Andrea Penso Oh! Uomo LP

Cat. No. HOL-139
Limited edition of 100 copies, burnt/engraved title

“What I love are not the pieces, but the repetitions, the protractions; to proceed slowly on my way, to come back, back to the same thing, being a litany, litany as life, to stay long there before ending, not willing to make music of a man – and above all of a composer, and and above all of a westerner – but rather music of a sparrow, a quite indecisive sparrow perched on a branch, a sparrow trying to call a man…” (Henri Michaux)

Limited vinyl edition of two beautiful tape-loop pieces by Andrea Penso (Italy, 1985), previously released on tape by Canti Magnetici. “Oh! Uomo (Parte I)” is a composition based on a fragment of Béla Bartók’s “Der Stampfer (Stamping Dance)”, from his folk music studies. The opening sequence, recorded on magnetic tape, was cut and transformed into a tape loop, then manipulated analogically and digitally to change its tone and progression. “Oh! Uomo (Diaspora)” consists of two overlapped and manipulated tape loops: the former created from an Armenian folk melody for harmonium solo recorded in the early 20th century, the latter from a modern dance audio cassette, found by chance in a van parking lot in Turin. This piece, deeply inspired by the work of Angela Ricci Lucchi and Yervant Gianikian, is dedicated to them. Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi.