Absinthe (album)
Encyclopedia
Absinthe is the final recording from the band Naked City
. Unlike the band's other genre-mixing releases, the music on Absinthe is consistently in an ambient
and noise
style.
The titles of many of its tracks refer to the works of Paul Verlaine
, Charles Baudelaire
and other figures in the fin de siècle
Decadent movement
, and to the drink
after which the album is named.
The album's cover and liner notes feature photographs by the German
Surrealist
Hans Bellmer
.
The album was also released as part of Naked City: The Complete Studio Recordings
on Tzadik Records
.
From the official description on the now defunct Avant website:
The final piece, "...Rend Fou", is six minutes of Frisell and Frith running their guitar jacks over the inputs of their guitars.
The Allmusic review by Caleb Deupree states "Naked City's final album is by far its most puzzling and enigmatic... Nothing in Naked City's previous oeuvre prepares the listener for this collection, a complete reversal from the hardcore and thrash, but looking forward to Zorn's interest in minimalist pieces like Redbird
and Duras
".
Naked City (band)
Naked City was an avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Active primarily in New York City from 1988 to 1993, Naked City was initiated by Zorn as a "composition workshop" to test the limits of composition in a traditional rock band lineup...
. Unlike the band's other genre-mixing releases, the music on Absinthe is consistently in an ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
and noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
style.
The titles of many of its tracks refer to the works of Paul Verlaine
Paul Verlaine
Paul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry.-Early life:...
, Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
and other figures in the fin de siècle
Fin de siècle
Fin de siècle is French for "end of the century". The term sometimes encompasses both the closing and onset of an era, as it was felt to be a period of degeneration, but at the same time a period of hope for a new beginning...
Decadent movement
Decadent movement
The Decadent movement was a late 19th century artistic and literary movement of Western Europe. It flourished in France, but also had devotees in England and throughout Europe, as well as in the United States.-Overview:...
, and to the drink
Absinthe
Absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic beverage. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel...
after which the album is named.
The album's cover and liner notes feature photographs by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
Hans Bellmer
Hans Bellmer
Hans Bellmer was a German artist, best known for the life-sized pubescent female dolls he produced in the mid-1930s. Historians of art and photography also consider him a Surrealist photographer.-Biography:...
.
The album was also released as part of Naked City: The Complete Studio Recordings
Naked City: The Complete Studio Recordings
Naked City: The Complete Studio Recordings is a five disc box set that contains all of the studio albums released by Naked City during their five year history....
on Tzadik Records
Tzadik Records
Tzadik Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases...
.
From the official description on the now defunct Avant website:
- Joey Baron plays bags of dry leaves, fishing reels and buckshot. Bill Frisell solos on a microtonalMicrotonal musicMicrotonal music is music using microtones—intervals of less than an equally spaced semitone. Microtonal music can also refer to music which uses intervals not found in the Western system of 12 equal intervals to the octave.-Terminology:...
guitar. Wayne Horvitz samples everything from crickets to Giacinto ScelsiGiacinto ScelsiGiacinto Scelsi , Count of Ayala Valva was an Italian composer who also wrote surrealist poetry in French....
. Fred Frith does what he does best. Zorn doesn't even touch the saxophone.
The final piece, "...Rend Fou", is six minutes of Frisell and Frith running their guitar jacks over the inputs of their guitars.
The Allmusic review by Caleb Deupree states "Naked City's final album is by far its most puzzling and enigmatic... Nothing in Naked City's previous oeuvre prepares the listener for this collection, a complete reversal from the hardcore and thrash, but looking forward to Zorn's interest in minimalist pieces like Redbird
Redbird (John Zorn album)
-Personnel:*Jim Pugliese – bass drums, percussion*Carol Emanuel – harp *Erik Friedlander – cello *Jill Jaffe – viola *John Zorn – conductor...
and Duras
Duras: Duchamp
-Track listing:# "Duras: Premiere Livre" - 14:41# "Duras: Deuxième Livre" - 0:51# "Duras: Troisième Livre" - 16:46# "Duras: Epilogue" - 1:46# "Étant Donnés: 69 Paroxyms for Marcel Duchamp" - 13:17...
".
Track listing
- "Val de Travers" – 6:19
- "Une Correspondence" – 5:09
- "La Feé Verte" – 5:12
- "Fleurs du Mal" – 4:06
- "Artemisia Absinthium" – 4:31
- "Notre Dame de L'Oubli (For Olivier MessiaenOlivier MessiaenOlivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
)" – 4:48 - "Verlaine: Part I: Un Midi Moins Dix" – 4:24
- "Verlaine: Part II: La Bleue" – 6:01
- "...Rend Fou" – 6:03
- All compositions by John Zorn.
- Recorded at Electric Lady, New York City in December 1992
Liner Notes
- Published by Theatre of Musical Optics, BMI
- Produced by John ZornJohn ZornJohn Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
- Executive Producer: Disk Union
- Recorded at Electric Lady, NYCNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
December 1992 - Mixed at Platinum Island, NYC January 1993
- Engineered by Joe Ferla
- Assistant Engineer: Hoover Le
- Mastered by Scott Hull
- Cover photo: Hans Bellmer "Les Jeux de la Poupée"
- Design: Tomoyo T.L. (Karath=Razar)
- Photo typesetting: Lisa Wells
- Special thanks to: Fujieda MamoruMamoru Fujiedais a Japanese composer associated with the postminimalist movement of contemporary classical music.He received a Ph.D. in music from the University of California, San Diego in 1988...
, Giacinto ScelsiGiacinto ScelsiGiacinto Scelsi , Count of Ayala Valva was an Italian composer who also wrote surrealist poetry in French....
, Mick HarrisMick HarrisMick Harris commonly known and credited both as Mick Harris or occasionally M.J. Harris, is an English musician....