[krastian]

Gimmee Gimmee Gimmee!!!! Yeah I hope this doesn't sell out to quick either.

[terminal pharmacy]

does the booklet say which tracks go with which of brakhage's films???

I want to have a listening party at my place and borrow a projector from work.

[sonicl]

Originally Posted by Dan Evol

its telling me its already out of stock? anyone else seeing this?

Where are you trying to buy from? Try direct from the label HERE. It's £34 (approx US$65) to the US from them.

[Tokolosh]

I wonder if it'll ever come out on DVD. Video & music together.

[jon boy]

sweet

[terminal pharmacy]

Originally Posted by Tokolosh

I wonder if it'll ever come out on DVD. Video & music together.

as in just the brakhage films with tol's music

or as a live tol dvd with the brakhage films in the back ground

[Tokolosh]

Originally Posted by terminal pharmacy

as in just the brakhage films with tol's music

or as a live tol dvd with the brakhage films in the back ground

Any, actually.

[pokkeherrie]

Originally Posted by terminal pharmacy

as in just the brakhage films with tol's music

or as a live tol dvd with the brakhage films in the back ground

i'm with nefeli on this... the 1st option probably wouldn't be possible because it would be too much like a soundtrack for brakhage films, which text of light specifically isn't intended to be. during their performances the movie are just an additional element to the music.

i got my copy from ear-rational for about $40 including shipping from the usa to europe. they don't seem to be carrying it any longer, but cduniverse still has it in stock for $40 without shipping, which is still somewhat cheaper than ordering it from dirter themselves.
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7239639

[Iain]

And Brakhage wasn't interested in having sound on his films I don't think.

[pokkeherrie]

yes, they're supposed to be viewed in silence. but supposedly he didn't mind as long as it isn't represented as a collaboration or soundtrack. there's an explanation from lee ranaldo on this blog from roger miller (who sat in with text of light once)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-...ms_b_7693.html
scroll down to the comments.

[Tokolosh]

Yeah thanks for the link.
I know that Brakhage intended his films to be silent and that's why I asked.
It was a surprise to me when I heard about this soundtrack, if I may call it that. Don't know what to expect.

[Moshe]

Originally Posted by Nefeli

moshe, cant tell you to get less diapers! hehe..

Thanks dear that is a great idea. How come I didn't think of it myself

[toxic johnny]

Originally Posted by Nefeli

somehow have difficulty to change disk 3 and put smth else in..
moshe, toxic johnny, hope you get this!

I'm waiting for a cheque to clear sweet Nefeli and then it will be mine... all mine.

[terminal pharmacy]

i got home from work last night and mine was sitting on the table, in all of its film canaster spledour, wooooohoo

[Moshe]

http://www.musiquemachine.com/review...ate.php?id=856

Metal box brings together the all the live work of improvisional group Text of Light, the three disk nicely presented in a facsimile of Public image Ltd metal box album. The band consitst of all or some of( depending on performance) :Lee Ranaldo, Alan Licht, ( of sonic youth) William Hooker, Christian Marclay, Tim Barnes, Ulrich Kreiger and DJ Olive. It starts from their first concert in 2001 through to may 2005.
The idea of the project was to improvise to the work of American Avant-Garde film markers from the 1950’s through to the 1960’s. Each concert is very different from the last mixing in elements of jazz, electronica, guitar noise, drone ,and turntable elements- to create wonderfully improvised soundworld, that are very involving and enjoyable ,even with out the visuals. The first disk is enjoyable enough taking in their first ever show in 2001 at the Tonic in New York.It’s the second and the third disk that really hold the audio gems in my mind, they seem to a developed into a flowing collective style, that is full of surprises, but never awkward sounding.
A few of my favourite moments are the opening track from disk two entitled 052405 Bruxelles 1 , which features Alan Licht, Lee Ranaldo, Ulrich Kreiger and Tim Barnes. The track has such a great eerier droning air to it, sounds echo and scuttle from with- in, sometimes sounding like sinister fridge sound, or metallic branch brushings, other times rich waves of tense pitches, creating a great on edge atmosphere, the whole piece seems to be pressing in on your with creepy and nevorous distrust.
O52402 echo 3+2, features Alan Licht, Lee Ranaldo, Ulrich Kreiger, DJ Olive and Christian Marclay. Not surprisingly the track has a lot of turntable elements to it with the appearances of Marclay and DJ Olive. It drifts through rich smoky jazz, dripping rhythmic elements and weird dialogue, disconnected strings sailing drunkenly around, lonely melting piano melodies. As the track nears mid way it seems to settle in to looped piano cords, and piles of audio Debris, all pulled tightly in by guitar wall of noise.
Disk three is made up of one hour long track recorded in Dundee- and it features Alan Licht, Lee Ranaldo, Ulrich Kreiger and Tim Barnes. Its starts off with brooding guitar tones and scuttling percussive elements. The rich drone element develops wonderfully, like the cracking of a blood red sun over the remains of long fort battle, on the deserts blood decorated floor, the track is painted wonderfully with effect laddered guitar work. Through out the track varies and changes, but still keeps the original brooding feeling- the highlight of the whole set really.
So with out a doubt of interested to fans of improvised and drone music, performed by some well know names, with wonderfully atmospheric grace and brooding flare. To order direct go here.

