cut

percussionist jason kahn's cut label produces cds of his own and occasionally others' music, generally electronic improvisation although there are elements of both composition and acoustic playing. they present a simple, elegant and rather sphynxotic profile, and the music they contain is often just as cryptic. richard lainhart's compositions bear comparison with kahn's and are discussed later.
«plurabelle» is by far the most outre music which this writer has heard from kahn, although in a sense it has long been lurking in his playing. these seven pieces occupy an extreme quietude for most of their durations, a faint crackle sometimes forming the only, flimsy skin between music and silence.
more often, however, the sound of rubbed or bowed metal objects leaks subtly into the mix. although a variety of different items seems to be used, one thinks mainly of old-fashioned brake drums, the kind which many composers and improvisers these days add to the convenional battery. one thinks also of tibetan "singing bowls", and there's something appropriate in this, a reference to an object which is used to define a physical (acoustic) space within a purely electronic one.
although not exactly "lowercase", this is music made with pretty minimal means. kahn's mellow, chiming metallophones, however, are played with a sensitivity one doesn't always hear in this kind of music, and they add significant interest. a similar approach is taken by the trio of gabriele, polidoro and romanelli, who are joined for two tracks by emanuela de angelis.
the group mix electronics and acoustic instruments much as does kahn, using thin, noise-based textures to underpin very quiet, timbral improvisations. the "instruments" sound mainly like found objects, although the sources of these sounds could be virtually anything; the effect is of the placing of quasi-concrete sounds in a field defined by the electronics.
the results are extremely subtle. whereas kahn's pieces have considerable focus as a result of his restricted palette of sounds, these sound more diffuse, with a range of less well-defined sounds emerging, it seems, quite without any external logic driving them. the music is extremely unpreposessing and has a strong tendency to slip into the background, but on headphones it can draw you in. although there's nothing at a rational level to hold the interest, there is something immersive here which works at another, some would say deeper, level.
although his background lies, at least in part, in free jazz drumming, jason kahn has defected to an avant garde which is growing in stature; one which influences more mainstream developments in so-called «ambient» music but which remains steadfastly difficult, clinging to what feels, in any event, like the cutting edge. yet his music -- and that of the trio which he has recorded here, and with which he shares a close understanding -- remains approachable because of its intense interest in organising sound, which is probably the oldest musical concept in the world.
richard lainhart uses similar sound-sources to kahn -- bowed tam-tam, bells, vibraphone, electronics -- and plays them in comparable ways. his use of multitracking also bears obvious comparison, as does his general aesthetic of drifting, minimal textures in an unstructured environment. his approach, however, seems to this writer to be very obviously different.
the music on this disc is collected from a decade and a half of music-making from the fertile mid-'70s to the supposedly barren 1980s, and is another example of xi records's excellent work documenting under-represented composers working on the fringes of the avant garde. he describes his music using an analogy to natural processes «such as flowing water» which have a large-scale homogeneity but variety and even narrative of a sort at a detailed level.
this double cd features three long works (over 30 minutes) and three which are shorter but still substatial, presented in chronological order. an early preference for longer durations and a move from the exploration of the timbres of acoustic instruments towards the absraction of their sounds into a more "electronic" field seem evident. this tendency towards a degree of "purity" of sound is quite distinct from Kahn's work, which seems far more interested in the grimy texture of what passes for silence -- that is, where kahn in part is interested in the aggregative properties of (quiet) noise, lainhart's method is subtractive, aiming to remove everything but a sort of timbral essence.
>richard cochrane, musings e-zine, april 2002

improv player jason kahn, an american currently residing in zürich, is known as a percussionist, but his use of live sampling software sets his music at a far remove from traditional drumming. indeed, save for the gongs and chimes that flash intermittently like beacons through plurabelle’s studied murk, listeners could be forgiven for thinking this was a work of pure digitalia. seven untitled tracks sprawl across an hour of unsteady drones, hisses and crackles.
although the pieces are ostensibly improvisatory in nature, they sound as composed, if not moreso, than plenty of programmed microsound. much of the record seems on the verge of being rent by a delicate tension, due to the frictious interplay between layer upon layer of loops cycling independently of one another, recalling goem’s oscillator churn. kahn’s methods may be simple, but his music carries surprising force and variation. track five, a swirl of distant bell tones and static, sounds uncannily like the runout groove at the end of sonic youth’s sister, while track seven evokes a field full of pinwheels spinning lazily -- and ominously -- out of sync.
>philip sherburne, the wire, march 2002

the design aesthetic of «plurabelle» is extremely minimal: no track titles, not even an indication of how many tracks the cd contains. kahn works with loops and waves of sound, most of which are generated from percussion (metalophones in particular - he likes harmonics) and treated electronically. most of the tracks are of fairly brief duration, and they all have something interesting to say. those of you with a long memory may recall that kahn was the drummer with harmolodic punks, the universal congress of, and his rhythm roots are always in evidence. like his excellent duo with nakamura (repeat), which has released three cds to date, kahn constantly modulates his sounds; nothing is allowed simply to «be,» it always has to be «becoming,» albeit at a slow and steady rate. these pieces are attractive and engaging, without in any way emulating the sugar-spun electronica those descriptors would imply. they're challenging too, in a non-aggressive way, and there's always more going on in the music than you first think. «plurabelle» is a fine addition to kahn's discography.
>brian marley, avant 21, 2002

also constructed atop loops of digital slivers and thrumming drones, plurabelle probes the same minimal material as tu mm's «.01,» but in a mellower, more downtempo fashion. kahn improvised these tracks using drums and metal objects processed by software in real time, but the results might be better described as a convolution of the elegant instrumentals on roxy music's avalon and shortwave radio static. bell tones and catchy melodic motifs permeate the cd, as do various swaths and skeins of hiss, all of which will entice alert ears and perhaps frustrate those with so-so stereos. blessed with an unobtrusive dynamic range, plurabelle is also nicely suited to headphones and should be a top choice for chill-out rooms.
>christopher delaurenti, signal to noise, spring 2002

jason kahn has spent more than ten years living in germany, moving in new music circles. during that time, he'splayed with a number of avant-garde luminaries, and been involved in the creation of installations -- and it's this that seems to inform plurabelle, his latest disc. plurabelle is music that's intended to be experienced rather than listened to, because that's where its value is revealed.
what you hear on this cd is the sound of a hung-up world. the soundscape begins with slow-cycling waves that mimic a television tuned to a closed station. in the background, clicks shift and move, transforming basic waves into phone-noise and what sounds like a digital foghorn. long blasts of warm, pulsating sound comfort the listener, but bits of cd-skip noise, sounding like some kind of ghost helicopter, interrupt this embryonic state. like bryars' the sinking of the titanic, sounds recede into mystery -- albeit in several enigmatic short tracks, not over the length of an album -- leaving the listener alternately relaxed and confused. it's an intriguing approach, but one that demands attention at all times. while it's definitely possible to zone-out to this disc, it isn't recommended. the pieces mutate and curl like smoke, and while they're very much able to communicate a feeling of skipped-needle peace, lose attention halfway through and you'll spend the rest of the track looking for a way back in.
the best thing about plurabelle is the fact that, despite the heavily-processed nature of its construction, nature and normalcy is never far away. "track 2", for example, focuses on the sound of a bell, heard through clicks of static, over small pulses of percussion. the same striking tone is played over and over, given life by the sketchy nature of the sounds surrounding it, rooted in its sameness. it feels as if time has stopped, as if there's an endless chiming of hours -- but the sensation is so comfortable, so cotton-wool-lined, that you can't help but be drawn in. an explorer of dangerous areas of sonic subtlety, kahn is not exploring shrieks or torturous atonality in his search for the perfect sound; rather than raging against the machine, he's lifted the hatch and climbed inside with his recording equipment. join him.
>luke martin, splendid e-zine, 24.1.01

>incursion music review 043

jason kahn moved to europe in 1990, and since then he has become one of the more active players of improvised music. although originally a drummer, he has moved to using live sampling his percussion using the lisa programm of the steim studios. on this new cd we find kahn all by himself with his drums, metal objects and real time processing software. it sounds more heavyweight then it in reality is. kahn manages to produce some very fine crackling music with very deep end basses and looped sounds of more humms, ticks and claps. everything moves slowly here, with great care for the smaller detail. it's kinda hard to compare it with anything, because it is something of some many: ambient, musique concrete, microsound, lowercase, but kahn blends it all together with apperentely great ease.
>vital weekly #301

this cd is a long, slow boat ride on the barely-moving fog-enveloped waters of drone. sounds hover, and then float on by downstream. seems to be a superstructure of acoustic sounds (bells, clocks, instruments?) with digital processes, pops & electro-mechanical whines in the upper frequencies providing textural references. does a good job of drawing you in to consider the minimal compositions. it's a grower. i'm going to just drift here awhile...
>earpeace #8, february 2002

