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publiceyesore.bandcamp.com/album/object

Ricardo Arias: balloons
Miguel Frasconi: glass
Keiko Uenishi: laptop

Recorded June 12, 2004, SculptureCenter, Long Island City.

A live recording by the trio of Ricardo Arias, Miguel Frasconi, Keiko Uenishi at the NY Sculpture Centre in 2004. Object presents the concert/work by an unusual trio: Arias on balloon kit, Frasconi glass objects, and Uenishi laptop computer. The balloon kit allows for soft and hard rubbing on the balloons, which would appear to be close miked, squeaking and groaning, stretching, more gentle sensitive sounds and percussive soft thuds. With his collection of Glass objects Frasconi rubs glasses, jangles them, strikes like a bell, blow over openings to resonate, chiming; and the laptop slowly reveals itself, sometimes subtle hums and buzzes, undertones and through tones and possibly some processing but not sure. The structure of the album is terrific and allows you to understand the different components. The concert was divided into trio/solo/duo/solo/trio/duo/solo/duo/trio - which means each player gets a solo which explains the individual sounds, the three possible duos get an outing and the three trios explore the full extent - the final one is an extended conclusion to the album. You can imagine what it might sound like, the reality is even more impressive. And so throughout the 50 minutes we hear a range of sound combinations and moods - there are loud passages, more restrained sections, subtlety and roars. The prime mood is of delicacy, introspection and exploration, but with periods of excitement and denser movement. Overall beautifully balanced and fascinating. - Jeremy Keens

(Monk Mink Punk Pink) Anthony Braxton’s Composition No. 25 — scored for “creative music orchestra” in 1972 — featured a section calling for 100 balloons to be rubbed together to produce squeaking noises. I can’t think of another instance of systematic use of the balloon until now — not including pieces by Cage, Kagel and Fluxus where a balloon may make a brief appearance. Surely someone must have done more work with the balloon. Ricardo Arias of the group Object can’t be the first to focus on the balloon, can he? But I am more interested in who does it best over who did it first, and Arias has achieved a virtuoso control over his “bass-balloon kit” — a big balloon resting on a stand and played between the legs like a ‘cello. Conjuring squeals and what sounds like highly compressed bowed ‘cello — the balloons are also struck, creating the illusion of floor toms. Playing in a trio with another unusual instrument — the “glass objects” of Miguel Frasconi — including rubbed and stroked goblets/cups/bowls. At times the glass is struck producing glockenspiely tone patterns. These two rare instrumental approaches — and we can point you to Anne Lockwood’s The Glass World if you want more glass in your ears — overshadows Keiko Uenishi’s subtle laptop computer — played on top of actual lap. Or is she processing the other players in such a way as to occult her presence? The 2004 live performance presented on disc flows through solo, duo and trio sections of gentle improvisations — tremolo hum slowing fading in — strange murky sound collage muscling through. The complex sounds — both novel and recognizable — sometimes glass striking glass is just that — pleasant and jarring — electronic and hyper-acoustic — form an appealing and prickling hour. A vocalist of “text” would turn this into the Australian group Machine for Making Sense. Or an amazing performance of one of Cage’s Variations. Marvelously astute noisemusic. - Josh Ronsen