[Event ]Encuentro de artistas y proyectos musicales experimentales en CSO el Escombro

During the 13th and 14th  of December there was a convention on CSO El escombro, a self-managed social center that provides space for culture and leisure.    Many artists of the area and other regions met around this event, that seeks to rescue experimental art forms or art that has no room in the traditional art circles or of mass consumption.



On the first day, I arrived to the talk about noise in art and music , where they talked about different artists and artistic trends that experimented with noise and sound, surpassing the limits of the traditional standards of what is the meaning of art,  during the last century.

One artist worth mentioning is Luigi Russolo, for example , an Italian painter and compositor  part of the Futurist movement , and one of the first noise music experimental composers , creator of a series of noise-making devices with the name of "Intonarumori".

They also mentioned the Fluxus movement or Intermedia , the spiritual sucessor of dadaism in the 60s, that inspired by John Cage,  called into question the definition of what is art. . One of the most known members of Fluxus was Yoko Ono.

Nowadays, theres many projects around the world involving the use of noise as a way of destroying the limits of what rock or free jazz bands were doing, considering it something boring.   In Japan, for example, theres a specific musical scene called by critics as "Japanoise", having a lot of musical freedom and being less serious than the common "noise music" bands from other parts of the world, trying to be louder and more ridiculous than in other places.  Some examples are Masonna, Merzbow or Hijokaidan.

After the talk, there was a Fruityloops workshop, to learn to basic of this music software, which was very concise but I still learned some tricks to use on the program.

At the end of the day, all the people that were in the event were invited to become part of a jamming session with anything they wanted, from guitars, to percussive elements, everything was permitted. It was very entertaining, I played for about 1 hours or more with everyone.

The second day of the event, it was the show of each band, from Concepcion and other regions. Some of the bands from Concepcion  cancelled their participation , which was a bit dissapointing but at the same time it gave more space for the bands from other places to play and show their performances.  The bands were good, I still try to figure how they made some sounds I listened during their performances.   A funny situation was on the presentation of "Psychotic Aliens", they didn't had a bassist so they offered me to play with them (it was all improvised), and I had just played bass two times in my entire life. The last performer (the name of his project was Karla Sepúlveda), caught my attention, he used a "noise shaker", a device I use to see on Masonna shows or similar , but never thought some Chilean had one , they are usually handmade.

Well, concluding this article, I would like to say I really enjoyed the experience of meeting with people interested on building a experimental noise scene on Chile, and I hope they repeat the same event every year.  

What do you think about this type of music ? Leave your comments down below!

[FILM]Ichi The Killer (Dir.Takashi Miike,2001)

Takashi Miike is one of the hard-to-forget directors I've watched   Audition, Visitor Q and Gozu, and all I can say that this director has a lot of imagination , but the wicked type.   Ichi the Killer is a story based on a japanese comic from Hideo Yamamoto, aimed for adults. 

A yakuza gang lost his boss , and they think he escaped with 3 million yen  and a prostitute. Kakihara, a sadomasochistic character and the right hand of the boss, starts investigating what really happened. 

 It looks like the boss was killed by a boy nicknamed "Ichi" (Ichi means one in japanese) . Ichi is a very shy and introverted person, who enters into outbursst of anger and crying  killing everything around him with a pair of boots with razorblades on them.  There's a big plan aiming to destroy and confuse all the yakuza clans on town, and a brainwashed Ichi used as a tool. 

I don't to keep spoiling the plot, but if you like mafia films, combined with an attractive story and lot of strange characters, then Ichi the Killer is a must see.  Its hard to describe if its a gore  comedy or action movie, It includes various elements from the different genres, plus an incredible soundtrack made by Boredoms, a representative band of noise rock in Japan.

Go and watch Ichi the Killer now, and then leave your comments about the film at the commentary boxes down there.

[ALBUM] Secret Chiefs 3: Ishraqiyun - Perichoresis (2014)

Secret Chiefs 3 is the project of Trey Spruance, ex-member of Mr.Bungle and a multi-instrumentalist and talented composer. His works cover a wide range of styles from surf rock , passing through film music and even persian music. He is interested in esoterism, and thats one of the reasons of his constant search for different sounds , trying to express those philosophies in a musical context. 

