collaboration with joe formanek

i have been working with drummer extraordinaire joe formanek for a while. the collaboration started as file sharing when joe sent me a series of sketches for which i recorded saxophone and did some processing. joe then reworked the compositions and arrangements and did a series of really cool tracks.

you can hear some examples here:

 

 

more recently, we met in person and recorded extensively over a week. we have a lot of material to work through and we are very excited by the results. meeting was very constructive and playing was easy from the start. joe is a great drummer and improviser and we just seemed to be on the same wavelength. sure enough, some of this work will surface on the net soon.

to finish beautifully this period of creation, we paid a visit to the elm collective down in bristol. we had a few recording sessions there and played a concert organised by ‘uberphonic presents’.

luckily, james (from elm records) very kindly filmed sections of our duo with joe. and with the camera joe had set up, we ended up with a good documentation of the event. so here are some edits from the duo. the sound is a bit rough, but you’ll get a pretty good idea of how it went down…

enjoy joe’s project ‘mirror shards’ with hervé perez on alto sax and joe formanek on drumset and live processing.

 

part 1

joe formanek and hervé perez live – mirror shards pt1 from hervé perez on Vimeo.

 

part 2

joe formanek and hervé perez live – mirror shards pt2 from hervé perez on Vimeo.

Hervé Perez (alto sax) with Joe Formanek (drums, electronics).
Uberphonic Presents this concert series at the Golden Lion, Bristol, 06 august 2014

 

you can hear the whole concert here:

 

 

thanks to james for the warm welcome and the elm collective for great music and setting up this gig for us.

sound and image

here are some videos i made to go with saxophone recordings. i wanted to explore natural elements and landscapes, some of the things that inspire my playing and sound design. but in this case, the audio i used is completely acoustic using natural reverb. these are from my series sounding out.

some of the footage is slowed down to achieve a contemplative mood, to the extent that one is unsure whether it is a still or a moving image. on another piece, i layered water footage, experimenting with various combinations, with the idea of echoing the multiphonic techniques of the saxophone – nearly representing a visual interpretation of what sound could look like.

once again, the video pieces were edited separately and then sound (which was recorded previously) added to it. there is no intention to cut images to sound like a music video. the interaction between the two is down to chance and may appear random, if there is such a thing. however, i find such chance ‘encounters’ – moments of convergence and synchronicity – fascinating. but in the end, when bringing water and sound together, both waves, there is little risk. perhaps the mind searches for connections, recognisable patterns. and perhaps the result just happens to work…

 

 

sweet solitude [sounding out ilam church] from hervé perez on Vimeo.

 

setting sun [sounding out ilam church] from hervé perez on Vimeo.

 

wind over bealach [sounding out clachan church] from hervé perez on Vimeo.

 

 

sounding out the peak district 2014

below is a series of recordings which explore areas of the peak district

.
.
.

split second
alto saxophone, 14 june 2014
ilam church, derbyshire

.
.
.

for yibo
alto saxophone, 14 june 2014
ilam church, derbyshire

.
.
.

yibo and the birds
alto saxophone with yibo hu, voice, 14 june 2014
thor’s cave, peak district

.
.
.

back to base
soprano saxophone, 10 may 2014
st mary’s church, bolsterstone

.
.
.

tracking shots
soprano saxophone, 10 may 2014
st mary’s church, bolsterstone

.
.
.

study in blue
alto saxophone, 03 may 2014
st martin’s church, stoney middleton

.
.
.

closing time
alto saxophone, 03 may 2014
st martin’s church, stoney middleton

.
.
.

wild orchids
alto saxophone, 03 may 2014
st martin’s church, stoney middleton

.
.
.

rolling hills
alto saxophone, 29 march 2014
pike watts memorial, ilam church

.
.
.

setting sun
alto saxophone, 29 march 2014
pike watts memorial, ilam church

watch a video

.
.
.

sweet solitude
alto saxophone, 29 march 2014
pike watts memorial, ilam church

watch a video

.
.
.

blossoms
alto saxophone, 29 march 2014
pike watts memorial, ilam church

.
.
.

night train
alto saxophone, 29 march 2014
pike watts memorial, ilam church

.
.
.

sounding out the lake district

during a marathon visit to the lake district, i recorded in many locations, sometimes exploring several churches and chapels in one day. here are some of my favourite sites.

.
.
.

hollow stone
alto saxophone, 12 feb 2014
st michael and all angels church, hawkshead

.
.
.

high winds
alto saxophone, 10 feb 2014
st martin’s old church, martindale

.
.
.

white peaks
alto saxophone, 10 feb 2014
st peter’s church, martindale

.
.
.

.
.
.

sounding out returns to scotland

it was a pleasure to revisit some of the locations where i played before. one of the highlights is certainly the magnificent smoo cave. this time i returned with the alto saxophone. of course, this made quite a difference.
once again, i was amazed by the feel of the place, as much as by the sound. although i moved around searching for echoes and movements created by the complex architecture of the cave, my favourite place was standing in the little stream that crosses in the middle of the main chamber. in this position, i really sensed the inspiration calming my playing down and i was nearly forced to play the quietest and gentle melodies. this is surprising for a cave beaten by the wild elements of the north of scotland. and yet, the urge was overwhelming, as if instructed by eric satie to play ‘du bout de la pensée’ – hardly voicing the notes, the sound on the verge of breaking.
.
.
.
another location was a lucky find and quite a surprise. a small chapel on applecross proved to give much inspiration and a wonderful acoustic. a proof that size does not matter…
i placed the recorder on a table in the middle of the bare and simple room.
on it, i found a piece of paper with a quote. i read the lines out loud. this was my score.

.

.

.

in each location, i recorded over two days. i edited the recordings and produced an album for each place, which i hope to release soon.
.
.
.

clapotis
alto saxophone, 30 august 2013
smoo cave

.
.
.

crystal crumble
alto saxophone, 29 august 2013
smoo cave

.
.
.

cor2
alto saxophone, 27 august 2013
clachan church, applecross

.
.
.

the sanctuary
alto saxophone, 26 august 2013
clachan church, applecross

.
.
.

.
.
.