Adrian Clement

Coming Up at The Chauvel Cinematheque

On Monday the 22nd of December, I will be supervising and performing a new live score for Ivan Mosjoukine's 1923 French silent film Le Brasier Ardent at The Chauvel as part of the Cinematheque program curated by Brett Garten. The film will also be receiving a new live translation by film historian Barrie Pattison, who is doing a special presentation on Mosjoukine on Saturday the 20th of December.

Make sure you come and check this out if you're in the area. Show starts at 6:30 PM sharp. Tickets cost $18/15, which entitles you to a month of screenings at The Chauvel and lets you bring in a guest for free. Click on the flyer above to enlarge it.

Labels: Chauvel Cinematheque, Events, Live Dates, Me

Dimensions Footage

This is some footage of the third and final performance I have done this year at the College of Fine Arts. The title of the work is Dimensions, and is the natural progression on from a sound-project I mentioned here some time ago.

Dimensions:

Limited Edition DVD - Adrian Clement Performance 2008

My three major performances this year (Dimensions, Advanced Standing and Body Works) will be available on a limited edition (/50) hand-numbered, hand-made DVD, packaged together with artwork for AU$10, including postage.

A few pictures of it are as follows:

There will only be about 5 copies of this DVD put aside for the website, so be quick before they're all gone. Email me at adrianclement@me.com to order a copy.

Labels: Advanced Standing, Body Works, Dimensions, Me, Video Footage

Advanced Standing Footage

This is some footage of the second formal performance I have done this year at the College of Fine Arts. The title of the work is Advanced Standing, named after a series of articles written by Greg Shewchuk in Arthur Magazine.

Advanced Standing:

My three major performances this year (Dimensions, Advanced Standing and Body Works) will be available on a limited edition (/50) hand-numbered, hand-made DVD, packaged together with artwork for AU$10, including postage. Please email me at adrianclement@me.com if you would like one.

Labels: Advanced Standing, Me, Video Footage

Body Works Project

Here is some video footage of one of the projects I have been working on recently, titled Body Works. The video goes for approximately 10'. You can download the video file at this location, which is playable on an iPod and other portable devices. This work is available on a DVD titled Adrian Clement: Performance 2008, which also includes Dimensions and Advanced Standing. Strictly limited, it is available for $10, plus postage. Please email me at adrianclement@me.com if you would like one.

And without further ado, here is the video footage for Body Works:

Labels: Body Works, Me, Music, Sound, Video Footage

What I've Been Watching This September

[Currently listening to The Modern Lovers by The Modern Lovers]

FILMS I'VE WATCHED

Maniac (1934) directed by Dwain Esper
Child Bride (1938) directed by Harry Revier
WALL·E (2008) directed by Andrew Stanton

Shorts

Je vous salue, Sarajevo (1993) directed by Jean-Luc Godard
L' Origine du XXIème siècle (2000) directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Presto (2008) directed by Doug Sweetland

TV

Seinfeld: The Complete Box Set (2007)

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Just like last month, I've really been stripped of spare time recently, making it hard to try to squeeze in a Tarkovsky or a Brakhage in between meals. And yet, one feat that I have managed to conquer this month is watch the entire 9 seasons of Seinfeld, which has been great. If you haven't already made your way through it all, I wholeheartedly recommend an episode a day for the next month as a good cure for boredom. The next step for me is to watch the entire series of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which, apart from an occasional episode and a random clip here and there, I have yet fully explored. If you haven't watched Seinfeld in a while here is someone's "Top 25 Seinfeld Moments":

A friend of mine has recently lent me a volume from the ECM Cinema DVDs, which brings together a collection of four short films by renown filmmakers Jean-Luc Godard and Anne-Marie Miéville “that encompass everything: art and freedom, presence and memory, violence and passion. Four symphonies composed of images, tones, quotes, and soundtracks. Four essays in which the cinema itself seems to speak to us, in friendly dialogue with painting, literature and music – as a brother to all the arts.” One of the short films on this DVD is Jean-Luc Godard's brilliant Je vous salue, Sarajevo:

Over at the wonderful Chauvel Cinematheque, I caught a couple of films--Maniac and Child Bride--that were part of their exploitation cinema focus. Whilst being substantially interesting, they weren't anything I ever want to watch again. Here are the trailers to give you some idea of what the films are like.

Maniac:

Child Bride:

And lastly, I put aside some of my snobbery and caught Pixar's latest triumph, WALL·E, which is, visually and thematically speaking, a neat piece of work. If you haven't already seen it, I'd definitely recommend it as it's one of this year's highlights. To wrap things up for this blog, here's the short that ran with it, Presto:

Links:

Labels: Chauvel Cinematheque, ECM, Exploitation Cinema, Film, Jean-Luc Godard, Pixar, Seinfeld

Dimensions Project

Over the last couple of months, I've been working on a sound project titled Dimensions, which saw its first performance today. I was planning on posting pictures, videos, audio and a few items which will be put up for sale in the newly reformed adrian-clement.com store, but unfortunately, I never managed to take photos, and I completely forgot to turn the video camera on during the performance. Nevertheless, it was a complete success, and it got a very favorable reception. I am in talks for giving a second performance of the project, most likely a public one, so I'll keep you posted on how that eventuates. If it does (and I hope it will), I will be doing it in about four weeks or so. During this time I will be uploading decent photographs, better video footage than I would've been able to acquire today, audio, and everything else that I see fit.

