TETUZI AKIYAMA & GREG MALCOLM - BROMBRON 12: SIX STRINGS
Korm Plastics KP 3027
CD only

Korm Plastics is proud to present the eleventh release in the Brombron series. Originally a co-production between Staalplaat and Extrapool, it is now hosted by co-curator Frans de Waard. In the year 2000 Frans de Waard and Extrapool started the Brombron project. Two or more musicians become artists in residence in Extrapool, an arts initiative in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, with a fully equipped sound recording studio. These artists can work in a certain amount of time on a collaborative project; a project they always wished to do, but didn't have the time or the equipment to realize.

For this twetvth installment all the machines were switched off, microphones installed and duets for two acoustic guitars were recorded by Tetuzi Akiyama and Greg Malcolm. Improvising along the way, along set theme's as well as new ones, they have come up with the most unlikely release in the Brombron series thus far.

Greg Malcolm has been around for ages performing unusual music in variety of contexts and combinations. His current obsession is solo simultaneously played multiple guitar performances. The result of this is releases such as Homesick for Nowhere (Corpus Hermeticum 2002), Swimming In It (Kraak 2005) and most recently Hung (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon 2006). Greg Malcolm has toured regularly and participated in numerous festivals including Belgium's Pauze Festival 2005, 'Densites Festival in France 2005, Full Pull festival in Sweden, Safe as Milk in Norway 2006.

Tetuzi Akiyama plays the guitar with primitive and practical implications, by adding a desire of his own to the instrument's characteristic nature in minimal and straight method. He delicately and sometimes boldly controls the volume of the sound from micro to macro level, and tries to quantize his physical system.

This CD is available for 16 euros including worldwide shipping. You can pay with paypal. Send an e-mail to order

listen to excerpt

see promo film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5lDSiw6SkM

reviews

TETUZI AKIYAMA & GREG MALCOLM - BROMBRON 12: SIX STRINGS (CD by Korm Plastics)
Akiyama and Malcolm go without any electronics, improvising on their guitars and almost literally weaving subtle acoustic meshes. Taking given as well as own themes and tunes as a basis, the duo creates music of a highly introspective character, utterly calm and filled with remarkable warmth and intimacy. They pluck their strings delicately, at times almost hesitatingly, gently entwining the individual notes, which seem to caress each other. According to its improvised nature, the music doesn't follow a linear logic, but its focus is rather smoothly shifting back and forth from melodic and repetitive patterns to free playing with occasional far away blues-reminiscences woven in. Along with the warm, full sound of their guitars, the balance that Malcolm and Akiyama achieve between these various aspects of their music is the most fascinating point about this release. Without ever fully entering into the territories of structured songs or free-form improvisation, they interlace melody, repetition and fragmentation and arrive at a rich and intense result, with a low key, laid-back character, yet fully absorbing.
(Vital Weekly 566)

Greg Malclom & Tetuzi Akiyama: Brombron 12:Six Strings- Korm Plastics/Target :: This is part of the Brombron series, a project which brings two or more musicians together as artists in residence in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Here New Zealander Greg Malcolm is paired with Tetuzi Akiyama and together they weave quiet and slowly flowing improvised acoustic guitar movements. Thoughtful and delicate, the collaboration seems very careful and honest, the two guitars feeling each other out, making complementing moves like two people nervously and excitedly building a snowman on a first date. The guitar styles remain sparse and dark, a lonely rattling highway at night. There is a balance of control within these songs, each player clearly in control of his own instrument, yet always slightly unsure of what the other will do next. This tension gives the pieces an unlikely beauty as there is no sign of a desire to one-up the other or boast showmanship. I think that seeing these two play together in an intimate seting, or say up in a tree house above the forest at night, would be wonderful. ck

http://www.hairentertainment.com/music

Das Gitarrenduo GREG MALCOLM & TETUZI AKIYAMA bringt ungewohnt harmonische Klänge in die Brombron-Reihe. Der Flow ihrer plinkenden Saiten auf Brombron 12: Six Strings (KP 3027) ist durchwegs pastoral, sonnenhell, so freundlich grün und orange wie die raffinierte Brombron-Hülle. Der dialogische Zusammenklang der beiden Akustischen zeugt von einer kongenialen Verbundenheit, wie sie auch im Extrapool nicht alltäglich gewesen sein dürfte. ,Strangers' bringt mit wehmütig gezogenen Noten einen Tropfen Wermut mit ins Spiel, der nach zwei süßen einen zartbitteren Akzent setzt. Wobei der Corpus Hermeticum-Macher aus Neuseeland und sein feinsinniger japanischer Partner in jedem ihrer 8 Spaziergänge und imaginären Tänze versuchen, den Klischees von abgedroschenem Lagerfeuergeklampfe ein Schnippchen zu schlagen. Die Virtuosität von John Fahey oder Sir Richard Bishop und die Intimität eines John Bisset oder Manuel Mota paart sich hier zum einen mit sich selbst und zum andern mit einem Hang ins Sublime. Nennt es Schönheit, nennt es den Akkord von Geist und Seele. Mag Sound an sich geheimnisvoll sein, aber wie soll ich mir den Zauber erklären, der von dieser Folge von simplen (?), raffinierten (?), becircend suggestiven Harmonien und Wohlklängen ausgeht?
(Bad Alchemy)
 

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