DORON
SADJA "A PIECE OF STRING, A SUNSET" (12K1023)
to translate languages, paste text
here: http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr
ALL MUSIC GUIDE (US)
Doron
Sadja's release for 12k is another in a long line of fresh artists
Taylor Deupree has taken chance in releasing, and once again
the risk more than pays off. For his debut, Sadja retains many
of the qualities present on virtually every 12k release in recent
memory. The first two tracks (all are untitled) are lengthy
meditations on microscopic bits of digital dust acting as rhythm
control, scattered over high-pitch frequencies that almost bring
a white-hot, searing pain to the inner ear if listened to at
a loud volume. However, the second half of String displays amazing
versatility in Sadja's abilities as a producer, with tracks
that could be compared with the best organic-synthetic laptop
musicians in the genre. Easily the most sublime moments of String
come with the final composition's heartbreakingly gorgeous,
Fennesz-like guitar melodies, manipulated (of course) tastefully
until they wither away into sub-bass nothingness. Of course,
as with most 12k releases, this one seems woefully short in
terms of length. However, if time limitations are a sign of
quality over quantity, then this is a promising debut and a
sign of potentially great things to come.
AMBIENTRANCE (US)
Experience
the experiments of Doron Sadja ; his electronic/ molecular collagework
in A Piece of String, A Sunset defies easy description...
Slowly fading in from nothingness, nearly-12-minute 1initially
throbs against a slow metallic scraping. Textures of radio-interference
and grungy squiggles of static play against a shrill keening
current... the tableau continues to morph in an unpredictable,
though generally rough/strange, series of episodes (with a plethora
of stuttering buzzes/bleeps and fractured moans of some sort...).
A pinging/ringing atomic void swells in the opening minutes
of 2(12:51), where an eventual invasion of sputtering thuds
begins. Alarmlike tones sporadically sound, locking into a steadily
churning miasma of mechanical proportions... pleasant enough,
until it is quickly dissolved by sizzling white-noise, followed
by less-corrosive moments of unknowable twitters and electric
sibilants. Incomprehensible acrobatics erupt in the glaring
contortions of 3(2:46)... fading to silence some time before
the piece's "end". 4's random click-n-blurt patterns
make for edgy listening until a nearly-musical gleamstream begins
to waft through a more-fragmented spray of chords and grit.
Subbass undulations are intermittently marked by short, high
squeaks as dark 5presents one last audio-enigma, with a touch
of obtuse guitar tonality. Rather disjointed sci-fi-tronic tapestries
are drawn across A Piece of String, A Sunset; the title's more-naturalistic
images are radically re-envisioned in Doron Sadja ever-streaming
bits and pieces. Very odd listening in vein of a gritty technophilia.
B
AUTRES DIRECTIONS (FR)
Après
les albums de Sogar ou Christopher Willits, et avant la sortie
imminente de la compilation E • A • D • G
• B • E qui regroupera entre autres Fonica et
Keith Fullerton Whitman (aka Hrvatski pour son projet de guitars
played through), le label 12k publie les premiers albums de
Doron Sadja et de Kenneth Kirschner. Avec ces deux éditions,
l'effervescente maison new-yorkaise, tenue par le musicien Taylor
Deupree, rajoute à son univers musical faits de nappes
laptop granuleuses et réverbérées deux
premières oeuvres très à propos.
Dans cet environnement très marqué, A Piece
Of String, A Sunset ne dépareille effectivement en
rien. Doron Sadja crée une musique infime, où
des pulses, tones et bleeps discrets, ceux-là même
qui définissent une ambiance fluctuante, "onirico-inquiétante",
subissent les assauts de quelques drones et larsens. Les cinq
morceaux ici regroupés par une apanage conceptuel de
rigueur n'ont ni la brillance éclatante d'un Sogar ni
la préciosité d'un Willits. Ce n'est, certes,
pas mal fait, mais cela manque cruellement d'âme. Le cinquième
titre, où apparaît finalement une guitareaçon
Manual, crée un minimum de surprise et insuffle de la
vie à ce disque qui en manquait jusqu'alors cruellement.
