texture,
that draws you in to listen to the details.
It’s not without structure or form though, by any means, and the
relatively violent opening could misrepresent some of the later
movement. There are comparatively more measured sections, such as around
the nine minute mark- I wouldn’t go so far as to call it ‘calm’, but
everything’s relative by this stage. Particular mention is due to the
bold drop around 27 minutes, which works as though the motor powering
the melée is manually wound down, leaving a hollow ambient expanse
which, when it winds back up again, feels consciously changed- more
wooden, more mechanical but less of a metropolis.
Sometimes there’s pulsing and throbbing that offers up a rhythm, of
sorts, though the other elements seem to go out of their way to avoid it
(e.g. sixteen minutes in). There are moments that are alien, moments
that are quasi-industrial, and at times it borders in the bizarre. The
detuned honky-tonk piano sounds audible around six minutes in seem
almost tongue-in-cheek, though later on it does contribute a more
conventional abstract melodic element. The cut-up work around 37 minutes
is expressive to the point of feeling vocal, one of several “how did
they do that?” moments. The alarm clock tones just before the 40th
minute are rather on-the-nose and signal the beginning of the final
bookend of noise, providing a symmetry with the frantic opening. It’s
not all gradual fades and progressions, either- with a little over one
minute to go, the waveform drops off a cliff before a nearly-romantic
postscript.
It’s a well-executed deep manoeuvre in experimental noise control, with
a great deal of latent and hard-nosed beauty lurking under a noisy
shell. It’s well worth cracking through that shell and exploring.
————————————————
7/30/2020
Gintas K — Amnesia
http://www.datawv.com/2020/07/gintas-k-amnesia.html
Here is a new album by Lithuanian composer Gintas Kraptavicius, more
known to the world of experimental music as Gintas K. The title of the
album that consists of just one long track is Amnesia which means
partial or complete loss of memory. This symptom or effect is oddly
specific and weird to my mind. And it is difficult to imagine anyone who
would lose their memories in order to record music. What would that kind
of thing result into?
I hope that Gintas does not have amnesia himself. I can only guess his
intention was to associatively reproduce the state of mind one
experiences due to amnesia. And the result of his experiment is rather
intriguing. Being a true virtuoso of digital processing, Gintas created
an impressive collage of radical and sometimes aggressive sounds, partly
supported by atmospheric clusters, fragmental piano, electronic
keyboards and modulars, elements of concrete music etc.
This album is quite different from Gintas’s other works. This time
around we got a lot of noise, glitch and industrial; at times the album
sounds like an improvised set, recorded in real time. On the other hand,
this work could be described as a symphony that consists of different
parts, different moods, dynamics and densities, carefully structured and
processed.
In any case, Amnesia by Gintas K is another great work of the
outstanding composer and sound producer.
Author: Alexei Borisov
——————————————————–
July 23, 2020
http://www.nitestylez.de/2020/07/gintas-k-amnesia-gk-rec-003.html
Gintas K – Amnesia [GK Rec. 003]
Coming in straight from Lithuania these days is “Amnesia”, the new longplay
outing released by the ever active experimental composer Gintas Kraptavicius
a.k.a. Gintas K as cat.no. 003 of his very own label GK Rec.. Put on the
circuit on July 14th, 2k20 as a limited edition run of 300 copies worldwide
the 44 minutes spanning one track album sees the artist exploring the most
hyperdigital realm within experimental electronic music composition, fusing
an ever buzzing array of greyscale Noize eruptions, unsettling low-end
rumblings alongside constantly morphing, well nervous – and for some:
nerve-wrecking – glitches with soft, ethereal background harmonies as well
as ground up, broken down remainders of melodic events, pure HarshNoize /
DigiNoize sequences, space bleeps, uncanny rhythm signatures and a general
feel of a total sonic information overload. If genres like Clicks’n’Cuts and
creative programming environments like Max/MSP are close to your heart, this
album might appeal to your tastes even though providing a well demanding and
challenging experience even for deeply schooled listeners of advanced
electronic music.
————-
Gintas K. Amnesia (2020). Review. What
did we forget?
Mindaugas Peleckis
2020 m. Liepos 24 d., 07:11
http://www.radikaliai.lt/garsas-sound/4793-gintas-k-amnesia-2020-review-what-did-we-forget.html
Another great album of experimental music expert from Lithuania, Gintas K.
This time, it’s a one track album lasting more than 44 minutes, and giving
us space and time to think about, it seems, such a trivial thing – our
memory. You can watch a lot of TV series which almost all contain the
subject of amnesia. But, philosophically, what is amnesia? How does it
sound?
Cover of the album by Indra Kraptavičiūtė.
Personally, I especially like when Gintas K’s music turns to be meditative,
and this is the case. Even though the music is very complex as always, here
you can find your own meditative, philosophical space, and think about what
we could have lost in our time.
Those who have listened to at least several albums from big discography of
Gintas K, will recognize his musical movements, starting from quiet ones and
going to almost noise-like / chaos-like ones.
This time, Gintas K tell us an interesting story, which only can be heard.
No additional notes available. If you are lucky, you can get a CD copy (300
of those available) or listen to the music here:
https://gintask.bandcamp.com/album/amnesia-gk-rec-2020.
It should be noted that the artwork of the album (minimalist, as always) is
made by daughter of Gintas K, Indra Kraptavičiūtė. All music composed by
Gintas K / Computer / 2017. Used drum samples by Travis D. Johnson. Released
by gk rec.#03 / 2020.
Something more about the album. It really shows the capabilities of the
composer. While being minimal, as earlier, he can turn to a sage who is
telling a story using power electronics, ambient and other styles of
experimental, electronic music. Gintas K’s music is getting better and
better. Let’s wait for another new album while listening to this one. As
American novelist Tom Robbins put it, “Amnesia is not knowing who one is and
wanting desperately to find out. Euphoria is not knowing who one is and not
caring. Ecstasy is knowing exactly who one is – and still not caring.” Let’s
find it out. Only the music has the answer.
—————————————————-
auralaggravation.com/2020/07/20/gintas-k-amnesia/
Gintas K – Amnesia
Posted: 20 July 2020 in Albums
Tags: Album Review, Ambient, Amnesia, electronica, Experimental, Gintas K,
Gintas Kraptavičius, minimal, Power Electronics, textures
gk rec.
Christopher Nosnibor
This makes for quite a refreshing change: it feels like about two-thirds of
my reviews in recent months have been marked by a compulsion to comment on
artists going into creative overdrive during lockdown and whacking out
releases of new material because they’re not currently touring or working
their day-jobs. But for Lithuanian electronic experimentalist Gintas
Kraptavičius, it’s business as usual, with a steady flow of output over
recent years, and with Amnesia being his second release of 2020.
One of the things I personally admire about Gintas as an artist is how
broadly he explores the field of electronic music, with works ranging from
minimal ambience to deep dives into microtonal territory, and a whole lot in
between. Amnesia conforms to no genre or form, and instead spreads its
myriad suggestions from across a host of conceptual spaces to create
something wonderfully vague, and also vaguely wonderful.
The release comes with no information whatsoever about its concept or
purpose or recording, beyond the fact that it uses drum samples by Travis D.
Johnson. Those samples aren’t neatly assembled to form looped rhythm tracks
and solid structural foundations for a work with an overt linear trajectory
or other sense of solid form.
Amnesia contains a single track which spans a massive forty-four minutes,
and begins with crackling, interweaving synths waves which crackle and fizz
with distortion, while thumping clatters that sound more like shuffling,
clumping footfalls than drums crash sporadically and arrhythmically.
There are some crescendos or swirling noise and shrill, trilling feedback
notes that whistle and screech over churning blasts of bilious noise,
violent sonic storms. There are segments of laser bleeps and skittering
short, sharp toppy notes fire into a swirling morass of mid-range extranea.
A delicate piano tinkles in a nuclear storm and a stammering clanking
rattles and clangs behind and alongside. This is a dominant feature of
Amnesia: there is always a background and a foreground and a significant
degree of contrast between the two, which is both textural and tonal. Harsh
top and midrange are laced against softer, more gloopy lower spectrum
sounds.
Time slips, drips, dribbles and cascades through a shifting sonic multiverse
that’s often uncomfortable, at times undemanding, as the track transitions
between ambience and abrasion, and towards the end it takes a turn towards
synapse-collapsing early 80s power electronics.
What do you do with this? Where do you take it? What is it all about? There
is no clear message, no distinct or decisive form, resulting in a longform
composition that meanders and swerves in all directions but ultimately leads
nowhere and articulates little – and that’s more than ok: Amnesia is not
about sequence and making a bar, but about capturing a sense of vagueness
and a certain lack of purpose, of point, and it does so magnificently.
—————————————————————–
Tobulas formatas. Gintas
K. Visvaldas Morkevičius. PORTRAITZINE (2020).
Robertas Kundrotas
2020 m. Birželio 19 d., 19:53
http://www.radikaliai.lt/
Man iškart patiko formatas, vos tik iš Visvaldo rankų gavau šį leidinį.
Gražiai ir originaliai sumanyta – limituotu tiražu (150 vnt.) leisti
foto žurnalą apie lietuvius pogrindžio menininkus. Ginto leidinys antras
(pirmas – Remigijaus).
Leidinį sudaro aplankas, plakatas, įamžinantis garsininko darbo vietą ir
pagrindinį įrankį – kompiuterį, 36 puslapių foto albumas su Ginto, jo
namų ir aplinkos nuotraukomis bei 7 colių vinilo plokštelė su šia proga
muziko improvizuotu garsu. Albumo nuotraukos atskleidžia paprastą,
eilinę, rutininę garsininko gyvenimo dieną, matome kompaktinių diskų ir
knygų lentynas su nuskaitytais, nučiupinėtais knygų viršeliais, jo darbo
kambarį, augintinius žiurkę ir žuvytes, patį autorių, palinkusį prie
kompiuterio klaviatūros, specialų krėslą, dukters piešiniais padabintas
sienas, prieštvaninę, dar sovietinę garso sistemą, dukters piešiniu
įrėmintą jaunavedžių nuotrauką, klavišais lakstančias autoriaus rankas
ir t. t. Taip parodoma paprasta, nenudailinta ir nesurežisuota autoriaus
kasdienybė.
Štai kaip leidinį pristato pats autorius: Portraitzine – vaizdų antropologijos fotografijų rinktinė. Tai lyg
kelionių dienoraštis ar jų įspūdžių kolekcija. Kelionė leidinyje ir
kūrybiniame procese yra metafora, apibrėžta tam tikrais siužeto
parametrais: kelionės tikslo pasirinkimu (arba fotografijos subjektu),
keliavimo dokumentacija (fotografavimo procesu), sukuruota vaizdinių
serija (pačia publikacija). Leidinys supažindina jo skaitytoją su
neįprastomis, egzotinėmis vietomis ir juose sutinkamais tipažais.
Kiekviena tokia „kelionė“ tampa tyrimo dalimi; fotografas, aktyviai
ieškodamas tam tiktų detalių fizinėje aplinkoje ir emocinėse būsenose,
kvazi-analitiškai konstruoja skirtingų individų kultūrinį identitetą.
Nepaisant to stengiamasi išardyti ar susilpninti žvelgiančiojo objekto –
žvilgsnio subjekto ryšį. Tai pasiekiama tampant „turistu“
kolekcionuojant suvenyrius, prisiminimus ir įspūdžius iš neutralios
stebėtojo pozicijos. Šie įspūdžiai, išleisti Portraitzine leidinyje,
skaitytojams pasakoja ne apie apkeliautas šalis ar miestus, tačiau apie
sutiktus skirtingus individus, jų kasdienines, darbo ir kūrybines
aplinkas bei buitį, derinant fotografijos paviršių su emocionalia
introspekcija. Tokios kelionės nutinka ir jas kruopščiai planuojant, ir
pasidavus spontaniškoms aplinkybėms. Portraitzine leidinys – vaizdinis
ir etnografinis kelionių ir susitikimų dienoraštis.
Iš dalies, kaip raštijos fronto kareivis, pasigedau daugiau informacijos,
interviu, apžvalgos ir įžvalgų apie autorių, jo kelią į eksperimentinę
muziką ir muzikos, garsų ir triukšmo vietą jo gyvenime, bet kaip
leidėjas pastabų neturiu. Tobula. Originali idėja, puikus leidinys,
šaunus formatas.
Belieka palinkėti Visvaldui neprarasti kūrybinio entuziazmo ir toliau
leisti unikalius foto albumus.
——————————————————–
Gintas K – Portraitzine
Posted: 23 May 2020 in Singles and EPs
Tags: Abstract, Ambient, electronica, Experimental, Gintas K,
Portraitzine, Single reviw, Soundtrack, Visvaldas Morkevičius 0
1st May 2020
Christopher Nosnibor
auralaggravation.com/2020/05/23/gintas-k-portraitzine/
For some years now, I’ve followed Gintas K’s career with interest, for
the simple fact that his work is, well, interesting, not to mention
varied. This latest release is quite different from anything previous: a
7” single containing the audio, this is ostensibly a multimedia work,
which finds the record packaged with a magazine, and was produced in
collaboration with Visvaldas Morkevičius as an independent publishing
project.
Morkevičius is a Lithuanian photographer, and the print aspect of the
release comprises a series of photographs, which are the result of the
artist’s visual anthropology research. K’s contribution is that of a
soundtrack, as the accompanying blurb explains: ‘7” vinyl performance
was made by Gintas K during the process of Visvaldas Morkevicius
photographing and was added to Portraitzine as to fulfill the atmosphere
in which photographs was made.’
It may be that the audio works better with the visuals, in that it fills
out the understanding of both the listener and the watcher, but as a
standalone work, Gintas’ two untitled works function successfully in
their own right.
The sounds on side A – ‘Cut Piece’ are spare, strange, squelchy, bloopy,
gloopy, fractal, disjointed, whistling, bleepy, hyperdigital. There are
immense spaces between the sounds, meaning that when thumps, thuds and
bangs arrive, they do with maximum impact: more than one I found myself
physically jolting n my seat, having been lulled by a digital babble and
spells of near-silence.
