ELOY, JEAN-CLAUDE - REMINISCENCES (4CD)

"To achieve these four works (Incantation, Confrontation, Contemplation, Oppression-Liberation), I relied on the sound elements used for the creation of my former work Yo-In, from which I recycled all the electroacoustic parts created at the Institute of Sonology of the University of Utrecht in 1979/1980. I relied also on the huge amount of samples and recordings of percussion instruments made at my request by the japanese percussionist Sumire Yoshihara, in 1979, at the Studio of Electronic Music of Radio NHK in Tokyo ; a studio where I had worked a lot in 1977/1978 (realization of Gaku-no-Michi). This, for the purpose of transforming this work into an entirely electroacoustic work, freed from the heavy practical constraints of the 1980 version (sound theater for an imaginary ritual), produced with the wonderful participation of Michael W. Ranta. In other words, my aim was to refocus on the most characteristic sound sources of this work : sirens boats ; sounds from nature (solfatares, volcanoes, wind, rain, waves.) ; african bird song ; noise from machines and factories ; not to mention the many samples of metal, wood and skin percussion instruments. With this new composition, I turn my back on the « live » aspects that were strongly present since the creation of Yo-In and i have good chances of making the listener focus on the « power of listening », on perception, on the concentration of consciousness around the concrete sound phenomena that were at the source of this work. We are now dealing with a celebration of sound, an acoustic celebration, through the many metamorphoses of its materials and the specific theme of each work." (Jean-Claude Eloy)