Guido Hübner founded Das Synthetische Mischgewebe (aka DSM) in the early 1980's in Berlin.
With a loose ensemble of individuals of different disciplines DSM worked
in many different forms of artistic expressions ranging from concerts and
performances to mixed-media installations with topics in neurology and cognitive science.
Works have been presented in most parts of Europe, New York, Montreal and Sao Paulo.
However, DSM is mostly recognised for it's musical output, having released numerous cassettes, vinyl records
and CD's on labels based in Europe, Japan and the United States.
The descriptive keyword for the music is "montage" framed by fragment and collage.
Mostly, but not exclusively, working with concrète and electronic sounds, the interest of the
experimental approach is to explore elements were a given combination of sounds is perceived as associated,
united, blended together to appear as a continuity and were as disconnected,
fragmented, divided components that evoke rupture and how both can be combined
and shaped into a significant structure.
Besides numerous solo release and concerts DSM has collaborated with many
artist such as ERG (USA), ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE (cz), THE OVAL LANGUAGE (ger),
MSBR (jp), VESTIGE VERTICAL (ger), THIERRY MADIOT (f), RADU MALFATTI (aut),
CLAUS VAN BEBBER (ger), TBC (ger), TORE HONORE BOE(norway).
In 2000 DSM were granted a residence in the studio to construct electro-acoustic music for The Arts
Academy Of Berlin and resulted in a piece for four instrumentalists with accompaining CD for
each, entitled "The CD-Player in My Life". This was composed for the ZEITKRATZER
ENSEMBLE (ger), and later a piece for Saxophone and Electronics
entitled "Blasenleiden" for ULRICH KRIEGER (ger).
Since 1996 DSM have been based in Caen in Lower Normandy (France) but previously
had been based in Bordeaux since '91 and Barcelona since '87.
Isabelle Chemin, with who most performance and installation works were performed since '85,
had been created is living in Sophia Antipolis near Nice since '98.
DSM was already working for variouse
scientific/medical projects while residing in Bordeaux, those Isabelle Chemin is
currently participating as consulting artist in the development of virtual
environments for patience with social phobias, a collaboration of several
european universities for which DSM creates as well the sound environment.
2006: Scheduled concerts in England for November: 19. London, 20. Bristol, 21. Nottingham, 22. Newcastle, 26. Leeds, 27. Sheffield
2006: 12–14 Oct. 'Lire en fëte' Grasse, Installation with printed coarsed canvases used like flags, text and sound about the river 'La Brague' which by carelessness, profit and ecological shortsightedness has nearly disappeared.
2006: Preparation of a piece of Electro-acoustic music based on recordings made on Orchestra Percussion's for the last years class of classic dance of the national conservatory of Caen.
2006: 21 May performance/live-video/dance/music with 'jeux de voyage magnétiques' MJC Chemin Vert, Caen
2006: 26 April performance/live-video/dance/music with 'jeux de voyage magnétiques' Ifs/ mercredi de Verrières
2006: 23 March concert C.R.I.M.E. Asso, Malterie Lille
2006: 17 Feb. performance/live-video/dance/music with 'jeux de voyage magnétiques' COLLECTIF JAZZ / FESTIVAL DE L'INSTANT Le Collectif Jazz de Basse Normandie présente Espace culturel Paul Eluard à Blainville sur Orne
2005: 06 Dec. Piece of Electro-acoustic music for the last year's class of classic dance of the national conservatory of Caen.
2005: 18 Nov. 'concert / 'sound installation' 'Nördic Impact, Rencontre des Cultures Electroniques w/Transat Vidéo Théatre Municipale de Caen www.nordik.org
2005: 13 Oct. 'Händelwebe' 'sound installation' Conservatoire de Caen 1 rue du Carel - 14050 CAEN 02 31 30 46 70
2003: 26.09. 'concert / 'sound installation' l'état des choses France Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes/ fine arts museum of Nantes 20 années FRAC apo33
2003: 05.08'concert / 'sound installation' Caen soirs d'été France night of électro-acoustique musique in the castle of Caen with a diffusion on some 50 loudspeakers currated by Christine Groult/Motus.
2003: 07.06. Echo Festival Germany Grimma, Höfgen (near Leipzig) in "Leutewerk" collaborating with The Oval Language
2003: all August 'sound installation : Brugge Construct' Brugge, Belgium for European Cultural Capital 2002 project by CLING FILM 4 channel composition 4 stacks of loudspeaker in four marchandises wagons arranged in a square
2001: Sound installation with accompanying posters exhibited at an abandoned train station for an open-air exposition, 'parcours d'art contemporain SACO' at Bagnoles de l'Orne (12-07au15-09).
2000: GROSSE STUDIOS kleine sampler Germany Podewil, Berlin – 4 channel piece (made possible thanks to a residence at the studio for electro-acoustic music of the Arts Academy of Berlin)
Expositions & Performances (selection only)
1986: Performance 'Heiliger Nicolaus' NL, D
1987: Performance 'The Thieving Devil Fish' D, (The Kitchen-New-York) USA
1987: Performance 'Des cerises nommées désir' (Stadtbad Neukölln-Berlin) D
1987: Performance 'The spinal Column' Zaragossa, Festival 'En la Fronterra' ES, D
1988: Performance El Pez-vidriera (Mercado de la Boqueiria-Barcelona), ES
1989: Performance What is that, Reality? (Museo Marques Barcelona), ES
1990: Performance Perception : fast forward I (Mercat de las Flores-Barcelona) ES
1991: Performance Perception : fast forward II (Transformadores-Barcelona, ES
1992: Performance Perception : fast forward III (CIEJ Fondation La CAIXA-Barcelona), ES
1992: Installation Perception : fast forward ES
1993-94: Installation Perception : fast forward IV Bordeaux, F
1995: Rückkopplungsskulptur Performance/concert collab. w/ The Oval Language, Ostbad, Leipzig, D
1996: Installation Perception : fast forward IV Université de Caen MRSH, F
1996: Performance TransNEUROsite Théâtre de l'Université de Caen, F
1997: Performance TransNEUROsite Festival Images et Sons de Coutance, F
Conferencies (selection only)
1994: Art/Science Université des Sciences de Bordeaux, F
1995: Art-Nouvelles technologies-Sciences Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, F
1995: Arts et Communication Université d'été Carcan, F
6th International Symposium of Electronics Arts ISEA Montréal, CA
5ème rencontre sur l'esthétique des médias et de la communication ArtMédia Salerno, I
1th Symposium A Arte No Século XX Sao Paulo, BR
Inconscience de l'imaginaire SIGMA Bordeaux, F
1996: Art/Science HfbK Leipzig, D
1997: Art-Science : Voisinage, cousinage 1ère rencontre de La Rochefoucault, F
Le cerveau et la pensée Le théâtre de la science Bordeaux, F
1998: IUFM de Caen, F
1999: Journées ReViCo, Réalité Virtuelle et Cognition ENST Paris
Residences, Grants & Scholarships
Workshop IRCAM Paris (February 2001) "La générativité en musique et dans les autres arts"
Studio für elektroakustische Musik Akademie der Künste, Berlin D 2000
Residency, juin-july 2000. Composition of the 4 channel piece : reverse mirror image, time, slice, standards, variations and digital Tipp-Exx revisions,
4.12.2000 produced at the Podewil Berlin – commissioned by the Podewil, center for contemporary Arts in collaboration with the Studio für Elektroakustische Musik of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin
Margarethen-Stiftung / Denkmalschmiede Residency, oct. – dec. Höfgen D 1998
Individual Grant for creation in contemporary arts Conseil Général de Gironde, Bordeaux F 1995
Residency in Monflanquin. Ass. Pollen, Conseil Régional d'Aquitaine, Conseil Général de Lot-et-Garonne (ODAC), Mairie de Monflanquin (GEM) F Autumn/Winter 1993
Individual Grant for creation in contemporary arts DRAC Bordeaux, F 1993
Individual Grant for creation in contemporary arts DRAC Bordeaux F aide à la création, 1991
Books/Press Articles
Le Geste expérimental in Musique d’Aujoud’hui by Yves Caron, Conseil Genéral de la Creuse, Bibliothèque Central de Prêt 1993 ISBN 2-9508059-0-6)
Continuite et fausse fracture in Incidences, Art, Communication, Technologique by Rolland Caignard 1995 (ISSN 0997 3559)
Percepçao : fast forward IV in A Arte no Século XXI, a humanizaçao das tecnologias by Diana Domingues, Editoria UNESP 1997ISBN 85-7139-160-2)
transNEUROsite in Leonardo, Journal of Art, Science and Technology Vol.1/1998
1 :: Vinyl Releases
Release # 1:01
Title
::
The Growing.. Of The Result.. Into The State.. Of Hyperreality: El Jardí De Les Delícies
Label
::
Edita IPS: Centre d'Art Santa Monica
Cat #
::
P-1410790
Country
::
Spain
Edition
::
-
Dated
::
1990
Format
::
7"
Other
::
Included in the 20-page illustrated catalogue for an exhibition by Catalan photographer Joan Fontcuberta
A Side ::
The Growing
Of The Results
B Side ::
Into The State
Of Hyperreality
Release # 1:02
Title
::
The Harvest Of Magnetism
Label
::
Discos Esplendor Geometrico
Cat #
::
EGD 020
Country
::
Spain
Edition
::
490 numbered copies
Dated
::
1990
Format
::
LP
Other
::
Includes one original, handnumbered, dated and signed black and white photo
A Side ::
Uberlebensformen
B Side ::
The Harvest Of Magnetism I, II
Release # 1:03
Title
::
Drum
Label
::
Povertech Industries
Cat #
::
artifact eight
Country
::
US
Edition
::
325 copies
Dated
::
1998
Format
::
7"
Other
::
33 1/3 rpm
A Side ::
untitled [6:31]
B Side ::
untitled [5:49]
Release # 1:04
Title
::
Assemblage II
Label
::
Korm Plastics
Cat #
::
KP3791
Country
::
Holland
Edition
::
-
Dated
::
1990
Format
::
LP
Other
::
Collaboration w/IMCA members: Frans de Waard & Ios Smolders
Review by Dimitry Vasilyev of ...
The Harvest Of Magnetism / Ueberlebensformen II
This is the first record of famous French/German multimedia band, which title means 'synthetic mixedfabric'.
Structured noise, yet dynamic music with the rich sound-palette. Besides traditional electroacoustic
equipment, a guitar is used (quite unusually played, because personally I can't recognize it anyway).
Common concept is adaptation of large scientific potential to modern art world.
DSM performances using electronic devices, visuals, experimental poetry and weird interiors, provides an
interesting point of view on artificial shell which is actually our environment now.
"When we open the window we can hear the sea in the distance.
But people say: it's not the sea. there is no sea here.
When I open the window at night, I see the big grey buildings and I hear sshhh ssshhh ...
People say: it's the noise of the cars, or maybe the wind blowing against the walls of the buildings.
But there are no cars around, and no wind on this quiet night.
When we lie on the bed at night. we can hear the sea.
My friend says: "it's like ssshhh summ summm... the whisper of thousands of worms eating my body.
I can not sleep... I'm going crazy." But I say: don't worry, it's just the sea..."
text by J.R.Lassale
Review from Artefakt #6 of ...
Some Conceptual Obligations, the Usual Rough & Rumble and the Conspiration of Silence Annibale Picini
... So vereint DSM stakkatosonische Akupunktur mit Breitwandnoise und
Mikrosynthetik – und mittendrin bleibt die Stille, zwar betsändig, doch nie
unverändert. Sie ist Dreh- und Angelpunkt des Geschehens, Ruhepol und Diktator,
beides bereits im Titel suggeriert. Die komplexen Strukturen folgen
Wellenbewegungen, die nie als geschlossenes System nachvollziehbar bleiben,
sondern ständig vom Bewustsein erst nach Vollendung des jeweils erfolgten
Schrittes zusammengesetzt werden müssen. Der Bruch selbst bedigt dabei die
Wahrnehmung, gleich wuchernder Linien, die sich in alle Richtungen zerstäuben,
um sich zu neuen, bislang ungehörten Formen emporzuarbeiten.
Review from Peace Warriors #13 of ...
Some Conceptual Obligations, the Usual Rough & Rumble and the Conspiration of Silence
DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE existe depuis une "petite" vingtaine d'années et
j'ai très honte d'avouer que je le découvre aussi tard! d'autant plus que la
découverte est de taille : Some Conceptual Obligations, the Usual Rough & Rumble
and the Conspiration of Silence (PAL) aporte une suite de manipulations
électroniques réminiscentes du "meilleur" de Roel Meelkop, Daniel Mensche, RLW
in between noise, id Battery, Farmers Manual ou John Duncan ...
DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE qui prouve l'importance du silence et de la
respiration dans la musique; beaucoup des gens sont passés à coté de ce grand
musicien qui pour moi est vraiment le chainon manquant entre Masami Akita et
Pierre Henry ...
Review by Zipo, Auf Abwegen No. 27 of ...
CD :: Some Conceptual Obligations, the Usual Rough & Rumble and the Conspiration of Silence
Guido Hübner und sein DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE dringen klanglich in immer
abgelegenere Terrains vor. Phasen der Starre und scheinbaren Leblosigkeit werden
bestäubt von undefinierbaren Klirren und Surren. Für DSM wird mit diesem Release
stärker eine kompositorische Linie erkennbar: das Ausrichten von Klängen
aufeinander in thematischen oder der Wirkung gemässen Gruppen erwirkt in den
scheinbar lose gesetzten Klangereignissen einen Sinngehalt, den man bei derart
abstrakter Geräuschmusik nicht oft findet. Dazu gibt es massig Texte, die nichts
erklären aber doch einiges von der Intention von DSM beleuchten.
Review from Self Abuse Records of ...
CD :: Interferences et plus?
An amazing CD release from 1992 (...)
A Powerful mixture of both electronics, and natural, organic sounds that is both
beautiful, And terrifying at the same time. Highl y recommended!
Review by Eric Cordier, Revue & Corrigée N° 42 of ...
CD :: Some Conceptual Obligations, the Usual Rough & Rumble and the Conspiration of Silence and the '7 "drum"
... Et puis, s'il s'est apaisé, le travaille de DSM ne resemble pas encore à la
production d'un label comme Trante Oiseaux. S'il s'est rendu compte que la
silence avait une existence, il ne l'atteint jamais vraiment et les moments
calmes, voire apaisés de ses compositions – et oui on peut parler de
compositions maintenant – restent étrangement saturés, non pas satrés
acoustiquement, mais saturés d'information. ... Ainsi on voit la constante qui
traverse la musique de Guido Hübner : la granulation. Il a remplacé la
granulation de la saturation par la granulation numérique qu'il ne cesse de
faire ressortir.Il produit ainsi une musique pixelisée qu'on pourrait qualifier
de granitique, d'un granite rugueux, érode voire de sable. ...
Review by Christ Mutilé of ...
CD : Geosynclines in colaboration w/ MSBR and ERG
... Quand aux sons qui sont issus du CD, c'est du PBK version "in his throes" à
son meilleur : Complexité des structures, cut/up brutaux, explosions de bruits,
craquements et parasites sonores en tout genres se chevauchent pour donner
naissance à une curiosité auditive qui vaut franchement le détour. Les
crépitements deviennent symphoniques, les silences interrogations, et le bruit
vecteur d'émotions inédites et paradoxales. Les 7 "stratums" (de 3 à 10 minutes)
se parcourent comme autant d'expériences géo-acoustiques que rien ne peut venir
limiter, c'est à dire qu'intrinsèquement leur interprétation peut et doit être
infinie, nous libérant du carcan de toute "musique" pour nous ouvrir au
troisième œil et à la méditation enfiévrée! Quand l'expérimental se fait
jouissance.
Review by Kamil Antosiewicz of ...
CD :: "Interferences et plus"
Plyta ta pochodzi z 1992r. i zasluguje chyba przez to na miano mlodego dinozaura
awangardy, lub co najmniej pozycji leciwej. DSM, dwuosobowy kolektyw zalozony na
poczatku 1980 roku przez Isabelle Chemin i Guido Hübner do dzisiaj dziala na
przecieciu sztuk plastycznych, performance i muzyki. Szyld pod którym wystepuja
("Sztuczna Mieszanka Materialów") oznaczac ma raczej program, niz nazwe zespolu.
Poniewaz nie widzialem na wlasne oczy jak wygladaja inne niz utrwalone na CD
prace Isabelle i Guido, ogranicze swoje spostrzezenia do samej muzyki.
"Interferences..." zawieraja 3 dlugie utwory (kolejno 24, 17 i 20 minut), które
wiekszosc zakwalifikuje zapewne jako noise. Ale halas nie jedno ma imie. DSM
oferuja cala plejada najrózniejszych brzmien, czego akurat mozemy spodziewac sie
po nazwie. Nie bede ukrywac, ze nie sa to brzmienia przystepne. Pelno w nich
brudu i smieci, tak cyfrowych, jak i analogowych. Chwilami slychac mocno
elektroniczne tortury a'la Rehberg & Bauer, innym znów razem zebrane mikrofonami
zajadle skrzypienia, czy scinki dzwiekowego otoczenia, jakimi raczy nas od lat
The Hafler Trio lub pionierzy industrialu. Nie pomyle sie chyba stwierdzajac, iz
brud i przester stanowi esencje kazdego z nich. Ale w odróznieniu do
drugoligowych (lub, powiedzmy, bardziej minimalnych) noise'owych propozycji np.
z wytwórni Solipsism, Das Sythetische Mischgewebe sprawnie i z umiarem dawkuje
sciany dzwieku, unika nadmiernego eksponowania typowego efektu typu "przester",
którym chyba trudno kogokolwiek dzisiaj zaskoczy?. Album ma zróznicowana
dynamike, duzo w nim dluzszych, cichych momentów, które tylko poteguja efekt
zaskoczenia podczas naglych halasliwych eksplozji. Dzwieki-smieci, zaszumione i
zepsute przeplataja sie z motywami, których brzmienie i charakterystyka zostaly
pieczolowicie doszlifowane, slowem, jest tu jakies zycie, dzieki któremu warto
posluchac plyty wiecej niz raz. Inteligentne, interesujace i zróznicowane
studium brudu, podane w formie udanego kolazu o szczatkowej narracji.
