Phillip Sollmann

 

 

"SOMETHING IS MISSING"
[dial CD 08] (released: 02/2006)

 

 

 

recent exhibitions:

Installation in a tunnel:
“This of course involves the danger that somebody could rush trough in a hurry”

On a windy day
Let's go on flying
There may be no trees to rest on
There may be no clouds to ride
But we'll have our wings
And the wind will be with us
That's enough for me
That's enough for me
On a windy day
We went on flying
There was no sea to rest on
There were no hills to glide
We saw an empty bottle rolling down the street
And on a cardboard stand at
The corner of the street
Wrinkled souls piled up like grapefruit
(YOKO ONO: “SONG FOR JOHN – 1. Let's Go On Flying”, Aspen no. 7)

This work is set around a Song by Yoko Ono called “Let´s Go On Flying”.
It originally appeared on a limited 8 inch vinyl edition as part of the american Aspen
magazine.
Aspen was a multimedia magazine of the arts published by Phyllis Johnson from
1965 to 1971. Each issue came in a customized box filled with booklets, phonograph
recordings, posters, postcards and each number had a new designer and editor.
Number 7 (published in 1970) explored new voices in British arts and culture and
came along with the phonograph recording by Yoko Ono&John Lennon. (Original
format: 8 inch, 33-1/3 rpm, monaural recordings on flexible plastic. Recorded by
Apple Music Publishing)
Since I found this fascinating, intimate song, I have been listening to it a thousand
times, singing it myself while walking down the streets, playing with it in concerts and
thinking what to do with it. I was fascinated by this simple song from the very first
moment on. Yoko Ono´s voice felt windy – and of course: without having a human
body.

So when I was asked to do a work in the tunnel of Irmaveplab the idea of something
that is light and one can not see and is unable to touch – only hear came – just to
leave the tunnel pure as it is: A path to get somewhere - this song came to my mind
again.
And by working with it – I started to re-build a body out of sound for this body-less
voice. Through freezing the voice it became a choir. Through analyzing the
frequencies hit by this voice I was able to play the exact notes – which led to a
harmonic scale I could use from that point on.
The body became more existent when playing the analyzed pitches with the cello
and later adding sine waves and a clarinet to come to a whole symphonic drone
which was only determined of pitches sung by Yoko Ono.
This unique harmonic scale leads to beatings because of some close harmonic ratios
which can be detected while moving through the tunnel.
The Gestalt of this drone changes slightly while the amplitudes of the single notes
used in the end change over the time.

Contrasting the static drone and referring to the songs lyrics – there is wind blowing
through the tunnel too.
Like in “Windzimmer II” (Installation in “dieblauekugel”, Hamburg 2005), wind is
generated by resonant filters controlled by random numbers.
Projecting this sound of wind using a parametric sound generator which creates a
very directional beam of sound similar to a light of a flashlight, this wind becomes a
paranormal phenomenon in the tunnel, while it is reflected by the stones and lead to
curious spatial effects.
I am fascinated by the idea of wind as a acoustic phenomenon and the use of wind in
this installation refers to one of La Monte Youngs writings, where he points out that
the very first sound he recalls hearing was “the sound of the wind blowing through the
chinks of my parents home”.

Review on this exhibiton in Liberation:

La vieille bâtisse, à Châtillon-sur-Marne, n'a pas fini de faire parler d'elle. Il y eut cette piscine qui inonda le bas du village, du temps de l'ancienne propriétaire, Musidora, vedette du cinéma muet. Et maintenant Irma Vep Lab, «lieu de création contemporaine». Acquise par Laurent Giangola, un ancien éducateur passionné d'art, la demeure de l'égérie des films d'épouvante de Louis Feuillade, Musidora, alias Irma Vep (anagramme de «vampire») accueille depuis trois ans expos et résidences d'artistes. Sans mondanités. Pour «Premier jour», exposition sur le thème des origines, les commissaires Claire Jacquet (programmatrice au Jeu de paume et cofondatrice de la revue Trouble ) et Laurent Montaron (également artiste) ont demandé à Pascal Bircher, Ulla von Brandenburg, Evariste Richer et Phillip Sollmann de produire des oeuvres. C'est précisément là tout le projet d'Irma Vep Lab : la production. Soutien aux jeunes artistes, ici tous trentenaires ­ «Il s'agit de rendre de la visibilité à toute une génération», souligne Montaron, ­ et cohérence forte du parcours muséographique. On est loin des mondanités promotionnelles, endémiques à l'art contemporain. Pour preuve: un vernissage, plus proche du couscous associatif que du pince-fesse people; Maggie Cheung, qui incarna au cinéma Irma Vep, fut ultradiscrète. Boyau. On entre dans «Premier jour» comme en rebroussant le chemin de la vie consciente, vers les émois primitifs d'une existence in utero. La pièce sonore du Berlinois Phillip Sollmann (DJ Efdemin aux platines) se déploie dans le noir, à travers le tunnel qu'avait fait creuser Musidora pour échapper en voiture aux paparazzi de l'époque. Dans l'obscur boyau, on entend Yoko Ono chanter Song for John on a Windy Day, entre berceuse et thrène, tout en souffle et en échos évolutifs. «Stately, Yes», énoncé en lettres adhésives sur le mur de la première salle, est le premier et dernier mot d'Ulysse de Joyce. Le Britannique Pascal Bircher joue sur l'aléatoire du début et de la fin, d'autant plus angoissant qu'il peut faire sens ­ une vie. Fresque en noir et blanc, sur tout un pan de la grande salle, le dessin d'Ulla von Brandenburg représente une scène d'amour-meurtre primordiale, une femme sur un homme arme à la main ­ ou le contraire ? La technique du calque qui ne retient que les ombres rend cet effet «troué» du pochoir, et trouble la perception. Le mouvement érotique est giratoire, et Evariste Richer hypnotise avec sa vidéo, Valentine, tête de comédienne, tournant sur elle-même à la vitesse de la trotteuse d'une montre (60 secondes). Le visage du modèle ne se laisse pas appréhender d'un seul coup d'oeil : nuque d'abord, profil d'une impeccable plastique, puis face marquée par une tache de vin, telle une fascinante terra incognita sur la topographie du désir. L'exposition champenoise sonne juste, avec son économie d'oeuvres bien pensée. Une différence salutaire avec certains bric-à-brac exhaustifs. Mais la rigueur n'empêche pas la fluidité, dans «Premier jour» flotte un sentiment de latence. Emblématique, enfin, cette sculpture au sol de Bircher, Lost in darkness, I am forced into speech, où l'artiste reproduit en cristal indigo, en miniature et à l'échelle, le lac Vostok en Antarctique. Mais il renverse le «bassin originel» et l'éclaire par en dessous grâce à un néon, retournant ainsi la perception de la surface et nous invitant à y voir de la profondeur.

 

Phillip Sollmann plays SOMETHING IS MISSING:

05.05.06 München, Bunny Hill - "Wem gehört die Stadt", Sendlingerstr. 50

Favorit präsentiert: "Wie laut wird alles"

Ab 19 Uhr: Phillip Sollmann: Konzert für acht Räume.

In der Von 1945 bis 1951 hat Rainer Werner Fassbinder mit seinen Eltern in der Sendlinger Straße gewohnt. In einem Impfpass findet sich die Adresse Sendlinger Straße 53. Im vorderen Teil der Wohnung war die Arztpraxis des Vaters, im hinteren Teil wurde eine Pension betrieben. Damals war die Sendlinger Straße vor allem eine Amüsier- und Wirtshausmeile.1993 wurde das Haus in Nr. 50 umnummeriert, die Hausnummer 53 gibt es heute nicht mehr. Die Praxis Fassbinder wird neu eröffnet: Auf 200 qm entsteht eine Begegnungsstätte im Zentrum der Stadt. Am 05.06. wird Phillip Sollmann die Wohung für ein Konzert nutzen, bei dem in jedem Raum zur gleichen Zeit eine eigene akustische Ebene stattfindet und sich der musikalische Verlauf nicht ohne die Bewegung der Besucher erschliesst.

13.04.06 Berlin, Neue Nationalgalerie

01.04.06 Basel, Kunsthalle

28.02.06 Wien, Rhiz

20.02.06 Hamburg, Golden Pudel Club

12.2.06: Berlin, Kule

 

 

REVIEWS "Something is missing"

SPEX (D)

Von statischen Klangblöcken ist die Rede, die weder Anfang noch Ende haben und sich eher räumlich als zeitlich ausdehnen. Und tatsächlich strahlen Phillip Sollmanns fünf minimalistische Kompositionen für Rauminstallationen etwas monolithisches aus, eine fast hermetische Ästhetik – besonders reizvoll aber ist an ihnen etwas, das die Selbstdarstellung des Künstlers auslässt: Das hier nämlich ein Autor am Werk ist, der die Klänge nicht sich selbst überlässt, sondern sie mit einem feinen Gespür für Harmonie und Dramaturgie ordnet. Das klingt nicht nur schön, es verleiht diesem Projekt ein spezifisches Schimmern, das Sollmann aus einer allzu ehrerbietigen Tradition der Avantgarde-Forschreibung heraushebt.

„Something is missing“ bedient sich eines ausgewählten Vokabulars, bewährt und geadelt durch viele große Namen wie Lamonte Young und Alvin Lucier. Zugleich schafft Sollmann bezaubernde Klangzustände, die das zugrunde liegende Konzept transzendieren. Deshalb ist es so toll und stimmig, dass diese Platte bei Dial Records erscheint, einem DER Label zur geschmacksicheren Dehnung minimaler elektronischer Entwürfe (bei denen es bisher allerdings zumeist um die tanzbare Seite der Medaille ging).

Mag sein, das diese Platte keine oberflächlichen Reize aufweist, aber doch ein subtiles Pulsieren, das den Minimal-Techno-Produzenten (der Sollmann sonst unter dem Pseudonym Efdemin ist) inmitten zähflüssiger Sinuston-Wellen erahnen lässt. Irgendwo da unten fließt ein warmer Strom aus Wohlklang und abstrakter Rührung. Das wird spätestens klar, wenn sich Sollmann im letzten Stück zu Wort meldet – Momente wie diese gefährden keineswegs die offenkundig angestrebte Einordnung als „Klangkunst“ (zumal direkt danach 23 Minuten Cage´sche Stille und Andacht herrschen), doch sie erweitern - ein bisserl verschämt – ihr eigenes System.

INTRO (D)

Ähnlich zu Veröffentlichungen, wie wir sie aus dem Raster-Noton-Umfeld oder von einem Soundvisionär wie Ryoji Ikeda kennen, ruht die Musik Sollmanns in sich selbst. Sie kreist um einen inneren Kern. Statische Musik sozusagen. Das kann man trivial Redundanz nennen, allerdings nur, solang man es zu leise hört; dreht man die Anlage auf, so bekommt "Something Is Missing" eine unendliche Wucht, wirkt, trotz der vielen Weißfläche im Sound, fordernd in seinem aufgehenden Differenzraum. Einflüsse kommen dabei beispielsweise von This Heat, Brian Eno, Kaffee Mathews, Cornelius Cardew und Carl Michael von Hausswolff. Es ist keine Musik, die einen teilnahmslos lässt, sondern eine, die uns fordert

GROOVE (D)

Sollmann, der für Dial bisher als Efdemin Tracks produziert hat, legt mit „Something Is Missing“ einen zeitgenössischen Beitrag zur klassischen Minimal Music im Zeit aushebelnden Sinn La Monte Youngs vor. Selbstverständlich dauern die Tracks der CD nicht mehrere Tage, aber die Sinus-Soundflächen könnten vermutlich ohne besondere Intensitätsverluste durchaus so lange stehen bleiben. Jedenfalls fehlt immer weniger, je länger man hinhört. Es wird eher zu viel, ohne loszulassen. Sound, in dem man sich einfindet, um auszuschweifen, von „Room One“ bis „Room Five“, wo plötzlich zwischen dichten Vibrationen vorsichtig gesungen wird.

LOOP (CL)

Since 1998 and under the monikers of Tobin along with Tobin Alexander Polzin and Efdemin he releases some albums in the slope of minimal techno and experimental music for Kompakt and Dial labels. With his album ‘Something Is Missing' he explores minimalism and drones creating hypnotic ambient but more over by surrounding all the space with resonances of sustained notes. The tracks of this disc really make reference to this idea of space in a determined place, and from this come the title of these cuts, where ‘Room one' is a live performance held at the Elak studio in Vienna in 2004, in which small notes overlap one to others shaping beautiful harmonies. ‘Room two', also is a live set held in Grüntal, Berlin in September 2005. In this track is appraised a drone and on top of it sine waves are taken place. ‘Room three' and ‘Room four' were recorded in Neue-Welt, Vienna in October 2004. In this last one, there's a backdrop of buried noise and over it some notes appear that seem like small imperceptible drops. While in the third cut, Sollman plays with static and humming. ‘Room five', the last track, also recorded in Neue-Welt, Vienna, June 2004, for the ‘Windzimmer' installation, is a trip full of drones that is accompanied by Sollmann's voice that covers the whole space with a mantle of gentleness and calm and that in a sudden disappears in silence. Silence like sonorous space.

ALMOSTCOOL (U.S)

Phillip Sollmann started his musical career by releasing a series of 12" records under the name Efdemin that swung between minimal tech and house, but the more that he studied music (in Vienna), the more he became interested in more static music. He re-aquainted himself with the work of artists like La Monte Young, Charlemagne Palestine, and Phil Niblock (among others) and set about making something different. After a couple of sound installations a couple years back, he pushed his sound further and further, and the result is Something Is Missing, a shimmering, minimal album of five tracks that sound something like glitch music slowed down 100 times over and stretched out over five tracks and almost sixty minutes.

It's about as far from house or tech as one could possibly get, and this is a record that only pays off if you have time as a listener to sit and absorb it. It's not something to put on while driving (unless you're for some reason zooming across the barren salt flats) or even doing much of anything else active. Simply titled (Room One - Room Five), the pieces on the disc range from between seven and fifteen minutes, but play out in similar ways, with flickering tones changing ever so slowly and blurring the horizon line as microscopic changes keep things from being repetitive.

"Room One" opens the release and sounds like it was recorded live, as a soft room hiss seems to cover everything as slow, stuttering tones eventually give way to a glimmering bed of electronics and a deep, pulsing hum that pulls the different elements together. The track blooms about halfway through and then falls away towards the latter section, leaving only sustained organ-sounding tones and organic tapes pops. It's easily one of the better tracks on the album, and completely engrossing. "Room Two" isn't quite as active as the first track, as swirling washes wrap around overlapping layers of soft pads that play off one another in unique rhythmic ways.

"Room Three" is much less soothing as a couple layers of somewhat harsh tones slide across one another like two huge metal tectonic plates wheezing away as they scrape off shavings. Considering the organic gurglings that follow on "Room Four," the former track seems somewhat out of place on the disc, breaking the placid surface of sound while not adding much in terms of sound. "Room Five" closes the disc and finds Sollmann adding soft vocals to a hyper-minimal track of sustained tones that are a definite ode to the artists mentioned in the first paragraph. In places outstanding and in others (well, one track) a bit grating, Something Is Missing is a warm headphone album worth sinking into.

INTERVIEW WITH LOOP (CL)

Loop : I read that in the seventies that in the enormous halls in West Germany and Switzerland when they play just intonation tuned drone music people had static experiences. Why it was produced this static experience?

"Maybe they used substances while listening? Well, just intonation can open your ears and make you feel free. When one is used to it, the western tuning system - equal temperament begins to sound really strange and colourless, which could be a reason why electronic producers focuses more and more on the sound aspect.I remember playing around with La Monte Young's intonation he used on the ‘well tuned piano' together with a friend. We were playing for hours and got like little children more and more. Somehow we felt very light and free and just couldn't stop. Since then I have been exploring the possibilities of just intonation more and more - looking for the perfect tuning. Now playing concerts - it's a question of volume, which shouldn't be too high I think - but the sine waves need some power too. It's a question which deals with the right balance between physical experience and comfortable listening.Are you looking for sta tic experiences? Visit La Monte Youngs/Marian Zazellas ‘Dream House' in Manhattan. 275 Church Street, 3rd Floor between Franklin and White Streets in Tribeca."

Loop : Why did you get less interested in real time processing but more into minimalism?

"For three years I've been very much into the possibilities of using graphical real-time software such as PD or Max/Msp. But after a while I felt more and more apart from what I had in mind. Getting more and more interested in static music and duration pieces I stripped down my technical approaches and concentrated more on the conceptual side, which includes parameters such as ‘space', ‘time' and intonation.A portion of sine waves can make you swing! Remembering my deep wish to freeze the orchestra, while I was playing the cello for years - this is the late result of that and I feel released very much. Using the cello and other instruments, along with that little computer in future performances it will all come together."

Loop : Do you combine music with other art forms?

"Most of these pieces derive from concepts for room-installations. This is why they are called ‘Room one - Five'. Two of them have been realized as installations. I did performances in art venues and a Museum while there were exhibitions opened. In the future I am looking for more possibilities to do sound-installations focusing on static music and the effect it has on the beholders perception of time and space." Next chance to see an installation is in the irmaveplab in may in france .”

