Renga is a form of linked, short verse written by two or more poets together. André Darius and Paul Mimlitsch creatively interpret the idea of the collaborative series of brief pieces with their duo release titled, appropriately enough, Renga. The fourteen short tracks—each averaging about two minutes in length—are improvisational miniatures for Mimlitsch’s bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet and Darius’ electric upright bass and voice. The music is largely a kind of constantly moving, engagingly free lyricism with frequent excursions into pure sound and timbre, particularly on the tracks featuring Darius’ vocalizations. Mimlitsch’s reedy low register growls and ruminations contrast nicely with the brighter sounding yet similarly low-pitched electric upright bass.
Tag: Paul Mimlitsch
Two solo releases featuring winds from opposite points on the pitch spectrum, but with some qualities in common. Both come in at economical run times—under thirty minutes total each—and both consist of short, thematically cohesive tracks.
Darío Dolci’s excursions on sopranino saxophone are in some ways the more austere of the two sets. Without overdubs or supporting instruments and sounds, he devotes each of his nine tracks to an elaboration of one technique, sound quality or pitch collection. In doing so, Dolci often employs extended techniques which find him exploring extreme ranges or making broad interval jumps, or using key clicks, tongue slaps, air notes and overblowing. On La Aumentada, YYYY and Monotonica he plays more or less conventionally, setting up and developing modally-tinged melodies and motifs.
Paul Mimlitsch’s Random Thoughts for contrabass clarinet are improvised live to disc, sometimes with the inclusion of live electronics to supplement the sound of the lone instrument. On all tracks Mimlitsch takes advantage of the low reed’s brooding, saturnine voice. Slow melodic passages join with occasional extended techniques and electronic sound deformation to produce an intimate portrait of the contrabass clarinet as seen from several angles.
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