{"id":16651,"date":"2018-08-10T21:01:40","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T21:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16651"},"modified":"2019-07-26T15:41:25","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T15:41:25","slug":"voll-halb-langsam-halt-gregory-buettner","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16651","title":{"rendered":"Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt | Gregory B\u00fcttner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 1px solid black;\" title=\"Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt | Gregory B\u00fcttner\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/Photos\/cover_gruen_181.jpg\" alt=\"Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt | Gregory B\u00fcttner\" border=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16666\">Gregory B\u00fcttner<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nGruen 181 | Audio CD + Digital &gt; [<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.gruenrekorder.de\/?full#Gruen_181\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">order<\/a>]<br \/>\n<a href=\"#reviews\">Reviews<\/a><\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201eVoll.Halb.Langsam.Halt\u201c is based on contact mic recordings, which I recorded on an old steamboat, an ice-breaker from the 1930. I had the chance to take a trip on the ship from Rostock to Ru\u0308gen over the Baltic Sea in 2010. The body of the ship is completely built from metal, so it is a big resonant room which sounds very different on each spot which I put my contact mics on (I used two contact mics, so I could record in stereo). I walked around the ship, placing my mics on different areas of the ship and also directly on parts of the steam engine, which is still fired by coal. For the composition I only used the pure recordings without additional sound manipulations, only juxtapositions, transitions and cuts.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/mp3\/Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt_excerpt1.mp3\">MP3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/mp3\/Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt_excerpt2.mp3\">MP3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/mp3\/Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt_excerpt3.mp3\">MP3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/mp3\/Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt_excerpt4.mp3\">MP3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/mp3\/Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt_excerpt5.mp3\">MP3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>1 Track (35\u203235\u2033)<br \/>\nCD (300 copies)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gregorybuettner.de\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.gregorybuettner.de<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_1_placeholder\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Field Recording Series by Gruenrekorder<br \/>\nGermany \/ 2018 \/ Gruen 181 \/ LC 09488 \/ GEMA \/ EAN 4050486130223<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr size=\"2\" width=\"100%\" \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"reviews\"><\/a><strong>Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ed Pinsent | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesoundprojector.com\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Sound Projector<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nSteam Metal &#8211; Hamburg sound artist Gregory B\u00fcttner often surfaces on his own 1000Fussler label, but here he is on Gruenrekorder, the home of artistic field recording releases. Voll. Halb. Langsam. Halt. (Gruen 181) was recorded on an old steamboat that was built in the 1930s and happens to be made completely of metal. Using his contact mics, B\u00fcttner has created a \u201cmetal\u201d record putting him directly in line with Test Dept, Neubaten, and other industrial acts who recycled metal to produce a robust clang. The difference is that Gregory B\u00fcttner\u2019s odyssey \u2013 he did in fact make a trip on this old ice-breaker steamboat, crossing the Baltic Sea on it \u2013 is subdued, restrained, and textural in nature. We get a strong taste of the \u201cgrain\u201d of the metal, often conveyed through semi-mechanical puttering sounds, and probably what we\u2019re hearing there is a distant echo of the coal fired steam engine of this beast.