| STAR'S END Fundraiser - 10 February 2013 | ||||||
As a rock guitarist readies himself to play the first note of a song does he ever consider how will this note or this song be any different from the multitude of notes and songs that have gone before him? Does a classical violinist, while poised to bow the opening note of a symphony, ever wonder what she will add to this genre's massive musical canon? Does a sax player ever ponder if he is going to bring anything new to the jazz standard he is about to play? Electronic musicians are asking themselves questions like this all of the time. In a genre where innovation, both compositional and technological, is paramount making something new and unique is expected and can be an everyday experience.
Since 1976 STAR'S END has been presenting works by the most unique and creative musical minds of our time. This music is way out ahead of the mainstream. But by leading an audience we find that many in the listening public are not able to grasp the advanced values of space music, making this endeavor somewhat less than commercially viable. STAR'S END listeners have come to understand that of all the music fans there are in the world, only a fraction comprehend the idea behind STAR'S END - and of those who do "get" the music, only a small number actually pledge during the fundraisers. To those who do call in, thanks for holding up your end of the public radio deal. Your support is felt and sincerely appreciated, and it matters - as without you this program would not be coming into your listening space, and the listening space of every other Spacemusic fan each Saturday night/Sunday morning. STAR'S END and radio station WXPN broadcast programs, and then asks listeners to pay for this content voluntarily. This is a terrible business model, but that's because Public Radio is not a business, it exists for the public good - the common wealth. As unbelievable as it sounds, thanks to you, this system works out OK.
There will be Special Thank You Gifts Available to those calling in with a donation (please see below for details). -Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END - 10 February 2013 | ||||||
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Thank You Gifts
Special premiums are available for those pledging by phone on the 02.10.13 broadcast of STAR'S END, including albums from labels DiN, Manikin and Northern Echo.
The CD premiums pictured were donated by the artist/label and available (in limited quantities) as thank-you gifts to those making a credit card pledge by phone during the 02.10.13 fundraising broadcast of STAR'S END. More traditional premiums furnished by WXPN will also be offered during this broadcast and throughout the Winter 2013 Fund Drive.
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| City 21 by Radio Massacre International | ||||||
Radio Massacre International is a trio of English musicians (Duncan Goddard, Steve Dinsdale, and Gary Houghton) known for their extended concerts of epic aural excursions. Over the course of their career they have developed a distinctive style set on transcending individual consciousness. Their performances are largely improvised and often veer off into areas dictated by mood, circumstance or whim. RMI's recorded output reflects the diversity and complexity of this work, which is often compared to that of the Berlin-School of cosmic music that emerged in Germany during the 1970s. But RMI is not simply re-creating the music of this era, they are further exploring and contemplating the expressional mode and the instruments that made it possible - in hopes of realizing new ideas. Their album City 21 is for the most part a studio realization and used as the soundtrack to the film of the same name.
• Radio Massacre International - City 21 single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge
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| Philadelphia Air Shot by Radio Massacre International | ||||||
With every outing, Radio Massacre International gets a chance at greatness. Their live sets are so open and undetermined that the audience, at the outset of a concert, can but wonder at their final destination. Will we be left to ponder an impenetrable negative space? or chase starlight at the edge of heaven? We get all this and more on Philadelphia Air Shot (58'39"), which was recorded live at WXPN in Philadelphia for airing on the 11.18.07 broadcast of STAR'S END. A little structure goes a long way as this session opens with a live version of "Bettr'r Days" from Rain Falls in Grey, RMI's 2007 studio album. Here we find Duncan Goddard on bass guitar (and occasionally tweaking his sequencer), Steve Dinsdale playing organ chords with one hand and drum samples with the other, and Gary Houghton leading the power trio with the bluest, most distinct, out front and lyrical electric guitar solos he has ever recorded. After out-rocking the original by several parsecs, the pop personas recede leaving us with a staccato sequencer riff. Spiraling amidst intertwining tone patterns, each line echoes in machine-like precision. Weaving the disparate strands into a cohesive whole, the sprawling epic transforms into a slow burning other worldly meditation - where the human mind is the landscape of the work. The closing moments of this piece show the softer side of this trio and we are gently left in a much different space than where we began. On Philadelphia Air Shot RMI gave it their best shot, turning in a one-off intoxicating performance. From the immediate impact of the opening movement and the rushing intensity of the sequencer centric segment that follows, to the minimalistic patterns and quiet power of the lengthy close, RMI's voyage is still a work in progress - with each concert making the journey new.
• Radio Massacre International - Philadelphia Air Shot single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge
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| New Church - On the Other Side - The Vast Key by Steve Dinsdale | ||||||
   
