SAVVAS
YSATIS + TAYLOR DEUPREE "THE SLEEPING MORNING"
(12K2007)
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FEATURED
REVIEW:
THE
WIRE (UK)
This jewel-like release is the product of a collaboration restored
reather than newly minted. The relationship between Ysatis and
Deupree dates back to the early 1990s, when the pair's various
projects including SETI and Futique, not to mention a sound
design project for architect Toyo Ito's Tower of WInds building
in Yokohama. Their first work together after more than a decade
has a winningly tentative quality: over the course of this brief,
four track collection, ideas blossom and confidence builds as
musical tendrils are first suggested, then accepted, then explored.
The sounds for the most part are soft, the melodies diffident
and unresolved, with plucked notes from autoharp or acoustic
guitar hanging, glittering, among clouds of analogue synthesis.
But there's a genuine sense of progress: this is music making,
not Ambient aimlessness. Indeed, a couple of tracks approach
the condition of song: both "Listen to the Morning Sleeping"
and "The Youthful Sea" feature Deupree's seldom heard
vocals, and his breathy murmur provides an undemonstrative extra
dimension. On this evidence, Ysatis & Deupree should be
planning another, more substantial reunion. (Chris Sharp)
BLACK
(DE)
Taylor Deupree ist nun vollständig im Laptop-Folk angekommen.
Früher hat er mit Savvas Ysatis als Arc, SETI, und Futique
Ambient und Techno gemacht. Dann gaab es 10 Jahre Funkstille.
Jetzt experimentieren sie in den Mikrowelten akustischer Instrumente
und knirschender Mikrochip-Schaltkreise. Sogar gesungen wird
diesmal. Gehauchte Singer/Songwriter-Melancholie. Summen, dröhnen,
klingen, wabern: Die Stimmung könnte nicht erdverbundener
sein. Summende Mikros und Synthies, hölzerner Raumklang,
knacksende Feldaufnahmen-Atmmo. Und dazu zarte Melodien. "The
Sleeping Morning" klingt wie es der Titel verspricht. Schön.
- T™
BLOW
UP (IT)
Un ex eroe minore della nu electronica (Ysati) e un maggiore
delle microwaves s'incontrano sulla strada della ballata astratta,
il primo ad autoharp, chitarra, eletrronicherie e voce, il secondo
al computer, alle percussioni, al triangolo e alle elettronicherie.
Reservoir suona come una trasfigurazione del tempa
di "Twin peaks", Listen to the Morning Sleeping
trasporta i Pink Floyd in un universo di soffici micronuvolette
wave, The Youthful Sea e una specie di svagata ninna
nanna country. Piacevole. - (6/7) Stefano I. Bianchi
BODYSPACE
(PT)
Não será por mero acidente que o nome de Taylor
Deupree obtém, com mais esta resenha apontada a si, lugar
cativo entre o restrito grupo de artistas que me mereceram cinco
ou mais destaques aqui pelo atelier onde a boa música
é o Alá de cada um. Também Taylor Deupree
é - passe o exagero - uma espécie de despretensioso
Alá, se atendermos a que, de disco para disco, é
menor o número de passos que o separa de um domínio
omnipotente do som e das suas aplicações. Sem
nunca ter usufruído muito dos efeitos vantajosos que
teria a exposição da sua cidadania nova-iorquina,
o autor de Stil. não deixa, mesmo assim, de evidenciar
qualidades pessoais úteis à sobrevivência
na big apple: a sofisticação, a capacidade de
reinvenção e um alcance visionário que
impede cada trabalho de parecer datado logo à nascença.
Ajuda isso a salientar que The Sleeping Morning não se
parece exactamente com nada do que tinha feito até aqui
Deupree e, contudo, também não constitui golpe
de ruptura desferido sobre um passado imperturbavelmente sólido
(e repleto de pontos altos, desde January ao mais recente Northern).
