2.4. ESPEN AALBERG / EN EN EN

Introduction

"Espen Aalberg & En En En" is my fourth and last musical project within my artistic research. With this project, I want to highlight myself as an improvisational musician in a free and open chamber-music setting. I see the development of my artistic reserach represented through the different musical projects; from the more strict “Basement Session” inspired by sixties modal jazz, to contemporary classical approach through the commission of “Mantra” and "Compositions for...", ending up in this free and open improvisation concept.

The basic idea regarding "Espen Aalberg & En En En", was to put four improvising musicians together, and in a meeting with instruments from the Indonesian and the south-east Asian music culture, see if good music can occur. I say “can occur” because, in musical experiment such as this, there is no guarantee for “great” music. I will, in this reflection, discuss the process, the experiment itself and the sonic result.

In advance, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make a recording situation where all the musicians could participate naturally, but still with my musical goal as a guiding navigation point. The musicians were chosen because of their skills in free-jazz or genre-open improvisation.

Concept, inspiration and musical goals

This project is all about the inspiration from the gamelan instruments, and not so much about the compositional concepts from gamelan. I have during my period of research recorded myself improvising on the gamelan instruments, layering recordings on top of each other to make a framework for a percussion composition for gamelan. One of these experiments led to the solo piece “Waves”- for gangsa, gong and electronics (for Lucier), presented and commented here.

The other material I made had a very open approach, and I thought if I could find the right musicians, I could make a musical project with similar aesthetics, but without the framework of written music.

Here are some examples of recordings I made:

Test 1: Multilayer solo improvisation

Ex. 2.4.1.

This is an open improvisation where I work with trying to blend different gamelan instruments in a more experimental way:

Test 2: gamelan together with piano and vibraphone

Ex. 2.4.2.

In this experiment I try to find a way of including the big tuned gong, reyongs and gangsa with other western instrument such as piano and vibraphone.

During my research period, I have investigated the field of composers and performers with similar approaches as mine for using gamelan and instruments connected to the South-East Asian region. I have written about this in the chapter “Gamelan and its function in the research”, where I, among other subjects, talk about John Cage´s “Haikai - for gamelan” and Alvin Lucier´s “Music for Gamelan Instruments, Microphones, Amplifiers and Loudspeakers” . These two compositions were of inspiration for me in preparation for this recording session. Not mainly because of the compositions themselves, but more related to the concept of composers making music which is inspired by the gamelan instruments and not so much of the culture they belong to. I found this concept liberating, and it opens up a space for more reference-free music, but still has an aura of the South-East Asian sonical texture.

In the same chapter, I talked about Dewa Alit and his contemporary use of gamelan instruments which has affected my way of working with these instruments. He is a native Balinese and is brought up in the Balinese gamelan tradition, and his knowledge of this music comes from within. Obviously my learning of gamelan is as an outsider/foreigner. Learning gamelan directly from traditional masters, like Tjokorda Raka, I feel makes me more aware of the traditional elements in gamelan music, even though I use it in a contemporary western setting.

My experience with working with improvisation and contemporary music for about 30 years is the closest music style I can say is my “native” music tradition. I have tried to set this background as a framework for working with gamelan instruments throughout this project.

Steve Schick plays 'Zyklus'

I have also been inspired by other contemporary music I have studied/performed earlier, like Karlheinz Stockhausen “Zyklus”(1959), Arne Nordheim “Response”(version for 2/4 percussion and Organ 1977) and Gerard Grisey “Partiels”(1975). To be short about the inspiration from these pieces: “Zyklus” for its focus on individual percussions sounds, “Response” for its layers of sonical timbres, and use of organ and “ Partiels” for its drone and spectral approach.

Ex. 2.4.3.

All earlier projects through my artistic research have, in many ways, merged into this last project.

“Basement session” with its improvisational approach and combination of gamelan and western instruments.
“Mantra” for its experimentation with sounds and new ways of playing gamelan
“my compositions” where I work with the concept of “ombak”, the sonic interference wave of two tones almost tuned the same.