On the Other Side (47'46") is (among other things) a tribute to the single-mindedness of the solo artist. Although Steve Dinsdale continues to be a significant part of Radio Massacre International, his artistic vision must disappear against the immensity of the trio's dense free-form concept. With this, his second solo CD, Dinsdale probes deeper into his own ideas about music and sound. His determination to be a part of something creative every single day is Dinsdale's ideal and his audience's delight - as this CD is the result of many a day's creative encounter with music. We hear a mood of celebration in these tracks, along with a healthy dose of 1970s German Space Rock. With Dinsdale playing drums and percussives beneath cycling sequencer patterns and lilting synth melodies, the first few tracks from On the Other Side gently propels the album through the Prog era and on into the 21st century. These pieces are tightly arranged and unfold in a friendly way out into the listening space. The last four of the eight tracks make up the title work, and an interesting suite of music it is. Dinsdale does give this collage continuity, yet the music remains open and spacious. More atmospheric and textural than the previous songs, this area and its easy kinetic flow engage the listener with dancing arpeggios, breathy chorus, ethereal flutes, synth strings and a pleasing melodic confluence. On the Other Side will seem familiar, but not at all derivative. It is nothing less than a true expression of Dinsdale's being - which means that this music was not learned, it was lived.
• Steve Dinsdale - New Church single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Red + Blue + Level Four by Broekhuis, Keller & Schonwalder | ||||||
   
Something of a super-group, Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder has the ability to morph into any number of musical contexts while retaining the signatures of their own unique sound. Responsible for producing a great number of albums and concerts, both solo and in various collaborative combinations, works by
• Broekhuis, Keller & Schonwalder - Red single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Long Distances by Keller & Schonwalder + Liquid Session by Kagerman, Keller & Schonwalder | ||||||
 
Rather than be intimidated by the spirits of Spacemusic master's past, Detlef Keller and Mario Schonwalder are encouraged by their ghosts. Derived from the same structure as the classics their live CD Long Distances (74'55") indeed may be just simple melodic improvisations atop a composed repeating bassline - or could it be a metaphor for the inner workings of the Universe? Either way, it is obvious by this duo's vast musical output that they are playing something out of their own lives - filling the vast emptiness of space with their active imaginations. Whether it is a warm lead line swirling back and forth along the keyboard or icy chords slowly changing and holding, the open structure of Long Distances works well due to a casual intimacy between each musician. The music ramps up and winds down in wonderfully dramatic cycles. With its harmonic waves of pastoral synth strings and celestial choirs drifting along at the pace of the cosmos, to expressive keyboard solos hovering above mechanized sequencer patterns, the three tracks on Long Distances whirl in a pool of rhythm and sound. With a constantly shifting interplay between the parts Keller and Schonwalder have found that there is no predetermined way for this kind of live music to play. The process may best be described as devising a dream, then asking the listener to step inside.
• Keller & Schonwalder - Long Distances single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Elemental - Chiasmata - Aurora - Pearl by Ian Boddy | ||||||
   
Ian Boddy's music consistently sounds fresh; seeming to exist in an eternal now. Continually coming up with new ideas and approaches on each release he is involved in, Boddy is always redefining his relationship with Electronic Music. His innovative contributions to Electronica retain fragments of a time gone by and make for a daring and passionate vision of a present constantly slipping into the past. His album Elemental (52'11") possesses more than just the tricks and technology of its time. Its eight songs of innocence and experience cast a wide resonance - one that speaks from the past to the present. This work emits a significant amount of energy by way of swinging drum grooves and throbbing electro-rhythms. Boddy's deliberate and dramatic pacing construct these forms gradually, adding layer upon layer of enticing arpeggios and coarse-grained loops to a point just prior to where production and tech power would outshine the subtle emotion of this disc. Separating the power tracks are ambient stretches of stark intimacy. In these regions Boddy sets an altogether different mood. Complex synth modulations and uniquely manipulated sound samples lead the listener to a cool introspective space. From these chilled out regions the listener may notice the many peaks and depressions on Elemental, and how Boddy, using a keen musical sense fueled by pure curiosity, ably navigates.
• Elemental - single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Lithosphere - Outpost - React by Robert Rich & Ian Boddy | ||||||
   
For Robert Rich & Ian Boddy, their third collaboration is the result of their first live meeting. React (63'52") is a document of this duo's performance at the STAR'S END 30th Anniversary Celebration Concerts held in Philadelphia in June of 2007. The 11 tracks include live versions of pieces from their two earlier studio CDs Lithosphere (2005) and Outpost (2001), as well as new works conceived especially for their first outing. As with their previous releases, React does not merely occupy the middle ground between two talented musicians. It is a surreal, fanciful and at times intense work that provokes and impresses with its conceptual complexity. Rich's intoxicating glissando guitar and echoing flute melodies inhabit the ether while Boddy produces deep rumbling and neuron disabling effects across a shifting digital terrain. Ravaging his keyboards, sounds stretch inside out as intricate rhythms assemble, build and change. From space-tribe drumming and wet bassline punch, to soft moonlit chords and floating synth atmospheres, this work is panoramic yet detailed. Rich and Boddy move through an interior landscape with a unanimity that usually comes with years of experience - and ask the listener to stop reacting to the external world, and to explore the internal one.
• Lithosphere - single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Pure - Triptych - Dervish by Markus Reuter & Ian Boddy | ||||||
  
