Various Artists “Drift 01”

Staalplaat presents:
Various Artists “Drift 01”
Release date: 16 June 2012 - Distributed by Staalplaat www.staalplaat.com
Description:
Featuring Dj Sniff, eRikm, Martin Tétreault and
Arnaud Rivière.
Artists: Various (see description)
Title: Drift 01
Label: Artkillart
Catalogue Number: AKA 11
Staalplaat Code Number: 20997
Format: 2x10” + Artprint
Dealer Price: 16.50€
File under: Experimental Electronic,
Turntablism, Sound Art, Improvisation,
Silkscreen, Underground Art
Price for B2B resellers on request:
[email protected]
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Video of the performance here.
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Links:
Turntablism pioneer Martin Tétreault
Renowned French eRikm
Japanese improviser Dj Sniff
French Do-it-yourselfer Arnaud Rivière
Drift series curator Yann Leguay
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“DRIFT is a record series that uses non
conventional technics of vinyl cutting, inviting
artists to get involved with the materiel itself. For
the first issue DRIFT-01, a concert of 4
turntablists improvising together was organized
and recorded on 4 separate tracks. These 4
tracks became the 4 grooves, which meet on
each side. A special technique was used to cut
those several grooves, and layer them over each
other in order to make them intersect
continuously on the whole surface of the disc.
Playing the record produces a mix between the
4 physical sources. When you hear the sound
coming from the left or right, it is physically how
the pickup is drifting on the surface. The same
applies to the clicks and cuts that signify that the
needle has jumped. The pickup continually
changes groove throughout its reading. And
because it is impossible to read the 4 grooves
simultaneously, you listen to one musician after
the other but never reach the same listening
experience as live in concert.
The nature of the turntable, the quality and wear
of the needle, as well as playing with different
settings (cons-weight, anti-skating…) are factors
that affect the reading path. The duration
becomes elastic (cf1. comparative test), new
passages become available while some others
disappear and some phenomena of looping or
going backward may occur.
The vinyl creates its own improvisation, the
content becomes unstable.”
Staalplaat presents:
Various Artists “Drift 01”
Release date: 16 June 2012 - Distributed by Staalplaat www.staalplaat.com
REVIEWS
Monsieur Délire (French and English):
“Voici un disque que vous ne pourrez jamais télécharger! Premier d’une série annoncée par
Art Kill Art et qui se consacrera à réinventer le format vinyle. À la base de Drift-01 se trouve un
concert à quatre tourne-disqueurs (les susnommés). Sauf que vous n’entendrez qu’un seul à
la fois, parce que leurs contributions sont isolées, chacune sur son sillon. Qui plus est, ces
sillons se croisent: l’aiguille de votre tourne-disque voguera de l’un à l’autre – poids du bras de
lecture, réglage de l’anti-skate, usure de l’aiguille, propreté du vinyle influenceront le rendu de
chaque pièce (il y en a quatre, sur deux disques 10”). Une écoute différente à chaque fois. Requi plus est: les quatre compères utilisent beaucoup les bruits de surface dans leur art sonore,
au point où vous confondrez ce qu’ils font avec leur aiguille et ce que fait la vôtre. Jouissif.
Non, méta-jouissif! Édition limitée à 444 exemplaires.”
“Here’s a record you can’t download! The first installment in an Art Kill Art series devoted to
rethinking the vinyl format. At the start, Drift-01 documents a live performance by a quartet of
turntablists (the above-mentioned). Except that you can only hear one of them at a time, since
their individual contributions are isolated on separate grooves. Furthermore, these grooves
intersect: your stylus will drift from one to another and back – tonearm weight, anti-skating,
stylus wear and surface cleanliness will all influence the playback (and length) of each track –
there are four, one per side of this 2 x 10” set. Furthermore again: these musicians use a lot of
surface noise in their sound art, to a point where you’ll have a hard time distinguishing
between what they do with their styluses and what your own stylus is doing. Quite a thrill. You
might even call it a meta-thrill. Limited to 444 copies.” (François Couture)