Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna in Musikraumgarage

Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna will play at Musikraumgarage on March 22 2016 at 21:00 and the concert will be visible on livestream.

Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna recording in RadioKulturHaus (in September 2014)

first track from Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna's RKH sessions

Last year, me and my pals from Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna had a recording residence at RadioKulturHaus - the Austrian public radio -, and since we've been working on issuing an album... It's a long process and we're still working on it but it's progressing little by little.

To help you wait for the album, here is one track we decided to share.

in mixing studio

Instead of enjoying the beautiful Viennese spring in parks and cafés like normal people, I've spent the last days in a studio with Martin Siewert (a.o. from acclaimed Austrian band Radian) and members of the Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna - we've been mixing eight songs picked from what we recorded in RadioKulturHaus last September. The plan is to look for a label and release a vinyl album soon - it's optimistic but we've been lucky so far with the residence and the recording, so why shouldn't it go on? And frankly, what we do is rather unique, so our music has to be heard! 

It was great to work with Martin, it's not obvious to find such a good sound guy that is also an experimental musician and has an immediate understanding of what people like us may ask, however bizarre or noisy the music. His studio combines digital and analogue machines (so far I only worked in 100% computer studios) and is cramped with diverse racks, old boxes and pedals (not to mentions plenty of amps, synthesizers and guitars, including extremely cool vintage european ones). I observed his work and tried to learn more about mixing, because sooner or later I'll have to go back to it if I want to go on with my new projects...

more sketches

music of the week: lately I've been listening a lot again to what we recorded last fall with my band Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna, as we start mixing our first album today (actually right now I'm in the studio, having a break while some file are uploading). 

Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna will play in Fluc, Vienna

I'm playing in two days in Fluc with the Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna - that's where our band made its first concert one year ago… We've been playing several shows since, in Vienna and around, and recorded an album (mixing starts next March)… It's not easy to find concerts for a 10 + members guitar-based very noisy improvisation orchestra, it's expensive to transport so many people and so many amps, but we are looking for more shows, in Austria and abroad, and hope we will play some festivals this summer - if you're interested to program us please contact me... 

This short trailer was actually shot last december in Einbaumöbel, a small underground club in Vienna ; the stage was too small for us but we found a strange disposition on 3 levels, like in a 1960s British TV show - we should do that each time!

Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna live

A new video of my many guitars parametric improvisation band Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna - this time  performing in das Werk in Vienna last week. There is a great alchemy between the members of this band - something that is not easy to achieve with so many guitarists in my experience - that allows us to play demanding music while having fun, and to share it with our audience… 

On top of that we will have a recording session in September in the studio of RadioKulturhaus with the support of the SKE, an Austrian cultural institution. And a new concert in July!

Pedal rig

This was my pedal rig for the last concert of Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna: from right to left (this is not the order in which they are plugged, it's more complicated!), an auto-wah by Z. Cat (a small company in Latvia that makes quite interesting combined effects pedals), a Sovtek Big Muff, a EHX Freeze, a Boss tremolo, a MXR Carbon Copy, a Hardwire Supernatural Ambient Reverb, my Montreal Assembly Wrong Side of Uranus bizarro-bit crusher +, with a Behringer expression pedal and a true bypass router pedal because it's a little bit noisy, a Noisemaker Effects Freakshow Fuzz that is also just noise in a can, my Inductor Guitars Mellifluous Pussy MP-1 harmonic percolator, a Pro Co Rat, a Danelectro Rocky Road faux-Leslie and a Danelectro Back Talk reverse delay.

I also got myself a Fender Champion 100 amp, as my 25-year old Peterson GS100 is currently out of order and requires a full rejuvenation - and I was afraid it would not be ready on time. Actually the Fender was not my first choice, I needed something cheap, simple and powerful - and I'm a pedal guy so solid state is good for me as I just use the clean channel - and after some research I set my choice on the Hiwatt Maxwatt G100 (it could have been Palmer but they don't have a 100 watts model) - just two channels and basic controls, I don't want more.

But no shops or online-shops in Austria, Germany and France had it in stock, until I found one on rock-gear.de and ordered it. They cashed my money and after two weeks they admitted that they don't and won't have it - and so far they didn't refund me… Not the most trustable people in the world if I may say… Then I just had 3 days left to get an amp and the Fender Champion was the only option - and the local shop where I got it only had the demo model left so I can consider myself lucky to have had it in time for the concert!

Anyway, finally I'm happy with it, even with the effects that I thought I would'nt use, because it sounds good at low level so it can be also my house practice amp, better than my Roland Cube. I think that I will get a tube preamp (from EHX) at some point to hear how it can complement it…

And of course I used it for last Friday's concert and that was a very good moment!

Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna, concert in Fluc, Vienna

Here is a video of my first band project for many years - the Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna, with no less than 9 guitarists! It is still quite chaotic - it's improvised music after all - but we have plenty of ideas and will to improve our music. This song was the finale of last week's concert, everything was not so  rhythmical and assonant, there were some moments of raw noise but also more melodic pieces…

You'll find a short review and some good pictures here. Now we're looking for concerts!

Line-up: Eric Arn (guitar), Bertram Dhellemmes
 (guitar), Johanna Forster (guitar), Vincenzo Granato (guitar), Marcin Ł. Morga (bass), Diego Mune (guitar), Pailander (drums), Markus Reiter (guitar), Markus Steinkellner (guitar), Margaret Unknown (guitar), Christoph Weikinger (guitar).

miscellaneous

Next Wednesday I will play with my new band, the Soft Power Ensemble of Vienna, in Fluc, Vienna, the same venue where we performed with Yuri Landman. The band comprises 9 guitarists, plus drums and bass, and is not far from reaching sonic heavens. 

Didn't have a real band for 10 years, as I was busy with dance, multimedia performances and electronic music - it feels really good! I will post some music here soon.

These are the handwound pickups Jaime Campbell at The Creamery made for the Epsilon. We chose blade humbuckers with alnico 5 magnets for versatility and warmth. 

For some stupid marketing reasons, not-overwound pickups are called 'vintage' - that is in electric guitar business if you don't play metal, you play old school rock… the Epsilon will prove that wrong!