Motorlab #3
(Kitchen Motors + Ómi) 2001 (35:50)
The
Hymn of the 7th Illusion : Barry Adamson + Pan Sonic (12:23)
" ´ " (:24)
The
Illusion of the 7th Hymn : Hafler Trio Remix (23:03)
note:
track 1 composed by Barry Adamson and Pan Sonic. Performed by Hljómeyki, Pan Sonic and Barry Adamson. Conducted by Hörður Bragason
press release:
From it's birth, Kitchen Motors has been playing with unusual mixtures of odd musical elements and exploring the tension that can come out of such experiments. For the Motorlab series of live events and recordings Kitchen Motors has commissioned works and initiated collaborations between different artists, providing an opportunity for artists to step out of their natural context and into a "lab" without rules. The first two CD's in the series included documents of performances by múm, Stillupsteypa, Hafler Trio and many others.
For the third Motorlab, Kitchen Motors asked Finnish noise manipulators Pan Sonic and film composer and former Magazine and Bad Seeds alumnus Barry Adamson to write a choir piece for an Icelandic choir. Surprised but excited about the idea, they agreed and arrived in Reykjavik in April 2001 to record the choir part of the piece in church Digraneskirkja. Straight after, Pan Sonic went into studio NTOV to record some electronics on top. Between then and its release, The Hymn of the 7th Illusion jumped between Iceland, England and Spain until everyone was happy with the result. The ultimate beauty of this piece is crystalized in the boiling tension created by the collision of two stark opposites. It´s a tension that builds up and slowly evolves without ever resolving completely, leaving unanswered questions simmering in the air. The title refers to the ten illusions of humans, namely the seventh which is condemnation. "This illusion should be observed as an illusion and then used to re-create ourselves anew by choosing ultimate reality instead (love acceptance etc). I thought about this 'struggle' (difficulties in mastering/ choosing ultimate reality over an illusion) in the piece and wanted to waver between illusion and ultimate reality to describe an aspect of the human condition." Barry Adamson
°Pan Sonic is undeniably one of the most respected names in electronic music today, perhaps mainly because they've always had an untouchably distinct character in music and never seem to be afraid of jumping off the high end. In addition to releasing numerous critically acclaimed records, they have had sound installations in art galleries in Paris, New York, Minneapolis, London as well as in Finland. They have worked with artists as diverse as Ryuchi Sakamoto, Björk and Alan Vega as well as being asked by the fashion label Comme Des Garcons to write music for the catwalk. Their music is strikingly original in both conception and execution.
° Barry Adamson began his career working with now-legendary bands including the seminal punk/new wave band Magazine as well as Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. His influential solo work (which includes the Mercury prize nominated album "Soul Murder") has led to offers of writing film music for such directors as David Lynch (Lost Highway) and Allison Anders (Gas, Food, Lodging). He has released several albums (including Oedipus Schmoedipus and As above, So below) that have garnered him acclaim around the world as a composer of vision, insight and innovation.
°Hörður Bragason has had a varied career in art and music. A trained artist originally, he felt the need early on to combine this with his interest in music, which led him to tour Europe in a symphony orchestra led by Hermann Nitsch. He played in several seminal Icelandic underground bands before deciding to concentrate on studying composition and the organ. He is now chief organist and choir leader of Grafarvogur church in Reykjavik and a member of the bands Apparat Organ Quartet and Hr. Ingi R.
Kitchen Motors is a think tank whose main
objective is instigating collaborations and producing strangely charming
concerts, exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, films, books and radio
shows based on the ideals of experimentation, innovation and collaboration
without ear plugs. The main area of interest is in music (°and noisic),
with
special emphasis on the electronic and
improvised kind.
For further information contact:
Kitchen Motors, Skólavörðustíg
15, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland. Tel: +354-699 8927.
kitchenmotors@kitchenmotors.comwww.kitchenmotors.com