Review from TOW LETTER #4 of ...
CD :: Some Conceptual Obligations, the Usual Rough & Rumble and the Conspiration of Silence and the '7 "drum"
Guido Hübner, malgre sa génération plus avancée, peut encore être considéré
comme un concepteur de musiqhe concrète proche dans sa démarche de jeune
artistes tels Slavek Kwi (Artificial Memory Trace) ou Cédric Peyronnet (Toy
Bizarre). Bien au-delà des concours de circonctances qui bâtissent les modes et
les courants épuisants – y compris dans ces musiques – Hübner promène son projet
DSM dépuis plus de vingt ans de concerts en conférences. Comme AMT, sa musique
travaille l'éspace, l'organisation presque automatique des sons livrés à eux
mëmes (ou de l'organe qui le perçoit). Comme AMT, sa musique est governée par la
surprise : rien n'est prévisible, la caresse comme l'assaut surviennent sans
sommation et créent la stupeur dans leur rôles respectifs. Inspiré par les
sciences cognitives et la neurologie, Hübner semble vouloir traduir grâce au
support sonore les interférences et les chocs électriques infinitésimaux qui
pilotent nos moindres gestes, nos cillements, nos pulsions. Pas étonnant alors
d'y entendre le calme olympien vité éradiqué par la violence la plus instinctive
– ou l'inverse : chaque événement est séparé d'un autre par un long silence
voluntaire (naturel ?). Une bande-son neuronale parfois lourde illustrée par les
textes de Jean-René Lassalle et fondée sur un respect mutuel affiché qu'il
paraît simple de Partager.
Review by Rigo Dittmann, Bad Alchemy # 34 of ...
CD :: Some Conceptual Obligations, the Usual Rough & Rumble and the Conspiration of Silence
... Jetzt, 1999, beginnt es geradezu zu sprudeln: eine Single bei Povertech
Industries, Samplerbeiträge (...) und sogar eine neue CD – in einem ganz
speziellen roten Plastiketui – mit dem rekordverdächtigen Titel " Some
Conceptual Obligations, the Usual Rough & Rumble and the Conspiration of Silence
" (Pinch-A-Loaf, PAL 19).Guido Hübner, Jean René Lassalle und Isabelle Chemin
finden damit sofort Anschluss an die radikalsten Formen des 'neuen
Reduktionismus'. Der Titel verrät schon alles, 'die Verschwörung der Stille'
verhindert jedes akustische Spektakel, aber auch, dass wir ungestört mit der
Tagesordnung fortfahren. Wir werden von DSM mit einer Membran umhüllt, die uns
unsicher werden lässt, ob es die Geräusche sind, die in die Stille eindringen,
oder nicht vielmehr eine virulente, mächtige, lauernde Stille die als
erschreckend Fremdes, Stummes, Unmenschliches in unsere laute 'Normalität
einbricht.
Review by Ronnie Sundin, Bon Bon Records of ...
CD : Some Conceptual Obligations, the Usual Rough & Rumble and the Conspiration of Silence
DSM is another group that has been silent for some while but now they're back in
business. Folliwing the great collab. with MSBR & ERG this one reinforces their
status as one of the most interesting bands in the concrete- noise area. What is
remarkable with this album is that DSM manages to create pieces that are
minimal, complex, silent,noisy, boring and exciting at the same time and all of
this within the same track! Initially it seems like there are a tiny bit less
action taking place than on the MSBR/ERG collaboration and the CD is accompanied
with a text that makes no sense and seems to go in circles so i don't know if
the sound here have a narrative intention but the tracks are fully enjoyable
without reading the text. Maybe it's slightly more silent this time? ...or
noisy. Still a big recommendation.
Review by Ronnie Sundin, Bon Bon Records of ...
CD :: Geosynclines in colaboration w/ MSBR and ERG
A threeway collaboration where MSBR and ERG deconstructed each other and sent
the material to DSM for the final mix. This results in that this album sounds
pretty much as an DSM album since it's pretty unclear what the original
material sounded like (although I've read somewhere that ERG specialices in
burying microphones underground and record the earth). However, If you've heard
what DSM sound like you know what to expect; great electroacoustic noise with
delicately structured sound treatments, many shortclipped bursts of sounds with
a lot of pauses in between. DSM are real masters of their trade and makes this
the best MSBR collaboration I've encountered so far.
Review by Frans de Waard, VITAL WEEKLY (No. 169, week 14) of ...
CD :: Some Conceptual Obligations, the Usual Rough & Rumble and the Conspiration of Silence
Das Synthetisches Mischgewebe seem back on track. Already in existence for some
20 years or so, Guido Hubner now releases his works on CD's throughout the
world. Like usually it's packed with a text by Jean Rene Lassalle (and which I'm
failing to understand again). DSM produce a kind of digital musique concrete in
which the electro-acoustic element is totally gone. Even though this CD is
indexed with 13 tracks, I regard this is as one long compostion. It moves
through textures, flickering of light, bursting of metal and crackling of
silence - everything happens at the same time, or within seconds from eachother.
Or just aswell with longs of gaps of silence (or are these just the silences
between tracks?) - these cuts from reality sounds seem to distort your sense of
reality. Nothing seems as it is and the spiral takes you down into some wacky
dreamworld - a nice mightmare (whatever you prefer I think).
Review by Frans de Waard, VITAL WEEKLY (No. 159, week 4) of ...
7 "drum"
DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE - DRUM
MICHAEL PRIME - PRIORY GARDENS (both 7" by Povertech)
Povertech has already an interesting catalogue of 7" releases, and these two are
mostly welcomed. Das Synthetisches Mischgewebe open a new series in which 'a
single acoustic sound' is recorded and then transformed by analogue and digital
means. The sound of drums are in there (like the cymbal being hit), but it's a
heavily processed collage of sounds, crackles and popnoise. Kinda like Rehberg
or other Megoids, DSM go beyoond, and make it raw and rhythmic, as the
percussive feel is most defintely present. Michael Prime doesn't do much else
then hanging a microphone in a tunnel or cave and record the bats moving in the
space. The role of the composer here is to have good ears and make a decision
where to place the microphone. Prime succeeds in that very well, as these are
fascinating recordings. Both are excellent productions
Review by Frans de Waard, VITAL WEEKLY (No. 130, Week 22) of ...
