“Nantes radiophonic music quartet”

New set up :

Keith Rowe (radios & electronics) Manu Leduc (radios & electronics) Julien Ottavi (radios & electronics) Will Guthrie (radios & electronics)

The radio. Its possibilities and extensions. This is what (N:Q) explores: the use of the radio and its meanings. An electroacoustic ensemble, perpetually in movement, forging a soundworld of its own. Like airwaves transformed into music transformed into airwaves.

fr

La radio, l'objet radiophonique, son utilisation, ses extensions, sa culture et ses possibilités forment la matière et le champs d'action du projet [N:Q]. Quatre musiciens exploitent la richesse sonore de cet emetteur, capable de parler toutes les langues, de jouer tous types de musique, et qui représente par conséquent une source intarissable de sons et d'informations. Ici démultipliée, la radio devient un langage sonore foisonnant, un instrument de croisement et d'interactions.

fibrr records is a label whose recordings I’ve been seing around for a while but was only recently that did I have the chance to experience a coupleÉ such as the mesmerizing [n:q] project cd, a documentation of a quartet consisting of jean chevalier, christophe havard, julien ottavi and keith rowe playing with the usual conventional and unconventional instruments and creating an impressive improvised somber atmosphere full of dense sound layers making a result which really amazed me. or the digital live radio session project cd the documentation of the christophe havard, emmanuel leduc, john morin & julien ottavi quartet whose piercing improvised pulverizing sound brought in mind the devastating “trio horizontale” cdr on oui dire but this one is more dense layered constructed and has a fantastic intensity! a label from the sound of which I expect much more pleasant surprises in the future!

(ABSURD 2002)

The obscurely titled [N:Q] is a superb electro-acoustic recording of a quartet featuring three french musicians and AMM's Keith Rowe. The single track is an unendingly fascinating and refreshingly sensuous journey of free improvisation, never lacking for ideas and inspiration. Despite the presence of two reed instruments, the general ambience is electronic with drones of varying depths and sonorities predominating. Indeed, while Havard's alto sax occasionally breaks through with frantic squiggles, Chevalier's bass clarinet tends to provide a lush companion drone to that generated by Rowe. By maintaining an impressive concentration on one (apparently) slender slice of the sonic spectrum, this quartet is able to unearth a richness and corporeality often lacking in this sometimes arid territory. One is tempted to credit Rowe with the steadying hand here; his playing is at once both extremely assured and democratically deferential to the group. Along with The World Turned Upside Down on Erstwhile, this is one of his finest projects outside of AMM. Fans of that protean group will find much to enjoy on [N:Q], a state-of-the-art document of electro-acoustic improvisation at the turn of the century.

Brian Olewnick (All Music Guide/May 2002)

This is one 58-minute track by Keith Rowe of the British ensemble AMM and three French musicians (Jean Chevalier, Christophe Harvard, and Julien Ottavi) working with electronics, prepared guitar, objects, percussion, reeds, and voice. It seems to be an exercise in structure, in this case arraying sound so that the density and volume follow a probability distribution function. It starts extremely softly, builds slowly to a high point somewhere past the midpoint of the disc, where the sound space is filled with a barrage of sax squeakings and electronic gruntings and twitterings worthy of a barnyard afflicted with the European Community farm disease of the month. From there the sound makes a gradual decline that mirrors the increase in the first half of the disc. Through the last four minutes of the disc there is a constant and extreme reduction in the variety, length, volume, and frequency of sounds. When I first listened to the disc, the beginning and the end blended into the ambient noise of the room I was in, reminding me of the infinite regression towards zero that is part of a probability distribution. Hearing this structure build over 58 minutes and the sounds themselves are moderately interesting.

(David Maddox) carlos m. pozo (angbase6)