Ao invés disso, surge o curto EP como natural resultado
do reencontro que levou Taylor Deupree a reactivar a interacção
com o grego Savvas Ysatis, após uma década de
interregno, que os separa das colaborações mantidas
nos projectos Futique, Arc e SETI (nome que mais se salienta
pelo trio de discos gloriosamente alienígenas em reserva).
Dada a sua especial vocação para reunir dois cúmplices
separados, não se estranha que The Sleeping Morning se
adeqúe gradualmente a um registo solene e se fixe num
terreno neutro que admite a adesão de corpos digitais
vários (mais espairecidos e superficiais do que é
habitual em Deupree), assim como de uma voz humedecida por um
eco que torna mais submersa a manhã também pontuada
por outros ruminares rítmicos e repetições
de sons que gotejam.
A coleccionável edição da 12 k vai-se assumindo,
enfim, como um diálogo atentamente zeloso em relação
aos seus discursos, entretanto tornados oráculo conjunto
das propriedades do som quando banhado por um orvalho que impede
que sejam bruscos os movimentos de componentes orgânicas
ainda atrofiadas pelo pesar matinal. A repetição
dos termos rise and fall, no âmago de "Listen to
the Morning Sleeping", é indicativa do sentido verticalmente
oscilante que percorrem as névoas texturais, à
medida que procuram descobrir a saída a um elaborado
jardim que nunca dispôs de tal coisa, assumindo-se sempre
como cíclico e autónomo. The Sleeping Morning
é impalpável malha onde se perdem os sentidos.
Quem procura um contacto quase curativo com uma electro-acústica
altamente propícia à meditação,
pode confiar a sua alma ao Taylor Deupree dos dias que correm.
Está bem entregue. - Miguel Arsénio
DE:BUG
(DE)
Zehn Jahre ist es her, seit Ysatis und Deupree gemeinsam im
Studio geargeitet haben und das erste gemeninsame Lebenszeichen
könnte nicht beeindruckender und überraschender sein.
Vier lange Tracks haben sie für diese EP aufgenopmmen,
die nicht nur beide in Höchstform zeigt, sondern auch dem
immer offenen Kontext von 12k mehr Nahrung gibt. Frei, ungezwungen
und fast schon klassisches Songwriting... so gehen die beiden
ihre neue Musik an. Sehr akustisch fällt zunächst
der Raum um die Instrumente herum auf. Man hört einfach
alles aus dem Studio... auch af 12k veröffentlichen echte
Menschen. Träumerisch langsam entwickeln sich die Tracks,
Vocals kommen dazu, ein alter Synth spielt dicke, wohlig klingende
Pads und erst ganz weit hinten kann man das obligatorische Fiepsen
erkennen, das sonst auf 12k den Ton angibt. Ich persönliche
komme aus dem Schwärmen gar nicht mehr raus, so wundervoll
verbinden Ysatis und Deupree heir das Beste beider
D-SIDE
(FR)
Au début des années 90, l'oeuvre commune du musicien
grec Savvas Ysatis et de son complice new-yorkais Taylor Deupree
se dévoilait à travers trois projets, Seti, Futique
et Arc, et donnait déjà une indication quant à
leur devenir futur, le duo melant déjà musique,
art et architecture en composant une piece sonore pour la tour
des vents de Yokohama de l'architecte Toyo Ito. Puis, de déménagement
en nouvelles obligations, Ysatis s'installant à Berlin
pour oeuvrer sur Tresor et Deupree allant fonder 12k à
New York, les liens avaient fini par se distendre, et les deux
partenaires à travvailler séparément. Il
auara pourtant suffi d'une visite d'une semaine de Savvas Ysatis
à New York pour que leur collaboration reprenne, inaltérée,
simplement nourrie de leurs dix années d'activités
en solitaire respectives. Enregistrés rapidement, et
pratiquement sans modification ultérieure, les quatre
titres de The Sleeping Morning témoignent d'une maitrise
rare dans les croisements musicaux, qui voient Ysatis s'emparer
d'une guitare acoustique à cinq cordes, d'effets et de
résonances, et meme chanter (!) d'une voix bleme, tandis
que Deupree se charge de l'informatique, des field recordings
et des percussions. Il en résulte quatre moments apaisés,
à la fois complexe et accrocheurs, où les éléments
se répondent et se jaugent avant de se fondre les uns
dans les autres, ou Deupree et Ysatis retrouvent leurs marques
tout en en ouvrant d'inédites, fécondes, pour
une collaboration renouvelée dont on attend pour l'avenir
bien plus que ce trop court EP.
