A U F A B W E G E N RELEASE INFO
cd-audio
release date: 21.06.2011
artist: KONRAD KRAFT
title: temporary audiosculptures and artefacts
order no.: aatp33
Label code (LC): 01291
time: 74:24 min
packaged in a special carton fold box, designed by KK. Limited to 300 copies
On “temporary audiosculptures and artefacts”:
Trying to set musical events in a sculptural form, the Düsseldorf/Wuppertal based artist and musician Detlef Funder (a.k.a. Konrad Kraft), develops the temporary audio-sculpture. Knowing that a tonal event can never take the materiality of a real sculpture, Konrad Kraft attempts this special transformation with the help of various elements. Human imaginativeness, time, as well as the tonal event itself are the elements for the listener to form an individual audio-sculpture and to let it develop in their heads. The audio-sculpture with its acoustic body, around which various tonal/sound elements and events float, appears with a physical structure, a dimensionality. Tonal/sound elements are of various origins. In part elicited from nature, or being conjured up synthetically, or just being put together randomly, all elements are enhanced and altered sometimes significantly to the point that the character has changed completely and can hardly be identified. The term ‘artefact’ relates to the fact that sound fragments, through the synthetic alteration, are broken-up and only exist and appear as particles. They flow as ‘artefacts’ in the tonal range.
It sounds like floating metallic sound units interfere with small concrete sounds in the foreground. It reminds us at times of some of the work by Illusion Of Safety, Controlled Bleediung and Cisfinitum.
Detlef Funder alias Konrad Kraft Bio
1979 – Purchase of first semi-modular synthesiser.
1982 – Creation of experimental and avantgarde music project “Konrad Kraft“. Various tapes and CDs as well as compilation tracks are published.
1988 – 1994 Co-founder of the Düsseldorf based music label “SDV-Tonträger”. Responsible for A&R work.
1989 – 1999 Freelance work as video editor and post-production supervisor for German broadcast and private TV.
1990 – 2011 Producer of electronic music (experimental, ambient, techno) and work as DJ and live-acts worldwide (“Konrad Kraft”, “Gilgamesch”, “D-Fundation”, “Detson Engineering” & “Four Carry Nuts”).
2004 – After a long break resumption of work as artist (fine arts and painting).
2011 – Release of Konrad Kraft “Temporary Audio Sculptures and Artefacts“ audio-CD, with the label “aufabwegen, Cologne”
Releases:
1992 Dino Oon & Konrad Kraft – “Environmental Studies“ (SDV-Düsseldorf) CD
1996 Konrad Kraft – Alien Atmospheres (Elektro Smog-Frankfurt) CD
retail: 13,00 euro, BUY IT HERE
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REVIEWS:
Vital Weekly #787
KONRAD KRAFT – TEMPORARY AUDIOSCULPTURES AND ARTEFACTS (CD by Auf Abwegen)
The name Konrad Kraft sounds from way back, but not, as I thought from the world of cassettes, although he started in those, 80s, days. Between 1988 and 1994 he had a label called SDV Tontrager, and had a CD, which I am surely but entirely forgot with Dino Oon. He has been producing music all these years but never released that much. In 2004 he resumed his work as a visual artist, and perhaps its there were we see his latest release, which deals with temporary audiosculptures and artifacts. I am not sure, as this is not clear from the press text, wether these are real sculptures or that he sees his pieces of music as sculptures in ways that others refer to them as ‚compositions‘, ‚pieces‘ or ’songs‘. I understand that Kraft (real name Detlef Funder) uses electronic sounds as well as field recordings, which he breaks up to an extend where they become particles that hold themselves together, in a strange sort of twist of gravity. Sometimes there is some drone or hiss like sound
in the
background which hold these things together, and sometimes not at all. If anything, and here I don’t agree with Auf Abwegen who compares it to Illusion Of Safety, Controlled Bleeding and Cisfinitum, I think Kraft uses the ideas of Asmus Tietchens: sounds are being micro-ed, atomized, and then put together in constellations of some kind. Constellations which we could call sculptures, or compositions – ’songs‘ just doesn’t seem to fit this. Two things to complain about however: the sculptures are all a bit long, and thus the whole album is a bit long. It then lacks some necessary variation. In that sense Tietchens works are shorter and more to the point; something Kraft should consider too. (FdW)
www.vitalweekly.net
A track was broadcast on US independent radio show No Pidgeonholes EXP, July 21st 2011. Listen to the show here: http://nopigeonholesexp.podomatic.com/