Karl Appel - "Musique Barbare Van" (Sub Rosa) Vinyl

The visual artist and poet, Karel Appel, was one of the founders of the art group COBRA, which lasted from 1948 to 1951.   The group was the first burp for the oncoming Situationist International, as well as the Letterists.  Beyond that, Appel had a long career in the arts, and even made an album.  Which is "Musique Barbare Van."  It's a soundtrack to a documentary on Appel by Jan Vrijman.  The music / recording made with Frits Weiland, is classic Musique Concrete, circa. 1963.  Percussions of all sorts, a piano/organ here and there, as well as Appel yelling and doing vocals. 

I'm fascinated by painters or visual artists who do something else besides the visuals.  For instance, making an album or making music.  We have five senses, and an artist should be free to appeal or use different mediums - such as the use of ears or making sounds for the ear - which also has a theatrical aspect to it as well.  Listening to the album, one gathers Appel just went amok in the recording studio - and he used it as an extension of his painting studio, perhaps, or in theory.   

And as theory goes, COBRA was very much attached to the idea of children looking at art.  In other words, they strip away the sophistication of an adult and jump into the playground that is in their mind.   The music or sounds on this album reflects that attitude.  There are moments (especially with the electric organ) that is quite beautiful.   This album is a must for those who are interested in avant-garde Europe of the mid-20th century.   Look at it as a document, or a work of art - it works in both positions. 

Gil J Wolman - "Wolman et son double" Vinyl LP, (Alga Marghen)

"Wolman et son double" 

Gil J Wolman is one of those figures that is almost ghost-like in the 20th century avant-garde.  Painter, poet, fllm-maker, and member of both The Letterist movement as well as Letterist International, which eventually turned into the Situationist International.   Works by him are sparse in the States, but one that is here for sure is his album “Wolman et son Double.” Influenced by Anton Artaud’s lecture/performance in Paris in 1947, Wolman takes the sound poetics of Artuad and is applied to his own sensibility, which serves him of course, but clearly a tribute to Artaud as well. 

Gil J Wolman

Letterism came from the post-war years of World War II, mostly organized by poet/filmmaker Isidore Isou. The principal mediums for this group are poetry, film, painting and political theory.   Sort of a little brother to DADA and Surrealism, but Isou and company looked up to DADA poet Tristan Tzara, but not much of the other artists in those two movements.  The other medium they had an interest in is performances and recodings using the voice as an instrument, but not necessary with the actual words, but sounds.  Like his fellow Letterist and “vocalist” Maurice Lemaître, Wolman made sound art, and did a recording sometime in the 1970s of his performance work.  “Wolman et son Double” is that work. 

The Letterist International

Multi-tracked, and often very intense, there is a heaviness compared to Lemaître’s work, which is quite funny and very sexual.  Wolman clearly takes his influence of Artaud, but to another level.   The album is very much a musique concrete recording, but all from his vocal abilities.  Screams, hiccups, coughing, breathing, yelping -all adds a sense of tension.  It’s a brilliant piece of work (the recording) and the ideal state of hearing it is in a room, playing this album very loud, and in total darkness.  A limited edition of 350 copies. 

Gil J Wolman

Maurice Lemaitre -Poémes et Musiques Lettristes et Hyperphonie"

Maurice Lemaitre - "Poémes et Musiques Lettristes et Hyperphonie"

This album is a limited edition release, and therefore an important purchase for one who wanders into the world of European Avant-Garde and dwell into it's charm and seduction. Maurice Lemaitre is by all means, a Letterist. Letterism was a movement that started in Paris in 1946 that co-piloted by the great Isidore Isou. Also involved was Gabriel Pomerand, Gil J Wolman, and, of course our artist here, Maurice Lemaitre. With a theory of 'Kladology, ' which is a branch of knowledge that is somewhere between the figurative and the abstract. Letterism is the little brother to DADA. It eventually rolled into the realm of The Situationists, but that's another narrative.

"Poémes et Musiques Lettristes et Hyperhphonie" is a compilation of recordings made by Lemaitre from the 1950s to 1968. Every track is vocal orientated. Yet there are mixtures of sounds. For instance, Lemaitre uses French rock n' roll instrumentals as a background to his vocal gymnastics - and without a doubt, Lemaitre can project his voice across the room. When you look at the Discogs site for this album, it mentions the genre is "Non-Music." I do not share that insight, because these recordings are very musical, but maybe not in the way that one has experienced music.

Most if not all of the pieces here are in French, but some are clearly just sound works. I may be missing out some important aspect of the work not knowing Frnech, but on the other hand, the performances take the listener to a new landscape, and I like the new territory! This is a superb album on so many levels. As a document of Avant-Garde Paris in its early days of post-war, as well as a dynamic listening experience. It's all exceptional. For those who want to focus on the roots of The Situationists (Guy Debord world) and those who want jump into the eros/politics/drunkness of that period in the St Germain des Prés world - this is simply a must to have.