I had the ambition to merge all these different inspirations into a contemporary musical expression, but with a framework where the musicians could express themselves in a free and open manner without a traditional written score.

Fellow musicians

The musicians I chose to cooperate within this project were Tor Haugerud, Michael Duch and Eirik Hegdal, who work together in the free music-ensemble “En En En”. These musicians are used to working in open improvisational musical settings. When working in environments with improvisation in such open frames like my project, I give a lot of responsibility and control to the other musicians. To achieve the musical direction I was searching for, the selection of the musicians I cooperated with was of huge importance. I had to trust these musicians could contribute and understand what I was looking for, without actually knowing what this was. This vague starting point is both a blessing and a curse; it CAN end up wrong, but if it works, it is an exciting way of making music. You don't know the result, but all the participants have a significant influence on the music. With a "thought-out musical plan" from me, the sonic and musical direction might coincide with the intention of the project.

It should, at this point, be mentioned that this project is not about understanding the dynamics and the interaction in free and open improvisation. These aspects are researched by many others, like Per Zanussi in his artistic research Natural patterns, and Michael Duch in his Free Improvisation - Method and Genre.

The musicians

Tor Haugerud

Tor is a drummer, percussion player and composer, living in Trondheim, Norway. As a musician, he has developed his expression based on improvised music, influenced by the European contemporary and improvised music scene and American jazz music. He is always searching the nuanced and specific sounds from his percussion set up to bring his spontaneous expressions into the music. In addition to drums, he occasionally uses signal generators, drone boxes, field recordings and other electronics.

Eirik Hegdal

Eirik is one of Norway’s most influential jazz musicians, both as a performer (saxophone and clarinet), composer and arranger. From 2002-2016 he was the artistic director for Trondheim Jazzorkester (TJO). Through this, he led collaborations with jazz greats such as Joshua Redman, Pat Metheny and Dave Holland, among many other projects. Eirik also contributes with Alpaca Ensemble, Zanussi Five, Angles 9, Dingobats, En En En and Team Hegdal.

Michael Francis Duch

Michael was born and raised in Trondheim, Norway, and plays the double bass. He completed his project “Free Improvisation – Method and Genre” as a fellow at the Norwegian Artistic Research Fellowships Programme at NTNU, late October 2010, where he researched Free Improvisation and the use of Improvisation in Experimental Music.

He has been involved in about 70 recordings released in various formats, and has played solo concerts in Norway and Sweden, and also Reykjavik, Athens, Madrid, Vienna, Glasgow, Huddersfield and London.

Michael Francis Duch plays in a trio with Rhodri Davies and John Tilbury, the impro quartet LEMUR with Bjørnar Habbestad, Hild Sofie Tafjord and Lene Grenager and various other constellations. Other collaborations include Pauline Oliveros, Mats Gustafsson, AMM, Christian Wolff, Tony Conrad, Joëlle Léandre, amongst others.

Michael is now a professor at the Department of Music, NTNU.

Compositions and ideas

I had two ideas I wanted to follow, one for each piece:

Focus on South-East Asian percussion sounds, with a combination of drums, wood and metal sounds.
Focus on the sonic interference between 2 tones which is slightly out of pitch, in combination with large tuned gongs.

I wanted to release the music on vinyl, and because 20 minutes is the perfect length for a side of vinyl, each piece should have a length to fit one side.

Piece 1: Eastern Actions

Instruments and ideas

The basic idea with this piece was to present different percussion instruments in the gamelan and South-East Asian instrument family. Therefore, I made four similar instrument setups, one for each musician.

Easten Action instruments

Each set-up consisted of:

Reyongs(dome-shaped laying gong)
Kandangs (drums)
Rindik (bamboo rods)
Thai gong(dome-shaped brown laying gong, as reyong, but more narrow.)

