Label: Gruenrekorder - GRUEN092

世界でも主要な川の一つとして知られるチベット高原に源流のあるメコン川。ラオス、カンボジア、ベトナムへと南下をしながら、そのメコン川の恩恵を受ける周辺の生命のサウンド(人間の生活音等も)を記録したという非常に興味深い作品。流麗な水の音、動物の声がこだまするジャングル、川の周辺で遊ぶ子供達の声等、異なる現場の音風景がスローにミックスされるという、なんとビル・フォンタナの構成を意識した？という非常に完成度の高い音源。かなり加工されていますが、これはこれで素晴らしい環境音作品。



Merzouga: Eva Pöpplein & Janko Hanushevsky. Field-Recordings taken by Merzouga in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, autumn 2008. Composed by Merzouga in Cologne, summer 2009. Commissioned and produced by Deutschlandradio Kultur-Klangkunst. Premiere broadcast on November 6, 2009. 'The Mekong River is one of the world's major rivers. On its more than 4.000 km long way from its source in the Tibetan Plateau to the Delta in South Vietnam it passes an altitude difference of 5.000 km, travels through seven countries, three climatic zones and three different culture areas. On an extensive journey Eva and I followed the lower course of the Mekong River and travelled downstream through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. On its way the Mae Nam Khong, the 'Mother River of All Things', creates all life around it. It determines the flora and fauna, floods rice-fields and synchronizes the life of people. Everywhere along its banks buzzing, fertile, tropical life shoots up. We set off with our microphone to collect the sounds that this bustling activity of life creates. A significant compositional approach is the metamorphosis and the merging of sounds. We examine field-recordings in regard to their musical qualities ('Music in the sense of meaningful sound-patterns'- Bill Fontana) and fuse them with electronically processed electric bass sounds. The piece's compositional arc is inspired by the lower course of the river that flows in a gigantic crescendo-movement towards the sea. As a poetic musical analogy to the dark jungle river we use my prepared bass guitar, this long-waved instrument that generates all the musical sounds in the composition. Using Chinese chopsticks, golf balls, knitting needles and wine corks I have been systematically altering and expanding the sound spectrum of my instrument for the past decade. We embark upon an acoustic journey that begins on the banks of the Mekong but reaches far beyond them. Just like the traveler entering the tropical foreignness, the listener enters an acoustic place that quickly condenses into an unreal world of metamorphosis. (Janko Hanushevsky)'.