Bassism
Bassism a Retrospective Journey
From sketches, ideas and snippets of tape spanning decades of Antonin’s musical life!
Opening the Double Bass is played a way he is known for on varying …world & other unusual instruments.
His tone ever present here is rich, varied & expedient.
As noted bassist Jacque mentions, “Antonin’s tone is unique at times he reminds me of the Rudra Vena and other times like Chinese tonalities. But even more rarely do we hear a recording these days that is full of surprise being the pure voice of the Bass- being without tunes, licks or anything predictable. It is a masterpiece I will continue to listen to!”
The CD continues varying greatly throughout as a compilation of styles, times & places journeying thru many aspects of his Bass voice!
Opening is a duet with conga that flows leaping from continent to continent it may as well be in many different worlds as the sounds flow & blend yet are quite unique.
Antonin is equally free in ancient African music, jazz, modernism as with Brazilian music focusing on improvisation.
There’s vocal improve jazz septet with Steve Cohn- duets with Monk influenced saxophone mastery, the wonderful Brazilian voice of Andrea Monteiro, an ode to funk with his close colleague Robert on trumpet, and a Monumental Solo excursion on the Arco bass into postmodernism. It is a nonstop trip throughout many worlds and flavors! A great treat for the ears & heart! Closing with the one man orchestra of David Darling with uniquely undefinable female vocals, into a cello & flute duet over the wild tabla of Thomas Tedesco.
0:00 “Origins”: Opening with a Solo Double Bass & percussion, Clint Gloss on Fujara.
5:15 “Upright Man”: a duet with conga mastery which breaks up into different duets with African tribesman, pigmy singers, Antonin’s own aboriginal vocals, horns of hill tribesmen ever returning to the flawless Bass/Conga mating of duplicity.
15:23 “Tuto” is a septet piece with Daniella Reinsch- vocals, Steve Cohn on Shakuhachi & grand piano, Lean Darling Viola, Arjun percussion & Dean Rickard drum set.
22:19 “Avorada” or “Dawn Aurora” -Andrea Monteiro’s many voices really change up the pace here with some really beautiful intonations, Bass and Berimbau set the mood.
26:02 “Coragao” or “Heart Aurora” –Here Andrea Monteiro again adds her many gorgeous voices to enrich this recording in yet another direction.
29:14 “Monk Permutations” is a duet Bass & Saxophone of the highest order bowing to the great American Jazz tradition in the style of Thelonious Monk/Trane.
34:25 “Radioactive” is a real change to dank acoustic Bass into a downright nasty Funk jam with Robert Morrison Trumpet & Dean Rickard drums. But the surprises don’t stop here as the 2nd Bass takes the lead with a rocking feedback laden Arco solo like this listener has never heard the likes of being played on an acoustic Bass!
37:28 “Vesola” is back to the quintet format in another unusual interplay with Steve Cohn on Hichiriki, Shofar and Ektara while the two ladies and Antonin share vocal a bluesy interplay.
46:04 “Chuang Tzu” is a short Chinese type melody and ode to the ancient Taoist master.
47:01 “Exorcism” is an estranged solo Bass piece with self-accompanied live vocals.
52:47 “Trio of One” -Not to outdo himself, Antonin comes out with a fabulous solo trio piece on Cello, Bass and Drums. The percussion is equally a melodic instrument as the two stringed voices merge into one sonic mastery.
56:07 “Call to the Wild“-opening with Miss Darling on a wild viola melody to reinstate the versatility of this septet.
1:01:49 “Posularity” is a solo bass and self-accompanied vocal take on native chanting.
1:04:03 “Thunder Tumult“–here we find the Upright doing things I will have to say seem impossible for it to do!
Antonin is ever exploring new sounds and in this piece there is many a tonality unknown to this listener on any instrument. It begins as if a Terminator movie is somewhat mild mannered compared to what is to come.
The squealing, chronically crackling cranking screech of what can only be called the ‘primal scream’ here is enough to satisfy the rage of outrage at a world society to make a change!
1:06:45 “Das ta Kiz No Say” –here returns Daniella’s & Antonin’s vocal play, Cohn’s piano, Bass percussion quartet.
1:11:02 “Why Does the Caged Bird Sing?” is the finale featuring 80 cellos by Mr. David Darling with Bass supporting the northern lights vocal from
1:17:46 “The Lute of Fallen Temples”; along with a flute quartet, the Overtone Ensemble, David Grego’s Tuba, Choir, Thomas Tedesco’s Tabla, and Antonin’s multiple flute pieces. To top this piece and the CD off we have a cello/flute exchange closing is Antonin’s signature multi-layered grand gong made up of too much hammered metals to count!Show MoreBassism
Bassism a Retrospective Journey From sketches, ideas and snippets of …
Bassism a Retrospective Journey
From sketches, ideas and snippets of tape spanning decades of Antonin’s musical life!
Opening the Double Bass is played a way he is known for on varying …world & other unusual instruments.
His tone ever present here is rich, varied & expedient.
As noted bassist Jacque mentions, “Antonin’s tone is unique at times he reminds me of the Rudra Vena and other times like Chinese tonalities. But even more rarely do we hear a recording these days that is full of surprise being the pure voice of the Bass- being without tunes, licks or anything predictable. It is a masterpiece I will continue to listen to!”
The CD continues varying greatly throughout as a compilation of styles, times & places journeying thru many aspects of his Bass voice!
Opening is a duet with conga that flows leaping from continent to continent it may as well be in many different worlds as the sounds flow & blend yet are quite unique.
Antonin is equally free in ancient African music, jazz, modernism as with Brazilian music focusing on improvisation.
There’s vocal improve jazz septet with Steve Cohn- duets with Monk influenced saxophone mastery, the wonderful Brazilian voice of Andrea Monteiro, an ode to funk with his close colleague Robert on trumpet, and a Monumental Solo excursion on the Arco bass into postmodernism. It is a nonstop trip throughout many worlds and flavors! A great treat for the ears & heart! Closing with the one man orchestra of David Darling with uniquely undefinable female vocals, into a cello & flute duet over the wild tabla of Thomas Tedesco.
0:00 “Origins”: Opening with a Solo Double Bass & percussion, Clint Gloss on Fujara.
5:15 “Upright Man”: a duet with conga mastery which breaks up into different duets with African tribesman, pigmy singers, Antonin’s own aboriginal vocals, horns of hill tribesmen ever returning to the flawless Bass/Conga mating of duplicity.
15:23 “Tuto” is a septet piece with Daniella Reinsch- vocals, Steve Cohn on Shakuhachi & grand piano, Lean Darling Viola, Arjun percussion & Dean Rickard drum set.
22:19 “Avorada” or “Dawn Aurora” -Andrea Monteiro’s many voices really change up the pace here with some really beautiful intonations, Bass and Berimbau set the mood.
26:02 “Coragao” or “Heart Aurora” –Here Andrea Monteiro again adds her many gorgeous voices to enrich this recording in yet another direction.
29:14 “Monk Permutations” is a duet Bass & Saxophone of the highest order bowing to the great American Jazz tradition in the style of Thelonious Monk/Trane.
34:25 “Radioactive” is a real change to dank acoustic Bass into a downright nasty Funk jam with Robert Morrison Trumpet & Dean Rickard drums. But the surprises don’t stop here as the 2nd Bass takes the lead with a rocking feedback laden Arco solo like this listener has never heard the likes of being played on an acoustic Bass!
37:28 “Vesola” is back to the quintet format in another unusual interplay with Steve Cohn on Hichiriki, Shofar and Ektara while the two ladies and Antonin share vocal a bluesy interplay.
46:04 “Chuang Tzu” is a short Chinese type melody and ode to the ancient Taoist master.
47:01 “Exorcism” is an estranged solo Bass piece with self-accompanied live vocals.
52:47 “Trio of One” -Not to outdo himself, Antonin comes out with a fabulous solo trio piece on Cello, Bass and Drums. The percussion is equally a melodic instrument as the two stringed voices merge into one sonic mastery.
56:07 “Call to the Wild“-opening with Miss Darling on a wild viola melody to reinstate the versatility of this septet.
1:01:49 “Posularity” is a solo bass and self-accompanied vocal take on native chanting.
1:04:03 “Thunder Tumult“–here we find the Upright doing things I will have to say seem impossible for it to do!
