SUPRAMOLECULAR MUSIC
Text from 'The Reconnoiterer' catalogue form exibition in CSW Łaźnia in Gdańsk, curated in 2009 by Marek Rogulski.
Since 2000 TNS Records RXS label has
been organising Sessions of Improvised Music. The core of the so called New
Improvisation is the notion of musical perpception, the perception of sound and
search for sonic qualities which influence the way the instruments are used in
the process of improvising. Performers apply the so called preparation of the
instruments and original articulation techniques in order to reach original
sonic and sonoristic quality. The introduction of advanced preparation entails
giving up almost completely the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic elements.
'The Reconnoiterer' catalogue. 2009
This,
however, faces the performers with the necessity of working out an absolutely
fresh and untypical approach to the instruments, often in opposition to their
traditional application. The organization of musical space results from
“tuning” to sonic and emotional qualities (being high through the form of
expression) which in traditional music would be regarded as marginal and
disturbing narration of the composition. Efforts of the improvising musicians
are directed on pursuing the ever-reemerging new colour of sound and “sampling
the sound” inspired by the colour[1].
'The Reconnoiterer' catalogue. 2009. Supramolecular music text.
Artistic means of the kind may often let down the expectations of the audience
concerning the aesthetic aspect of musical form[2],
but the aim is, among other things, to create an original musical language and
to go beyond routine cultural patterns. At present, there are three Polish
labels involved in promoting of this genre of music. These are: Warsaw’s Kariatyda
Records of Andrzej Izdebski, Szczecin’s Musica Genera of Robert Piotrowicz and
Anna Zaradny, and TNS Records RXS of Marek Rogulski and Tomasz Szwelnik in
Gdańsk.
Zdzisłąw Piernik, Irek Wojtczak, Oleg Dziewanowski, Marek Rogulski, Tomasz Szwelnik. 2013. Spiz 7 Gallery. Concert at Development exibition. Gdańsk.
The development of the genre is stimulated by theorist Michał Libera,
international ventures of Jerzy Mazzoll, Mikołaj Trzaska’s collaborations with
the musicians of Chicago scene and creative pursuits of Kwartludium, Arszyn or
Emiter. Significant progress of New Improvisation in Poland was stimulated by a
workshop organised by Mazzoll and Knuth and conducted by the late Peter Kowal,
double bass player, in 1999 at the Castle in Olsztyn. New Improvisation is a
phenomenon which exceeds generations, to
name just the collaboration of the renowned tuba player Zdzisław Piernik or
singer Olga Szwajgier with younger musicians.
'The Reconnoiterer' catalogue. 2009. Supramolecular music text/ archves.
The musicians of New Improvisation
are rather “process-oriented” than “product-oriented”. This is where their
music differs from the output of the so called post-yass scene (Ryszard
Tymański, Wojciech Mazolewski), which, musically speaking, develops the style
of postmodern eclectism and acts on the basis of corporative structures[3].
'The Reconnoiterer' catalogue. 2009. Text about "Pampers Maxi' artistic group, from late 80thies.
The beginnings of New Improvisation in Poland were discussed by Marek Romański in his essay From yass to piano improvisations[4]. At the end of the 1990s, yass, being a relatively cohesive artistic movement in terms of generation and style, actually ceased to be. Miłość [band] was given a farewell by the pianist Leszek Możdżer and saxophone player Maciej Sikała, while Jacek Olter, already acknowledged as gifted and outstanding drummer, died in tragic circumstances. Thus one of the most important young jazz groups of the 1990s vanished from the musical scene. The tension between ludic entertainment, trance, and brave experiments finally led to the desintegration of the movement. One of its offsprings was the New Improvisation, relating stylistically to the European scene of improvised music represented by such musicians as: guitarists Fred Frith and Derek Bailey, saxophone players Evan Parker and Peter Brötzmann, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach or drummer John Stevens. These musicians had worked out a specific formula of total improvisation combined with exploration of sonoristic possibilities of the instruments. This music left no space for the Afro-American jazz tradition; instead, it was based on the experience of the European contemporary music.
One of the first heralds of the new movement in Poland were the recordings of Mazzoll’s band Perplex, produced by the British drummer Tony Oxley. The band was supported by German musicians: Heinrich Doc Chastc and Stefan Holker who made their appearance on Newborn LP released in 1997. (...)
'The Reconnoiterer' catalogue. 2009. Info about Open Atelier in Gdańsk. 1992
'The Reconnoiterer' catalogue. 2009. Carmen Feliu photography from 'The Reconnoiterer' exibition. 2009.
[1] Michał Górczyński: „O zapładnianiu sonorystyki”, Explorer no. 3,
published by Sz, sz, sz…, TNS Foundation, 2003.
[2] Katarzyna
Chmura: “Skrajne oblicza improwizacji w kościele św. Jana”, Gazeta Wyborcza
– Trójmiasto, 7 October 2008.
[3] Katarzyna Chmura:
„Postmodernistyczny jazz pełen prawdziwków”, Gazeta Wyborcza – Trójmiasto,
4 December 2008.
[4] Marek Romański: From yass to piano
improvisations – Polish Year in Israel on the official Adam
Mickiewicz Institute website, 2008 (www.culture.pl).
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