The group is divided in SIX bands, or "satellites", which cover different aspects of Trey's interests on music. These bands are : Electromagnetic Azoth, UR, Ishraqiyun, Traditionalists, Holy Vehm, FORMS. Some fans say that theres a seven band, called NT Fan, but thats just a rumour.

Many of the satellite bands are very different, for example , some bands are Trey Spruance own interpretation of mid-eastern melodies and rhythm patterns , while other bands like Traditionalists are influenced by film music, like Giallo Italian films , or horror movies like Halloween from John Carpenter, which they made a cover on one of SC3 albums. My perspective on what Trey Spruance is trying to do, is to research , experiment and unveil musical secrets or traditions hidden into old cultures . Secret Chiefs 3 is a greatly appreciated band, and they have toured in more than 40 countries.

So what we gonna do, is to analyze the release of ISHRAQIYUN, the neo-pythagorean electro folk of the satellite bands. ISHRAQIYUN full-length album, is composed of 6 songs, some of them previously released, while others are completely new content , such as the title of the album which is Perichoresis.

The tracklist is the following:

1. The 15
2. The 7
3. Base Phive Futrur Cossacks
4. Spiritus Intelligentiae: Jophiel
5. Perichoresis
6. Saptarshi


This album is a compilation of many stages during the life of the band called Song Cycles:

The Song Cycle 1 is from 2003, including the 4, Balance of the 19, Saptarshi, Bereshith, the 7 and S.I. Jophiel and an adaption of an Afghan tune (ironically the only equal-temperament song in any Ishraqiyun songbook) titled The 3.

Song Cycle 2 is from years 2007 to 2008, and includes Brazen Serpent, Tistrya, Base Phive Futur Cossacks, and some others.
Song Cycle 3, composed in 2012-2014 is based on explorations of ’tessellating’ patterns derived from Platonic Solids and other polyhedra, applied primarily to the tetrachordal mechanics of the Kinnor/Lyre with compositions expanded therefrom. This Cycle includes Perichoresis, plus several pieces performed by Spruance, Eyvind Kang and Jessika Kenney in 2012, and many many other new pieces and systems being worked out presently. (This info was obtained from webofmimicry.com, Trey Spruance's website)


Well in my opinion, Perichoresis is an amazing album. Especially in rhytmical patterns, you should check the work done on "Perichoresis", it gives a very strange feeling of being slow-and fast at the same time. Sadly, I couldn't find a link to Perichoresis on youtube, but theres other leaked songs, like "The 7", which I find very difficult to play (I tried some time to understand the rhytmical patterns behind it, I'm still on the process of doing it) .

If you can buy the album, do it. You won't be dissapointed. If you ever see SC3 performing on Chile, and you have the chance to buy a ticket, do it. It's one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had.

If you want to leave your comments about this album, you're welcome to write or give advices about how to make this blog better. See you soon!

[GUITAR] Learning Intervals.

I always been looking for new ways to improve my guitar playing or have more knowledge about the fretboard. In this case, I found a nice chart including all the possible intervals for the guitar. Try to learn two by week, for example, learn the second minor/major and the third minor/major during the first week. 

The root note is the white dot, and the minor interval is a red dot.  The Major interval is blue and the perfect is green.  If you learn these intervals, they can help you to build triads in any position, not having to depend on a single shape, and they will help you understand more about theory. For example, you can learn a new scale, and calculate the formula for it, along with other things.  Now go and start practicing! 

[FILM]They Live (Dir. John Carpenter, 1988)

John Carpenter is considered one of the masters of Horror. With book adaptations such as Stephen King's Christine, classics of Horror such as Halloween , and composing its own soundtracks for the films he makes , he is worthy of admiration, and an influence for future filmmakers.

They Live is not an Horror Film, but instead a sci-fi film, or a satire of consumerism and how the marketing brainwashes the masses into a state of permanent shopping sprees. 