Side B, featuring the shorter ‘Uncut piece’ is mega-minimal: drips and
blips punctuate three-and-a-half minutes of not a lot. And yet that
not-a-lot is important: it focuses the attention, and reattenuates the
listener’s attention on sound and the spaces in between. It slips and
fades to nothing.
I find myself staring into space, barely aware that the ‘music’ has
ended. If the ‘music’ ever really began. It’s hard to feel any real
emotional or psychological connection with these snippets. But that is
not their function. And ultimately, it works, and that’s the objective
here.
-----------------------------------------------
PORTRAITZINE ISSUE GINTAS K (7" and magazine) 2020-05-19
Vital Weekly number 1234vitalweekly.net/1234.html
This is a fanzine about one person; one person being
photographed in his home and only presented with a minimum of text, which is
not an interview. I am not sure if there are any other issues of 'Portraitzine',
but this one is dedicated to Gintas K and comes with a 7" of his music. In
case you have no idea who Gintas K is, he's a composer from Lithuania.
Originally he was a member of Modus, an industrial group, but since some
twenty years, he works with a laptop and music software. It is, of course,
an interesting peek in the surrounding where Gintas K lives and works. As a
laptop artist, he doesn't need much more than a table, some controller,
laptop and speakers and we see some of his house, which looks all very
modest; children drawings on the wall, some chairs, a crucifix, a buddha
statue, bookshelves and a bunch of CDs (not detailed enough to see what he
has!). On the record, Gintas K has two pieces of music. You could wonder if
such delicate computer music is well suited to be on vinyl, but maybe Gintas
K figured out that the element of crackle and surface noise would become a
part of the music. The pieces are called 'Cut Piece' and 'Uncut Piece',
connected I guess, via shared sounds and software approach. These are two
delicate pieces of unstable electrical charges that lingering on, not
knowing if they should fall or rise further. Gintas K is a puppeteer that
holds the invisible wires of the sounds and playing tricks with the
listener. As modest as his surroundings I thought. (FdW)
——————————————————
Gintas K – Variations in a-moll for a granular synthesis
(CD Recensie)
Geplaatst op 17 maart 2020 door Ben Taffijn
www.nieuwenoten.nl
Gintas K of Gintas Kraptavičius, zoals hij eigenlijk voluit
heet, is afkomstig uit Litouwen en heeft een belangrijke rol gespeeld in de
ontwikkeling van de elektronische muziek in zijn vaderland, onder andere
door zijn deelname aan Modus, dat zich richtte op de meer heftige,
industriële vormen van elektronica. Dat horen we in zijn huidige solowerk
nog steeds terug, maar dan wel op een geheel andere wijze dan vroeger,
getuige ook het onlangs bij het in Deventer gevestigde Esc. Rec. verschenen
‘Variations in a-moll for a granular synthesis’.
Kraptavičius heeft namelijk nog steeds een voorkeur voorde
zuivere, maar ongenaakbare elektronische geluiden, als pulses, sinusgolven,
glitches en ruis. Deze grillige, harde, onopgesmukte geluiden vormen de
bouwstenen waarmee hij zijn composities bouwt. Ritme en melodie zijn daarbij
eveneens ingrediënten die we vrijwel altijd aantreffen. En juist deze
combinatie maakt zijn werk bijzonder. Aan de ene kant onrust creërend,
weerstand oproepend en tegelijkertijd, door die grote aandacht voor
structuur, een zekere harmonie uitstralend.
Foto: Martynas Aleksa
En dus begint de eerste variatie met kale, duidelijk via een analoge
synthesizer voortgebrachte geluiden, stotterend aan elkaar geplakt tot een
melodie, vreemd verlopend, maar onmiskenbaar een melodie. Dan vervormt K het
geheel met een portie stevige ruis, maar melodieus blijft het. Een zeer
vervreemdende combinatie. Verdergaand op de ingeslagen weg komen er steeds
meer geluidslagen bij tot het geheel langzaam uitdooft. In de tweede
variatie weer die bijna onaangename kale, harde klanken in een melodie
gegoten. Een fenomeen dat de muziek van K onderscheidt van de musique
concrčte waar het weliswaar overeenkomsten mee vertoont, maar die nooit zo
melodieus en ritmisch klinkt. Verderop horen we dan ook, in zijn aanzetten
tot een ritme dat er uiteindelijk nooit komt, duidelijk invloeden van de
techno terug.
In de derde variatie, vrijwel naadloos aansluitend op de tweede, zoekt K
iets verder de abstractie op, middels een collage bestaande uit ruis, waar
heel vaag nog een melodie in doorklinkt. In de vierde variatie valt het
slepend ritmische patroon op, samen met de melodie. De klank lijkt hier wel
wat op dat van een zither, ietwat droog en metalig. Ook in de vijfde
variatie speelt het ritme een grote rol en ook hier schuurt K tegen de
techno aan, zonder dat zijn muziek ook maar één seconde dansbaar wordt.
Aansluitend schakelt K hier een versnelling hoger, een verontrustende storm
van ruis ontketenend. Eindigen doen we deze variatie met belletjes,
onverwachts subtiel. De geluidsstorm wordt doorgezet in de zesde variatie,
wat dit afsluitende deel tot de meest indringende variatie van de zes maakt.
Mooi kun je de muziek van Kraptavičius niet echt noemen, daar is zijn
geluidswereld gewoonweg te tegendraads voor, te ongepolijst. Maar, zoals
reeds gezegd, door dat werken met ritme en melodie weet hij je toch op
knappe wijze in te pakken en is die bijna 70 minuten, die deze variaties bij
elkaar in beslag nemen, zo voorbij.
----------------------------------------------------------
GINTAS K. Variations in a-moll
for a granular synthesis 2019. If there are rock stars in the universe of
experimental music, Gintas K is one of them
www.radikaliai.lt/garsas-sound/4624-gintas-k-variations-in-a-moll-for-a-granular-synthesis-2019
Mindaugas Peleckis
2020 m. Sausio 25 d., 11:10
Another great album of one of the most interesting composers of experimental
music Gintas K. This time, it’s about granular synthesis of microsounds. 6
track album lasts 68 minutes and was created during an art residency in MoKS
(moks.ee),
Estonia in 2016. All music was played live then. Cover art and design by
Harco Rudgers. His label Esc.rec (escrec.com)
from The Netherlands has released this CD.
GINTAS K. Variations in a-moll for a granular synthesis 2019. If there are
rock stars in the universe of experimental music, Gintas K is one of them
The album is very interesting even if you do not know (as me) what a
granular synthesis is. It uses a classical variation form in a-moll and is
an extremely overpowering listening experience. Stunning and surprisingly
melodic harmonies keep emerging from the granulated and continuously
shifting computer generated sounds.
To tell it in my words, i find it to be a perfect form of a meditation. The
sound which, to say it simple, reminds noise/wall of sound, is a marvelous
journey to concentration. If you follow the sounds, they can bring you both
happiness and joy and various other (it depends) feelings. For me, long,
lasting from 8 to almost 15 minutes, compositions fantastically fit into a
possibility to grasp some inner peace.
It’s one of my favorite Gintas K’s albums, being as concept as it could be.
If there are rock stars in the universe of experimental music, Gintas K is
one of them.
——————————————————
silenceandsound.me/2020/01/03/gintas-k/
Gintas K
Variations In A-Moll For A Granular Synthesis
(Esc.rec.)
Le lithuanien Gintas K est un stakhanoviste du son. Un artiste qui compose
comme on respire. Avec ce troisičme projet de l’année 2019, il nous projette
dans un monde de synthčse granulaire ręche comme du papier de verre.
Variations In A-Moll For A Granular Synthesis éclabousse de sa rugosité
l’espace, recouvre de saturations âpres une civilisation au bord de
l’écroulement.
Les cinq titres demandent une certaine patience pour en apprécier les
évolutions et pénétrer dans leur fausse linéarité, conçus autour de
vibrations tournoyantes et de mouvements intérieurs chargés de noise sous
perfusion.
Gintas K compose des atmosphčres ŕ la densité abrasive et souvent difficiles
d’accčs, qui pourtant déploient une beauté interne ŕ l’onirisme désespéré.
Intense.
Roland Torres
————————————————–
www.nitestylez.de/2019/12/gintas-k-variations-in-moll-for.html
DECEMBER 26, 2019
Gintas K – Variations In A-Moll For A Granular Synthesis [Esc.Rec. 065]
Coming in from Lithuania recently is “Variations In A-Moll For A Granular
Synthesis”, the latest album outing by the ever active experimental composer
Gintas K which has been released via the Netherlands-based imprint Esc.Rec.
as a limited edition of 300 copies in early December, 2k19. Created,
conceptualized and recorded throughout a 2016 artist residency in Estonia
the album caters a total of six variations of the title track stretched over
a total runtime of approx. 68 minutes, each of them sporting a surprisingly
chill and extremely harmonic approach to what is the result of a granular
treatment that presents the listener with an end result of a crunchy,
grinding and highly digital sounding foundation of what might be described
as an Electronica / Glitch resembling beat structure garnished with floating
space harmonies and clean, scientific melodic motifs broken down and
shattered into gazillions of warped sonic pieces, providing a great variety
of detail and excitement over the course of each tracks very own singular
development. Our favorite? “Variations In A-Moll For A Granular Synthesis
#2”.
——————————————————
auralaggravation.com/2019/12/18/gintas-k-variations-in-a-moll-for-a-granular-synthesis
Gintas K – variations in a-moll for a granular synthesis
Posted: 18 December 2019 in Albums
Tags: A minor, Album Review, Avant-garde, Classical, electronica,
Experimental, Gintas K, variations in a-moll for a granular synthesis 0
Christopher Nosnibor
This one’s been languishing in the vaults for a while now, but one of the
things about recording prolifically is that sometimes it takes time to catch
up on the release schedule. And so Gintas K’s variations in a-moll for a
granular synthesis gets to see the light of day in the middle of a solid and
steady release schedule which has seen the release of one or two albums a
year for the last three.
Of the six sequentially-numbered tracks, all but one are well over the
ten-minute mark, and the shortest is over eight minutes in duration.
Not a lot happens, at least initially: repetitive synth stabs on a single
note with varying levels of force shift into different notes. They begin to
overlap, and a fuzz of distortion decays the edges. Gradually it slides into
a mess of overloading noise: the synths crackle and burn among a billowing
walls of darkness.
Across the album, scraping granularity and stuttering dominate the
foreground. It difficult to settle to a constant flickering, a crackling
distortion of interrupting signals, and the sensation is disorientating,
dissonant, disruptive. By the third piece, the sounds has degraded to a
rumbling crackle. This sonic disintegration could likely be taken as a
metaphor for something. But for what? Well, from a reception theory
perspective, you can insert your own metaphor as appropriate. To me, it
feels like a sort of glitched-out panic attack, a mental collapse as a
response to the crumbling culture at the tail-end of 2019. A decade slumping
to its bitter end in an amorphous mass of fragmentation, with rhythms
reduced to swampy surges back and forth, and fractal notes dance
skittishly.
The fifth piece introduces some softer tones, an ambient wash that’s cracked
and damaged, bur nevertheless hints at something mellow… and then it tears
apart from the seams as a heavy fog of noise descends, and the final
composition splinters and breaks, the shards bursting apart in slow-motion
to leave rubble and dust.
——————————————————-
http://www.chaindlk.com/reviews/?id=11168
Gintas K: Variations In A-Moll For A Granular Synthesis
Posted by Stuart Bruce
Edit (11168) Dec 17, 2019
Label: esc.rec.
Gintas Kraptaviius recorded this series of six fairly long live electronic
improvisations during an art residency in Estonia in 2016. The reference to
A-moll (or A minor), famously used by Beethoven and Chopin, suggests or at
least implies traditional melodic experimentation- but this is very
different and much more technical beast.
This is because the granular synthesis here is sharp, raw, and digital but
sometimes lo-fi. It’s rapid-fire- there are no long notes here, but rather
there are series of rapid bleeps and clicks at different tones. Over the
course of six pieces, these rapid-fire digital patterns based on differing
notes in the scale rise and fall in turn, sometimes jumping, sometimes
ebbing, a series of digital waves of varying textures that never stand
still. The sense of impulse and expression of the live human dial-control
can clearly be felt- it’s not overly clinical.
The stereo separation and individualisation is mostly quite extreme, making
this quite disorientating when listening on headphones. At times this is
glitch music, but in the programmer’s sense rather than the musician’s
sense, with spontaneous and momentary impulses that feel almost like
compression artefacting has been approached so as to draw the ‘art’ out of ‘artefact’.
With the choice of chord, there is a curious melodic synchronicity that
shines through at times. The layered, differently-triggered notes sometimes
fall into alignment, like a kind of melodic eclipse, creating arpeggios that
now and again feel familiar and reminiscent of traditional music. It’s a
curious effect, melody from statistics and probabilities rather than
composition, but it’s an occurrence that’s frequent enough to be more than
accident, and it works.
There’s not a great deal that distinguishes the character of any of the six
numbered pieces compared to the others. For example, the central section of
piece 3 is somewhat quieter and more bubbly or a while before introducing a
notable bass pulse, while piece 5 feels slightly brighter, more optimistic
and confident in its tone at times- but each of these is a temporary
distinction. All but one of the pieces is over ten minutes long, which gives
each a chance to have plenty of its own internal variation. This does make a
67-minute album something of a deep dive, and a difficult listen for anyone
who will find the raw digital sounds too abrasive.
It’s a simple concept, in a way, but it’s executed with a strong sense of
purpose and some very solid expression. If digital exploration in raw form
appeals, then take a long ear-dive into this.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vital Weekly, number 1212 , week 51
GINTAS K – VARIATIONS IN A-MOLL FOR A GRANULAR SYNTHESIS (CD by esc.rec.)
Two things before we dive into the musical subject matter at hand. First:
the stellar cover art by
Harco Rutgers featuring a deftly shimmering glissando of muted but brightly
shining pink into
greenish hues cut through with subtle white wave form-like lines. With the
inner panels and the
disc itself following this tone of visuals closely, Variations... is one
heck of a CD with quite the
luxurious feel to it, a must-have you want to hold and cherish and give
prime place of pride on
display in your collection, around the stereo.
