Browse by Artist: SCHMICKLER, MARCUS

Artist:	SCHMICKLER, MARCUS
Title:	Param
Label:	A-MUSIK (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	A 020CD

"The new release on Cologne based label A-Musik contains compositions by Marcus Schmickler that were performed and recorded over the last four years with many various musicians and ensembles. These recordings document Schmickler's interest in a confrontation with modern classical composers, they are a return of 'the living dead.' According to Schmickler, innovations are only possible by including the old. Schmickler has been known also for his different approaches with Pluramon, MIMEO, his collaborations with Thomas Brinkmann or the improviser Thomas Lehn. Param continues his series of releases on A-Musik although it presents itself less electronic and less bulky than Wabi Sabi or Sator Rotas. The original recordings of the compositions are newly edited for this release."

Artist:	SCHMICKLER, MARCUS
Title:	Demos (For Choir, Chamber Quintet and Electronic Music)
Label:	A-MUSIK (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	A 032CD

"Marcus Schmickler's recent release on A-Musik is yet another proof of his stylistic diversity. His music defies all attempts at categorization. Schmickler appears to be well versed in all musical genres, having reached a level of perfection which seems almost unique in these times. Sui generis, as they say. Only a short while after his impressive duo improvisation with John Tilbury (Variety) and with a new Pluramon album due for release, Schmickler will once again convince critics and audiences. At the same time, this release reveals yet another aspect of his manifold musical activities -- composing for instrumental ensembles and choirs. Demos is Schmickler's most ambitious work to date. Premiered in March 2004 in Cologne, the piece went on a triumphal trip through half of Europe. Among other places, it has been performed at Cracow and the renowned Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Glasgow, where it was performed in the course of a three day festival organized especially for Schmickler. Demos -- which can be heard on this release in an arrangement for choir, chamber ensemble and electronic sounds -- deals with Nietzsche's thoughts expressed in his Zarathustra on the extent with which language could be dealt with (or addressed) as music. The piece does so on the basis of fragments from the text. The basis for (t)his philosophy Nietzsche perceived in the expression of the choirs in ancient Greek tragedy. Marcus Schmickler transcends the classic mythic emblems of ancient Greek choirs such as recitative and declamation by employing contemporary means. In the overwhelming power of the choir, Demos -- the Greek term for 'community' and commonly used for 'people' -- lets one sense the energy, which serves as a metaphor for a people and their ability to strongly voice their desires, their requests and their demands. Moreover, Schmickler's abstract and strepitous electronic sounds blend in an illustrative way with the text and the imagination of events portrayed in the dramatic performances of the choir. Thus they become projections of the clamour of an abstract mass. Demos is demanding, disturbing and suggestive in its idiosyncratic blend of sounds. This is a music which passes on the spirit of such luminaries as the late György Ligeti ('Requiem'), Jani Christou or Iannis Xenakis ('Medea'), but which in Schmickler's contemporary attitude gains a wholly different significance. Complementing the album are two excerpts of Schmickler's musical arrangements for theatre productions. All in all, this is an album which resurrects traditions as well as pursues the hitherto unheard in a unique way. In addition to that, it examines in how far constructivist and post-dramatic approaches can today inspire classic forms with new structures though the amalgamation of text, music and performative elements without betraying the qualities of the originals."

Artist:	SCHMICKLER, MARCUS
Title:	Demos (For Choir, Chamber Quintet and Electronic Music)
Label:	A-MUSIK (GERMANY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	A 032LP

"Marcus Schmickler's recent release on A-Musik is yet another proof of his stylistic diversity. His music defies all attempts at categorization. Schmickler appears to be well versed in all musical genres, having reached a level of perfection which seems almost unique in these times. Demos -- which can be heard on this release in an arrangement for choir, chamber ensemble and electronic sounds -- deals with Nietzsche's thoughts expressed in his Zarathustra on the extent with which language could be dealt with (or addressed) as music. The piece does so on the basis of fragments from the text. The basis for (t)his philosophy Nietzsche perceived in the expression of the choirs in ancient Greek tragedy. Marcus Schmickler transcends the classic mythic emblems of ancient Greek choirs such as recitative and declamation by employing contemporary means. In the overwhelming power of the choir, Demos -- the Greek term for 'community' and commonly used for 'people' -- lets one sense the energy, which serves as a metaphor for a people and their ability to strongly voice their desires, their requests and their demands. Moreover, Schmickler's abstract and strepitous electronic sounds blend in an illustrative way with the text and the imagination of events portrayed in the dramatic performances of the choir. Thus they become projections of the clamour of an abstract mass. Demos is demanding, disturbing and suggestive in its idiosyncratic blend of sounds. This is a music which passes on the spirit of such luminaries as the late György Ligeti ('Requiem'), Jani Christou or Iannis Xenakis ('Medea'), but which in Schmickler's contemporary attitude gains a wholly different significance. Complementing the album are two excerpts of Schmickler's musical arrangements for theatre productions. All in all, this is an album which resurrects traditions as well as pursues the hitherto unheard in a unique way. In addition to that, it examines in how far constructivist and post-dramatic approaches can today inspire classic forms with new structures though the amalgamation of text, music and performative elements without betraying the qualities of the originals." --Joachim Ody

Artist:	SCHMICKLER, MARCUS
Title:	Altars of Science
Label:	EDITIONS MEGO (AUSTRIA)
Format:	CD/DVD_AUDIO
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	EMEGO 082CD

The work of Cologne-based Marcus Schmickler has over the years crossed the boundaries between classical and pop, improvisation and techno. He is active as a solo artist under his own name, as well as working under the Pluramon moniker with Julee Cruise, plus countless collaborations in the field of electronic improvisation. Altars of Science is Schmickler's first purely electronic release since 1998's prize-winning Sator Rotas. A fascinating tour de force of modern computer music composition. Intense in its outlook, yet polished in its execution, it is an essential addition to any serious collection of 21st century audio. This special dual sided DVD+ format disc contains two versions of the same piece; one side has a stereo mix playable on all CD playing devices while the other side features the mind-blowing multi channel mix, playable on DVD players set up to 5.1.

