Greetings! I hope this finds you well. As we reach the final month of 2016, it’s hard not to be amazed at what a strange and discomforting year it has been, not only in global politics but also in the more rarified world of experimental and electronic music. In just the past few months we have lost several giants in our midst, such as Jean-Claude Risset and Pauline Oliveros. While I was a great admirer of Risset’s music and had enjoyed the several times I had met him in person, it is Pauline who I, like many others, felt a tremendous bond and now a tremendous loss. At 84, she was vital and active up to the very end, passing away peacefully in her sleep on November 24th. In death as in life, she always exuded a kind of gentle power, in control of her own destiny.
As unhappy as a lot of us as a group feel about the year, I have to say I have taken much personal comfort in the warm acceptance of my new album on Unseen Worlds, “Carl Stone: Electronic Music from the Seventies and Eighties” among the public and press. Our first pressing is almost completely sold out – new pressing on the way soon! – and the reviews have been stellar. Just a taste:
A missing link, not only in the history of avant-garde and electronic music, but within the entire body of arranged sound (popular or otherwise).– The Hum
Stunning …. full of purring drones that at first appear to hardly be moving, only to have them slowly slide and reveal infinite amounts of overtones…lovely, prickly, meditative, and maddening – Pitchfork
The eight pieces ….on this three-LP collection of pioneering work by American electro-acoustic composer Carl Stone constitute an oft-mesmerizing two-and-a-half hours…(Shing Kee is) spellbinding. – Textura
Astounding …dizzying hall-of-mirrors refractions built from tiny fragments of Asian pop, American R&B and classical…. Stone’s resourcefulness and originality is unmistakable, and these sounds remain fresh decades later. – Best of Bandcamp Contemporary Classical: November 2016
It lights up our pleasure centres like a quid in a fruit machine….It’s all totally new to us and feels like somebody just opened a big skylight onto our listening lives, flooding us with new sensations……Not to be missed by anyone with a taste for innovative electronic music of the rarest order. – Boomkat
This album is available as a 3-LP set, or via digital download in multiple formats. Those of you who prefer CD format can burn-it-yourself. Available from www.unseenworlds.net/releases/electronic-music-from-the-seventies-and-eighties-f26a65db-7062-4dd6-9292-a4ae3571ba14
For live performance, three events in Tokyo bring the year to a close. It would be great if I could meet you at one or the other – or all three! Otherwise, let’s try to meet sometime in 2017, as plans are afoot for gigs in the US, Europe, Singapore and of course Japan. It might even be a great year, you never know!
And now, the nooz:
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Mon Dec 12 TOKYO JAPAN 19h00
DOMMUNE
Vua Bld B1F Higashi 4-6-5 Shibuya-ku Tokyo
http://www.dommune.com/about/
http://www.dommune.com
Map (Japanese) at http://www.dommune.com/about/
Carl participates as a performer with a solo set, preceded by a panel discussion on the wide topic of the computer in music, yesterday and today. This event will be streamed live on the Dommune channel. Hosted by DOMMUNE in Shibuya and produced by Yui Onodera.
Featured Artists:
Carl Stone (Chukyo University)
Akihiro Kubota (Tama Fine Arts University)
Christophe Charles (Musashino Art Unversity)
Chihei Hatakeyama (Drone University)
Yui Onodera (Musashino Art Unversity)
1500 yen
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Sun Dec 18 TOKYO JAPAN open 19h00 start 20h00
Private Residence
Hirano 2-4-12 Koto-ku Tokyo
Email: akaihirume@gmail.com
Map (English) at http://http://pictures.sukothai.com/HIRANO-2-4-12.png
KOUKOU SURU / GIVE AND TAKE
A private house next to a temple and cemetery in the Kiyosumi area of Tokyo becomes the venue for a special installation/performance by Carl Stone (electronics) and Akai Hirume (voice). Multiple rooms in the uniquely designed house, plus adjacent areas surrounding, serve as the stage. The two artists find a way for a unique interaction.
*please contact akaihirume@gmail.com
「subject: DEC_18」for location details.
Featured Artists:
Akaihirume (voice and synthesizer)
Carl Stone (electronics)
For more information about this event, send email to akaihirume@gmail.com
“Nagesen” (free donation)
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Tue Dec 27 TOKYO SETAGAYA open 18h30 start 19h00
KID AILACK ART HALL
〒156-0043 Tokyo, Setagaya, Matsubara 2-43-11
tel: 03-3322-5564
http://blog.livedoor.jp/kidailack-schedule/
kidailack.co.jp
“ARIGATOU KID!”
On the occasion of the closing of KID AILACK, the long standing Tokyo live house that shuts its doors at the end of the month, four artists gather to celebrate its long and wonderful history of 39 years. We say sayonara with an evening of improvisation. Please join us.
Featured Artists:
Sizzle Ohtaka (voice)
Akikazu Nakamura (shakuhachi)
Morgan Fisher (keyboards, light paintings)
Carl Stone (laptop)
advance: ¥3500 + 1 drink; same day: ¥4000 + 1 drink
On the horizon: Performances in Singapore in January. California, New York, Italy and Switzerland in the Spring, my 3-LP set of early works 2nd pressing be released on the Unseen Worlds label. AND MORE!
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Keep your ears peeled!
Website http://rlsto.net
Follow Carl on Twitter: @carlstone
Carl Stone Music Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carl-Stone/50688882909
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News/Schedule/Photos/Music Clips: http://www.rlsto.net/Nooz/ (bilingual)