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>B\u00fcttner claims he also liked the space of the hull itself as some kind of \u201cresonant room\u201d. Ironically, very little of that comes across on today\u2019s spin, which is cramped and internalised, like being shoved inside the smallest cabin on the vessel, receiving no word from the captain, and being fed a diet of gruel. The title of the record refers to the old-fashioned way of communicating orders from the wheelhouse to the engine room (full, half, slow and stop), by means of the engine order telegraph, which I think used to be called a \u201cChadburn\u201d back in the days when they were made of brass. Admire B\u00fcttner\u2019s selection of this antique ship, but he doesn\u2019t really bring it to life for me, and instead just reduces it to a succession of insert processed noises through his dry electro-acoustic approach.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesoundprojector.com\/2019\/03\/07\/steam-metal\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Denis Boyer | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.feardrop.net\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FEARDROP<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nCompositeur exp\u00e9rimental vivant \u00e0 Hamburg, Gregory B\u00fcttner est aussi field recorder. En 2010, il a pu s\u00e9journer \u00e0 bord d\u2019un vieux brise-glace \u00e0 vapeur lors d\u2019une travers\u00e9e de la Mer Baltique. Il y a plac\u00e9 des micros-contact et cet album en rapporte les sons remarquables. Il s\u2019agit \u00e9videmment d\u2019un geste r\u00e9fl\u00e9chi, port\u00e9 \u00e0 un environnement riche en particularit\u00e9s sonores. Ce n\u2019est en aucun cas une phonographie al\u00e9atoire dans laquelle il faudrait, au petit bonheur, esp\u00e9rer trouver \u00e0 la batt\u00e9e, une ou deux p\u00e9pites sans aucune certitude sur leur carat. Gregory B\u00fcttner a d\u00e9lib\u00e9r\u00e9ment \u00e9lu ce vieux bateau \u00e0 vapeur pour son potentiel sonore. Le musicien pr\u00e9cise qu\u2019il a laiss\u00e9 ses enregistrements intacts, sans autre manipulation que les transitions. Le plus gros de la pi\u00e8ce unique est constitu\u00e9 de s\u00e9quences rythmiques. On p\u00e9n\u00e8tre alors dans le mouvement complexe bien que mesur\u00e9 d\u2019une machinerie qui rel\u00e8ve \u00e0 la fois du transport, du moteur, de l\u2019outil. Les oscillations m\u00e9talliques, telles qu\u2019un percussionniste minimaliste en produirait sur une peau d\u00e9tendue, se r\u00e9percutent dans des couloirs que l\u2019on devine profonds, jusqu\u2019\u00e0 ce que cet \u00e9cho se rapproche, r\u00e9ponse de la paroi en t\u00f4le au fr\u00eale tapotement.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Chaque point de captage sonore, compte tenu du potentiel sonif\u00e8re important du bateau, est une source distincte. Ainsi, plus loin, le m\u00e9canisme h\u00e9lico\u00efdal l\u2019emporte sur le balancier. L\u2019ellipse claudicante semble appeler la vapeur \u00e0 son aide, tandis qu\u2019un m\u00e9tronome isol\u00e9 finit par se transformer en machine \u00e0 \u00e9crire. Les doigts d\u2019acier gripp\u00e9s fourmillent et sans r\u00e9elle surprise on entend plus loin l\u2019averse de la limaille, corrosion avanc\u00e9e des organes m\u00e9talliques, \u00e0 moins qu\u2019on imagine la mutation de la travers\u00e9e en aventure ferroviaire, jusqu\u2019\u00e0 ce qu\u2019un doux mouvement de baratte vienne replacer l\u2019environnement aquatique au premier plan. Il ne faut, en effet, que peu d\u2019effort, pour convertir tous ces filons rythmiques en \u00e9vocations surr\u00e9alistes. C\u2019est la grande r\u00e9ussite des meilleurs enregistrements de terrain, lever le champ des analogues, attester que leur d\u00e9couvreur a flair\u00e9 leur pr\u00e9cieux amarrage au gisement po\u00e9tique.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.feardrop.net\/?p=2781&#038;fbclid=IwAR0ZuuFZhGDVieE0NCHUCoMliTOiS2ld2eqGF0DdhdBKbE4Ua9jWg-Pn5uk\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/textura.org\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">textura<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nEvery six months or so, new items appear on Lasse-Marc Riek and Roland Etzin&#8217;s Gruenrekorder imprint that present innovative treatments of field recordings-based work. Three recent projects exemplify the imaginative sensibilities artists bring to the label&#8217;s output, in this case releases by Eisuke Yanagisawa, Gregory B\u00fcttner, and Michael Lightborne (all three are available