ELEGY
(FR)
Photographe, graphiste, habilleur sonore, le New Yorkais Taylor
Deupree a créé, il y a déja plus de dix
ans, le label 12k qui a sorti de véritables petits bijoux
d'electronica, d'ambient et autres musiques électroniques
minimalistes, toujours présentés sous de tres
jolies pochettes. Citons parmi eux Minamo, Moskitoo, Sé
bastien Roux, Seaworthy, Sogar ou l'excellent Northern signé
par le maitre de ces lieux. Poursuivant le travail de collaboration
qu'il affectionne particulierment, le voice en compagnie du
Grec Savvas Ysatis, un viewx compagnon de route puisq'ils ont
sévi ensemble au début des années 1990
sous les noms de SETI, Futique, et Arc. Ce format court fait
pourtant figure d'événement puisq'il s'agit de
leur premiere collaboration depuis dix ans. Une instrumentation
acoustique (guitare, autoharp, percussion) caressée dans
le sense du poil par les machines et enregistrée dans
les conditions du live. La production est simple, l'idée
étant de saisir l'atmosphere meme de la piece qui donne
a l'ensemble une couleur douce et chaude. La folk organique
ainsi offerte (dans un packaging 100% recyclé et biodégradable)
est délicate et nous fait simplement regretter de ne
pas durer quelques minutes de plus...
GO
MAG (ES)
Ambient pop. Lleva tiempo alejado de la farandula, pero a Savvas
Ysatis habrá que recordarle siempre porque fue él
aquien le dio la alternativa al gran Taylor Deupree, el que
guió sus pasos en los primeros tiempos (juntos grabaron
como Arc y SETI), le enseñó lo que era el minimalismo
digital y le llevo de la manita a sellos como Instinct Ambient
o Mille Plateaux. Seis años después de su última
colaboracion, maestro y alumno se han vuelto a juntar, y lo
más curioso del invento es que la cuatro canciones que
contiene suenan a pop. Pop marciano, alambicado, y lleno de
requibros digitales, de acuerdo, pero pop a fin de cuentas,
con sus melodias de dulce, sus progresiones amables y sus bonitas
voces (cortesia del propio Ysatis, quién lo iba a decir).
Todo construido, eso si, alrededor de bombos perdidos en la
distancia, de bucles de piano, brabaciones de campo y bajos
al borde del espasmo. Un perfecto ejemplo de pop asténico,
deshuesado y maravilloso (un rollo muy Nine Horses, para que
me entiendan), situado en tierra de nadie. Queremos más.
- Vidal Romero.
GONZO
CIRCUS (BE)
Het is niet de eerste keer dat Taylor Deupre en Savvas Ysatis
samenwerken. Midden in de jaren 1990 bezorgden ze de befaamde
architect Toyo Ito de soundtrack voor zijn project Tower of
Winds. Plaatwerk als SETI, Arc, en Futique volgden, waarop hun
wegen splitsten. Ysatis bract platen later nog uit op het Berlinjse
Tresor, terwijl Deupree zijn eigen 12k label opstartte. Tien
jaar na hun vorige samenwerking werken de twee opnieuw samen
voor de miniplaat "The Sleeping Morning". Deupree
drukt aardig zijn stempel op de plaat, maar geeft ook de nodige
ruimte aan Ysatis, wat ervoor zorgt dat het geen klassieke 12k
plaat is geworden. Vooral de suikerzoete aanpak en de microscopische
klanktapijten die omzichtig en met veel hoge tonen ingekleurd
worden, onderstrepen die stelling. Maar het is toch vooral het
slotnummer, "The Youthful Sea," met vocalen van Ysatis,
dat het meest opvalt. Dat Taylor Deupree zich aan een popsong
waagt, is misschien wel de belangrijkste verdienste van "The
Sleeping Morning" dat op zich een verdienstelijke, maar
geen uitzonderlijke plaat geworden is.
