SOUNDTRACK: HAUSCHKA-“Improvisation,” “Random Gifts” and “Mt. Hood” in the NPR studios (2010).
Hauschka is German composer Volker Bertelmann and he plays the prepared piano. What that means is that he places things on and in the piano to alter the sound of it. (Nothing he does creates any permanent damage).
Mostly he creates percussive sounds with things like bottle caps,Tic Tac boxes and skewers. And while it sounds simple, it is really quite ingenious.
This Vimeo link shows him talking to Guy Raz at NPR about the random materials that Raz has given him and then demonstrating how they change the sound of things. Then he plays the “Random Gifts.”
The Youtube Video below shows another improv piece from the same day using different items.
This Vimeo link to him playing “Mt. Hood” shows off his use of ping pong balls.
All of his songs are fairly simple and fairly slow, primarily because the preparations add resonances and percussion that would overwhelm if he played faster. Thus his pieces are often moody and reflective
Hauschka has a new album out as of this month called Abandoned City. Every track on the new CD is named after a city that has been abandoned, that is vacant. And his spare oftentimes eerie music goes very well with that theme.
There’s lots more videos of him on YouTube which are worth checking out.
[READ: June 23, 2014] Flinch
I was grabbed by the cover of this graphic novel. The book is so short that I was really surprised to see that it was actually a collection of short stories. As you can tell from the subtitle, this work is going to be dark and more than a little creepy. And it is. And while there are some similar visual styles, it’s interesting to see just how different these 13 stories can be. Most of the stories use very few words, relying instead on the power of the visuals. And it works pretty well.
I didn’t think any of them were especially creepy or dark, although the first one is kinda gross. I enjoyed them for what they were, short stories that revel in the darker side of life. I hadn’t heard of most of the artists. The only one I knew was Shaun Tan. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 