[xs-64] ziur - granular world

artist: ziur

album: granular world

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release date: 16/08/2009

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contact: myspace

cover art: back and front

In the year that we celebrate 40 years upon the arrival of men at the moon, and so many scientific discoveries, and so many lab discoverers and adventurers I present you a composer – Ziur. His passion for the discovery and study of the unknown leads us to the essence of sound, of its granular essence, presenting us another meaning, invisible to the naked ear. And like a stone is a stone on earth or on the moon, sound will always be sound whether savage or trained by Ziur.

Leonardo Rosado (xs records curator)

André Ruiz is a composer and professor at the Braga’s Conservatório Calouste Gulbenkian and he is also known in the electronic music as Ziur. He released is work concrétement at xs records [pt netlabel] in which he explored the digital media and the paradigm of composition initiated by Pièrre Schaeffer or Pièrre Henry. Ziur as been working in a series of initiatives and collaborative projects using the icompositions platform. Granular World he presents us with a series of experiments that take us to the granular synthesis domain, using the ixiquarks software developed by Italian softwarehouse ixisoftware developed with supercollider (this software is freeware and opensource). This music is as a performance component based upon the mentioned software which was refined a posteriori.

Tiago Morgado (xs records curator)

“Granular World” is an album conceived from inumerous experiences made by André Ruiz aka Ziur (the composer) using granular synthesis processes. All compositions were made in real time, i.e., all transformation processes and progressive developments were done and recorded in real time, which excludes it’s exact remake. Starting from simple recorded sounds (crystal glasses, tam tam’s, piano chords, etc.) it was possible to create diversified and individual compositions, which can suggest the listener several environments.

André Ruiz (composer)

[xs-63] subterminal - filled with light

artist: subterminal

album: filled with light

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release date: 03/08/2009

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contact: blog & myspace

cover art: back & front

With eyes wide open.
Like in a reawakening. A strange awake that repeats itself every night; every passing day, or so it seems. Like a virtual experience; or maybe not. Maybe it is just a normal but scary awakening. ... "Filled With Light".

"Filled With Light" awakens us in two different ways. The first, because it is only an EP which is part of an album yet to be released; the second, because in that album, poetry, a core element always present in Subterminal's work, makes an eulogy to digital life. "Filled With Light" is like a trailer of a full movie that we anticipate; a summary with a beginning middle and end. For now, the awakening is what matters most and "Filled With Light" awakes; awakes us.

In that slow awake, "With You" introduces us to the theme, to the electronic principle that conducts the EP. However, "Filled With Light" is the track that captures our attention; because of the movement; the layers of sound; the excellent alto viola played by Tiago Morgado. There is a slight techno-industrial mood coloring Leonardo Rosado's words, the man behind Subterminal. At last, "For the First Time" definitely introduces us to what's coming. A confrontation with a different reality; or, an almost-reality. "For the First Time" introduces us to a confrontation between poetry and technology, created by dense sound ambiences, images, differing in rhythm and form. They are different lines of the same life; parallel or perpendicular. The exhaustion of conflict.

"Filled With Light" was composed and played almost entirely with an iPhone, with some extra sounds from other objects. After "Alumina" and "Insight", released in 2009, the reawakening of Subterminal is of happiness. "Filled With Light" is a great step forward when comparing with prior releases, which leads to the expectation of a very interesting conceptual album. Coupled with the refinement of his personal electronic universe, the author added a better voice treatment. The production of the EP was made by Tiago Morgado.

... to keep the eyes wide open.

Press Review by Rui Dinis, A Trompa

[xs-61] carlos d. perales - acousmotion

artist: carlos d. perales
album: acousmotion

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release date: 2/07/2009
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contact: myspace
cover art: back & front

after releasing karlheinz essl performance with klaus burger, we are releasing carlos perales, which is like a returning to the musical orientations of electroacoustic avant garde music, but this time in fixed media (acousmatic) support. and in this sense we are happy because we are doing things each step to make the music we release reaching as many people as possible, and not to confine composers and musicians to their own home studio. we can say that we are as happy to release perales as we were happy to release poros or essl. and we cannot speak as well of carlos music has he speaks, reason why we leave you his text about his his music written by himself.

tiago morgado (in the hand of xs records [pt netlabel]

SYNAPSE

The brain of intelligent mammals constitutes the most organized form of matter known until now. Trying to understand this operating, the scientist behaves as an engineer would do in front of a machine; this is, firstly he would study and identify the components and then he would try to quarrel how do they work and how do these relations establish between them as a whole. In these relations, the structural and functional unit corresponds to the neuronal synapses. This way so, this interaction among neuronal components is the base of our cognition.

There exist cerebral diseases that are tied to an abnormal functioning of some neuronal synapses. Certain pathologies, as the cerebral arteriosclerosis, more known as Alzheimer, have been unjustly introduced in our society. This disease is caused principally by destruction of neurons of a cerebral region named the basal nucleus of Meynert, which establishes cholinergic synapses with the cerebral cortex. Our life turns then into a carrousel of false images, dismembered recollections, slanted impressions, constant dreams... This sonic synapses is dedicated to all whom have to fight against themselves.

MYSTIC NITS

In full technological modernity surprise me to see even the manual method to remove with patience the nits from the hair of children. Sometimes my subconscious leads me along grotesque paths and makes me to do some bizarre associations. In this work I see a craftsman against this nits, but this time, the nits are not other than ideas that the worship of ancient myths. At the same time those are difficult to remove, they also put it not that easy. Modernity cannot remain in vain advancement of technologies and therefore this craftsman wants to eliminate all traces of old-fashioned prejudices, fears, religious ties, double and triple standards.

HYDRA

Aubrey de Grey, engineer specialized on data analysis, argues that genetic senescence (molecular degeneration) is a parameter that, according to the latest research, could be corrected. He claims that we have a 50% chance of achieving the goal of living until 1000 years in 25 to 30 years of appropriate research. In this case, the genetic information of cells that go growing old and deteriorating would be corrected. Based on this conjecture my attention focused on simple hydridae such as Hydra, which do not have this congenial defect. The Hydra is a fresh-water animal, usually a few millimeters long and very interesting for the scientific community because it has this regenerative ability. They appear to be unique in the animal world because of not suffering from senescence. Based on this ability to self reparation, the work is divided into 3 sections. Each of them have a similar behavior, as the used samples develop micro evolutions on themselves, becoming degenerate and transforming to similar materials.

carlos perales