And secondly, come to speak of stereo: on the sleeve, it doesn't say so, but
this album needs
to be cranked up to be fully appreciated in all nuance. Just so you know.
Often ambient-esque
synthesizer experimentation tends to be all hush-hush Feldman volume, but no
way with this
one, please. The granular synthesis opens up the full level of intensity on
myriads of layers of
sound processing when the amp gets a thorough workout and the speakers are
fed with all the
right power to project the microscopic detail(s) across the room. Also: I
tried, but cannot think this
is supposed to work with headphones, for some reason I prefer the room
filling up with sound
matter, instead of the head alone and boy does Gintas K deliver here.
Estonian composer Gintas Kraptavičius presents his variations on the
classical form in a-moll
not to showcase the possibilities of his machines in this most classical of
forms and formats per
se, but to take the concept and push beyond with the help of intense
granular synthesis; beyond
that is, into the realm of deeply immerse en impressive listening
experiences. Gintas K doesn't let
up, doesn't do a second of ease or peace: his granulated fragments and
shifting patterns divide,
merge, splinter, coalesce with an unrelenting forward and deep-diving
motion, although he
manages to keep overpowering blunt force trauma at bay, in fact:
Variations... turns out to be –
above all – surprisingly melodic and harmonic.
Variations... is massive – feels like a ton of steel or concrete in a way,
but then again, it is light
and airy... maybe best described as sweltering heat mixed with a punishing
downpour of torrential
rains with rather heavy winds too... While that doesn't sound too appealing,
it's exactly the push-
back from the music, the up-front an centre stage of the forceful
projections of exquisite tones that
makes for a wall-like focal point against which the listener can lean as we
came to know from the
best practices from My Bloody Valentine back in the shoegaze days of yonder.
Far from
unpleasant, that is, in fact: you're hit with blast after blast and still
there is air to breathe, moving
air that is sound-pressured.
Gintas K doesn't do easy listening, but his Variations... is one of those
CD's that keeps rewarding
the listener spin after spin. It's not as 'wild' as Mark Fell and/or Gabór
Lazar, but you'd be hard-
pressed to remember melodic lines or phrases. This CD doesn't do comfort
zone – doesn't allow
for the newspaper to be read alongside or a novel. This a full-on
attention-grabbing beast, but
when you let yourself be hauled into its filigree maelstrom the aural vistas
Gintas presents left,
right, centre, above as below are all sparkling gems of unfiltered but
extremely detailed brilliance.
One album not to forget, to be put on the Long List for the 2020 Year lists.
(SSK)--- Address: https://escrec.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------------- https://yeahiknowitsucks.wordpress.com/2019/12/14/gintas-k-variations-in-a-moll-for-a-granular-synthesis/
Gintas K – Variations in a-moll for a granular synthesis
Posted on December 14, 2019 by kainobuko
Artist: Gintas K
Title: Variations in a-moll for a granular synthesis
Keywords: experimental adventurous Deventer
Label: Esc.rec.
If you let go of the conceptual side of Gintas K’s newest release on esc.rec.
and just hear the music with a clean and fairly wiped out open mind, you can
witness the sounds of electric emotion that are surprisingly beautiful. The
hardest bit is getting yourself into that mindset and probably finding a
‘safe space’, a listening room without any extra ears from friends, flat
mates or family members that might be nagging and complaining about ‘the
strange noise’ that is coming out of the speakers. Not that it is noise in
any way, but it isn’t your average commercial pop poop either. Which mind
you; many of us might consider to be noise as well!
Getting any unwilling ears out of the way + getting your own head in the
right state is maybe a hefty operation, but is one that will certainly be
rewarded when going for a listening session of Variations in a-moll for a
granular synthesis. It mainly comes across as if a pixelated electric sound
is being strummed nervously as if it’s copying the aspects of a nicely
stringed instrument, transforming it into a speedy glitch that forms high
spirited structures of nicely active audio. A mouth full to put down in
paper but actually it’s quite the pleasure provider.
Maybe you can see it as if a very pleasant electric sound had replaced the
horrid noise that would normally be coming out of a motor cycle when you
turn the gas handle up and down. In a nicer world I would love this to be
the actual case, as the main tone used by Gintas K is a lot more pleasant
and loveable, even flowing into musical territories that authentically are
of the pleasantly pretty kind. It’s an odd thing, difficult to describe but
maybe comparable to listening to a nice looking cocoon in the process to
transform its inner creature into a wonderful butterfly. It’s keeping the
tension as if it’s like listening to a work in process, one that is living a
life on its very own, abstract and experimental perhaps but also oddly quite
the listenable friendliness.
The overall electric sound used in all the tracks over here seems to be
fairly the same; underlining my personal theory that if something sounds
good why would you change it? Just take that sound and be like Gintas K and
explore all the possible possibilities with and within it! A neat ‘trick’
that even though the artist experimenting like a mad scientist with
‘granular synthesis’ as its main fetish to explore, will make sure that all
six experiments are feeling as one, creating a granular listening experience
that is easy to go into with the ears and mind when all alone and deeply
into the adventurous audio zone. Treat yourself well and get yourself one of
these well designed albums from your favourite boutique label:
https://escrec.bandcamp.com/album/variations-in-a-moll-for-a-granular-synthesis
<KN>
--------------------------
07/09/2019 Ed Pinsent
Broken Into Episodes
http://www.thesoundprojector.com/2019/09/07/broken-into-episodes/
Two new releases from Gintas K, the Lithuanian electronic composer. On
Acousma Light (GK REC.), he’s doing something with grinding sound down into
atoms, reducing it to constituent particles, so that we may savour the grain
of each individual micro-dot. I think the plan across the album is that
these wild particles eventually organise themselves into a whole, as
structures and principles are gradually applied. Along the way, we might be
asked to observe experiments in the ways in which these fragments of sound
are “varying and changing” in the speed of their motion. Certainly things
are getting pretty agitated as early as ‘Episode 3’, which (although wholly
abstract and non-musical in nature) does suggest an energetic bubbling of
sound particles, as though Gintas had found some way of putting sound in a
retort in a laboratory, turning on the Bunsen burner, and watching things
burst open like so much sonic popcorn. Admittedly this set is more dramatic
and eventful than some things we’ve heard from Gintas, but it’s still very
hard to engage with these abstract, process-driven tones. The press release
discourses on aspects of the meaning and history of the word acousma and its
derivations, without really telling us very much.
More computer music on M (GK REC.), a CD which combines an earlier 2012 work
called M with 2017’s Mimicry. The M set works really well. Basically not
much more than processed computer sounds, and although every bit as abstract
as Acousma Light above, there seems to be a bit more bite and drive to the
music; the first piece is an 18-minute assault of “impossible” sounds
playing in a very non-human way, burbling and flying about in errant
fashion. It’s not really noise; compared to Merzbow, who still likes to
“dirty up” his emissions even when they may be largely computer-sourced,
Gintas K favours a very clean tone, each sound sealed off in epoxy resin and
smoothed down with sandpaper. He still applies a bunch of reverb and
probably other filters, just to give us some sort of imaginary depth to
these non-existent scrabbly bursts. One segment of M appeared on a Sub Rosa
compilation in 2013, and another one was played live at a festival in Spain
in 2012. The second set, Mimicry, is five years later and much “bittier” in
nature; several shorter works, and the sounds are extremely disconnected and
virtually impossible for the ear to handle in any meaningful way. They
tumble rapidly through space and bump against each other, occasionally
getting rather bad-tempered as they do so. Both the above from 25th February
2019.
-------------------------------------------------
gintas k – One Day Journey
Posted: 4 September 2019 in Singles and EPs
Tags: Avant-garde, bleepy, electronica, EP Review, Experimental, Gintas K,
One Day Journey 0
9th August 2019
auralaggravation.com
Gintas K’s bandcamp boasts no fewer than twenty-nine releases. The
Lithuanian experimentalist isn’t one to place quantity over quantity either:
this almost overwhelming output, as represented by an average two releases a
year, is the product of an enquiring mind, a fertile imagination and an
unstinting work ethic.
The title gives a hint as to this EP’s creation: recorded live in a single
day, without any overdub; using computer, midi keyboard & controller
assigned to vst plugins, the three pieces on One Day Journey are exercises
in excitable minimalism, skittering glitchtronics and exemplary works in the
field of circuitry-based fuckabouts.
The three tracks, distinguished simply in numerical terms, are defined by
swampy bleeps, bloops, glops, thumps, pips and pops fly haphazardly flitting
and flickering in all directions, surging and swelling, whumping and
slumping. Drip, drop, blip, blop, slip, slop, tinkle, tinkle In so many
respects, they’re devoid of both structure and substance, and yet it’s this
flippant flimsiness that renders them of merit.
Gintas’ flighty, almost fanciful style of experimental electronica is
amusing in an avant-garde way, and almost seems intent on being vaguely
irritating to anyone who isn’t already entirely on board with this strain of
whacky wild synapse-snapping oddness.
The third and final track, ‘Three’ fizzes and foams a mess of electronic
froth, foaming and fermenting effervescently over a thirteen-minute sprawl
of apparent discoordination. It’s a crazed mass of non-linear noise, an
impossible combobulation of sound. And if you are on board with this strain
of whacky wild synapse-snapping oddness, One Day Journey has everything
going for it.
—————————————–
gintas k – One day Journey
Posted on September 5, 2019 by kainobuko
yeahiknowitsucks.wordpress.com
Artist: gintas k
Title: One day Journey
Keywords: experimental concrete music electroacousticgintas k granular
synthesisimprovised electroacoustic live electronicamusique concrete
Lithuania
What can you do in one day? Probably a lot, but if your name had been gintas
k you might use the daytime to make some kind of music, an EP perhaps and
happily release the result on the internet to be heard by the likes of you
and me. Why not? After all the real gintas k seems to have done just that
and if you would hear it you probably would think that you had been gintas k
and made this thing.
I mean it does sound like it was a lovely bit of fun when it was being
created, as it does sound so organic and fluttery with enough sounds that
have come to life to write some kind of inspiring book about. These sounds
are like little insects or other little individuals chit chatting or simply
rolling and jumping around in their own spectacular ways and orders. Why is
that? Probably because gintas k had been playing god with them and I must
say that these life forms have every reason to be alive and well.
The only thing over here is that I can’t come up with anything else to say
or write about it. I mean what else can you say to bypass the epicness of
‘gintas k giving life’ … I don’t think there is nothing to top that today,
so I’m not even going to try and just silently slip away and paste a link
here.
gintask.bandcamp.com/album/one-day-journey-2019
Gintas K. M (2019). Recenzija. MIMIKRIŠKO GARSYNO TURTAI
Mindaugas Peleckis
2019 m. Kovo 31 d., 16:11
www.radikaliai.lt/garsas-sound/4472-gintas-k-m-2019-recenzija?fbclid=IwAR1Z2SuPBABhBJXQ8NWAzWA8iiCPr2PE4yT9N9ONfBVd-4dyYHOIg0h_ml8
Gintas K yra vienas tų muzikantų, kurių albumų laukiu, juolab,
žinodamas jo produktyvumą (ačiū Dievui, ne hiperproduktyvumą - jis neleidžia
albumų šimtais), žinau ir tai, kad sulauksiu bent vieno ar dviejų per metus.
Ir štai, pagaliau, vasario aštuonioliktąją pasirodė naujas Ginto K opusas M.
Pažvelkime į jį plačiau.
Gintas K. M (2019). Recenzija. MIMIKRIŠKO GARSYNO TURTAI
Man asmeniškai Gintas K yra tas žmogus, kuris prieš maždaug
keturiolika metų atvedė mane į eksperimentinės muzikos pasaulį (kažkiek su
juo buvau susipažinęs, tačiau jis panardino į gelmes), todėl būti labai
objektyviu vargu ar pavyks, tačiau pasistengsiu.
Naujasis albumas (nė nebandysiu skaičiuoti, kelintas,
informaciją galima rasti jo tinklalapyje, žemiau rasite nuorodą) M yra dar
vienas žingsnis kompozitoriaus kelyje. Stebėtina, kad lyg ir siauroje
muzikos srityje Gintas K sugeba atrasti naujus kelius, naujus garsovaizdžius,
naujas idėjas.
Naujasis, net 70 minučių albumas sudarytas iš septyniolikos
kūrinių, kurie yra nevienodo ilgio - pirmasis beveik aštuoniolikos minučių,
kai kurie po penkias, septynias, aštuonias, nemažai kūrinių - vos po vieną,
dvi, tris minutes. Albumas tartum sudarytas iš dviejų dalių - prieš
septynerius metus įrašyto M (ketvirtasis kūrinys buvo pristatytas Ispanijoje)
ir prieš dvejus - Mimicry.
Įdomu, kad albumą, išleistą paties Ginto K leidyklos gk rec.,
iliustravo (labai vykusiai) jo duktė Indrė Kraptavičiūtė. Digipakas
išleistas estetiškai, viršelis rausvas, pats kompaktas - įdomaus mėlynos
spalvos atspalvio, nugarėlė - juoda. Gal tai užuomina į mimikriją?
M(imikrija) yra be galo įdomus albumas (ypač užveža jo vienos
kulminacijų - kūriniai Mimicry 2; taip pat ir septintoji Mimicry dalis): jo
garsynas turtingas, posūkiai netikėti, garsiniai sprendimai originalūs. Iš
esmės tai muzika tiems, kurie mėgsta medituoti klausydami panašius garsus.
Smagu, kad masėms nepataikaujama, nors su savo kaip muzikanto patirtimi
Gintas K galėtų groti ir populiaresnę muziką - pankroką, industrial, metalą,
gotiką ir dar bala žino ką. Tačiau kompozitorius neišduoda savęs ir kuria
tai, kas jam pačiam patinka. Pagarba ir aukščiausias balas.