in digital form, the first two also as CDs and Lightborne&#8217;s in vinyl). As an indication of the breadth of the label&#8217;s projects, Yanagisawa&#8217;s Path of the Wind focuses on sounds generated by the Aeolian Harp, a string instrument \u2018played&#8216; by nature, whereas Lightborne&#8217;s Sounds of the Projection Box has to do with ambient sounds originating from UK-based cinema projection booths. Each of the three releases fascinates in different ways. [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hamburg-based sound artist Gregory B\u00fcttner used two contact mics to gather the base material for his long-form, thirty-six-minute composition Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt. The raw sounds were collected when he took a trip in 2010 on an old icebreaker traveling from Rostock to R\u00fcgen over the Baltic Sea. With the ship&#8217;s body completely built from metal, it lent itself especially well to the project when different areas on the boat generated sounds different from anywhere else; B\u00fcttner even sourced recordings from the coal-fired steam engine. In constructing the soundscape, he used juxtapositions, transitions, and cuts but didn&#8217;t apply any additional sound manipulations; the detail&#8217;s worth noting as it makes the result all the more striking for the way he shaped the material into a piece that, while heavily percussive in nature, plays more like a musical work than field recording.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the sound design aspect, metallic timbres and ambient noises dominate, whereas rhythm structures emerge when hydraulic elements, clicks, rustlings, bells, and engine noises are shaped into beat-like formations. Layers of repeating cells unite to create the impression of an insistent, propulsive rhythm machine that resembles in certain moments the collective tick-tocking of multiple timepieces. Though it&#8217;s presented as a single-track piece, Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt does advance through multiple parts; still, while discernible shifts in character are audible, transitions never occur so abruptly they prove jarring. One comes away from the work appreciating it as a creation of rhythmically focused yet nonetheless musical character ingeniously assembled by B\u00fcttner from non-musical sources.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/textura.org\/archives\/b\/buttner_lightborne_yanagisawa.htm\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u0141ukasz Kom\u0142a | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nowamuzyka.pl\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nowamuzyka.pl<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nGregory B\u00fcttner mieszka i pracuje w Hamburgu. Od 2000 roku koncentruje si\u0119 g\u0142\u00f3wnie na soundartcie i elektroakustyce. W 2004 roku za\u0142o\u017cy\u0142 wytw\u00f3rni\u0119 1000f\u00fcssler, specjalizuj\u0105c\u0105 si\u0119 w muzyce eksperymentalnej. \u2013 Moja praca rozpoczyna si\u0119 od poszukiwania, znalezienia lub wyprodukowania materia\u0142u akustycznego \u2013 tak pisze o sobie B\u00fcttner. Zatem jak to si\u0119 ma do najnowszego materia\u0142u z albumu \u201eVoll.Halb.Langsam.Halt\u201d? Tym razem punktem wyj\u015bcia, swoistym d\u017awi\u0119kowym znaleziskiem, okaza\u0142 si\u0119 parowiec-lodo\u0142amacz z 1930 roku.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Artysta osiem lat temu wyruszy\u0142 statkiem z Rostocku do Rugii nad Ba\u0142tykiem, gdzie stacjonuje wspomniany parowiec, aby uchwyci\u0107 na nim jego tkank\u0119 d\u017awi\u0119kow\u0105. Mikrofony kontaktowe pow\u0119drowa\u0142y w rozmaite zakamarki tego metalowego obiektu. Trafi\u0142y cho\u0107by bezpo\u015brednio na cz\u0119\u015bci silnika parowego (wci\u0105\u017c opalany w\u0119glem), co te\u017c doskonale s\u0142ycha\u0107 w paru momentach. Industrialny stukot hipnotyzuje miarowym rytmem i jest daleki od idyllicznego szumu fal, za to bli\u017cszy plemiennej rytmik b\u0119bn\u00f3w. Nie ma tu tak\u017ce dodatkowej ingerencji ze strony B\u00fcttnera, czyli studyjnej postprodukcji, opr\u00f3cz typowych zabieg\u00f3w jak ci\u0119cia czy dodawanie przej\u015b\u0107. Gdybym nie wiedzia\u0142, \u017ce chodzi o wn\u0119trzno\u015bci parowca to pewnie mia\u0142bym du\u017ce problemy z nakierowaniem skojarze\u0144 na w\u0142a\u015bciwy trop. Zach\u0119cam do pob\u0142\u0105dzenia w skupieniu przy \u201eVoll.Halb.Langsam.Halt\u201d.