<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>derek piotr Archives - Various Small Flames</title>
	<atom:link href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/derek-piotr/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/derek-piotr/</link>
	<description>New and independent music</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 12 Feb 2024 12:36:23 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en-GB</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>
	hourly	</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>
	1	</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4</generator>

<image>
	<url>https://i0.wp.com/varioussmallflames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cropped-finalwhite-e1490809629909-1.jpg?fit=32%2C32&#038;ssl=1</url>
	<title>derek piotr Archives - Various Small Flames</title>
	<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/derek-piotr/</link>
	<width>32</width>
	<height>32</height>
</image> 
<site xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">88787050</site>	<item>
		<title>Derek Piotr Fieldwork Archive</title>
		<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2022/11/17/derek-piotr-fieldwork-archive/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Liam Doyle]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Nov 2022 18:03:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Features]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[archive]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[derek piotr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[folk]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/?p=30424</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Folklorist Derek Piotr began archiving folksong, poetry, memories, interviews and tales in 2020. The focus of this collection is on the &#8220;non-singer&#8221;; in other words, someone with no background in musical performance but who can still relate a song or folkloric memory. However, this collection features a wide variety of informants, including professional singers, descendants of musicians, laypeople, and ballad scholars. The vast majority of the recordings in the Derek Piotr Fieldwork Archive showcase unaccompanied vocal performances. Below, he selects [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2022/11/17/derek-piotr-fieldwork-archive/">Derek Piotr Fieldwork Archive</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Folklorist <a href="https://derekpiotr.com">Derek Piotr</a> began archiving folksong, poetry, memories, interviews and tales in 2020. The focus of this collection is on the &#8220;non-singer&#8221;; in other words, someone with no background in musical performance but who can still relate a song or folkloric memory. However, this collection features a wide variety of informants, including professional singers, descendants of musicians, laypeople, and ballad scholars. The vast majority of the recordings in the <a href="https://fieldwork-archive.com/">Derek Piotr Fieldwork Archive</a> showcase unaccompanied vocal performances. Below, he selects five highlights and outlines the stories behind them.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Averil Lund &#8211; The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo</h3>
<p><a href="https://fieldwork-archive.com/45.html">https://fieldwork-archive.com/45.html</a></p>
<p>Averil was one of the residents of Hempland Lane, a retirement community in York, UK, that I visited in 2021. At the spry age of one hundred and two (b. 1919), she was the community&#8217;s oldest resident, and I met with her privately in her room after a general assembly with several dozen residents. This was the only &#8220;traditional&#8221; song Averil could recall—a music hall song, but curious because she was not allowed to attend any musicals in her youth, so she picked this song up from someone else&#8217;s singing. This song is not often documented in fieldwork so it was a joy to find it, particularly one the lips of someone from The Greatest Generation.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Amy Michels &#8211; The Old Devil</h3>
<p><a href="https://fieldwork-archive.com/159.html">https://fieldwork-archive.com/159.html</a></p>
<p>Amy is a native of Indiana, but moved to western North Carolina in 1977, where she got &#8220;taken in&#8221; by the Hicks Family (similar to my experience being taken in by Lena Turbyfill&#8217;s Family). This version of The Little Devils is undoubtedly from the Hicks family, and reminds me of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/X5f8S0iNpSU">&#8216;Three Little Devils&#8217;</a> from Harmony Korine&#8217;s movie <em>Trash Humpers—</em>definitely something Harmony heard from his father, Sol. Sol Korine had <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2013/07/watch-harmony-korines-father-sol-korines-1981-pbs-southern-roots-music-documentary-mouth-music-96250/">documented oral tradition</a> in the American South in the 1980s, and had very possibly met Amy along with his visits with the Hickses. Although I sing a different version of this ballad, I really adore the way Amy delivers this variant.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Shirley Glenn &#8211; Seven Nights Drunk</h3>
<p><a href="https://fieldwork-archive.com/196.html">https://fieldwork-archive.com/196.html</a></p>
<p>Shirley and Charlie Glenn are Old-time musicians living in Beech Creek, North Carolina. I have met them several times—on one occasion I purchased a fretless banjo from Charlie. Charlie is a man of stout faith and decries any songs that &#8220;meddle&#8221; too much with the Lord&#8217;s intentions—including the song above—&#8221;Satan is not something you should take lightly&#8221;. &#8216;Seven Nights Drunk&#8217; falls under the category of songs Charlie disapproves of, so Shirley waited until he had left the house to sing this ballad for me, which she learned from her grandmother, Hattie Presnell. You can hear the mischievous joy in Shirley&#8217;s voice, given the opportunity to sneak in a song she often doesn&#8217;t sing, and honor her grandmother in this way.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Fran Hendrickson &#8211; Old Dan Tucker</h3>
<p><a href="https://fieldwork-archive.com/288.html">https://fieldwork-archive.com/288.html</a></p>
<p>I met Fran through a network of Traditional and Old-time musicians in New England. I have stubbornly been looking for folk traditions in my home state of Connecticut—a state not necessarily thought of as rich in these expressions—and a lot of beautiful encounters have resulted. Fran honestly reminds me of a character from Harmony&#8217;s films, maybe <em>Gummo</em>, and I say that with the highest joy and reverence. She is a trip! Fran showed up at my house with her accordion, and played instrumental versions of several well known ballads and folk songs—&#8217;Old Roger is Dead&#8217; and &#8216;Alabama Gal&#8217; among them—as well as this romping take on &#8216;Old Dan Tucker&#8217;.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Jill MacLaughlin and John MacLaughlin &#8211; Wait &#8216;Till the Sun Shines, Nellie/You Are My Sunshine/Down by the Old Mill Stream</h3>
<p><a href="https://fieldwork-archive.com/315.html">https://fieldwork-archive.com/315.html</a></p>
<p>This was one of the first donations I accepted for the DPFA—in other words, a recording made on my behalf by someone else. I had gotten in touch with Alex MacLaughlin over Instagram, and he shared with me that he remembered a medley of songs his mom would sing, which she got from her father. I asked him if he would be willing to record this memory and share it with my archive, and he graciously obliged. I find this particular entry so moving—Jill outlines the connection she had to her mother on her last day alive, through singing these songs. It is nothing short of miraculous to me that strangers are so willing to share such deeply personal family and song-memories with me, and with the world. By hosting and preserving these memories, I dearly hope that others might come forward with memories of what their ancestors sang to them. I see the DPFA as an ever expanding project that could (hopefully) touch every corner of this world.</p>
<hr />
<p>If you, or one of your friends or relatives has a story, song, fragment, poem, memory, or adage to share with Derek, please reach out to him at <a href="mailto:d@derekpiotr.com">d@derekpiotr.com</a>. He would love to hear from you!</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/varioussmallflames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/derek-piotr-2-smaller.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/varioussmallflames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/derek-piotr-2-smaller.jpg?resize=1170%2C1819&#038;ssl=1" alt="Photo of Derek Piotr sitting on a dilapidated doorstep" width="1170" height="1819" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Photography by Kenneth Roper</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2022/11/17/derek-piotr-fieldwork-archive/">Derek Piotr Fieldwork Archive</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">30424</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Derek Piotr &#8211; Barbry Allen</title>
