Gravikords, Whirlies, and Pyrophones (Experimental Musical Instruments)

Pulse! 1998
A rollicking pool party of a book and CD package! ... entertainment at its finest -- adventurous, warm, honest and throught-provoking. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Description
Gravikords, Whirlies and Pyrophones is a book-and-CD package devoted to new and unheard-of musical instruments. The book, written by Bart Hopkin with an introduction by Tom Waits, is full of irresistible photographs and informative text; the CD is full of great music; every page and every track overflow with ideas and originality. Nineteen of the world’s most interesting and inventive musical instrument makers appear. For more on just what's included here, see the "artist bios" section and the track listing below. [NOTE: this is the abridged re-release of the earlier boxed set of the same title.This abridged version includes everything form the original CD plus one more track. The book, however, is in a smaller format, and while the book in the original version contained sections on all the artists on the CD plus many more, the book in this newer! release covers the artists from the CD only.) --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Gravikords, Whirlies, and Pyrophones (Experimental Musical Instruments)

Gravikords, Whirlies, and Pyrophones (Experimental Musical Instruments),Bart Hopkins & Various Artists,Ellipsis Arts,Alternative Pop/Rock,Avant-Garde,Experimental,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,World Music

Average customer rating: Strangest Sounds On Earth Times Square Orchestrated homage to creative oddballs Strange, but oddly pleasing Expand Your Ears - Just For The Fun Of It

Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones: Experimental Musical Instruments Bart Hopkins & Various Artists Manufacturer: Ellipsis Arts ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Instrumentarium Hopkinis Ohm: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music Special Edition 3CD + DVD Ondes Martenot An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music, Vol. 2 An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music: First A-Chronology, Vol. 1 ASIN: B00000BIII Release Date: 1998-09-15

Tracks:

1. Excerpt From Le Bal - Hans Reichel
2. Excerpt From Pacific 3-2-1-Zero - Phil Dadson, From Scrarch
3. Excerpt From Silence The Tongues Of Prophecy - Qubais Reed Ghazala
4. Luminescence - Jean-Claude Chapuis
5. Excerpt From In The Beginning: Etude II - Don Buchla, Robert Moog
6. Chant De L'Orgue A Feu - Michel Moglia
7. Excerpt From Claycussion - Ward Hartenstein
8. Excerpt From And On The Seventh Day, Petals Fell In Petaluma - Harry Partch
9. Shake Up Adina - Sugar Belly
10. Bamboo Is - Darrel De Vore
11. The Swan - Clara Rockmore
12. Terra Zona - Barry Hall, The Burnt Earth
13. Naiades - Jacque Dudon
14. Instru-Matics - Ken Butler
15. Entomological Effervescence - Tom Nunn
16. Kindred Spirits - Sarah Hopkins
17. Piccadilly - Robert Grawi
18. Aquaknots - Susan Rawcliffe
19. New York, New York - Wendy Mae Chambers

Album Description

Gravikords, Whirlies and Pyrophones is a book-and-CD package devoted to new and unheard-of musical instruments. The book, written by Bart Hopkin with an introduction by Tom Waits, is full of irresistible photographs and informative text; the CD is full of great music; every page and every track overflow with ideas and originality. Nineteen of the world's most interesting and inventive musical instrument makers appear. For more on just what's included here, see the "artist bios" section and the track listing below. [NOTE: this is the abridged re-release of the earlier boxed set of the same title.This abridged version includes everything form the original CD plus one more track. The book, however, is in a smaller format, and while the book in the original version contained sections on all the artists on the CD plus many more, the book in this newer! release covers the artists from the CD only.)

Customer Reviews:

Strangest Sounds On Earth.......2007-04-01

I couldn;t imagine what the rest of the album would contain after hearing NEW YORK, NEW YORK played on a Car Horn Organ, but I wasn't disappointed. Some of the most wonderful sounds coming out of pipes, clay pots, and crystal wine glasses. And the book is a treasure with pictures of the various instruments. What a find for the collector of oddball music!