cut is a label formed by kahn to release some of his group’s (also called cut) work, his own solo material, plus like minded artists – i hope to have another cut release in 2002_01. the disks come in a heavy card sleeve, simple designs by kahn, with minimal information.
this disk, in seven parts, is of kahn creating and live-processing percussion sounds in the studio. as with some other percussionist’s work, there is some distance between the expectations of drum/gong solos and the result. the first track is based on muted pulsing tones, mellow and warm resonances, at different frequencies forming a ground over which some minimal additions are made – a high tone, a clarinet, pulsing organ – all beautifully abstract and far from their origins. there are obvious gongs in part 2, where a dense crackling, squeak and gongs are looped, though the gongs seem to change, over a low drone. halfway though it changes, the loop sticks and the gongs become an hour-chime, while a string-tone rises with a rapidly struck bell. there are also vinyl crackpops – coming to a pop-tone fade.
the third is one of two long minimal pieces – it opens with a low drone and clicking out of which a tone emerges after a couple of minutes. shortly after a rumble joins in and at 6 minutes a pulsing is added, then a high tone – all the while the clicks have been going on, and they increase a somewhat. nearer the end some ground drops away leaving a clearer ringing and pops – and there are some tones associated with the clicking (somehow linked). in the last few minutes a scrapping rumble joins in too. it is all at a low volume – increasing the volume presents a buzzing and the suggestion of inner activity. the other long piece, track 5, is perhaps more minimal though the clickpops are more active, dancing around. underneath is a deep resonant drone which pulses and wavers throughout (at the end you begin to think it sounds like a spanish guitar). it gathers other components such as a buzzing tone and high tone passing through, more entering in the second half. between these two is the fourth track which has a swirling loop of crackles, ringing and a pulsing tone over which gongs patter (rather like part 2), dropping to a simpler pattern in the second half, suggestively uncertain.
the final two tracks are simpler ones again: six is based on gongs droning and chiming, joined by a crackling like sprinkled sand, through which deep and beeping tones emerge, while seven is the most ‘percussive’ with a continuous alarm-like beep and light chimes. the combination of recognisable percussion plus the processed components makes this a fascinating album – the simple sophistication of the cover reflect the contents. as does the balance – shifting easily between more active and the minimal aspects. some aspects reminded me of zammuto, but there is a greater diversity here. i would be interested to here some of kahn’s work with cut (the group); nonetheless this stands independently as an album worth seeking out.
>ampersand etcetera 12.2001

the beauty in percussionist jason kahn's music derives from his masterful balance of acoustic reverberations and computer generated resonance.
>bill meyer, chicago tribune, august 2001

oneric cloudstructures that hiss and beckon from a background of radio frequency interference and power plant hum...
>kim cascone

it would be simplistic to describe «plurabelle» as the melding of jason kahn’s acoustic percussion work (featured on «drums and metals» and electronic sound art (featured on «analogues»). but there is a bit of that.
this solo cd was recorded in 2001. kahn plays drums and metal objects fed to real-time processing software. his music remains rhythmical, repetitive, but beats sound more evanescent and appear less frequently. in the first parts of the seven untitled tracks, the electronics occupy most of the room. white noise (but it is probably a brush gently rubbing the floor tom) and
quiet metallic sounds (bowed cymbals, perhaps) are looped to create interesting but imperfect textures. clicks that sound incidental are picked up by the software, some loops show their seams. with its soft bells, track 2 evokes old grandfather clocks (the added layer of surface noise enhancing the time warp effect). bowing and brushing sounds leave room for some hitting beginning with track 4. from there onward rhythmic structures become more prominent. still, the music remains very soft-spoken, almost evasive, which would be fine, but it also lacks a bit of involvement. in short, it feels colder than kahn’s previous albums and the abundance of clicks and glitches has a lot to do with it. start with his other solo cds or his albums with toshimaru nakamura as repeat).
>francois couture, all-music guide, 11.2002

repetierende klangschleifen aneinander zu reiben. daraus ergibt sich ein unwiderstehlicher, süchtig machender sog, eine materie, die unaufhörlich zu atmen scheint. die reduktion auf drums, metal objects und real-time processing software, live im studio midi in frankreich eingespielt, gibt dem werk eine gewisse leichtigkeit, und gleichwohl manche knarzer wie verfremdete plattenrillenkratzer tönen, sind sie doch nur ein kleines passstück im statischen maelstrom.
>alfred pranzl, skug, #49 january 2002

