info:
Olaf Rupp-"Mai"
The thirty five year old guitar player Olaf Rupp is living in
the Berlin ground of improvised music. He played regularly in
the bands Beastieshopbeach and Stol. Beastieshopbeach play a kind
of improvised electro-acoustic, which is conceptually orientated
on the composition techniques of film and radioplay. Stol had
released a kind of PostPostRock 12" vinyl on german label Kitty
Yo but split after that. He is also member of the ensembles of
Wolfgang Fuchs and Butch Morris and worked with leading musicians
like Paul Lovens, Rudi Mahall, Harri Sjöström, Sainkho Namtschylak,
Matt Wand, Dietmar Diesner and Johannes Bauer.
1998 was an important if not crucial year for Olaf Rupp. Concentrating
on soloplaying, exploring the instrument in an isolatet context
was the central focus. Playing solo always means exploring the
material and opening, widening the limits, reduction to the core
in order to unfold the vocabulary. Retreat and preparation to
new starts. Almost every month Rupp recorded some improvisations,
which in their density, matureness and independence almost reveal
the character of an opus - but this was already undermined by
creating another new recording only a few weeks later. The relatedness
to a moment in time is more important to Rupp than claims of a
piece of music for being presumably absolute. In these recordings
Rupp threspassed the pure guitar playing and presented also works
for liveelectronics. But even their connectionn to the guitar
is obvious, Not only is he handling them with a similar virtuosity
and inspiration. His liveelectronics are mostly his guitar effects
processors which he has connected in that way, that theis humming
and bussing' (aftereffects of the big bang, as he explaines it)
and their internalfeedbacks and unpredictable distortions turn
into a massive sonic output which Rupp controls and manipulates
in realtime. The recordings were made at his Elbestudios in Berlin
Neukölln, They were put in tape and set out like a message in
a bottle. One of those lost messages got through to Cologne to
the producers of the label Sieben: "Mai"
But first things first
In January it was "African Eve" (ready mastared waiting to be
published) February "Faro" both of them combining guitar and liveelectronics.
A month later: 'März", improvisations on guitar only. After that
the present "Mai" the 12" is part of the whole thing which is
called "Zoom".In sunmer Olaf Rupp together whlth his comrade Götz
Rogge were sorting out material for the first release of Beastieshopbeach.
It way released in november on the Cologne label GROB in ultra
limited number - a reedited rerelease is expected for september
1999. Next works were September, probably his most hermetical
and worked out guitar solos which are also released on CD at GROB.
Then "Feed The Birds" (november)( For the time being it is unknown
whether there is an October or not)
1999 a year of opening up, stepping out. Solo concerts, Festival
gigs, Freenoise Trio "Koro" etc. His latest product "Sun" is again
solo guitar, more open, relaxed but also more self reflective.
"Mai" is made without guitar ,only electronics. It starts with
a mighty boom - dark, black waves coming up to your ears. But,
it is obvious, it is not the shocking effect of extreme frequencies
that it is after. By listening more carefully ( and improvisation
is the art of listening carefully) you find meticoulously levelled
sound layers, sediments, incrusted, petrified protozoons. Mai
is sound geology, But Rupp goes beyond this amazement at the materialization
of sound and the physical presence of sound. Still it is him who
sets the parameters of this music in order:' to work his way through
them. The connection of the two parameters linearity (progression
of connected sounds) and texturality (multiple layers of sound)
leads to the sudden impression that the music is at the same time
overwhealming and (really!) playful. Mai is an example of how
control in improvisation can lead to another expression. Then
control does not mean any more fanatism and affection to security.
(how can I exclude every unpredictable, events from my music =
composition as a neurosis) but souvereign reflexive and lithe
handling of (unruly) material. Unnessesary excursions shall not
be made. Mai wants to be compared only to itsself. Olaf Rupp is
very serious about his music.
But above all Mai is a lump, a hunk a lot of stuff on a 12". Springtime
in Berlin - God knows , not the season to eat ice cream.
Felix Klopotek (translated from German)
press:
reviews & interviews & soundsamples
links:
audiosemantics rupp's homepage
grob more releases by rupp