Limited edition second printing of this seminal work, originally released in 2014 by Signal Dreams. Artwork by Nathaniel Ritter. Price is postage paid in the US. Please see shipping rates for Canada/World.
Includes unlimited streaming of The Ideating Knell
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Madison, WI-based avant-jazz explorer BC Grimm is well known locally not just for his phenomenal cello work in live collaborations with artists like Julian Lynch, Spires That In The Sunset Rise, and the mighty Db Pedersen (to name just a few), but also the mind-blowing improvisational chops he showcases with his brother A.J. Grimm in cello-guitar duo The Brothers Grimm and his worldly and detailed production work as Brain Grimmer. More recently, Grimm's work has been shifting focus toward his intriguing work with two different Chinese zithers, Guqin and Guzheng. We're extremely proud to present 'The Ideating Knell,' a staggering album that combines Grimm's deep experimentation with the zithers with his love of detailed processing. Honestly, nothing we could say about it could match the beautiful clarity of this statement from BC Grimm himself: "The Ideating Knell is an experimental acoustic album of compositions for two ancient Chinese zithers, Guqin 古琴 & Guzheng 古筝. This record includes 6 ‘doppler phase’ pieces for guqin, emulating tape composition techniques to create the movement of sound to/from the vanishing point on the horizon line to/from the listener’s ears. There are 6 pieces for prepared guzheng using: dulcimer hammers, cajon brushes, chopsticks, mate straw, metal bowls, broken teaware, clay sculpting tools, snare wires, & seashell strands. 3 pieces revisit the title track composition from BCG’s 2011 solo guqin album, “Flock Migrates Over The Pines”: with re-recorded, reconstructed versions in two custom tunings, and a new variation on the theme in a traditional tuning. The actual notation in the composition’s score visually depict various forms & shapes of birds taking off into flight, or in formation during flight. Also, a new ‘Pentatemperment’ tuning system on guqin has been specially devised for this project - splitting the octave into 5 equal steps, instead of 12 [ low to high: C-40c D0c E+40c G-20c A+20c C-40c D0c ]. Guzheng 古筝, a 21 string bridged zither spanning 4 octaves, and Guqin 古琴, a 7 string fretless zither spanning 1 octave, both tune to pentatonic scales. These instruments share a culturally important performance history stretching back about 2,500 years to the Warring States period."
For over a decade the Brothers Grimm have been performing string music together on Guitar, Cello, and Chinese string
instruments. Separately, Brian studied Chinese music in Hong Kong and AJ studied Flamenco in Granada, Spain. They draw upon these experiences in addition to contemporary classical music forming flexible approaches in composition and improvisation practices....more
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