		<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2020/12/07/derek-piotr-barbry-allen/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Liam Doyle]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Dec 2020 19:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Previews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[derek piotr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reuben Walton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usa]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/?p=23934</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The music of New England-based folklorist, performer and composer Derek Piotr is nothing if not adventurous. Originally containing no instruments at all, confined to strict constraints of voice and samples, Piotr&#8217;s solo work has grown and evolved into a multitude of forms, traversing genres as diverse as glitch and drone to avant garde pop. But while Derek Piotr can be defined by his experimental and exploratory nature, his music has never undergone as dramatic a shift as signaled by new [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2020/12/07/derek-piotr-barbry-allen/">Derek Piotr &#8211; Barbry Allen</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The music of New England-based folklorist, performer and composer <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/derek-piotr/">Derek Piotr</a> is nothing if not adventurous. Originally containing no instruments at all, confined to strict constraints of voice and samples, Piotr&#8217;s solo work has grown and evolved into a multitude of forms, traversing genres as diverse as glitch and drone to avant garde pop.</p>
<p>But while Derek Piotr can be defined by his experimental and exploratory nature, his music has never undergone as dramatic a shift as signaled by new single &#8216;Invisible Map&#8217;. The first glimpse of forthcoming album, <em>Making and Then Unmaking</em>, the single presents a previously unknown side to Piotr&#8217;s music. This is music in the long and storied tradition of country and folk. It has  pedal steel and fiddle, three acoustic guitar players.</p>
<p>This might seem a long way from Piotr&#8217;s previous work, but there is a sense that this record has been a long time coming. Indeed, the signs were there for attentive readers when we last spoke to Piotr <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2018/09/10/interview-derek-piotr-2/">back in 2018</a>, when he admitted &#8220;I listen more and more to acoustic music, and always sort of have. So it’s about taking my natural tendencies towards music making and braiding them into the kind of music I myself would want to hear.&#8221;</p>
<p>Today we have the pleasure of unveiling the single&#8217;s B-side, a rendition of traditional Scottish ballad &#8216;Barbry Allen&#8217;, performed with Reuben Walton and recorded Alan Lomax-style on a Zoom h4n field recorder. Piotr&#8217;s version of the song borrows from a North Carolinian version as sung by Mrs. G. L. Bostic, his and Walton&#8217;s voices unadorned by instrumentation in an uncanny reconvergence with his earliest principles, and suffused with the spirit of Appalachia&#8217;s old-time mountain music.</p>
<p>Press play below to listen to &#8216;Barbry Allen&#8217;, and then read on to hear more from Derek Piotr about the song, this latest change in direction and his long-held passion for folk music.</p>
<p><center><iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 470px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2655457396/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/tracklist=false/tracks=1408799911/esig=2a10b28b67fdd6006017ce592ca39f3b/" seamless=""><a href="https://derekpiotr.bandcamp.com/album/invisible-map-single">Invisible Map (Single) by Derek Piotr</a></iframe></center></p>
<hr />
<h4>The new songs are a pretty big departure from your previous releases. What inspired this change? And is it something you’ve wanted to do for a long time?</h4>
<p>This has indeed been something I&#8217;ve been thinking about for years. In 2016 I released a slight, bandcamp only compilation of odds and ends I&#8217;d been sitting on for a while, called <a href="https://derekpiotr.bandcamp.com/album/things"><em>things</em></a>, which featured a <a href="https://derekpiotr.bandcamp.com/track/forest-floor-viol-da-gamba-no-voice">solo Viol version</a> of one of the songs from <em>Bahar</em>. This was my favourite music I had made up until that point: laid totally bare acoustic, with nothing added. <em>Bahar</em> was also a little bit me giving myself the third degree: are you a sound artist, or a capital M Musician? So then of course I wrote a whole album for woodwinds to put a capital M on myself. In a real way though, I wanted to confront this idea head-on and not use any electronic elements. The only electronic element on this album is clavinet, which barely counts. Everything is acoustic. I have basically said goodbye to working on electronic music for myself now, except for some few commissions here and there. It no longer interests me, or feels right to make. I want to be a cowboy now.</p>
<h4>Your press release describes a “long-held passion for folk music,” and I’m interested in where and how this began. Who are your favourite folk musicians and how have they influenced your music and/or life?</h4>
<p>Mostly I had listened to ethnomusicology records and field recordings from Southeast Asia. I did <a href="http://www.frequency.asia/shows/derek-piotr/derek-piotr-05-12-2016">a couple of projects</a> for Frequency Asia a long time ago. But I have always loved Joni Mitchell, Jean Ritchie, and Shirley Collins. Shirley and I have been email buddies for 10 years. My favourite folksinger of the moment is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ax1n2ad5lk">Lena Bare Turbyfill</a>, I <a href="https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2020/09/songcatching-bolakins.html">wrote extensively about my research</a> around her, and visited her family this summer. I field recorded her last living daughter on that trip. So, more and more, I&#8217;ve gotten away from Asian or North African music and into Appalachian music. But folk music, to me, is the same no matter where you go. Very pure and honest, full of fantasy and symbolism, and totally raw. I had a long standing taboo against guitar music in my work, because I was more inclined toward the chamber or electronic side of things, the Thai branch, or the Morton Feldman branch&#8230;but it&#8217;s silly because I listen to so much banjo and guitar music! So it is all over the new record. Of course, old habits die hard, so alongside those bones, I also have bagpipes, clavichord, harp, reed organ&#8230;I am incorrigible!</p>
<h4>What made you choose to record Barbry Allen, a song with such a rich history?</h4>
<p>I had heard a really nice version sung by Mrs. G. L. Bostic taken from the UNC Southern Folklife Collection, and the melody was totally different from any other &#8216;Barbry Allen&#8217;, some of the melodies you&#8217;ve heard a hundred times, but one was a fun allegro and a bit of an outlaw version, I thought.</p>
<h4>The thing that grabs me most about the song is how “old” it sounds, like it could have come from any time in the past century or so. Was this intentional? You recorded the song with Reuben Walton – how did this collaboration come about? And how did the recording process work?</h4>
<p>Another friend has said that to me! To him, it sounds like two old ladies singing. This was not 100% intentional, but I have been singing almost exclusively into an h4n field recorder all year. I am really trying for Lomax or Halpert style documentarian dry musicality, and that stylistic choice is all over the record&#8230;Reuben and I have known each other for 15 years so the trust is built-in at this point and I can throw any project at him and he&#8217;ll acrobat with it&#8230;he learned this song on basically no notice and I put my recorder down on the kitchen table and sang it with him in one take and then he drove home to Cape Cod immediately after. It was a totally spontaneous thing, which I suspect is why it sounds so &#8220;old&#8221;, it truly was a field recorded fleeting moment!</p>
<h4>More generally, how are you finding making music during this tumultuous year we’ve all been experiencing? Is it a strange experience? And what role (if any) do you think art/music play in uncertain times like these?</h4>
<p>This is my first year in 10 years not releasing a solo album; that should say plenty about the state we&#8217;re in. Expect my cowboy album, <em>Making and Then Unmaking</em> in the Spring.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Cover photography by Alex Weber</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2020/12/07/derek-piotr-barbry-allen/">Derek Piotr &#8211; Barbry Allen</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">23934</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>July 2019 Roundup Mix</title>
