 |
A.R.S.[e]Ashley Story Roedelius
Live at The Gatherings Concert SeriesSaturday 15 November 2008 8:00pmSt. Mary's Hamilton Village3916 Locust Walk in Philadelphia, PA |
A. R. S. [e] live at The Gatherings Concert Series on 15 November 2008 is funded in part by the independent record label Nepenthe Music
|
Electronic Music pioneer Hans-Joachim Roedelius will collaborate with neo-expressionist Dwight Ashley and multi-instrumentalist Tim Story live in concert within the remarkable setting of St. Mary's Hamilton Village in Philadelphia as part of The Gatherings Concert Series on Saturday 15 November 2008.
Based in Ohio, Dwight Ashley and Tim Story have each on their own amassed a significant collection of unique and interesting work. Dwight Ashley's frostbound expressionism is both familiar and new, while Tim Story composes music that is open and elegant. By working together as the collective Ashley/Story, their music has progressed into areas neither could have reached individually. | |
For Dwight Ashley & Tim Story, the mutual concern is finding and exploring aural space. Their interest reflects a fundamental curiosity not only in the process of discovery, but in the spaces they ultimately find themselves in. Although their pieces often begin as an exploration of sound and texture, the music is not aimless. With most of the experimentation carried out in the early stages, each piece evolves its own particular structure and form over a period of time.
This duo thinks of music as Organized Sound and spends a significant amount of time in the assembly phase where musical elements are meticulously conceived and composed in hopes of creating a pre-determined emotional or aesthetic effect. Prior to their 2005 performance in Philadelphia at The Gatherings Concert Series, Ashley/Story existed solely as a studio project. Their three albums A Desperate Serenity (1991), Drop (1998) and Standing and Falling (2005) lead the listener on a journey from the irrational to the fantastic while exploring the dark beauty of dread, obsession and sublime ambiguity. Their work is a fascinating mix of intriguing textures, dark ambience and curious melodies.
| |
On their albums, Ashley/Story have achieved a careful blend of melody, atmosphere and mystery. They produce unusual and disquieting releases; something beyond Ambient. The mood on their albums effortlessly sways from the sincerely beautiful to the haunting and discordant, without the cliches used by most. The manipulation of sound varies, from reverberant grand piano, to tremulous tape loops and restrained, subtly altered electronics, processed or enhanced as conflicting, shifting moods are evoked. Their works develop a subtle tension which makes for bracing listening.
Ashley/Story return to The Gatherings Concert Series for a concert with Electronic Music legend ~
| |
The quiet man of Krautrock, Hans-Joachim Roedelius has made wise choices in his collaborators. The 73 year old benign minimalist has steered away from simple prettiness in his music, and into stranger, more unsettling waters. In the 1970s, Roedelius formed Cluster with Dieter Moebius, which led to collaborations with both Michael Rother of Neu! (as Harmonia) and Brian Eno.
The overall impact of Hans-Joachim Roedelius on contemporary music is immense, and he has oft been credited as one of the ubermeiesters of what became known, affectionately, as Krautrock. He has released over 100 records, encompassing experimental and leftfield departures to more traditional soundtracks and classical compositions and has a loyal fan base of young and old. | |
From his early work with the pioneering Krautrock band Cluster to his later, more ambient solo recordings, Roedelius remained one of the most innovative and prolific voices in contemporary electronic music. Born in Berlin in 1934, he drifted through a series of odd jobs before turning to music, later collaborating with conceptual artist Conrad Schnitzler in a series of experimental bands. In 1968, Roedelius and Schnitzler were among the co-founders of the Zodiak Free Arts Lab, a group of avant-garde artists from a variety of creative disciplines which quickly became one of the driving forces of the Berlin underground scene; with Dieter Moebius, they formed Kluster in 1969, performing extended improvisational live dates throughout West Germany.
Kluster released their debut LP Klopfzeichen in 1970; in the wake of their third album, 1971's Kluster und Eruption, Schnitzler exited to pursue a solo career, leaving Roedelius and Moebius to continue on as Cluster. Working with famed producer Conrad Plank, the duo began to move increasingly towards more structured soundscapes - with 1974's Zuckerzeit, they even pursued an electronic pop sound similar in spirit to Kraftwerk. Roedelius and Moebius also teamed with Neu!'s Michael Rother in Harmonia, releasing a pair of mid-'70s LPs which caught the attention of Brian Eno - who in response collaborated with the trio on a legendary session (released much later as Harmonia 76) heralding a turn towards ambient textures. Roedelius and Moebius subsequently worked with Eno on 1977's Cluster and Eno and 1979's After the Heat as well. | |
Roedelius first worked with the American composer Tim Story in 1996. Inlandish is their third collaboration. In spite of its inevitably minimalist feel, Inlandish carries a wide range of sonic textures and effects. The tone of each composition relies on the degree of balance between Roedelius' piano and Story's treatments. The album's opening piano-led tracks are elegant, sparse and spooky. Throughout the CD, Roedelius and Story seamlessly integrate the digital and the analogue and so manage to pull off the trick of sounding both chilly and warm, robotic and human. Inlandish is a gem of quietude and subtle musical intelligence. Hans-Joachim Roedelius returns to The Gatherings Concert Series for a concert collaboration with Dwight Ashley and Tim Story on Saturday 18 October 2008. | |
The Gatherings Concert Series presents A.R.S. [e] (Ashley Roedelius Story) live in concert on
Advance Tickets are now available for the 2008 concerts. The
Click on the TicketWeb graphic to purchase Season Tickets now
Additional Material:
A. R. S. [e] live at The Gatherings Concert Series on 15 November 2008 is funded in part by Nepenthe Music. An independent record label based in Toledo, OH, Nepenthe Music is dedicated to the music releases of Dwight Ashley and selected projects by Tim Story and Hans-Joachim Roedelius.
For more about Nepenthe Music, please access: http://www.nepenthemusic.com
|
|
For more about Dwight Ashley, please access the:
• Photos of Roedelius + Tim Story live at The Gatherings Concert Series in Philadelphia on 9 October 1999 | |
The Gatherings Concert Series is presented by the all-volunteer staff of The Corporation for Innovative Music and Arts of Pennsylvania
| INDEX | ARCHIVES | SCRAPBOOK | NEWS | DIRECTIONS | MISSION | 2008 SEASON |