pocket progressive | cs024

This is my first contact with music from this label and it is a good start. The three musicians above recorded this CD in two days and needed two days more for editing and mastering. That is quick, but lucky for us, it is apparently enough time to produce a good CD. The disc contains two tracks, the first one 22:36 minutes and the second 11:37 minutes. It is quite obviously an improvisation that we hear, but of course only the good parts are left, forming strong sets of quiet sounds from field recordings, electronics and different objects. It actually reminded me in more than one way of live performances by Kapotte Muziek. The ingredients are practically the same and so is the way things are built up. Of course Rocchetti, Fhievel and Sigurta have their distinctly own signature and this makes it all the more fun to listen to (for me anyway). They give each other ample time and space for parts to develop and sounds to become embedded in the whole atmosphere. There are some odd things going on here and there, but they are exactly the ones needed to give everything a certain edge now and then. It takes time for this music to sink in and also it needs a certain quietness around the listener, but if these conditions are more or less met, the reward will be yours. MR (Vital Weekly)

La storia della musica è costellata di eventi fondamentali passati pressoché inosservati, al momento del loro svolgimento, anche presso il pubblico e i mezzi d’informazione più attenti e sensibili. La terza ed ultima edizione della rassegna “Superfici Sonore” è stata, per quanto riguarda la musica sperimentale italiana, uno di tali eventi e i suoi influssi ‘diretti’ continuano a manifestarsi ancor oggi, dopo che quasi due anni sono trascorsi senza che quell’evento abbia ancora ottenuto il dovuto riconoscimento.
“Pocket Progressive” è un figlio legittimo di quella rassegna, e senza di essa la sua realizzazione non sarebbe forse giunta a compimento. Tutti e tre i musicisti sono stati fra i protagonisti della tre giorni fiorentina, che per qualcuno di loro ha funzionato anche come presentazione personale, e fu proprio in quel contesto che Luca Sigurtà e fhievel suonarono per la prima volta insieme (con Rocchetti quasi certamente seduto in mezzo al pubblico). Non c’è quindi da stupirsi se, con il peso ‘immenso’ di quell’esperienza sulle spalle, i tre hanno trovato in seguito l’ardimento di abbandonarsi a questo incontro ‘genuino’ e ‘spontaneo’ che annulla, in poco più di mezz’ora, distanze e background differenti.
Giradischi, piccole percussioni, radio, elettroniche, registrazioni concrete, piatti e oggetti vari sono l’armamentario utilizzato dal trio, accanto ad una fantastica sensibilità musicale, per dare impulso a due improvvisazioni ‘informali’ nella cui economia confluiscono, sì, le esperienze dell’AMM e di Steve Roden, dell’Animist Orchestra e di Bernhard Günter, ma soprattutto, alla fin fine, quelle di Luca Sigurtà, Claudio Rocchetti e fhievel. Ricordo, en passant, che Sigurtà e Rocchetti (quest’ultimo insieme a Valerio Tricoli e Stefano Pilia) hanno siglato due dei migliori dischi del 2003: “La vera macchina d’argento” e “3Quarters HadBeenEliminated”. Di fhievel si erano invece recentemente perse le tracce, e questo suo segnale di vita è quindi ancor più prezioso.
Mai come in questo momento le parole sono inutili… l’ascolto è d’obbligo. e. g. (no ©)

Lo stesso Rocchetti è responsabile insieme a Fhievel e Luca Sigurtà, di uno dei lavori più estremi e privi di compromessi della nuova scena di sperimentatori/improvvisatori italiani. Il paesaggio sonoro tracciato dai tre in questa mezz'ora cruda e severa è caratterizzato da relitti di suoni che sembrano lame taglienti, fili spinati, resti di una perduta organicità che qui è ritrovata non nell'insieme ma in ogni singolo nucleo, non in armoniche costruzioni ma in monadi sonore ognuna delle quali si rivela ricca di sommovimenti. Utilizzando giradischi, percussioni, radio, electronics, field recordings e più in generale 'oggetti', i tre creano un album spietato che è allo stesso tempo frutto disarmante di una presa diretta sul reale e ritratto di una condizione creativa priva di abbellimenti che va dritta alla sostanza del suono. Daniela Cascella (Blow up)

Dopo Alessandro Bosetti, altri italiani approdano alla corte della sempre più importante etichetta portoghese Creative Sources. Non si contano ormai le uscite impedibili della label e come se non bastasse questo “Pocket Progressive” presenta un motivo in più d’ascolto: il debutto di un supertrio composto da una vecchia conoscenza, per chi è avvezzo ai suoni elettronici italici e a quella fucina di talenti che è (è stata?) iXem, Fhievel e due degli artisti che nel 2004 ci hanno regalato alcuni tra i dischi più belli: 3⁄4 Had Been Eliminated in cui Claudio Rocchetti suonava con Rinaldi e Tricoli e il solo di Luca Sigurtà “La Vera Macchina D’Argento”, mirabili esempi di costruzione elettroacustica, concretezza e minimalismo. Sono artisti su cui abbiamo da tempo scommesso e l’arrivo di “Pocket Progressive” non può che fare doppiamente piacere. Ma attenzione a non considerare questa uscita come una celebrazione, tutt’altro. I tre artisti continuano e sviluppano la propria ricerca su territorio di composizione elettroacustica, sperimentale e minimale, regalandoci due composizioni dal forte spessore. Una musica che vive e la senti muoversi sotto i piedi come un essere che pulsa, respira e si nutre. Abbracciano la musica oggettistica di Steve Roden, i micropaesaggi di Bernard Gunter, i piccoli tappeti percussivi di un Gunter Muller, l’elettronica ambient ma anche l’astrazione che abbiamo ammirato ultimamente in collettivi come Shimmer (con Alessandro Borsetti, sempre su CS). Le qualità e gli immaginari dei tre, nonché i diversi metodi di creazione, si integrano alla perfezione come fossero il parto di un’unica mente. Un grandissimo risultato. Alfredo Rastelli (Kathodik)