		<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/08/05/july-2019-roundup-mix/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Liam Doyle]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Aug 2019 10:44:56 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mixtapes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Monthly Roundups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Abe Hollow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[american poetry club]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Antiquated Future Records]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Audio Antihero]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bdrmm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beat radio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Benjamin Shaw]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Big Joanie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birdspotter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Briston Maroney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daughter of Swords]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[derek piotr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elly Swope]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erin Durant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fighting Kites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gold Baby]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halfsour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hugh Sunn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JR Samuels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kali Malone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kate Tempest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Little Musket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marbling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mauno]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Melissa Mary Ahern]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Midwife]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Molly Drag]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Natalie Joachim]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Orindal Records]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oscar lush]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[outer spaces]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ruth Garbus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Secrecies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slow Pulp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[So Totally]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tender Perennial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tennis Club]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Van Houten]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wilder Maker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Young Elk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Young Mammals]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/?p=19849</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Check out a playlist featuring all of the artists we covered in July 2019. Ruth Garbus &#8211; Strash Mauno &#8211; Vampire Outer Spaces &#8211; Gazing Globe Benjamin Shaw &#8211; Long Ago and Oh So Far Away Erin Durant &#8211; Islands Daughter of Swords &#8211; Dawnbreaker Melissa Mary Ahern &#8211; Maria, Maria Oscar Lush &#8211; Kind Living Midwife &#8211; Angel Young Elk &#8211; False Paradise Wilder Maker &#8211; Love So Well Big Joanie &#8211; Way Out Secrecies &#8211; Life We Live [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/08/05/july-2019-roundup-mix/">July 2019 Roundup Mix</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Check out a playlist featuring all of the artists we covered in July 2019.</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/09/ruth-garbus-strash/">Ruth Garbus</a> &#8211; Strash<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Mauno</a> &#8211; Vampire<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Outer Spaces</a> &#8211; Gazing Globe<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/29/benjamin-shaw-shouldve-stayed-at-home/">Benjamin Shaw</a> &#8211; Long Ago and Oh So Far Away<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/08/erin-durant-islands/">Erin Durant</a> &#8211; Islands<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Daughter of Swords</a> &#8211; Dawnbreaker<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/04/melissa-mary-ahern-maria-maria/">Melissa Mary Ahern</a> &#8211; Maria, Maria<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/23/oscar-lush-black-dog/">Oscar Lush</a> &#8211; Kind Living<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/29/antiquated-future-records-the-first-seven-years/">Midwife</a> &#8211; Angel<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/02/young-elk-false-paradise/">Young Elk</a> &#8211; False Paradise<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/08/wilder-maker-love-so-well-rose-room/">Wilder Maker</a> &#8211; Love So Well<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Big Joanie</a> &#8211; Way Out<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/12/secrecies-life-we-live/">Secrecies</a> &#8211; Life We Live<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/18/beat-radio-everyone-i-know-just-holding-on/">Beat Radio</a> &#8211; Everyone I Know, Just Holding On<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/19/american-poetry-club-a-little-light-of-our-own/">American Poetry Club</a> &#8211; pro pic?<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/24/so-totally-in-the-shape-of/">So Totally</a> &#8211; sike<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/02/halfsour-sticky/">halfsour</a> &#8211; Paper Window<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Joyer</a> &#8211; Here<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/11/marbling-wisdom-teeth/">Marbling</a> &#8211; Wisdom Teeth<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">High Sunn</a> &#8211; Grateful<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Slow Pulp</a> &#8211; New Media<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/22/molly-drag-out-like-a-light/">Molly Drag</a> &#8211; Out Like a Light<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/26/van-houten-moon/">Van Houten</a> &#8211; Moon<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/15/birdspotter-a-garden-everywhere-you-go/">Birdspotter</a> &#8211; Riverbed<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/25/tender-perennial-short-songs-about-longing/">Tender Perennial</a> &#8211; Delivered<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/30/jr-samuels-in-brend/">JR Samuels</a> &#8211; In Brend 2<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/01/elly-swope-habits/">Elly Swope</a> &#8211; Habits<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/05/derek-piotr-the-sign/">Derek Piotr</a> &#8211; The Sign<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/12/fighting-kites-mustard-dinner-retrospective/">Fighting Kites</a> &#8211; Kita Senju<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Nathalie Joachim</a> – Papa Loko (Interlude: September 24, 1918)<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Kali Malone</a> &#8211; Sacrificial Code<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Kate Tempest</a> &#8211; Holy Elixir<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/15/little-musket-fever-blister/">Little Musket</a> &#8211; Fever Blister<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/16/gold-baby-500-1/">Gold Baby</a> &#8211; 500/1<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/17/tennis-club-pink/">Tennis Club</a> &#8211; Stay<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/26/young-mammals-lost-in-lima/">Young Mammals</a> &#8211; Lost in Lima<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Abe Hollow</a> &#8211; Paradise<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/11/bdrmm-question-mark/">bdrmm</a> &#8211; Question Mark<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/03/bright-sparks-vol-26/">Briston Maroney</a> &#8211; Fool&#8217;s Gold</p>
<p><center><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/74ifHuQYbGjKe4xXp5V7Mz" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0"></iframe><iframe src="//playmoss.com/embed/wakethedeaf/july-2019" width="100%" height="468" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></center></p>
<hr />
<p>Check out our previous <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/category/mixtapes/roundup-mixtapes/">Monthly Roundup</a> playlists, and be sure to read or <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/category/music-reviews/">Reviews</a> and <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/category/music-previews/">Previews</a> throughout the month.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/08/05/july-2019-roundup-mix/">July 2019 Roundup Mix</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">19849</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Derek Piotr &#8211; The Sign</title>
		<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/05/derek-piotr-the-sign/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Liam Doyle]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Jul 2019 09:57:44 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[derek piotr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Don't DJ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usa]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/?p=19712</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Derek Piotr, the prolific Poland-born, New England-based artist, has a new album on the way. Titled Avia, the record promises to build on Piotr&#8217;s impressively diverse catalogue of experimental electronica. Following on from the wildly adventurous album Grunt and the collaborative EPs of remixes and re-imaginings (such as the Repeating Bloom EP), Avia looks to utilise piano and organ within a glitched electronic soundscape, producing something mournful and strange. The album&#8217;s first single, &#8216;The Sign&#8217;, was released last week and [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/05/derek-piotr-the-sign/">Derek Piotr &#8211; The Sign</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/derek-piotr/">Derek Piotr</a>, the prolific Poland-born, New England-based artist, has a new album on the way. Titled <em>Avia</em>, the record promises to build on Piotr&#8217;s impressively diverse catalogue of experimental electronica. Following on from the wildly adventurous album <em>Grunt</em> and the collaborative EPs of remixes and re-imaginings (such as the <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/15/derek-piotr-repeating-bloom/"><em>Repeating Bloom EP</em></a>), <em>Avia</em> looks to utilise piano and organ within a glitched electronic soundscape, producing something mournful and strange.</p>
<p>The album&#8217;s first single, &#8216;The Sign&#8217;, was released last week and offers a glimpse of what&#8217;s to come on <em>Avia</em>. Described by Piotr himself as &#8220;the most rhythmic track on the record, &#8216;The Sign&#8217; sighs with electronically modulated organ and violin, recorded at St Peter&#8217;s Church in Connecticut. Mixed by Scott Solter (John Vanderslice, The Mountain Goats), the song combines the minimal repetition of Steve Reich with the slightly ominous high-brow themes of Florian Meyer&#8217;s Don&#8217;t DJ project.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s fitting then that Meyer himself provides a remix to round off the single. Described in the press release as a &#8220;gentle, penduluming rework,&#8221; Don&#8217;t DJ pushes back the gauzy swells to focus on smaller details, creating a tension that isn&#8217;t present on the track proper. There&#8217;s something of David Lynch&#8217;s glitchy tape-loop motion in the repeated phrases, some staccato haunting force passing in and out of an empty room.</p>
<p><center><iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 470px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=725753764/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" seamless=""><a href="http://derekpiotr.bandcamp.com/album/the-sign-single">The Sign &#8211; Single by Derek Piotr</a></iframe></center><br />
<em>The Sign</em> single is out now and available from the Derek Piotr <a href="https://derekpiotr.bandcamp.com/album/the-sign-single">Bandcamp page</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/varioussmallflames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/derek-piotr-the-sign.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/varioussmallflames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/derek-piotr-the-sign.jpg?resize=1170%2C878&#038;ssl=1" alt="derek piotr the sign cd" width="1170" height="878" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Artwork by Duncan Figurski</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/07/05/derek-piotr-the-sign/">Derek Piotr &#8211; The Sign</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">19712</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>January 2019 Roundup Mix</title>
		<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/02/02/january-2019-roundup-mix/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Liam Doyle]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Feb 2019 18:21:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mixtapes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Monthly Roundups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Act Of]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alexander]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Body Meat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Camp Counselor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Denmark]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[derek piotr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[german error message]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Go Fever]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Imp of Perverse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jeffrey Silverstein]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lala Lala]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mentalease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mesa Luna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Chinworth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike pace and the child actors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Miserable chillers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Morning River Band]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nigel Wright]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Polyan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Priests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shrimpwitch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sir Babygirl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sister Wanzala]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[skirts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Space Mountain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spartan Jet-Plex]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spielbergs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Static Animal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stella Donnelly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[swim camp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thelma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[why?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yot Club]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/?p=18084</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>This first month of the year is over, the first roundup playlists of the year are here. Click below to hear music from every act we covered during January 2019. You can find all previous monthly roundups here. Tracklist: Act Of &#8211; I am Fungus Static Animal &#8211; See You Around Skirts &#8211; Brite Boy (Alex G cover) Space Mountain &#8211; Cloud Alexander &#8211; Going To Sleep German Error Message – Murmuring Thelma – Take Me To Orlando Jeffrey Silverstein [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/02/02/january-2019-roundup-mix/">January 2019 Roundup Mix</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This first month of the year is over, the first roundup playlists of the year are here. Click below to hear music from every act we covered during January 2019. You can find all previous monthly roundups <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/category/mixtapes/roundup-mixtapes/">here</a>.</p>
<p>Tracklist:</p>
<p><a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/21/act-of-singles/">Act Of</a> &#8211; I am Fungus<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/09/static-animal-see-you-around/">Static Animal</a> &#8211; See You Around<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/22/peach-bloom-lonestar-a-texas-friends-and-family-compilation/">Skirts</a> &#8211; Brite Boy (Alex G cover)<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/10/space-mountain-cloud/">Space Mountain</a> &#8211; Cloud<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/28/alexander-going-to-sleep-capable/">Alexander</a> &#8211; Going To Sleep<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">German Error Message</a> – Murmuring<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Thelma</a> – Take Me To Orlando<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/29/jeffrey-silverstein-how-on-earth/">Jeffrey Silverstein</a> &#8211; Make Yr Peace (And Have It Too)<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/31/camp-counselor-scabs/">camp counselor</a> &#8211; museum of broken relationships<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/25/spartan-jet-plex-godless-goddess/">Spartan Jet-Plex</a> &#8211; Stop<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Lala Lala &amp; Why?