CD – Atrakt Art

The sounds of the improvisational musical tradition in Eastern Europe are still very lively and it is common to encounter some of its interesting expressions, both in academic and experimental circles. Sometimes, however, these different musical universes are not as separate as you might thin. Take, for example, Martin Burlas, an artist who boasts productions since the late eighties. Burlas is a composer accustomed to moving from a classic approach to techno and from minimalism to free form. He is involved with the symphonic improvisation collective Musica falsa et ficta, a group equally experienced with combining traditional motifs and new electronica, mixing conventional composition with more contemporary techniques. Hexenprozesse, in particular, is inspired by many hybrids: images of the Inquisition period, the use of acoustic and electronic instruments, objects and design, procedures that tell us of violent torture stories. At the time of the fall of Berlin wall, the barbaric atmosphere was originally rebuilt, using instruments specially made by Milan Adamčiak, a conceptual Slovakian artist and author of visual poetry, a musician, composer and musicologist himself. Only twenty-five years later and after a troubled gestation, through the efforts of Miro Toth, another musician active in that area, the composition will be updated and released in conjunction with a video of an anti-NATO demonstration held in the capital of Slovakia. New instruments in the meantime have been specially developed for the piece and the author’s agitprop verve remains unaltered: what is remarkable are the stylistic features of an approach that, although dated, continue to be engaging, symbolic and quite unconventional.

 

Martin Burlas & Musica falsa et ficta – Hexenprozesse