Dommage....
...Si ces nouveaux jets s'inscrivent aisément dans la
démarche de 12K, il semble néanmoins qu'ils n'apportent
rien à la singularité de ce label. A notre échelle,
A Piece Of String, A Sunset et September 19, 1998
Et Al. sont deux petites déceptions.
BLACK (DE)
Sinuswellenrauschen
kurz vor der Schmerzgrenze. nada und Ikeda lassen grüßen.
Elektro-statisches Prassein, randomisierte Klangdaten knistern
drüber hinweg, dronige Violinen - und Gitarren-Loops bilden
das Rückgrat. Irgendwie ist Doron Sadja's debüt halb
musiktheoretischer Machbarkeitsbeweis und halb mikrotonale Spinnerei.
Nachdem sich das Album die ersten 25 minuten wenig hörbar
gedehnt und gestreckt hat, wird man ab Track 4 die letzten 15
minuten noch brüchig und rhythmisch. Die Violine markiert
die warme Atmoshaäre, die Clicks werden rhythmisch und
das Klanggewusel geordnet, die Drones schwingen brummiger, es
fiept weniger fies und zum Schluß wird die Gitarre noch
melodiös und melancholisiert das minimale Klangbild. Nach
anfänglich verkopfter Zähigkeit wird es zum Ende hin
spannend. Etwas Kürzer alles beim nächsten Mal und
es gefällt mir sicherlich noch besser.
DE:BUG
(DE)
Auf 12k-Alben freue ich mich immer sehr. Besonders, wenn neue
Acts ihre Interpretationene zur Labelphilosophie von "sythetic
microscopic sound designs" un "minimalist compositional
aesthetics" zum Besten geben. Wie nun Doron Sadja zum Beispiel.
In den funf Stucken seines Debutalbums erforscht er die geringflugigen
Tonund Amplitudenschwankungen, die bei Vermischung von nahezu
identischen Sinuswellen auftreten. Dass dabei Tonhonhen nahe
des menschlichen Horvermogens betont werden, ist man vom 12k-Label
bereits gewohnt. Neu ist aber der Aspeckt, dass neben den extremen
Frequenzen und zufallig zusammerngeschnipselten Sound- und Datenfiles,
Violentone (gespielt von Amie Weiss) und Gitarrenloops (John
Anderson) das Ganze zu einem synthetischen, wie auch organischen
Musikgebilde formen. Interessant! - AD
I am always looking forward to new 12k CDs. Especially when
new acts present their interpretation according to the label-philosophy
of "synthestic microscopic sound designs" and "minimalist
compositional aesthestics" - like Doron Sadja with this
CD for example. In the 5 tracks of his debut release he is exploring
the subtle fluctuations in tone and amplitude created by the
combination of sinewaves nearly identical in pitch. The emphasis
on pitches near the threshold of human audibility is what we
are already used to from the 12k label. New is the aspect of
extreme frequencies and randomatomization of data/sound files
being combined with sounds of a violin (played by Amie Weiss)
and loops of manipulated guitar (John Anderson) forming a highly
synthetic yet still organic body of music. Interesting!
DEEP
LISTENINGS (IT)
Il
titolo evoca musiche crepuscolari, poetiche, ma solo l'inizio
del disco culla la mente con scie di loops e tappeti di frequenze
avvolgenti. Ben preseto infatti arrivano rumori elettrici, voci
e lamenti in eterna ripetizione, strofinii di corde, interferenze,
gracidii di rumori radiofonici. Piatto e senza aria, questa
è l'antimusica per eccellenza.
