DOUBLE VINYL out now
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COUNTER-CINEMA NON-NARRATIVE
BREZEL GÖRING
THE KONTRA-KINO ORCHESTRA FROM MANILA — THE NAME ALONE TELLS US WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT: AN ORCHESTRA THAT PLAYS FILM MUSIC, COUNTER-CINEMA, AGAINST THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY, BUT FOR FILMS THAT DEFY THE USUAL EXPLOITATION CONTEXTS THROUGH CONTENT & AESTHETICS.
“THE WOMAN WHO WENT MAD” IS THE TITLE OF THE IMAGINARY FILM & ITS CORRESPONDING SOUNDTRACK. IT IS ALSO AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF MARIA CARPENA’S „ANG BABAYENG NAULOL,” THE FIRST PHILIPPINE SHELLAC RECORD CIRCA 1908.
THE 33-PIECE ORCHESTRA CONSISTS OF CLASSICAL SYMPHONIC INSTRUMENTATION, TRADITIONAL FILIPINO BAMBOO PERCUSSION & GONGS, ARABIC, INDIAN & JAPANESE INSTRUMENTS, JAZZ SAXOPHONE & UPRIGHT BASS, ELECTRONICS & A HOME ORGAN WITH AUTOMATIC ACCOMPANIMENT.
IN ADDITION, THE ORCHESTRA ALSO HAS UNCONVENTIONAL INSTRUMENTS REPURPOSED FROM ITEMS SUCH AS A BLOWN LEAF & VARIOUS DRUMS MADE FROM PLASTIC BOTTLES & CANISTERS. THE METHOD OF REPURPOSING WORTHLESS MATERIALS & USING DISCARDED PLASTIC BOTTLES FOR SELF-EXPRESSION IS ALSO REFLECTED IN THE ORCHESTRA‘S CHOICE OF MUSICAL INFLUENCES; FOUND TRADITIONAL FILIPINO SOUNDS ARE CITED WITH THE SAME MATTER-OF-FACTNESS AS FREE JAZZ.
THE MUSIC IS FUTURISTIC - THROUGH THE USE OF ELECTRONICS & UNCONVENTIONAL MUSICAL STRUCTURES, THE LISTENER COULD GET THE IMPRESSION THAT THE FRAGMENTARY KNOWLEDGE OF THE PAST IS MIRRORED INTO A FRAGMENTARY KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUTURE.