'The Uprooted Orchestra'
“Orchestral.” The word’s an adjective, certainly, an unambiguous one. It depicts amassed instruments working in synchrony according to a fixed document prepared in advance.
But what if “orchestral” were uprooted? What if “orchestral” referred to what we heard, not how it was recorded? What if “orchestral” welcomed electronic instruments not just into the pit, but into the compositional process?
For that is the sound of Michel Banabila’s Uprooted, this album of beautiful, striated, patient music — patient on the surface, deep with turmoil underfoot. When bass clarinet and harmonium rise above a misty string section halfway through “Breathe,” that’s orchestral. When woodwinds trill and pulse against piano on “Dragonfly,” that’s orchestral.
Over the years, Banabila has made his share of experimental ambient, wherein future roots cultures are foreseen through a low-tech looking glass. On Uprooted, the tech is transparent. The album has touches of Fourth World, most notably on “Collector” and "Breathe," but Uprooted is orchestral, full stop.
It’s also an album entirely forged of material sampled by Banabila from improvisations by invited musicians. Those samples were then constructed into a whole by Banabila, layered sinuously rather than triggered on a rhythmic grid. The fixed orchestral document here is the recording, and it marks the close of the composer’s efforts, not the start of the performers’.
Marc Weidenbaum.
San Francisco, March 2019.
releases April 9, 2019
Peter Hollo: cello (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) - Alex Haas: synths & electronics (3) - Gareth Davis: bass clarinet (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) - Oene van Geel viola & stroh violin (1, 3, 5) - Stijn Hüwels: guitar & electronics (3, 4, 5) - Gulli Gudmundsson: el.bass, double bass & e-bow (1, 2, 3, 5) - Michel Banabila: midi instruments, sampling, electronics (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Artwork by Gerco de Ruijter / Mastering by Marlon Wolterink.
All tracks composed, arranged & produced by Michel Banabila.
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Michel Banabila / Blog
Headphone Commute: In the studio with Michel Banabila
Headphone Commute: In the studio with Michel Banabila
An interview with Mike Lazarev for Headphone Commute; https://headphonecommute.com/2019/06/18/in-the-studio-with-michel-banabila
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Headphone Commute: Uprooted
A review by Mike Lazarev for Uprooted on the great Headphone Commute: https://headphonecommute.com/2019/06/17/michel-banabila-louis-sterling-and-marty-hicks/
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Vital Weekly
" It is lush, it is ambient, it is mysterious and it is orchestral" ; Frans de Waard in Vital Weekly 1182 about UPROOTED http://www.vitalweekly.net/1182.html
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Mix for RedLight Radio
Mix for RedLight Radio: https://soundcloud.com/willoirson/michel-banabila-the-something-something-red-light-radio
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Uprooted
'The Uprooted Orchestra'
“Orchestral.” The word’s an adjective, certainly, an unambiguous one. It depicts amassed instruments working in synchrony according to a fixed document prepared in advance.
But what if “orchestral” were uprooted? What if “orchestral” referred to what we heard, not how it was recorded? What if “orchestral” welcomed electronic instruments not just into the pit, but into the compositional process?
For that is the sound of Michel Banabila’s Uprooted, this album of beautiful, striated, patient music — patient on the surface, deep with turmoil underfoot. When bass clarinet and harmonium rise above a misty string section halfway through “Breathe,” that’s orchestral. When woodwinds trill and pulse against piano on “Dragonfly,” that’s orchestral.
Over the years, Banabila has made his share of experimental ambient, wherein future roots cultures are foreseen through a low-tech looking glass. On Uprooted, the tech is transparent. The album has touches of Fourth World, most notably on “Collector” and "Breathe," but Uprooted is orchestral, full stop.
It’s also an album entirely forged of material sampled by Banabila from improvisations by invited musicians. Those samples were then constructed into a whole by Banabila, layered sinuously rather than triggered on a rhythmic grid. The fixed orchestral document here is the recording, and it marks the close of the composer’s efforts, not the start of the performers’.
Marc Weidenbaum. San Francisco, March 2019.
releases April 9, 2019
Peter Hollo: cello (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) - Alex Haas: synths & electronics (3) - Gareth Davis: bass clarinet (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) - Oene van Geel viola & stroh violin (1, 3, 5) - Stijn Hüwels: guitar & electronics (3, 4, 5) - Gulli Gudmundsson: el.bass, double bass & e-bow (1, 2, 3, 5) - Michel Banabila: midi instruments, sampling, electronics (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Artwork by Gerco de Ruijter / Mastering by Marlon Wolterink.
All tracks composed, arranged & produced by Michel Banabila.
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Imprints
https://banabila.bandcamp.com/album/imprints
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VoizNoiz 2LP vinyl reissue out today
https://www.normanrecords.com/records/172576-michel-banabila-voiznoiz
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New video with Gerco de Ruijter:
Seinpostduin [52° 6'32.29"N / 4°16'34.73"O] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOODZcJC-NI
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VoizNoiz remix
VoizNoiz remixed by Banabila & Van Geel: https://steamsounds.bandcamp.com/album/voiznoiz-remix
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LYL RADIO
Exclusive mix for LYL radio = http://lyl.live/episode/michel-banabila
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