Allerleirauh and Sempreverde

[imomus]

"I will marry my daughter, for she is the counterpart of my late wife, otherwise I can find no bride who resembles her."

I haven't made much music this year; half the gear in my studio seems to have broken down. But I have made a couple of collaborations here and there, one in Tokyo (demos for a project called Bambie) and one here in Berlin, back in late May and early June, with Japanese visual artist Yukiko Sawabe. Yukiko wanted some music for a piece she's making about the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Allerleirauh.



"Then she ran into her den, washed herself quickly, and took out of the nut the dress which was as silvery as the moon, and put it on. Then she went up and was like a princess, and the King stepped forward to meet her, and rejoiced to see her once more, and as the dance was just beginning they danced it together. But when it was at end, she again disappeared so quickly that the King could not observe where she went. She, however, sprang into her den, and once more made herself a hairy animal, and went into the kitchen to prepare the bread soup."

Yukiko has agreed to let me post two of the songs here today, along with the artwork she's made for the project. The mp3 file below contains "Allerleirauh" (from the Daughter side) and "King Song" (from the King side). Yukiko wrote the words and sang, I made the music.

Allerleirauh + King Song (Yukiko Sawabe and Nick Currie) 2.1 MB, 128 kbps stereo mp3 file, 2.19mins.

"Then he grasped her by the hand, and held her fast, and when she wanted to release herself and run away, her fur-mantle opened a little, and the star-dress shone forth. The King clutched the mantle and tore it off. Then her golden hair shone forth, and she stood there in full splendour, and could not longer hide herself. And when she had washed the soot and ashes from her face, she was more beautiful than any one who had ever been seen on earth. But the King said, "Thou art my dear bride, and we will never more part from each other." Thereupon the marriage was solemnized, and they lived happily until their death."

Yukiko explains: "I'm going to use small space for my exhibition. It was brothel. The exhibition schedule is undicided detail now. Please introduce songs with my art book 'temperature'. These works is based on Grimm's fairy tail, Allerleirauh and Snow White and Seven Dwarfs."

I also want to mention today that Andrew Snyder has set up a new Momus Forum called Sempreverde.

Comments

[spoombung.livejournal.com]

I like the way you use MIDI. You arrange your music with a nice sense of economy. I think if you've got a gift for musical arrangement and song structure (as you have) it doesn't really matter if it's synthetic or overly clean sounding, or sequenced. The aesthetic considerations about sound seem less important every year somehow, as new artists appropriate styles considered naff in earlier decades. It's getting harder and more irrelevant to have 'taste' if you know what I mean. Still...if you're bored with MIDI I can see why you want to move on.

Do all your sounds come out of one module - I've often wondered when I listen to the 'Stars Forever' album? What would you do instead of programming, play guitar again?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Do all your sounds come out of one module

I'd say my most important instrument is my sampler, an Akai S2800. Then the Roland PMA5, which has a bunch of General MIDI-type sounds in it. On "Stars Forever" I used a lot of analog synths too, like the GEM 1000 and the Korg Mono/Poly.

I've been playing guitar a lot recently, since I bought a lovely-toned secondhand acoustic in the local market. But maybe I should teach myself the singing saw, like you, Kev!

[spoombung.livejournal.com]

"On "Stars Forever" I used a lot of analog synths too, like the GEM 1000 and the Korg Mono/Poly."

Ah, the synths did sound fruity - I thought they might be analog. That PMA thing - is that that ittle thing you play with a metal pencil?
My love affair with the saw is over (I got fed up with it's wail and wobble) and I'm back to an acoustic guitar and a little Reaktoring.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Yes, the PMA is the pencil gadget. Scanner showed me one in New York in 96 and said "You can make albums on planes with these things!", so of course I had to have one. I haven't yet made an album on a plane, in fact all music sounds horrible on planes.