Description
Acte vide is a duo that draw inspiration from spontaneity in performance and they are active in the Greek experimental scene since 2008. Their music is based on improvisation and real time interaction between musicians. Danae Stefanou and Yannis Kotsonis involve in their performances piano and laptop electronics as well as found objects in sight. This release is a 20 min improvisation recorded live on 21.12.2009 at the grand opening of Knot Gallery, a space for experimental music and theater in Athens. In the beginning of the recording Danae starts playing Eric Satie’s vexations, then Yannis joins in by manipulating the sounds coming from the piano. Gradually the duo starts to improvise in an instinctive way, drifting to unmapped extremes.From contemporary improvisation to modern classical music the duo succeed in defining in just 20 minutes their roots and mostly an uncompromised future.
This is a limited edition cdr of 120 copies. Full color envelopes with hand-drawn cd-rs.
noise-below.org
Fourth in moremars’ 3″ nous series comes the disc ‘noeud’ by athenian electroacoustic improv duo Acte Vide.
Acte vide consist of Danae Stefanou & Yiannis Kotsonis (aka. sister overdrive). Their music arises from piano and laptop improvisations and, more often than not, moves on to include found objects and similar un-musical things. The duo insists on the moment, and every one of their performances takes some care in reflecting the conditions within which the music is set to appear. This particular disc documents their set at the opening of the ‘knot gallery’ performance space in athens, in early 2009. On this occasion, Danae chose the Erik Satie songbook, opening with the frenchman’s celebrated ‘Vexations’, then Yiannis picked up, turning this into an altogether altered beast
vital weekly
Acte Vide is a duo of Danae Stefanou (piano) and Yiannis Kotsonis (electronics) from Athens. It starts out in an almost inaudible way, but then builds up to an extreme high of distorted sounds, both arriving through the electronics and the piano. Chaotic, hectic and nervous, almost Merzbow with acoustic instruments still well in place. That is all in the first nine minutes and then it cuts out. A new build up begins, but this time shorter, around three minutes. The final eight minutes is an entirely different thing. Here its no longer a duet, or so it seems, but the electronics play a mighty piece of drone based music, while the piano adds more loose end sounds (maybe singing overtones from the piano wires would have been a nice addition?). Its an excellent, extreme piece of violently improvised music. All captured live. (FdW)
Δισκορυχείον
Τον Γιάννη Κοτσώνη όμως, που χειρίζεται πάντα ηλεκτρονικά, τον συναντάμε και στο ντούο Acte Vide, δίπλα στην πιανίστα Δανάη Στεφάνου. Το 3ιντσο CD-R που έχω στα χέρια μου (120 αντίτυπα, σε έγχρωμο διπλωμένο cover, διάρκεια 19:53) υπό τον τίτλο “Noeud” [more.mars.team] είναι ζωντανά ηχογραφημένο την 21/12/2009 στα εγκαίνια της KNOT gallery. Οι δύο μουσικοί συγκεράζουν σύγχρονες κλασικές αναφορές (που ξεκινούν απ’ τον Satie), με στοιχεία πιανιστικού αυτοσχεδιασμού και ηλεκτρονικού manipulating παρουσιάζοντας ένα έργο από το οποίο δεν λείπει μια κάποια αφηγηματικότητα (αν και δεν είναι αυτό το αιτούμενο). Υπάρχει μία συνάφεια δηλαδή που συνδέει τα μέρη του “Noeud”, προσφέροντας στο άκουσμα μία αδιάσπαστη ενότητα.
wonderful wooden reasons
Acte Vide are a Greek improvising duo consisting of Danae Stefanou (piano) and Yannis Kotsonis (laptop). The music is a single 20 minute improvisation that eases it’s way through a variety of permutations with Stefanou especially producing a striking range of sounds from his instrument. The music is at different points sumptuously delicate, jarringly discordant, disjointedly chimerical and hauntingly quixotic but it is at all times simply and most welcomingly alive.