</a> &#8211; Siren 042<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/11/shrimpwitch-gave-me-the-itch/">Shrimpwitch</a> &#8211; Leerers<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Sir Babygirl</a> &#8211; Flirting With Her<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/30/spielbergs-this-is-not-the-end/">Spielbergs</a> &#8211; Five On It<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Stella Donnelly</a> &#8211; Lunch<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/23/mentalease-push-a-button/">Mentalease</a> &#8211; Avert a Gaze<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Priests</a> &#8211; The Seduction of Kansas<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/28/mike-pace-and-the-child-actors-hazy-hot-and-humid/">Mike Pace and The Child Actors</a> &#8211; Hazy, Hot &amp; Humid<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Swim Camp</a> – Circle K<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/17/burly-kent-lame/">BURLY</a> &#8211; Kent Lame<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/29/miserable-chillers-cider-palace/">Miserable chillers</a> &#8211; Cider Palace<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Imp of Perverse</a> – Tripping Thru a Hallway On Fire<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Go Fever</a> &#8211; Olivia<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Polyan</a> &#8211; Dan Song<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/24/morning-river-band-brambles/">Morning River Band</a> &#8211; Bury Me<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Nigel Wright</a> &#8211; Overcast<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/07/denmark-i-know-turn-me-on/">Denmark</a> &#8211; I Know<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/25/sister-wanzala-i-went-whaling-in-my-gap-year/">Sister Wanzala</a> &#8211; I Went Whaling in My Gap Year<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Body Meat</a> &#8211; Nairobi Flex<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/15/derek-piotr-repeating-bloom/">Derek Piotr</a> &#8211; Repeating Bloom (Simon Whetham Remix)<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/16/michael-chinworth-good-as-it-gets/">Michael Chinworth</a> &#8211; Good As It Gets<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">Mesa Luna</a> &#8211; Dispel<br />
<a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/14/bright-sparks-vol-20/">yot club</a> &#8211; jaded</p>
<p><iframe src="//playmoss.com/embed/wakethedeaf/january-2019-roundup-mix?cover=1" width="100%" height="468" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/y82edd0nooz9iypak8dzimm08/playlist/0De16GamGx94Dwtr7iXUcs" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/02/02/january-2019-roundup-mix/">January 2019 Roundup Mix</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18084</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Derek Piotr &#8211; Repeating Bloom</title>
		<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/15/derek-piotr-repeating-bloom/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jon Doyle]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 2019 15:48:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Previews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chaircrusher]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[derek piotr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Else Hewitt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[experimental]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Simon Whetham]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[STEEEZO "EEE"]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UK]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usa]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/?p=17881</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>If there one thing that can be said of experimental musician Derek Piotr, it is that he resists resting on his laurels. From our first experience of his work through the Piotr-Heslin collaboration back in 2014, to the avant garde pop of Tempatempat or indeed any other of his eight full albums and various other releases, Piotr displays a constant desire to explore and innovate, almost treating music as a form of contemporary art. His most recent release, Grunt, was perhaps his [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/15/derek-piotr-repeating-bloom/">Derek Piotr &#8211; Repeating Bloom</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If there one thing that can be said of experimental musician Derek Piotr, it is that he resists resting on his laurels. From our first experience of his work through the <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2014/01/26/piotr-heslin/">Piotr-Heslin collaboration</a> back in 2014, to the avant garde pop of <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2014/06/25/derek-piotr-tempatempat/"><em>Tempatempat</em></a> or indeed any other of his eight full albums and various other releases, Piotr displays a constant desire to explore and innovate, almost treating music as a form of contemporary art.</p>
<p>His most recent release, <em>Grunt</em>, was perhaps his most experimental and adventurous— a record he summed up in <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2018/09/10/interview-derek-piotr-2/">an interview last September</a> as &#8220;ugly, direct beats, free time sound structures, grinding glitching samples. Voice across the frequency spectrum, sub bass drone, occasional tender vocal performance. Distortion and #voicenoise.&#8221; From this array of digital and human sounds, Piotr draws inspiration and meaning, the album serving as a journey into the &#8220;uncharted hinterlands of biodigital sound […] new worlds both organic and cybernetic that celebrate the nuances of non-heteronormative identity.&#8221;</p>
<p>Following on from <em>Grunt</em>, Piotr is putting all of his focus on to one of album&#8217;s tracks for a new EP, <em>Repeating Bloom</em>. The release features various remixes and reworkings of &#8216;Repeating Bloom&#8217;, what Dr. Michael Waugh describes as &#8220;de- and re-constructions of one of the album’s few repetitive rhythmic compositions.&#8221;</p>
<p>Piotr enlists the help of a number of collaborators to realize this, with UK-based microsound artist <a href="https://simonwhetham.bandcamp.com/">Simon Whetham</a>, producer <a href="https://elsahewitt.bandcamp.com/track/invisible-threads">Elsa Hewitt</a>, Japanese &#8216;OP-1 wizard&#8217; <a href="https://steeezo946.bandcamp.com/">STEEEZO &#8220;EEE&#8221;</a>, and Iowa City&#8217;s electronic artist <a href="https://chaircrusher.bandcamp.com/">Chaircrusher</a> all involved. In addition, the release invites Reuben Walton to remix the track &#8216;Let&#8217;, also from <em>Grunt</em>.</p>
<p>In preparation for the EP&#8217;s release, we&#8217;re happy to share Simon Whetham&#8217;s take on &#8216;Repeating Bloom&#8217;. The original track had something of a harsh, mechanical sound, the industrial whirr kicking into stunted rhythms like malfunctioning technology, though Whetham strips things right back. If the original was a self-propelled automaton then Whetham&#8217;s version is the machine&#8217;s ghost, clicks and hisses as picked up on radio scanners, vestigial blips of past energy left to haunt the air.</p>
<p>Indeed, Simon Whetham&#8217;s bio describes how his inventive and unorthodox recording techniques allow his to capture &#8220;unnoticed and obscured sonic phenomena,&#8221; with his current interest based around &#8220;exploring ways to retain physical traces of sound and transforming energy forms.&#8221; His take on Piotr&#8217;s work only further exaggerates the interplay of the biological and digital, where memories might be coded as pure information, hanging unseen in the air around.</p>
<p><center><iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 470px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1282151474/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/track=771682549/transparent=true/" seamless=""><a href="http://derekpiotr.bandcamp.com/album/repeating-bloom-ep">repeating bloom ep by Derek Piotr</a></iframe></center><em>Repeating Bloom</em> is out on the 25th January and you can pre-order it from the Derek Piotr <a href="https://derekpiotr.bandcamp.com/album/repeating-bloom-ep">Bandcamp page</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2019/01/15/derek-piotr-repeating-bloom/">Derek Piotr &#8211; Repeating Bloom</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">17881</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Interview: Derek Piotr</title>
		<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2018/09/10/interview-derek-piotr-2/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Liam Doyle]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Sep 2018 18:18:33 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[derek piotr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usa]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://varioussmallflames.co.uk/?p=16243</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Poland-born, New England-based producer Derek Piotr has been putting out original and challenging electronic music for a few years now, including 2014&#8217;s Tempatempat and a collaborative album with Paul Heslin. grunt, the latest Derek Piotr release, is his eighth solo album. Described in the press release as &#8220;a set of short-form brutalist shards of human-digital noise,&#8221; the album utilises vocals, acoustic instruments and found-sounds and deconstructs them with distortion. The result is something harsh and insistent, both prescient and ominously topical. As [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2018/09/10/interview-derek-piotr-2/">Interview: Derek Piotr</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Poland-born, New England-based producer Derek Piotr has been putting out original and challenging electronic music for a few years now, including 2014&#8217;s <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2014/06/25/derek-piotr-tempatempat/"><em>Tempatempat</em></a> and a <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2014/01/26/piotr-heslin/">collaborative album</a> with Paul Heslin.</p>
