STM 104 - Violet Poison

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Violet Poison Music Mix
Violet Poison Photo

Thoughtful and scrupulous mix by Violet Poison melting over 40 prominent works composed between 1954 and 2013.

Thoughtful and scrupulous mix by Violet Poison melting over 40 prominent works composed between 1954 and 2013.

The author of the mix is mysterious Violet Poison, a cosmopolitan industrial/experimental techno producer and live act often wearing a black nylon mask during his live performances. His music is based on noisy rhythms, extensive sound architecture and profound low tones. Violet Poison is inspired by various conspiracy theories, egyptology, freemasonry and history. The meaning of his name flows from violet colour which is the most esoteric and one of the oldest colours used by humans, and poison which is associated to perhaps the most feminine way to kill. Both words have gothic and dark imagery behind. Even though Violet Poison’s works has recently appeared in the catalogs of electronic music, he is not a newbie in the scene and has a vast baggage of previous releases via other pseudonyms. However, this is a secret, because the artist covers his real identity so the listeners could not recognise him and link his parallel creations to his nowadays electronic explorations. In the recent time Violet Poison has released 4 records on such labels as Repitch Recordings, Dominick Fernow’s Hospital Productions and Bed Of Nails. It is important to mention that Violet Poison and Shapednoise collaborate on Violetshaped project and are the founders of Violet Poison label where they release their own production.

“Secret Thirteen Mix 104” is a thoughtful and scrupulous recording that melts over 40 prominent record cuts to form a sustained and exclusive audio collage. Each composition was re-worked in a real time after adding diverse sound effects and modulations to make it sound fresh and unexpected. Violet Poison said that “there is no future without past” so that is why he included works composed between 1954 and 2013, to show their relevance, longevity and of course his own musical sophistication. Taking pieces from this long period of time, Violet Poison manages to reduce the tension between compositions and develop a crystal contemporary wholeness. “This music hits every part of me and it is part of me, like an arm” says Violet Poison. Pretty layered viscous background of the mix and sometimes even subtly provocative, but very accurate mixing create solidity, richness and equanimity mood that clearly maintains listener’s concentration all the time. Feels like Violet Poison intuitively knows when and how to draw one’s attention through incorporating diverse sound shapes forming absolutely new characteristic textures of known pieces. Ascetic, but aesthetic melodies, cinematic atmospheres and sublime experimentations frequently merge into each other thus building a magnificent and timeless musical installation. Austere works by honourable pioneers of electronic music and modern classical composers such as John Cage, György Ligeti, Jean-Claude Risset, Luciano Berio, Karlheinz Stockhausen and other talents will enrich die-hard music lovers’ libraries. There are 2 new tracks by Violet Poison himself included also. Finally this fluent and thrilling recording is quite similar to Graham Sutherland’s abstract painting “Head III” where delicately painted creature lightly penetrates observer’s imagination and impress with its inventive structure.