Dimensions is my first proper performance in over a year, and the first one that has gone beyond my classical, jazz and contemporary-classical roots (predominately in piano) in that it explores different use of media and styles such as extreme metal and noise. Over the last three or four years, I've been drenched in experimental and avant-garde composition, and excited by the prospect of performing in a vein that challenges and defies genre, confronts responders, and experiments with different media and sound. I see Dimensions as the first proper step in that direction, one which I feel is in line with my artistic aims as a whole. I expect to work with sound a lot more from this point onwards. Hopefully it will culminate in some recordings and performances. Whatever the outcome is, I hope you that you enjoy what is to come.

For now, I hope the following artwork, which was designed for a series of five tapes and one CD (which are in a similar vein to Mixtape Volume 2) is enough to suffice you:

(click to enlarge)

Labels: Dimensions, Drone, Music, Noise, Piano, Sound

Excellent Examples of New(ish) Music Part 2.5

[Currently watching Seinfeld - The Complete Series]

16. Blood Stereo: The Magnetic Headache
2008, Bottrop-Boy

The Magnetic Headache is the first proper CD release by Blood Stereo, a noise project by Karen Constance & Dylan Nyoukis. Nyoukis is also in charge of the wonderful mainly DIY/CDR label Chocoloate Monk and is currently curating a Rock-A-Rolla sponsored event, Color Out of Space 3. More info below:

Taking place September 5 - 7th, Colour Out Of Space 3 is the third outing for the Brighton based exploratory sound fest, curated by Dylan Nyoukis.

The event will feature over thirty acts, films and more incuding: Thurston Moore & Chris Corsano + Limpe Fuchs + Aaron Dilloway & Joseph Hammer + Leslie Keffer + Adam Bohman + Ghedalia Tazartes + Skaters + Lionel Marchetti & Yoko Gami + Skullflower + Astral Social Club & Axolotl + Charlie Drahiem + many more acts !!

For more info and updates see www.colouroutofspace.org

Here is the first track off the record:

17. Eightfold Sun Compilation
2008

I've only recently found out about the new Sydney-based zine Eightfold Sun, and I did it completely by chance at Red Eye Records about a week ago. Extremely well-written and well-informed articles and essays on music, this issue with a black-metal/experimental metal slant. Pick a copy, they're only $8, and they come with a 13-track sampler of a lot of cool music, including "Vow of Vengeance" by Sydney-based black-metal outfit Nazxul:

18. The Tango Saloon: Transylvania
2008, Vitamin Records

I saw The Tango Saloon at The Factory a few months ago. Aside from the fact that a Jehovah's Witness attempted to press their propaganda up against me, handing me one of her pamphlets in the process, I had a great night. Featuring Danny Heifetz of Mr Bungle fame on drums, and a whole range of other people playing a wide variety of instruments, it was a night not to have been missed. The Tango Saloon's previous self-titled record was released on Ipecac. During that time they supported Mike Patton's solo project Peeping Tom when they performed in Sydney at the Enmore Theatre. Mike Patton guests on Transylvania on the track "Dracula Cha Cha":

19. Cult of Luna: Eternal Kingdom
2008, Earache Records

I have to say that I disagree with Rock-A-Rolla's scathing review of Cult of Luna's new record Eternal Kingdom. The reviewer, Bobby Bone, states that "Cult of Luna have an air of contrivance about them, the quasi-mythical concepts and overblown songs hiding what is essentially a post-metal boy band at heart, all polished, packaged and pre-fabricated for mass consumption by Neurosis fans' teenage cousins." I think Bone is a new reviewer for Rock-A-Rolla, and he brings with him a strong sense of negativity to everything he reviews. While I agree with him on several of his opinions, I find that his review of the new Cult of Luna to be, perhaps, a bit snobbish. I like the record for what it is, and I respect Earache records' artistic vision. I don't find this record to be out of line with that at all. Here's the title track of the record:

20. Lukas Ligeti: Afrikan Machinery
2008, Tzadik

I've certainly saved the best to last in this post. Lukas Ligeti has crafted an absolute masterpiece of a work with Afrikan Machinery, his second-to-date release for John Zorn's Tzadik label. Combining a large portion of what I like and enjoy about music into one record is a huge feat, but Ligeti pulls it off somehow. Here is a description of the record from Tzadik:

Lukas Ligeti is a young drummer and composer of deep musical lineage who has developed into one of the most interesting compositional voices working today. For his second Tzadik release Lukas focuses on electronics. Using the Marimba Lumina, a new instrument invented by the legendary electronic pioneer Don Buchla, he fuses electronic, acoustic, traditional, avant-garde, European, American and African influences to create a unique post minimal world of spinning polyrhythms and hypnotic textures. Beautiful and endlessly listenable.

Easily record-of-the-year thus far, and slowly becoming one of my favorite records of all time, Afrikan Machinery is a must for everyone interested in classical music, contemporary-classical music, avant-garde/experimental composition, sub-Saharan African music or electronic music, or if you appreciate musicianship an technicality. Here is the opening track "Balafon Dance System":