CD :: Geosynclines in colaboration w/ MSBR and ERG
The concept that resulted in this CD is a bit old, but nevertheless a valid one,
still. Just like 10 years ago, musicians still exchange 'raw materials',
'rework' them and exchange them back (to anybody younger then 30: you call it
'remix' by today's vocabulary). Other then proving the lifeness of networks (in
this case the network of intelligent noise makers - modern concretists), it's
also a cross border work. Exchange is communication in some way (I agree that
this is discutable however - but to discuss that is not something for a review).
Enough rambling. Erg (being J. Ronsen and Michael Northam) and MSBR (aka Koji
Tano, who is also the man who started a label to release this CD) exchanged
sound material of an unknown nature (vaguely indicated by 'field recordings')
and 'sub' mixed them. The final edit/composition was carried by Das Synthetische
Mischgewebe - who finally re-surface after many years of silence. The short
opening piece is indeed a trademark for DSM - short cutted sounds that are
collaged together, either set next or against eachother. A sort of shock
treatment. The next track (which are all called 'Stratum' by the way - so it's
not my lazyness by not telling the name of the track each time) is likewise, but
has a larger curve to follow. It builts much more slowly until it burts, and
continues it's curve slowly after that. These two tracks are programms for the
whole CD. Each track is cleverly built of digital cut 'n paste, moving from one
source to the next, soft passages to be followd by loud ones, either taking the
quick curve or the slow one. But despite this approach, which may seem overall
the same, the result that these boys come up with is a varied CD that doesn't
bore for a single minute. There is a strong coherency (probably and wisely
because of one person being in charge of the end result) throughout this work.
Review by Chris Sienco, Muckraker #9 of ...
7 "drum"
Povertech launches a new segment within its "artifact" 7' series, dealing with
the manipulation of acoustic instruments, and long running tape rippers DAS
SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE take on the oldest instrument of all. Despite being
played "non-traditionaly", the manipulations take on some rythmic elements,
though more Morton Subotnick than Autechre. In fact, I think the only thing that
would keep this record from being highly regarded among INA GRM archidiocese
(apart from the fact that this is pressed on a '7 record – I mean, how many
legitimate composers are pressed on 45's ? Shhh, would you shut up about that
damn Composers Series!!) is the obviouse and intentional use of tape crinkle and
overload distortions. Lack of sterelity is probably as good a reason as any to
be shut out of academia.
Review by Joel St. Germain, Muckraker #9 of ...
CD :: Geosynclines in colaboration w/ MSBR and ERG
Patches of silence interrupted with noise-pours. Each piece starts quietly and
quickly boils over, the noise coming on like a drum roll – rumbling, then sharp.
MSBR's harsh electronics serve as landscape, hosting ERG's field recordings and
DSM's acoustic clamouring, and all three mount massive cross-channel sound
actions before another short moment of silence drowns them out. Geosynclines
keeps this same format for it's duration, which allows listeners to catch their
breath. Comes in a white box with seeds for some reason.
Review by Frans de Waard, VITAL WEEKLY (No. 456, week 1) of ...
CD :: CASUAL PRAISE OF DOMESTIC CALAMITIES
Musique électroacoustique experimentale – Dans la continuité de l'esthétique de
l'école allemande expérimentale (Selektion, Ralf Wehowski ...) DSM développe, à
partir d'un contenu sonore électoacoustique, un principe de composition
fonctionnant comme processus statique d'apparition et disparition du son.
Concert announcement 2003 Z.E.T. APO33 Nantes,
Now here's yet another legend who returns to the world of CDs, or maybe he was
just never really away. Since the day I started to listen to self-released
cassettes in the eighties, Das Synthetische Mischgewebe belong to my digest
(though not daily, I admit). >From the early cassette days via some vinyl
releases in the mid nineties to sparse CD releases these days: there is also a
clear progressive line in his music. From the hissy induced sound via noise to
musique concrete these days. Das Synthetische Mischgewebe sound like, but are
not, a laptop act. His work, as the band is one person, Guido Hübner, is
entirely based on manipulations of field recordings (a.o. the harbor of Hamburg
and in his hometown of Caen) but also recordings of household appliances. None
of these are easily being recognized in the resulting compositions, which all
sound electronic. Probably many hours of tape manipulations and feeding them
through synthesizers go into this work. In all his work, Guido Hübner stays
close to the original ideas of musique concrete, using concrete sounds and
manipulate them through various studio techniques. The resulting ten tracks are
all of great beauty but require ones full attention and simply can't be used as
background music. But if one does this, it will be a rewarding experience. (FdW)
Address: http://www.hypnagogia.org.uk
about the
Review from De:Bug 04/05 by Erik Ed Benndorf of ...
CD :: CASUAL PRAISE OF DOMESTIC CALAMITIES
Das Synthetische Mischgewebe - Casual Praise Of Domestic Calamities Hypnagogia
Guido Hübner, Ex-Berliner und seit über zwei Jahrzehnten ununterbrochener
Noisebastler, kommt tatsächlich mit einem neuen Album auf richtig fertiger CD
und obendrein auf dem Label, das uns bisher lediglich bzw. fett selbstbewußt ein
Album der New Blockaders auftischen konnte. Neulich kamen schon mir leider
unbekannte DSM-Kompositionen auf Vinyl-On-Demand, die CD aber, soviel läßt sich
sagen, knüpft definitiv an DSMs frühere Versuche an, Form völlig aufzulösen,
bevor sie sich als greifbar und folglich interpretierbar entblößt. All die
tausend kleinen, dreckigen noises passen ganz sicher auf eine CD, das steht
fest. Aber Hübners einzigartige Anordnung dieser Unjuwelen an sound (eine
Anordung übrigens, die offenbar ohne Wiederholung auskommen will) übertrifft
ganz sicher alle banalen Versuche, die Harmonie zwischen diesen unvereinbaren
Geräuschen auszumachen. Form ist immer Harmonie und somit Mittelmaß. Vielleicht
ist es genau dieser Gedanke, den DSM in uns wachrütteln wollen; und natürlich
gelingt es ihnen perfekt.
