Divide by Pi

I received my copy of "Divide by Pi" recently --
Aaron K. Johnson's latest microtonal work (www.dividebypi.com).

If you are hoping for a repeat of the eclectic 19-tet
harmonic motion of the "Juggler" or of the recent funky
algorithmic-oriented "5-tet funk" then you will be disappointed.
Rather, "Divide by Pi" shows a new side to Aaron's music: real
time microtonal improvisation. The music is aggressive, rhythmically
sophisticated, and is varied both texturally and timbrally.

"Divide by Pi" is a collaboration with percussionist Andy Hasenpflug,
and most of the pieces are recordings of improvisations that feature
synth, percussion, and voice. The enticing vocal sounds are used
as both a rhythmic and textural element; this is not lyrical
radio-ready pop singing.

Both the opening "prelude/jungle" and "bachelors grove" (I thought
these guys were married?) move relentlessly forward, driven by
the vocal articulations used in a music-concrete kind of way.
The "hommage a messiaen" is starker, and has a compelling
hand drum section that resolves to a faux operatic movement
and then back. Very nice.

The quirky "plastic bathtub toys" reminds me of the
Perry-Kinsley classic "Camp Grenada." By the end, we are
convinced that both Aaron and Andy do indeed love their
rubber ducks!

"Solid aviary" begins with samples of birds, or perhaps they
are synthesizer chirps. Either way, the sounds evolve using highly
inflected pitch glides into a long sustained harsh timbre
that highlights the drumming. Each time the birds return they
are a bit more synthetic, a bit more alien.

"Broad Liquid" features a rhythmic drone. Voices
"oh" and "ah" with an intensity reminiscent of "Dead Can Dance."
Again, Andy's drumming is the motor force underneath the
microtonal synth lines. By the middle of the improv section
I was thinking of Pink Floyd's small furry creatures in a cave.

I hope and Aaron and Andy didn't really spill
any blood in the making of "blood sacrifice at stonehenge."
Though I doubt this is what druids really sounded
like (and I also doubt that druids played in 7-tet),
it is a haunting piece with Andy's driving rhythms
propelling the chanting.

I might liked to have a bit more detail about the tunings used
in the pieces, and there is no mention in the liner notes
of what kinds of synths or drums are used. On the other hand,
we have Aaron right here on MMM, so I suppose we can ask!
In case you can't tell, I think "Divide by Pi" is great
music. Congratulations Aaron and Andy!

--Bill Sethares

Bill (and Aaron),

{you wrote...}
>I received my copy of "Divide by Pi" recently --
>[snip]
>In case you can't tell, I think "Divide by Pi" is great music. >Congratulations Aaron and Andy!

Very well written review, agree with it all around. Another thing is that while there was certainly *some* post-production, the fact that these are live improvs means that both Aaron and Andy are very attuned to their instruments and performing nuances. I really have no trouble imagining these two playing a set live somewhere and coming very close to this same sound world.

Though I'm also sure they'd simply go off in another, very cool direction.

Cheers,
Jon

Hey Bill,

Great review--who are these guys and where are they from-they sound like they
rock ;)

In all seriousness, thanks for the wonderful comments, and your critical ears.
Since you were curious about missing info regarding equipment and tunings in
the liner notes, I thought I might fill that in here (my (our) philosophy is
to keep the listener intrigued by the sounds themselves, and not destroy the
'illusion bubble' or prevent the listener from encountering the music
directly).

The equipment: a Korg MS-2000R virtual analog 4-voice polyphony synth,
controlled by a Yamaha P-200 digital piano, or by an EMU proteus (only used
as a controller--I know I should get into it's micro capabilities, but it's
Andy's synth, and well, the MS-2000R has kept me busy and excited)

Andy plays a variety of lovely ethnic percussion: a Dumbec, a Chinese Drum,
bongos, tamborine, gourds, etc. plus a standard jazz set. He really is a
wonderful, high energy player, with a solid rhythmic pocket, and a
wonderfully quirky vocalist too (we both share vocal duties)

'prelude/jungle', 'bachelor's grove' (yes we are married--it's the name of a
famous haunted Chicago graveyard where Capone used to dump gangland murder
victims), and 'plastic bathtub toys' use Grady's 'Centaur tuning', although
many of the synth patches are so FM-based, with their non-harmonic spectra,
it's hard to notice. 'hommage a messiaen' is a showcase for Paul Hahn's
7-limit 32-consonance tuning. 'broad liquid' is a drone, where I play with
the filters to get the otonal series with the resonance, so the tuning is
irrelevant. 'blood sacrifice at stonehenge' is 7-tet. 'solid aviary' is all
over the map tuning wise--it was so free and Morton Subotnick 'Silver Apples'
like that tuning info is besides the point....it was pure synth fun!!!!