Naudingos nuorodos:
gintask.puslapiai.lt
gintask.home.blog
gintask.bandcamp.com/album/m-gk-rec-2019
www.pakartot.lt/project/gintas-k
Eksperimentinę muziką (po ankstyvojo pankroko periodo) Gintas
K kuria jau ketvirtį amžiaus, jis yra ir pirmosios Lietuvoje industrial
electronic stiliaus grupės MODUS šerdis. Dabar Gintas K daug keliauja po
pasaulį su savo muzika, instaliacijomis, kuria muziką filmams,
bendradarbiauja su garso menininkais @c, Paulo Raposo, Kouhei Matsunaga,
David Ellis ir daugybe kitų. Jo albumai išleisti įvairiose šalyse, daugybėje
leidyklų: pvz., Crónica, Baskaru, Con-v, Copy for Your Records, Bôłt,
Creative Sources, Sub Rosa ir kt. Dalyvauta tokiuose tarptautiniuose
festivaliuose ir simpoziumuose kaip Transmediale.05, Transmediale.07,
ISEA2015, ISSTA2016, IRCAM forum workshop 2017, xCoAx 2018, ICMC2018. Prieš
devynerius metus Ispanijoje laimėtas prizas renginyje II International
Sound-Art Contest Broadcasting, o šiemet jis tapo The USF New-Music
Consortium (NMC 2019) International Call for Scores / electronic composition
category, 2019 USA laureatu. Nuo 2011 metų Gintas K yra Lietuvos
Kompozitorių Sąjungos narys.
****************
Chain D.L.K. 31 Mar 2019
Artist: Gintas
K(@)
Title: M
Format: CD
Label: gk
rec.(@)
Gintas Kraptaviius is a Lithuanian composer whose opus stands along the path
of certain experimental music whose macro-category is microsound. Rather
than being based on samples or loops, his music is based on small sounds
which seems generated by tone or noise generators and their duration is
usually small enough to be perceived as an isolated sound cell as a note.
This release collects two pieces: “M”, in six sections, from 2012 and
“Mimicry”, from 2017, is in eleven sections. “M” starts with a long first
section which with his almost eighteen minutes is more than half of the
total length, which oscillates between complex noisy parts without any
intention to create and quieter ones based on carefully crafted tones. Even
when, as in the second or in the last section, fragments of melody appears,
this is balanced by the other section where the shaping of sound and the
overall architecture of sound events is prevalent. “Mimicry” is a more
fragmented track as even rhythmic patterns appear, as in the third section,
or drone, as in the fourth one, and pure silence as background, as in the
ninth; the use of computer’s possibility to create sounds is matched by a
concept of structure where event seems more important than path.
The overall result is a complex auditory experience where the listener is
called to a effort of comprehension towards something whose form is
apparently chaotic and distant from the comforting cliché of the genre. It’s
not for everyone but it’s a rewarding listening.
Posted by Andrea Piran
Coming in straight from Lithuania is "m", the second album released by
Gintas Kraptavicius a.k.a. Gintas K through his very own label Gk Rec.,
exclusively set up to be a channel to release his own musical output. Split
into two main pieces, the 2012 composed "m" and the more recent, 2017 work
“Mimicry” the nearly 70 minutes longplayer provides a total of seventeen
tracks with “M” containing six, of which “4m” was previously released on a
Sub Rosa compilation back in 2013, and “Mimicry” eleven of them. Opening
with the title piece we experience Gintas K exploring a world of chaotic,
hectic, buzzing and bleeping Digital Noize structures which bring us back to
the early days of Max/MSP through its glitching, ever morphing and
demanding, yet non-repetetive nature with the aforementioned “4m” being the
most structured, calm and somewhat Electronica-oriented out of the six parts
whereas “Mimicry” focuses on a more scraping, dry, electric and minimalist
aproach and even adds occasional sparse and abstract percussive elements to
the highly artificial sound structures which, therefore, could be referred
to as a glimpse of what could be a Digital FreeJazz / Future Jazz sound of a
far flung future even though cuts like “Mimicry 4” weigh in some Ambient
references and widescreen panoramic elements at times and “Mimicry 8” tends
to resemble a morphed, ever warped take on Clicks’n’Cuts especially
throughout its opening sequence. Defo a special interest release, this.
In the one-and-zero walled world of so-called “computer music” (undoubtedly
a vague and even somewhat deprecating moniker), the turbulent chunks of
synthetic hums, blips, and glitches are backed by a variety of paradigms.
The most renowned artists in this field, such as Florian Hecker, who in his
music “dramatizes space, time and self-perception in his sonic works by
isolating specific auditory events in their singularity, thus stretching the
boundaries of their materialization,” or Yasunao Tone, whose works are
concerned with the sonic properties of transformed and converted media,
might give the impression that this sort of music is a very academic or even
notional pursuit. But ultimately the sound itself is what matters, and
placing all of the credit on the theoretical back end is, in my opinion,
fallacious and reductive. M, which collects two compositions by Lithuanian
sound artist Gintas Kraptavičius—M (2012) and Mimicry (2017)—is a visceral
opus that explores the staggering potentials of the artist’s palette of
files, plugins, and effects. The album doesn’t concern itself with complex
explanations—just the opposite, in fact; the only words on the packaging
other than the credits and track titles is the famous Dalai Lama quote “Life
is not easy.” Instead, like Network Glass, whose idiot/smiling I reviewed
just the other day, Kraptavičius occupies the the much more universal
dimension of isolated sound, focusing on the dizzying textural collages he
crafts from the pulsing clouds of digital noise. Mimicry, which comprises
the second part of the album, is very much a response to its precursor M;
where the latter delves into dense, evolving clusters, the former takes on a
volatility that feels much less composed, drawing power from its disarming
unpredictability. “Mimicry4” presents the album’s closest flirtation with
conventional beauty, rolling a loud, cathartic drone into the fray of
frantic glitches, just one of the countless enrapturing sonic conversations
with which Kraptavičius experiments. M is a decisive statement in raw
data-driven music methodology, in itself an argument for a diversity of
approaches.
—————————————————————
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
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.
*********************************
M by Gintas K
BY TJ NORRIS ON FEBRUARY 25, 2019
Gintas K | M
GK Rec (CD/DL).
In following Gintas K‘s career trajectory over a decade plus I’ve
noticed a keen focus on the conceptual bent of his approach, on M he’s
in top form, delivering a slightly harder, more granulated sound
overall. For all intense purposes, there are no overdubs here, and the
record is broken into two parts: tracks 1-6 are numbered 1m to 6m; and
tracks 7-17 are titled Mimicry1through Mimicry11. And right from the
start it’s a jumble of electroacoustic bounce and frenzy that almost
sounds as if it’s empowered by a voice signal of some sort. A plethora
of bleeps, bloops and twisted mishigas gone awry, but somehow Gintas
contains the chaos with dog-whistle pitch and variables that would make
any prolific thereminist blush.
This coagulated fusion is fascinatingly bent. Though it sounds as if
someone is tinkering with the soft belly of a pinball machine’s innards
the results are both animated and perplexing. When things get really
chunky the physical synthesis breaks down gradually, and at this point I
imagine the artist acting and reacting to experiments and distortions
therein in stride, almost like a headcleaner. If ever there whether was
a time to utilize the phrase “alternative” it is right here, fair
listener. Some harsh noise records repel me so much I just can’t be
bothered, honestly, but this has the innate ability to engage your
senses, the effect is quite tingling. Oh, and this is just track one
(which runs nearly 18 mins).
As the digital sounds flicker like a sci-fi console the ear is drawn
elsewhere, fluctuating between the hiss and stupefaction imbued by the
highs/lows, the silences and the din. The composer seems to be
addressing some form of corruption and disconnect here, far more
“concrete” than his previous works. The works parallel forms of minimal
and maximal somehow, an uncommon blend.
Kraptavicius captures this fidgety and uncomfortable space in pure
electronic music where many would iron the seams, but instead he inverts
to expose the guts, and in this case it works, especially on 3m where
there seems to be a quasi middle eastern melody deposed behind the
fractals. There’s much tension, much secrecy, even with such exposure.
And so on, he moves through this electronic mirage, switches engaged,
knobs twisted occasionally to highlight playful tonalities in limbo. All
comes to a head on 6m where much of the vividly drawn lines have been
suspended to offer a reduced set of microchords that meander in the
shadows.
As we move to the eleven short pieces making up the Mimicry suite (all
played live), it’s sounds as though the performer is wearing his
microphone while tumbling around, the open signal going in and out, all
cut-up. It’s disquieting as the muffled flailing ensues. The physical
sounds have the quality as if taunting the listener in a liquified state
that is riveting (literally). The sounds become more and more phased,
delivered in chunks, like slabs of beef. It’s something altogether new
for the artist, but comes off quite earnest and indelicate at various
intervals. Behind the pulverizing electro-dalliances there are hidden
passages of drone melody such as that which rises from the ashes on
Mimicry4, the highlight of this portion of the record. It is as though
someone is trying to pry open a door to get back to some semblance of
civilization.
For all the intermittent, industrial unpleasantries scattered on
Mimicry, there are amply as many percolating curiousities to
counter-balance the clangor. In fact, on Mimicry9 it sounds like a
conductor readying for a performance at his/her lectern, repeating the
same action of preparing their place for performance, over and over.
It’s one of those moments that sounds like a false start that will never
end, in this light amusing and so meta from the angle of any musician or
noisemaker. Now, let’s begin (by observing the end, of this record).
In the final two tracks Mimicry10 – Mimicry11 Gintas K ratchets up the
literal twists and churns to reveal the continuing mix of
discombobulation. The minor, tweaky percussion lends well to the
rotating effects, like flipping endlessly through a rolodex at high
speed as if rummaging through a card catalogue at the library. The
quality of the recording is discerning, especially because it makes no
direct attempt at resolving itself, leaving the ends open to perspective
interpretation, thus offering a Dadaist accumulation not unlike an
exquisite corpse of sorts.
**************************************
GINTAS K – M (CD by GK Records)
GINTAS K – ACOUSMA LIGHT (CD by GK Records)
Vital Weekly number 1172
Some weeks ago I had a discussion about good ol’ laptop music and
whether or not it is due for
a revival just yet. Maybe it is? Gintas K is a composer from Lithuania
and he’s been around doing
laptop music consistently for a long time now. His name, which is
actually Gintas Kraptavicius,
first popped up in Vital Weekly 361 and ever since then with some
regular intervals he does new
releases. According to his biography, he’s been active since 1994 and
these days he’s doing
music for films, compositions and installations. He also started his
label, GK Records, and these
are the inaugural releases. On ‘M’ we find two pieces. One is ‘M’,
divided into six parts and
‘Mimicry’, which has eleven parts. The first is from 2012 and the latter
from 2017; the latter is
played live, but that is not something that one would know from
listening. There is not a lot of
difference between both works when it comes to how they sound. The
differences are minor,
really. In the eleven parts of ‘Mimicry’ he uses a lot of small sounds,
being tossed around inside
the granular synthesis programs he is using (and I have no idea if that
is Max/Msp, Pure Data or
AudioMulch; or even something else), creating repeating yet chaotic
little modules that are on a
constant shift in ever-changing parameters. Sometimes these parameters
are quite big and the
changes extensive, and sometimes the changes are quite minor and close
together. In ‘M’ it
seems to me that his granular synthesis is occasionally doing it more
drone like sounds, closely
knit to form sustaining patterns, next to an even more chaotic approach,
such as in the first, long
(-est) part. Differences are quite minor but occasionally crucial.
To play straight away the other CD is quite the effort, which I didn’t
do; I waited a day. This CD
is about ‘acousmatic music’, “in which a sound source isn’t visible
during the concert or listening
session”, like the old masters of musique concrete once did, using a
reel-to-reel on stage and no
instruments were visible. Here “sound components are being grained into
sonic particles – as
elemental as possible. The sound of the piece may be described in such
characteristics as timbre,
spectrum of sound, varying and changing speed of motion. In the first
stage of composition, in
which recording of live performance takes place, a principle of sound
deconstruction is being
employed, Recorded material is then being organized into a structure
that gradually evolves into
a crystallized form”. I am not sure what that means, however. Is the
first piece here a live recording
and the other eight subsequent deconstructions, or is each of the nine
pieces a bit of live recording
with deconstructions, all part of the same composition, times nine? Not
really sure, but also not the
most vital information I should think. Music wise we are here in a
similar mood as with ‘M’, but
throughout these nine pieces seems to me to be slighter more complex in
approach. There is more
happening in terms of chaotic sound bits sparkling about, but it comes
with additional layers of
sounds that are more drone-like and sustaining. In both of these discs,
Gintas K is neither very
noisy nor too quiet, even when ‘Acousma Light’ seems to me to have
quieter bits, with more
isolated sounds. Both of these discs most certainly do not contain
‘easy’ listening but are filled
with quite some demanding music with a lot of sonic information. (FdW)
*****************************************
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 concrčte.
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
Posted on January 9, 2018
https://yeahiknowitsucks.wordpress.com/2018/01/09/gintas-k-acousma-light/
gintas k’s brand new release got me like a prank on april’s fools day.
When it played from the start I instantly thought that my listening
equipment had gone berserk. It made me check the wires, hid the machine
from the back and the front & even made me check my own brain to see if
it was maybe a inside technical problem. Of course over time I realized
all these odd sounds are in fact the actual music & not the sound of the
sounds not working properly. Sometimes the difference between
experimental and equipment failure is hard to distinguish between each
other. I realized when some kind of fire alarm started to ring that we
at YIKIS don’t have such alarms installed & it was indeed all coming out
of the acousma light.
What a delight and relief, as now we could just sit back and enjoy the
audio expressions instead of worrying about how to fix the music playing
machines. A worry less; a joy plus! What got me the most after the
realization was how computerized these sounds sounded, as if a genius
hacker hacked into the behind of electronic music and twisted all the
connections in order to make them do things on their own. Of course it’s
difficult to understand if you had been expectingA to Z
compositions,baselines, straight to the point melodies or hell; even
singing! But on its respective own it does provide the righteous
sparkles, the wtf form of audio excitement and material that sheds a
different light on the machines around you. It sounds like a alternative
kind of nature.