Review by Rigo Dittmann, Bad Alchemy 46 (03/05) of ...
LP Inventaire & Contradictions and CD :: CASUAL PRAISE OF DOMESTIC CALAMITIES
Der Oktober ‘04 brachte im monatlichen Fortlauf der VOD-Ausgrabungen mit Inventaire &
Contradictions (VOD 10, LP) eine Retrospektive auf die frühen Prä-Vinyl-Jahre 1982 - 1988
von DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE. Mit den bruitistischen Traktaten von Guido
Hübner, Isabelle Chemin & Yref wird wieder ins Bewusstsein gehoben, dass die 80er auf
ihrer Low-Tech-Unterseite ein virulentes Experimentier- & Spielfeld dulden mussten für
Existenzen, die die Beuys‘sche Parole „Jeder Mensch ist ein Kassettentäter“ zur Praxis
werden ließen. Die bisher unveröffentlichten Tracks ‚Überlebensformen IV‘ (1987) &
‚Harvest of Magnetism III‘ (1988) entstammen, wie die Titel anzeigen, der gleichen
Sedimentschicht und Serie wie das gleichnamige Material des 1990er LP-Debuts auf Discos
Esplendor Geometrico. Die B-Seite geht noch weiter in die Vergangenheit und bietet neben
Stoff, der einst auf Cassetten Combinat bzw. Alien Artists in Berlin und ZSF Produkt in
Tokyo zu hören gewesen war, mit der süffisant verbohrten ‚Ode an Conrad Elektronik‘
einen weiteren Archivfund, der eine Inspirationsquelle für DSMs DIY-Bruitismus andeutet.
Wobei Schnitzlers Vorbild sich wenig bis garnicht im Klangbild niederschlug. [Anmerkung
von GZ: Mensch Rigo, vielleicht spielen die ja auch gar nicht auf Conrad Schnitzler an
sondern nur ganz profan an diese Elektrotechnik-Kleinteile-Einzelhandelskette...?] Hübner
& Co. operierten von Anfang an auf einer ambienteren Ebene, mit einem spröden,
unspektakulären, aber keineswegs ikonoklastischen Bruitismus, der ins Ahumane tendierte,
mit einem feinen Gehör für das Eigenleben des Stoffes und einer mikrokosmischen
Käferperspektive oder einem makrokosmischen Bug-Eyed-Alien-Blick. ‚Überlebensformen‘
hat zumindest im Titel einen ziemlichen Beigeschmack von Tietchens‘ scher
Sublim-Misanthropie und im müden Kreisen von ‚Loop of Existence‘ wird die Ewige
Wiederkehr des Gleichen gegen jede evolutionäre Illusion als Endlosrillendrehwurm
sinnfällig gemacht. Nietzscheanisch unterfüttert ist auch, durch die Dionysos-Anspielung,
‚Bacchus pt.2‘, ein pulsierender, knurschender Harsh-Noise-Drone, der, von Voodoobeats
angepeitscht, im Accelerando abzuheben versucht. DSM wird einem durch Inventaire &
Contradictions als komplexes, vieldeutiges Unternehmen der nichtakademischen,
postindustrialen Noise Culture vermittelt, mit einer kryptischen Härte, an der man sich die
Zähne ausbeißen kann.
Ein auch nur flüchtiger Überblick über Guido Hübners Aktivitäten der letzten
Jahre erweckt den Eindruck, dass nicht alle Stützpunkte einer experimentellen
Elektroakustik demontiert wurden. DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE, manchmal
angekündigt als "der verschollene Link zwischen Masami Akita und Pierre Henry",
zeigt mit seiner speziellen Form einer brutistischen Musique Concrète Flagge im
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, im Extrapool in Nijmegen, im Kulturbunker
Mülheim, im Cuba in Münster, in der Hörbar in Hamburg, im Podewil und im Ausland
in Berlin, sogar – zwischen Kim Crimson und Naked City! – auf den Warsaw Summer
Jazz Days 2003. Der Kontext ist längst kein postindustrieller mehr, war es
vielleicht auch nie. Hübner der seit 1995 in Würzburgs Partnerstadt Caen
zuhause, besetzt heute mit seiner minimalistisch- granularen Geräuschmusik eine
Grauzone die er teilt mit improvisierenden Projekten wie Konk Pack, Michael
Vorfeld, Werner Durand oder Homler-Schulte, Live-Elektronikern wie Gert-Jan
Prins oder Roel Meelkop, als sanfter Diktator' am DJ-Mischpult mit Boris
Hegenbart und Fennesz, mit Grenzgängern der elektronischen Musika Nova wie Lutz
Glandien, Georg Katzer, Hans Tutschku und Ulrich Krieger, dessen Ensemble
Zeitkratzer auch ein Werk von Hübner umsetzte. Wie die sehr schön aufgemachte
Hypnagogia-CD Casual Praise of Domestic Calamities (Hypnagogia, GIA02) – neben
Vinyl Eps in Kollaboration mit The Oval Language (7", ogi03) und ERG (10",
nag04) – in Nachfolge von Some conceptual Obligations, the usual Rough & Rumble
and the Conspiration of Silence (Pinch-A-Loaf, 1999) zeigt, verfolgt DSM seinen
Ansatz eines weniger minimalistischen als vielmehr molekularen Brutismus mit
konkreten Einsprengseln und harschen Splittern konsequent fort. Die Titel, nur
rot hervorgehobene Fetzen eines fortlaufenden, surrealen Cut-up-Textes,
verstärken lediglich die Desorientierung. Obwohl einiges Material am Hamburger
Hafen oder an der Küste der Normandie gesammelt wurde, taumelt und flippert das
Bewusstsein ohne narrative Krücken oder Sehhilfen durch abstrakte
Geräuschverläufe, kurzweiliges Rauschen, körniges Knurschen, prasselnde
Gammastrahlen, diskante Hetztöne, duch Simulakren des Realen. Eigentlich steht
alles schon in der Überschrift – synthetisches Mischgewebe, die dem Heterogenen
hauteng anliegen.