Powered by their passion for sound, noted touch guitarist and looper Markus Reuter along with storied electronic musician Ian Boddy, craft disparate influences into a seamless work. Their album Pure contains 11 studio realizations characterized by faceted rhythms, strange modulations, harmonious melodies and unfolding sonic atmospheres. Whether it's unstructured floating layers of repeating chords or the interlaced rhythms of popping synthesizer tones and plucked strings grounded to tumbling electronic percussion, each piece develops rapidly and represents an elegant synthesis of the human and the technological. Their sounds positively glow as every tingling detail is meant to stimulate the imagination. The duo embraces themes of machinery and power as well as the streamlined classic motifs of Ambient Music. Pure's success lies in the psychological drama between Boddy's writhing, gritty rhythms and treatments and Reuter's ethereal and blessed textures and melodies. Such variety makes their music hard to define, but this kind of holistic approach can only come from artists with maturity gained through years of experience.
• Pure - single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Arcturus - Blaze - Fracture - Church by Arc | ||||||
   
Ian Boddy and Mark Shreeve have been making music together as the duo Arc since 1998 when their first studio CD Octane came about. This collaboration has since proven to be one of the most interesting match-ups in contemporary electronic music. Church (74'30") is their sixth release, their forth live album and presents a recording of their fantastic performance as part of The Gatherings Concert Series in Philadelphia from 14 November 2009. The title Church is obviously in recognition of this concert's renowned venue (the sanctuary of St. Mary's Hamilton Village) and exceeds all expectations of the genre of live Spacemusic events and the resulting albums. The music begins with a hushed windblown nightscape punctuated by the premonitory tolling of a bell in the distance. Drama builds further as the slow march of deep bass and drums pound beneath what may be the most macabre (and ear catching) synth anthem ever devised. As the eerie opening runs its chilling course, reverberating down to a cool calm, the energy of this piece runs off in a different direction as sequencer patterns cycle out into space with their ascending lead melodies trailing after. With loads of throbbing modular synth pulsings, vintage Mellotron strings, choir and flute, and go for broke keyboard lead lines, Church offers ample muscle for the adventurous, archaic modulations for the experimentalist and dreamy floating space for the cloudwalker. The five pieces found on Church are examples of the Boddy and Shreeve live dynamic at its peak - fusing technological eras, living in the flow of the moment and simply playing their hearts out for their crowd. With this concert Boddy & Shreeve acheive so much; they take the audience from a grim parade in a desolate graveyard to the ethereal reaches of the cosmos - all in the space of one evening of creative ingenuity inside a church. Church is a magical album, encompassing a variety of atmospheres and energy levels and demonstrates the rare thing that may be felt when unique talents, receptive audience and reverential mood all converge in a unique musical sanctuary setting.
• Arcturus - single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Conundrum - Arcadia Borealis - Moire by Berhnard Wöstheinrich & others | ||||||
  
Good collaborations can bring out latent voices. On Conundrum (56'43") the duo of Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock and Bernhard Wöstheinrich speak in a language of unexpected affinities and easily traced influences. For Hoffmann-Hoock it is Eastern thought and 60s psychedelia while technology and abstract expressionism inform Wöstheinrich's contributions. Working together on Conundrum the duo manages to combine their individual musical traits into a cohesive sonic statement. Electronic beats, pops and squeaks drop in hard, then relax beneath ethereal guitar leads. The cerebral energy of the rhythms activates the mind as languid melodies play to the heart. Prog-Rock influences inundate Hoffmann-Hoock's guitar riffs. Drifting glissando clouds, slow E-bow solos, breathing chords and straight-ahead liquid leads flow amidst Wöstheinrich's electronica flare. With their hot beats and cool guitar this duo conjures up multi-faceted inventions both cosmically abstract and molecularly detailed.
• Conundrum - single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge | ||||||
| Art of Sacrifice by Dbkaos + Praposition by Subsonic Experience | ||||||
 
Bernhard Wostheinrich and Thorsten Niestrath are the duo of Subsonic Experience. Their CD Praposition - a rough snapshot of intuitive improvisation at work - is the result of a weekend recording session in late 2000. The music was all played live on mostly cheap synths and abandoned floor effects pedals. Most notably is Niestrath's amazing synth organ work. His wonderful lead lines and colourful organ clusters are found on all tracks of the album. Wostheinrich's duties on the other hand levitated toward keeping the sequencers running, generating endless variations of tones and textures in real time. Recorded with very basic means, but mixed and mastered using state-of-the-art technology, Moire is the perfect amalgamation of musicianship with a traditionalists feel for early EM, all overseen by modern production techniques.
• Praposition - single CD $75.00 Credit Card Pledge
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