Somehow gintas k makes these experimental experiments sound as if they
are coming in liquid forms, vibrant, squishy and squeezable. These are
elements that are hard to create when going for your average bill & joe
kind of country album or any other form of concrete music in general.
With these tracks here it’s more about shapes, forms and sizes. Maybe
the sounds pop once in a while but they will stay organic and never form
a recognizable pop pattern. A shine through melodic hint might shine
through, although the experimental sounds do dominate the scenery. Why
it relaxes? I guess because it has the same excitement and calming
artifacts as standing under a waterfall at a beauty of a location. It
sounds and feels very different, but they have in the end lots in
common.
https://gintask.bandcamp.com/album/acousma-light-gk-rec-2018
<KN>
*****************************************
GINTAS K - Acousma Light (2018). Great joy of Pythagorean Music!
Mindaugas Peleckis
2018 m. Sausio 06 d., 11:25
This is the first musical album i review this year. It was released on
the 2nd day of the year. Lithuanian artists prove that they are prolific
even when others party. GINTAS K (Gintas Kraptavičius, 1969, Marijampolė,
Lithuania) is one of the best composers i've ever heard, and his many
works are different and worth to listen to. It all started from punk
rock, later he established the first industrial electronic band in
Lithuania MODUS (1988), and then started to release experimental music
albums as GINTAS K. Album title ACOUSMA LIGHT refers to Acousmatic music
in which a sound source isn't visible during the concert or listening
session. In 1955 a pioneer of musique concrčte, French composer Pierre
Schaeffer coined a term acousmatique, derived from the Greek word
ἄκουσμα akousma, "a thing heard". The latter was used by Pythagoras to
describe uninitiated disciples. According to historical sources, the
aspirants had to follow a vow of silence for five years while listening
to the teachings of the master behind a screen (a curtain), without
seeing him.
So, what does this album teach us about? It's no way silent (although,
in the middle of the longest - 7th - Episode we can observe silence for
a couple of minutes), and it's quite long, even 72 minutes.
Nevertheless, the album is very interesting and intense - it varies from
near-noise sounds to more silent explosions of notes. All album seems to
be a concept one not only because of Acousmatic matters, but also
because of its music. It is different from other GINTAS K's albums as it
has a totally different sound. My favourite tracks (Episodes) are 5 and
8, but i recommend to listen the whole album from the beginning to the
end.
In the informational part of the digital album it is written: In a
composition Acousma Light sound components are being grained into sonic
particles - as elemental as possible. The sound of the piece may be
described in such characteristics as timbre, spectrum of sound, varying
and changing speed of motion. In the first stage of composition, in
which a recording of live performance takes place, a principle of sound
deconstruction is being employed. Recorded material is then being
organized into a structure that gradually evolves into a crystallized
form.
ACOUSMA LIGHT is also released as a CD (only 300 copies, so hurry up),
which is a nice surprise for me, as many Lithuanian musicians in 2017
released their albums only on MCs or LPs. (I still prefer CD.)
The design and the cover art of the digipak is very nice, and it's made
by old friend and colleague of GINTAS K - Juodo. Cover image represents
balancing stones from inner ear. They are attached to sensory hair. When
the head tilts, the movement of stones causes nerve impulses that
originate into a sense of balance.
GINTAS K is a very productive composer and released in total more than
50 albums and collaborations. Last year he released two albums (2014,
attenuation circuit, ACP 1101, Germany, and Under my skin, Crónica 124,
Portugal), one collaboration (I Will Loose It, with Estonian artist
Roomet Jakapi, Powdered Hearts Records – PH16, USA), and one track
(A1geras) in Powdered Hearts Winter Sampler (2017-18) by Powdered Hearts
Records and Tapes.
You may find these links useful while listening to GINTAS K's music. By
the way, he is also a writer, whose debut was in famous literary
almanach VARPAI in 2009. GINTAS K is also a professional saxophone
player, so i wouldn't be very surprised if one of his next albums would
be a jazz album.
GINTAS K is a sound artist exploring granules, hard digital, memories.
His works have been published by record labels Crónica, Zeromoon, Con-v,
m/OAR, Copy for Your Records, Baskaru, Ilse and presented at various
festivals (Transmediale.05, Transmediale.07, ISEA2015 etc.). GINTAS K is
a winner of the II International Sound-Art Contest “Broadcasting Art
2010” held in Spain.
I almost never write evaluation of albums, but this one is really worth
10+ (from 10). Great joy of Pythagorean Music!
*****************************************
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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 č
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
piů sincopati e ricchi alternati ad altri piů dimessi. La piccola traccia "Antras
Galas" č 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 puň
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
******************************************
Gintas K
Under My Skin
17 Mar 2017
http://bodyspace.net/discos/3140-under-my-skin/
Para estudar.
O título pode, ŕ 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
cançăo 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 năo
ser, segundo os cânones, considerado música, assim como uma experięncia năo
pode ser considerada arte. Ou talvez possa, dependendo do olhar de cada um.
Os sons aqui ordenados
tęm a capacidade de transmitir as mesmas sensaçőes 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,
entăo, o homem via Sinatra), que está o maior impacto de Under My Skin, o
disco. Năo é um álbum, é um estudo, e só os alunos mais aplicados terăo 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
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.
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
maničre 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 ŕ sa musique. Low peut l'ętre bien souvent mais
n'ętre que dans cette approche n'aurait eu que peut d'intéręt. 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 ŕ une musique que l'on considčre
généralement comme froide et peu encline ŕ susciter des émotions trop
fortes. C'est sans doute pour cela que Low est trčs en relief,
n'hésitant pas ŕ 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 ŕ ce que celui-ci soit surpris, qu'il ne sache pas comment les
morceaux vont se dérouler. Et c'est souvent le problčme dans bien des
disques. Les premičres notes, les premičres structures annoncent bien
souvent le reste sans pour autant que l'on soit devin, au point que cela en
devient presque gęnant. 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 extręmes. Low se doit aussi d'ętre un album digeste
męme si certains instant penchent vers le noise. Low n'est certes pas
toujours ŕ appréhender car ambivalent, n'étant jamais deux fois dans le męme
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 lŕ oů il le souhaite
c'est ŕ 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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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)
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 Labelhttp://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
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.
************************************
Artist @C + Gintas K.
Titel k./85
Album Crónica L
http://www.kwadratuur.be
Crónica / Import
Besproken door Vincent Welleman | Toegevoegd op 31 december 2010
Voor het 50ste album van het Portugese Crónica-label werden er
samenwerkingsverbanden gevormd tussen diverse geluidskunstenaars over
landgrenzen heen. Dat werpt op sommige nummers zijn vruchten af. Vooral
de fusie tussen @C en Gintas K. verdient meer aandacht. De Litouwer
Gintas Kraptavičius is specialist in de digitale microgeluiden. Achter
het project @C zitten de twee leraren (in design en schilderkunst)
Miguel Carvalhais en Pedro Tudela die aan de universiteit van Porto
lesgeven. Hun composities worden voornamelijk gevormd vanuit een vaste
structuur, aangevuld met losstaande geluiden die deconstructief werken.
Het duo omschrijft het als improvisatiemuziek die zowel in dialoog als
in discussie gaat.
Over de audio
Het is eerst en vooral van belang bij deze elektronica te vermelden dat
een goede geluidsinstallatie of hoofdtelefoon vereist is om deze muziek
te beluisteren. In tegenstelling tot de meeste andere muziek moeten
minuscule geluiden en hun textuur vooral ervaart worden. ‘K./85’ begint
stil met gedetailleerd geruis. Deze ruis (of glitch) gaat over in
insectengeluiden die ’s nachts in het struikgewas ritselen, en worden
bijgestaan door lage plastische tonen. Die dringen steeds dieper in de
oorschelp en dalen verder af naar het centrum van ons gehoor. De
frequentie gaat zo laag dat het na een tijd zelfs ongemakkelijk wordt.
Na ongeveer 5 minuten weerstand bieden, vliegen er flarden van
akoestische gitaar voorbij en ontwikkelt zich een warme en aangename
sfeer diep in het binnenste van het nummer. Achteruitspoelende geluiden
overstelpen de compositie en nemen de luisteraar in volle vaart terug
mee naar buiten. Eenmaal buiten komt de mooie gitaarmelodie terug die
het nummer helemaal afwerkt tot een knap resultaat.
************************************
Gintas K: So On
Label: Crónica
31.03.2011
http://titelmagazin.com/
Bemühter Noise, Höchstschnarchfaktor!
Uz7hjjjjz6767zuuuargargj … Oh, pardon. Aber so liest sich das nun mal,
wenn KRISTOFFER CORNILS mit dem Kopf auf der Tastatur einschläft.
Verantwortlich ist der Litauer Gintas K, der mit So On ein Album vorlegt,
das sich bemüht, so etwas wie experimentellen Noise zu schaffen – und
dabei eigentlich nur langweilt.
Das ist der übliche Ansatz: Ein bisschen musikalische Dekonstruktion
betreiben, Strukturen aufbrechen, möglichst die Verfremdung der Sounds
auf die Spitze treiben usw. usf. Das ist aber leider nichts Neues, und
nicht einmal gut gemacht. Während ein versierter Noise-Künstler wie
Merzbow es bei rund 350 veröffentlichten Alben immer noch schafft,
einigermaßen interessant und innovativ zu bleiben, gelingt das Gintas K
schon mit der zwölften Veröffentlichung längst nicht mehr.
Welches Konzept auch hinter diesen 14 Titeln stecken mag, es offenbart
sich nicht in diesem Blitzlichtgewitter von Stör- und Feedbackgeräuschen,
die wahllos arrangiert und meist unfreiwillig komisch wirken.
Revolutionär wäre das noch vor einigen Jahren gewesen, heute jedoch
rennt Gintas K offene Türen ein und bleibt dabei sogar noch am Türrahmen
hängen und legt sich anschließend wenig elegant flach.
Klar, Noise ist nicht jedermanns Bier und soll genau das nicht sein.
Eingängigkeit ist das Letzte, was dort angestrebt wird. Aber darüber
hinaus funktioniert der Noise auf So On einfach gar nicht: Gintas K
schichtet weder die einzelnen Komponenten elegant aufeinander, noch
kreiert er in dem Wirrsal von Sounds interessante Mikrostrukturen. So
sympathisch Internet-Labels wie Crónica auch sind: Wenn sie Alben wie So
On veröffentlichen, können sie sich darüber freuen, kein Geld für teures
Vinyl oder CDs ausgegeben zu haben. Denn das wäre sicherlich ein
Verlustgeschäft gewesen, bei der schnarchigen, angestrengten Nummer.
Kristoffer Kornils
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.
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.
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
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 č pensato proprio
con
l’idea di esportare parecchi di questi personaggi
all’estero e dunque farli conoscere ad un pubblico
piů ampio
e curioso. Č 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 piů 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)
„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]
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.
Many will be familiar with
Gintas’ previous works in the 90’s when he fronted electronic industrial
act Modus; which took him up to 1999 when he started out with this, his
solo career.
Over the years with
multiple releases, Gintas has produced a wide variety of work that
covers a large selection of experimental electronic music; usually
accompanied by some form of performance or installation. ‘Message in a
Bottle’ is a compilation album covering much of his work previously
released on a plethora of labels.
Over the years I have
encountered much of this work before and I loathe and love his output
(sadly, it’s usually the former), such is the variation thematically
throughout his musical career. Bearing this in mind, it was no surprise
that I should feel the same about a release covering a broad section of
what he has produced.
When he shines, he is
truly awe-inspiring; from droning ambience pebble dashed with grains of
glitch and noise, to light strokes of charmed instrumentation. This
rarity however, has always been offset with his insistence on fiddling
around with obscurity and my most hated of genre’s; Field Recordings’.
There are some out there
who love Gintas for all he has achieved and still lap up his releases.
Kudos to him for his persistence and the pleasure he brings to some. For
me however, I have little time for the majority of his work, even if
this compilation does cover some of his better efforts.
**************************************
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.
Lietuvos musikos
informacijos centreas – MICLCD087
5th November 2015
James Wells
While operating within
what could be broadly classed as the ‘electronic’ field, Gintas K’s
output is vast and diverse in stylistic terms. This compilation, which
draws on the work of Lithuanian composer and musical experimenter Gintas
Kraptavicius, one-time leader of electro-industrialists Modus, from the
period spanning 2004-2015, can only ever scratch the surface of his
output. Nevertheless, it provides a flavour of his divergent sonic
explorations. From wispy, ethereal contrails and softly chiming piano
and glockenspiel segments via microtonal explorations, throbbing electro
beats and barely-audible crackles, ‘Message in a Bottle’ is never dull.
The minimalist soundswells
of ‘Reloaded Beauty’ contrast with the dizzying multitonal
electronoodles and pink noise bursts of ‘5m’ (previously unreleased):
elsewhere, ‘Blind Man tale’ is a piece of subterranean dark ambience
which rumbles and hums, while ‘Love is Love 7’ is rendered as a
Prurient-like squall of fucked electrodes and stammering synths
half-buried by a wall of distortion.
The unreleased title
track, a recent and previously-unreleased piece almost 13 minutes in
length, assimilates many of the elements present in the other tracks,
with bursts of noise and frenzied lasers forming a conglomeration of
synth noise. It perhaps hints at Gintas K’s future plans – or maybe it
doesn’t. One thing this album does show is that Gintas is inventive,
unwilling to confirm to any one musical mode, and continually on the
move.
Lietuvos muzikos informacijos
centras išleido elektroninės eksperimentinės muzikos kūrėjo Ginto K
retrospektyvinį CD „Message in a Bottle“. Jo pristatymo koncertas įvyks
gruodžio 11 d., penktadienį, 19 val., Lietuvos kompozitorių namuose (A.
Mickevičiaus g. 29).
CD išleistas gavus dalinę Lietuvos kultūros tarybos paramą. Lietuvos muzikos
informacijos centro partneris – Lietuvos kompozitorių sąjunga, koncerto
partneris – „Agharta“.