ERA
(ES)
Detraas
de tan hermoso titulo se oculta una sinfonia en cinco movimientos,
reflexion acerca de lo minusculo como motivo musical. Sobre
una cama de tonos cercanos al umbral de lo inaudible, sobre
trazos ritmicos de matriz aleatoria y un ronroneo de pulsos
continuos, Sadja contruye melodias donde la variaxion tonal
aspenas se intuye, magma de acariciante calidez al que se asoman
el susorru de unviolin, loops de guitarra en descomposicion,
electricidad estatica y ecos de un fantasma en la distancia.
Un disco precioso. - Vidal Romero
ETHEREAL
(FR)
Continuant
d’alterner artistes « anciens » et nouvelles
signatures, 12k nous propose, avec A Piece of String, a Sunset,
le premier album de Doron Sadja, qui s’inscrit particulièrement
bien dans la discographie déjà riche du label
de Taylor Deupree.
Formant ses morceaux à partir d’une seule note utilisée
comme texture de base, Sadja greffe dessus éléments
micro-électroniques qu’il répète pendant
un temps avant de laisser la place à un autre. Tombant
parfois dans la facilité dans les deux premiers titres
(l’usage, au milieu du premier titre, d’un larsen
surpuissant et très difficilement supportable ne s’imposait
peut-être pas) et les étirant un peu trop (douze
et treize minutes respectivement, sans que cela n’apporte
quelque chose), Sadja dévoile une autre facette de ses
capacités dès la fin du deuxième morceau
avec la mise en place d’un « vent électronique
» puis d’une suite quasi mélodique de glitchs,
d’une part, et un jeu habile sur la stéréo,
d’autre part. Si cette première partie n’est
pas forcément d’un abord évident, une écoute
attentive permettra de disséquer les textures pour en
révéler toutes les trouvailles et expérimentations
(toutefois, une écoute au casque est déconseillée,
à cause des montées brutales de puissance).
Après un court titre de transition, les deux derniers
morceaux permettent à Doron Sadja de se rapprocher, musicalement
parlant, des artistes signés sur 12k : usage précis
de sonorités minimalistes et enchevêtrement adroit
de nappes et de glitchs. A cet égard, le titre de clôture
du disque est sans doute le plus intéressant : un début
très calme, parsemé de petits sons, suivi de l’entrée
d’une saturation mélodique qui s’éclaircit
pour laisser apparaître une guitare à la beauté
cristalline avant que celle-ci ne soit saturée de nouveau
pour finir.
FATBANKROLL (SE)
Jag
respekterar inte riktigt den typen av glitch- och pip-musik
där man kan misstänka att ljudbilden ändras genom
att musikern helt enkelt tonar in och ut olika ljud som gjorts
färdiga vart och ett för sig. Efter att ha lyssnat
mig fram till c:a fyra minuter in i den första av de fem
obetitlade låtarna tror jag att Doron Sadjas debutalbum
är just en sådan skiva. Men precis då sprakar
det till ganska ordentligt i hörlurarna och därefter
skärper allting till sig.
På den lilla pappersbit som levererades med den här
skivan går det att läsa sig till att "A Piece
of String, a Sunset" är konstruerad utifrån
en skala som består av 144 noter per oktav, framför
allt med ackord uppbyggda av toner som ligger en tolftedels
semiton ifrån varandra (det där sista bör visserligen
vara mätt enligt den vanliga tolvtonersoktaven för
att betyda något i sammanhanget). Det låter lite
otäckt och teoretiskt, faktiskt ganska trevligt ändå.
De extremt högfrekventa bakgrundssurren som 12k-folket
verkar gilla finns med här också, och utöver
det handlar det om minimalism i flera lager, med ett ganska
suddigt resultat. Lite då och då kopplar Sadja även
på lite tydligare rytmer, och när han dessutom får
hjälp av någon med en gitarr, som i sista låten,
blir det riktigt trevligt.
