Browse by Artist: LOPEZ, FRANCISCO

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Live in San Francisco
Label:	23FIVE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	23FIVE 007CD

"With his ongoing pursuit of an 'absolute concrčte music,' Francisco López has recontextualized the sounds of the world around us by pushing these sounds to their polar extremes. At times, he has imposed gaping silences and eradicated all but the slightest traces of musicality; at others, he has turned the placid wash of rainforest insect chatter into mechanically toxic drones and twisted a gentle breeze into a hurricane force blast of raw sound. The ambient din of the urban environment, human voices, the run-out grooves of vinyl, and even propulsive death metal blast beats count as some of the choicest source material with the imposing López catalogue, which includes well over 130 published works. Over his illustrious career, López has traveled extensively both recording his source material and giving acousmatic performances for which he insists the audience members wear blindfolds. Over the years, the sound-arts organization 23five Incorporated has sponsored numerous López performances in and around San Francisco; and it is only fitting that 23five should publish this document of live recordings from San Francisco, with one track culled from the infamous Hexaphonic show at The Lab in August 2000, and the other from an intimate performance at 3feetofftheground in July 2001. The spectral timbres and ominous somatic fluctuations of those performances inspired some audience members to gush: 'It was just amazing how he layered the tracks together into massive lump of sonic force. Totally different from what can be heard on many of his releases which tend to be minimal and silent. I was craving for more. López rocks!'. As with the previous Live in 'S-Hertogenbosch document, Live in San Francisco comes with a blindfold to enhance the phenomonological experience of López's dramatic compositions."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Untitled #104
Label:	ALIEN8 RECORDINGS (CANADA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	ALIEN 020CD

Repressed. "Generally speaking Francisco Lopez falls into the school of sound being referred to as silent or quiet music. In fact up until this point Lopez could go head to head with the likes of Bernhard Günter for the crown of silence. Both artists participate in a genre that requires plenty of attention, ear phones and absolute silence in order to make sense of the nearly inaudible soundscapes. To the untrained ear many of their recordings wouldn't even register. We can assure you that this is not the case with Untitled # 104. This release has more resemblance to our releases by Masonna and Merzbow, not in terms of sound, but power."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Live in Montreal
Label:	ALIEN8 RECORDINGS (CANADA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$10.00
Catalog #:	ALIEN 054CD

"This release documents an especially memorable performance from 2002. Live in Montreal commences very quietly as a barely audible hiss, which proceeds to build in intensity until the sixteen minute mark, then falls back into silence for a few seconds before advancing into the next movement of the piece. At this point the performance takes on a scarier and more sinister shape. Sounds seem to move in all directions. It is absolutely mind blowing what Francisco Lopez is able to achieve using equalization and a quadraphonic speaker set up. There are percussive elements to this piece that are fresh and unusual that last for about five minutes from the 20- to 25-minute mark. They eventually fade out giving way to an increasingly powerful drone that is classic Lopez. The sounds during this portion of the recording are incredibly rich and dense. At times you think you can detect elements of a string quartet in the distance or tape stretching of a vocal choir. At the 32-minute mark the recording starts to fade out the same way it began and while it is a long piece, it certainly has the feel of a complete work."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Untitled #180
Label:	ALIEN8 RECORDINGS (CANADA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	ALIEN 064CD

May, 2006 release. "Untitled #180 is perhaps López's most playful and humorous release. While it features his trademark swells, bursts of pure sound and extended periods of silence, a unique element captured on this release is the predominant electroacoustic feel to the sound. This has a lot to do with the sound sources, short samples borrowed from blockbuster motion pictures. As a result many of the clichés of both the world of academic electroacoustic music and film sound effects are beautifully exploited on this recording. Listening to Untitled #180 with adequate volume is quite a mind-bending experience. With its juxtaposition of silence and extremely dense sound one is left with an impression similar to the works of composers such as Carl Stalling and Raymond Scott's works for cartoons or perhaps the music of Pierre Henry, but with the undeniably powerful touch of López. Untitled #180 is perhaps a reaction to how brutal the sound effects utilized in the film industry have become, with THX and surround sound and associated technologies the sound of car crashes, creatures, explosions or just sounds of every day life have become incredibly loud in the cinema setting. It is very easy to get a feel for this listening to segments of Untitled #180. There are moments on this recording that are absolutely over the top and the different sounds inspire so much mental imagery that is mind-boggling trying to follow the piece. In this respect, the near-silent passages are well earned."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	TechnoCalyps
Label:	ALIEN8 RECORDINGS (CANADA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	ALIEN 077CD