Antonin is ever exploring new sounds and in this piece there is many a tonality unknown to this listener on any instrument. It begins as if a Terminator movie is somewhat mild mannered compared to what is to come.
The squealing, chronically crackling cranking screech of what can only be called the ‘primal scream’ here is enough to satisfy the rage of outrage at a world society to make a change!
1:06:45 “Das ta Kiz No Say” –here returns Daniella’s & Antonin’s vocal play, Cohn’s piano, Bass percussion quartet.
1:11:02 “Why Does the Caged Bird Sing?” is the finale featuring 80 cellos by Mr. David Darling with Bass supporting the northern lights vocal from
1:17:46 “The Lute of Fallen Temples”; along with a flute quartet, the Overtone Ensemble, David Grego’s Tuba, Choir, Thomas Tedesco’s Tabla, and Antonin’s multiple flute pieces. To top this piece and the CD off we have a cello/flute exchange closing is Antonin’s signature multi-layered grand gong made up of too much hammered metals to count!Show More Actuate
Actuate Here we have another long unrealized dream of Antonin made …
Actuate …
Here we have another long unrealized dream of Antonin made real!
The dream? To record an album in which he plays all the instruments essentially acoustic BASS, Drums, guitars and piano or keys.
Spoken word text from Ovid in English & from Virgil in Latin.
The acoustic bass and drums are prominent in basing the formless flowing nature of the arrangements and grounding the, at times screaming electric guitar while at other times soft spacious fluid melodicism of the organically programmed guitar tones Antonin is known for.
The “Receiving Apparatus” electric guitar takes on synthesizer status and really goes places! The interviewing of a natural progress of synthesis both analog and digital is a welcoming release from what is the normal electric guitar we hear so often these days.
Antonin’s uncanny ability to take any instrument he chooses and make it his own never fails to surprise and is also prevalent throughout this outing!
Antonin: all compositions and instruments, Acoustic Bass Violin, Drums, percussion ensembles, Piano, Timpani, Electric guitars, treatments, Receiving Apparatus– Digital & Analog Synth Guitars, OBxa- Tracks 2 & 6, programming, Bass Suling Bamboo Flute, Snake Charmer’s Flute, Sound Design, arrangement of Messiah’s flutes collaged and layering of strings with a short diminuendo section.
Spoken word disassembled from Ovid and Virgil with additional commentary.
Actuate –The track list:
0:00 Activate
5:29 The Living Edge
15:58 Actuate
26:32 Monopolyphic Permutations
37:46 Romancing the Tone
40:41 Conspiracy Theory
54:48 Nebulous
58:10 Gemini
1:03:50 Nonsequitur
1:07:58 Reality Remade
Truly Antonin seems to have grown immensely in the recent few months.
On the one side of the extreme adventurousness, there comes no surprise there is a delicate side —As contrasted with some of thee most Ferocious Guitar Playing i have ever hear and believe me i have heard it all.
He has grown in an acute intensity!
His screaming affects us deeply in the soul heart and are not some noise mechanism or angry child raging against the machine. Here we see a maturely evolved progression from intense to an uncanny acute ferociousity! Even lions would not mess with the power of 10,000 suns!
Antonin provokes the primordial scream for sanity in us with his intensity!
His inner sense has grown to such a sensitivity he can switch on a dime and give us all the extremes music the human can experience!
For some probably most, this open hearted approach will not be understood by most.
However, it often takes decades for people to come to appreciate innovations, when genius comes to bare its precious fruit few are there to appreciate it!
John Graham once said, “It truly takes a genius to recognize the genius in a man who has not yet been recognized by the public!”
Graham was probably speaking of himself as one might allude I am.
But in any case, we have here a man who is pushing himself forward at such an alarming pace; who can keep up with him?
If one were to examine simple one aspect of his creative output alone that would be enough. But in fact, it is not enough to bring to light the power of this living art he lives in so many mediums and Mixed Medias combined that at best we can do is absorb whatever comes to us…
The rest is for the ages!
Yes! It is in my heart that this work will not go unnoticed in the future as he is redefining the direction the masters before him were headed…
Antonin has what it takes and he has taken it!
What is it?
That mysterious thing that makes validity out of originality?