Ohio-bon Doron Sadja kommer i höst att släppa ytterligare
en skiva på 12k, då i form av ett inspelat livesamarbete
med brittiske kollegan Motion, som själv släppte en
skiva på samma bolag för bara några månader
sedan. Sadja driver också skivbolaget Shinkoyo, och även
där är han snart aktuell med en ny platta. Det verkar
bra, för trots att alla hackar och piper numera så
är det här är tillräckligt trevligt för
att fortsätta hålla koll.
FLUID
(PL)
Nowojorska
wytwornia kierowana przez Taylor Deupree proponuje nam kolejna
podroz w swiat dlugich, ciagnacych sie jak nieskonczone struny,
electronicznych dzwiekow. Szlachetny, kliniczny i krystaliczny
miniamlizm zaburaja jednak jakies niecierpliwe strzepy komunikatow
nadawanych Morsem, atakujace znienacka cyfrowe brudy i szumy
narastajace nagle i przerezliwie. Dlugie utwory potrafia niemel
autentycznie zahipnotyzowac, szczegolnie zes w sluchawkech ta
oszczedna muzyka moze odslonic swoje drugie starennie przemyslane
dno. - Maciek Sienkiewicz
GONZO
CIRCUS (BE)
Doron
Sadja onderzockt de toepassing van moderne technologieen in
de muziek en ontwikkelt daarbij een passie voor klanket die
met de gehoorgrens flirten. Op de cd A Piece of String, A Sunset
bewerkt bij extreem hoge en lage tonen die werden opgewekt door
respectievelijk een gitaar en een vioolsnaar. Naast de te verwachten
geluiden die door evaringsdeskundigen wel eens als piepknor
worden omschreven, zorg Sadja ook voor enkele ritmische microgolvende
momenten die zeker in de smaak zullen vallen bij koptelefoonjunkies
die houden van hersegymnastick à la Pan Sonic of Thomas
Brinkmann. Zoals gewoonlijk hebben ook deze 12k releases een
oplage van duizend exemplaren.
GROOVES
(US)
This
is Doron Sadja's debut release on 12k, and it could hardly be
more impressive. Working with pitches on or near the threshold
of human hearing, Sadja has constructed five stunning pieces
of visceral electronics whose very physical impact on the listener
is not unlike that of Pan sonic of COH. On A Piece of String,
A Sunset, Sadja uses nearly identical sinewaves throughout
in a manner that at times is almost exquisitely painful, raising
your blood pressure and the hairs on the back of your neck.
This is not typical ascetic microsonic fare, though Sadja, who
is currently styding music and technology at Oberlin College,
can create razor sharp clicks and pops with the best of them
- on track 4 (all tracks are untitled), he even conjures up
a refined serving of microhouse. But it is with the more abstract
pieces, such as the rumbling closing track, that Sadja really
seals the deal: Starting almost inaudibly, it then unleashes
rumbling low tones that threaten to overwhelm your circadian
rhythms before letting you off the hook with some quasi-dreamy
guitar work. Very impressive, indeed. - Susanna Bolle
HAUNTED
INK (US)
If
nothing else, Doron Sadja's A Piece of String, a Sunset wins
the award for most imaginative album title by a 12k artist (though
that's hardly a contest, considering the label's penchant for
one-word titles like Varied, Occur, Dust, and After). But Sadja's
first solo effort has a lot more going for it than a mere title.
While this work might not have any of the overpowering joy of
Sogar's Apikal Blend or any of the cool precision of 0/R's Varied,
it possesses an originality, a vibrancy, and a beauty that makes
it the equal of anything else in the 12k catalogue--which is
to say, any music you're likely to hear this year.
This album, like many 12k works, is built around a concept.
Unlike other 12k works, the concept here is not thematic but
sound-based. Basically, Sadja took barely perceptible sine waves
and digitally fused them with random crackles of noise and some
odd guitar and violin loops. With these source sounds, Sadja
created five different tracks, each one making use of the same
sounds but in different ways.