Spændende album fra gråzonen mellem ambient electronica og dronemusik

“The purpose of this is not entertainment”, står der på bagsiden af Something Is Missing. Jo, tysker Phillip Sollmann tager skam sin musik alvorligt. Det kan man dog ikke klandre ham for, når man lytter til dette glimrende album, der genremæssigt lander mellem ambient electronica og dronemusik. Sollmann har tidligere udgivet minimal techno under aliaset Efdemin, men her under eget navn er beatsene væk. De fem numre finder alle eksperimenterende minimalistiske former, og Room One, der lyder som improviseret psykedelisk ambient, samt Room Two, der vugger rytmisk og delvis synes at være spillet på vinglas, er begge optaget live. Room Three består af en drone, der gradvist skifter styrke og klangfarve, Room Four er en relativt stabil drone, der afløses af dryp- agtige lyde mod slutningen, og Room Five er en anden næsten stabil drone, hvor over Sollmann stille synger teksten fra Janes 1 983-single It’s A Fine Day. Something Is Missing er en virkelig spændende plade, der trods dens udfordrende udtryk fastholder ens opmærksomhed.
Af Jakob Rosenbak

GAZ-ETA (PL)

Ta perełka nowoczesnego minimalizmu przychodzi z zupełnie niespodziewanej strony - wprost ze specjalizującej się w tanecznej elektronice wytwórni Dial z Hamburga. Jej autorem jest Phillip Sollmann, niemiecki twórca, debiutujący tym albumem na kompaktowym rynku.
Ten 31-letni producent nie jest nowicjuszem w barwach Dial. Już od 2000 r. wydawał nakładem tejże tłoczni mocne techno pod szyldem Efdemin. Zmianę kierunku zainteresowań wywołały u artysty trzyletnie studia muzyki komputerowej na wiedeńskim uniwersytecie. To właśnie tam zwrócił on uwagę na współczesnych minimalistów - La Monte Younga, Charlemagne`a Palestine`a, C.M. Von Hausswoffa i Phila Niblocka. Pod ich wpływem, Sollmann zrealizował w kilku różnych studiach cykl nagrań, nawiązujących z jednej strony do awangardowej elektroniki, a z drugiej - do muzyki współczesnej.
"The Purpose of this is not entertainment" - pisze twórca na okładce "Something Is Missing". I rzeczywiście - to konceptualny minimalizm, który zachowuje wręcz akademicką powagę. Album tworzy pięć długich kompozycji, które składają się głównie z przeciągłych dźwięków komputerowych, podlegających niemal niezauważalnym modulacjom. W "Room One" statyczne smugi cyfrowych szumów mają toksyczny charakter - świdrują w uszach, mieniąc się na tle nisko zawieszonego dronu. "Room Three" tworzą przewalające się fale zelektryfikownych dźwięków, wywołujące ciarki na plecach - emanuje z nich bowiem laboratoryjny chłód, tworzony przez metaliczne brzmienia. W "Room Four" ciche kumkanie komputera wyłania się ze strumien ia białego szumu. A w "Room Five" otrzymujemy niespodziankę - na jednostajnie płynącej strudze cyfrowego hałasu pojawia się wyraźny głos Sollmana (trochę przypomina wokal Johna Foxxa), niosący melodię i słowa utworu "It`s A Fine Day" grupy Jane z 1983 r. Synteza akademickich przemyśleń i technicznych doświadczeń Sollmana zaowocowała płytą intrygującą - czytelnie odwołującą się do tradycji minimalizmu, ale jednocześnie, próbującą odcisnąć na niej własne, niepowtarzalne piętno. (PAWEŁ GZYL)

SMALLFISH

Dialrec once again manage to confound our expectations with a sublime and beatless album of exceptional beauty. Phillip Sollmann has created a lush and textural selection of tracks that owe as much to the likes of Ricgard Chartier and Bernhard Gunter as they do the Pop Ambient series on Kompakt. The opening track is a long and hypnotic piece that's built on gorgeous melodic layers... kind of a shoegazing Electronica type sound. This is followed by some more experimental, drone-based work that has a heavy bottom end and amazing swathes of sound that fill your head. If you're a fan of 12k, Line or any number of other contemporary digital minimalist labels this is absolutely for you. Superb and highly recommended.

RADIOFLY

Phillip Sollmann no es demasiado conocido en el panorama internacional pero es posible que su suerte cambie ahora......con la edición de su primer disco conceptual "Something is missing" para el sello de Hamburgo, Dial Records. En plena época de drones y random digital aleatorio este nuevo álbum de ambient se cimenta en complicadas teorías de sonido y espacio. Se ha puesto manos a la obra para revisar los postulados de Monte Young, Charlemagne Palestine, Von Hausswolff, Yoko Ono o Phil Niblock.