After all there are countless people exhibiting some form of originality…
But what it takes is that elusive enduring quality Antonin’s work not only consistently reveals to us but the growth it exudes in moving forward…
Still we have not answered the question…
“What does it take?”
It takes the conviction and knowhow and the wherewithal to never be too pleased with where one stands! No matter how great the achievement! It takes a certain kind of a person to only remain true to the challenge they put forth for themselves.
Nothing else matters!
They live for nothing else but to surprise themselves….
In really; isn’t that the greatest challenge of all??
What does it take to maintain such an intensity?
The Simplicity of Honesty! Even if it is a brutal honesty…
Hence it must be as brutal as possible…to be as honest as possible…
There then is nothing else that can touch this man!
Cy Rimbaud Paris 2020
PS: How many people do you know not that live this way?
But how many even can????
Who amongst us can survive the brutality of their own pure honesty?
Only those that thrive on the truth of discovery, experimentation and surprise…
Once again the taste for risk brings the supreme prize into fruition…Show More Aquatone
AQUATONE! Directions is Aquaphonic Music in 8 Movements For me it has …
AQUATONE! Directions is Aquaphonic Music in 8 Movements
For me it has always been a dream to write a Water Symphony.
This piece is that realization!
After decades i put together old tapes, …Snippets of Sessions, sketches and scraps to formulate a large compensatory compilation of material.
It is that material which became the building blocks that i took from distorted and much of which became something quite different than it started out as.
One might say every step of the way was an improvisation/metamorphosis although even i can’t trace these steps in the aftermath.
With support from David and Dean i jumped in head first late in the winter of 2019.
Completing Aquatone in January leaving behind a large amount of ideas and work which then found their way into the beginning of Symphony #2 “The Crucible!”
There is a lot of information on this work that will not fit into these constraints. Anyone interested or believes they played on any part of this? Please contact me.
Much of this music is derived from improvisations hence i am obliged to bow to and thank all involved. Special thanks goes out to David Darling, Dean Ricard, Robert Morrison, Thomas Tedesco for his tabla parts, David Grego Tuba, cellists: Connie Barret, Elizabeth Byrd, Violist Lee Ann Darling, Violinist: Dr. David Rudge, Flutist: Mary Knysh, Henrik, & MFP and many others whose names unfortunately are unknown.
Antonin: Composer, Aquatronics, Compiler, Arrangements, solo 12 string, Spanish, Prepared and Electric Guitars, Bass, Piano solo, Harmonic Chanting, Bass Suling bamboo flute, Tape Manipulation, Tibetan Bells, Overtone flutes, Percussion, Devil Chasers, Crystal & Tibetan & Japanese Singing Bowls, Organ, Harp, Timpani, Kodo Drum, Gong, treatments and post production. All instruments are acoustic.
0:00 Movement 1 Aqua Shine
Trumpet & Conch: Robert Morrison; Antonin: Aquatronics, 12 string guitar, drones, Aquaphonics, Orchestra String temperament and dervishong strings.
13:16 Movement 2 Aquadrome: Antonin: Harp, Organ,
22:37 Movement 3 Aquatron:
Harmonic Chanting, Bass Suling Bamboo Flute, Crystal and Tibetan Singing Bowls, percussives, tape manipulation, live tape, talking drum, devil chasers, Bamboo skewers, Tibetan bells, mutated/prepared acoustic Overtone guitar.
35:33 Movement 4 Romancing the Tone: Antonin: Percussion, Solo Piano,
42:39 Movement 5 Submerging: Harmonic Chant, Tibetan Horns, flute Ensemble, Shakuhachi, Native American Flute, Fujari, Overtone flute.
50:16 Movement 6 “Aquatone”: Oboe; Prof. Rudge Violin, Bassoon, Flute featuring Antonin solo Spanish & Electric Guitars.
Koto Bass Drum, Toms, Timpani.
1:01:20 Movement 7 Why Does the Caged Bird Sing?
80 cellos by Darling David; Northern Lights vocalizations by Maedamyn, A. flute Ensemble, A. 0vertone Ensemble, Tuba Ensemble: David Grego; Tabla by Thomas Tedesco, Solo Cello by Antonin in exchange with Flutes.