GROOVE
(DE)
Gegen diese Gleichsetzung von Endlich - mit Unendlichkeit wirken
selbst Savvas Ysatis + Taylor Deupree mit "The Sleeping
Morning" wie Speed Metal. Die Athen-New-Yorker-Kollabo
lässt ihre Autoharps und analogen Synthesizer in Zeitlupe
kommunizieren und träumt den schönen Traum der Electronica....
JAZZTHETIK
(DE)
Auch Savvas Ysatis + Taylor deupree nehmen auf The Sleeping
Morning die Umgebungsgeräusche auf, allerdings nur
die, die als Tone im Raum sowieso anfallen: das Hinsetezen des
Schlagzeugers, erste Anschläge auf der Gitarre un sonstige
instrumentengeräusche, die nicht als richtig gespielt durchgehen.
Aber dann entwickeln sie darauf ihre Songs, bauen sie langsam
auf und halten sie wunderschön in der Schwebe.. Das angenehme
ist daran dann eben nicht nur eine Melodie, die sie zu Gehör
bringen, sondem eben auch das gesamte Drumherum. Den Songs tut
es ungemein gut, dass sie nicht nachträglich noch editiert
worden sind, es gibt ihnen eine warme, fast schon vertraute
Atmosphäre. Dass das einmal aus den zwischenzeitlicht unterschiedlichen
Wegen, die Ysatis bei Tresor und Deupree mit der Gründung
des Labels 12k gegangen sind, hervorsprießen würde,
war nicht unbedingt zu erwarten.
MUSIQUEMACHINE
(.COM)
This ep is rather lovely, haunting and melodic collaboration
between greek guitarist Savvas Ysatis and ambient/ electroinca
artist Taylor Deupree.The four tracks on offer bring together
organic guitar textures, electronics and forays into atmospheric
electo pop.
As the cover and the ep title suggests this has a very hazy
slow moving feel about it, which is licked by melodic warmth
often giving one that cosy in front of the fire feeling. The
tracks unfold at their own rate weaving out often intricate
patterns of electronics and guitar textures, but it always feels
so effortless and half-a- sleep manner. With only the last track
slipping out of the sleepy vibe into more up-beat electro guitar
pop vibe. Two tracks here have vocals by Ysatis on them, though
his voice is rather unremarkable electronica spoken word mould
it’s passable and fits nicely with the material, with
the other two tracks are vocal-less. I was very much reminded
of Boards of Canada, as the electronic elements have that sort
of retro glow to them- with track two listen to the Morning
sleeping synth unfold been particular BOC like. But as with
anything with Deupree involved this has its own personality
and high quality about it.
A highly enjoyable foray into electronica, meets guitar, meets
atmospheric pop, With it’s just over twenty minute running
time prime for been put on repeat again and again- let’s
hope the pair do a full length soon.
NEURAL
(IT)
This release could be seen as a sort of 'reunion', the reunion
of Savvas Ysatis and Taylor Dupree after ten years of different
choices. Together, they seem to recapture the conceptual approach
of their origins (Futique, Arc, Seti...these were their monikers
in the early Nineties), and everything is now made more robust
by a remarkable technical precision. Interactions that, especially
in their mental openness to specific 'settings', define well
the field of operations in which to rigorously focus sounds
and ideas. In the specific case of the four long and melodic
tracks of 'The Sleeeping Morning', in fact, all the instruments
were played directly into the sequencer, just with small edits,
leaving further manipulations for a later time, calibrating
the atmospheres in a sort of 'experimental micro-folk' with
pop influences, oblique but very intense and inspired. - Aurelio
Cianciotta
OCTOPUS
(FR)
Dix ans après leurs collaborations régulières
sous l'étiquette SETI, Futique ou Arc, les musiciens
Taylor Deupree et Savvas Ysatis recroisent leur route le temps
d'un The Sleeping Morning confessionnel. Confession du temps
qui passe mais aussi qui s'estompe derrières ces volutes
musicales à la fois frêles et tendues, confession
d'une complicité retrouvée autour de paysages
rêveurs, délicats, où collages sonores légers,
instrumentation acoustique et lévitations digitales dressent
un regard délicat sur cette intimité de l'instant.
