YGR # 14

CRAIG HILTON - The Smoking Mirror

YGR 14
CD-R (5€)

The title of " The Smoking Mirror " comes from ancient Aztec mythology . It was the title given to given to Tezcatlipoca .. the soul of the world . The title of "Smoking Mirror" linked Tezcatlipoca to obsidian, a black, volcanic stone whose shiny surface could be used as a mirror. The darkness of the obsidian mirror symbolised the black/dark aspects of his being. Tezcatlipoca's bellicose nature related him to red . The original artwork for the cd is by Mascodegama , whose visual works i felt most complimented the Mexican/ South American usage of vibrant colors .

The piece unfolds in 3 sections . All 3 sections are quite similar in form . What i felt important in this recording ( as well in a good portion of my studio material ) was not to focus on one method of structure or a single sound source or sources altered throughout the length of the work .
Everything is used here .
Electronic sound sources , microtonal acoustic instruments , treated acoustics , found sounds , etc.
I felt that the main driving force should not necessarily focus on the actual " novelty " of the sounds displayed .
What drove these pieces was how they formed dynamically with the neighboring sections . No major themes are evolved .
It's as if walking without really taking the chance to see or hear everything in minute detail ... a large free-flowing cluster that has no beginning or end .
By the mythological nature of Tezcatlipoca , i felt this needed a much more dramatic point of attack more than anything .
I only wanted to construct something that would hopefully be as large sonically as the myth himself .

Track listing :

1. He by whom we walk ,
2. who is among us in the reeds ,
3. is an enemy of both sides .

YGR # 4

C.Hilton/Y.Franck - a~matra

YGR 04 (SOLD OUT here, MANDAÏ is ok)
CD-R (50 copies) - 4€ -

Craig Hilton (USA) has been composing sound via elecroacoustic transformation and live improvisation for over 13 years. Trained originally as a classical guitarist, the sonic possibilities of «musique concrete " and other methods of sound manipulation/composition, led him to further study the primary idea of sound itself . Taking these techniques he founded the performance art troupe Center for Transgressive Behaviors in Raleigh, NorthCarolina, and remained their sound designer for several tours of the US and Europe. He also toured with the free improvisation ensemble, The Feraliminal Lycanthropizers, playing electric guitar and electronics and sharing the stage with Tim Hodgkinson and Franz Hautzinger in Europe. His continued interest in spectralist and post-concrete music resulted in the solo release 'L'Eve...' and a collaborative effort with Koji Tano's MSBR project. His recent collaborations with the legendary Maurizio Bianchi and Yannick Franck are scheduled for release later this year on Simple Logic (Poland) and Young Girls Records (Belgium) along with several new works to follow up soon thereafter.

Yannick Franck is a multidisciplinar artist from Belgium, envolved in electroacoustic composition / improvisation and visuals.
His art could be qualified as abstract and meditative. By various experimental practices and processes, Yannick Franck underlines his relation to the world, observes and transforms the components of reality. Shade and light, vibration and resonance are delivered as components of his artworks.The datas of the physical world's permanent alterations, becoming naturally abstract, are asserted as (a)esthetic elements.

"A~Matra was a piece that realistically created itself in many ways . When i first received the original sound files from Yannick, i decided to take the more complex samples, or sounds that had what i felt to have many overtones or a certain amount of complexity inherent in the sound itself . As with all recent compositions of mine, i wanted to find the inner rhythm or tones by completely dissecting these sounds and use them to almost create going in reverse .. i.e. trying to create something organic/acoustic as opposed to usually the other way around . The result is a sort of orchestral instrumentation, sections that sound like tremelo or spiccato strings, and percussion can be heard, yet they are only hinted at, i'm always trying to create new "instruments" every piece i compose. As for the general outline or design for the piece, the sounds themselves created it, and with most of my pieces, i prefer not to have a general outline ahead of time, i let the sounds relationships construct themselves, a sort of homage to the spectralist idea. The title A~Matra comes from the Sanskrit meaning: «of indefinite measure, undetermined», which really applies more to the original compositional process than the the final product."

C.Hilton