<p><em>grunt</em>, the latest Derek Piotr release, is his eighth solo album. Described in the press release as &#8220;a set of short-form brutalist shards of human-digital noise,&#8221; the album utilises vocals, acoustic instruments and found-sounds and deconstructs them with distortion. The result is something harsh and insistent, both prescient and ominously topical. As the press release continues, the album ventures into &#8220;uncharted hinterlands of biodigital sound [&#8230;] new worlds both organic and cybernetic that celebrate the nuances of non-heteronormative identity.&#8221;</p>
<p>We last spoke to Derek <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2015/03/04/interview-derek-piotr/">back in 2015</a>, when we chatted about his album <em>Bahar</em>, and it was a good experience, so now, three years later, we&#8217;ve taken the opportunity again.</p>
<hr />
<p><strong>Hi Derek, thanks for speaking with us. You&#8217;re about to release a new album, Grunt. Would you like to give readers a short introduction to what they can expect from the it?</strong></p>
<p>Ugly, direct beats, free time sound structures, grinding glitching samples. Voice across the frequency spectrum, sub bass drone, occasional tender vocal performance. Distortion and #voicenoise.</p>
<p><strong>The album is very much of the digital age, and the songs sound quite removed from nature or anything organic. But lots of it is made from analogue sounds and acoustic instruments. What was your process for making these songs? And what is it about this relationship between organic and digital that appeals to you?</strong></p>
<p>I think for me as a listener I get quite bored or made uneasy if i am listening to music that is only electronic. Like Autechre or Kraftwerk never appealed to me, all the pure synth stuff doesn&#8217;t speak to me. That said i do love editing away on the laptop when making music. But i also listen more and more to acoustic music, and always sort of have. So it&#8217;s about taking my natural tendencies towards music making and braiding them into the kind of music I myself would want to hear. I guess the result is a mashup.</p>
<p><strong>The album is thematically ambitious, and in some ways reading about it feels like reading a panel in a contemporary art gallery, as opposed to an album preview. Do you see grunt as music, or sound art, and is there a difference?</strong></p>
<p>I just did another interview yesterday and got asked the exact same question: &#8220;is Grunt music or art?&#8221; The liner notes were not written by me. But it is good once the music is done to go hard on the concept so it can be presented as completely as possible. But make no mistake: it is 110% music.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="120" style="position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="//bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=773055792/album=1826293927/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p><strong>As a follow on, I&#8217;m curious about creative influences that extend beyond the musical. The preview mentions dada sculpture and surrealist cinema, so were these explicit influences? And what other aspects of art/culture inspired you when making grunt?</strong></p>
<p>Again, the liner notes were not written by me. I do love dada and surrealism though. Always will. ubuweb is a great resource for those things. And in a way it&#8217;s kind of nice to think of these songs as mini sculptures that punch their way into reality rather than lying flat on an iPhone. I want to ultimately make music that does not lie flat. The only real visual cue I had while making this music as inspiration was brutalism in architecture.</p>
<p><strong>Talking of influences, the final track was reworked by Kevin Drumm. Is he someone whose worked has had an influence on your own? And how did the collaboration come about?</strong></p>
<p>Kevin is amazing. We&#8217;re on the same label for some stuff and we&#8217;ve emailed for years. When Drono was all done i thought Thomas Brinkmann would be good to tie a ribbon on the album, so i contacted him. Same with Kevin, I sent him some demos and he chose Redirect to work with, and I thought his contribution fit neatly into the world of Grunt, to tie a bow on the whole project. Kevin&#8217;s ambient works are what excite me best, but he has a hell of a knack for noise.</p>
<p><strong>Another central theme of the album is Queerness. How does the album challenge preconceptions on identity, and why do you think it&#8217;s important that music (and all art) makes such challenges?</strong></p>
<p>Queerness capital Q is such a big part of people&#8217;s discussion palette now. I have always felt queer, just kind of never adjusted my own vernacular about myself and didn&#8217;t make a big deal out of it. To me i think making &#8220;Queer&#8221; art is as dangerous as making &#8220;Political&#8221; art or &#8220;Environmental&#8221; art = none of those things are bad but it boxes you into this one territory and you get known for that. So i am hoping people don&#8217;t focus too much on that. I existed as a musician for 7 years before i decided to include this notion in my work, and it&#8217;s not super important to me to be known for that. On the other hand Grunt&#8217;s melting humanoid feels pretty queer, and one of the tracks samples a sex toy. So it was just tipping my hat to all of that. Also I have become more expressive or queer in my press photos because I don&#8217;t want to rest on the privilege of assumption that I am a straight white male. I want to be truthful to where I&#8217;m coming from so I don&#8217;t get a free pass.</p>
<p><strong>Its ambitious to make an album that confronts big intellectual themes like posthumanism. Is it important to you that the listeners have this context when listening? Or are you happy for them to draw their own conclusions from your work? Do you think about the listener at all when making music?</strong></p>
<p>I really hope people see their own shapes when they hear this music. I do not think about my audience when I make the work; only later during artwork, packaging, press liaison. I have no audience in my head when i am writing an album.</p>
<p><strong>Could you name 4-5 artists you think we should be listening to right now, be they related to your own work or otherwise?</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://soundcloud.com/dont-dj-1">Don&#8217;t DJ</a> &gt; did a remix for me and we did one track together<br />
<a href="https://agf-poemproducer.bandcamp.com/">AGF</a> &gt; we work a lot together<br />
Jean Ritchie &gt; vocal inspi<br />
<a href="https://dirtyprojectors.bandcamp.com/">Dirty Projectors</a> &gt; vocal inspi</p>
<hr />
<p><em>grunt</em> is due for release on 28th September and you can pre-order it now from the Derek Piotr <a href="https://derekpiotr.bandcamp.com/album/grunt">Bandcamp page</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/varioussmallflames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/derek-piotr-grunt.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/varioussmallflames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/derek-piotr-grunt.jpg?resize=1024%2C1024&#038;ssl=1" alt="derek piotr grunt album art" width="1024" height="1024" /></a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2018/09/10/interview-derek-piotr-2/">Interview: Derek Piotr</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16243</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>March 2015 Roundup &#8211; A Mixtape</title>
		<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2015/04/01/march-roundup-a-mixtape/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jon Doyle]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 18:24:02 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Mixtapes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Monthly Roundups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[8tracks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aero flynn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew hung]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beat radio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[butterfly house]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Danielle Fricke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[derek piotr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[double double whammy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eskimeaux]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field medic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fox food records]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[good good blood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human behaviour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jake Rollins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[joplin rice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kid in the attic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[krill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LVL