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nowamuzyka.pl\/2018\/10\/29\/nowosci-z-gruenrekorder-4\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>TJ Norris | <a href=\"https:\/\/toneshift.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Toneshift<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nHamburg-based field recordist Gregory B\u00fcttner delivers his latest, Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt, a singular work, an electroacoustic composition based on the stereo sound of two contact mics upon a metallic steamboat, runs for about thirty-six minutes. The recording starts with lots of jittering, growing slightly voluminous in short time. It\u2019s as though B\u00fcttner is settled in the engine room with loose old mechanics. However, the shimmies are somewhat engaging, like rickety beats.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>IN-SITU AHOY: He\u2019s managed to capture all sorts of unusual gadgets in action, with a dad that was a longshoreman, this grabs my ears by the drums. So many unusual squeeky, roaring percussive elements, mechanical drone and various rotors in action \u2013 it\u2019s quite exciting. At times it rotates and churns with a tremendous rumble, a well oiled machine so to speak. It\u2019s a bit of an anti-composition in that, though he breaks these variables into shorter repetitive vignettes, he allows for the unexplored to do their own thing, becoming a witness, yet in some instances, overlapping strange ticking with gaseous emissions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The hiss grows as loud as a bombastic hive that\u2019s been suddenly disturbed. It\u2019s a tinny racket with the embedded chugging layered and slowly being erased into the mix. Everything is atonally syncopated, but I truly love when he blends two similar gizmos at slightly off-register speeds, causing for a funky sort of delay. It\u2019s fascinating to hear the belly of a boat have such similarities to a steam engine on a train, that\u2019s the power of good ole steam I\u2019d guess. Even stranger the end result makes me think of a prepared upright bass, but there is not an instrument of its sort in sight. What a fascinating capture of industrial rhythm at play. Remarkably hypnotic, it tilts the mind.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/toneshift.net\/2018\/10\/09\/voll-halb-langsam-halt-by-gregory-buttner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hal Harmon | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.musiquemachine.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Musique Machine<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nGruenrekorder, the ever reliable label for all things in the realm of field-recording based sound art, presents Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt by Gregory B\u00fcttner. This release is available in both CD and digital formats.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When I was a young chap I used to fantasize about being a stowaway on a large naval vessel at the turn of the century. Perhaps fueled by stories of the Titanic or the explorations of Jacques Cousteau, my day dreams often drifted to adventure on the high seas. Even at middle age now, I\u2019ve never stopped being attracted to maritime sights and sounds. Despite never having the opportunity to realize those childhood fantasies, Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt provides a welcome vicarious excursion. In 2010, B\u00fcttner had the opportunity to travel the Baltic Sea in a 1930\u2019s steam boat, an ice-breaker. Using a pair of contact mics, to achieve stereo recording, B\u00fcttner captured sounds throughout the vessel. The metal hull, the engine, the atmospheric ambience of the ship are all expertly captured, without the use of any additional manipulation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Clocking in at a 35:35, Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt is presented as one single track, however it unfolds in multiple parts (cut in a way to play like a multi-track disc). The track opens with a reverberating ticking sound, kind of reminding me of morse code being entered quickly, and is followed by a thicker persistent knocking. Next we move onto the sounds of the engine plugging along with contact mic movement along the way. As you can imagine, the sounds are repetitious in parts, and drone along in short spurts to longer spans. The are many variations on machinery chugging away in rhythmic fashion. At about the halfway mark, a real fast sputter breaks up some structural ambience. Later engine movement almost mimics tribal drummer, which recedes into some final moments ambience once again to cap things off. All in all, B\u00fcttner\u2019s recordings give a picture postcard recap of his travels. Given the nature of this material, that\u2019s really what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So in summing-up with this album Gruenrekorder once again delivers an exceptional audio travel diary.