Sorte de folk-music gonflée par les détails microphoniques,
la musique de ce (trop) court The Sleeping Morning prend étrangement
toute son ampleur sur les deux pièces chantées
("Listen to the morning sleeping" et "Under your
breath"), instaurant un flottement pop/psyché subtil
et enivrant. - Laurent Catala
OX
(DE)
Aus einer ähnlichen Richtung bewegt sich "The Sleeping
Morning" von Savvas Ysatis + Taylor Deupree auf uns zu,
aber mit den feinen Unterschied, dass dieses beiden Urgesteine
der Experimentalmusik dabei nie den reinen Klang über den
Song stellen. Durch den zusatzlichen Verzicht auf moernes Erzeugungs-
und Aufnahmeequipment entsteht hier etwas Einzigartiges. Die
Musk hat eine so erfischende Natürlichkeit, die sanft und
ausgewogen wirkt, dass man Angst, hat die Töne würden
gleich wie Seifenblasen im Raum zerplatzen, aber sie werden
immer weitergetragen und verweben sich wie selbstverständlich
zu einer filigranen Klangwolke. Die Musik ist so luftig und
leicht, dass sie nicht mal del Ansatz von überladenheit
andeutet und auch nach dem x-ten Durchlauf wie ungehört
wirkt und immer wieder majestätisch davon schwebt. Die
perfekt Balance zwischen anspruchsvoller, zurückhaltender
Elektronik und zeitlosen Singer/Songwriter-Elementen.
PLAN
B (UK)
Golden leaves wrapped around tiny crystalline structures. Frail
and fragmentary, like the plaintive whisper songs of Dean Roberts
or Mark Hollis, baptised by the sunlight that comes breaking
through a bedroom window on a cold winter day. The lush fruits
of a friendship, one between an Athenian and a New Yorker, that
has been rekindled after a ten year hiatus, retaining its musical
connection. Alien autobahns gradually dismantled by restless
ghosts in micro-sound, taking their direction from maps forged
from country streams and Jupiter-8s. The Sleeping Beauty is
simply the x and y of a nebula of orange vapours, the co-ordinates
of this deep macrocosmic stain called love and the codex of
remembrance, i.e. nostalgia. Ysatis and Deupree may have tapped
into the remedy for our modern day blues, helping us to recognise
them for what they are and then mirroring them in their creations:
concepts ephemeral. - Spencer Grady
ROCKERILLA
(IT)
In una carriera che rappresenta un vero esempio di talento e
professionalita, la nuova collaborazione fra Savvas Ysatis e
Taylor Deupree sembra porre per entrambit nuove fondamenta musicali.
Con "The Sleeping Morning" la 12k realizza un magnifico
intarsio fra dilatazione sonora, melodia minimale e maestria
elettroacustica, un congegno ad orologeria che spazia dal pop
alle magie digitali degli anni 2000. La voce di Ysatis, che
poggia su un tappeto di field recording, glockenspiel e chitarra
acustica, e perfettamente dosata e chiara come vuole la tradizione
indie. La musica, d'altro canto, potrebbe reggere il confronto
con tutte le recenti uscite Line e 12k, mostrando alla scena
europea (ed in particolare tedesca) che e ancora possibilie
realizzare qualcosa di unico partendo da un background comune.
THE
SILENT BALLET (.COM)
It is an interesting concept; melting classically inclined,
chamber style acoustic musings with numb, void electronic acid,
The Sleeping Morning is a demonstration of electro-acoustic
experimentation in an interestingly sparse and spacey medium.