UP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mixtape]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mixtapes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[naps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[playlist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[radical dads]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sarah louise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[summering]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the epoch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vio/Miré]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wes tirey]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wakethedeaf.co.uk/?p=7</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>March has gone and Spring has sprung. If you were too busy trying to top up your vitamin D levels with every weak little sunbeam then fear not, we have collected everything featured on Wake The Deaf in one handy little playlist. Follow the links in the tracklisting to be whisked away to the relevant pages. We are taking a short break over Easter to gather our thoughts and hopefully return with something shiny and new. No promises just yet [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2015/04/01/march-roundup-a-mixtape/">March 2015 Roundup &#8211; A Mixtape</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure class="tmblr-full"></figure>
<p>March has gone and Spring has sprung. If you were too busy trying to top up your vitamin D levels with every weak little sunbeam then fear not, we have collected everything featured on Wake The Deaf in one handy little playlist. Follow the links in the tracklisting to be whisked away to the relevant pages.</p>
<p>We are taking a short break over Easter to gather our thoughts and hopefully return with something shiny and new. No promises just yet but keep an eye here, <a href="https://twitter.com/WakeTheDeaf" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wakethedeaf?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for developments. Until then!</p>
<p>Tracklisting:</p>
<p>1. i. &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/114424543361/danielle-fricke-burrow" target="_blank">Danielle Fricke</a><br />
2. Dk/Pi &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/113447154426/aero-flynn-s-t" target="_blank">Aero Flynn</a><br />
3. Summering &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/113528083081/summering-preview-self-titled-debut-album" target="_blank">Summering</a><br />
4. Chapter 1 &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/113891806756/human-behavior-bethphage" target="_blank">Human Behavior</a><br />
5. Dogs 1 &#8211; <a href="http://www.viomire.com/" target="_blank">Vio/Miré</a><br />
6. A Home Just Over Yonder &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/113277149301/interview-sarah-louise" target="_blank">Frankie Duff</a><br />
7. M.M.G.A.T.M &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/113189995321/field-medic-me-my-gibberish-the-moon" target="_blank">Field Medic</a><br />
8. Broken Necks &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/115044485566/new-album-from-eskimeaux" target="_blank">Eskimeaux</a><br />
9. Maybe I’m Wasting My Time &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/114102515761/jake-rollins-spend-a-few-make-a-few" target="_blank">Jake Rollins</a><br />
10. God is Laughing at Me &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/113975654761/butterfly-house-by-ghostlight" target="_blank">Butterfly House</a><br />
11. Hold Me Like a Child &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/114141958126/good-good-blood-s-t" target="_blank">GOOD, GOOD BLOOD</a><br />
12. Invisible Cities &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/112804170236/kid-in-the-attic-beat-radio-7" target="_blank">Beat Radio</a><br />
13. Somebody Kill Me Please &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/114597252391/father-daughter-records-presents-faux-real-ii" target="_blank">LVL UP</a><br />
14. The Plane &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/113307241741/andrew-hung-rave-cave" target="_blank">Andrew Hung</a><br />
15. Roles Reversed &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/112804170236/kid-in-the-attic-beat-radio-7" target="_blank">Kid In The Attic</a><br />
16. Floral Mattress &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/112622623636/naps-floral-mattress" target="_blank">Naps</a><br />
17. Tennis &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/112709067281/interview-derek-piotr" target="_blank">Derek Piotr</a><br />
18. The Day is Past and Gone &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/113277149301/interview-sarah-louise" target="_blank">Jean Ritchie</a><br />
19. The Day is Past and Gone (Variations) &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/113277149301/interview-sarah-louise" target="_blank">Sarah Louise</a><br />
20. Buffalo Bones &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/114511330726/wes-tirey-journeyer-forward-melancholy-dream" target="_blank">Wes Tirey</a><br />
21. Don’t Go &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/112896171976/radical-dads-universal-coolers" target="_blank">Radical Dads</a><br />
22. Lucky Man &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/115139929746/joplin-rice-low-hum" target="_blank">Joplin Rice</a><br />
23. Billy Madison Victory Song &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/114597252391/father-daughter-records-presents-faux-real-ii" target="_blank">Krill</a><br />
24. Demise &#8211; <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/114777349626/psalmships-old-waves-pt-2" target="_blank">Psalmships</a></p>
<p><iframe style="border: 0px none;" src="http://8tracks.com/mixes/5984769/player_v3_universal" width="400" height="400"></iframe></p>
<p class="_8t_embed_p" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 12px;"><a href="http://8tracks.com/wake-the-deaf/march-2015-roundup?utm_medium=trax_embed">March 2015 Roundup</a> from <a href="http://8tracks.com/wake-the-deaf?utm_medium=trax_embed">Wake The Deaf</a> on <a href="http://8tracks.com?utm_medium=trax_embed">8tracks Radio</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2015/04/01/march-roundup-a-mixtape/">March 2015 Roundup &#8211; A Mixtape</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">7</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Interview: Derek Piotr</title>
		<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2015/03/04/interview-derek-piotr/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Liam Doyle]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2015 18:22:55 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2015]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[A-Symmetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bahar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bit-phalanx]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[derek piotr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electronic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Burns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nat Baldwin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soundcloud]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tyondai Braxton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yoko Ono]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wakethedeaf.co.uk/?p=26</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>We’ve been big fans of New England-based, Polish-born producer Derek Piotr for a while now, having previously featured his collaborative album with Paul Heslin and his last album, the layered and spiritual Tempatempat. Piotr has been hard at work on a new album, entitled Bahar, and was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about it. The new album sees you take a different direction to previous release Tempatempat, it seems a lot more focussed and direct. Is [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2015/03/04/interview-derek-piotr/">Interview: Derek Piotr</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We’ve been big fans of<b> </b>New England-based, Polish-born producer <a href="http://derekpiotr.com/" target="_blank">Derek Piotr</a> for a while now, having previously featured his <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/74605258096/piotr-heslin" target="_blank">collaborative album with<i> </i>Paul Heslin</a> and his last album, the layered and spiritual <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/89877274751/derek-piotr-tempatempat" target="_blank"><i>Tempatempat</i></a><i>.</i> Piotr has been hard at work on a new album, entitled <i>Bahar</i>, and was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about it.</p>
<figure><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" class=" aligncenter" src="https://i0.wp.com/31.media.tumblr.com/243eb20649ab02936f34c1f80d5a145e/tumblr_inline_nkniknALWF1qex2k2.jpg?w=1170&#038;ssl=1" alt="image" /></figure>
<p><b>The new album sees you take a different direction to previous release <em>Tempatempat</em>, it seems a lot more focussed and direct. Is this the result of a conscious effort to do something different? Or is it simply the evolution of your musical career?</b></p>