The protagonist of the film, is a drifter (Roddy Pipper) who founds a collection of sunglasses inside some boxes hidden in the local church.  He tries one of the sunglasses and notices that he starts seeing strange things. Hidden messages through normal advertisements, some kind of concealed control over the masses through advertising and everything that surrounded him. Then he discovers that between normal people, some of them were aliens disguised as humans, and these aliens were part of a secret society controlling most part of the entire world, all of them successfull people. After buying some weapons and teaming up with other people that knew about this conspiracy, they start shooting all of the aliens in the city. 

This film is a critic to the corruption of people in general. Fashion, Mass media, and the selling of products just created to pretend being wealthy and without any lacking.  I suggest you to watch this film, it is fun but at the same time it leaves a valuable message.

[ALBUM] Mr.Bungle - Mr. Bungle (1991)

Mr. Bungle was a experimental music band created in 1985, when some of their members were still in high school.   The band members were the vocalist Mike Patton , more known for being part of  the band Faith No More, guitarist Trey Spruance , bassist Trevor Dunn, saxophonist Clinton McKinnon and the drummer Danny Heifetz.  

The style of Mr.Bungle is hard to describe , and the songs may include different genres like free jazz, ska, metal, swing , funk, etc. into just one song,  During their career, the band released three full-length studio albums after signing with Warner Brothers, which were : Mr.Bungle, Disco Volante  and California.   

These three albums are totally different. If you are looking for something new to listen, that sounds both strange and interesting, I suggest you give Mr.Bungle a try.

We will take a look at their first album , called Mr.Bungle .  The opening song of the album is "Quote Unquote", which before had been named "Travolta" , but due to legal threats from John Travolta, they changed its name .   This song has a videoclip , which was banned from MTV due to showing the members hanging from a meathook.  I find this song amazing, some parts of the song change from a slow and mysterious feel , and then suddenly explodes into a great riff, including a walking bass during one of the musical passages. 

Other of my favorite songs of the album is "Squeeze Me Macaroni", a machinegun of profanities and sexual references related with food and the act of eating , with a lot of funny rhymes, all of them being  singed at lighting fast speed by Mike Patton.   The song has a funky rhythm , at very fast tempo, and you can hear the bass bouncing over and over like theres no tomorrow.

I could keep naming songs for you to listen, but I recommend to try the album as a whole concept. 

If you were searching for the typical rock band, then Mr. Bungle is not for you.   If you want to have fun listening to music, and you are waiting  for be amazed by all the different things that can be done on a single song, this is a good start.

[ALBUM] The Jesus Lizard - Shot (1996)

So what is "The Jesus Lizard"?  The meaning remains a mystery, but these four guys from Austin, Texas are music as it should be, harsh and noisy , spiting saliva into their listener's eardrums.   

The Jesus Lizard was formed after David Yow (vocal) and David Wm. Sims (bass) , ex-Scratch Acid members, a very famous noise rock band in the underground scene, decided to join forces with Duane Denison, one of the most unique guitarists of the late 80s.  After starting with a drum machine, they recruited Mac Macneilly as their drummer, and started playing their first lives shows.   

The band style is a mixture of punk, jazz , blues riffs with machine-like drums, finishing off with the sputtering, screaming distinctive voice of David Yow.

"Shot", their second-to last of their albums before disbanding , is one of the most defined records , with a more commercial-mainstream approach in their songs but still not "selling out".  It starts with "Thumper" , three minutes and thirty seconds of a catchy riff, a really good song, its almost impossible to avoid stomping the beat with your foot , but still not better than their older hits like "Puss" or "Mouthbreather".

"More beautiful than barbie" is another one of my favorites on the album, I can't keep that bassline out of my head, but it still follows the traditional song structure like most of the album, not like in earlier songs, where they used to include more changes inside their songs.

If you are new into The Jesus Lizard, I suggest starting with Shot , and then trying albums like Liar or Down, which are less commercial, but in my opinion, better.  

Welcome

Welcome to my blog, this is my first post on it. In this blog I will be writing about things that I like and I find interesting, especially music and films. The purpose of making this blog is to expand the interests of people who have a similar taste in music or share common things with me, so they can use it as a tool to find more material that they may like.

Hope you enjoy it,

Pablo Castillo