In early 2014, Werkstatt für Improvisierte Musik (WIM) commissioned Ypsmael for two inaugural presentations of Box of Black, originally a performance conduit for an unlit room. Using sonic risk-taking, amplified objects, sound artefacts and grainy live sampling as a palette for computer-less improvisation with loop pedals and a variety of instruments, two performances were conceived during a residency stint at Bern's Dampfzentrale, staged on 2nd and 3rd May 2014 at Atelier Franziska Baumann as part of WIM Bern's Konzertreihe Zentral-deZentral. Subsequently, parts of this were further developed and transformed on tour in Switzerland, Southern France, and Germany. These recordings were usually made live to single track.
The selection you find here also include preliminary sketches made in Cambridge (UK) in 2012 and 2013, then partly lost, forgotten and found again in 2021. La Ndofo Akaf Terno On was the final installment, using borrowed gear, in Oakland in 2018.
www.publiceyesore.com/ehcat.php?eh=120
reviews:
(Bad Alchemy) Call me YPSMAEL? Der sich selber auch AeLypsm nennt, ist so schwer zu fassen wie der weiße Wal. Box of Black (eh?120, C45) sei arranged in rural Baden-Württemberg, lese ich da, allerdings führen auch Spuren zur Schweizer WIM, nach Cambridge und zu Bryan Day an der Westcoast. Sounds used are guitar, no-input feedback, voice, sipsi, slidewhistle, amplified objects and claves fed into pedals for effects, live loops and textural layering erscheint daneben als solides Faktum. Sein im Verlauf der vergangenen Dekade als kosmisch, klaustrophobisch, cinematisch, Eno-esk und vom Primordialen ins Urbane schweifend beschriebenes, in Burgas und St. Georgen wiederkehrend präsentiertes Soundscaping entfaltet sich hier nun als zischendes Rauschen und Dröhnen, das zwischen Naturgewalt und industrialem Noise changiert. Schritte, Stimmen und der hohe Lärmpegel der computerlosen Improvisation bleiben im ungemütlichen Bild von Drecksarbeit, draußen bei arschkaltem Wind, drinnen in dumpfen Werkstätten. Ypsmael sublimiert Bohr- und Schleifgeräusche mit glitzernden Lauten, aber wummernde Motorik und Treibriemenrotation produzieren weiter die Suggestion eines schwerindustrialen Gorillas in der digitalen Blackbox. Das Ausgelagerte sitzt mit rauem Atem einer melancholischen Blasetondauerschleife im Nacken. Lethargisch gezupfte Tristesse mischt sich mit dunklem Surren, schlurchig grollendes Beben wellt sich mulmig und wieder glitzernd. Erst 'La Ndofo Akaf Terno On' findet, vor pazifischer Kimmung meditierend, zu sonorer Einkehr. - Rigo Dittmann
(Vital Weekly) When Ypsmael started in the late 00s, the intention was to play only live concerts, but eventually, CDR releases. These contained recordings made at home and in concert. I have no idea who the members are. Early 2014 the Werkstatt für Improvisierte Musik invited the group for a two-day presentation of the Box Of Black, "originally a performance conduit for an unlit room". Just as the information doesn't mention the names of the members, When I first played this cassette, I had no idea what I was hearing; a guitar, some wind instruments, electronics? . The Bandcamp page for this release lists this; "no-input feedback, voice, sipsi, slide whistle, amplified objects and claves fed into pedals for effects, live loops and textural layering." While all of this may sound very much from the world of improvisation, one track more than the other. Hence, it seems, the overall impression I had was that it sounds so different from the traditional areas of improvised music. There is much to be enjoyed for everyone who likes drones, noise and electronics and who stay away from everything connected to improvised music. The rusty electronics, bending backwards and forward, rattling percussion, broken toys and ditto contact microphones make up for the psychedelic affair. This music is rainbow coloured, just like many sound effects they are using. Sometimes they work with amplifying objects, and in fine John Cage tradition, the feedback becomes an integral aspect of the music, which adds great urgency to the music. And then, suddenly, in 'Rhombus', a saxophone appears, out of this abstract mass of sound, forming a moment of (un-) rest in what is otherwise quite a hectic set of sound material; it slips back into wacky droneism right after that. Not the most accessible music, but I found all of this excellent. - Frans de Waard
released November 21, 2021
Sounds used are guitar, no-input feedback, voice, sipsi, slidewhistle, amplified objects and claves fed into pedals for effects, live loops and textural layering.
All were arranged in rural Baden-Württemberg in 2021.
ypsmael.com