RML and ASPHODEL RECORDS
present
ZBIGNIEW KARKOWSKI meets DANIEL MENCHE
in the epic duophonic noisemare of the battering
Solos & pairings unleashed in three acts
at
RECOMBINANT MEDIA LABS
{Downtown San Francisco}
SATURDAY MARCH 25TH
SUNDAY MARCH 26TH
ONE SESSION EACH NIGHT AT 9PM
Advance Tickets $15
at
Aquarius Records
1055 Valencia Street, San Francisco, California 94110
Reservations in advance strongly suggested
for further info go to
www.asphodel.com
or call 650.255.8947 and talk to a human
and secure a seat…
Space is small but the sounds are BIG
This will wreck your mind and batter your body
Zbigniew Karkowski is a Polish composer and musician presently living in Tokyo, Japan. Working in the fields of sound art and experimental music, Karkowski’s career has taken him around the world, presenting his music in over 30 countries since his first recording in 1983. A firm believer that political and social exile is a necessary condition for true creation, Karkowski is not interested in traditional definitions of what music ought to be. In his opinion, all theories and traditions of music are cultural concepts that have to be destroyed. With recordings issued on labels such as Mego, 23/5, Post-Concréte and Touch to name only a few, Karkowski has amassed a significant body of highly influential, musically profound works.
He studied composition at the State College of Music in Gothenburg, Sweden, aesthetics of modern music at the University of Gothenburg’s Department of Musicology, and computer music at the Chalmers University of Technology. After completing his studies in Sweden, he studied sonology for a year at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Den Haag, The Netherlands. During his education, he also attended many summer composition master courses arranged by Centre Acanthes in Avignon and Aix-en-Provence, France, studying with Iannis Xenakis, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, and Georges Aperghis, among others. He has written pieces for large orchestra (commissioned and performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra), plus an opera and several chamber music pieces that were performed by professional ensembles in Sweden, Poland and Germany. He is a founding member of the electroacoustic music performance trio ‘Sensorband.’ in Japan for the past ten years, he is very active in the underground noise scene there. Professionally active in contemporary, industrial, rock and experimental music for the last 18 years.
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Daniel Menche has established himself as a musician with a sense of focus and determination uncharacteristic in a genre known for its randomness and chaotic structure. Rather than creating “noise,” he strives for order and cohesiveness. His presentation of sonic structures is similar to the way a writer depicts a story, an allegory seems to arise, which uses confusion as a symbol for the imaginative process of total sound purity; aural intensity is not a representation of confusion or the chaotic, but a concerted effort to provoke and stimulate the listeners imagination by generating intensely powerful sounds and music.
Daniel Menche’s work originates from the idea that music can be created without instruments or theoretical ideas; There is no restriction to the potential sound sources. Any sounds – all sounds is used and abused to create the music. There are absolutely no barriers or biases in what can be used and have been used. Self made and recorded sound sources are the main emphasis in creating a living and emotional feeling to Daniel Menche’s form of contemporary music. Subtle and patient compositions rely on long, dense layers of droning sounds, while abrasive pieces rely on sounds amplified and processed to extreme levels, pushing the full spectrum of frequencies to the most intense limits. Other explorations could be considered musique concrete, chaotic collages displayed gracefully without ever being just “noise”. While avoiding the theoretical aspects of music-this is sound work that follows the path to explore new emotions for music to obtain a one on one personal impact with pure sound.
Daniel Menche’s craft straddles many hard-to-define boundaries and genres; it is an effort to provoke confusion in order to enhance the mystery of it; an effort to establish each release as a sonic identity. This is not the music of the masses; rather, it is the music of individuals who are adventurous in experiencing challenging music. Indeed, Menche has amassed a sizable discography on some the most discerning independent labels in the world. Performing live extensively through out North America, Europe and Japan with performances that are intense and powerful. Characterized as both extremely loud and patiently subtle, Daniel Menches live performances defines its own sonic presence, an entity that gives form to an emotional rawness with highly textural and dominating sounds.