Quote Source
"In order for music to free itself, it will have to pass over to the other side-- there where territories tremble, where the structures collapse, where the ethoses get mixed up, where a powerful song of the earth is unleashed, the great ritornello that transmutes all the airs it carries away and makes return." Gilles Deleuze
"Music is like a crystal ball that is nothing in itself, but in which one can see things. Not representing the world in music but creating a world": it is the creative act of Iannis Xenakis, "bringing into being something out of nothing. Engendering the unengendered". This CD brings together, for the very first time, the complete works that Xenakis composed for solo cello '+ 1'. They illustrate the evolution of a unique compositional trajectory, underpinned by energeia, the active creative force of Greek thought, which shapes a thing up until it happens: a proof of sound force in which energetic currents and dynamic surfaces are confronted.
æon hereby continues its collaboration with cellist Arne Deforce whose inspiration and weight of artistic evidence reach new peaks with this disc.
Hephaestus
by Arne Deforce - Mika Vaino
CD (EMEGO 187) 26 may 2014
Ancient Greek Ἥφαιστος Hēphaistos (Vulcan) – In Greek and Roman Mythology, Hephaestus was the god of fire; celestial blacksmith; craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes; son of Zeus and Hera; husband of Aphrodite. The river Phlegethon was one of the five rivers in the infernal regions of the underworld, where Hephaestus operated. Plato describes it as "a stream of fire, which coils round the earth and flows into the depths of Tartarus”. It is said that the goddess Styx was in love with Phlegethon, but she was consumed by his flames and sent to Hades.
1. Section one Phlegethon (stream of fire)
2. Section two Cocytus (river of lamentation)
3. Section three Acheron (river of woe)
4. Section four Styx (river of rage)
5. Section five Lethe (river of forgetfulness) or oblivion
6. Section six Elysium (fields of relief)
Arne Deforce : cello solo
Mika Vainio : processing, electronics
Pan Sonic’s “brutalist minimalist” Mika Vaino teams up with Belgian cellist for a “journey through the netherworld”. The record is named after the Greek god of fire 'Hephaestus', and track titles like "Cocytus (River Of Lamentation)" and "Elysium (Fields Of Relief)" burrow deeper into ancient mythology. The division of labor sees Deforce playing cello while Vainio takes care of "processing and electronics."
Arne Deforce is renowned for his passionate and unparalleled performances of contemporary and experimental music. As a soloist, his repertoire consists mainly of solo and chamber music with a special interest in work such as Iannis Xenakis, Richard Barrett, John Cage and Brian Ferneyhough.
Mika Vainio was one half of the minimal electronic duo Pan Sonic. His solo works, under his own name and under aliases like Ø, are known for their analogue warmth and electronic harshness ranging from abstract drone works or minimal avant-techno.
In Greek and Roman Mythology, Hephaestus was the god of fire; celestial blacksmith; craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes; son of Zeus and Hera; husband of Aphrodite. The river Phlegethon was one of the five rivers in the infernal regions of the underworld, where Hephaestus operated. Plato describes it as "a stream of fire, which coils round the earth and flows into the depths of Tartarus. It is said that the goddess Styx was in love with Phlegethon, but she was consumed by his flames and sent to Hades.
On this Editions Mego release, Hephaestus couples the rich acoustics of Deforce's cello techniques with the raw expressiveness of Vanio's electronics. The music reflects these ancient symbols whereby each track possesses physical, emotional and psychological states. The journey begins with ‘Phlegethon (stream of fire)' - a world of sound building in intensity and ferocity as a means of navigating the listener into this other world. Both ‘Cocytus (river of lamentation)’ and ‘Acheron (river of woe)’ explore more introspective (ambient) terrain, harnessing the players ability to conjure discrete congruous textures. From here we are hurtled into the unbridled fury of 'Styx (river of rage)' where the consummation of the individual and eternal agony resides amongst the synergetic logic adopted by the artists and their chosen tools. 'Lethe (river of forgetfulness) or oblivion' incorporates small repeating phrases and minimalist motifs which provide a sense of disorientation and dislocation for the traveller/listener whilst a world of respite is laid bare in the comforting yet brooding closing piece 'Elysium (fields of relief)'.
Hephaestus is a fascinating journey through the netherworld of human extremity presented as a combination of pure acoustic and electronic sources and realized in both physical and psychological manifestations.
Recorded in Vooruit, Ghent. 20-22 december 2011
Recording engineer : Benjamin Dousselaere
Editing and mixing : Dousselaere, Vainio, Deforce. Brussels, October 2013
Mastering : Denis Blackham @ Skye mastering
