Hands To / Jeph Jerman

Started by FreakAnimalFinland, December 09, 2009, 10:29:16 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

FreakAnimalFinland

I recall my early exposure to Hands To, with immediate teenage reaction of "what a load of crap!!!". I just couldn't understand why anyone would waste their time on listening weak hiss of unaltered field recordings which make no sense. Crude and minimalistic sounds, never "brutal", never "heavy",...  Returning to his material years later, I experienced enlightenment. Whole nature of work seemed to have changed inside my brain. I could go on and on listening the analogue decay of sound of desert. Sound of trains. Sound of rocks, sand, dried organic materials.  No amplification, no fancy editing.

I must admit that my favorites are the releases where the cuts happen more often. One could perhaps make reference towards Chop Shop!? One thing happening for a while, until next thing starts to happen. Where Chop Shop is amplified sound with often somehow "urban" and machine feeling, Hands To is the opposite. Not amplified, with rural, natural and anti-urban approach. But still in end, I could file them under specific atmosphere. At least in my favorite works.

For the fans of Hands To early works, one can say that recent times has been great.
HANDS TO "artiment" 2xCDR on Impulsy Stetoskopu (poland) with original recordings dating back to 1989 to Big Body Parts label. It says that discs can be played separately or simultaneously. I'm a bit of stubborn meathead, and don't really like to be involved in artists work, and preferred to listen them separately. I have still feeling that mix these over eachothers could perhaps be even better?

HANDS TO "Flatline" 2xLP. This new Petri Supply edition sold by Hanson recently Some old versions been seen available for insane prices, but now this double 1-siders 12" thing available for tolerable price!

Flatline (12", S/Sided, Pic, Ltd, Whi + 12", S/Sided, Pic, L) Petri Supply, Incubator W3P4LP2 US 2009
Flatline (LP, TP) Petri Supply 37497 US 1990
Flatline (2xLP, S/Sided, Ltd, Pin) Petrified Stumps Flatline US 2001
Flatline (CDr, Album) AARC none US 2006
Flatline (12", S/Sided, Pic, Ltd, Whi + 12", S/Sided, Pic, L) Petri Supply, Incubator W3P4LP3 US 2009

I'm interested in any comments of his new works, or best of the old ones. With this kind of extensive discography, still a lot to go through....
E-mail: fanimal +a+ cfprod,com
MAGAZINE: http://www.special-interests.net
LABEL / DISTRIBUTION: FREAK ANIMAL http://www.nhfastore.net

catharticprocess

Jeph Jerman: calling out the voice of animated nature
[/b]
by Ben Brucato

Jeph Jerman could be described as an electro-acoustic artist, an experimental musician, or an avant-garde performer.  But what Jeph is, in actuality, is a guide.  He guides us to listen to the animated voice of nature, and his works provide us with pathways to experience daily life in new ways.  Once the listener truly grasps the intention behind Jeph's creations, her life can never be the same again.
   "If people ask about what I do, I usually say that I am offering a chance to listen," Jeph explains. "For me, the important thing is listening. What happens when we listen?"
   Jeph doesn't actually create compositions, but, rather, captures and conjures the voice of nature. "Jerman is ultimately capturing 'found sound' that our ears can tune into each day if we are willing to slow down and really listen ... [He] re-creates a prehistoric time when sound was pure and unclassified."   As an example, in his "sound diary" from September 15, 1999, he details a field recording he captured of a moth:

Quote"a moth was laying in the dirt and pine needles next to the front door, flapping it's wings continuously. recorded the sound of it's wings slapping the ground/twigs alongside it. the moth continued to move it's wings in this way, slower over time, for several hours. i wondered if it was dying..."