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.musiquemachine.com\/reviews\/reviews_template.php?id=6912\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brian Olewnick | <a href=\"http:\/\/olewnick.blogspot.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Just outside<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nContact mic recordings sourced from a 1930s steamboat that had been used as an ice-breaker, on which B\u00fcttner voyaged in 2010. Much of the ship was metal and contained a vast array of sound possibilities and excellent resonance. B\u00fcttner has assembled a load of recordings, not altering them in any manner apart from cutting and reconfiguring, presenting a 35-minute sequence of sounds that, while often iterative in an engine\/machine sense, strike me as generally remote from water, an interesting isolation and encapsulation of internal noises and environments. Those repetitive sounds, which layer and agglomerate in the work&#8217;s end phase, can be quite hypnotic and rhythmically fascinating. As one who has spent time on ferries, ear pressed to engine housings, I enjoyed this quite a bit.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/olewnick.blogspot.com\/2018\/09\/some-capsule-reviews-of-items-that-have.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rigobert Dittmann | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.badalchemy.de\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bad Alchemy Magazin<\/a> (100)<\/strong><br \/>\n[&#8230;] Was habe ich als Innenleben und Getriebe eines Dampfbootes aus den 30ern vor Augen? Nichts, au\u00dfer den Lektionen des Maschinisten Jake Holman (Steve McQueen) auf dem &#8222;Kanonenboot am Yangtse-Kiang&#8220;, oder den \u00dcberlebenskampf im Maschinenraum der antriebslosen SS &#8218;Phemius&#8216; im 1932er Monsterhurrikan vor Kuba, wie ihn Richard Hughes plastisch geschildert hat (&#8222;In Bedr\u00e4ngnis&#8220;). Und das ist beides ziemlich weit hergeholt. Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt (Gruen 181), GREGORY B\u00dcTTNERs Beitrag zur Field Recording Series, erweitert nun meinen Horizont mit Aufnahmen, die er 2010 bei einem Steamboat-Trip von Rostock nach R\u00fcgen machte. Mit zwei Kontaktmikrofonen belauschte er Herz und Haut des noch mit Kohle geheizten Dampf-Eisbrechers &#8222;Stettin&#8220;. Der Sound erklingt unmanipuliert, aber in einer Montage oder Collage, die die Fahrt als wackelige eiserne Angelegenheit widerhallen l\u00e4sst. Als rhythmischen Groove mit pulsenden Loops und klackenden Akzenten. Ohne Motor l\u00e4uft da nichts und der treibt hier mit stampfendem Dreh quasi als &#8218;Schlagzeug&#8216; oder klackendes Uhrwerk auch die Klangbilder voran, in dumpfer Distanz oder zum Greifen nahe und in Stereo. Neben der gro\u00dfen Maschine fand B\u00fcttner auch surrende Oszillatoren oder Vibratoren, dazu ein hinkendes Kurbeln und anschwellendes Brausen mit Dampflocomotion zu m\u00e4chtig tickenden Sekunden, die tauchen, tauchen, tauchen sagen. Uptempotrommeln klopfen, l\u00e4ssigere Beats federn und shuffeln und r\u00fctteln. Noch kleinere Frequenzen kollern, und so verschwindet der Dampfer und mit ihm diese 2000 PS starke Minimal Music im Nebel. [&#8230;]<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.badalchemy.de\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beachsloth.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Beach Sloth<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cVoll.Halb.Langsam.Halt\u201d shows off Gregory B\u00fcttner\u2019s uncanny ability to create aural universes that teem with unease. Throughout the album Gregory B\u00fcttner delves into noise, industrial, and drone. Much of the piece has an assaultive, take no prisoners approach where everything seemingly comes together in unexpected, bizarre ways. Great details punctuate the whole of the album while everything collides into a unified whole. Every single suite within the grand scope proves to be part of a larger symphony, one that feels quite vital.