György Ligeti - “Lux Aeterna” (Deutsche Grammophon - 1968)
Luciano Berio - “Premier Mouvement” (from “Sinfonia” - CBS - 1968)
Kronos Quartet ‎– “Black Angels” (Nonesuch - 1990)
Luciano Berio - “Deuxième Mouvement” (from “Sinfonia” - CBS - 1968)
Luciano Berio - “Quatrième Mouvement” (from “Sinfonia” - CBS - 1968)
Krzysztof Penderecki - “Tren Pamięci Ofiar Hiroszimy / Threnody To The Victims Of Hiroshima” (Polskie Nagrania Muza - 1962)
Bernd Alois Zimmermann - “Photoptosis - Prélude Für Großes Orchester” (Wergo - 1972)
Jean-Claude Risset - “Songes” (Wergo - 1988)
Jean-Claude Risset - “L’Autre Face” (Neuma Records - 1990)
Pierre Schaeffer - “Diapason Concertino” (from “L’Œuvre Musicale” - INA-GRM - 1990)
John Cage - “Williams Mix” (From “The 25-Year Retrospective Concert Of The Music Of John Cage” - Not On Label - 1959)
Luigi Nono - “La Fabbrica Illuminata” (Wergo - 1968)
Iannis Xenakis - “Diamorphoses II” (Erato - 1969)
Pierre Schaeffer & Guy Reibel ‎– “Solfège De L'Objet Sonore” (Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF) ‎- 1967)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - “Struktur VIII” (from “Elektronische Musik 1952-1960” - Stockhausen-Verlag ‎- 1991)
Luciano Berio - “Omaggio a Joyce” (Philips - 1970)
Pierre Schaeffer - “Étude Aux Chemins De Fer” (Philips - 1971)
Denis Smalley - “Pentes” (from “The Pulses Of Time” - University Of East Anglia Recordings - 1981)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - “32” (from “Gruppen / Carré” - Stockhausen-Verlag - 1992)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - “11” (from “Gruppen / Carré” - Stockhausen-Verlag - 1992)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - “2” (from “Gruppen / Carré” - Stockhausen-Verlag - 1992)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - “1” (from “Gruppen / Carré” - Stockhausen-Verlag - 1992)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - “Struktur XV” (from “Elektronische Musik 1952-1960” - Stockhausen-Verlag ‎- 1991)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - “Struktur XIII F” (from “Elektronische Musik 1952-1960” - Stockhausen-Verlag ‎- 1991)
Karlheinz Stockhausen ‎– “Studie I” (Deutsche Grammophon - 1957)
Antonio Russolo - “Serenata” (from “Il Futurismo” - La Voce Del Padrone ‎- 1978)
Anonymous - “Untitled (Unknown)” (from “An Anthology Of Noise And Electronic Music / Seventh And Last A-Chronology 1930-2012” - Sub Rosa - 2013)
Thanasis Kaproulias / Novi_sad - “The Insolence Of A Poppy (2011)” (from “An Anthology Of Noise And Electronic Music / Seventh And Last A-Chronology 1930-2012” - Sub Rosa - 2013)
Bülent Arel - “Electronic Music (1961)” (from “An Anthology Of Noise And Electronic Music / Seventh And Last A-Chronology 1930-2012” - Sub Rosa - 2013)
Bebe & Louis Barron - “Bells Of Atlantis (1952)” (from “An Anthology Of Noise And Electronic Music / Seventh And Last A-Chronology 1930-2012” - Sub Rosa - 2013)
Ursula Bogner - “Uranotypie (1978)” (from “Sonne = Blackbox” - Faitiche - 2011)
Ursula Bogner - “Nach Europa (1977)” (from “Sonne = Blackbox” - Faitiche - 2011)
Vagina Dentata Organ - “Sex Star II” (WSNS - 1986)
Ursula Bogner - “Jubiläum (1984)” (from “Sonne = Blackbox” - Faitiche - 2011)
Vagina Dentata Organ - “Sex Star I” (WSNS - 1986)
Ruth White - “The Clock” (from “Flowers Of Evil” - Limelight - 1969)
Luciano Berio - “Omaggio a Joyce” (excerpt) (Philips - 1970)
Violet Poison - “Circadian Rhythm” (Unreleased - 2014)
Sleep Chamber - “Oral Maze” (from “Submit To Desire” - Inner-X-Musick - 1985)
Earn - “Only Black Out” (from “A Following Shadow” - Post Present Medium - 2011)
Bernard Gagnon - “Dictée” (from “Musique Électronique (1975-1983)” - Tenzier - 2012)
Muslimgauze - “Dust” (excerpt) (from “Veiled Sisters” - Soleilmoon Recordings - 1993)
Tim Hecker - “Radiance” (from “Virgins” - Kranky - 2013)
Violet Poison - “You Should Suffer For Truth” (excerpt) (2014)

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An interdisciplinary journal, offering eclectic mixes and smart interviews with original artists and label owners as well as contemporary art reviews.

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