Artist:	SCHMICKLER, MARCUS
Title:	Palace Of Marvels (Queered Pitch)
Label:	EDITIONS MEGO (AUSTRIA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	EMEGO 113CD

Marcus Schmickler's new release following his acclaimed Altars Of Science (EMEGO 082CD) is a must-have for those interested in the rising field of contemporary computer music. It reconfirms Schmickler's interest in the liaison of sound, phenomenology and cognitive sciences. Schmickler, therefore, utilizes a new interpretation of 1960's discovery, the Shepardtone, discovered by Roger Shepard, which creates the auditory illusion of a tone that continually rises or descends in pitch yet ultimately seems to get no higher or lower. The phenomenon was first introduced to the music world by James Tenney in his piece "For Ann Rising." Similarly, Schmickler has a musical take on the subject by creating arpeggios, short sequences of tones creating a similar effect. Schmickler's interest in the field was sparked by Ernst Gombrich's essays on "Art And Illusion," questioning the very foundations of our understanding of the history of the image and its representation of our world. Adequately, Schmickler's work ever since can be seen as a play within an anthropology of music in terms of its very fundamental parameters, rhythm, sound and pitch, as well as its socio-economic implications. Beyond that, the title Palace Of Marvels was taken from French intellectual Jacques Attali, who, in his critically-acclaimed book, Noise: The Political Economy Of Music, cites one of Leibniz's little-known but "extraordinary" texts, "Drôle de pensée touchant nouvelle sorte de représentation," in which the philosopher describes the "Palace Of Marvels." The Palace Of Marvels is Leibniz's idealization of a perfect political organization, which is built in such a way that the master of the house is able to hear and see everything that is being said and done in the premises without himself being perceived by his subjects. Leibniz's vision of disciplinary society not only predates Foucault's subsequent versions of surveillance mechanism, the Panopticon, but it also conceptualizes a more effective and absolute form of power through eavesdropping, censorship, and recording, as well as surveillance through visual means. Listening in on, ordering, transmitting, and recording noise are at the heart of the modern State. The idea for the material was originally conceived for a collaborative installation piece together with arts collective Interpallazo. The technical application was realized with the kind assistance of Prof. Dr. Alberto de Campo. Recorded and mastered at Piethopraxis, Köln. January-August 2010. Artwork by Tim Berresheim.

Artist:	SCHMICKLER, MARCUS
Title:	Palace Of Marvels (Queered Pitch)
Label:	EDITIONS MEGO (AUSTRIA)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$25.00
Catalog #:	EMEGO 113LP

2LP version, featuring an extended version of "Mystery Bouffe." Marcus Schmickler's new release following his acclaimed Altars Of Science (EMEGO 082CD) is a must-have for those interested in the rising field of contemporary computer music. It reconfirms Schmickler's interest in the liaison of sound, phenomenology and cognitive sciences. Schmickler, therefore, utilizes a new interpretation of 1960's discovery, the Shepardtone, discovered by Roger Shepard, which creates the auditory illusion of a tone that continually rises or descends in pitch yet ultimately seems to get no higher or lower. The phenomenon was first introduced to the music world by James Tenney in his piece "For Ann Rising." Similarly, Schmickler has a musical take on the subject by creating arpeggios, short sequences of tones creating a similar effect. Schmickler's interest in the field was sparked by Ernst Gombrich's essays on "Art And Illusion," questioning the very foundations of our understanding of the history of the image and its representation of our world. Adequately, Schmickler's work ever since can be seen as a play within an anthropology of music in terms of its very fundamental parameters, rhythm, sound and pitch, as well as its socio-economic implications. Beyond that, the title Palace Of Marvels was taken from French intellectual Jacques Attali, who, in his critically-acclaimed book, Noise: The Political Economy Of Music, cites one of Leibniz's little-known but "extraordinary" texts, "Drôle de pensée touchant nouvelle sorte de représentation," in which the philosopher describes the "Palace Of Marvels." The Palace Of Marvels is Leibniz's idealization of a perfect political organization, which is built in such a way that the master of the house is able to hear and see everything that is being said and done in the premises without himself being perceived by his subjects. Leibniz's vision of disciplinary society not only predates Foucault's subsequent versions of surveillance mechanism, the Panopticon, but it also conceptualizes a more effective and absolute form of power through eavesdropping, censorship, and recording, as well as surveillance through visual means. Listening in on, ordering, transmitting, and recording noise are at the heart of the modern State. The idea for the material was originally conceived for a collaborative installation piece together with arts collective Interpallazo. The technical application was realized with the kind assistance of Prof. Dr. Alberto de Campo. Recorded and mastered at Piethopraxis, Köln. January-August 2010. Artwork by Tim Berresheim.

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