Žemiau pateikiama CD recenzija, parašyta Jurijaus Dobriakovo – nepriklausomo
šiuolaikinės kultūros ir meno reiškinių tyrinėtojo, kritiko, dėstytojo,
vertėjo ir kuratoriaus.
Kalbant apie Ginto K(raptavičiaus) dešimtmečio audioretrospektyvą,
simboliška, kad mano paties pažintis su juo ir jo kūryba prasidėjo kaip tik
prieš šiek tiek daugiau nei dešimt metų, 2003-aisiais. Tuomet aš gyvenau
Klaipėdoje ir su plačiuoju (garso) meno pasauliu bendravau daugiausia
virtualiai. Vienas iš to bendravimo rezultatų buvo taip pat virtuali
elektroninės muzikos įrašų leidykla „Surfaces Netlabel“, kurią tais metais
įkūriau kartu su bendraminčiais. Išleidus debiutinį „demonstracinį“
leidyklos rinkinį, į kurį buvo sudėtos daugiausia mano bendraamžių,
pradedančių ir namie eksperimentuojančių elektronikos kūrėjų, kompozicijos,
man ir parašė Gintas K.
Savo laiške jis pagyrė leidyklos iniciatyvą (tuo metu tai buvo vienintelė
tokio pobūdžio virtuali garso platforma Lietuvoje, o ir visame internete jų
dar nebuvo labai daug) ir pasiūlė savo medžiagą išleidimui. Vardas buvo jau
girdėtas, ir pats faktas, kad jaunų entuziastų bandymą įvertino visai kito
kalibro kūrėjas, buvo pribloškiantis, todėl, žinoma, sutikau. Tokiu būdu
antruoju „Surfaces“ leidiniu tapo Ginto K pasirodymo festivalyje „Garso zona“
įrašas pavadinimu „Without Out“.
Nuo to laiko iki pat dabar (po daug perklausytų įrašų ir girdėtų gyvų
pasirodymų) Ginto K muzikinės kūrybos pagrindas ir principai man yra didelė
mįslė. Klausantis jo kūrinių neretai aplanko jausmas, kad negaliu tiksliai
apibūdinti, kas čia vyksta. Tokios medžiagos klausymasis reikalauja tam
tikro pasiruošimo ir kantrybės, nes muzika ne iš lengvųjų ir nepasiduoda
lengvam maloniam suvartojimui (nors tai ir nėra, sakykime, radikalus
triukšmas ar kažkas panašaus). Viską dar labiau komplikuoja tai, kad Gintas
K, nors ir būdamas vienas aktyviausių Lietuvos garso menininkų, visada tarsi
laikosi šiek tiek atskirai, žaisdamas savo lygoje ir mažai paisydamas, ką
kuria kiti ar kokios dabar yra elektroninio garso mados. Prie to prisideda
ir tai, kad jis gyvena atokiau nuo muzikinio gyvenimo centrų, nors kartu ir
visada lieka online – tai pagrindžia užsienyje išleistų įrašų gausa.
Dizainas: Šarūnas Joneikis
Minėti veiksniai formaliai gana įvairiai Ginto K kūrybai suteikia labai
didelio vientisumo įspūdį – išgirdus jo kompozicijas, sunku jas supainioti
su kuo nors kitu. Daug pasako ir tai, kad metai, nurodyti prie atskirų
kompozicijų, mažai ką reiškia – Ginto K prieiga per visą šiame CD pristatytą
dešimtmetį išliko daugmaž nepakitusi. Ir nors jis neretai bendradarbiauja su
kitais garso kūrėjais, iš esmės yra labai individualus autorius.
Kalbant apie patį Ginto K skambesį, kartais gali pasirodyti, kad jis šiek
tiek „užsižaidžia“ garsų moduliavimu, teikdamas daugiau dėmesio jų formai,
kaitai ir fiziniam poveikiui nei kuriamai atmosferai. Apskritai, jo kūryba
savo tekstūriniu sudėtingumu ir abstraktumu yra artimesnė ne didžiąjai
daliai šiuolaikinės elektroninės muzikos, kuri dažnai naudoja gana patogias
ir klausytoją įtraukiančias formas, o, pavyzdžiui, Mortono Subotnicko
elektroninėms kompozicijoms, ypač legendiniam įrašui „Silver Apples of the
Moon“. Todėl į šios muzikos klausymąsi reikia įdėti pastangų, natūralus
susitapatinimas ar įsijautimas čia vargu ar įmanomas. Tai yra tarsi
klausytojo motyvacijos testas – šį išlaikę ras garso sluoksniuose daugiau,
nei galima tikėtis iš pirmo žvilgsnio, tačiau išlaikys ne visi. Bet
klausytojo lepinimas ar lūkesčių pateisinimas ir nėra Ginto K prioritetas –
panašu, kad santykis su pačiu garsu jam yra svarbiausias.
Įdomiausi momentai Ginto K kompozicijose įvyksta tada, kai iš ritmingų
triukšmų ir sintetinių perkusinių garsų moduliacijų į paviršių staiga iškyla
gana organiškai, kartais net atvirai gražiai ir melancholiškai skambančios
melodinės ar atmosferinės tekstūros. Jas galima pavadinti savotišku šių
kompozicijų katarsiu. Tiesa, jis beveik niekada neleidžia joms užsibūti
pernelyg ilgai – matyt, kad klausytojas nepriprastų. Būtent šis „retumas“ ir
lemia jų vertę bei įsimintinumą.
Dizainas: Šarūnas Joneikis
Atskiro paminėjimo verti patys Ginto K kompozicijų pavadinimai. Dažnai
atrodo, kad už jų – lakoniškų ir mįslingų – slypi užuominos į kažkokias
nutylėtas, nepapasakotas istorijas, kurias klausytojas turi įsivaizduoti.
Nevalingai pradedi ieškoti tų istorijų pačiame garse, bet ir jis jų
neatskleidžia. Tai sukuria papildomą intrigą ir priverčia klausytojo sąmonę
„dirbti“ dar labiau. Viskas kartu tikrai ima priminti paslaptingą „žinutę
butelyje“, kurią radęs žmogus nežino, ar ji iš tiesų skirta jam. Jos
iššifravimui reikia specialaus kodo, bet pats autorius nepalieka gairių,
išsaugodamas paslaptį. Kaip minėjau, tai gali tiek sudominti motyvuotą
klausytoją, tiek atstumti tą, kuris šios motyvacijos turi mažiau.
Tokia „natūrali atranka“ yra gera strategija norint suformuoti savo ištikimą
ir suinteresuotą auditoriją. Tikriausiai todėl Ginto K vardas nėra tarp tų,
kurie matomi daugiausiai ir dažniausiai, bet kartu jo buvimas scenoje yra
stabilus ir svarus jau gerokai ilgiau nei dešimtmetį, ir netgi tai pačiai
scenai iš dalies suteikia tam tikrą struktūrą (užtenka prisiminti 2012 m. jo
sudarytą rinkinį „Lietuvos garso menas“).
Turint galvoje pastarąją aplinkybę, retrospektyvinis įrašas „Message in a
Bottle“ yra labai savalaikis. Iki šiol kartais atrodydavo, kad Ginto K
kūryba buvo labiau matoma (ir leidžiama) užsienyje nei Lietuvoje (nors
esantys arti eksperimentinės elektroninės muzikos ir garso meno scenos ją
puikiai žinojo). Dabar jis simboliškai įrašytas į Lietuvos muzikos lauką
gerokai labiau, o jo muziką lengviau įvertinti kaip visumą ir suprasti jos
siunčiamą pranešimą.
Jurij Dobriakov
"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 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)
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.
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.
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.
Dass man heute nichts und niemandem mehr trauen kann und Bildern und
Tönen schon gar nicht, das bedarf kaum noch weiterer Erfahrungen oder
Demonstrationen. GINTAS K ist daher bei pOpXEnA (ACA 1004, CD-R) auch
schon in dem Stadium danach, dem, mit solchen Sinnestäuschungen zu
spielen. Das wässrige Gesprudel inmitten von eisig und windspielerisch
kapriolendem Klingklang ist nämlich vermutlich nicht wirklich mit
Wasser gekocht. Sein metalloides und quecksilbriges Quirlen, Zucken,
Klickern und Glucksen versetzt einen mitten hinein in die Welt der
Simulakren und Illusionen. Wenn hier etwas geübt wird, dann ein F, das
für Fake steht, für flickernde Fiktion, für fixe Folgen von Clicks,
Cuts, Glitches und Wooshes, für die Falten im Einerlei des Vielen, für
das X im Trott der Uuuus. Im poppigen Titel ist ein xen- versteckt wie
ein zweifelhafter Gast auf einem Suchbild. Nur dass hier das
Bilderrätsel extrem mobil daher kommt, im kuriosen und kichernden
Flitzen von Molekülen, die schnarrend, zwirbelnd und wirbelnd flippern,
ricochettieren, kaskadieren, in einem scheinbaren Maximum an Aleatorik
und mit hohem kristallinem Funkelfaktor. So dass dem Letten immer
wieder die liquide Illusion von tröpfeligen und spritzigen
Wasserspielen gelingt, gebrochen in spiegelnder Kaleidoskopik und
zuletzt mit dynamischem Andrang. [BA 83 rbd]
**************************************
GINTAS K - BLIND MAN
TALES (CD by Bolt Records)
Vital Weeklynumber 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, de son vrai nom
Gintas Kraptavičius, est extręmement actif, et tout particuličrement ces
derničres années puisque ce ne sont pas moins de 7 albums qui sont sortis
depuis ce Slow publié début 2013 sur le label français Baskaru. Trčs
présent sur la structure portugaise Cronica oů 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 ŕ 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 męme 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 męme sur les 11
pistes qui composent cet album, avec des mélodies chaotiques, abîmées, ou
particuličrement timides et au second plan des micro-bruitages électroniques,
glitchs, souffles, grésillements et autres erreurs électroniques. Parfois la
mélodie se fait particuličrement 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
légčre. Entre les deux, on retiendra le trčs 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 ŕ peine audible, plutôt mélodique sur Jau et tendance
subaquatique avec le caudal Galasd. En définitive Slow est un
album trčs plaisant, cohérent et original, qui tente de faire le pont, mais
sans y parvenir complčtement, entre émotion et expérimentation.
Fabrice Allard
D’oů vient qu’une certaine
gravité puisse s’insérer dans ce qui paraît léger ? La musique de Gintas K,
généralement, se situe ŕ l’avant-garde mais une avant-garde codée, en fait
un régiment d’avant-garde et non un corps de francs-tireurs ŕ 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 oů les fontaines d’harmoniques empruntent ŕ 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 ŕ merveille ce répertoire mais son aisance est augmentée,
c’est-ŕ-dire, pour ętre 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
crémaillčres 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, ŕ 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 horlogčre est alors mise en śuvre par Gintas K : la
percussion légčre naît du souffle agrégé et entraîne dans sa danse
nonchalante d’autres chocs ŕ peine plus marqués, mais moins machinaux, quasi
boisés. Ce tracé méticuleux, si l’on s’attarde ŕ le suivre, devient
évolution insectoďde, aussi insouciante et effrénée dans le męme 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 complčte, mais aucun chaos n’y rčgne, et le conseil de
mandibules se réverbčre en courts échos, en réponses aux différentes
tonalités, jusqu’ŕ former de fragiles embryons mélodiques. Sur le suivant,
cette évolution confirmée s’adonne ŕ 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 ŕ la limite du perceptible ;
c’est bien ici que cette assemblée de kaons, de particules, forme concert
pour atteindre ŕ 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.
Ecopack
CD „Blind Man Tales“, trunkantis 45 minutes ir 35 sekundes, įrašytas
2010 m. Jis, pasak Ginto K, šiek tiek panašus į „Slow“ (recenzija čia –
http://radikaliai.lt/radikaliai/1458-recenzija-gintas-k-slow-2013-metamorfozes-elektroakustika-virtusi-akustine-elektronika).
Albumo dizaino autorė – Katja Niklas, viršelyje – Jano Brunono Bułhako
(1876–1950) fotografija „Vilnius, Bernardynski Lane“ (1916). Leidėjų
tinklalapyje rašoma albumo atsiradimo istorija: „Prieš dvejus metus,
vasarą, pasijutau gana nusivylęs savo naujausiais kūriniais. Todėl,
ruošdamas programą radijo meno festivaliui, atsitiktinai sumečiau
daugiau nei 40 vasaros failų į daugiakanalę muzikinę programą. Pradėjau
jų klausytis ir apstulbau... Po nedidelių korekcijų tai virto albumu
„Blind Man Tales“.
Šio albumo dalis yra
laimėjusi prizą 2010 m. Ispanijoje vykusiame Tarptautiniame garso meno
konkurse „Broadcasting Art“, organizuojamame Ispanijos nacionalinės
radijo stoties „Rosa de Radio 3“ ir Paragos šiuolaikinio meno centro.
„Blind Man Tales“ ketino
išleisti kita leidykla, tačiau dvejus metus jį „marinavo“, tuomet
iniciatyvos ėmėsi lenkai „Bôłt“, leidžiantys ir dar kelių iškilių kūrėjų
iš Lietuvos – Antano Jasenkos, Antano Kučinsko, Arturo Bumšteino –
albumus.
Viršelį puošia Vilnių itin
mylėjusio J. B. Bułhako fotografija, tad beklausant kyla minčių apie
Vilnių. Tiksliau, apie jo vandenis ir gelmes (Neries?). Buvo kilę minčių
ir apie žymųjį aklą fotografą, muzikantą, poetą Remigijų
Audiejaitį-Tanaką (1972–2007).
Albume yra du kūriniai –
40‘37‘‘ „Blind Man Tales“ ir 4‘55‘‘ „...“.
