Label focussing on new improvisation from Jim Denley and associates in Sydney, Australia. http://www.splitrec.com
Splitrec
Jim Denley / Peter Blamey - Findings
CD from Splitrec (14)
Findings – CD 14 peter blamey: electronics + jim denley: altosax."Together they produce four pieces of music, which are simply great. Beyond pure improvisation, this incorporates musique concrete, electronic music and electro-acoustics." Frans de Ward – Vital Weekly.Recorded March 2006 Sydney. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/set/7.htm
Jim Denley - Hydration
CDR from Splitrec (5)
Hydration – CDR 5 jim denleyA series of explorations using altosax to journey to the centre of the body. "As an introduction to a remarkable talent, this is spot on." Brian Morton - The Wire. Recorded Sydney June 05.
The Splinter Orchestra - The Splinter Orchestra
CD from Splitrec (17)
splitrecCD 17In late 2006 Splinter recorded at studio 301 in Sydney a new set of improvisations and procedural compositions, brilliantly recorded by Richard Belkner."The Splinter Orchestra's music is like quicksand: it can suck you in, just as each of the 27 musicians relinquished his or her sense of self within this monumental improvising ensemble. Listening to it is like looking down on a jungle from above, with infinite layers of foilage making for an image without surface. Behind every sound lurks another sound, and then another. The result is eerie and weirdly beautiful; more diaphanous then dense, which is a tribute to both the subtlety of the interaction and the sophistication of the recording. Remarkable." John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald Jan 12 2008.
Jim Denley - Through Fire, Crevice + the Hidden Valley
CD from Splitrec (CD 16)
"This is music at it's most primal, enhancing the beauty of creation."John Shand - Sydney Morning Herald."Wonderful music that defies category" - Tom Sekowski - Gaz-ata
jim denley / clayton thomas - Creoles
CDR from Splitrec (CDR7)
"Encompassing mini reed squeaks and heavy sul ponticello and sul tasto string pulses, the concentrated rumble of buzzed bass lines is interrupted time and again by concussive tongue-fluttering, key percussion, and lip and tongue osculation. These split tones almost seem to vibrate from the gooseneck itself rather than the mouthpiece or reed and eventually, Thomas' barrage of shuffled spiccato lines turn to cavern-deep-pitched tremolo vibrations spiced occasionally with Denley's distant wah-wahs." ken waxman Recorded Sydney June 05
axel doerner / jim denley - Distinctions
CDR from Splitrec (CDR 6)
axel doerner: trumpet. jim denley: wind instruments. "Distinctions has a moody involvement that pulls you ever inward towards the speakers to catch every slight inflection and every moment of not-quite silence. I switched to headphones for a second listen, and bugger me, there's a whole other spectrum of sound buried away in there. It's an astonishing record, one that deserves the widest possible distribution." brian morton - The Wire. "Music reconceived, still generating surprises and still exciting." julian crowley -The Wire. Recorded Sydney Feb 04.
Jim Denley - A walk in the palm forest with my sax
CDR 3" from Splitrec (CDR 8)
Binaural mikes were attached to my knees and I then walked and played in a Palm forest on the Queensland coast, near Kepple Sands. We were in the middle of a drought, so the fallen fronds were brittle and dry. My mother had recently died and this became my elegy to her. JD. Recorded Nov 2004 Kepple Sands. "...wonderful..." The Wire
joel stern / jim denley - Tape and Paint Game
CDR from Splitrec (CDR 9)
Joel Stern: electronics + field recordings. Jim Denley: as + field recordings."The whole things sounds surprisingly electronic, with the saxophone playing usually a sustained note, rather than free-form melodies. The whole encounter of eight tracks breaths a very vibrant and lively atmosphere. All together a most enjoyable release, a well-done mixture of improvisation and composition." Frans de Ward - Vital. Recorded Melbourne and Brisbane 2003/04
jim denley / stevie wishart - Tibooburra
CD from Splitrec (8)
The tiny town of Tibooburra (place amongst the stones) was the settings for collaboration between myself, Stevie Wishart and Heidrun Löhr (photography). The desert is alive with sounds, both "natural" and man made. JD. Recorded Tibooburra + Sydney. 2000.
machine for making sense - consciousness
CD from Splitrec (CD7)
"Though mfms sounds like a single complex organism, it is not synchronised like a shoal of darting fish. Within the group the degrees of independence, dependence and interdependence are hard to fathom - much like human consciousness itself." Brian Marley - Avant.
machine for making sense - dissect the body
CD from Splitrec (CD6)
mfms + guests: trey spruance jamie ludbrook satsuki odamura"Where does music come from? What does it mean? In a time of overrated technological parading here comes a group of Australians set up in a Machine for Making Sense who bring us some startling answers and plunge us into the heart of the creative collective act. Rarely has improvised music been able to offer such a high degree of renewal." Jacques Oger, France Jazz 98
amanda stewart - I / T
CD + Book from here and there books + Splitrec (CD 5)
"This one has been years in the making. It's an elegant CD and Book set of Amanda Stewart's solo work in sound, visual, concrete, political, and text-based poetry, covering a period of 16 years from 1981 - 1997. Those who don't know her work will be amazed to discover a major voice in Australian composition. This CD/Book is clearly in the must-have category, both from the musical and literary points of view." Warren Burt -Experimental Musical Instruments
Jim Denley + the Random Module Twins - sonic hieroglyphs from the night continent
CD from Splitrec (CD3)
"..traversing as complete and encyclopaedic a range of extended wind techniques as one could wish for, here the techniques are used in the service of a poetic vision of landscape that both refers to the ongoing engagement with landscape that has been a constant feature of Australian art for about 20,000 years, and also deals with contemporary ideas of structure in refreshing and original way." Warren Burt - Experimental Musical Instruments
scott sinclair / jim denley - Gleanings
CD from Splitrec (15)
Recorded at the UTS studios in Sydney May 2005 by Inge Olmheim, this duo finds Sinclair (Botborg) and Denley in a sprawling noisy, and much picked over area of activity - the guitar sax duo - but managing to sustain themselves with some overlooked discoveries.
Robbie Avenaim + Dale Gorfinkel - Sonic Systems Laboratory
CD from Splitrec (18)
Robbie Avenaim and Dale Gorfinkel, are a vibraphone duo with a difference. Their instruments are microtonally prepared and activated by machines instead of the usual mallets, resulting in a variety of unusual textures. Their music was like waking up to an alarm clock, only in reverse; the hypnotic quality of the sound pulling the listener into a dream world. Alarm bells gave way to scenes of old children's toys, followed by distant propellers and, finally, cats purring. By the end, Avenaim and Gorfinkle were literally shaking the sound from their instruments.
Chris Abrahams and Clare Cooper - Germ Studies
2XCD in oversized di from Splitrec (19)
From the 1st track on disk 1, Acid Shower – 0.16, to the last track on disk 2, Angry Climax – 0.36, small scale is rigourously adhered to, but the end result is a major statement over the 198 tracks. It's as if each of the microorganisms has all the information to develop into bigger organisms – there are some fecund moments, but the players keep moving on. In the end though, the resulting macrostructure of the 2 CDs, is formally unique.