   Jeph uses field recordings to capture nature's sounds, unaffected and unmanipulated.  Additionally, he also uses found objects – usually detritus of some sort – to conjure or coax their unique voices, allowing them to speak directly to the listener.  "[Jeph] has turned to acoustically playing natural objects - carefully chosen rocks, shells, driftwood, branches, seed pods, and pine cones," and "from these simple and often overlooked objects, he deftly coaxes minute and often unexpected sounds."  In The Idea of Wilderness, Max Oelschlaeger wrote that "wild nature ... will speak through a person if that person will but let natural phenomena have voice, and such a speaking will be as if literally true, alive, and organic."   Jeph lets nature have its voice, and presents it in such a way that it says something specific to each listener.  As he explains:

QuoteWhen placing this activity into a reproducible medium, it becomes the property, intellectual and otherwise, of the person listening. I guess what it comes down to is whether one believes in an objective viewpoint or not. I do not. I know that there is an objective reality, but human perception is most often closed to it.

   In this respect, Jeph is like a shaman, and his music is his language.  What he creates for us is a pathway to experiences every moment of our sensual lives in a different way – in the way that Jeph himself lives, when, as he explains, "my life doesn't need a soundtrack."   David Abram wrote of the role of the shaman in connecting his people to the land, in The Spell of the Sensuous, writing that "the primary role of such magicians ... is to act as intermediaries between the human and more-than-human realms ... shedding the sensory constraints ... periodically dissolving the perceptual boundary in order to directly encounter, converse ... with various nonhuman intelligences ..."   Abram explains the importance of this connection is that "By affirming that the other animals have their own languages, and that even the rustling leaves in an oak tree or an aspen grove is itself a kind of voice, oral peoples bind their senses to the shifting sounds and gestures of the local earth, and thus ensure that their own ways of speaking remain informed by the life of the land ..."
   Jeph seeks to eliminate his personality from the listening experience, to draw attention to the sound, explaining that "the idea called music is not separate from 'sound in general,' yet we have made it so by devising rules by which music may be ascertained or known. "    Perhaps the best way of avoiding these human-created rules is by removing the human hand from the equation, something Jeph consciously attempts, writing:

QuoteI began to find ways to lessen my control over what I was playing. I began finding sound that 'just happened' of much more interest to me than sounds that were meant to be expressive. I became enamored of very quiet sounds and began giving solo performances using only objects found in nature.

What he thus provides the listener with is a carefully chosen sensuous experience, whereby she may truly listen.  As Jeph explains, "music is in the listening, ... all sound is the same, namely a vibration, and our minds have separated one set of vibrations from the general over-all vibration and labeled it."  Music, for Jeph, is a judgment, one that his work strives to break down, to enable a more direct experience of nature.
   Through his music, Jeph challenges us to break down the barriers based on our rules of what music is.  In doing so he brings us to a closer connection to nature through sound.  But our guided journey does not end there.  Jeph is not through with challenging us, as listeners, on this issue alone.  Once we engage in this sensuous experience we are left with a larger challenge: how do we now perceive of nature, unbridled by the rules of aural perception?  In a review in The Sound Projector, Ed Pinsent wrote:

QuotePeople think nature is 'free' garbage, which they can pick up and throw away, because it belongs to nobody. We need a Jeph Jerman to help us appreciate the real beauty and value of some of nature's finest gifts...

   The greatest challenge in truly experiencing Jeph's work is met when trying to do so via recorded media on one of his dozens of cassette, CD and vinyl releases.  "The ideal situation for hearing this music would be simply sitting next to Jerman as he gently agitates his stones, his shells, and other natural forms."   While many of Jeph's recorded works can bring the listener on a mind-blowing and potentially consciousness-altering journey, the experience of seeing Jeph live is unequaled by the packaged, consumable format.  This is an issue Jeph is conscious of, one which is partially remedied by his recording of his albums in a live setting, whether before an audience or otherwise.
   I have been fortunate enough not only to see Jeph in a live setting, but also to record with him.  Jeph has performed before a small audience in my living room, and I have shared the stage with him at a gallery performance in Phoenix.  Additionally, we work together on recording projects on an ongoing basis.  His recordings, performances and the experience of working directly with Jeph have permanently altered my sensuous experience of nature.  This is a common experience and story told by many of Jeph's fans, and he has inspired countless artists to challenge their relationship with nature and with sound.



heretogo

A big favorite of mine. I like almost all of his stuff, from the straight field recordings to his quiet improv stuff and including the free-jazz-rock things he did with Blowhole.

