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About the Artists
Presspectives

SYNEUMA

Thanos Chrysakis, James O' Sullivan, Jerry Wigens

Duration 44.23 | Released October 2012

SYNEUMA Trio | THANOS CHRYSAKIS : piano / inside piano + chimes + vibraphone | JAMES O'SULLIVAN : guitar | JERRY WIGENS : clarinets | EDITING AND MASTERING AT MERIDIAN STUDIO BY THANOS CHRYSAKIS | RECORDED AUGUST 2011 except track IV in AUGUST 2010 |

About the Artists

Thanos Chrysakis is a Greek composer, musician, producer and sound-artist. He is best known for his work in electronic and contemporary music, free improvisation, and electro-acoustic music.

With several albums to his name his work has appeared in festivals and events in numerous countries, including CYNETart Festival, Festspielhaus Hellerau - Dresden, Artus Contemporary Arts Studio – Budapest, CRUCE Gallery – Madrid, Fylkingen – Stockholm, Relative (Cross) Hearings festival – Budapest, Festival Futura – Crest - Drôme, FACT Centre – Liverpool, Association Ryoanji – Ahun - Creuse, The Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale — Hanover - New Hampshire, Areté Gallery — Brooklyn - New York, UC San Diego – California - San Diego, Berner Münster – Bern, Fabbrica del Vapore – Milan, Grünewaldsalen – Svensk Musikvår — Stockholm, Splendor – Amsterdam, Logos Foundation – Ghent, Palacio de Bellas Artes – Mexico City, Műcsarnok Kunsthalle – Budapest, Spektrum – Berlin, Susikirtimai X – Vilnius, Festival del Bosque GERMINAL – Mexico City, ДОМ – Moscow, Oosterkerk – Amsterdam, KLANG ! – Montpellier, Nádor Terem – Budapest, Utzon Centre – Aalborg, Center for New Music – San Francisco, Västerås Konstmuseum – Västerås, Störung festival – Barcelona, BMIC Cutting Edge concert series at The Warehouse – London.

His music was among the selected works at the International Competition de Musique et d'Art Sonore Electroacoustiques de Bourges 2005, in the category oeuvre d'art sonore électroacoustique, while received an honorary mention in 2006 at the 7th International Electroacoustic Competition Musica Viva in Lisbon (the jury was constituted by Morton Subotnick (USA), François Bayle (France), and Miguel Azguime (Portugal).

 

He operates the Aural Terrains record label since 2007 where he has released part of his work until now, alongside releases by Kim Cascone, Franscisco López, Tomas Phillips, Dan Warburton, Szilárd Mezei, Michael Edwards, Wade Matthews, Dganit Elyakim, Edith Alonso, Luis Tabuenca, Jeff Gburek, Philippe Petit, Steve Noble, Milo Fine and David Ryan among others.

 

He has written music for musicians of the Hyperion Ensemble, the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, the Hermes Ensemble, the Nemø Ensemble, the Konus Saxophone Quartett, and the Shadanga Duo among others. Close collaborations with Tim Hodgkinson, Vincent Royer, Chris Cundy, Yoni Silver, Lori Freedman, Jason Alder, Julie Kjaer, Henriette Jensen, William Lang, Wilfrido Terrazas, Philippe Brunet, Wade Matthews, Ernesto Rodrigues, Ove Volquartz to name but a few.

Picture of Thanos Chrysakis

Using a combination of feedback, conventional guitar techniques and instrumental preparations, London-based musician
James O' Sullivan exploits the full sonic potential of electric guitar and amplifier, relating them meaningfully to the immediate physical environment.

His interest in improvisation, recording and performance has led him to record and perform across the UK and internationally, both solo and with numerous improvised music groups. More longstanding arrangements include Found Drowned, a trio with Pete Marsh and Paul May, and his collaboration with Thanos Chrysakis on several releases on the Aural Terrains imprint. 

His debut solo album, 'feed back couple', was released in 2011. His second solo album, IL Y A,  is out now on the Linear Obsessional imprint.

Picture of James O' Sullivan

Jerry Wigens is an improviser and composer who plays guitar and clarinet. Most of his musical activity has taken place in London although he has also performed in Zurich, Geneva, Berlin and Athens. His interest in improvisation started at an early age and he attended John Stevens' workshops at the age of nineteen. Since then he has worked in various musical contexts including rock, jazz and contemporary classical and has performed with Eddie Prevost, George Lewis, Sylvia Hallett and Walter Cardew, among many others. He has also had work performed by guitarist Alan Thomas and contemporary ensemble Vamos. He has studied with Roger Redgate and participates in Eddie Prévost's workshop sessions which he has occasionally convened in Prévost's absence. He also plays guitar in prog/improv band Astrakan.

Picture of Jerry Wigens

Presspectives

Guillaume Belhomme © Le son du grisli - 19.9.2013

[FR]

Sur son propre Aural Terrains, Thanos Chrysakis a pris l'habitude de publier des paysages sépulcraux. A l'intérieur de son piano et sur chimes ou vibraphone, ceux qu'ils composent sont souvent saisissants. Sur SYNEUMA, enregistré avec James O'Sullivan (guitare électrique) et Jerry Wigens (clarinettes), il passe de valses hésitantes en flottements inspirants au son d'une électroacoustique déjà ingénieuse.

