Andreas Monopolis – MoCM: R&P Suitcase improvisation

MoCM: REC & PLAY Suitcase Improvisation is a release of three tracks in a limited edition of audio cassettes (Chrome Cr02), as well as in digital format.

Real-time studio performances by Andreas Monopolis (MoCM) on a modular system made up with various diy or heavily modified sound devices assembled into a suitcase, as a practical and portable self-contained sound creation kit for live performance.

By means of a “record & play” process (R&P), the complexity of composing and recording is simplified. R&P has enabled the artist’s performance to be captured spontaneously and without the need for post-production editing, thus keeping the original moment of creation intact.

The music material of the pieces expands the boundaries of the MoCM sound, departing from the electroacoustic and experimental music aesthetics towards a more rhythmical and melodic approach.

The “REC & PLAY Suitcase Improvisation” set was recorded in three one-off sessions during January and March 2020.

Side A

The Message – 17/3/2020
This piece was inspired by the first SMS warning, sent by the Civil protection organization, regarding the covid19 epidemic in Greece. At that moment Andreas was just about to play and record some tunes. The message was a total surprise, as the mobile phone started making a so far unheard, weird and scary sound! After reading the warning message, the setup changed on the fly, quite spontaneously and without any preparation. There was an instinctive need for the feeling to transform into something else.

Faith on you – 23/1/2020
For this piece, audio samples of religious rhetoric and sermon were recorded on cassettes and are being played back with varying speed and various types of distortion, in a somewhat weird and cheerful way. The sound is stirred up and juxtaposed against a melodic atmosphere, the audible voices riding on a gentle wave of sarcasm.

Side B

F&Q – 8/3/2020
F&Q is a piece based on voices and speech. The voices, which can be heard frequently throughout, consist of random computer-generated questions followed by random computer-generated answers, all recited by a speech algorithm. This conversation of machines, together with some excerpts of an interview with a schizophrenic patient, has been reproduced via a modified cassette player and imported into the patchwork of this live composition.

Digital album: Bandcamp.

Cassette: € 7.00