Voice Crack was a Swiss electronic
free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...
band. Formed in late 1972 by Andy Guhl and Norbert Möslang, Voice Crack began as a
free jazz
Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...
duo. Then they used pre-recorded tape effects and live sound processing. By 1983 they had eliminated normal instruments in favor of what they called "cracked everyday electronics". This included "radios, turntables, transmitters, dictating machines" and other items that are cracked open and manipulated to produce "new sounds using magnetic and radio waves in a complex system controlled by movements of their hands and by light."
The result consisted of buzzes, clicks, drones, and oscillations.
Erstwhile Records
Erstwhile Records is an independent record label devoted to free improvisation, particularly the electroacoustic variety, contemporary, experimental composed music, and combinations of both. Erstwhile was founded by Jon Abbey in 1999, whose perso ...
described it as "cascading magnetic waves" that "arc across the sky as three-headed critters race and rummage through alien flora." Voice Crack's work was favorably compared to some of
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
's.
Voice Crack collaborated with
Borbetomagus
Borbetomagus are a free jazz/noise rock group. They are cited by critics as pioneers of aggressive improvised noise music.
Biography
Borbetomagus formed in 1979 when saxophone players Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich joined with electric guitari ...
and
Butch Morris
Lawrence Douglas "Butch" Morris (February 10, 1947 – January 29, 2013) was an American cornetist, composer and conductor. He was known for pioneering his structural improvisation method, ''Conduction'', which he utilized on many recordings.
B ...
and were members of
poire z
poire_z (pronounced "pwar-zed") was an electronic free improvisation music group formed in 1998. Its members all have long careers in improvised music; critic Fred Grand of ''Avant'' calls poire_z a "post- AMM supergroup."
Band history
At a musi ...
. The group disbanded in 2002.
Andy.guhl.net
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References
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Free jazz ensembles
Musical groups established in 1972
Swiss electronic music groups
1972 establishments in Switzerland