Times Square Orchestrated.......2007-03-31

NPR's Morning Edition caught my attention one morning with a piece of bumper music - a rendition of "New York, New York" played entirely on car horns. It was the sound you would get if you could orchestrate Times Square. It was utterly delightful and even got the normally-reserved hosts giggling. A quick search of the NPR site brought me to the title "Gravikords, Whirlies and Pyrophones." Now who could resist that?

Alas, "New York, New York" is one of only two or three cuts on the album that can be listened to in an unaltered state of mind. The rest is, well... experimental as promised and confirms why experimental music is not mainstream.

On the other hand, having in your collection a version of "New York, New York" played on the car horn organ is worth every penny of the cost.

homage to creative oddballs.......2007-02-06

This is a great box set. You get a CD and an illustrated book. The CD features recordings of all sorts of odd experimental and home made instruments, ranging from the Theremin to the Bamboo Saxophone to Harry Partch's custom instruments. The book discusses the inventors and their instruments. The CD is a very unusual listen. The musical styles are all over the place, and it goes from the sublime to the ridiculous (sometimes both at once!). Some of it is Dr. Demento style gimmick music, while other is very experimental, and still other is fairly straighforward (the tune with the Bamboo Sax is actually a pleasant old school reggae instrumental).

Make sure you get the 1996 edition, because the book discusses more inventors, including ones not included in the CD.

Strange, but oddly pleasing.......2002-01-08

You have to like experimental music, but... the fact is, this CD would be worth listening to even if the tunes were played on regular instruments. In other words, it's good musically and in terms of the unusual instruments used. Clara Rockmore's 'The Swan' and Sugar Belly's 'Wake Up Adina' are the real gems.

Expand Your Ears - Just For The Fun Of It.......2000-06-09

This is one of the few CD's that I just have no hesitation giving five stars to. "Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones" is a recording of people playing unusual and home-made musical instruments, performing familiar and utterly alien-sounding compositions on them. If you have any ear at all for music this CD will keep you fascinated for days, and reading about the artists in the accompanying book is equally entrancing.

A great many books and recordings of experimental musical instruments are painfully dry and boring, written (and recorded) from an academic point of view. This book/CD set isn't, and as a result it's highly entertaining. I can guarantee that as a listener you have never heard anything quite like the sounds you will hear on this disc. And far from being a collection of funny noises, all of the pieces on here are compositions, with beginnings, middles and ends, actual rhythms, and melodies. This CD/book set is an eye-opener and a mind opener, and it's very inspirational. It made me want to go out to the garage, fire up a bandsaw and make my own instruments.

And I will guarantee you that nobody can keep a straight face during the rendition of "New York, New York" on the Car Horn Organ.

Average customer rating: Strangest Sounds On Earth Times Square Orchestrated homage to creative oddballs Strange, but oddly pleasing Expand Your Ears - Just For The Fun Of It

Gravikords, Whirlies, and Pyrophones (Experimental Musical Instruments) Bart Hopkins & Various Artists Manufacturer: Ellipsis Arts ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: Instrumentarium Hopkinis Ohm: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music Special Edition 3CD + DVD Ondes Martenot An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music, Vol. 2 An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music: First A-Chronology, Vol. 1 ASIN: B0000059TN Release Date: 1996-11-05

Tracks:

1. Le Bal - Hans Reichel
2. Pacific 3-2-1 - Phil Dadson And From Scratch
3. Silence The Toungues Of Prophecy - Qubais Reed Ghazala
4. Luminescence - Jean-Claude Chapuis
5. In The Beginning: Atude - Don Buchla And Robert Moog
6. Claycussion - Ward Hartenstein w/ The Estman...
7. And On The Seventh Day, Petals Fell... - Harry Partch
8. Shake Up Adina - Sugar Belly
9. Bamboo Is - Darrel De Vore
10. The Swan - Clara Rockmore & Nadia Reisenberg
11. Terra Zona - Barry Hall & The Burnt Earth
12. Naiades - Jacque Dudon
13. Instru-matics - Ken Butler w/ Stan Wood & John Butler
14. Entomological Effervescence - Thomas Nunn
15. Kindred Spirits - Sarah Hopkins
16. Piccadilly - Robert Grawi
17. Aquaknots - Susan Rawcliffe w/ Scott Wilkinson...
18. New York, New York - Wendy Mae Chambers

