[scott v]

As much as i find Keith Rowe inspiring and instrumental to my experimental tendencies i find his recent work of the last ten or so years somewhat meandering and boring, to me his best work was with AMM (60's thru the 90's, he broke away from AMM in the 70's) and within the solo album he made on Matchless where he actually made "sound" and the use of "silence" (in the John Cage-ian sense) work together perfectly, there are a few recordings on Erstwhile that are good but i don't feel compelled to go back to any of them for multiple listens.

Extended technique on the guitar is all well and good but when it comes down to the light sound washes of a 40 to 50 minute recording of what is perceived as only a portable electric fan blowing gently on the pickups, it borders on self indulgance and that is the problem i see with alot of what exists among the elitest in the free improv community.

Don't be fooled as I find Rowe to be in abit of a contradiction as it is led to believe that he completely strayed away from traditional and technical guitar technique in the 60's... this is not true as he played some very straight forward guitar licks (however in a very improvisational way) in a short lived version of a group called Almagam at some point in the 70's, I have an album of Almagam where he definitly and very noticably is playing some straight forward guitar action much in a way that is a fusion of John McLaughlin and Jimi Hendrix to say the least.

[hat and bread]

I quite like the drone of an electric fan and really wouldn't mind owning a 40-50 minute recording of one.
Not that Keith Rowe has ever released such a thing. I've found his music of late to be quite dense and beautiful, not unlike all those countless CDr drone dudes, just better thought out / executed.

[scott v]

It can be disputed that Family Underground, Double Leopards, Robedoor etc etc is just as thought out or more so than what Keith Rowe is currently doing...

[Toilet & Bowels]

i don't think you can even compare rowe to those people, they're way too different

[scott v]

It is, thats why you can't really compare the "countless cdr drone dudes" and keith rowe.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Originally Posted by Glice

Mr & Bowels is right though - there's a lot of piety to London improv, very little thinking outside the post-postmodernist, neo-reductionist box. I've got a Seymour Wright album - lovely packaging, has Ami Yoshida on it, but it's utter guff.

what annoys me is that that crowd seem to be well connected enough to put on shows where they'll get some (for want off a better term) "big name" improvisers from outside the london scene and then play with them. i had the misfortune of seeing okkyung lee (who is awesome) play her only london show with those twats whose league she is so far beyond it was painful and embarrasing to watch, from the expression on her face it was apparent that she was wondering what those idiots thought they were doing.

after i went to the eddie prevost workshop i was in a good mind to go back the following week with nothing but a couple of toilet rolls and play them the way seymour wright plays saxophone (or whichever one of that crowd you care to mention plays his instrument) by blowing air silently through it, scratching the sides, and then looking about the room (but pretending not to) to see how my artistry have been received .

[Glice]

It's that complacency in a lot of them - like the difference between Seymour Wright and Nmperign - the latter can play the shit out of their instruments, and choose not to, or the notes they pick are very subtle, well thought out. Seymour Wright may be able to play his instrument, but I haven't got the impression he can yet. Not that virtuosity is the most important thing, but it's not the least important thing.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Originally Posted by Glice

It's that complacency in a lot of them - like the difference between Seymour Wright and Nmperign - the latter can play the shit out of their instruments, and choose not to, or the notes they pick are very subtle, well thought out. Seymour Wright may be able to play his instrument, but I haven't got the impression he can yet. Not that virtuosity is the most important thing, but it's not the least important thing.

when seymour wright was playing with okkyung lee he had the mouthpiece still on his sax and was blowing gently on to that, sometimes i wish i wasn't so well brought up because i would have loved to have hurled a beer bottle at him.

[Bytor Peltor]

Sandy Ewen: Keith Rowe’s Influence and Guitar Improvisation



Steve Flato returns with his interview series, Signifying Something

“This interview was recorded in October 2018 while Keith was in New York performing what was likely his last American show following a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease.“

Signifying Something - Keith Rowe & Jon Abbey

 

“Keith was kind enough to give us an unreleased piece to accompany this podcast called “A Response to Treatise” (43:00). It’s available for a free lossless download at our Bandcamp with accompanying notes and annotated pages of Treatise......recorded Feb 8, 2002 in Austin by Tom Carter and mastered by Toshimaru Nakamura.

[Bytor Peltor]

David Kirby - For Keith Rowe

 

Released July 2020, the link I provided above is the 59 minute BandCamp edit. However, in the notes of the link above is the 190 minute WeTransfer link.