Malasaña

This recording was made in an area of Madrid called Malasaña. The name recalls the Spanish struggle against the French troops of Napoleon, which took place at the beginning of the XIX century and is famously represented in the paintings of Goya.

Nowadays, despite the increasing gentrification of the area of Malasaña, it remains a place well known for night-time unrest and counter-cultural disobedience.  

This cultural climate draws parallels with the way improvised music relates to confrontation. Many musicians feel that improvised music clashes against, or is at odds with, social institutions, as in the case of Madrid, where modern or contemporary music is almost completely ignored by popular culture.

In this recording we can hear a different kind of confrontation. Musicians seem to be trying to fight, both against themselves and against the temptation of presenting what they already know. They seem to be seeking out strategies for creating music collectively, without falling back on cliché, imitation or cultural habits.

The listeners of this recording are invited to consider if the musicians have succeeded in this attempt. They are also encouraged to interrogate their own listening, as both a cultural practice shaped by social environment and as an area for a similar internal contest.

Kaktus

part 1   (8:15)
part 2   (2:56)
part 3   (5:03)
part 4   (6:55)
part 5   (3:25)

For this track I recorded the needles of a cactus played with my
fingers. After some digital processings I edited them into a
composition in 5 parts. In parts 3 and 5 the cactus recordings are
combined and modulated with sinus-waves.

All music by Gregory Büttner, 2008-2009. Foto by Gregory Büttner.

25. 4. 2014.

fragment:  /Kaktus_part4.mp3     /antez_mag_mathieu_vital-malasania.mp3   /kvas_hector_rey.mp3