Clearing Customs
Encyclopedia
Clearing Customs is a studio album
by English
guitarist
, composer
and improvisor
Fred Frith
. It is based on a week of recordings and performances in November and December 2007 at a New Jazz Meeting at SWR
, a German radio station in southwest Germany. Two hour-long national broadcasts were made. The album was released by Intakt Records in February 2011.
The music is based on a 75-minute composition by Frith, and improvised
by all the performers. It uses a "graphic structural model" that links "diverse types of musical events" on a time line. Traditional jazz instruments were used, plus Asian guzheng
and tabla
s, and electronics. Frith drew on English theatre maker Peter Brook
's approach of bringing together performers from completely different cultural backgrounds.
Source:
studio 1 in Baden-Baden
, Germany on November 29, 2007, and in Saarbrücken
, Germany on December 1, 2007.
Source:
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and improvisor
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
. It is based on a week of recordings and performances in November and December 2007 at a New Jazz Meeting at SWR
Südwestrundfunk
The Südwestrundfunk is a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany, specifically the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The company has main offices in three cities: Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz, with the director's office being in Stuttgart. It is an...
, a German radio station in southwest Germany. Two hour-long national broadcasts were made. The album was released by Intakt Records in February 2011.
The music is based on a 75-minute composition by Frith, and improvised
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
by all the performers. It uses a "graphic structural model" that links "diverse types of musical events" on a time line. Traditional jazz instruments were used, plus Asian guzheng
Guzheng
The guzheng or "gu zheng", also called zheng is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18-23 or more strings and movable bridges....
and tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
s, and electronics. Frith drew on English theatre maker Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
's approach of bringing together performers from completely different cultural backgrounds.
Personnel
- Fred FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
– guitar, home-made instruments - Wu FeiWu FeiWu Fei is a composer, performer, and improviser from Beijing, China. She mainly performs on the ancient Chinese zither called guzheng, and also sings and plays the piano....
– guzhengGuzhengThe guzheng or "gu zheng", also called zheng is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18-23 or more strings and movable bridges.... - Anantha Krishnan – mridangam, tablaTablaThe tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
s - Marque Gilmore – drums, electronics
- Tilman Müller – trumpet
- Patrice Scanlon – electronics
- Daniela Cattivelli – electronics
Source:
Sound and artwork
Recorded at SWRSüdwestrundfunk
The Südwestrundfunk is a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany, specifically the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The company has main offices in three cities: Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz, with the director's office being in Stuttgart. It is an...
studio 1 in Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
, Germany on November 29, 2007, and in Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
, Germany on December 1, 2007.
- Wolfgang Bachner – recording engineer
- Alfred Habelitz – sound engineer
- Fred FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
– mixing, liner notes - Manfred Seiler – mixing
- Manfred Seiler – mastering
- Reinhard Kager – liner notes
- Heike Liss – cover art
- Jonas Schoder – graphic design
Source: