Otomo Yoshihide, Martin Tétreault

21 situations

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Radio // 21 situations
21 situations
Cartoon, 53s [excerpt]
Martin Tétreault, Otomo Yoshihide
Track 1 from 21 situations
CD: Ambiances Magnétiques (1999) AM 069
1 March 2002
By André-Louis Paré in Espace sculpture #59 (Québec), March 1, 2002

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[Translation] In the tradition of soundeffect music, here are some recordings by artists who use sound as material to be sculpted. In Jean-Pierre Gauthier’s recording, Machines consentantes and Hachures (1999/2000), we hear the sound of mech" anized drums, automated flutes and decoys, vibrating garage sheet metal and quite audible radio interference. This sculptor of homemade instruments occasionally works in tandem with Mirko Sabatini. The Italian drummer plays solo on his CD titled MK. Orchestrin, the fruit of Sabatini’s lengthy research on sound and the workings of his instrument. Michel Tétreault is another sound artist often present in the visual art milieu. One of his many recordings was produced with Japanese artist Yoshihide Otomo. In 21 situations (AM 069), they manipulated turnta" bles in a different way than DJs, creating unusual sounds. Lastly, Jocelyn Robert gives us a genuine sound performance with his recording 20 moments blancs lents created for the twentieth anniversary of Chambre blanche in Quebec City. Here the artist attempts to translate the gallery’s time into sound.

blogue@press-2052 press@2052
1 June 2001
By Richard di Santo in Incursion Music Review (Canada), June 1, 2001

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“… the over-all feeling is one of spontaneous experimentalism.”

Released in 1999, Martin Tétrault and Otomo Yoshihide’s 21 situations documents 21 short improvisations for turntables (with and without treatments on the needles and vinyl), sampler and CD. Both Tétrault and Yoshihide are quite well known for both their innovation and daring in the improvisational community, and especially so when it comes to the turntable. Recorded in 1997, these 21 short (never much longer than 4 minutes, but most between 1-2 minutes long) deal with various themes that determine their titles: cartoon, science-fiction, conflagration, chant, jungle, chaos, tension, etc. Satellite, for example, has an eerie cosmic-like sound; cartoon is playful; and chant contains a strange human-made squawking. The mood of this disc is really quite playful, and even though there are some dips into darker themes and sounds, the over-all feeling is one of spontaneous experimentalism. Scratches, scrapings, loops, sharp cut-ups and collage work, grating textures of the needles on treated vinyl, and short glimpses of what the original records may have sounded like are the elements that keep you on your toes throughout the entire recording. Keeping the tracks short is a wonderful exercise for improvisers since it enforces a constraint on their process, an artificial compulsion to compress their language down to its essential elements, charged with meaning and energy. The effects on the listener of this compressed language is another matter, though. An immensely energetic and frantic release, and in spite of the unease it causes in my temperament, it still captures by interest and curiosity.

blogue@press-1560 press@1560
1 March 2001
By François Couture in All-Music Guide (USA), March 1, 2001

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“Recommended.”

This encounter between two of the leading turntablists of the avant-garde was meant to be. It happened in Montréal Martin Tétreault’s territory), December 1997. Japanese pioneer Otomo Yoshihide ex Ground Zero performs on turntables, sampler and CDs. Tétreault uses his arsenal of pick-ups, prepared records and prepared needles. They recorded 21 short improvisations (maximum duration : three and a half minutes) on specific themes, ranging from traditional music to cartoon, from science-fiction to education. This working method allowed them to concentrate their efforts on a few selected sound sources for a short period of time. It resulted in sharply focused pieces summarizing the techniques and art of both musicians. Humor is always a key aspect of Tétreault’s work and it is well represented here, especially in Science-fiction where the "spacy" analog synthesizer sounds he dug out are assembled into a melody very close to "Somewhere over the Rainbow". The listener’s attention has no time to wander off. Recommended.

blogue@press-2939 press@2939
1 February 2001
By Julian Cowley in The Wire #204 (UK), February 1, 2001

Press Clipping

blogue@press-1404 press@1404
1 March 2000
By Marie-Pierre Bionniol in Guitar Part (France), March 1, 2000

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Martin Tétreault, Canadien timide, préfere profiter de sa collaboration avec Otomo Yoshihide, pour scratcher plus que de raison tandis que ne viennent le pertuber que quelgues rares citations. Tétreault, on a pu le voir sur scène, a tendance a jouer au tennis avec des bras de platines, le nez collé au rond central. Cette vision différente de la musique, entre Dee Nasty et Marcel Duchamp, signe ici son plus grand méfait: celui d’envisager autrement l’art de composition. A découvrir, les oreilles curieuses.

blogue@press-1584_002 press@1584_002
1 December 1999
By Jim Barker in Rubberneck #30 (UK), December 1, 1999

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“A fine example of revolutionary improv.”

21 situations finds Yoshihide on more familiar territory, alongside French-Canadian turntable abuser Tétreault, banging out 21 short, radiofriendly slabs of surface noise, technical detritus and musical dementia. All tracks are under four minutes, and the approach is as varied as the subject matter (e. g. cartoon, machine, tension, science fiction). And it’s not just scratching; those drum sounds you hear from time to time are not samples but the players drumming on the turntables. Familiarity with technology has bred contempt, which has in turn bred imaginahon and adventure. This is gamelan for the 21st Century A fine example of revolutionary improv.

blogue@press-1120 press@1120

Other texts in

  • Revue & Corrigée #41 (France), September 1, 1999
  • The Wire #180 (UK), February 1, 1999
    “Tétreault’s hands-on approach to turntables is doubtless unlike any other you’ve heard.”

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