Stephan Mathieu @ Lampo 11/19

[MRS]

I'm rolling up for this, if only because it's rather unlikely he'll perform four hours from me again any time soon. His recordings are spotty but I'm a big fan when it works. On Tape, Quality Hotel, Reciprocess +/vs. Vol. 2, parts of Die Entdeckung Des Wetters, Pieces of Winter, the Kappote Muziek disc. . .all contain good shit.

STEPHAN MATHIEU
Nov 19 9pm 6ODUM

"For his Chicago debut, Mathieu will present "Radioland," a suite of computer-processed live AM radio, accompanied by a fast, random video flicker of 256 colors.

Stephan Mathieu (b. 1967, Saarbrücken) spent the 90s in Berlin as an improviser playing drums. In 1998 he made a radical switch to the digital domain. A composer, performer and installation artist, Mathieu has created sound installation works for the cultural heritage monument Völklinger Hütte, Germany, and elsewhere and has released more than 10 albums for labels such as Orthlorng Musork, Ritornell, Lucky Kitchen and Fällt, both solo and in collaboration with Ekkehard Ehlers, among others. He also teaches Digital Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design HBKSaar, Saarbrücken, and has worked as a guest lecturer at the Royal Academy of Arts, Göteberg, the Bauhaus University, Weimar and the Merz-Akademie in Stuttgart, Germany."

http://www.lampo.org/

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Stephan+Mathieu

[blawless]

So, Michael, did you go? Thoughts?

[MRS]

The place was packed. . .I'd guess around seventy people in two phalanxes classroom style with Stephan settled in between the first few rows. Atop some kind of mixer/equalizer (no laptop) sat an expensive short-wave radio. He folded live AM radio captures beyond recognition into a sumptuous 40+ minute slab of drone, which was a delight as I prefer that side of his work over anything else. The only discernible radio occurred at the very outset and the waning last minutes, whence he concluded with some modern Asian pop song which was hilarious and poignant. This wasn't one of his stark n' static ocarina and organ drones, things were changing often at manic pace. In the very front of the room was a screen, projected upon which was some needless series of colors, really silly. Most of the patrons were paying fervent attention to this which I found funny. Good to see this bloke live, though. Three and a half stars. Lampo t-shirts cost forty clams.