<br \/>\nHardly a moment passes, and the piece starts off with anxious little taps. Gradually these elements become magnified with such clarity. Volume is an absolute must for the whole of the piece vibrates with life. By going for such a tact, the way, the song unfurls lends it a particularly gorgeous quality even with the inhuman origins of the original sound. In fact, much of the album commands the listener to pay attention to those elements that so often go unnoticed in the background as white noise. Every single moment the sound grows bigger, wider, with little textures bouncing off each other in unexpected, oftentimes nearly melodic ways. For the final stretch of the whole journey the piece becomes a grand, all-consuming drone. Gone are the origins for it is completely scrubbed clean in a wonderful way. Gregory B\u00fcttner proves to be a deft sculptor of sound on the seemingly infinite \u201cVoll.Halb.Langsam.Halt\u201d, a celebration of the natural world as seen through machines.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.beachsloth.com\/gregory-buttner-voll-halb-langsam-halt.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Frans de Waard | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vitalweekly.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">VITAL WEEKLY<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n[&#8230;] The other two releases by Gruenrekorder deal with field recordings of a less organic nature. Gregory B\u00fcttner&#8217;s work in installations, composition and improvisation should be known by now, and here he has a thirty-five minute piece of music entirely build from contact microphone recordings he made on old steamboat, an icebreaker from the 19830s. In 2010 he went over the Ostsee from Rostock to R\u00fcgen and spend his time in the bowels of the ship to tape all the rattling of the metal in what was effectively a big resonant room. I am not sure but I would think contact microphones may not capture the actual space, just the vibrating surfaces but no doubt B\u00fcttner has better mics than me. He also recorded the steam engine, fired by coal. This piece comes without any processing or manipulation; everything is layered, edited and cut together and has four distinct parts. I was reminded of steamboats earlier this year when I was in Austria after a very long time in the old village I visited as child, and it was said to say that the steamboat on the lake was replaced by regular motorboat. Listening to B\u00fcttner&#8217;s music I reminded of that steamboat, on that lake, somewhere in the early 80s. Like much of B\u00fcttner&#8217;s other work this too deals with vibrating surfaces, metal plates shaking and buzzing, giving it a particularly rhythmic feel. At times I had the impression I was listening to percussion music rather than something taped with contact microphones on a steamboat; especially the last seven or so minutes were particular good in that something sounds like something entirely different. Nothing sounds very mechanical here, which I guess I liked quite a bit. Mechanically made yet sounding quite organic, a most lovely result. B\u00fcttner has a pair of great ears to choose sounds that work together very well; sometimes as opposites, whole at other times blending perfectly together. An excellent journey!<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vitalweekly.net\/1146.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Holger Adam | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.testcard.de\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">testcard<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nDrau\u00dfen vor der T\u00fcr: Field-Recordings und Sound-Art von Gruenrekorder<br \/>\nGruen, gruen, gruen sind alle meine Farben \u2013 bereits zum dritten Mal in Folge eine Gruenrekorder-Kolumne in testcard. Wie immer kommt man aus dem Staunen nicht heraus, wenn man sich die Ver\u00f6ffentlichungen des Frankfurter Labels anh\u00f6rt. Unerschrocken und ohne mit der Wimper zu zucken haben sie die Ger\u00e4usche von laufenden Filmprojektoren auf Vinyl gepresst: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16703\">Sounds Of The Projection Box<\/a> hei\u00dft das Album von <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16703\">MICHAEL LIGHTBORNE<\/a> und es dokumentiert das Rattern der Maschinen, deren Ger\u00e4usche \u00fcblicherweise nicht aus der Kabine von Filmvorf\u00fchrern hinaus dringen. Ger\u00e4usche, die vom Aussterben bedroht sind, weil Filme ja mehr und mehr digital an Lichtspielh\u00e4user \u00fcbermittelt und dort abgespielt werden. Insofern wird hier akustisches Kulturerbe archiviert, und wer die Platte auflegt, kann sich bei geschlossenen Augen in die Rolle des Filmvorf\u00fchrers imaginieren und zus\u00e4tzlich versuchen, den Tonspuren bzw. -fetzen der ablaufenden Filme ein zus\u00e4tzliches Narrativ abzuringen. \u00c4hnlich abenteuerlich auch die Aufnahmen von <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16651\">GREGORY B\u00dcTTNER<\/a>, der f\u00fcr <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16651\">Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt<\/a> die Fahrt eines alten Dampfschiffes, eines Eisbrechers dokumentierte, bearbeitete und sein Vorgehen sowie das Ergebnis wie folgt kommentiert: \u201eI had the chance to take a trip on the ship from Rostock to Ru\u0308gen over the Baltic Sea in 2010. The body of the ship is completely built from metal, so it is a big resonant room which sounds very different on each spot which I put my contact mics on (I used two contact mics, so I could record in stereo). I walked around the ship, placing my mics on different areas of the ship and also directly on parts of the steam engine, which is still fired by coal. For the composition I only used the pure recordings without additional sound manipulations, only juxtapositions, transitions and cuts.\u201d Alles klar? Der Kahn bzw. das, was B\u00fcttner aus seinen Ger\u00e4uschen macht, kann locker mit Merzbow mithalten. Harter Stoff. Metallisch k\u00fchl, aber weniger krachend klingt auch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=17005\">Gasworks<\/a> von <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=17005\">GERALD FIEBIG feat. EMERGE &amp; CHRISTIAN Z. M\u00dcLLER<\/a>. Der Ort als Resonanzk\u00f6rper f\u00fcr Ger\u00e4usche bildet das Ausgangsmaterial f\u00fcr diese CD. Entsprechend r\u00e4umlich ist in der Tat viel von dem, was es zu h\u00f6ren gibt, organisiert: Echo und Hall spielen eine gro\u00dfe Rolle im Klangbild \u2013 aber auch eine dialekt-gef\u00e4rbte Stimme, die von der industriellen Nutzung des Geb\u00e4udes erz\u00e4hlt, kommt, erg\u00e4nzt um Ger\u00e4usche, zu Wort. So entsteht f\u00fcr das Gaswerk von Augsburg-Oberhausen ein Denkmal. Der gleicherma\u00dfen verspielte und dokumentarische Charakter der musikalischen Arbeiten verwandelt den fr\u00fchindustriellen Arbeitsalltag in eine geisterhafte Klangreise: \u201eDes gibt\u2019s heut\u2018 nimmer.\u201c Bemerkenswert. Maschinenmusik ist auch auf der <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16948\">Slotmachine<\/a>-10\u201c versammelt, einem Projekt von <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16948\">ACHIM ZEPEZAUER<\/a>, der von unterschiedlichen Musiker*innen jeweils 45 Sekunden lange Klangskizzen anfertigen lie\u00df, die in der Logik eines Spielautomaten und nach Zufallsprinzip geleichzeitig aufgerufen werden k\u00f6nnen. Realisiert ist das im Rahmen einer Online-Anwendung, die das Bedienen eines virtuellen Spielautomaten zur Erzeugung der Zufalls-Kompositionen zug\u00e4nglich macht, hier: <a href=\"http:\/\/slotmachine.kuhzunft.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/slotmachine.kuhzunft.com<\/a>. Viel Spa\u00df! (Die 10\u201c dokumentiert nur einen kleinen Teil der gewisserma\u00dfen unendlichen Kombinationsm\u00f6glichkeiten.) Auch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16044\">KATHARINA KLEMENT<\/a> liefert mit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16044\">Peripheries<\/a>, einem akustischen Portrait der Stadt Belgrad, eine quirlig-nerv\u00f6se und herausfordernde Arbeit ab. Unter Zuhilfenahme des Stadtplans erstellte Klement eine kartographisch inspirierte Partitur. Verschiedene Lokalit\u00e4ten in der Stadt wurden aufgezeichnet und ineinander gemischt. So entsteht ein wahres Klang-Gewimmel, das beizeiten wirklich anstrengend sein kann. Ich empfehle nach Selbstversuch folgendes: Die Aufnahmen auf dem Balkon abspielen und die Balkont\u00fcre offenlassen, w\u00e4hrend man im Zimmer bleibt. So entsteht der Eindruck, drau\u00dfen sei Belgrad! Bei der Gelegenheit gebe ich gerne zu, dass mir im Zweifel die eher ruhigen Aufnahmen aus tropischen Gefilden lieber sind. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16085\">F. Guyana<\/a> von <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16085\">MARC NAMBLARD<\/a> hilft sich vom Stress in Belgrad zu erholen. Allerlei hypnotisches Summen, Surren und Dr\u00f6hnen der Flora und Fauna von der Nordk\u00fcste S\u00fcdamerikas! Auch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=17051\">DAVID ROTHENBERG<\/a> hat wieder mit allerlei V\u00f6geln Musik gemacht und sich f\u00fcr <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=17051\">Nightingale Cities<\/a> auch zus\u00e4tzliche menschliche Instrumentalist*innen dazu geholt. Die in Berlin und Helsinki angefertigten Aufnahmen geh\u00f6ren sicherlich zum zug\u00e4nglichsten Material in dieser Kolumne, die V\u00f6gel sind freundliche Wesen, die Musik ist es auch. Wer noch nie eine Gruenrekorder-Produktion geh\u00f6rt hat, kann vielleicht auf diesem Weg einen sanften Einstieg in den Katalog des Labels finden. Fr\u00fchlingsmusik. Ganz anders und noch besser: die Windharfen-Aufnahmen auf <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16674\">Path Of The Wind<\/a> von <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16674\">EISUKE YANAGISAWA<\/a>. Windharfen, gro\u00dfe Saiteninstrumente in die Brise gestellt, werden buchst\u00e4blich von der Natur gespielt und je nachdem, wo die Windharfen standen mischen sich unterschiedliche Umgebungsger\u00e4usche unter die bet\u00f6renden Kl\u00e4nge der Instrumente. Ambient Drone mit Seem\u00f6ve. Minimal Music mit Meeresrauschen. N\u00e4her an New Age Klanglandschaften waren Gruenrekorder vielleicht nie, und es schadet nicht: Absolutes Highlight! Das Meer rauscht auch auf <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16867\">De Rerum Natura \/ Dance of the Elements<\/a> von <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16867\">MERZOUGA<\/a>, die nichts geringeres als eine Komposition auf Grundlage des Lehrgedichtes von Lucretius\u2018 wagen. Soweit so ambitioniert, aber da muss man sich nicht abschrecken lassen. Musik ist immer Ausdruck von Ideen, hier eben einer dezidiert philosophischen. Und elektronische Musik eignet sich auch nicht erst seit gestern, zur Verdeutlichung, mithin Vermittlung abstrakter Vorstellungen. Und so knistert es kleinteilig, die Atome tanzen unsichtbar aus den Lautsprechern, eine Stimme fl\u00fcstert hier und da Versatzst\u00fccke in englischer und lateinischer aus dem Gedicht usw. \u2013 ein kurzeiliges, abwechslungsreiches und durchaus spannendes H\u00f6rerlebnis, das dem \u00dcberbau entsprechen mag; letztlich aber spielt es zum Genuss der Komposition keine entscheidende Rolle, w\u00fcrde ich meinen. \u00c4hnlich gelagert ist es wom\u00f6glich im Fall von <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16443\">The Secret Life of the Inaudible<\/a> von <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/?page_id=16443\">ANNEA LOCKWOOD und CHRISTINA KUBISCH<\/a> anzuh\u00f6ren. Die beiden Klangk\u00fcnstlerinnen haben sich Soundfiles von an sich bzw. f\u00fcr Menschen nicht h\u00f6rbaren geophysikalischen Ph\u00e4nomenen zur gegenseitigen Bearbeitung vorgelegt: elektromagnetische Wellen, Ultraschallwellen, Sonnenwinde\u2026 akustische Ereignisse also, die zun\u00e4chst technisch in eine f\u00fcr das menschliche Ohr h\u00f6rbaren Frequenzbereich \u00fcberf\u00fchrt werden m\u00fcssen und von Kubisch und Lockwood bearbeitet wurden, und die dann \u2013 wie auch immer das im Detail von Statten ging \u2013 daraus sozusagen dunkle Materie gewannen. Mich w\u00fcrde einmal interessieren, inwiefern, das geologisch-kosmische Quellenmaterial, wo es ohnehin in den h\u00f6rbaren Bereich \u00fcbersetzt und also synthetisiert werden muss, nicht auch anders, also mit weniger Aufwand, generiert werden k\u00f6nnte? Ich nehme behelfsweise an, es w\u00e4re nicht dasselbe! Wie dem auch sei, das Ergebnis fasziniert: Sunn O))) \u2013 Kindergarten dagegen. Finster dr\u00e4uende, pechschwarze Klangfl\u00e4chen. Wahrhaft infernalische Musik aus dem Reich des sonst Nichtwahrnehmbaren. Hervorragend.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.testcard.de\/titel\/1845\/testcard-26-utopien\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt | Gregory B\u00fcttner Gruen 181 | Audio CD + Digital &gt; [order] Reviews &nbsp; \u201eVoll.Halb.Langsam.Halt\u201c is based on contact mic recordings, which I recorded on an old steamboat, an ice-breaker from the 1930. I had the chance to take a trip on the ship from Rostock to Ru\u0308gen over the Baltic Sea in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16651","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16651"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17428,"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16651\/revisions\/17428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}