GAL - BESTIMMUNG NEW YORK (CD - USED vg+/m-)

"austrian composer bernhard gal found 15 friends or 15 acquaintances in new york, each whom spoke a different language, from yiddish to filipino to urdu. and recorded them saying the same phrases: groups of numbers, 'i love you', more. he then got to work, layering and altering the tapes, re-arranging the words, slowing down and speeding up, multiplying and shrinking one language at a time: a cross-section of meaning, translation, repetition, and visceral speaking qualities is the result. these pastiches are like wandering through the new york subways in a dream, the clacking of the tracks replaced by the words and overlapping musings of the passengers surrounding you. disorienting in sound, orienting in thought, gorgeous and dense. a reminder of how it's not what you say, it's also not what language you say it in; it's how you say it." (robin edgerton, other music, new york)