Sound artists/musicians/ambassadors-from-the-beyond Miguel Frasconi and Denman Maroney met in a Brooklyn recording studio one afternoon to record some improvisational jams. Compiled into the album Gleam, set to release today, each recording presents a terrifyingly fascinating, alien expression of not only otherworldly sounds but also moods and atmospheres beyond the purview of our ordinary Earthbound existence. In addition to their compositional bravery and ingenuity, Frasconi and Maroney’s particular methods of noise-making set their sound apart from other experimental artists. Enclosed with the album, Porter Records‘ promotional one-sheet gives some clues about the instrumentation :
Miguel Frasconi uses a menagerie of glass objects to create music from a uniquely imagined tradition. These objects are struck, blown, stroked and otherwise coaxed into vibration…Denman Maroney plays what he calls the hyperpiano,” which involves bowing and sliding the strings with steel cylinders, Tibetan prayer bowls, rubber blocks and CD cases to create a unique sonic vocabulary.
Klavier Integral by Nam June Paik
The hyperpiano initially sounded a lot like Nam June Paik’s Klavier Integral, but Maroney doesn’t physically alter the pianos he plays except through the manipulation of strings with his tools.
Tune into Cabinet of Curiosities on Monday nights from 8:30pm-10:30pm for a chance to devour a sonic morsel from this outfit. Porter also has an audio sample available to stream here.
Scroll down for a video of Miguel Frasconi shredding some glass!
About the author
Music Director - Our music director takes more dance classes than academic classes, collects noisemakers, sups on soup in the wintertime, and still finds time to read Susan Stryker's "Transgender History" to KZSC's pet seahorse.