Bells, whistles, sine waves, and processed percussion mingle
with airy lines of beat-less acoustic breath. Roaming synths
provide a sense of delicate ambience and warmth, speaking volumes
in long, droning phrases.
This release has a definitively free feeling to it. Without
consistent time or percussion, the different harmonic elements
are free to roam, drifting through ideas and phrases in the
space between structure and chaos. Vocals move through repetitious
lines, “rise and fall, rise and fall...” A somewhat
psychedelic vibe runs through the crackling, reverbed tracks,
communicating a smoky grey calm. The Sleeping Morning drips
cool. A Tim Leary and Ken Kesey cool -- a sort of detached significance
that flows from inner peace and experience. This album demonstrates
that quality of experience and maturity best. There are no gimmicks,
no cheap production tricks, just solid, powerful, laid back
electro-acoustic cool.
All of this praise does not come without some setbacks. “The
Youthful Sea” ditches all the great qualities of the first
four tracks. Here Savvas and Deupree lose the light touch and
minimal musings that made the first tracks great. Vocals on
this track are stereotypical, derivative of one of the world’s
most overrated musicians, Beck. The music falls into all the
failings of “indietronica” and other less mature
genres of today, complete with novelty store beats and awkward
acoustic guitar sampling. It’s a shame this near dynamic
duo had to end on such a sour note.
Barring “Youthful Sea,” The Sleeping Morning shows
promise and maturity. However, it does step into occasional
cliches, as mentioned. On top of that, clocking in at 21 minutes,
it’s too short to satisfy those who want another full
on Deupree/Ysatis opus. A promising album, but not quite reaching
its full potential.
-Jack Britton
SOUND
OF MUSIC (SE)
Fyra spår av lätt elektronisk pop ringlar behagligt
fram på "The Sleeping Morning". En 20 minuter
lång roadmovie där blicken framåt läggs
på enkla melankoliska melodier. I ytterfälten syns
små ljudliga händelser som är viktiga i nuet
men snabbt passeras förbi.
På två av låtarna tar Savvas Ysatis visksjungande
sång över det visuella. Det blir lite sprödare,
men också mer finstämt. Inga tyngder som drar ner,
nej den i sammanhanget ganska traditionella instrumenteringen
med gitarr, klockspel, slagverk, autoharpa, fältinspelningar
och en hel del mer keyboardaktiga toner från dator lyfter
upp.
Det är på inga sätt märklig eller svårsmält
musik detta par skapar efter tio år på olika håll.
De hittar varandra väl och ingen av dem tar över på
den andres bekostnad. Under 90-talet samarbetade de under namnen
Seti, Futique och Arc. De spelade även in ett soundtrack
till den japanske arkitekten Toyo Itos Tower of Winds i Yokohama,
men gick sedan åt var sitt håll, Ysatis till Berlinetiketten
Tresor och Deupree startade bolaget 12k.
Jag kan inte jämföra "The Sleeping Morning"
med dessa tidiga skivor eftersom jag inte hört dem. Men
jag gillar ep:n och har lyssnat mycket på den. Den sätter
inga djupa spår, men jag blir glad i stunden.
SOUNDSCAPING (.NET)
A hibernating collaboration reawakens and is far from sleeping.
October 2007 saw the release of a new EP on the critically acclaimed
12k label based out of New York, signed the label’s owner
and none other than Savvas Ysatis – long-time collaborators
back in the mid 1990s but since their amicable split the pair
have not worked together for over 10 years. Now the audience
are graced with the fruits born out of a reborn collaboration,
which saw Ysatis leave Greece for the US for a week-long visit
and enter the studio with Taylor Deupree to “see what
came naturally” after their break.
