Reviews

"Here as elsewhere, Edwards on tenor saxophone impresses with a rich tone plus keen melodic instincts on a slowly unfolding solo."

"Lapslap comprises Michael Edwards (tenor sax, computer MIDI wind controller), Martin Parker (French horn, computer) and Karin Schistek (piano), and Itch was recorded in Reid Hall in Edinburgh, where the acoustic is such that the musicians felt it worth trying to include it as an element in some of their improvisations. Certainly this is very atmospheric music. The ten short and varied performances explore a wide range of sonorities and textures which is further extended by use of electronic modifications. The insert notes refer to the the trio's desire "to make well-formed music in realtime", and on the evidence of these single-take tracks they have succeeded admirably.

There are passages, as on "Nailed" for piano and computer, where Lapslap evoke some of the very best of the early musique concrete productions of the Pierre Schaeffer circle, wile in part of "Honk" for tenor sax, piano and electronics, the spirit of Stockhausen hovers, though some visceral Broetzmann-style outbursts justifying the title) sweep everything else aside and go some way to preparing the ears for the flurry of Industrial noise on the next track, "Hungry", for piano and two computers. Elsewhere, in "Motor Mouth" for example, there is some good old mainstream Fire Music, with shades of Archie Shepp and Cecil Taylor. This sequence of contrasts gives some indication of the group's tactic of constantly unsettling your expectations.

Schistek is a synaesthete, a fact that informs the closing track, "Rhapsody in Light Yellow" for piano and two computers. Most of us sometimes resort to similes of light and colour in an attempt to convey the nature and effect of music, but for synaesthetes the hue of a note or a chord or key is not a metaphorical device but an objective fact. Efforts to empathise with how Schistek literally sees this music bring this impressive session to a fascinating, thought-provoking close."

"...brings to mind compositions based on the controlled tempo of breath. With a pace similar to a traditional Sanjo, slowly breathing in ideas and bellowing out well thought out processed thoughts, each player giving just enough titillation to provoke the other to reciprocate. Lapslap creates for the listener a suspenseful and exciting auditory world. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!"

"“…And now for “Grunt Count”. This is a bit of fancy computer programming by English composer Martin Parker, and it can be very loud. So, if I see any of you with your hands over your ears, I’ll consider it a positive comment.” Ms. La Berge began her second piece, a tour-de-force “solo” that stretched the boundaries between music and noise, delicate beauty and fearsome, overwhelming ugliness. A description of the piece offers an intellectual analysis; however, this does not include the stage presence of Ms. La Berge – her performance was also a dance, using the microphone as an instrument to modify and stretch the sound of the flute. Quick motions brought the flute only millimeters away from the microphone (and the sound was correspondingly earsplitting); at other times she played several feet away from the mic, as if it wasn’t even there; delicate flute stylings amid numberless other sounds. Quite a piece!"

"‘Iannis Xenakis’ Okho, was an excellent ‘overture’, setting a tone of energetic enthusiasm that lasted throughout the concert. Grab, by Martin Parker, was the highpoint … the trio effectively became a sextet, with the computer semi-randomly sampling and manipulating each instrumentalist’s contribution to create another three voices… producing some disturbing dialogue reminiscent of passages from Berio’s Visage … performed with considerable flair.’"