BALANESCU QUARTET – THIS IS THE BALANESCU QUARTET
I START COUNTING / FORTRAN 5 /KOMPUTER – KONNECTING…
Mute are pleased to announce 2 new releases available to buy exclusively at the Short Circuit presents Mute festival. These are the first two of a series of compilations looking at the versatile and creative works of various MUTE luminaries. The compilations are remastered and compiled by the artists.
Exploring the unique sounds of the visionary Balanescu Quartet and the synth-meisters behind I Start Counting, Fortran 5 and Komputer, these first two albums in the series give a taste of the extensive influential work, from past creations into the present while being inspirational for future generations.
The two compilations will not be released officially until August 2011 but you can get both albums on 13 and 14 May and see them live at The Roundhouse.
BALANESCU QUARTET – THIS IS THE BALANESCU QUARTET
“We have been fortunate as a group, with our spiritual home at MUTE, to have absolute artistic freedom, which has allowed for each album to be completely different to the last and in a sense, initiate a new quest : from entertaining the radical idea of translating the electronic music of KRAFTWERK for strings and my own jazz/rock influenced music on the album “Possessed” , to the sensual, classical elegance of “Angels and Insects “ ; from exploring my Romanian roots on the autobiographical “Luminitza”, to using technology for working with traditional music and creating a new musical reality for “Maria T” . It has been interesting putting together an album with all these different elements. Maybe, after all, there is an underlying unity to this music.”
www.facebook.com/BalanescuQuartet
I START COUNTING / FORTRAN 5 / KOMPUTER – KONNECTING…
“Konnecting…” is an introduction to the inspiring work of David Baker and Simon Leonard the two London-based maestros described as an electronic evocation of Syd Barrett’s madcap laughter. The album compilation is celebrating their 3 incarnations, I Start Counting, Fortran 5 and Komputer.
The 1984 I Start Counting (1984-1990) signing to MUTE saw the release of ‘Letters To A Friend’, an early electro classic produced by Daniel Miller. Later, Fortran 5 (1990-1997) was born as to give the new dance/techno style a completely fresh start with new collaborations with DJ Colin Faver, Thrash of The Orb, Rod Slater of the Bonzos and Neil Arthur of Blancmange, remixes by the likes of Vince Clarke, Moby, Joey Negro, David Holmes and Pascal Gabriel, while the duo supplied remixes for other artists including Erasure, Inspiral Carpets and Laibach. David and Simon then reacted to the tedium of mid 90’s indie guitar music by returning to their Kraftwerk inspired roots which again provoked a name change, Komputer (1998-today).
“Konnecting…” is an illustration of their pop vocabulary and their remarkable ability to create catchy tunes by using their own uncompromising electronic language.
www.facebook.com/KomputerOfficial
Mute Short Circuit 