Prior works from the two have often been born out of concepts
or constraints revolving around a certain project, like their
mid-90s recordings as SETI, Futique and Arc. This time, the
two artists seem to have gone for a direct feel, live performance
direct to multi-track with little editing, and recording with
microphones for a more spacious feel of room.. and it can be
felt, the end result is a luscious 4-track EP which has two
instrumental tracks and two semi-vocal tracks, and personally
it’s the second and fourth, the two with vocals that stand
out as truly seminal here. Ysatis and Deupree are on to a winning
formula with a lovely warm organic sound fusing something such
as a minimalism and folk, produced by the choice of instruments
like acoustic guitars, modest percussive elements and some harp-like
sounds and other synthesized goodness, including a Jupiter-8.
TERZ
(DE)
Wenn der Zorn abgeraucht ist und die Glieder sich neu strecken,
ist dieses Audio der beste Weg, um wieder Du selbst und damit
neu zu werden. Dieses Duo tönte schon in den Früh90ern
zusammen (u.a. Arc), um danach getrennte Wege zu gehen: der
Athener nahm seine Technovariante für Tresor auf, der Ex-NYer
gründete mit 12k einen der besten Imprints für transformiertes
Digitalaudio, dass seine Prozessierungen immer wieder analog
rückbindet. Kein Wunder, dass daher die erste Zusammenarbeit
seit 10 Jahren auch Autoharp, Glockenspiel und vor allem den
Raumklang als Instrument verwendet. Und Vocals! Die 4 Tracks
dieser EP sind absolut großartig geworden, ruhig, minimal,
intim, intensiv. Besseren Digital-Folk gibt's derzeit nicht
zu hören. - Marcus Maida
TOKAFI
(FR)
Searches for magical abeyance: A dormant daydream between ethereal
open-window Jazz and Vocal Ambient.
How long are ten years? Based on the renewal rates of medial
cycles, it is an eternity. When Savvas Ysatis and Taylore Deupree
first met, Ysatis was a Greek in New York, full of ambitions
and a hatching career as a techno musician, while Deupree still
earned most of his money working as a graphic designer. This
was in 1993, the year that Taylor Deupree managed to secure
himself a Roland 303 Rhythm Machine, recording the underground
classic “Acid Technology” on a single night with
his friends Jason Szostek and Dietrich Schonemann. Things were
happening everywhere, the club revolution was about to hit the
world like a tidal wave.
For four years, Deupree and Ysatis would engage in various projects
and a proliferating discography, which increasingly reflected
their interest in styles beyond the horizon of a punching four
to the floor kickdrum. When Ysatis returned home again in 1997,
this didn’t only end an immensely creative co-operation,
but also closed the page on a seminal chapter of electronic
music. The world had changed and it was time to both solidify
what had been achieved and ponder the next stage. It would take
some time before their lifelines would interesect again.
If you like, the title of this EP can be considered as an implicit
indication that we have now entered this second phase in their
relationship and as a metaphor for future ventures. The great
thing about the renewed activities between these two musicians
must surely be that they never ran the danger of ending up a
purely nostalgic affair. Admittedly, Savvas Ysatis had returned
to his techno roots at the turn of the centuries, signing a
deal with Berlin-based label Tresor and founding the similarly-minded
Sonar imprint himself. But then again, his activities were never
restricted to a single sound or a linear, formalistic production
process. Through his “12K” label, meanwhile, Deupree
has proved him to be a true romantic and a musician equally
in love with the hidden meaning underneath his textures as well
as with these textures themselves. So if “The Sleeping
Morning” comes as a huge surprise even to the initiated,
then this paradoxically only meets expectations.
Surely, it sounds like nothing they have done before. On four
tracks, Ysatis and Deupree create a warm and woozy world rising
from a delicately dormant daydream. On the one hand, acoustic
guitars, glockenspiel and percussion, all recorded with ample
room atmospherics in between them and the microphone, create
a silent pastoral sensation. On the other, smooth drone layers,
claustrophobic compressions and the voluminous stabs of a monosynth
point at an uneasy, surreal subcontext. The loose ends of the
intermittent, sleepwalking drum rolls, singular melodic motives
and chord progressions - lingering in the air like the scent
of a faint perfume - are held together by the softly sung vocals
of Savvas Ysatis. On the opening “Reservoir”, the
result is ethereal open-window Jazz, on the quasi-title track
“Listen to the Morning Sleeping” things are closer
to a hermetic kind of Vocal Ambient.