Muzyka tria Claudio Rocchetti - Fhievel - Luca Sigurtá rzeczywiscie zasluguje na miano "kieszonkowej", bowiem drobiny trzasków, pylki szumów, atomy szmerów zdaja sie zajmowac tak niewiele miejsca. Z drugiej jednak strony wszystkie te elementy nadzwyczaj precyzyjnie rozmieszczone przez muzyków w przestrzeni nielatwo poddaja sie jakimkolwiek ograniczeniom, powodujac, ze dwa utwory wypelniajace plyte stanowia muzyczny odpowiednik dywanu Sierpinskiego.
Uzycie nieco specyficznego instrumentarium, w sklad którego weszly miedzy innymi: gramofon (bez plyt), drobne instrumenty perkusyjne, zabawki, proste urzadzenia elektroniczne, radio, "field recording", rozmaite przedmioty, powoduje, ze brzmienie calosci jest dosc jednorodne, a nawet w pewien sposób ograniczone. Jednak kilka czynników, wsród których wyróznilbym krótki czas trwania plyty oraz - chyba najwazniejszy - inwencje muzyków sprawia, ze sluchanie plyty nie nuzy. Wbrew pozorom dzieje sie tu calkiem sporo i nawet jesli pewne elementy zdaja sie powtarzac, to za kolejnym razem pojawiaja sie one w odmiennym kontekscie, stanowiac istotna czesc pelnego napiecia dialogu toczacego sie nieustannie pomiedzy muzykami.
Niewatpliwie "Pocket Progressive" to pozycja nielatwa, zawierajaca muzyke dosc odlegla od wyobrazen o klasycznym pieknie, jednak uwazne wsluchanie sie w dzwieki wydawane przez stada mikrotrzasków unoszonych podmuchami elektrycznego wiatru byc moze pozwoli na odkrycie go nawet w czyms, co mozna - nieco efekciarsko - nazwac "muzyka elektrycznych termitów".
Na koniec warto dodac, ze w tym przypadku okladka nad wyraz udanie oddaje ducha muzyki i jesli komus nie przypadna do gustu przedstawione na zdjeciach budynki, to nie powinien liczyc na to, ze przekonaja go dobiegajace z glosników dzwieki. Tadeusz Kosiek (Diapazon)

Claudio Rocchetti, Luca Bergero aka Fhievel and Luca Sigurtà are three young Italian soundmakers who have released some strong and underrated cds/cdrs over the last few years (check out my reviews of Rocchetti's "The work called Kitano" and Sigurtà's "La vera macchina d'argento" in the archive, for example). All three have also developed engaging live sets, which is relevant since this cd is an edited and processed recording of two private live performances - and altogether very different from what they'd created until now, except maybe for Rocchetti's solo concerts. Turntable, radio, electronic devices, field recordings and percussions are shaken and atomized all over, in a kind of rattling improvisation which is both very "quiet", with it pauses, gaps and silent spaces, and obstinately "noisy", for the many different layers and constant intertwining of ant-like microsounds. It's a demanding work, since no drones or "solo" instrument or main kind of playing prevails on the other - but its ultimate strength lies in this uneven and sullen nature. Eugenio Maggi (Chain Dlk)

For those wondering where reductionism could go after the extreme near-nothingness of three or four years back, here's one possible direction – soft noise. As if the tiny sounds made by musicians in between those all-too-rare notes were all that remained, a strange assemblage of mildly disturbing rustles and crackles, as the focus shifts from the musicians themselves to the world around them, with an increased use of field recordings. There are some dogs woofing and sniffing somewhere in the background at the beginning of the first of these two tracks (total duration just over 34 minutes), but the accompanying photography is ugly urban high rise – let's hope this wasn't where the music was recorded – and if you can imagine what it might sound like to contact mic a rat and record it scurrying around inside a metal dustbin full of sweet wrappers, paperclips and those polystyrene worm things they use to protect electrical appliances in transit, you'll have an idea of the music. The performers are Claudio Rochetti (turntable, small percussion, radio), Luca Sigurtà (cymbals, objects and toys) and Fhievel (electronics and field recordings), and the name they've chosen for the album is quite a good one, at least the "pocket" bit of it, since most of the music on offer here sounds as if it was recorded by tiny microphones hidden inside a plastic anorak. Whether or not "progressive" is an appropriate epithet is open to question – tiny sounds have, after all, been around for some time already (Morphogenesis, anyone?) – but the other possible way out of reductionism, the one favoured by Messrs Malfatti and Sugimoto, leads even further into silence, and if there's one thing Pocket Progressive isn't, it's silent. Dan Warburton (Paris Transatlantic)

