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:	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:	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:	Belle Confusion 969
Label:	SONORIS (FRANCE)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	SONO 05

"Francisco López is a Spanish artist who has already released records on Trente Oiseaux, ND, Table Of The Elements, V2... He works in the field of experimental/abstract/minimal music. His music can be very minimal with a work on silence or more powerful but always with a consistent meaning. He uses many field recordings as basic materials for his work." Includes material based on original environmental recordings done between 1990 and 1996 in topical and sub-topical forests of Brazil, Argentian, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Senegal, Gambia and China. Limited stock.

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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