Thanks again Bill and Jon for your support and flattering comments; in the
truest sense, we do it for the few like you who are in that subsection of the
world population who share our quirky take on music.....

By the way, Bill, I'm starting a seperate thread re: your disks...

Ciao!!

On Saturday 01 May 2004 06:49 pm, Bill Sethares wrote:
> I received my copy of "Divide by Pi" recently --
> Aaron K. Johnson's latest microtonal work (www.dividebypi.com).
>
> If you are hoping for a repeat of the eclectic 19-tet
> harmonic motion of the "Juggler" or of the recent funky
> algorithmic-oriented "5-tet funk" then you will be disappointed.
> Rather, "Divide by Pi" shows a new side to Aaron's music: real
> time microtonal improvisation. The music is aggressive, rhythmically
> sophisticated, and is varied both texturally and timbrally.
>
> "Divide by Pi" is a collaboration with percussionist Andy Hasenpflug,
> and most of the pieces are recordings of improvisations that feature
> synth, percussion, and voice. The enticing vocal sounds are used
> as both a rhythmic and textural element; this is not lyrical
> radio-ready pop singing.
>
> Both the opening "prelude/jungle" and "bachelors grove" (I thought
> these guys were married?) move relentlessly forward, driven by
> the vocal articulations used in a music-concrete kind of way.
> The "hommage a messiaen" is starker, and has a compelling
> hand drum section that resolves to a faux operatic movement
> and then back. Very nice.
>
> The quirky "plastic bathtub toys" reminds me of the
> Perry-Kinsley classic "Camp Grenada." By the end, we are
> convinced that both Aaron and Andy do indeed love their
> rubber ducks!
>
> "Solid aviary" begins with samples of birds, or perhaps they
> are synthesizer chirps. Either way, the sounds evolve using highly
> inflected pitch glides into a long sustained harsh timbre
> that highlights the drumming. Each time the birds return they
> are a bit more synthetic, a bit more alien.
>
> "Broad Liquid" features a rhythmic drone. Voices
> "oh" and "ah" with an intensity reminiscent of "Dead Can Dance."
> Again, Andy's drumming is the motor force underneath the
> microtonal synth lines. By the middle of the improv section
> I was thinking of Pink Floyd's small furry creatures in a cave.
>
> I hope and Aaron and Andy didn't really spill
> any blood in the making of "blood sacrifice at stonehenge."
> Though I doubt this is what druids really sounded
> like (and I also doubt that druids played in 7-tet),
> it is a haunting piece with Andy's driving rhythms
> propelling the chanting.
>
> I might liked to have a bit more detail about the tunings used
> in the pieces, and there is no mention in the liner notes
> of what kinds of synths or drums are used. On the other hand,
> we have Aaron right here on MMM, so I suppose we can ask!
> In case you can't tell, I think "Divide by Pi" is great
> music. Congratulations Aaron and Andy!
>
> --Bill Sethares

--
Aaron Krister Johnson
http://www.dividebypi.com
http://www.akjmusic.com

On Saturday 01 May 2004 06:58 pm, Jonathan M. Szanto wrote:
> Bill (and Aaron),
>
> {you wrote...}
>
> >I received my copy of "Divide by Pi" recently --
> >[snip]
> >In case you can't tell, I think "Divide by Pi" is great music.
> >Congratulations Aaron and Andy!
>
> Very well written review, agree with it all around. Another thing is that
> while there was certainly *some* post-production, the fact that these are
> live improvs means that both Aaron and Andy are very attuned to their
> instruments and performing nuances. I really have no trouble imagining
> these two playing a set live somewhere and coming very close to this same
> sound world.
>
> Though I'm also sure they'd simply go off in another, very cool direction.

Thanks Jon--hopefully to a stage near you sometime!!

The post production was this -- not releasing what we thought was sub-par, and
a cut/paste thing in 'Bachelors Grove' that made an otherwise unworkable
piece workable as far as 'form' goes, and in those piece that were recorded
to multi-track (everything was live), mixing down....that's it.

Incidentally, we had to cancel our world lve premiere last week because I got
sick from a bad stomach virus, and had vomit and diarrhea hell all week,
starting monday....

Best,
Aaron Krister Johnson
http://www.dividebypi.com
http://www.akjmusic.com