EXPERIMENTAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

review page 1 : the Bart Hopkin compilations

V.A. : Gravikords,.. ; V.A. : Orbitones,.. ; V.A. : Exp.Mu.Instr. ; Bart Hopkin ('02,'03)

Ellipsis ArtsVarious Artists : Gravikords, whirlies and pyrophones (var,1998)***°°

There's No better introduction to experimental music instruments than this 96-page book+CD. A whole new world opens up in experiencing this. It's a documentary of the extraordinary. After various years of collecting information on experimental music instruments, with the EMI organisation, with books and journals, it was about time to compile a book with CD with a whole range of important instruments, and different approaches to give some kind of idea of this wondrous world. The compilation was done with great care and love by Bart Hopkin. With a foreword by Tom Waits, who himself uses many experimental and unusual instruments, like a bullhorn trough which he often sings, Tom explains how he became one of the many enthusiasts and what wonderful instrumentation he discovered throughout the years. Many, maybe most of the musicians listed contributed with a unique instrument or personality. Some of my favourites are the Hans Reichel, with his daxophone, sounding like a stringed dug voice or something, and Jean-Claude Chapuis, with his crystal glass instruments, or Sarah Hopkins with her very ethereal sounds of her whirly instruments. Very strange is also Jacques Dudon with his water instrument ; I still need to find out more on him. I also was impressed by a performance (with other musicians) I saw before in Antwerpen, by Michel Moglia, with his fire organ.

There are also must-hear electronic instruments, like the buchla (from Don Buchla), or the theremin, played masterfully by Clara Rockmore. There are also the oddities from Harry Partch, a person I still can't get a grip upon. Last but not least there are also a couple more ethnic or folk like instruments, some string instruments and instruments made from bamboo or clay.

The first edition of this CD was with a separate bigger shaped book. It had articles on a few more artists, but a few less recordings. Almost all recordings are an essential listen. The articles are perfectly comprehensive with photographs to make it all very visual too. Highly recommended.

Info : http://www.windworld.com/emi/products/gwpa.html

Review with links to artists pages : http://www.ninestones.com/burntearth/media/gravikord.html

Highly recommended visit : Hans Reichel's daxophone page with sound : http://www.daxo.de/

Other Reichel's site : http://www.yuxo.de/

Sarah Hopkins most contemporary music release is reviewed at the second review page

Other review : http://csunix1.lvc.edu/~snyder/em/hopkin.html

Ellipsis ArtsVarious Artists : Orbitones, spoonharps & bellowphones (var,1998)****°

While the first compilation contains various of the must-have-heard-of-artists, which you eventually can buy separate products from, and are worth to investigate (like Clara Rockmore's release) this second compilation is even more of a very good and consistent compilation which is very nice to listen to. With an interesting foreword by Robert Moog, (inventor of the moog and similar synthesizers) telling how he developed his instruments around the time he met, sculpture-musicman Herbert Deutsch. I'm glad also a prepared piano piece from John Cage is included. Also different is a track by Aphex Twin with a complex modern computer ? mix of semi-acoustic sounds. Further on we hear a wide variation of slapping, striking, or whistling, colourful sounds and compositions.

Info : http://www.windworld.com/emi/products/oshb.html

EMIBart Hopkin : Funny noises for the connoisseur (US,2003) (BOOK with CD)

In these times of fast moving superficial impulses, I realise that it's hard to give a balanced view to children, give them some kind of openness to nature, to materials, even have real communication. It seems they constantly fly from reality in computer games, flashy Japanese power cartoons on television or eventually, competition sports. I have myself difficulties in getting some kind of creativity out of my own son. He also thinks I'm boring. I have to admit I often work on a computer myself. It's even hard for me to find ideas to overcome this loss of affection for creative thinking with materials, to find other foundations to start from. This book is a source for new ideas. It is the basics for a way of thinking that makes creativity relatively easy. The examples are explained very clearly, with funny but clear pictures, the instruments are easily made, and the principles can lead easily to more complex use and further development . I myself thinks, that the best thing that would happen after this, is the creation of a complete multi-layered composition, with ten or more of such instruments, in harmonic resonance with each other, eventually thematically or with those most musically fitting. This book is a fine introduction if you don't know how to start at all. 

Basically the book is the reason for this release. The CD only works as an accompanying example for what has been explained, making the concept more clear, and multidimensional.

WinworldVarious Artists : experimental musical instruments-early years (1985-1992)***

With the 3-monthly journal from Experimental musical instruments there were also tapes with music of the instruments featured in the articles. This CD is a first selection from those tapes. The booklet provides the minimum of essential information for it, with, also interesting updates.  Most impressive for me was the underwater guitar by Jim Nollman, with sea mammals responding to it. Also nice to have in here are different kind of glass and crystal instruments, all with their own distinguished sounds. Also a surprise was the pick-behind-the-bridge guitar, by Hans Reichel, who I mentioned in the first compilation on this page before. Most pieces are very much like investigating sounds, from an alternative researcher, inventor's view.

Winworld          Various Artists : experimental musical instruments-later years (1993-1999)**°

On this compilation I really liked the sound of the reeded mouthbow, made by Wayland Harman. Where usually a mouthbow's drone effect sounds louder than the harmonic resonance, Wayland's instrument makes more, longer harmonic resonancing effects. Also different and accessible was the classical tune played on a stroh violin, recorded on an original Edison wax cylinder phonograph. Something I always wanted to hear performed convincingly was the so called "DNA tuning", taken from generated frequency patterns for musical scales, based upon light absorption spectra on molecules (by Suzanne Alexjander). 

I heard also other interesting "enriched" sounds of commonly known but differently build instruments, like in the nice performance by Richard Cooke on his different kinds of freenotes metallophones, or Deagen's aluminium organ chimes, shaped like the Indonesian angklung. Any musician should also beware of the multi-possibility use of electromagnetic pickups, which are usually used to pick up sounds from guitars for electric guitar sounds, but can of course be used on any self-made instruments. A few examples of this can be heard here too. Really a shame there are no pictures added with this CD, because it would make the release much more valuable and interesting. Luckily people can always order an additional magazine with the respectively full article where any of the recordings refers to. The CD itself is therefore mostly interesting workmaterial for an even further investigation.

EMI         Bart Hopkin : Instrumentarium Hopkins (US,2002)***°

The editor's own CD is of course full of enthusiasm in what he's introducing, which are more than 60 self-build instruments and a few others, making harmonic, pleasant, child friendly music on them, introducing them somewhat as a perfect odd museum guide musician's performance. Only a shame not one of the instruments is pictured. There's so much information in the booklet about them, but with pictures it would have been even more complete. The CD listens like a historical recording as if accompanying a museum like rarity-cabinet. The music sounds funny in a way, for although it's melodically and rhythmically harmonic music, and the sounds of the instruments are fresh and rewarding, the combination of sounds mostly fits somewhat oddly or at least surprisingly together, varying much more than usual in different pitches, colours etc. Some names of the instruments have also some humour, like the 'hippy pappy', the 'dipper gongs' or a 'cookery harp'. A pleasant and rewarding album, even when not much interest in what kind of instruments are presented. The music comes close to some things Pierre Bastien has done.

more reviews at the second review page about natural sounds

third review page about

overtone music, glass music instruments, musical saw releases

fourth review page about DNA music

fifth review page with Lelavision,Ellen Fullman,..

GO TO SECOND REVIEW PAGE -->

(radio show & reviews on nature sounds and animal music)

see also :

first radioshow with experimental music instruments

mechanical music instruments

other artists with experimental music instruments :

Moondog

(Cathérine Ribeiro &) Les Alpes

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