Jan Faix , His Voice magazine - 3.12.2012

Na této nahrávce můžeme poměrně výjimečně sledovat práci řeckého experimentátora Thana Chrysakise výhradně s akustickými nástroji, především s klavírem a dále s vibrafonem a zvony. Redukci svého instrumentáře tu provedli ale i oba jeho londýnští kolegové z tria Syneuma. James O'Sullivan odložil cello a držel se pouze hry na preparovanou kytaru a Jerry Wigens si tedy místo dalšího zahušťování kytarových partů zvolil klarinety.

Společná spontánní improvizace těchto hráčů se nese v poměrně komorním meditativním duchu, přináší ale mnoho osobitých kombinací. Dvěma nejdelším kusům (první téměř sedmnáct minut a třetí přes jedenáct) dominuje zpočátku klavír pohybující se v rychlých atonálních a rytmicky nervózních frázích, ostatní nástroje mu sekundují plošnějšími strukturami, ve střední části se hudba propadá do atmosférického pianissima, z něhož v závěru vyrůstá pokaždé jinými prostředky opět silnější finále. Jinými kvalitami se vyznačují ostatní tři kratší tracky. Ve druhém se Chrysakis postupně propracovává od hutné téměř ostinátní hry uvnitř klavíru s dlouho sešlápnutým pedálem až k závěrečné hutné ploše zvonů a kolegové mu v tomto procesu jen úsporně napomáhají. Čtvrtá improvizace tu zase naopak proběhla pouze v duu Wigens - O'Sullivan a několikaminutová pasáž, v níž se spojí táhlé tóny klarinetu s přepečlivě kontrolovanou a neustále proměnlivou kytarovou vazbou patří mezi nejsilnější momenty na celé kolekci. Tříminutová coda potom stojí na podstatně tonálnější Chrysakisově hře na vibrafon, kterou ostatní nástroje disciplinovaně obohacují o ruchovější vrstvy.

Tato kolekce umí posluchače snadno okouzlit perfektními neokázalými náladami, celkovou invencí a velmi příjemným zvukovým zpracováním. Alespoň já jsem tu žádný nedostatek neobjevil.

John Eyles,The Squid's Ear - 18.03.13

The trio of Thanos Chrysakis on piano and vibraphone, guitarist James O'Sullivan and Jerry Wigens on clarinets have considerable experience of playing together, first recording between 2007 and 2008 as part of the quintet that released Instant-Cascade-Distant (Aural Terrains, 2009) — on the label for which Chrysakis is artistic director and on which most of his music has been issued. The Athens-born pianist and composer is now resident in London, where O'Sullivan and Wigens have been active for some years as improvisers, notably as regular members of the weekly improvising Workshop run by AMM drummer Eddie Prevost. O'Sullivan attracted attention with the release of his fine solo album Feed Back Couple (Forwind, 2011) and his work in the innovative songs-plus-improv quartet Clang Sayne. In addition to clarinet, Wigens plays guitar in a range of settings, his experience dating back to the mid-seventies when he attended drummer John Stevens' Workshop.

Their trio album Syneuma was largely recorded in July 2011, with one track from 2010. It is an interesting companion to that 2009 album and to Magnetic River (Aural Terrains, 2012), the latter featuring Chrysakis, O'Sullivan and Wigens, joined in a sextet by the saxophones of Sebastien Branche, Tom Soloveitzik and Artur Vidal. Comparisons between the three albums reveal much about the ways in which improvisers play differently as the context changes. As a threesome, Chrysakis, O'Sullivan and Wigens are outgoing and fluent, interacting well with each other... but not always sounding like a trio of equals. On the first track, Chrysakis dominates, playing for the majority of the time; maybe his being in charge of the record label inhibited the other two? He is easy to listen to as he reels off a fluent piano solo with ease. But the results sound like a piano trio of soloist plus support, dominated by Chrysakis, with guitar and clarinet contributing accompanying sounds rather than getting their own solo spaces.

As the album proceeds, things become rather more equal with greater three-way interaction and sharing of the limelight. On the second track, O'Sullivan's distinctive percussive playing on the guitar features prominently, as does Wigens' wailing clarinet — welcome sounds alone or together. However, on the third track, the piano dominates again, crowding out the others; as before, it seems a waste not to afford the guitar and clarinet more space and time. Thankfully, next up is the 2010 track, a duo feature for O'Sullivan and Wigens. It is the track here which most typifies empathetic improvisation, with the pair locking onto each other's playing and revelling in their interplay as they share and trade sounds. Fittingly, the track ends with the sound of the musicians' laughter. All ends well on the brief final track as the three reunite, with Chrysakis on vibes not piano, meaning he is less dominant. It closes an intriguing album which demonstrates that fine balance between players which makes for good improvisation. Well worth hearing.