on connait jason kahn comme percussioniste discret, aux gestes mesurés, à tel point que depuis plusieurs années il a gommé son jeu dans l'électronique, un peu à la façon de son ami günter müller, réduisant de plus en plus son drum-set à des boucles digitales et à des sinusoïdales. travail de mixage de temporalité, de déconstruction de rythmes, cherchant une autre respiration de la musique. jason kahn semble influencé par les philosophies orientales, vouloir ralentir l'écoulement du temps, il s'agit deprendre le temps d'écouter ce qui ne peut être arrêté, son deroulement infini.
eternel retour des saisons, du jour et des nuits, le paysage reste le même, les lumières changent, aussi les angles de vue dans notre déplacement immobile. sa musique est entièrement construite sur un système de séquençages de boucles, de différentes textures liquides, de différents grains volatiles, qui se dissolvent l'un dans l'autre dans un jeu d'apparition / disparition. il y a tout un travail d'harmoniques se superposant à des fréquences électrostatiques, des fréquences basses lointaines. la musique de jason kahn cherche l'arrêt, un confort d'écoute profond, comme une muzak descrète pour passer dans un état de songe.
>michel hentritzi, revue & corrigée april 2002

con plurabelle jason kahn giunge al traguardo del terzo cd in veste solista. attivo dall' inizio degli anni '90 e forte di un grande numero di importanti colaborazioni tra cui la costituzione dei repeat con toshimaru nakamura kahn, partito come batterista / percussionista, gradualmente integra elementi elettronici al suo set. jason kahn è, quindi, musicista essenzialmente elettroacustico che, con plurabelle, esplora il mondo sonoro delle percussioni estendendone le possibilità con i moderni software di manipolazione in tempo reale.
già con l'esperienza del duo di günter müller con lê quan ninh le voyelle liquide [per leggerne la recensione clicca qui] ci eravamo trovati di fronte a situazioni in cui le percussioni trascendevano il loro stato con l'impiego di software di vario genere. se in le voyelle liquide sonorità astratte e sospese si propagavano per ramificazione nell'opera di jason kahn il discorso si fa dissimile. l'album in esame contiene sette brani dove la nozione di tempo viene del tutto ignorata a favore di un'intensa staticità. kahn propone un minimalismo che si traduce in una forma a continuum. nei brani vengono paralizzate particelle sonore che vengono poi, o loro volta, dilatate ed espanse su di un fondale in perpetuo movimento. suoni ovattati che celano egregiamente la loro natura percussiva tanto sono rimodellati. in alcune tracce vi è l'impiego di un set minimo, oggetti metallici, piccoli gong e campane, tutto o quasi riconfigurato e sapiente disposto a strati uno sull'altro. stratificazioni di suoni acustici ristrutturati, ridisposti a nuova forma ed integrati ad atri di natura prettamente sintetica. tutto ciò senza mai creare massicci "drones" ma, piuttosto, dando vita a strutture sobrie, talvolta ritmiche nella loro atemporalità. con plurabelle kahn ha ridefinito il ritmo percussivo mutandolo in una forma aritmica.
>allaboutjazz, michele anelli, january 2002

ein herausragendes album ist kürzlich auf jason kahns eigenem label "cut" erschienen. "plurabelle" besticht einerseits durch seine hpynotische stimmung, andererseits aber vor allem durch die art und weise, wie kahn mit repetitionen umgeht: was auf den ersten blick gleichförmig und eindimensional wirkt, offenbart bei genauerem hinhören eine komplexe tiefenstruktur, in der sich die verschiedensten loops und flächen zu einem geflecht aus sich ständig verändernden rhythmen und klängen verdichten und den hörer so in eine subliminale welt faszinierender farben und formen entführen. kahn–geboren in new york und seit einigen jahren in der schweiz wohnhaft–arbeitet mit perkussiven elementen (metallteilen, schlagzeug, etc.), die er in echtzeit mittels elektronik meist bis zur unkenntlichkeit verfremdet. ein live"-ansatz, welcher der musik eine erstaunliche frische und dynamik verleiht. unbedingt reinhören!.
>tomas korber, jazz and more, 10.2002

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