On the first track, a hissing sine wave pattern is stretched
out for about ten minutes, while bits and pieces of noise mix
with a pool of long, cold, wet hisses (that last, yes, for about
three days). There are even echoes of Conet-like Morse code
signals crawling through the mire of noise and confusion. The
end result of this garbage burrito of noise is disturbing, to
say the least. On first listen, it reminded me of standing waist-deep
in a sewage processing plant. By the third listen, the sewage
was up to my neck.
Track two isn't that much happier, though it does features an
actual pulsing beat, which is only occasionally interrupted
by a wet hiss, some high-pitched twinkling sounds, and a long,
drunken buzz. It's an interesting work simply because it manages
to be both creepy and funky at the same time--a difficult feat!
The other three tracks offer a similar eclectic collage of sounds
and song structures, with the added bonus that they are a lot
happier (or at least a little less creepy). Track three, the
shortest track, features some silence, some noisy violin screeches,
and what I think is a female voice wailing and breathing slowly.
Track four features an almost Autechre-like distorted beat mixed
with a soothing synth melody. The similarity to early Autechre
makes this the weakest track on the album, though it is (I must
admit) a pleasant change from the static-filled, ultra minimalism
of other 12k works. Finally, track five--the finest track on
this or any 12k release--takes an amazing, Fennesz-like guitar
loop and builds a distorted symphony around it that bristles,
crackles, and sputters along in a half-recognizable stupor for
six minutes, only to emerge in full clarity for a few moments,
before it slowly descends back into distortion through a wash
of echoes and silence. This is a remarkably powerful ending
to a remarkably powerful album.
My favorite album of 2002 was Inflation (*0 0.000 Remix), an
album that proved that, in this age of digital manipulation
of sound, nothing can be literally transformed into anything.
Sadja's A Piece of String, a Sunset proves not only that simple
sound sources can be transformed into any kind of musical experiment
the artist desires, but that these experiments can also result
in works of true emotional power for the listener. If you've
never given 12k Records a chance before, I'd suggest you start
with this one.
JADE
(FR)
Taylor
Deupree, nous donne l’occasion de découvrir l’univers
tout en nuance de Doron Sadja. Des nuances ciselés, discrètes,
qui se dévoilent dans les fibres de la moquette, dans
les stries du parquet, à une échelle infra-cellulaire,
où l’ouïe doit nécessairement prendre
le pas sur la vue. A piece of string, a sunset, est divisé
en 5 mouvements comme autant d’explorations et de réflexions
sur l’amplitude, la matière sonore acoustique, les
sound files et autre sinewaves. Une musique qu’on devine
comme une balise, isolée au large des côtes, envoyant
dans l’immense silence de l’océan son message
codé, pulsations anonymes en quête d’humanité.
D’une approche au départ assez abstraite et limpide,
rappelant des artistes comme Cordell Klier ou Comae, Doron Sadja
laisse doucement dériver ses pensées vers des
champs plus nuancés, où les rythmiques statiques,
blanches de limpidité façon Pan Sonic, Ryoji Ikeda
se mêlent à des approches ultra minimale de la
musique façon Microwave rec. Cette analyse n’enlève
rien au caractère captivant, aux potentialités
mélodiques de sa musique, le 4ème mouvement étant
l’exemple parfait d’un croisement entre une petite
harmonie répétitive et belle parsemée de
poussières de rythmes éphémères.
JJ.
LA
VANGUARDIA (ES)
Electronica
"Una pieza de cuerda, un atardecer", hermoso y muy
satiniano titulo para un disco que etrana bajo su aparente solipsismo
una de las experiencias aurales mas emocionantes de los ultimos
meses. Debut del estadounidense Doron Sadja, esta obra anexiona
exremos sin por ello resultar extrema. Siliencios abisales y
frecuencias sorprendentemente puras, de una gran belleza, son
invocados en cinco extensos pasajes de elctronica fluctuante,
y aun asi demasiaso trascendente para ser constrendia al marbete
ambiental, que progresa sobre variaciones casi impreceptibles
de tono y amplitud que arrullan hasta finalmente, atrapar al
oyente a su interior. Toda una experiencia para los sentidos.
