Janek Schaefer: Alone at last in public
Polish-Canadian artist Janek Schaefer returns to record stores: Out now on Sirr Ecords, „Alone at last“ collects a string of commissions realised for various occasions. With material ranging from 1997 to 2007, it captures the many faces of the first decade of Schaefer's career as an artist and composer. While Schaefer's working methods have remained all but the same over these years – feeding environmental sounds, field recordings and manipulated vinyl sources through a string of amplifiers and effect pedals – his output is marked by a remarkable eclecticism, both in musical terms and with regards to his concepts: The title track was „composed for a symposium in Tasmania on the theme of Isolation“, while „come on up“ is a „Sound & Projection installation for a tiny listening room with a 3 seater Chesterfield sofa“. The closing „Ever Ending Story“ harks back to the days of his first concert, recorded at walking distance to the infamous Stock/Aitken/Waterman studio. The booklet to „Alone at last“ features black and white photography by Janek Schaefer and documents his interest in anamnesis and the synaesthetical qualities of sounds.
Stylistically, „Alone at last“ places great emphasis on organic movement and on detail. Both „Vasulka Vauban's 'A day in the Good Life'“ and „Boulevard Peripherique“ have many different layers of sound on offer and allow the listener to observe each sonic object in its full cycle of attack and decay. The aforementioned title piece, meanwhile, combines sounds of nature with blissfully chiming drones to create a charming musical still life, constantly in motion yet always changing.
Currently working as an artist/sound designer/musician/visiting lecturer and composer from the audiOh! Room in London Janek Schaefer has been one of the few contemporary composers to be embraced both by the sound art scene and the new music crowd (his first album was album of the week in the Guardian). His name can also be found in the Guinness Book of Records, thanks to the 'Tri-phonic Turntable' being listed as the 'World's Most Versatile Record Player'.
Homepage: Janek Schaefer
Homepage: Sirr Ecords
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