Only towards the end does the music gradually disentangle itself
from this beautifully suffocating embrace. A gentle bass beats
friendly and invitingly underneath the thin and shimmering pads
of “Under Your Breath”, while “The Youthful
Sea” even flirts with catchy melodies and slow grooves.
The message is clear: The day has broken, time to leave the
bed.
To me, what makes “The Sleeping Morning” special,
however, are not the open approximations towards other genres.
Even when structures are concrete and tangible, after all, Ysatis
and Deupree do not attempt to lay down a simple electropop pastiche.
Their approach always strives for the improvisational spontaneity
of an ensemble, searches for the magical abeyance only a group
of individuals performing in the same room can achieve. Events
in this space are determined by the intuitive logic of the moment,
not by smart concepts realised in front of a laptop.
This is why you can listen to the EP for several times on a
row without getting bored and without feeling you’ve unraveled
all of it secrets. It is also the reason why, to these artists,
ten years are nothing but the blink of an eye: Despite the immense
technological progress of the past decade, empathy and mutual
understanding still guide their creativity.
TSUGI
(FR)
Plutot renommés dans le domaine de l'électronica,
du minimalisme ou de l'ambient, le Grec Ysatis et l'American
Deupree se retrouvent dix ans aprés leurs premieres expériences
atmospheériques pour un magnifique EP annoncant la sortie
imminente d'un nouvel album. Surprise, ils renouvellent ici
entierement leur inspiration, ces quatre titre melant idéalement
une inspiration folk et pastorale, une électronique tout
en suspension, de tres beaux effets de field recordings et quelques
vocalises pop qui conferent à ce disque une belle sensation
de paresse dominicale et matinale. (JYL)
VITAL WEEKLY (NL)
This release entirely took me by surprise. Of course we know
Taylor Deupree as a man of careful digital delight, and with
some hard thinking we may remember Savvas Ysatis as the man
behind SETI, Futique and Arc and recording for Tresor. But you
would surely check the CD again when you start playing this.
Deupree and Ysatis hadn’t been working for ten years,
but recently Ysatis was back in the USA and during a week they
recorded the four tracks on this CDEP. Delicate for sure, but
the last thing I expected from these two is folktronic, yet
it’s exactly that. Folktronic. Loose drums sounds, a bass
line, some rattling percussion, a harmonium loop, a slide guitar,
all embedded in a warm sound. And oh vocals! Apart from the
releases on Happy, did we ever encounter vocals on a 12K release?
Not that I can’t remember. The voice of Ysatis remember
me of Peter van Vliet of Mekanik Kommando/Use Of Ashes; held
back, controlled, psychedelic. Songs! Vocals!! Folktronic!!!
on 12K? Yes, on 12K. This could have as easily be on Häpna,
if you catch my drift. What a great move and of course this
comes with an entirely new line of packaging. (FdW)
THE WIRE (UK)
This jewel-like release is the product of a collaboration restored
reather than newly minted. The relationship between Ysatis and
Deupree dates back to the early 1990s, when the pair's various
projects including SETI and Futique, not to mention a sound
design project for architect Toyo Ito's Tower of WInds building
in Yokohama. Their first work together after more than a decade
has a winningly tentative quality: over the course of this brief,
four track collection, ideas blossom and confidence builds as
musical tendrils are first suggested, then accepted, then explored.
The sounds for the most part are soft, the melodies diffident
and unresolved, with plucked notes from autoharp or acoustic
guitar hanging, glittering, among clouds of analogue synthesis.
But there's a genuine sense of progress: this is music making,
not Ambient aimlessness. Indeed, a couple of tracks approach
the condition of song: both "Listen to the Morning Sleeping"
and "The Youthful Sea" feature Deupree's seldom heard
vocals, and his breathy murmur provides an undemonstrative extra
dimension. On this evidence, Ysatis & Deupree should be
planning another, more substantial reunion. (Chris Sharp)