In addition, each musician had a “solo” instrument which was only for them. This could be the Javanese zither (right in the picture above), chen-chen (small clashing cymbals), gangsa(Balinese metallophone)a big and a medium tuned gong.

The reyongs were placed on top of a frame-drum, and in this way used the frame-drum as a resonating box.

The instruments belonged to different traditions in the region. Both Balinese and Javanese gamelan were used. We also had a set of tuned Thai gongs.

We used different mallets and things to produce sound. They were:

soft vibraphone mallets
ordinary reyong mallets
rubber ball mallets/"super-ball" mallets
gong mallets
string bow
hands

Ex. 2.4.4.

Structure

Besides presenting these instruments, I made some structural directions which I wanted this composition to include:

an aim to investigate different sonic colours
collectively move from one colour to another
It should have a length of approximately 20 min.

The sonic structures/colours were:

Start with bowing the dome of the reyong/Thai gong
Introduce mallet sounds on reyong/Thai gong
more and more mallet sounds, and introduce wooden sounds from rindik
ad drums/more and more hectic
find a rhythmic pattern.
rhythm dissolves, and one musician after another turns their reyong upside down and hits it with a soft mallets/bow/rubber-ball mallet while spinning the reyong around on the frame-drum. This motion made a swirling sound colour.

This was the concept of the composition. Very open, but still with a framework and structure. We played with a watch so we could keep track of time. In the end, we decided to leave this structure. We also stopped using the watch as a navigation point. The main reason was that it felt a little too organised, and to keep a fresh approach, we decided to have an open form instead. But still, the work with the initial form had an impact on the recorded version and had established a sense of structure and length.

In the middle of the piece, there is a rhythmic section. To emphasise this, I made some overdubs, like adding gongs to amplify the fundamental rhythmic structure. I also added suling flute, the Indonesian flute, in octaves where I felt it was room for a more melodic feel, and this points toward an inspiration from gamelan.

The total sonic expression is also somewhat inspired by Karlheinz Stockhausen´s composition “Zyklus für einen Schlagzeuger”, where the single and clear percussion sounds are in focus.

The finished version was a mix of three different recordings. Using recording technology, I could make an “ultimate” version of the recorded music, and for me, this made sense musically. I could thereby emphasise the sonic and structural form I wanted. Also working within an (almost) free improvisation setting some parts are good, and some parts are not so good. For a concert, this is ok and is something you have to accept when playing without a fixed frame. But for a recording, this can be trimmed.

Finished version:

Eastern Actions

Ex. 2.4.5.

Piece 2: Spectral Rebellions

Instruments and ideas

The instruments for this piece were:

two gangsa
Balinese, Javanese and Thai gongs
Vibraphone
Crotales, bells
Contrabass
Saxophone
Church organ

I had prepared a tuned gong set up, with the tuning:

Bb'-C-D-F-F#-G-G#-A-Bb-c-c#-d#-e

Organ

Regarding the use of Church organ: In “orgel-salen” where we recorded, there was a church organ. This hall is for the students of church music at the Department of Music, NTNU, and the hall is a big open room which reminds of a church. I had reserved the hall three days before we started the recording session to work with the room, the reverb of the room and how I could make a recording there. In “Piece 2” I had an idea of a drone part, referred to as “Part B”(see below), and during these days ahead I experimented with the big tuned gongs and the organ. I put bricks on the pedals of the organ, making a constant drone, and hit the different gongs. Then I listened to the various interferences these sonic textures made. I liked the depth these two instruments made together, and this made the foundation for the “Part B” in “Piece 2”. The application of the organ is also a way of looking back at my earlier experiences with contemporary music, and points back to working with Arne Nordheim´s “Respons” which I have performed several times in different versions.

Note: There is no connection or symbolic religious reason for mixing gamelan and the church organ, both of which are instruments associated with the performance of the sacred music they belong to.