Review from Zipo / a u f a b w e g en magazine of ...
CD :: CASUAL PRAISE OF DOMESTIC CALAMITIES
Es sieht fast so aus, als erlebe das Longtime-Projekt DSM von Guido Hypner
dieser Tage einen second Honeymoon. Es häufen sich Releases und Konzerte und die
Hörerschaft ist allerorten begeistert. Dazu kommen noch hochkulturelle
Engagements und Installationen – an allen fronten wird gekämpft. Casual Praise
Of Domestic Calamities ist denn auch ein Hammer von einem Album. Endlich mal ein
Act, der Pausen in der Musik sinnvoll einsetzt und mit der Spatzonalisierung von
Klang umzugehen weiß. Kleinteilige elektroakustische Kompositionen fesseln den
Hörer, da die Klänge im Raum wandern, oder abrupt ein- und aussetzen. Außerdem
zeichnet DSM eine faszinierende Mischung aus abstrakten Klängen und fast schon
mechanisch wirkender Handarbeit aus – eine Prise Aktionismus überträgt sich
unterhaltungssteigernd auf Tonträger. Was soll ich sagen: KAUFEN LEUTE!!!
Link :: www.aufabwegen.com
Review from The Sound Projector (UK) of ...
CD :: CASUAL PRAISE OF DOMESTIC CALAMITIES
A substantial recent work from this veteran of the early 1980s industrial/electronics
scene, who started off releasing cassettes in Berlin around that time. Guido Huebner
realized these 10 works over 1999 – 2004 in France and Germany, and here they are in a
striking package. These musical assaults are quietly devastating, exceedingly subtle in
their efforts to disturb and undermine normality. At first listen, you may suppose you’re
dealing with nothing more than any other ‘normal’ slice of dribbling electronica, but after
several minutes of immersion, your ears start to tell you something’s wrong. The music
can eat into your psyche like acid. Nothing overtly noisy or aggressive here; just a sinister
quietness, seeping into your bloodstream like a slow-acting toxin.
The title alone should clue you in to Huebner’s agenda; he’s taking a deliberately
detached stance from commonplace horrors. Domesticity and family life might be under
attack; there are four tiny images on the cover, which show a couple rendered as plastic
Lego figures. In three of the poses they’re probably copulating; in one image they’re
fighting. (Actually these refer to other projects in the series, but the point is still valid).
These images, of which there’s a large acrylic painting version on the front cover, are
credited to Francoise Vigot. Add to this the so-called ‘track titles,’ which are in fact
lengthy pieces of scrambled prose full of broken images hinting at grotesqueries and
blasphemies of all stripes, and you have a fine package of subversive mayhem in your
mitts.
Musically, the collection also works – it’s a very strong example of well-wrought modern
electro-acoustic composition. Filled with tension and very striking clashes of texture;
occasionally gets a little digital agitation going, like stirring up an electronic hornet’s nest.
Not pleasant. Evil metallic clicks and whirrs fill the air, suggestive of the human body’s
‘clock’ being taken to pieces, cog by cog, and rebuilt in the wrong order to transform the
human frame into a clockwork bogey-man. Huebner is a nasty piece of work, an evil
scientist rewiring the bodies and souls of many innocent bystanders.
Review from IDWAL FISHER (UK) of ...
CD :: CASUAL PRAISE OF DOMESTIC CALAMITIES
Who knows why DSM aren't mentioned in the same breath as say Kagel or David Tudor (to
mention two of many)? Casual Praise would rank up there with many a 1960's
electro-acoustic / field-recording platter if only it were released in '59 on vinyl in a shiny
sleeve with spazzy writing all over it.
This shows Mr Nonaka exactly where he's going wrong and how to get it all completely
right without ever becoming staid, dull or downright predictable and boring. Cue eight tracks
and n hours worth of field-recordings, household appliances, tiny microcosims of glitch,
broken contact farts, random silence, the odd drone and a semblance of someone crumpling
up five pound notes in their pockets. If the word 'calamities' does'nt get you going then
nothing will. I once saw DSM play a pub in Brixton and they were sadly drowned out by a
group of drunken Irish builders. Maybe David Tudor would have loved that? A rewarding
listen and more than highly recommended for those with discerning ears.
Review by Frans de Waard, VITAL WEEKLY (No. 553, week 47) of ...
2xCD-R :: GLEISDREIECK / GÖRLITZER TUNNEL
These days it's probably no longer known, but Das Synthetische Mischgewebe was a
band, and not the project of G.do Hübner, which it is since some time. Before
people like Yref, Chazev, T.O.W. Richter, Isabelle Chemin and Jean Rene Lasalle
were member at one point or another. The recordings on this double pack are in
more than one way historical. They are old, twenty years to be precise, but they
were also made in the then divided Berlin, in a place you can't find anymore.
Das Synthetische Mischgewebe used an old tunnel and a subway station going from
East to West Berlin to rehearse for concerts that were later held. Abandoned
industrial areas, in which they could easily find material to play their music
on. Everything you hear on this double pack is recorded on the spot, using what
ever is available there. Industrial tools, scraping metals, obscure objects
which we can't visualize and such like. But they are played like musical objects
and rather than trying out what the sound possibilities are, the actors in Das
Synthetische Mischgewebe want to play a piece of music with those objects, so
they carefully move about and create pieces of improvised music with these
objects. Battery run amplifiers and a walkman to record the whole thing onto
give this a slightly rough edge, although I must say that the sound quality is
more than excellent. Cut into sessions of thirty minutes, this can't be engaging
to hear from beginning to end without leaping into a moment of boredom, but
throughout I thought this was a very fine release. Not loud or heavy industrial
as some of the early work was (or perhaps that's just a wrong memory? Apparently
Vinyl On Demand is releasing some LPs with older work), but rather pre-dates a
lot of the onkyo type improvisation of the last few years and a very fine work
of electro-acoustic music. Topped off with a nice presentation and a most
enjoyable set of personal liner notes. Great archival release.