"Continuing his 'exploration of the universe of broad-band noise from the real world,' Francisco López delivers his latest tour de force, the original soundtrack to the film TechnoCalyps by Frank Theys. TechnoCalyps is a documentary in three parts on 'Transhumanism,' which deals with the subject of human beings no longer being the driving force of civilization. Director Frank Theys raises the question of whether we are prepared to accept the prospect that humanity is not the end of evolution. Francisco López' soundtrack compliments the film wonderfully. Anybody familiar with the sound art of the composer will understand why this is a sensible pairing. Francisco's ability to utilize everyday sounds that most people barely even notice, and transform them into sound art is quite astonishing. The original soundtrack opens with an intro that is based on repetitious industrial sounds that bring to mind heavy machinery heard from a distance. It is much more difficult to discern Lopez's source material on this release than on many of his previous works. While the recording features his trademark ebb and flow of quiet passages leading through crescendo to louder climaxes, the industrial nature of TechnoCalyps, makes it more difficult to absorb than many of his recordings centered on environmental recordings. The sound experience found on this latest recording can be compared somewhat to Lopez's highly-regarded Buildings (New York) which features recordings of the actual sounds of the buildings themselves. This is our sixth release with Francisco López and is packaged in a full color digipak featuring stills of the film TechnoCalyps."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Untitled (2005)
Label:	ANOEMA RECORDS (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	NOCD 030CD

"Spanish composer Francisco López presents four recently composed pieces which span a broad dynamic as well as stylistic range. Together these constitute a fascinating and intense research exploration into the deep essence of sound. From sizzling jungle atmospheres to rumbling subterranean drones and microscopic details, this is a Francisco López tour de force. In addition to three pieces based on environmental recordings, Untitled (2005) features also an instrumental composition Untitled #111 (For Jani Christou) performed by the noted German Zeitkratzer ensemble. Not surprisingly, either way the sound is 100% Francisco López. On this release Mr. López might be unusually forthcoming about the sound sources he uses (as specified on the sleeve) but the dedication for the creation of absolute music remains the same."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Nowhere: Short Pieces 1983 to 2003
Label:	BLOSSOMING NOISE
Format:	10CD BOX/5"
Price:	$85.00
Catalog #:	BN 039LTD-CD

"20-year collection from the pioneer of absolute concrčte music. Nowhere: Short Pieces 1983 to 2003, is the centerpiece to this prolific artist's catalog. This artist edition is limited to 100 copies. It includes a 5" record with 10 years of compressed music on each side, as well as a black lapel pin. Housed in a stunning black on black embossed box. Released as a cooperative operation from Blossoming Noise and Gender-less Kibbutz."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Live In 's-Hertogenbosch
Label:	BOTTROP-BOY (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	BBOY 012CD

"World renowned composer Francisco López has by now an extensive discography and is seen regularly performing his music live around the globe. Yet only a very small portion of his extensive discography reflects his activities on stage. Therefore we are proud to release this excellent recording of a Francisco López concert from 1999, taped in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. In a dark room, López sat behind the mixing board and mixed his various sound sources blindfolded, whilst his audience was also blindfolded. Unlike his many 'silent' (or more accurately) studio CD's, López here builds the sound from extreme silence to extreme loudness. This CD comes with a black blindfold which is recommended for use during playback of the CD at home."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Lopez Island
Label:	ELEVATOR BATH
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	EEAOA 011CD

"Elevator Bath is immensely proud to present this exquisite new work from one of the major figures of contemporary experimental music. Lopez Island was crafted from original environmental sound matter recorded in Lopez Island during the Winter of 1999-2000. The resulting composition is 51 minutes of both delicate minutiae as well as startling power -- crackling, howling, and haunting. The small island in Washington state provided the beautiful, isolated terrain for López's gathering of raw sounds and, as a personal audio document (though clearly beyond mere documentary), the landscape has been expertly translated. A quintessentially chilling interpretation of the winter beach, Lopez Island is a worthy addition to López's exemplary body of absolute concrčte music and, indeed, one of his finest works to date. Packaged inside two elegant printed sleeves of 100% recycled paper, this compact disc has been issued in an edition of 500 copies."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Machines
Label:	ELEVATOR BATH
Format:	2CD
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	EEAOA 030CD

"Elevator Bath is extremely pleased to present this new double CD set of thematically-linked works from Francisco López, still unquestionably one of the major figures of contemporary experimental music. Machines collects four pieces recorded from 2004-2007, each of which is based upon sounds of machinery (clocks, elevators, and various laboratory and factory equipment) gathered, respectively, in Amsterdam, Leipzig, Barcelona, and Riga. Yes, these compositions are permeated by an 'industrial' sound, but these are very subtle arrangements, even with a wide dynamic scope and with silence playing a lesser role than in much of López' output. There is a strong rhythmic presence in these recordings, heavy with the weight of machinery. Thick sounds held in crisp clarity. Blindfold or no, Machines offers an involving listening experience, drawing the listener deep into the various locales of its sources. And with a running time of more than two and a half hours, this is a substantial and important addition to the world of absolute concrčte music by one of the most distinguished and distinctive artists in the field. Packaged inside an elegant printed sleeve with a fold-out insert featuring color photography by the composer. Printed with soy-based ink on 100% recycled paper. This double compact disc set has been issued in an edition of 500 copies."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Conops
Label:	GD STEREO
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	GD 020CD

2008 release. "Conops is a work created from recordings of environments which are dominated by networks of insect sound. It is a composition of sound immersion that is not designed to represent reality, but rather transform it into a new sound universe, absolute and hyper. Original environmental sound matter recorded at multiple locations in Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Greece, Japan, Senegal, and the USA between 1990 and 2005. Edited and mastered at Mobile Messor, spring 2007. Compact disc in an all white digipak. Limited edition of 1000."

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Untitled #244
Label:	SUB ROSA (BELGIUM)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	SR 304CD

Part 3 in Sub Rosa's new series Framework is an extension of their Concrete Electronics Noise series, a brand new mix-up of unusual conceptions of sound material by young unknown composers, well-known not-so-young composers and old but clever composers. Limited to 700 copies.

Francisco López is internationally recognized as one of the major figures of the sound art and experimental music scene. Over the past 30 years, he has developed an astonishing sonic universe, absolutely personal and iconoclastic, based on a profound listening of the world. Destroying boundaries between industrial sounds and wilderness sound environments, shifting with passion from the limits of perception to the most dreadful abyss of sonic power, proposing a blind, profound and transcendental listening, freed from the imperatives of knowledge and open to sensory and spiritual expansion. He has realized hundreds of concerts, projects with field recordings, workshops and sound installations in 60 countries of the five continents. His extensive catalog of sound pieces (with live and studio collaborations with over 100 international artists) has been released by more than 200 record labels worldwide, and he has been awarded three times with honorary mentions at the Ars Electronica Festival. Untitled #244 was created with the evolution of original environmental recordings done at multiple underwater and abovewater locations in the Paraná and Paraguay rivers (Argentina and Paraguay).

Artist:	LOPEZ, FRANCISCO
Title:	Untitled (1999)
Label:	SUBSOUND RECORDS (AUSTRALIA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	SUBS 001

"Untitled (1999) is released late 2001 to coincide with Lopez' first Australian tour. Comprising 7 untitled works ranging from one minute to eighteen minutes in length and recorded over the past three years, the release presents a wide ranging selection of Lopez' styles, typically representative of his dynamic live performances. Distant, subtle oceans of processed sound environments and selective use of silence contrast with powerful waves of full-frequency drones. Sound for deep listening at high volumes. Minimally packaged in a clear slimline jewel case, Untitled (1999) is released in a limited edition of 500 copies."

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