Freiband - Improper Copy

When I first heard 'Propia Copia' (Hazard Record 05) it was to write a review for Vital Weekly. I wrote:

"The next one is a compilation of which the label was lost forever: none of the back-up CDRs could be read anymore. It deals with 'appropriation and copy in contemporary sound art' and was originally an enhanced CD with texts and such by 'some of the biggest names in Spain's official sound art'. I am not sure if they are on the CD, which sounds like a seven-part excursion into the world of 'white noise'. It's all very loud, very static and very noisy. It includes Javier Ariza, Joan Saura, Xavier Maristany, Martin Fuks, Oscar Abril Ascaso, Maison Bricolage and Josep Manuel Berenguer. It's from 1999 and the only thing that I really liked about it is that it predates any Harsh Noise Wall, but it would sit perfectly in that scene."

When I was done with my review I was thinking about this compilation, in a more artistic sense. DJ Hazard's remix of this compilation CD was next on the pile of review material, about which I wrote:

"I skipped to hear what DJ Hazard made of this in a remix fashion (you gather my joy? compilations, remixes, all that I love), of which the entire length is exactly the length of the original release. This has nothing to do with the original it seems. We have here beats, rhythms, samples and all such like but very loosely organized, like somebody loaded a sampler keyboard and started playing around, almost captured live on the spot. It's all highly plunderphonic in execution, but without the political undercurrent of DJ Hazard's US counterparts - unless of course you seek it in the free use of these sources, whatever they were."

But it got me thinking about doing something myself, taking this noise of the original and feed the complete track into my favorite computer treatment program and fiddle about and generate some music on my own, making it the exact length as the original copy, but sounding entirely different as the original and also unlike DJ Hazard. I spend the rest of the day doing that, and fine tuned it the day after.

The same day after publishing the above review I was notified by Hazard Records that the copy of 'Propria Copia' wasn't properly copied - oh irony, with such a title - and in fact I had been listening to noise instead of the music, and hence the review of DJ Hazard made no sense. I downloaded the proper copy and indeed this is something entirely different indeed. These seven pieces deal, each in their own way, with electronics and plunderphonics, yet almost each of them also has a fair amount of rhythm, owing to the world of techno in all it's various guises. Downtempo on 'Remember Me' by Xavier Maristany, or nicely minimalist (Ikeda, Carsten Nicolai) by Maison Bricolage. In some of these elements of musique concrete/electro-acoustic music are also used, but in a more sequenced way. Oscar Abril Ascaso has with 'RMS (cafeteria CCCB)' a piece that is build with field recordings, from the local cafeteria, on apparently a not very busy day. It's the only piece that has no rhythm. In fact: a most enjoyable compilation!

I could go back to the original 'Propia Copia' and re-do it using the same working method, but somehow I am already used to what I did. Perhaps I don't like to throw away something.

Some suggestions for use: play this music using headphones; set the volume to a level which you find comfortable, using the first piece as a guideline and leave it at this volume. Play back in a noisy environment is encouraged.

Frans de Waard
13-V-2014