1:17:15 Movement 8 Aqua Reprise: is a recapitulation of the opening Trumpet, Conch Shell by Robert Morrison.Show More The Crucible
“The Crucible” Symphony #2 Concerto for Guitars & Orchestra Begun …
“The Crucible” Symphony #2
Concerto for Guitars & Orchestra
Begun January 29 2020 from the sketches, tapes. Mixes and the uncompleted skeletons out of …the miss-shapen remnants remaining as unfinished desires from the fruition of the Aquatone Symphony. This Symphonic piece has now officially begun! Where it arrives? We can only guess or wait & see to hear.
The colorations will be unfamiliar as were those in Aquatone right along with, next to and blending with the Symphony Orchestra and my own way of sculpting the interactions of temperament, timbres, and extra musicality’s of world musics and untampered instruments with the technology of ‘know how’ and computer science both analogue and digital into an intuitive space of events as much a surprise to myself as it is to the listener!
1 30 2020
The “Crucible” Symphony #2 -Concerto for Guitars & 0rchestra
Antonin: Composer, Arranger, Producer, Soloist: Spanish, 0ceanic & Electric Guitars, Piano, Marimba, Percussion, Contra Bass, Drum Set, Gongs & metal, Treatments,
Special guest David Darling Cellos & Co-Composer on Movement 5.
Patrick Whitehead Trumpet, Elizabeth Byrd Cello, Dr. Rudge Violin Movement 2.
There were no synthesizers were used on this recording.
0:00 Movement 1: Revere
5:52 Movement 2: Momentum of Stillness
15:36 Movement 3: Return To Wholeness
24:39 Movement 4: Fanfare: The Arrival of Guitara Electra
31.01 Movement 5: Conference of the Birds
39:06 Movement 6: Transmutation of Consciousness
49:45 Movement 7: The Crucible!
Symphony #2
Here we have Antonin delving once again into his subconscious in preparation for his consciously obscurated OSCULATED large scale works from those deep recesses where he has stored much of the verve and conviction for the expression of so much of the unexpressed psyche in such a small amount of time.
As always he treats his process with a balance of fervor and repose.
There is a trust in the surety of not having to know what will come next and allowing what is happening at the moment to color, effect and even dictate what comes next.
Ever willing to re-center the imbalance and restore continuity with a simple gesture.
The conviction and power of gestural decisions has always led him to success!
And here is no exception!
In a few short months reentering his whole oeuvre with this fantastic approach to first the long lost Aqua Tone Symphony which emerged from an improvisational Chamber Orchestra motive form 2001 called Aqua Tron.
Antonin has managed to stupefy the thought process.
To believe this valuable work is emerging at this rate of realization was at first impossible for me to comprehend. But after seeing his process unfold as he explores the many variations is his expression?
This work lends us a new vision and understanding into the depth of his earlier works.
It is not so as to make it appear more credible.
But rather reveals what was already there in retrospect.
As these large ensemble pieces reflect his expression so profoundly we now can see that same vision more clearly and pronounced even in the solo and especially small ensemble works he is known for.
Some of his chordal choices in full length solo compositions, such as Desire or Passion for guitar become relevant in a new way as we hear how these same works can be pieced together in our minds as tiny Concertos.
Tiny in the sense that they are a huge step forward for the guitar but are not accompanied by a protrusion of accents and orchestral arrangements.
With further listens returning to those compositions I am now beginning to hear an orchestra nonetheless understated as it were, but still there in the wings so to speak!
As these solo guitar compositions come alive for me again and again!
It is a specular achievement to create a spontaneous orchestration of such depth and complexity without losing the most important thing!
That is the heart of loving the sound.
One need not even look this enduring quality runs throughout everything Antonin does!
Antonin might tell us, ‘Iye am the sound’ and he would not be lying!
Tracks recorded in March 2020 Final Production Aug 17 2020
Cy Rimbaud Aug 23 2020Show More
Sans Titre YouTube Channel
Sans Titre is to do with “The Chemistry” expressed and felt in the making of uniquely original art not found in the traditional or predictable forms we are accustomed to. Covers from 1997 to the present. Each audio recording is shared with a slide show of original and found images that reveal how imagery can be both audible or visual.
