Gregory Büttner – Pochen

gregory_buttner

CD – Herbal International

Gregory Büttner recorded Pochen in March of 2011 at the PAF (Performance Arts Forum) in St Erme, 150 km North-east of Paris, France. PAF, founded in 2006, is a space dedicated to the performing arts, be they visual, literary, musical or concerning new media and the Internet. While the centre is housed in what was a convent school, the breadth of theoretical and cultural activities that take place there are anything but parochial. Throughout a three-week residency in the space, Büttner had free rein to explore the 6,400 square metre building, from the attic to the basement and from the small private chapel through to the various rooms and artist’s studios, examining the old building, exploring its acoustic qualities, recording sounds and improvising within the various sonic environments. The resulting recorded material was then processed for a final composition of 40 minutes, mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi. Another live version of the work, which was commissioned by WDR3 Studio Akustische Kunst, was subsequently presented in July 2013. An experimental music label founded in 2003 in Malaysia by Goh Lee Kwang, Herbal International is not new to field recordings and site-specific pieces, having worked in the past with the likes of Eric La Casa & Cédric Peyronnet, Jason Khan or Lasse Marc Riek. Today the ‘building as instrument’ is an attractive concept for much experimental composition and performance. “Pochen” holds its own thanks to the singular skills of the German master, head honcho of another well known label well known, the 1000füssler.

 

Gregory Büttner – Pochen (Excerpt)