Bonus disc

Catalogue number

GRAM2304

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Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

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Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2023-03-17

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Kudos

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Standard:20

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5050580799431

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Artist

R. Iwanski

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Modern Composition

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Gusstaff Records

Gusstaff Records is a small and independent electronic post-everything label based in Poland. With a passion for music, Gusstaff Records not only releases albums but also operates as an online shop for music enthusiasts.

As a label, Gusstaff Records prides itself on supporting emerging artists and showcasing their unique talents. The label's diverse roster includes *artists* who push the boundaries of electronic music, creating innovative sounds that captivate listeners.

With a commitment to quality and artistic integrity, Gusstaff Records has gained recognition in the music industry. Their dedication to promoting underground talent has made them a go-to destination for fans seeking fresh and unconventional musical experiences.

R. IWANSKI (Rafał Iwański a.k.a. X-Navi:Et, known from groups VOICES OF THE COSMOS, |ALA|MEDA||, HATI, ex Innercity Ensemble) presents new sound project explorating experimental approach to ethnic instruments like zanza, kalimba and other idiophones of African origin.
 Advanced electronic techniques are mainly used to process various acoustic sources - in order to create organic electroacoustic music. The unique marriage of "foreign traditions and technology" - is, however, a path that goes further than ethno-ambient.
 
 Author's note:
 The idea of composing and recording an album of electroacoustic music for instruments of African origin from the lamellophone family was born more than 10 years ago. At that time, after the X-NAVI:ET concert at the Blurred Edges festival in Hamburg, I bought my first instrument from this group of idiophones - it was a sanza from South Africa. Then, over the years, other sanzas and kalimbas came along. I now have six lamellophones in my collection of acoustic instruments, comprising several hundred from all over the world. These instruments, from a group of idiophones that has been close to me for years due to their practice (on which, for example, the sound of the band HATI was based from the beginning), generally go under at least four basic names, depending on the region of Africa: zanza, mbira, kalimba, likembe. Plucked idiophones are found in countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa, among others. The generic name kalimba is the most common, thanks to English ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey. During the recording of the tracks on 'Transformations I', I also used other percussion instruments (including rattles, spring tubes and metal objects). I processed the sound of the zanza, kalimba and zanzula through various effects processors and partially looped.
 Among the peculiarities of this group of instruments is the extensive use of the acoustic effect of the aliquots (i.e. the components of the sound) and the fact that they are mixed in the resonator, which greatly enriches the sound. Interestingly, the instrument's scale and sound are also characterised by the principle of "equalising moods" - both stimulating and calming them, while maintaining the rules of dialogue. A feature of this instrument is, as it were, the 'ease of reception'. Anthropological and ethnomusicological analyses confirm the popularity of plucked idiophones throughout the world, despite their African specificity.The fact of the popularity of the zanza and possibilities of use in different situations has not only changed the meaning of the instrument, but has also influenced technical improvements.
 In a broader context, I was following in the footsteps of one of the most eminent artists and philosophers of the 20th century, the American composer John Cage, who, as early as the 1940s, foresaw and anticipated many of the trends that have been dominant in music for several decades (e.g. electronic music, ambient, emphasis on the role of percussion instruments and rhythm). Cage included his reflections in many essays and aphorisms. One thought of the master could be the motto for the "Transformations I" project: "The function of art is to imitate nature in her manner of operation".
My ethnological education at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń helped me to develop the subject from a theoretical point of view. From the beginning, I pursued my studies with an ethnomusicological and practical bent, which manifested itself, for example, in repeated participation in percussion music workshops (mainly conga drums, doumbek, djembe) or the construction of pastoral folk instruments and even in the adaptation of found objects. Ihave visited North Africa and Cuba several times, bringing back a number of instruments and records and cassettes from these trips. The final topic of my master's thesis, defended in 2004 in the Department of Ethnology at the Nicolaus Copernicus University, was "The influence of non-European cultures on the musical and theoretical activities of 20th century composers".
 I have previously recorded and published individual pieces using the South African zanza. The instrument appeared, among others:
 - in the track 'Oto Technosis' on the album "Technosis" (CD, 2016, Instant Classic):
 https://xnaviet.bandcamp.com/track/oto-technosis 
 - in the track 'Rain Machine' on the international compilation 'Instruments imaginaires' (MC, 2020, TRUC), conceived and curated by the eminent French composer and instrument builder Pierre Bastien: https://compilationstruc.bandcamp.com/track/x-navi-et-rain-machine
 My last solo gig I performed for electro-acoustic instrumentation - still as X-NAVI:ET – in November 2019 in London at the phenomenal 'Music for Hypnagogic States' event, sharing the stage with Sufi music masters KHAN BROTHERS (PK/UK) and modular synthesiser specialist Alex Macart aka AHRKH (UK).
 
 I will present my first solo concert as R. IWANSKI, with a new electro-acoustic programme adapting 'Transformations I' to the conditions of 'live' presentation, on 28.01.2023 at a venue I have been associated with for more than a decade as part of the VOICES OF THE COSMOS activities - that is, the Planetarium and Astronomical Observatory in Grudziadz (PL).
 I wish you a pleasant reception of the album "Transformations I".
 
 Rafał Iwański

Transformations I

Music GB