<p>This was deliberate. I had felt it was time to take the reigns a bit in regards to my music and I wrote 9 songs and endlessly worked on them until they reached their final forms. This is different from how I normally work, usually with no set outline, and when a song is done it is done, and I can move on. For <i>Bahar</i> I knew early on it would be 9 tracks. Not sure how I knew this, the number just felt right. Some of the songs like ‘Tone Offering’ or &#8216;Tennis’ went through<br />
literally forty-fifty versions. It was a somewhat nerve-wracking process but ultimately very rewarding. Perhaps I’ll continue to work this way in the future.<br />
<b><br />
Was this increase in focus/structure an attempt to make your music a little more approachable? To me this seems apparent not just in terms of your beatwork but also in terms of your vocals and their lyrical content.</b></p>
<p>I definitely focused more on <i>Bahar</i> as pop songs, and tried to include memorable choruses. Also on <i>Tempatempat</i>, the vocals are very woven and a part of the texture, which can be exhausting/burn out the mind, so for <em>Bahar</em> I wanted a clear delineation of vocal foreground and instrumental background, with very little vocal doubling and extremely blunt beats. I think my processes are pretty intricate and personal regardless of what I do, so striving for simplicity and accessible structure still resulted in some odd shapes.</p>
<p><b>Your previous albums felt organic and intuitive, but on <em>Bahar</em> you have returned to your formal musical education. Why have you decided to make this shift now? And why have you refrained from drawing upon your education until now?</b></p>
<p>I was burnt out on music theory after leaving school, and I felt that instead of trying to pull something out of me, the school was trying to shove all of these “shoulds” into me. So I completely left it behind when I started my solo work. The original blueprint for my solo material was no instruments allowed: voice and samples only. Slowly I began to include instruments, and, with this record, ended up scoring for woodwinds: clarinet, oboe, flute and bass clarinet. It is extremely rewarding to create something going purely with the flow and intuiting what should happen, but it is equally satisfying to compose something that can be replicated exact.<br />
<b><br />
Like with <i>Tempatempat</i>, the album title is open to interpretation, with multiple meanings depending on the language it is translated into. Is this more than a coincidence, and if so, what interests you in this duality of meaning?</b></p>
<p>I think it’s an attempt at universality. I try and pick a word that means more than one thing always. With this record, I had a lot of Turkish/sufi music in mind at the outset and it wasn’t until later I was on wikipedia and I realized the clarinet has a significant role in turkish music. Up until that point my inspiration had largely been flute/drum pieces (which most clearly influenced &#8216;Sunlight, Fruit Trees’). The synchronicity there was rewarding, I don’t think of it as a coincidence, more as mystical reinforcement from the universe.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F193923604&width=false&height=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe>
<p><b>Bahar can be translated into both Turkish and Maltese, while previous releases have had titles in English, Polish and Hindi. How do you achieve this global inspiration? Do you find yourself listening to music from a wide variety of countries/cultures? And is travel something that is important to your music?</b></p>
<p>I have been listening to music across the globe from a young age, everything from Oumou Sangare to Oud music to Chinese opera, so I’ve always been very open to scales and tones beyond what western civilization offers. More often than not the music is much more chromatic, and for me, more personally enriching.</p>
<p><b>Finally, could you list five bands or artists who you have been enjoying recently? </b></p>
<p>Michael Burns, A-Symmetry, Tyondai Braxton, Yoko Ono, Nat Baldwin</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><i>Bahar</i> is due for release at the beginning of May on <a href="http://bit-phalanx.com/" target="_blank">Bit-Phalanx</a>. We’ve been lucky enough to hear a promo copy and can confirm it’s really good, so stay tuned for pre-order details.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2015/03/04/interview-derek-piotr/">Interview: Derek Piotr</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">26</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Derek Piotr &#8211; Tempatempat</title>
		<link>https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2014/06/25/derek-piotr-tempatempat/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jon Doyle]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2014 17:56:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ambient]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[derek piotr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electronic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[experimental]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indonesia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indonesian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Monotype records]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sufi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sufism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tempatempat]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wakethedeaf.co.uk/?p=193</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>We featured New England-based Derek Piotr back in January, with a review of his collaborative release with Paul Heslin. This April he released his fourth solo album, Tempatempat, via Monotype Records. The album is a departure from his previous release, with increased layering leading to complex arrangements that are far more nuanced than Raj’s attempts to convey a simpler, more primal emotion. Tempatempat also sees Piotr sing for the first time, a striking change from his previous instrumental work. ‘Tempatempat’ [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2014/06/25/derek-piotr-tempatempat/">Derek Piotr &#8211; Tempatempat</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We featured New England-based Derek Piotr back in January, with a <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/post/74605258096/piotr-heslin" target="_blank">review of his collaborative release with Paul Heslin</a>. This April he released his fourth solo album, <em>Tempatempat, </em>via <a href="http://www.monotyperecords.com/en/mono080.html" target="_blank">Monotype Records</a><em>.</em></p>
<p>The album is a departure from his previous release, with increased layering leading to complex arrangements that are far more nuanced than <em>Raj</em>’s attempts to convey a simpler, more primal emotion. <em>Tempatempat</em> also sees Piotr sing for the first time, a striking change from his previous instrumental work.</p>
<p>‘Tempatempat’ is a word chosen &#8216;both for its repetition and meaning.’ In Indonesian, the word could have two meanings depending on where it is broken, with “tempa tempat” meaning &#8216;foraging place,’ and “tempat empat” meaning &#8216;forth place’. Indeed, much of the album is infused with Indonesian and Sufi imagery. Piotr sings in both English and Indonesian, and the tracks ’Bhadrakali’ and &#8216;Yogyakarta’ are apparently the product of a possession he experienced (!), with the Indonesian &#8216;lyrics’ only translated months later.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F141187429&width=false&height=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe>
<p>Reading this short description of the album, you could be forgiven for thinking the album is a dense maze of spiritual references, inaccessible without some form of chemical aid. While there are elements of this, some of the tracks do stray remarkably close to what could be labelled pop music. If you took the Dirty Projectors avant garde pop sound, and made it marginally weirder by the slowing bits down and speeding bits up and emphasizing the wrong notes, you would probably be left with something similar to <em>Tempatempat</em>. Listen to &#8216;Rift’ or &#8216;Terminal’ if you don’t believe me.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F152630254&width=false&height=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe>
<p>You can buy the album via <a href="http://www.monotyperecords.com/en/mono080.html" target="_blank">Monotype Records</a>, or <a href="http://derekpiotr.com/buy/" target="_blank">directly from Piotr himself</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2014/06/25/derek-piotr-tempatempat/">Derek Piotr &#8211; Tempatempat</a> appeared first on <a href="https://varioussmallflames.co.uk">Various Small Flames</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">193</post-id>	</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

<!--
Performance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https://www.boldgrid.com/w3-total-cache/

Page Caching using Disk: Enhanced 

Served from: varioussmallflames.co.uk @ 2026-04-22 19:54:05 by W3 Total Cache
-->