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The Gatherings Concert SeriesPresentsManuel GöttschingSaturday 16 August 2008 at 8:00pmSt. Mary's Hamilton Village3916 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA |
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Manuel Göttsching live at The Gatherings Concert Series on 16 August 2008 is funded by the non-profit corporation CIMA of PA
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Berlin based guitarist and composer Manuel Göttsching (a.k.a. Ash Ra Tempel and Ashra) makes his stateside concert debut at Lincoln Center in New York city and at The Gatherings Concert Series in Philadelphia in August 2008.
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| It is quite a difficult task to chronicle the musical history of Manuel Göttsching as he has had such a broad influence over contemporary electronic music. Göttsching was a significant presence at the outset of many of today's well-established modes of musical expression and continues to inspire artists and audiences alike through his prolific musical innovations. |
| We pick up the story in the Berlin of 1970s Germany as Manuel Göttsching along with Hartmut Enke and Klaus Schulze formed the band Ash Ra Tempel: Ash - (an English word) the ash, the remains, the final curtain; Ra - the Egyptian Sun God, the energy, the source of our lives; Tempel - a place for rest and contemplation (written in the German idiom). |
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| Their music embodied the spirit of the times with its free flowing improvisations and instrumental excursions which showcased Gottsching's psychedelic guitar work. Because of the use of cosmological imagery in their music, the style was conveniently labled "Kosmische Rock". | |
| Ashra was the second phase Ash Ra Tempel, where Manuel Göttsching (often as a solo artist) refocused the project's vision and began to concentrate more heavily on electronics. In the quote below, Göttsching offers insight into this new direction, |
| "The influence of electronic equipment in producing music grew rapidly in those years. I was fascinated by these sounds, but even more I was addicted to the idea of sequencing those sounds into continuous musical compositions". | |
| With an ever evolving line-up, Göttsching had always been the focal point of Ash Ra Tempel. But at the outset of the Ashra era (and the subsequent solo recordings), Gottsching was literally a one-man band, later backing his guitar explorations with synths and sequencers that made his music sound cleaner and more pleasantly meditative. In the quote below, Göttsching ponders these early days, reflecting on the birth of his first solo album Inventions for Electric Guitar. | 
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"What a trip it became. I created music with a minimum of equipment. The resulting music resembled the sound of sequencers and synthesizer, but was played with a single guitar. I recorded backwards, with the tape machines at double speed, half speed... I tuned the strings differently and fell in love with my dynamic pedals, which could, if you pluck a string, cut away the attack, and with the aid of lots of echo, I found my floating sound. Naturally, the echoes and delays were creating this "sequencing" effect (thus reflecting the trend of those days)".
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| This trend can be traced back even further to the music of 20th Century American composers. Göttsching recalls, "A substantial influence in my style came about in 1974 with the discovery of so called "minimal music" by composers like Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Terry Riley. Especially Steve Reich's music; I have listened to it for many years. He is a genuine innovator in terms of creating music that combines the elements of improvisation with structured composition." |
| Somehow enduring the more conservative musical landscapes of the 1980's, Göttsching re-emerged in 1981 with the minimalistic composition E2-E4 which forever placed him among the innovators of the musical aesthetic later dubbed electronica. Equally a masterpiece of minimal music, E2-E4 remains a seminal building block in the subsequent development of styles ranging from techno to house to contemporary ambient music. | 
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| More recently, Göttsching has been occupied with performing live concerts throughout the world as well as working alone and in collaboration in the recording studio - each album revealing another approach to music: from the more experimental (capturing a modern classical motif with the Zeitkratzer ensemble) to the historic reformation of Ash Ra Tempel (with original member Klaus Schulze). |
| In Summer of 2008, Manuel Göttsching will travel to the United States for two performances. His stateside concert debut will be made in New York City at Lincoln Center on 15 August 2008 as the centerpiece of the Wordless Music Series, dedicated to 800 years of Minimalism, and in Philadelphia on 16 August 2008 at The Gatherings Concert Series.
In New York Göttsching will perform live his classic album E2-E4 while in Philadelphia he will perform "Die Mulde" - as well as his greatest hits released as Ashra and Ash Ra Tempel (including selections from Inventions for Electric Guitar, New Age of Earth and Blackouts among others). | 
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The Gatherings Concert Series presents Manuel Göttsching live in concert on Saturday 16 August 2008 at 8:00pm (doors open at 7:30pm) in the church sanctuary of St. Mary's Hamilton Village 3916 Locust Walk (just east of 40th & Locust) on the Penn campus in West Philadelphia. Admission: $40 - available at the door night of show. A limited number of $15.00 Student Admissions will be available from 7:00pm to 7:30pm at the door night of show. Full-time students will please provide their current student ID. Additional Material:
Manuel Göttsching at The Gatherings Concert Series on 16 August 2008 is funded by CIMA of PA (The Corporation for Innovative Music and Arts of Pennsylvania), the all-volunteer, non-profit organization responsible for organizing and producing The Gatherings Concert Series. The basic mission of CIMA of PA is to bring innovative music concerts to the public and further the advancement of this artform. For more about CIMA of PA, please access the Mission Statement
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For more about Manuel Göttsching, access the:
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The Gatherings Concert Series is presented by the all-volunteer staff of The Corporation for Innovative Music and Arts of Pennsylvania
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