Be abejo, mano
interpretacija yra subjektyvi, kitokia ji ir negali būti. Tačiau jaučiu
norą pasidalinti savo mintimis, kurios aplankė klausant naujausiųjų
Ginto K albumų. Gelmėje – ramybė, paviršiuje – audros. Dugne plaukioja
ištvermingiausios, aklos žuvys, kurios net nemato saulės šviesos, jos
yra ramybėje. Žaidžiama garso gyliais. Viršuje, kur daug saulės ir oro,
tokios ramybės nėra, paviršiuje – didžiausios audros, o dugne, kaip
karste, ramu, kitas gyvenimas. Tamsu, akla. Paviršius vandenyno gražus,
raibuliuoja saulė. Pirmojo kūrinio pabaigoje atplaukia banginis tarp
mažų garsinių žuvyčių, susirenka planktoną. Albumo esminė tema –
neršiančios žuvys. Albumo muzikoje jaučiasi daug judėjimo. Pereinantys
tonai, lašai, akmenukai, labai daug gyvybės, judėjimo neapibrėžtoje
erdvėje. Nedidelis upeliukas (gal visgi Vilnelė?), buožgalviai, gyvybės
atsiradimas ir jos cikliška tąsa. Tekančio vandens motyvai. Būtis
gelmėje. Iš upeliuko pereinama į vandenyną. Ramybė. Buvo skubėjimas,
vėliau harmonija, viskas susidėlioja į savo vietas. Ciklas. Buvo kova už
gyvybę, chaosas susitvarkė į kosmosą, vėliau – žuvų kova, bėgiojimas,
žaidimas, sunkesni garsai, žuvų karai, povandeninis gyvenimas. Žuvys
gaudo viena kitą. Stiklas groja vandenyje, stiklo šviesos atspindžiai
jame... Gilaus gilaus vandenyno gelmė...
CD-R „pOpXEnA“ (išleisti tik
septyni egzemplioriai, galbūt ateityje albumas bus perleistas kaip LP;
kol kas jo galima klausytis čia –
http://emerge.bandcamp.com/album/popxena)
kelia tokias mintis... Žėrintis ežero ledas. Irgi vandens motyvas. Lytys
plaukioja, lūžta. Vanduo laša nuo lyčių. Plonėdamas ir tirpdamas.
Pavasaris, tirpsta sniegas ir ledas, viskas suteka, laša, ne žuvys, ne
dugnas, varvekliai netgi tirpsta. Lašeliais. Ligoninės garsai,
medicininiai lašai, lašelinėje teka vaistai, iš varveklių lašantis
vanduo atsimuša į balas. Eižėja ledai. Upėje plaukioja ledo lytys.
Vanduo suteka į kriauklę. Sūkuriai po lietaus per atlydį, atolydį suteka
vanduo į kanalizaciją...
1.pOpXenA1 - ...... 07:37
2.pOpXenA2 - ...... 05:17
3.pOpXenA3 - be
maximalaizerio 05:08
4.pOpXenA4 - ...... 04:57
5.pOpXenA5 - ...... 04:56
6.pOpXenA6 - tik
normalaizeris 03:54
7.pOpXenA7 - be
maximaizerio 01:43
8.pOpXenA8 - ...... 05:26
9.pOpXenA9 - su gale
revervu 04:04
Albumo aprašyme teigiama,
kad tai yra „kažkas panašaus“ į tribute'ą kompozitoriui Ianniui
Xenakiui, nes šis neva tarp garso menininkų tapo pop ikona.
10/10 – „Blind Man Tales“.
Bene geriausias Ginto K albumas. 10/10 – ir „pOpXEnA“. O už gelmių ir
vandenų muzikos mitologiją – aukščiausias įmanomas balas, neturintis
skaitmeninės išraiškos.
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.
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
********************************************
Gintas K (Gintas
Kraptavicius) / Greit (Ilse Music)
" Heck, while we’re in the neighbourhood might as well spin
the cassette (CFYRT03) from Gintas K on this label
too. It’s a bubbling charmer of hot mud. This Lithuanian stitcher has had
his dark embroideries released by Cronica and Zeromoon to my knowledge, and
now here he is with a full-length set of improvised pieces he made in 2011.
In contrast to Ruez and his strict rules, Gintas K is just letting it all
sprawl out over his workstation like so much electro-acoustic gruel being
spoon-fed into the mouth of a recalcitrant infant. Very painterly, very
intuitive, and achieving results that are like fragments of broken music
being soldered and glued back together again. On this outing at least,
Gintas K is driven to prove that he can push the machines around and win,
injecting lengthy slabs of unpredictable noise with a vaguely aerated and
gaseous vibe. The 18-minute piece on side A is especially noteworthy, like a
melted cheese sandwich bubbling under the grill with its own built-in
indigestion tablet for the comfort of the elderly diner. The B side contains
somewhat more robotic and mechanical drones, every second of the inhuman
surfaces studded with ornate décor and invention. Also some uncanny staccato
effects and interpolations, redolent of Venusian plant life budding and
spawning under the hot moons of another galaxy." - Ed Pinsent
********************************************
VITAL WEEKLY
number 913 31.12.2013
GINTAS K - NOTA DEMO
(CD by Creative Sources Recordings)
The one thing that I thought was the surprise here is that a label
known for it's improvised music would release a CD by someone 'using
the computer', as it says on the cover. Laptops and electronics may
have been part of other releases on Creative Sources Recordings, but
usually in combination with other instruments. I met Gintas K years
ago and he's really nice guy, but with his recent releases I must
admit he lost me. Not that this isn't something to not like, as his
music is quite alright, but it seems, time-wise, out of place. The
eleven pieces on 'Nota Demo' sound like being improvised using
max/mps, pure data, audio mulch or anything such a like, but its
Plogue Bidule, a software thing I never heard of, along with VST
plug ins and a midi keyboard/controller. The input could have been
anything and is no longer to be traced back to anything you heard
before. It sounds a bit like the 'modern electronics' from the
sixties, but then using computer techniques. Nothing wrong with that
I'd say but something that you may have heard before very well.
Maybe on those vintage electronic music records, maybe in the world
of Vital Weekly in the last, say, fifteen years, when laptops became
household objects. Like I said, I enjoy this to some extent, the
whole bunch of eleven tracks, forty-three minutes, but in all
honesty: who is Gintas K trying to convince here? I have no idea.
This is, in 2013, perhaps the sort of 'quick' album (and I fully
admit, I have no idea how it took to do an album like this) that
would end on bandcamp for the real die hard fans, but as a release
on CD is perhaps a bit much. (FdW)
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 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.
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.
Voilŕ 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 ętre 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 ętre 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 ŕ ce type de musique
et comme ŕ son habitude le lituanien s'applique ŕ 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-delŕ 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
déjŕ entendu ailleurs peut-ętre en mieux mais pas toujours aussi bien que
sur ce disque. Alors oui, Slow peut s'écouter avec une certaine
délectation qui ne peut ętre, et ce en aucun cas, coupable. Il y a dans cet
album assez d'éléments pour croire qu'il est d'une trčs 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 ŕ
son meilleur. Il n'y a donc aucune raison de bouder ce disque.
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.
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)
********************************************
VV.AA. Lietuvos Garso Menas -
Lithuanian Sound Art
As he promised in the last
chat we had on the occasion of his excellent release "slow" on French
indipendent label Baskaru, Gintas Kraptavicius aka Gintas K invited us
to discover the surprising Lithuanian sound art scene, which is almost
unknown out of Lithuanian borders, by presenting us with a compilation
he cared whose importance deservedly gained the institutional
recognition by the support of the Ministry of Culture of the small
Baltic Republic and LATOA-A (Agency of Lithuanian Copyight Protection
Association) and equipped by thorough description by Jurij Dobriakov. I
acknowledge that the quality of this cluster of Lithuanian
experimentalists went beyond my expectation. Most of the first tracks
seem to emphasize the spacial aspect of each sonic moulding: the initial
"gir gir gir gar gar gar (garsas)" by Andrius Rugys seems to trace the
attention's direction of the composer/listener during a rowing boat trip
in the Green lakes nearby Vilnius, from the initial focus on the sound
of water and creaking wooden boards after each stroke to the traditional
folk song by Agota and Dorota Zdanaviciule, whose syncopation, which is
a typical element of some Lithuanian vocal styles such as the many
different kinds of Sutartines, seems to be mirrored by recorded natural
elements and rowing itself; the academically trained composer Vytautas
V.Jurgutis builds interesting figures by curling overpressurized
computational microsounds, which gradually become more and more
abrasive, while Antanas Dombrovskij perverts Raminta Kurklietyte's vocal
improvisations by asphyxiating clumps and spasmodic rashes from broken
synthesizer and circuit bending on "NNN broken jazz". The vagarious
enchanting drowsy tune "We Watch TV" by Arturas Bumsteinas is an assay
of the amazing "Sleep (an attempt at trying)", a radio project
commissioned by the Deutschland Radio Kultur broadcasting service, which
took the form of a fictional late night show for insomniacs and precedes
"blind man tales 2", the astonishing textural piece consisting of
melodic bits, granular particles and indented noises by which Gintas K
won the main prize of the second international sound art Broadcasting
Art, held in Spain in 2010. A different and likewise entrancing way to
mould melodic bits comes from audio_z, the solo project of Tautvydas
Bajarkevicius, whose (lasting more than 12 minutes) excerpt "Bits Pieces
and So Far Beyond" focuses on whirling punctuating melodies of frail
sounds and acoustic guitars, opaque transparencies and fishbowl-like
deforming spacialization. Another mouthwatering assay is the excerpt of
PAR, a metamorphic soundscape which features violin, electronics and
enviromental sound recordings grabbed in South Africa (PAR is the
Lithuanian abbreviation for SAR) Lina Lapelyte performed at Cafe Oto in
London in April 2012. Antanas Jasenka minimal abstract electronics on
"prognostic@act", a piece for microphone, voice, electric organ VENTA,
max/msp and graphic equalizer vaguely resembles some stuff by Pylone,
Zonk't, Alva Noto or Jan Jelinek, but he manages to inject a more
baffling mark by means of the words he took from the notorious Seikilos
epitaph ("While you live, shine/have no grief at all/life exists only
for a short while/and time demands its toll"). Another interesting
declension of minimalism is the one by sound artists and architect Tomas
Grunskis aka ad_OS, who translated architectural graphic information
(the draft of a city and its elements) into digital sonic information,
which sounds basic but totally inhuman on "Analog underWAWE". The last
track of this interesting sonic miscellany cannot be but a toast or I'd
better say a proper sonic toast as the electroacoustic project SALA
recorded sound of the fermentation of gira, a traditional Lithuanian
beverage, for their bizarre track "Fermentacija".
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 lumičre de fin de
journée. Une humide odeur douce. Un parfum ensoleillé remonte jusqu’ŕ moi.
Sur l’eau le reflet des visages. Un chuchotement derričre mon épaule. Rester
lŕ, ŕ 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 ŕ égrener vignettes
délicates et chuchotements.
...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
..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)
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 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.
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 KSlow
Musik an sich29.03.2013
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 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.
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 Kraptavicius č un'altra di quelle figure che hanno giocato un
potenziale ruolo cardine nelle ali piů 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 piů amati dagli avventurieri
dell'ascolto. Come avvennuto in precedenza giŕ al “maestro” Ralf Wehowsky (P16.D4,
forse i padri ispiratori dei Modus stessi), una volta concluso il percorso
del collettivo Kraptavicius si č imbarcato in una carriera solista allineata
alle moderne sonoritŕ 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 piů 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 č un lavoro dunque decisamente accessibile rispetto alle usuali
sonoritŕ 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” (Raglanidocet) e per i tintinni
silenziosi ŕ-la-Richard
Chartier della conclusiva “Galad”. Anche
laddove la mole sonora si fa piů corposa, il disco non abbandona la caratura
minimale del proprio sound: č 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 piů intimista, e il pastiche
sweet-noise di “Sdg”, non
distante dalle trame piů rumoristiche degli ultimi
Mountains.
Pur non riuscendo ad evitare in toto il rischio di sconfinare nel manierismo,
“Slow” č 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
puň dirsi completata in un'opera che apre le porte del suo laboratorio
consentendo l'ingresso anche ai non addetti ai lavori, legando con astuzia
semplicitŕ e sperimentazione.
********************************************
GINTAS K. – Slow
01. März 2013 WESTZEITText: 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.
‘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.
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.
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.
********************************************
VITAL WEEKLY
#870
19.02.2013
GINTAS K - SLOW (CD by
Baskaru)
Gintas K, from Lithuania,
has been around for a couple of years already and plays what we could
easily identify as computer music. Once the mighty future, a man behind
his laptop, but quickly audiences all around the world seemed less
pleased with 'someone checking his e-mail, under the pretext of doing
live music'. Is there are a future for the pure laptop artist, I
wondered, while listening to Gintas K's latest release? I am not sure.
Based on what I hear here I am not too convinced that there is a bright
future for them. The plug ins, the digital processing of sounds (here
field recordings, sine waves, guitar), the synthesis: it all sounds like
something we already heard a lot before. Most of the Mille Plateaux from
a decade ago will do. Some time I played all of them, and then all of
the releases on the long-gone Japanese label Meme, and it struck me that
a lot of that early laptop music (which doesn't equal early computer,
mind you!) sounded quite dated now. The music as
played
by Gintas K here could have as easily fitted on any of those labels,
back then. It's music that sounds actually alright, well produced, but
perhaps also outdated and distant. It's not something that grabs the
listener. I am not sure if it would have done so ten years ago, but
certainly does not now. I think it's time to re-consider the whole
notion of pure laptop music in the click 'n cut area. Until of course
someone has the bright idea to launch a revival. (FdW)
********************************************
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, Pirandčlo, 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“.
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 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 RadioJanuary
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
“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
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 #8502012-10-02
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)
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“
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
...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“...
********************************************
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.
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)
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.
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
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.
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
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."....