Some of the recent releases require quite a bit of effort to be enjoyed. I'm referring to the quiet improvisations with stones, twigs, seeds etc. There's many of these, done solo, as duos/trios and with the Animist Orchestra. One really has to concentrate on the subtle sounds and the slow patterns of emerging forms. And if you put the effort in, there is a reward waiting. Absolutely impossible to use as background music. The unprocessed field recordings (aarc tapes and others) are somehow easier, I find myself using them as instruments of relaxation. I put the tape in, maybe do some other things, let it play in the background. And then I suddenly find myself laying on the couch, just wondering about the beauty of it all.

But the most playing time here get the more "experimental" discs from last few years. Stuff like the Vinyl cd-r on AARC (reissued on Easy Discs). Vinyl albums played "acoustically" with cactus needles. Quite rough and nice, both the idea and sounds are intriguing. Or the Instability Studies cd on Anomalous. Vibrations and rattles from unstable systems, a sugarbowl with ill-fitting lid and objects placed on wooden planks fixed to motors and springs. Also the Metal drift cd-r (AARC and Fissür), field recordings of metal structures and other man-made debris.

The Bernhard Günter disc (Buddha with the sun face / Buddha with the moon face on Digital Narcis) which is based on sounds sent by Jeph is also very nice. Originally intended to be a J. Jerman release but the recording was too lo-fi for Günter's taste, so he took the sounds and made his own composition using them... In this case it worked nicely, although I would have liked to hear the original piece also.

Of the older Hands To recordings, I'm quite partial to the Egress LP (Anomalous). Sounds from nature but presented in rougher form than the newer stuff. Instruments crafted from parts of cacti, suprisingly rhythmic at times, almost like songs being played.

catharticprocess

I forgot to mention, his recent release, "Cassette," a C-60 on Little Enjoyer, is stellar. Proof that he's doing stuff these days that can stand up to his greatest work.

Zeno Marx

One of the posters at ihatemusic made a little project for themselves to listen to 30 Jerman albums in 30 days, each day posting a review.  While Hands To would likely make a short list of all-time favorites, I still felt that was quite ambitious and arduous.  I know I wouldn't be in the proper headspace, for a month straight, to keep my mind open and listen attentively, as his work deserves.  You can read these reviews and comments HERE , as I compiled them for future reference.
"the overindulgent machines were their children"
I only buy vinyl, d00ds.

LIFE

What I look for in experimental music is a sort of inhuman naturalism like Hands To/Jerman. Jerman didn't become an influence until I was already getting into "natural sounds / atmospheres", but even the sloppiest recordings I've heard from him have been somehow inhumanly great.

My favorite recordings are on the "Shaketable" release. Just rattling sounds taken to a whole new, complex level. There's even a sugarbowl involved, which is amazing, as good music/sound to me is almost always very SUGARY.

bogskaggmannen

More comments welcome on Hands To - primarily the CDs (SFO, Hands To Turn My Hands To, Nazha, Guru Means..., Circumscription).

Tarker Mills

Quote from: catharticprocess on December 11, 2009, 12:39:08 AM
I forgot to mention, his recent release, "Cassette," a C-60 on Little Enjoyer, is stellar. Proof that he's doing stuff these days that can stand up to his greatest work.

Is this actually out yet?

Zeno Marx

Quote from: bogskaggmannen on June 23, 2010, 11:50:55 AM
More comments welcome on Hands To - primarily the CDs (SFO, Hands To Turn My Hands To, Nazha, Guru Means..., Circumscription).
I keep looking at this post, wanting to comment, but I don't know what to say.

I really enjoy Circumscription.  The cover art somewhat tells it all.  Now that Francisco Lopez has Wind (Patagonia), I can almost see them as sister albums.  But then, why don't any number of other Hands To tapes make me feel the same way?  I have no idea.

Nazha is maybe the roughest, most crude HT CD.  I really enjoy it a lot.  There's a spirituality to it that really engages me.  This same mystic quality is present on almost everything Jerman does, but it is particularly poignant on this one.  The ghosts in his gear were maybe more active than normal when recording it.

SFO is dark, crumbly, succinct, near-monolithic, and noisy in a more traditional sense.  When recommended to me, it was encouraged to listen in a pitch-black room and very late at night.  I found it to be good advice.

Hands To Turn My Hands To has undeservingly received the least attention of the HT CDs I own.  I listen to it, and I forget.  That isn't necessarily a bad thing in the context I normally listen to Hands To.  It's not a strong resonator.  I should probably listen to it again, and then immediately put something to words, before I comment further.
"the overindulgent machines were their children"
I only buy vinyl, d00ds.

FreakAnimalFinland

Huh!!! Just finished listening JEPH JERMAN: For Henry F. Farny 1904...." CD on Trait Mediaworks (Lunde's label).
Amazing. What this appears to be, is sound of telephone wire, captured with contact microphone. You see photos of old style lines, which obviously react on wind and other things, and cord itself works like obscure sound reverb. 60 minutes of unedited long pieces (5) of this, which become hypnotic and amazingly textured.
It's hiss free digital recording, that captures the actual object, not just analogue tape hiss.
E-mail: fanimal +a+ cfprod,com
MAGAZINE: http://www.special-interests.net
LABEL / DISTRIBUTION: FREAK ANIMAL http://www.nhfastore.net

moozz

Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on October 10, 2011, 07:51:02 PM
Huh!!! Just finished listening JEPH JERMAN: For Henry F. Farny 1904...." CD on Trait Mediaworks (Lunde's label).
Amazing. What this appears to be, is sound of telephone wire, captured with contact microphone. You see photos of old style lines, which obviously react on wind and other things, and cord itself works like obscure sound reverb. 60 minutes of unedited long pieces (5) of this, which become hypnotic and amazingly textured.
It's hiss free digital recording, that captures the actual object, not just analogue tape hiss.

Is it something like Alan Lamb's Primal Image? That one was constructed from recordings made by contact mic'ing a stretch of abandoned telephone wire somewhere in the Australian desert.

FreakAnimalFinland

I don't have that release, but it sounds similar.
E-mail: fanimal +a+ cfprod,com
MAGAZINE: http://www.special-interests.net
LABEL / DISTRIBUTION: FREAK ANIMAL http://www.nhfastore.net

davenpdx

Off-topic:
Quote from: moozz on October 11, 2011, 12:01:39 PMIs it something like Alan Lamb's Primal Image? That one was constructed from recordings made by contact mic'ing a stretch of abandoned telephone wire somewhere in the Australian desert.
I haven't tracked down Primal Image yet, but Lamb's other "wire" release, Night Passage, is a favorite of mine. Highly recommended!

On-topic:
As with Peterson, I'm interested in any suggestions for starting points with the Hands To oeuvre...
Mystery Attacks: updates / sounds
Rouge Label: updates

WCN

http://www.selfabuserecords.net/catalog/cat-h.html

SFO is the first Hands To album I heard I think, still one of my favorites. Noisey textural cracks and twangs, lo-fi melodic hums, etc. The CD has a definite arc, almost story line. Artiment is great as well, made up of shorter tracks of raw crumbling and decaying sounds.
Harsh Noise label and EU based distro of American Imports
https://whitecentipedenoise.com/

FreakAnimalFinland

I think LP or CD releases are very good starts.  It is maybe obvious that CDR or tape may be less effort than "real album", but I guess someone should post the link to that site which goes through very detailed reviews of his work?
E-mail: fanimal +a+ cfprod,com
MAGAZINE: http://www.special-interests.net
LABEL / DISTRIBUTION: FREAK ANIMAL http://www.nhfastore.net