The basic idea about this piece was to use the interference between two tones on the gangsa as a starting point. The Balinese gangsa is a metallophone with a clear tone which reminds of a glockenspiel or a vibraphone and consists of an instrument pair where the instruments are slightly out of tune with each other. This out-of-tune is a significant part of the tuning of the gamelan, and this phenomenon is on Bali called “ombak”, which means “waves”. Ombak occurs when the same notes (but slightly different in tuning) are played on the gansa pair at the same time, and the result is an audible interference between the tones. I used a bow on the gansa, which makes the tone longer and with no attack, and in this way, the interference wave peaks out very strongly. The tones with the clearest interference were the tones tuned approximately in E.

Another key instrument was the big tuned gong. I have several of these tuned gongs, and the nicest one is tuned in contra C. This low C made the fundamental idea for the 2nd part of the piece.

Structure

At a higher structural level, the main goal was to make a drone-composition where the musicians should improvise in the mood of these two elements: The sonic waves (part A), and the fundamental tone (C) in the large gong (part B). I, therefore, thought out a complete compositional structure

Part A:

Gangsa bowing 5 min

Double Bass should join with an E when feeling the urge to play
add saxophone when the timing is right
add colours in tuned gong

Transition part between A and B

Open up with more tone on double bass/gansa
add vibraphone with tone E
The transition ends/Part B starts with a hit on the large C gong, and the double bass joins this tone.

Part B

vibraphone bowing
add church organ
add differently tuned gongs.
play in and out of clusters
over in a spectral mood. Scale: C'-C-G-C-c-e-g-bb-c'-d'-eb'-e'-f'-f#'-chromatic-
ends up in a high register with crotales/bells

Part B is a homage to Gerard Grisey and his spectral music concept. I had a great experience playing his composition “Partiels” in 2017, and especially the strong opening of this piece with the fundamental E in the double bass in the opening made a huge impression.

Gerard Grisey: Partiels(1975)

The recording is one recording with no major overdubs. I have just added some bells sound at the end because I wanted the piece to crawling up in a high-frequency sonical landscape which these bells give me.

Due to the audio balance of recording, I had no way of post-editing this recording. The sound of each instrument bleeds into every microphone, and I could just to a small degree adjust the level of every single instrument.

Finished version

Spectral Rebellion

Ex. 2.4.6.

The recording

Our recording was done in “Orgelsalen” at Department of Music, NTNU, and I did the recording, mixing and artwork for the cover myself.

We had one day preparing the music before the recording. That day we tried out the different concepts and discussed various playing techniques. I did not want this session to be too much about technique or gamelan concepts, but more directed towards the music and sound. Apart from Tor Haugerud, - Michael Duch and Eirik Hegdal are not percussionists. Despite this, I find it interesting to work with non-percussion musicians playing the percussion, because they tend to focus on other aspects of making music. Especially jazz musicians that have an open mind and are used to interacting with other musicians where the rules are not set.

We had scheduled for two days of recording. These recordings were quite straight forward; recording one version and discussing what to try in the next version. As long as I got the sonic landscape I was searching for; I did not see any reasons for discussing this more and trying it in totally different ways. It was more about playing less in various parts, making "that part" longer, and things like that. BUT the music became like I wanted because I had prepared much of this session in advance, like making the instrument setup, deciding the total musical form, and choosing the right musicians and their different roles.

One thing I wanted to avoid was the focus on intonation where you get, in my view, a problematic interference between the western tempered system and the non-tempered tuning of the gamelan. One of the goals with my preparation, from choosing musician and instruments to concepts and compositions, was to make the tuning/intonation as smooth as possible. Piece 1 was mostly percussion-based, and the interaction with the double bass, the only western instrument in this piece, in the ending, was more related to soundscapes than actual tones. In Piece 2, the gamelan with an exact pitch, like the gangsa and the tuned gong, set the navigation point(s) for intonation. The intonation issue was something we did not talk about during the session. I believe this was because of my prepatation, the gamelan instruments I chose, and the musicians involved. We all had this common understanding of how to interact with our surroundings.