[Moshe]

http://www.nysun.com/article/37894

Spontaneous Dialogue
By MARC MASTERS
August 15, 2006

 

Text of Light, the revolving New York ensemble formed in 1999 by guitarists Lee Ranaldo and Alan Licht, performs improvisations while films play in the background. That description may seem odd, as if the music and images are unrelated events. But Text of Light's work takes a unique approach to the mixing of sounds and pictures.
With the noisy strings of Messrs. Ranaldo and Licht, the rattling percussion of William Hooker and Tim Barnes, the dislocated samples of DJ Olive and Christian Marclay, and the droning sax of Ulrich Kreiger, the group's swirling music is less a soundtrack than part of a spontaneous audio-visual dialogue. Since 2004,Text of Light has released a handful of live recordings, most in small, limited editions. Its latest effort,"Metal Box" (Dirter Promotions) is a leap forward in size and scope.
Calling Text of Light's concerts "realtime mixed media collage," Mr. Licht (a sometime New York Sun contributor) has likened his group to a mosh pit at a punk rock show. Just as moshers rarely sync up to the beat of onstage sounds, Mr. Licht and his bandmates react more to the energy of the films and one another than the timing of the images.
Those images come mostly from the late filmmaker Stan Brakhage. Over a 50-year span, Brakhage made more than 300 films exploring abstract light and motion. Messrs. Ranaldo and Licht named their group after "The Text of Light," Brakhage's 71-minute montage of rays refracted through a glass ashtray, and have performed with it and other Brakhage works, such as "Dog Star Man" and "Scenes From Under Childhood."
Brakhage made these films without sound, and Text of Light's performances have rankled purists who feel they should only be screened in silence. But Brakhage didn't object to his films being used in other contexts, provided the new work was not billed as a screening or collaboration.The group has followed those wishes, earning the approval of Brakhage's estate.
"Metal Box" consists of 3 CDs housed in a circular metal case, an homage to the film-can packaging of a 1979 triple LP (also called "Metal Box") by British post-punk band Public Image Ltd. The group's initials even appear on the cover as "ToL," mimicking Public Image Ltd.'s iconic "PiL" logo.
The range of sounds on "Metal Box" is wider than on previous Text of Light releases. Disc One, taken from the group's first show in May 2001, wraps Mr. Ranaldo's chiming guitar (reminiscent of his work in Sonic Youth) around Mr. Marclay's violin-like strains and Mr. Hooker's rumbling drum clusters. The pulsing sounds sprout randomly at first, but eventually congeal, culminating in the 17-minute "052901 Tonic 3," an aural séance of hypnotic drones and clanging beats.
Disc two is even more varied. Sampling from three different performances and two studio recordings, it includes intriguingly wry samples from Messrs. Marclay and Olive; a spoken recitation of James Joyce's "Chamber Music" by the Licht-led Digger Choir mixed with guitar and sax noise; and a 2003 Berlin performance that builds so dramatically it feels more like a pre-composed symphony than an improvisation.
A single, hour-long concert recorded in Scotland in 2004 takes up most of disc three. The array of sounds is again impressive.Absorbing this music takes patience — much like Brakhage's long, abstract films.
But Brakhage rewards such patience, gradually stripping the viewer of preconceptions and inspiring new ways to watch and think about moving images, and, at its best, Text of Light's work has a similar effect. Just as the group's performances redefine how sound and picture meet,"Metal Box"expands the definition of music to include nearly every sound imaginable.

[krastian]

I was just thinking about this today. Did anybody else buy it? Any thoughts?

[Everyneurotic]

i saw it for $45 dollars at other music in nyc, it looks great but i wanted to buy other stuff instead of just one thing.

[pantophobia]

Originally Posted by Everyneurotic

i saw it for $45 dollars at other music in nyc, it looks great but i wanted to buy other stuff instead of just one thing.

weird, i was just at other music on Saturday while staying in town for the shows,and i picked up the Starlight Furniture ToL cd, I should have looked harder

[Everyneurotic]

Originally Posted by pantophobia

weird, i was just at other music on Saturday while staying in town for the shows,and i picked up the Starlight Furniture ToL cd, I should have looked harder

i saw it like three weeks ago and it was on top of the shelf, you know, where they display like the new releases and stuff.