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)
Aprčs avoir sorti une
longue pičce 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 tęte de donner une consistance artistique ŕ 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 ŕ disparaitre. Lovely Banalities, ce titre n'est
donc pas un hasard. Gintas K s'est évertué ŕ recueillir chez lui ŕ
Marijampole les sons qui lui sont familiers et les ont associé ŕ 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 ŕ 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'ŕ 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 ŕ 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 męme des morceaux. Il suffit juste de
se mettre en tęte 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 'banalitŕ adorabili' si snocciola in piccoli quadri di
elettroacustica — digital music sovente penetrati da registrazioni sul campo
raccolte nella cittŕ natale di Marjampole. Dalla title track in poi la
crudezza timbrica si addolcisce di melodie glitch e ninna nanne incerte
(Music Box). Gintas Kraptavičius č molto bravo nella rifinitura della
scheggia, nel fare di un'inezia un piccolo universo. Se si accetta la
programmatica frammentarietŕ, il disco dŕ piů 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’ŕ son tour, une immense
bouffée d’oxygčne libre dans un monde oů 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 męmes
préoccupations esthétiques’ (interview parue dans la magazine MCD n°22, juin
2004). Entičrement 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 trčs
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
succčdent au trčs 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 ŕ 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 rivičre, la pluie -
enregistrés ŕ Marijampole, ville de résidence de notre homme. Certains
titres sont absolument remarquables de justesse harmonique et de précision
dynamique. Ainsi, l'introductif In intčgre 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'oů
l'on s'attend ŕ voire surgir le commandant Spock aux manettes d'HAL 9000.
Traversé, d'une maničre 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 ŕ alva noto (Something In The Grass) qu'ŕ Svarte Greiner ou Lawrence
English (HH3), sans męme parler des évidentes connections dépoussiérées avec
la maison Editions Mego, (C2, Just 1). Vous l'aurez compris, nous sommes -
trčs - trčs 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
Aprčs le double album Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound
en 2006, voici le deuxičme long format du Lithuanien ŕ 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 trčs distinctes de son
travail, avec d'une part un CD d'une electronica minimale du plus bel effet
(que l'on comparait ŕ un croisement entre Frank Bretschneider et Pan Sonic)
et d'autre part un travail purement conceptuel sur une fréquence sonore.
Heureusement, Gintas K semble ętre revenu ŕ 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 complčtement intégré dans notre quotidien.
Pour cela, il travaille sur des field recordings mais au lieu de les
présenter tel quel ŕ la maničre d'un Chris Watson qui va chercher sa matičre
premičre aux quatre coins du monde, Gintas Kraptavi?ius enregistre les sons
de sa ville un aprčs-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 ętre les éléments centraux ?), mais le
Lithuanien tend ŕ composer sa musique comme une banalité, quelque chose de
simple. Si le travail de recherche sonore est indéniable, les compositions
se révčlent ętre 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 rivičre (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'accčs, plutôt
abstraite, avec des sonorités inhabituelles, des mélodies rares mais
superbes, bref une musique expérimentale mais avec une démarche
particuličrement 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.
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!
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?
************************************************
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]
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 sphčre IDM, réfractaire au monde
extérieur. Au contraire, dčs 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 matičre de son travail de retraitement, enregistrant une masse de
field recordings un dimanche aprčs-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 intermčdes 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 ŕ parti l'univers informatique pour le rendre faillible
et incertain. Et lč oů 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
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)
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.
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 threedimensionally, 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 (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.
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.
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#625April 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 roundedpiece. (FdW)
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.
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
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)
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...
********************************************
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.
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
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
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.
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)
Mange kedelige ting er i
tidens lřb blevet lavet i avantgardens navn, men som Brian Eno har pointeret,
sĺ kan man sagtens glćde sig over, at der er nogle, der laver de helt
ekstreme og abstrakte lydeksperiementer, ogsĺ selvom man ikke nřdvendigvis
selv orker at hřre dem. Der er stadig tale om en slags musikalsk
grundforskning, hvis resultater siden kan vise sig brugbare i helt andre og
langt mere givende sammenhćnge. At sige, at der er tale om ”grundforskning”
er samtidig det absolut pćneste, man kan sige om Gintas Ks
60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound,
selvom forskningen samtidig mĺ siges at vćre sĺ banal, at det er svćrt at
forestille sig, at den nogensinde ville kunne bruges til noget som helst.
For en halvtreds ĺr siden eller mere, hvor simple elektroniske
tonemanipulationer stadig var en relativt ny ting, ja, der kunne det mĺske
have vćret brugbart, men den dag i dag er det ćrlig talt svćrt at se, hvem
der har brug for – endsige kunne finde pĺ at
hřre – en hel time med en 2 kHz-tone, som mere eller mindre systematisk
křres gennem en rćkke digitale modulationer, med en ny hvert minut.
Det er mĺske ikke teoretisk
umuligt, at der kunne komme noget godt ud af denne tilgang, man kan trods
alt komme ret langt omkring rent lydmćssigt ved modulation af rene toner.
Imidlertid gĺr Gintas K meget puritansk
til sagen, og mere end halvdelen af vćrket lyder som et prřvebillede hřrt
med forskellige mćngder af řrevoks i řrene. Dette kombineres sĺ 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
střj. Ud af den time det hele varer, er der mĺske alt i alt en fire-fem
minutter, hvor det tangerer noget let stemningsfuldt. Resten er endnu mere
drćbende kedeligt, end man havde troet muligt ud fra det teoretiske
udgangspunkt.
Sĺ er der langt mere at
komme efter pĺ Lengvai, den fřrste
halvdel af den dobbelt-cd, som 60 x one
minute udgřr anden halvdel af. Ogsĺ her er der tale om abstrakt atonal
”lydkunst”, blot med den markante forskel, at numrene har fĺet lov til at
udvikle sig som lange, flydende og varierede forlřb i stedet for at vćre
underlagt en benhĺrd teoretisk spćndetrřje. Gintas K viser sig her som en
fin reprćsentant for hybrid-stilen mellem minimalistisk glitch og
atmosfćrisk střj, beslćgtet med navne som Pan Sonic og Pixel, og fyldt med
skćrende blip-lyde, mřrkt rugende loops og hakkende digitalfejl-grooves.
Intet af dette er videre originalt, og
Lengvai er samlet set ogsĺ lige lidt lćngere end det har godt af, men
den musikalske kvalitet er ikke desto mindre ganske hřj, og det bliver
aldrig decideret kedeligt eller overflřdigt – hřjst en smule anonymt i
perioder. For tilhćngere af stilen skulle der sĺledes nok vćre noget at
komme efter, hvis de ellers kan bide i sig ogsĺ at skulle betale for
60 x one minute i samme ombćring.
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
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.
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.
Avec Gintas K nous sommes ŕ 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 ŕ l'oreille, il parvient ŕ 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 deuxičme CD, 60 x One Minute Audio
Colors Of 2kHz Sound, qui propose ŕ nos oreille déjŕ bien fatiguée pas moins
de 60 courtes séquences (une minute) en forme de variations sur des hautes
fréquences (2KHz, ŕ 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
On découvrait Gintas K
en juin dernier lors d'une soirée aux Instants Chavirés autour de la
scčne musicale balte. Lors de cette soirée globalement d'une trčs bonne
tenue, le Lithuanien nous avait alors présenté un set honnęte mais dont
on regrettait le systématisme : introduction façon minimal techno, puis
éléments de plus en plus denses, apparitions de textures pour finir de
maničre 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 deuxičme disque un travail purement conceptuel de
recherche sonore.
Lengvai est en fait le premier disque, qui se découpe en cinq pičces
d'une durée de 4 ŕ 27 minutes. Avec ses 4 minutes le morceau titre qui
ouvre l'album fait figure d'introduction dans le sens oů 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 pičces. On rentre véritablement dans l'album avec Ilgiau
Ilgiau : les clicks sont plus francs et construisent une rythmique ŕ la
Frank Bretschneider. Minimale et efficace, ponctuée de sifflement
stridents et de bruits blancs, en extrapolant un peu on pourrait
comparer ça ŕ un croisement entre Bretschneider et Pan Sonic, ou plus
globalement ŕ COH, avant que de délicieuses notes limpides n'apportent
une certaine douceur ŕ l'ensemble. On est un peu surpris de trouver ce
genre de production chez Cronica, généralement plus difficile d'accčs,
mais on est aussi content de trouver ce type de morceau sur un album
globalement assez austčre.
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 aprčs 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'accélčre sur une premičre partie fort prenante.
La suite joue sur l'abstraction : arręt de la rythmique, superposition
de notes limpides, sifflements de laptop, grésillements jusqu'ŕ
l'obtention d'un calme relatif, ponctué d'infrabasses et de gazouillis
suraigus. La derničre partie et conclusion de l'album révčle un nouveau
changement de ton, sorte d'ambient hypnotique ŕ 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 deuxičme 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 ŕ ce son qui parait tour ŕ tour plus grave ou plus aigu. Il
s'agit lŕ uniquement de recherche sonore, dont la rigueur lui confčre 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
pičce sonore.
Considéré dans sa globalité, Lengvai et 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of
2kHz Sound forment une curiosité. Deux CD complčtement différents, album
un peu ŕ 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
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
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
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
Gintas K č 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.
Č 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 affinitŕ 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 piů 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 trčs bien
fait en ne manque pas d'ampleur (les seize minutes de "Kulgrinda" par
exemple), mais n'en apparaît pas mons daté, et surtout déjŕ entendu. Plus
radical et dépouillé encore, le bien nommé 60 x One Minute Audio Colours of
2kHz sound présente exactement ce qu'il announce, ŕ 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
Avec Gintas K nous sommes ŕ 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 ŕ l'oreille, il parvient ŕ 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 deuxičme CD, 60 x One Minute Audio
Colors Of 2kHz Sound, qui propose ŕ nos oreille déjŕ bien fatiguée pas moins
de 60 courtes séquences (une minute) en forme de variations sur des hautes
fréquences (2KHz, ŕ 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
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
This time for none can
say Crňnica 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
Năo 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. Năo 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 năo 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 provenięncia possam
provocar alguma estranheza, Gintas K. já conta com um sólido currículo
interno, reputaçăo na área do industrial enquanto membro dos Modus e cunho
manifestado em colaboraçőes várias durante mais de uma década. Com a
habitual convicçăo, a Crónica decidiu-se pelo formato mega ao tratar
de unir no seu vigésimo quarto lançamento dois trabalhos distintos – com a
duraçăo 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 contextualizaçăo sensorialmente
estimulante de elementos, produzem pequenos desafios lúdicos cuja eficácia
imediata é tăo invulgar encontrar na Crónica como em discos de tăo complexo
e preciso labor (e este sucede a vários anos de aperfeiçoamento). Năo será
levianamente que se atribui o estatuto de dançável a Lengvai (que em
portuguęs 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 audiçăo. Além disso, é tal a habilidade para a
gradual sobreposiçăo de camadas que movimentos a rondar os 15 minutos nunca
chegam a entediar. As quantidades avulsas de perfurantes sons micro-tonais –
intercaladas pela breve apariçăo 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 absorçăo cerebral.
Antes de alinhar quaisquer apontamentos com vista ŕ sua descriçăo, 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 năo existir música, mas tăo somente um aglomerado de 60 exercícios – de
um minuto cada – ŕ espera que alguém os explore como objecto de estudo ou
lhes atribua o enquadramento certo numa instalaçăo sonora.. Projectado como
uma sucessăo de “coloridos auditivos” limitados ŕ frequęncia 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 năo
aparenta utilidade de maior.
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
(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.
Directamente da cena
electrónica experimental da Lituânia para a editora portuguesa Crónica
Electrónica, Gintas K. (K. de Krapatvicius) expőe os ambientes
rarefeitos e o minimalismo da sua maquinaria. Gintas trabalha
sobretudo com micro-sons em baixa frequęncia. Experimenta combinaçőes
dinâmicas e cromáticas e interessa-se pelo impacto das frequęncias
sonoras no ouvinte, através dum acervo sonoro que desafia as
concepçőes 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 ŕ parentela
do techno minimal, assim dito por comodidade de expressăo, resíduos
glitch, vibraçőes e ruídos perfurantes que animam uma paisagem em que
os acidentes săo a excepçăo, 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 frequęncia altera a
configuraçăo do
ciclo em cada ciclo de 60 segundos, a duraçăo de cada “fotograma” de
uma instalaçăo 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. Experięncias
bálticas (uma e outra) fortemente apelativas compőem 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.
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 ŕ entendre. Meilleur exemple en date, le double album produit
cette année par Cronica Electronica.
D’un côté, Lengvai,
manifeste post-techno léger ŕ 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 ŕ partir
de presque rien de Lengvai, plutôt que de chercher, sinon un sens, du moins
une qualité, aux 60 minutes suivantes.
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)
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.
VITAL WEEKLY#398
GINTAS K - WITHOUT OUT (MP3 by [Surfaces])
The second available release from Surface is a thirty-one minute piece byGintas K, whose work was reviewed before. His piece was recorded at
theGarso Zona festival. It starts out with what seems to be sound of
skipping
vinyl, but then is guarded by majestic sweeps of oscillating noises whichbuilt up intensely. Everything comes to a full stop half way through
andGintas K moves into more ambient areas, but effectively distorts the
deepambient sound by cranking the volume up. It must have been quite an
intenseconcert that evening. (FdW)
***********************************************
Lithuanian Gintas Kraptavicius' titled#9dub seems one of those pure sinewaveexperiences that for all its apparent abstraction hits like a
100%alcoholVodka-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 sensesonce 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 Kreleases, his last album was a bit too soft and monotonous for my
liking, Iguess you could say it was a bit "fluffy," but this new release has
morepower, more persistence, more intensity, more drudging beats and lots
ofsynaptic energy. It wouldn't be a worthy GINTAS K release without theflip-flop of tempos, rhythms and soundwaves and "Without" definitely
has itall. Hopefully GINTAS K will continue to release more superb
atmospheric
soundwave music in the future, especially if they're of this quality ofdynamics 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 ethypnotique : un beat qui se dédouble, une nappe venteuse au fin fond
du
morceau qui se développe, un cri strident, un lituanien avide de sensationforte, qui n'hésite pas ŕ bidouiller dans les hautes fréquences, bref,
unsouffle au coeur qui čre ŕ la liaison entre l'ambient et la musiqueexpérimentale bien violente ! pas des plus joyeux le type !"
***********************************************
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.
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 app