Link :: www.0000-anti.info
Review by Magnus Schaefer, VITAL WEEKLY (No. 549, week 43) of ...
3 x CD copilation NEKTON FALLS
This compilation is set against an ambitious conceptual background, that
incorporates ideas from various scientific disciplines and combines
environmental concerns with a fascination for the incredible depths of the
oceans. These references are centered around an interest in interrelating
processes between living organisms and their surroundings, as it is indicated by
the title "Nekton Falls" (a scientific term that is used to describe the process
of dead sea organisms dropping to the bottom of the ocean, rotting and
eventually turning into food for a new generation). All this is explained in
detail on the website www.nekton-falls.org, complete with artists' statements
and suggestions for further reading. A background like that of course hints
towards dark stretched out sounds and field recordings of water, and this is
exactly what you get for the most part of the three CDs, plus some rhythm-based
tracks and grainy digital textures. In total 26 artists and projects are
involved here, including well established names (Michael Northam, Frans de
Waard, Roel Meelkop, Lull, to name a few) as well as lesser known ones. The
individual tracks are connected with interludes composed by Seetyca, who also
contributes a track and is responsible for the overall concept (together with A.
G. Reisdorf). Most of the music is rather subdued, with vast fields of sound,
fading from black to deep shades of blue and back again. This creates a nice,
continuous flow of music, yet with enough variations to keep you interested.
This flow is only sometimes disrupted by one of the few rhythm-oriented tracks,
which might be nice by themselves, but don't go along too well with the other
pieces. However, a whole palette of approaches towards the darker side of
atmospheric music is on showcase here. Amorphous immersive soundscapes, field
recordings of natural phenomena, digital errors, clear blocks of abstract sound
and hints of acoustic instruments - it's all there and most of the time it
nicely complements each other. With so many people involved obviously not all
tracks work well for everyone. Some tracks might benefit from a little
refinement and some of the sounds seem rather worn out. But there are some real
highlights to be discovered and as a whole it works pretty well, guiding you on
a worthwhile trip into imaginary sub oceanic regions. (MSS)
Link :: www.nekton-falls.org
Review from VITAL WEEKLY (No, 553, week 47) of ...
2 x CD-R Gleisdreieck/Görlitzer Tunnel /\IC
These days it's probably no longer known, but Das Synthetische Mischgewebe was a
band, and not the project of G.do Hübner, which it is since some time. Before
people like Yref, Chazev, T.O.W. Richter, Isabelle Chemin and Jean Rene Lasalle
were member at one point or another. The recordings on this double pack are in
more than one way historical. They are old, twenty years to be precise, but they
were also made in the then divided Berlin, in a place you can't find anymore.
Das Synthetische Mischgewebe used an old tunnel and a subway station going from
East to West Berlin to rehearse for concerts that were later held. Abandoned
industrial areas, in which they could easily find material to play their music
on. Everything you hear on this double pack is recorded on the spot, using what
ever is available there. Industrial tools, scraping metals, obscure objects
which we can't visualize and such like. But they are played like musical objects
and rather than trying out what the sound possibilities are, the actors in Das
Synthetische Mischgewebe want to play a piece of music with those objects, so
they carefully move about and create pieces of improvised music with these
objects. Battery run amplifiers and a walkman to record the whole thing onto
give this a slightly rough edge, although I must say that the sound quality is
more than excellent. Cut into sessions of thirty minutes, this can't be engaging
to hear from beginning to end without leaping into a moment of boredom, but
throughout I thought this was a very fine release. Not loud or heavy industrial
as some of the early work was (or perhaps that's just a wrong memory? Apparently
Vinyl On Demand is releasing some LPs with older work), but rather pre-dates a
lot of the onkyo type improvisation of the last few years and a very fine work
of electro-acoustic music. Topped off with a nice presentation and a most
enjoyable set of personal liner notes. Great archival release.
Link :: www.0000-anti.info
Review by Keith Moliné / WIREouter Limits 276 (Feb. 2007) of ...
2 x CD-R Gleisdreieck/Görlitzer Tunnel /\IC
An archival recording that doesn't just document the mid-80's activities of the
concrète Improv troup led by Guido Hübner, but also serves as a kind of requiem
for pre-reunification Berlin. Described as an 'industrial reminescence' in the
sleevenotes, 1987's Gleisdreieck sees the group trespassing on the site of an
abandoned warehouse (??? me) in no man's land, improvising with found objects
and battery-powered equipment (with friends and colleagues keeping watch, ready
to alert them if they've been rumbled). Görlitzer Tunnel, recorded in an
underpass that ran below the (East German owned) S-Bahn, used similar resources,
but makes good use of the tunnel's cavernous acoustic. A passing drunk makes an
appearance, too. "What are you doing? Music? he slurs, and the group respond
with a burst of feedback and drilling. It's as of the stink of urine, grown even
more fetid over the last 20 years, has been captured on tape along with the grey
drones and percussive scrapings that comprise the music.
Link :: www.0000-anti.info
Review by Frans de Waard from VITAL WEEKLY (No. 566, week 09) of ...
2 x CD COLLABORATIONS (by Monochrome Vision)
Somebody who has never bee away is G.do Hübner, who works since 1982 (or there
about) as Das Synthetische Mischgewebe. Doing performance related works in the
80s and these is purely concerned with composing with sound. The musical
collaboration is a really 80s thing, when people traded back and forth cassettes
and others would rework them. However the collaborations on this double disc
aren't from the 80s but from the last decade and some of them were made 'face to
face'. Here the likeminded are people like ERG, Jörg Thomasius, Artificial
Memory Trace, The Oval Language and TBC (a.k.a Thomas Beck). Throughout the
years the music of Das Synthetische Mischgewebe evolved from industrial
(although never really totally harsh) to sound collage along the lines of the
serious musique concrete composers. 'Merzbow meets Pierre Henry' was once said,
and that may sort of cover the ground for the work. Pretty stark sound collages
is what is being produced here, although listening to this in one go is perhaps
a bit much.
Link :: www.monochromevision.ru