I'm continually surprised at the rate with which Ernesto Rodrigues releases discs on his superb Creative Sources imprint. As most folks reading this know, the excellent viola/violin/electronics improviser began to document Portuguese and Spanish improvisation several years back and has quickly developed his label into one of the premier outlets for improvisation at the intersection of European free music, electroacoustics, and new music. I recently opened up my mailbox to find a package stuffed with seven of the label's latest goodies. All told, it's a strong batch.
[…] In April 2004, Claudio Rochetti (turntable, small percussions, radio), Fhievel (field recordings, objects), and Luca Sigurta (cymbals, objects, toys) got together to record the two improvisations comprising Pocket Progressive (CS024). What distinguishes this recording from the others in this batch is Fhievel's use of field recordings. In some ways, this recalls Jason Kahn's and Greg Kelley's recent experiments with these materials. But this trio works in an area that is more expansive than Kahn's Songs for Nicolas Ross and less caustic than Kelley's I Don't Want to Live Forever. Muffled street and animal noises float in and out while flinty percussive and metallic noises squirm together as if craving release from some containment. Much of the first track sounds like a bunch of crinkled-up aluminum foil straightening itself out. And while the second piece retains a roughly similar feel, the very closing minutes open up a huge echo-drenched space followed by the tiny sounds of skittering electronic mice and sine tones. What really compels during these pieces is how distinct this trio sounds, considering the instrumentation (you'd be hard pressed to pick out just where those toys and radio and so forth are at work). Almost like the fragment of a Xenakis piece distilled to its essence and improvised over the course of 35 minutes, this crackling, sizzling trio is excellent. They have a clear focus on specific sounds and areas of the music, and they let things develop patiently. […] Taken together, this septet of discs is worthy not just for their quality but also for their documentation of this music (and some of its lesser known players). Rodrigues already has a new batch out. In the meantime, however, don't miss out on some of these gems. Jason Bivins (Bagatellen)

[…] Avec un titre comme Pocket Progressive (CS024 cd), on pouvait s'attendre à un bazaar, comme on dit à Bruxelles, ou pire (piirr), un stûût, pas op! Enregistré à Bologne (Via Paolo Costa) par Claudio Rocchetti (turntable, small percussions, radio) Fhievel, (electronics, field recordings, objects) et Luca Sigurtà (cymbals, ojects, toys) illustre à merveille cette expression électronique accessible à tout un chacun et qui pour des gens comme Mark Wastell, Rhodri Davies ou Alessandro Bosetti est un influence fondamentale de leur travail instrumental d'improvisateur. En 1975, mon professeur de musique, Roger Bourdin, un homme féru de créations contemporaines et reconnaissant le rôle primordial de l'improvisation, nous déclara que le synthé portable serait à la base d'une véritable démocratisation musicale. Les sons musicaux (ou autres?) allaient être enfin accessibles, disait-il, au plus grand nombre sans la contrainte d'un enseignement musical académique. Il venait d'acquérir un des premiers EMS - valisettes à "fiches". Des groupes tels que Pocket Progressive sont légion, mais peu ont une approche à la fois douce, organique et radicale comme eux. […] Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg (Improjazz)

Auch in Italien grassiert ein neobruitistisches Fieber, wie Pocket Progressive (CS 024) zeigt. CLAUDIO ROCCHETTI (*1976, Bozen), Turntablist im Projekt Sonic Belligeranza, der Elektroniker & Fieldrecorder FHIEVEL, Jahrgang 1980, und der Perkussionist LUCA SIGURTÀ, Jahrgang 1976, die beide aus Biella stammen, improvisieren zusammen elektroakustische Klanglandschaften, die zwar nicht gerade idyllisch sind, aber doch um einiges diskreter als die Plattenbaumonströsität, die für das Cover abfotografiert wurde. Die mit small percussions, objects, toys, cymbals erzeugten Mikrophonien lassen eher an den Zahn der Zeit denken, der an der Betonfassade frisst, an die Kellerasseln in den schimmeligen Ecken, an die Enttäuschungen, die sich hinter den Bunkerfenstern breit machen. Es knistert und knackt und schabt und bitzelt in allen Fugen und Ritzen, in denen insektoide Strategen daran arbeiten, die Weltherrschaft zu übernehmen. Weniger pessimistisch ließe sich auch imaginieren, dass kein Betonbunker öd genug ist, um die menschliche Fähigkeit einzumauern, sich einen inneren Zengarten einzurichten. Eine dritte Vorstellung wäre, dass hier sehr viel Fingerspitzengefühl, Detailverliebtheit und menschlicher Erfindungsreichtum darauf verwandt wird, sich heute schon mit dem insektoiden Day-After-Alltag anzufreunden. (Bad Alchemy)