''Etymology'' is an audio source library recorded in 1995 by
Skeleton Crew
A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item such as a business, organization, or ship at its most simple operating requirements. Skeleton crews are often utilized during an emergency and are meant to ...
. It was released by Rarefaction in 1997 in the United States on audio CD and CD-ROM for
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
and
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturin ...
PCs. The sound files (16-bit AIFF stereo, sampled at 44.1 kHz) are
royalty free
Royalty-free (RF) material subject to copyright or other intellectual property rights may be used without the need to pay royalties or license fees for each use, per each copy or volume sold or some time period of use or sales.
Computer standards ...
, and Rarefaction stated that they are free for use in "musical or multimedia project
.
Background
Skeleton Crew
A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item such as a business, organization, or ship at its most simple operating requirements. Skeleton crews are often utilized during an emergency and are meant to ...
was an American experimental rock and jazz group formed in 1982. They originally consisted of English guitarist
Fred Frith
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser.
Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...
and American cellist
Tom Cora
Thomas Henry Corra (September 14, 1953 – April 9, 1998), better known as Tom Cora, was an American cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock. He recorded with John Zorn, B ...
, with American harpist and keyboardist
Zeena Parkins
Zeena Parkins (born 1956) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist active in experimental, free improvised, contemporary classical, and avant-jazz music; she is known for having "reinvented the harp". Parkins performs on standard harp ...
joining later.
[ Although the group disbanded in 1986, Frith and Cora collaborated again in The Netherlands in 1995 as Skeleton Crew to record ''Etymology''.][
Frith later used Cora's cello samples on ''Etymology'' in "Traffic Continues II: Gusto", an extended piece Frith composed for ]Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries.
Hi ...
on their 2000 album, ''Traffic Continues
''Traffic Continues'' is an album by composer and guitarist Fred Frith featuring the Ensemble Modern, Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori, which was released on the Winter & Winter label. The album features a suite dedicated to cellist Tom Cora built arou ...
''. Cora had died in 1998, and Frith dedicated "Traffic Continues II: Gusto" to Cora.[
]
Track listing
#"0dB Test Tone A440" (Frith
Frith is an Old English word meaning "peace; protection; safety, security".
Etymology
Derived from Old English ''friðu, friþ'', it is cognate to Old Norse '' friðr'', Old Saxon '' frithu'', Old High German '' fridu'', German ''Friede'', Du ...
) – 0:32
#"Actions (9 samples)" (Frith) – 0:23
#"Gestures (11 samples)" (Frith) – 1:53
#"Swells (3 samples)" (Frith) – 1:15
#"Boiler (3 samples)" (Frith) – 0:42
#"Caste Rhythm" (Frith) – 0:08
#"Caste Rhythm Loops (5 samples)" (Frith) – 0:11
#"Gliss Rhythm" (Frith) – 0:08
#"Gliss Rhythm Loops (2 samples)" (Frith) – 0:09
#"Hand Tambour" (Frith) – 0:16
#"Hand Tambour Loops (9 samples)" (Frith) – 0:24
#"Livid Gaze" (Frith) – 0:13
#"Livid Gaze Loops (7 samples)" (Frith) – 0:19
#"Percolatte" (Frith) – 0:17
#"Percolatte Loops (7 samples)" (Frith) – 0:23
#"Pluck Taps" (Frith) – 0:11
#"Pluck Tap Loops (2 samples)" (Frith) – 0:11
#"Pouncers (2 samples)" (Frith) – 0:16
#"Scride" (Frith) – 0:11
#"Scride Loops (4 samples) " (Frith) – 0:14
#"Slackedback" (Frith) – 0:17
#"Slackedback Loops (9 samples)" (Frith) – 0:24
#"Stap" (Frith) – 0:23
#"Stap Loops (11 samples)" (Frith) – 0:29
#"Brush" (Frith) – 0:12
#"Brush Loops (5 samples) " (Frith) – 0:16
#"Random (3 samples)" (Frith) – 0:52
#"Vignettes (6 samples)" (Frith) – 1:55
#"Armageddon" (Frith) – 0:28
#"Armageddon Cuts (11 samples)" (Frith) – 0:37
#"Noxoous" (Frith) – 0:52
#"Noxous Loops (9 samples)" (Frith) – 0:56
#"Steamleak" (Frith) – 0:16
#"Steamleak Loops (13 samples)" (Frith) – 0:28
#"Tandrum" (Frith) – 0:48
#"Tandrum Loops (6 samples)" (Frith) – 0:51
#"4 Questions" (Skeleton Crew
A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item such as a business, organization, or ship at its most simple operating requirements. Skeleton crews are often utilized during an emergency and are meant to ...