Album Description

Gravikords, Whirlies and Pyrophones is a book-and-CD package devoted to new and unheard-of musical instruments. The book, written by Bart Hopkin with an introduction by Tom Waits, is full of irresistible photographs and informative text; the CD is full of great music; every page and every track overflow with ideas and originality. Nineteen of the world's most interesting and inventive musical instrument makers appear. For more on just what's included here, see the "artist bios" section and the track listing below. [NOTE: this is the abridged re-release of the earlier boxed set of the same title.This abridged version includes everything form the original CD plus one more track. The book, however, is in a smaller format, and while the book in the original version contained sections on all the artists on the CD plus many more, the book in this newer! release covers the artists from the CD only.)

Customer Reviews:

Strangest Sounds On Earth.......2007-04-01

I couldn;t imagine what the rest of the album would contain after hearing NEW YORK, NEW YORK played on a Car Horn Organ, but I wasn't disappointed. Some of the most wonderful sounds coming out of pipes, clay pots, and crystal wine glasses. And the book is a treasure with pictures of the various instruments. What a find for the collector of oddball music!

Times Square Orchestrated.......2007-03-31

NPR's Morning Edition caught my attention one morning with a piece of bumper music - a rendition of "New York, New York" played entirely on car horns. It was the sound you would get if you could orchestrate Times Square. It was utterly delightful and even got the normally-reserved hosts giggling. A quick search of the NPR site brought me to the title "Gravikords, Whirlies and Pyrophones." Now who could resist that?

Alas, "New York, New York" is one of only two or three cuts on the album that can be listened to in an unaltered state of mind. The rest is, well... experimental as promised and confirms why experimental music is not mainstream.

On the other hand, having in your collection a version of "New York, New York" played on the car horn organ is worth every penny of the cost.

homage to creative oddballs.......2007-02-06

This is a great box set. You get a CD and an illustrated book. The CD features recordings of all sorts of odd experimental and home made instruments, ranging from the Theremin to the Bamboo Saxophone to Harry Partch's custom instruments. The book discusses the inventors and their instruments. The CD is a very unusual listen. The musical styles are all over the place, and it goes from the sublime to the ridiculous (sometimes both at once!). Some of it is Dr. Demento style gimmick music, while other is very experimental, and still other is fairly straighforward (the tune with the Bamboo Sax is actually a pleasant old school reggae instrumental).

Make sure you get the 1996 edition, because the book discusses more inventors, including ones not included in the CD.

Strange, but oddly pleasing.......2002-01-08

You have to like experimental music, but... the fact is, this CD would be worth listening to even if the tunes were played on regular instruments. In other words, it's good musically and in terms of the unusual instruments used. Clara Rockmore's 'The Swan' and Sugar Belly's 'Wake Up Adina' are the real gems.

Expand Your Ears - Just For The Fun Of It.......2000-06-09

This is one of the few CD's that I just have no hesitation giving five stars to. "Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones" is a recording of people playing unusual and home-made musical instruments, performing familiar and utterly alien-sounding compositions on them. If you have any ear at all for music this CD will keep you fascinated for days, and reading about the artists in the accompanying book is equally entrancing.

A great many books and recordings of experimental musical instruments are painfully dry and boring, written (and recorded) from an academic point of view. This book/CD set isn't, and as a result it's highly entertaining. I can guarantee that as a listener you have never heard anything quite like the sounds you will hear on this disc. And far from being a collection of funny noises, all of the pieces on here are compositions, with beginnings, middles and ends, actual rhythms, and melodies. This CD/book set is an eye-opener and a mind opener, and it's very inspirational. It made me want to go out to the garage, fire up a bandsaw and make my own instruments.

And I will guarantee you that nobody can keep a straight face during the rendition of "New York, New York" on the Car Horn Organ.

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