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ignition: selected improvs 2008​-​2012

by BOAT BURNING

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about

This album documents BOAT BURNING's early period as a purely live improvisational ensemble using amplified guitars, cello, analog tape, percussion and chance.

The mission was to create music in the moment that had all the narrative coherence and propulsive drive of composed works.

In keeping with the group's 100% live aesthetic, each improvisation was performed without the help of synths, laptops, sequencers, prerecorded loops, apps, overdubs, or preconceived notions. Thus, everything you hear on these recordings was created live in the moment, using a single take.

A core compositional technique was the intentional use of "damage" -- introducing a steady stream of non-traditional tonal, textural, rhythmic and chance elements -- to disrupt the equilibrium and force musicians into new territory.

By continuously introducing damage, the number and duration of moments where the ensemble must figure out how to turn chaos into order increase dramatically, turning each session into a laboratory for aggressively exploring the shifting consensual lines that separate chaotic and musical forms.

This and several other notions regarding improvisation gelled into a kind of loose manifesto we called "Hard Ambience," which at first blush reads like a recipe for cacophony, but is actually a call for improvisational fearlessness:

"Hard Ambiance: a Manifesto
1) Subvert the Past (DON'T REPEAT) - new performances should not draw on the past
2) Subvert the Present (DON'T LINGER) - keep moving; when a successful moment arrives, mark it for destruction
3) Subvert the Future (DON'T PLAN) - avoid predefined motifs
4) Subvert the Mind (DON'T THINK) - play from the heart, or don't play at all
5) Subvert the Convention (DON'T FEAR) - anything goes
6) Space is the Place (DON'T COAST) - when out of ideas, drop out; silence is an undervalued contribution"

Taken to the extreme, the above manifesto means recordings are to be shunned, as any album or ep release would tempt the ensemble into recreating the recording, rather than exploring new ground.

This is in fact why, up until now, no official recordings of Boat Burning's early period were ever released. Boat Burning was intended to be a unique, ephemeral live experience: created in the moment, then forever gone.

Such zealotry has its price. In retrospect, we are grateful for the rehearsal and concert recordings that survived, as they capture some truly special moments. -AF

credits

released October 11, 2012

Contributors:
Andras Fekete - guitar, analog tape
Ken Friedman - drums, percussion (Road, Fishing, Train)
Pete Gamble - guitar (Fishing, Train)
Josh Starmer - cello (Train)
David Rabin - cello (Brow)
Mark Kapeluck - violin (Brow)
David Sausser - tabla, percussion (Brow)

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BOAT BURNING Washington, D.C.

Founded by Andras Fekete (1956-2018), BOAT BURNING plays "maximum minimalism" -- elemental phrases played by many instruments -- to create staggering towers of densely stacked harmonics. The resulting sound combines the wide-screen sweep of classical with the sheer physical thrall of punk. ... more

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