) – 0:08
#"4 Questions Loops (4 samples)" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:11
#"Complete Sentence" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:15
#"Phrase Loops (7 samples) " (Skeleton Crew) – 0:23
#"Data Trash Shuffle" (Skeleton Crew) – 1:26
#"Data Trash Loops (21 samples)" (Skeleton Crew) – 1:39
#"Lexical Tantrum" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:18
#"Lexical Tantrum Loops (8 samples)" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:25
#"Line and Shine" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:21
#"Line and Shine Loops (7 samples)" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:26
#"Parsing Reel" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:33
#"Parsing Reel Loops (9 samples)" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:41
#"Phonology" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:18
#"Phonology Loops (2 samples)" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:18
#"Whistler's Other" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:49
#"Whistler's Other Loops (5 samples)" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:53
#"X-Bar Theory" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:33
#"X-Bar Theory Loops (11 samples)" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:35
#"Actions (4 samples)" ( Cora) – 0:24
#"Axons (10 samples)" (Cora) – 0:29
#"Diphtongs (8 samples)" (Cora) – 0:40
#"Gyri (4 samples)" (Cora) – 0:32
#"Neural Chumps (7 samples)" (Cora) – 0:27
#"Scritch (5 samples)" (Cora) – 0:20
#"Snattre (5 samples)" (Cora) – 0:21
#"Adage A" (Cora) – 0:52
#"Adage A Cuts (9 samples)" (Cora) – 1:00
#"Adage B" (Cora) – 0:28
#"Adage B Cuts (6 samples)" (Cora) – 0:33
#"Adage C" (Cora) – 0:36
#"Adage C Cuts (12 samples)" (Cora) – 0:47
#"Adage Coda" (Cora) – 0:25
#"Adage Coda Cuts (13 samples)" (Cora) – 0:37
#"Adage D" (Cora) – 0:22
#"Adage D Cuts (7 samples)" (Cora) – 0:28
#"Laryngio (5 samples)" (Cora) – 0:27
#"Patterns (8 samples)" (Cora) – 0:38
#"Statements (4 samples)" (Cora) – 0:41
#"Quarter Loner (2 samples)" (Cora) – 0:56
#"Bassis (10 samples)" (Cora) – 0:53
#"The Bends 1 (10 samples)" (Cora) – 0:38
#"The Bends 2 (11 samples)" (Cora) – 0:47
#"Crackles & Rips (11 samples)" (Cora) – 0:26
#"Creaks (4 samples)" (Cora) – 0:09
#"Friction (10 samples)" (Cora) – 0:31
#"Industrial (3 samples)" (Cora) – 0:14
#"Scrapes (4 samples)" (Cora) – 0:24
#"Scrawls/Scratches (13 samples)" (Cora) – 0:43
#"Percussive (14 samples)" (Cora) – 0:24
#"Bounces (4 samples)" (Cora) – 0:20
#"Chordal (9 samples)" (Cora) – 0:28
#"Flutterance (10 samples)" (Cora) – 0:37
#"Tonal (21 samples)" (Cora) – 1:16
#"Vox-like (10 samples)" (Cora) – 0:22
#"Dissonance (7 samples)" (Cora) – 0:25
#"High (4 samples)" (Cora) – 0:18
#"Metallic (12 samples)" (Cora) – 0:39
#"Rosin Haw (12 samples)" (Cora) – 0:36
#"Overtones (12 samples)" (Cora) – 0:40
Source: Etymology liner notes,[ Fred Frith discography.][
]
Personnel
*Fred Frith
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser.
Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...
(tracks 1–54) – guitar, electromagnetic translations
*Tom Cora
Thomas Henry Corra (September 14, 1953 – April 9, 1998), better known as Tom Cora, was an American cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock. He recorded with John Zorn, B ...
(tracks 37–95) – cello, cello resonated objects
Source: Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
,[ Fred Frith discography.][
]
Sound and artwork
Recorded at Koeinverhuurbdrijf Studio, Purmerland
Purmerland () is a village of 395 (January 2007) in the municipality of Landsmeer, North Holland, the Netherlands. It is located just north of Den Ilp and just south of the housing estate of Weidevenne, part of the city of Purmerend. It is directl ...
, The Netherlands in 1995
*Dolph – recording engineer
*Thomas Dimuzio – producer (cutting, looping and editing)
*Peter Baeder – cover artist
Source: Etymology liner notes,[ Fred Frith discography.][
]
References
External links
Etymology
at Rarefaction
{{Authority control
1997 albums
Experimental music albums by American artists
Free improvisation albums