PHOSPHOR
(DE)
Doron
Sadja, a native of Los Angeles, is currently studying Technology
In Music And Related Arts (TIMARA) at the Oberlin Conservatory
of Music in Ohio. Frustrated with rock bands, he began experimenting
with old synthesizers and 2-tracks made of dumpster pieces,
creating pseudo noisepieces. Eventually moving towards computer
based music, his projects still include homemade electronic
instruments and cassette experiments. Doron Sadja's debut album
has been released by one of the most innovative and interesting
labels worldwide called 12k. Doron Sadja's debut release, A
piece of string, a sunset, contains five tracks, of which three
are quite long. The first track slowly fades from near the threshold
of human audibility to a deep vibrating and fluctuating bass,
which has been accentuated by Morse codes, metallic scraping
and sporadic noise. The second track, also about twelve minutes
long, fades from nothingness as well, till a low-key atomic
void occurs, which develops in the excellent combination of
a Pan Sonic-like deep beat, electric twitters and occasional
buzzes. The third track is completely different from the rest,
featuring a quite short metallic scraping outburst, which disappears
just as mysterious as it came. This 2.46 minute long track is
followed by a sad stuttering clicks and cuts piece, with moments
of white gritty noise interwoven. The last track reminds of
the first one, due to a sparse pulse low rumbling frequencies
and the continuously present expressive meandering of a sol
pont violin (played by Amie Weiss) and loops of manipulated
guitar (played by John Anderson) forming a highly synthetic
yet still organic body of music. Doron has collaborated with
12k's Motion, during a recent extended stay in London (a portion
of which will be released on the 12k/LINE double CD compilation
in autumn 2003). This masterpiece makes you look forward to
his upcoming Shinkoyo release, the electronic music label he
co-founded. info@shinkoyo.com
TERZ
(DE)
Elektronic,
die in ihrer Experimentalität sehr weit und tief geht und
der man ihr durchdachtes Konzept nicht wirklich anhört,
was der Wirkung enorm gut tut. So wirkt das Konzept wie ein
klares Wunder, die Physik wird Mysterium. Doron studiert Musiktechnologie
in Ohio und ist Mitbetreiber des labels Shinkoyo. Fünf
Stücke für nächtliche Spaziergängen per
Headphone. Schwer empfohlen.
TOUCHING EXTREMES (IT)
Working mostly on the borders of humanly audible frequencies
and dividing the octave scale into 144 pitches, Doron Sadja
gives life to music which is difficult, powerful, intense and
delicate - all at the same time. To put it mildly, I don't think
everyone can appreciate this kind of expressive means, as there
must be great attention to the way in which frequencies manifest
themselves (and you also have to be a bit careful not to over-expose
your ear to them). But those of you who have the patience will
be surely rewarded by talkative pulses, purring lows, electro/splitting
harmonic waves and the occasional instrument approaching the
whole (electric guitar and violin are involved too, in various
parts of the record). Sadja's sound makes a good impression,
revealing depth and not running after someone.
YOT
(DE)
Seit
Jahresbeginn veröffentlicht 12k seine CDs in schön
gestaltenen Digipacks, die schmalen Plastik-Cases von früher
sind passé. Ein Zugeständnis an den Massengeschmack
ist das noch lange nicht, wie auch Herr Sadja aus San Francisco
sofort musikalisch klarstellt. Langsam und gleichzeitig mit
vielen leicht schmerzenden Sinustönen surrt er los, die
Musik öffnet sich dann in der zweiten Hälfte des Albums
etwas, wird atmosphärischer. Mikroskopische Cut-Ups treten
an die Stelle der stehenden Töne, was besonders bei Track
4 zu verzücken weiß.
