Pauline Oliveros: Mercury Retrograde; Cyber Talk / Francisco López: untitled #270; untitled #273 / Doug Van Nort: Outer; Inner / Jonas Braasch: Web Doppelgänger; Snow Drifts

This recording consists of 8 electro-acoustic compositions - 2 pieces by each of the 4 composers. The works span a vast sonic terrain, challenging listener and performer alike through a seamless blend of Deep Listening and Absolute Noise, moving between ever-fluid improvisation and carefully controlled sound manipulation.

The quartet convened for two improvisational sessions between February and May of 2010, with López sitting in on a Triple Point (Oliveros/Van Nort/Braasch) recording session and bringing his finely crafted sonic objects-as-instruments, further spanning the electro-acoustic divide that has become Triple Point's calling. The four later re-formed for their debut concert at the Deep Listening Institute in Kingston, NY in September of 2010. These sessions have since become raw material for the individual artists to construct new visions of this shared sonic body through extensive and thorough evolution of the recordings - personal reflections culled from a collective tapestry.

PAULINE OLIVEROS

“Shortly after it was published in 1968 the SCUM Manifesto by Valerie Solanas fell into my hands.  Intrigued by the egalitarian feminist principles set forth in the Manifesto, I wanted to incorporate them in the structure of a new piece that I was composing. The women's movement was surfacing and I felt the need to express my resonance with this energy.  Marilyn Monroe had taken her own life.  Valerie Solanas had attempted to take the life of Andy Warhol. Both women seemed to be desperate and caught in the traps of inequality:  Monroe needed to be recognized for her talent as an actress.  Solanas wished to be supported for her own creative work. Commissioned by the Music Department of Hope College, Holland Michigan, To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation had its premiere in 1970.  Though everyone knew Marilyn Monroe hardly anyone recognized Valerie Solanas or took her Manifesto seriously.  I brought the names of these two women together in the title of the piece to draw attention to their inequality and to dedicate the piece.” – Pauline Oliveros. 

This LP contains both the 1970 Hope College premiere, performed by a 14-piece ensemble, and a 1977 recording from Wesleyan University, performed by a 43-piece orchestra.  Roaratorio is proud to present the first commercially available release of this eerie, beautiful, and important Oliveros work.  Cover artwork by Judith Lindbloom.  Download coupon included.

"Much of Oliveros's aesthetic is best understood as environment, areas of aural doldrums providing momentary and slightly queasy resting points, like the requisite standing back from a massive architectural work to take in the whole before venturing back in. In

To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe

, the hallmarks of Oliveros's later philosophy and aesthetic are brought into direct play with politically-charged expressionism. Kudos to Minneapolis-based Roaratorio Records for uncovering such a significant work, a piece of music that will probably scare the living shit out of you. Valerie Solanas would be proud." - Clifford Allen,

Paris Transatlantic

Anyone who has heard Thollem or Scodanibbio as a soloist might well imagine what a combination of their unique genius could produce. Now you can hear it for real on Debussy's Piano...yes...the same piano the magical, marvelous and world-changing Claude Debussy once owned and played himself. And Debussy's spirit certainly hovers here in the auras of ferocious demoniacal energies and delicate impressionistic shades of vibration emanating from these mesmerizing, polished structures.

Stefano Scodanibbio, for many years now, has redefined and expanded greatly the techniques of playing the double bass. He has made this instrument speak in ways never before experienced and has unleashed a sonic arsenal for this instrument that has inspired composers like Cage, Berio and Stockhausen to heap praise on this wonderful 21st c. Paganini. On this recording he burns through Thollem's structures with fire and elegance.

Thollem's keyboard flights unleash cascades of notes of seemingly impossible velocity and no matter where he goes tonally, it always seems right, fresh and satisfying. He should be on everyone's listening list who appreciates great piano music. As an improviser, he inhabits a world uniquely his own, rhythmically, harmonically and formally. A true original. Debussy's Piano, Thollem and Scodanibbio. An imaginative idea, wonderfully realized with virtuosity, improvisational mastery and intuitive communication of deep sensibility all residing here in the magical marriage of their artistry - Terry Riley

 Sounding the Margins: Collected Writing 1992 - 2009. 287 pages.

Sounding the Margins: Collected Writings 1992-2009 by composer, performer,humanitarian, and Deep Listening™ founder Pauline Oliveros document her activity over this period and the many recent advances that have taken place in the fields of electronic and telematic musical performance, improvisation, artificial intelligence, and the role of women in contemporary music.

"A fascinating collection of essays by a visionary composer and musical thinker, Sounding the Margins is a 'must read' for anyone interested in the directions music is heading in the twenty-first century." - David Bernstein