XENAKIS, IANNIS - Les Polytopes I: Hibiki Hana-Ma / Mycenae Alpha / Polytope De Cluny
"Hibiki Hana-Ma" was created in 1969 for the Steel Pavilion of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation at the Expo 1970 in Osaka as musical part of a multimedia show. Even though the work does not bear the designation in its title, it can be already regarded as a Polytope: it was created for a specific architectural location, lasers and mirrors have been installed: a light choreography by the Japanese artist Keiji Usami accompanied the spectacle. This concept of synchronized laser and light choreographies -- now directed by Xenakis himself -- can soon be found in Polytope de Cluny 1972 and 1978 again in the Diatope (La Légende d'Eer). But Hibiki Hana-Ma is also a hermaphrodite in another sense: on the Japanese record release from 1970 Seiji Ozawa is credited as conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and Kinshi Tsuruta as Biwa-soloist (a traditional Japanese string instrument). By listening one quickly realizes that the music is not orchestral or Biwa music, but only uses electronically processed recordings as source material for an electroacoustic music. Xenakis's first explicit Polytope (Polytope de Montreal 1967) was originally conceived for four orchestras, and then transferred to tape for practical and financial reasons. The first concept of a Polytope was an installation with live-orchestra-music -- as the tape version is a recording without further electroacoustic treatment, it is not included in this release. Like Hibiki Hana-Ma, Mycenae Alpha is also a special case but for another reason: it was composed for his last Polytope (Polytope de Mycènes 1978) and consists exclusively of synthetic sounds, realized with his graphic system UPIC. The result is rough and sober and marks the beginning of his last electroacoustic compositions, shifting back to purely electronic music. With Hibiki Hana-Ma and Mycenae Alpha, the first side of the record vividly demonstrates the vast musical range of the Polytopes, from recorded orchestral sounds to purely electronic parts. The synthesis of the most diverse musical materials had taken place in between, especially in compositions like Persepolis (1972) and the joyful-noisy Polytope de Cluny (1972) that is presented here on Side B. Polytope de Cluny was performed several times a day for six months in Paris and was a real multimedia event: the audience could relax on pillows on the floor of an old Roman bath in the middle of Paris and listen to Xenakis's architecture of sound and light." - Karlrecords .
After nearly a decade of false starts, multiple game plans veering off the rails, and a handful of shattered hopes and/or dreams, the odyssey is finally complete—the new Fusetron site is here.
This is the first phase of a multipart rollout that will span the next few months: the currently browsable stock includes miscellaneous new releases from the past 8+ months (we have a lot of catching up to do), plus approximately a third of our backstock. Note that we’ve reduced/slashed prices on many titles and will continue to do so in order to make room for new stock. We’ll also be expanding / tweaking / improving / debugging the site itself (for example, we still have work to do on the automated international postage system, not to mention the inevitable inventory discrepancies that come with transferring an ancient and massive database to a new system).
Over the next few months, as we take inventory, clean house, and delve into our storage, we will be uploading thousands of additional items, gradually, on a near-daily basis. This will include the majority of the LPs, as well as many titles, in all formats, once thought long-gone. Many currently “sold out” items are likely to resurface.
Finally, once our general backstock is up (probably in the next two or three months) we’ll begin making our extensive stockpile of rarities available online for the first time: tons of random out-of-print titles, "deadstock," warehouse finds, secondhand collectibles, etc., accumulated over the past few decades.
Frequent/returning customers will be getting early access to these items. Details to follow on how this will work (a priority mailing list? a 'frequent flyer'-like program?), but it will not be based on dollars spent. We want to reward those who consistently support us, especially in the discogs marketplace era (to those who show up trying to poach five copies of a one-off rarity, and nothing else, ever… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).
So—we suggest you take some time to dig through the site—even we’ve been surprised by what’s been turning up, and there’s much more to come.
