Concert with Nikos Veliotis (cello) in Small Music Theatre, Athens, 28.4.2001.
Released as a CD by Absurd (then Noise-below) in Spring 2002.
Available as a download here
Frans de Waard in Vital Weekly #345
COSTIS DRYGIANAKIS & NIKOS VELIOTIS – 28/04/2001 (CDR by Absurd)
MATT DAVIS & MARK WESTELL – DERBY/LIVERPOOL (CDR by Absurd) Two releases from the world of improvisation, but both from a different angle. The first one is by two Greek guys, Nikos Veliotis plays cello and Costis Drygianakis plays tape recorders. The first improvises and the second tapes that, and plays it back, along the improvisations of the cello. For the bigger part of the hour that this release lasts it’s a soft scraping and scratching of sounds and occassionally we hear the hand manipulated sounds of tape that is spinning along the recording heads. Quite intense music to listen too, and pretty radical in that respect, simply because at times nothing much seems to be happening at various times. A work of free improvisation that can easily meet the works of people like Thomas Lehn or Phil Durrant (I’m referring to their CD on Fringes from years ago, which was also hoovering around in silence). The other new release on Absurd is also from improvising matters, by Matt Davis and Mark Wastell, both whom are unknown to me. They played electronics, processing and amplified textures and this release was recorded during two occassions in Liverpool and Derby. Silent electronics, controlled feedback and surface scratching is what we get during the little over thirty minutes that this release lasts. They play their stuff with great skill, care and held back passion. Things evolve slowly, along the lines of people like Roel Meelkop or Bernard Gunther, but then in a more improvised way. Like the other release on Absurd, silence plays a big role here too. Nice one(s).
(FdW)