Janek Schaefer - Skate Rink

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Review by Eduard Diggs

Skate Rink, the latest album from Janek Schaefer, is a mesmerizing soundscape that transports the listener to a world of nostalgia and wonder. With a unique blend of ambient and experimental music, Schaefer creates a sonic landscape that evokes images of a bygone era - the golden age of roller skating.

The album opens with the title track, which sets the tone for the rest of the record. The sound of skates gliding across the rink is accompanied by ethereal synths and pulsing beats, creating a sense of movement and energy. From there, the listener is taken on a journey through a world of sound, with each track offering a different perspective on the roller rink experience.

One of the standout tracks on the album is "Roller Rink Sunrise," which combines dreamy synths with a sample of a roller rink announcement, creating a sense of anticipation and excitement. Another highlight is "Skate Til U Drop," which features a driving beat and distorted vocals that perfectly capture the frenetic energy of a crowded roller rink.

Download Janek Schaefer - Skate Rink
Artist: Janek Schaefer
Album: Skate Rink
Rating: 3.94

Table of Contents

Download

Filename: janek-schaefer-skate-rink.rar
  • MP3 size: 3.3 mb
  • FLAC size: 48.7 mb

Tracks

TrackDurationPreview
Untitled

Images

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Catalog Numbers

audiOh! 11, STmCD 023

Labels

audiOh! Recordings, Staalplaat

Listen online

  • lyssna på nätet
  • écouter en ligne
  • kuunnella verkossa
  • escuchar en línea
  • lytte på nettet
  • ascolta in linea
  • ouvir online
  • online anhören
  • online luisteren

Formats

  • Vinyl
  • LP
  • Single Sided CD
  • Mini

Companies

RoleCompany
Produced AtaudiOh! Room
Designed AtaudiOh! Room
Copyright (c)audiOh!
Phonographic Copyright (p)audiOh!

Notes

  • This is a one-sided LP + CD3" set.
  • Liner notes:
  • "The original concept for this LP was to make a record that usurped the deterministic spiral (and the 'anti-skate' mechanism) as a way of playing and listening to sound on vinyl. To do this I developed the 'Fragmented' cutting technique, a method of cutting a concentric collage of individual short 'sound scars' onto the disc. When played, the stylus navigates it's own random path across this intermittent terrain of physical/sonic diversions. The type of record player, its speed and the user will all affect the result and thus each and every playback of the LP will elicit a different composition.
  • After much research it proved unfeasible to experiment in a professional cutting room to develop this process. I decided then to build my own lathe by converting and inverting the acoustic sound reproduction mechanism of an HMV wind up 78rpm gramophone. Using a car stereo system I positioned a pair of speakers so that they played into the sound funnel and thus ultimately back into the stylus head. The stylus then acted as a vibrating cutting head when enough volume was applied. A 14" blank acetate was placed on the turntable and rotated at varying speeds using the gramophone's sprung mechanism. By very quickly and placing the stylus/cutting head onto the disc I built up the final collage scar by scar. I used the collected works of Pierre Schaeffer (a pioneer of vinyl manipulation) for the source sound. Only a proportion of each sound scar was influenced by those specific vibrations as this rudimentary cutting process was one of loss and accumulation.
  • The LP is intended to be the starting point for 'real time' explorations by the user. It works very well as a repetitive device if you place an obstruction (like a 7") in the path of the tone-arm as it locks the stylus into a loop. Another method is to play the record by just using your hand to rotate it slowly instead of at 33 or 45. This produces a much more subtle and controlled result. My personal favourite is to use the Tri-Phonic or Twin to play several sequences simultaneously. As the LP travels at a fixed speed all the arms play at the same tempo and thus 'polymix' perfectly. Experiment with it. Have fun!
  • 'Rink' is a composition using sounds taken from the 'Skate' LP combined with live room recordings taken from the 'Skate' Installation at Triskel Arts, in Cork, Ireland, August 2001. The 2nd version took place at Vooruit Arts in Gent, Belgium, September 2002.
  • The Installation and CD started with a single copy of the LP. Firstly I recorded 60 different rhythmic and textural sound events by playing the LP on my Tri-Phonic Turntable in different ways. 30 silent tracks of varying lengths were then added to create the master CD. A copy of this CD is then loaded into 3 random play CD players and broadcast simultaneously into the room on three sets of speakers. These are positioned around the gallery to mix a spatial and architectural context into this continuous re-composition. Finally, connected to each set of speakers is a light bulb which flickers, fades and glows according to it's associated volume. Occasionally the gallery is left in silence and total darkness as all the CD's hit a silent track and the lights die.
  • 'Rink' was composed in spring 2002 by the invitation of Staalplaat. The CD has 99 track marks for random play. Many thanks to Geert-Jan at Staalplaat, Johan & Dave at K-raa-K3, Valerie Byrne and Eva De Groote for their support and friendship.
  • Produced and designed at the audiOh! Room, London, 1999 to 2003.
  • 'Skate' & 'Rink' (c) + (p) Janek Schaefer, audiOh! Recordings."

About Janek Schaefer

Janek Schaefer was born in middle England to Polish and Canadian parents in 1970. After preparing sound collages as a boy, Janek's musical career was fractured in his teens when, as head chorister at school, his voice broke. A decade later, while studying architecture at the Royal College of Art, the fragmented noises of a sound activated tape recorder travelling overnight through the British postal system were to re-establish his audio career. That work, titled 'Recorded Delivery,' was made for an exhibition with one time postman Brian Eno. Since then the nature of sound has been his primary area of exploration, resulting in many releases, installations and soundtracks for exhibitions, and most notably performances involving his self built/invented 'Twin' and 'Tri-phonic' turntable (which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the 'World's Most Versatile Record Player'). Using hybrid analogue and digital techniques to manipulate field recordings with live modified vinyl and found sound in a 'Concrete ruffian style' (The Wire, 1998), his most recent work has been examining the role of vinyl as a compositional tool with the 'Skate' LP/installation 'Wow' 7" and the 'On/Off LP'. He formed 'Comae', the improvisational electro-acoustic duo with in 1999, with new collaborations due for release soon with , , and (a New York based photographer). Janek runs his own label, , and studio, , as well as releasing work with Sub Rosa, Hot Air, Staalplaat, Sirr.ecords, Rhiz, and Diskono. He now operates as a full time sound artist/composer/musician from the audiOh!Room in London.

Name Vars

  • J. Schaefer
  • Janek
  • Janek Schaefer & The Argonauts
  • Janek Schaefer (For Robert Wyatt)
  • Schaefer

Aliases

  • The Nylon Km
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Summary by Eduard Diggs

Skate Rink is a masterful work of sonic art that showcases Janek Schaefer's talent for creating immersive and emotive music. Whether you're a fan of ambient, experimental, or just love the sound of roller skates, this album is sure to delight and inspire.