CD
meenna-973
Limited edition of 300
Out on March 29, 2020
Purchase price in Japan: 1,500 yen (tax not included)
(For purchase outside of Japan, prices vary.)
Suidobashi Chamber Ensemble
Wakana Ikeda: flute
Masahiko Okura: clarinet
Yoko Ikeda: viola
Aya Naito: bassoon
Taku Sugimoto: guitar
Hiroyuki Ura: snare drum
Léo Dupleix: sine tones
Composition by Léo Dupleix
Recorded live at Ftarri, Tokyo, January 20, 2019
Recorded and mixed by Léo Dupleix
Mastered by Ura Hiroyuki and Léo Dupleix
Artwork by Taku Sugimoto
Design by Cathy Fishman
This piece was composed in winter 2018-2019, in Paris and Osaka, for a concert at Ftarri with Suidobashi Chamber Ensemble, Ura Hiroyuki and myself. The 7 musicians in the ensemble are "re-grouped" into 3 duos, while the snare drum part serves as backbone for the ensemble. Each duo uses specific tuning systems, deriving from prime number partials in the harmonic series: 7th for guitar and bassoon, 5th for clarinet and viola, and 11th for flute and sine tones. The relationship between each tuning system can be conflictual, at times, creating beating and other unpredictable acoustic phenomena, or simply give the impression of slightly out-of-tune music. The form is highly redundant and consists of 7 parts, separated by silences, similar in their general shape but unique in their details. The piece was rehearsed only a few hours prior to the concert, which gives a feeling of urgency and spontaneity, and a beautiful imperfection to the whole. (text by Léo Dupleix)
Composer/improviser Léo Dupleix was born in Paris in 1988. He originally studied jazz piano, but switched his focus to experimental/improvised music. In performance, Dupleix uses a variety of sonic elements including motor-produced vibration, sine tones, white noise, feedback and field recordings. He previously lived in Tokyo for an extended period and he has worked with a number of Japanese improvisers. In recent years Dupleix has been active as a composer. He wrote a commissioned piece for Ftarri Festival in Tokyo in 2019.
"Melodies, Harmonies, Iterations (for a small chamber ensemble)" was written by Dupleix in winter 2018-19 in Paris and Osaka. It was premiered at Ftarri, Tokyo on January 20, 2019, by the five members of Suidobashi Chamber Ensemble--Wakana Ikeda, flute; Masahiko Okura, clarinet; Yoko Ikeda, viola; Aya Naito, bassoon; and Taku Sugimoto, guitar--plus Hiroyuki Ura, snare drum; and Dupleix (sine tones). This album documents that performance of 39 minutes, 40 seconds. The uniqueness of Dupleix's compositions--the air of simplicity on first listening, along with the combination of sensitive attention to detail and improvisational feeling--comes through clearly in this outstanding work.
