Flypaper by Oren Ambarchi & Keith Rowe

These recordings depart wildly from anything that either Rowe or Ambarchi have produced before. This speaks volumes when you consider the combined weight of their explorations to this point. Amazingly, neither player falls back on past gestures or comfortable proven techniques.

The result is four startling electro-acoustic environments. Only David Tudor's "Rainforest" has gone so far to create a world that is at once highly electronic, yet totally organic, without resorting to base mimicry of natural sounds. It evokes the sea, an immovable mass of fluidity, in a way that Roland Kayn would admire. But having said that, there is little to compare this to. The four pieces on this disc could be field recordings from lost civilizations.

“Keith Rowe has staked his place in musical history as a leading exponent of modern improvisation both solo and, most notably, with groups like AMM. Oren Ambarchi has worked alongside Christian Fennesz and Martin Ng, in addition to exploring solo guitar and electronic territory indebted to artists like Alvin Lucier and Phill Niblock. On ‚Flypaper’, an excellent four-part piece on Staubgold, Rowe utilizes a mix of his trademark tabletop guitar and electronics while Ambarchi adds his string and electronic work to the affair. The result is an intriguing exploration into the realm of sustained drones and tones, mixing other sound effects into measured layers of sound. The pieces here are born out of great communication and listening on the part of each musician. (...) Rowe and Ambarchi come together nicely on this release, complementing each other’s natural instincts and improvisational styles. There’s never any sense of struggle for control amongst the tracks, but rather a nice, communal ability to work with intriguing sounds and textures.” (Michael Crumsho, Dusted)

“This collaboration between English experimental guitar pioneer Keith Rowe and young Australian Oren Ambarchi could be seen as a passing of the torch. And yet, if there is intergenerational exchange here, it appears to take place on the same level. Ambarchi's style has matured rapidly. (...) It is with a confident voice and from a much different point of view that he steps into the ring to meet Rowe. At least one world separates the two artists. (...) They meet halfway on 'Flypaper’ - Ambarchi thinning out his textures to leave room for input, Rowe being careful not to shatter them. Their respective contributions juxtapose well but always remain discernible (including Rowe's use of radio waves). The four untitled pieces work more like installation soundtracks or sonic environments than compositions.” (François Couture, All Music Guide)

Founded in 1998 by DJ, musician and journalist Markus Detmer, Staubgold is an acknowledged and acclaimed brand for experimental and electronic music from around the world.

Its roster can boast internationally known names like Vivien Goldman, The Flying Lizards, Faust, To Rococo Rot, Kammerflimmer Kollektief, Ekkehard Ehlers and Rafael Toral.

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