J.Krawietz Goes Electro

Motivated Sounds

Javi Krawietz — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:57:43 +0000

Almost six months since the last post… I’m really incorrigible and I won’t even bother giving you an excuse.

There is a number of songs rounding my head lately, in which I’ve actually been working less than I should, that I have started calling “motivated sounds”. It is not a new, groundbreaking idea, it has been running around for ages: using everyday sounds as music. You only have to think about that piece from Pierre Henry with a squeaking door, Harry Partch’s instruments o these two wonders of modern music, very different from each other but nonetheless interesting:

The difference between my songs and these masterworks is that in the minimal universe that each of my songs present, the objects and sounds are used to recreate (not melodically but almost always in a rhythmic and atmospheric sense) a precise situation, a certain secret and inner world, the key to what the song is about. The sounds are there because they are motivated by the theme, and not merely because they sound great and interesting.

Like Cristobal Tapia de Veer does in his soundtrack for the British Series UTOPIA, where you can guess medical equipment, respirators, tubes, and a long list of medical violences – just like the story of the series:

Maybe it would be best if I explain this with a clear example, and I guess I should start at the beginning, with the song that started this “motivated sounds”-notion. It is called The Housewife’s Bliss.

I encountered a video on YouTube that fascinated me. In it, a housewife, very 50s, takes a huge dose of acid and is interviewed later, in the midst of her trip, by a psychiatrist. The reactions of this woman intrigued me and I started fantasizing: Who was she? What was her life like? How did she understand this experience? How was her life after that? In my mind there was a very clear (and fictive) picture of this woman: her home, maybe a son, waiting for her man to come home from work, cooking and cleaning… That tyoe of tacit violence against women that I assume was common in the 50s and is still common nowadays.

When I started working on this song and its lyrics, which are a re-telling of what she says during the interview and a couple of impressions of mine, I realized that the home sounds were actually helping to paint this character and her situation, to actually situate her in her world, to recreate that known and menacing atmosphere: washing dishes, slamming doors, glasses breaking on the ground, cigarettes, the sound of the fridge…

And this way it started – I’ve been assembling a number of songs that toy with this approach which I hope to publish sometime soon. There are things going on, but I will tell you when I’m, certain. Keep you posted.

I also leave you here a couple of new songs, ones that have nothing to do with motivated sounds, and are probably not going to be published and very rarely played live.

See you soon.

Song?

Javi Krawietz — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 15:52:57 +0000

What exactly is a song? I’ve been thinking about it for some time an I seem to be getting nowhere. Everybody has some kind of opinion about it (if you don’t, take a look at the Wikipedia) – there’s music, someone singing and a pretty clear structure which don’t allow much deviation or improvisation. And there, exactly, starts my dilemma. When does an innovation starts being tradition? When is the next step accepted and becomes part of a canon? Because it is clear that many things that are understood as songs don’t fit in this structure, canonic interpretation of what a song is.

It all started with a remark from Anne Levke about one of my songs, Dark Cloud:

She was annoyed by the fact that this song, and another snumber of songs of mine, did not have a chorus. I never even thought about this before, for me, this song was as valid as any other. I don’t share the opinion that a song NEEDS a chorus to work, neither did I think that someone would be annoyed because of that, or beacuse a canon was being bent. In fact, I don’t think that anyone would deny that something as beautiful as this:

or this:

cannot be considered songs because they lack a chorus. The list of songs (hits or misses) without one is actually long.

I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind. What makes a song a song? Is it the its structure or the theme of his lyrics? O.K., structure seems to have a role, but like I hope I just explained, it is not essential. The themes have not been significant for ages. It is actually quite common to find song which are completely devoid of any significanes. I Zimbra from Talking Heads or the whole Lp Danç-Eh-Sáh of Tom Zé are maybe easy examples, but many hits of Lady Gaga or Rihanna show no other language function than the imperative or merely referential.

I keep thinking about it but I don’t reach a conclusion. I think emotions play a big role, but an emotion doesn’t make a song, it just makes it bug, intense and good.

I guess I’ll keep thinking about it.

In the meantime, I leave you here two of my new songs, which will probably be included in my next EP, that I plan releasing in January or February 2013. It dependes, like so many things, on the money. Ah the glories of self-production!!

Music on wheels?

Javi Krawietz — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:41:12 +0000

Once again, or better said, always, times goes by: I look back and see that it’s been again months since I posted anything here, months since I actually sat dow and worked on a song. I discover with awe that I’m only picking the guitar up to rehearse and that it’s been some time since a couple of chords were struck at home. And the case being that music is always with me, that I go crazy without it. But I realise that I love to sharpen the knife but I really seldom stab it. Mi head boils but the pieces of paper remain blank. I have to do more. And that’s it.

Leaving this pseudophilosophical wail, there is something that I’ve been thinking but not really talked about with friends and that I’ll just throw here – the digital revolution liberated us form the physical hardware, form tapes, cds, dvds and so. Or it is doing it. But how does affect this our way of listeningt to music? I’m not talking about the excess of information that’s killing us, or of the fact that you did burn a cd o made a tape for someone and now you get full discographies. I’m also not talking about buying a record and look at the booklet and read the lyrics (tough that isn’t happening much either).

I have the sensation that music has become mobile. I’ll try to explain because it may be only my impression and it is directly related to the way I hear music – each time that I’m walking. Each time that I’m MOVING. In a train, in a car, in the bicycle. Music has always been mi travel companion in a very strict sense – it is the landscape that paints the the city in which I move. Since I had a walkman, discman or ipod music has been going around with me, it is caught in its very essence, which is movement, a coming and going wothout pause which leaves only silence in the brief moments between songs. I never listen to music at hime, when I do it becomes like a tapestry, like some decoration, not different from the painting beside the bookshelf. If I want to listen to a record in detail (actually I’m doing that much less, I always was a song-guy), I do it with earphones. And if I can, preferably in the streets, taking a walk. Am I crazy or does this happen to anyone else?

An yes, there is a new song. It was time. And I love it. A discharge of 2:30 minutes. Hope you like it:

Broken display by J. Krawietz Goes Electro!

And one last thing – that Tarkowski is one of the greatest can not be discussed. His films are unique and are demanding, and that has granted him the antipathy of some and the fascination of others. While I was re-reading his essay book Sculpting in Time (funny enough, the german translation I have is called “The Sealed Time”. I wonder how it is really called in russian), I had the surprise of finding a link in the wall of Mr. Pozo’s facebook profile that took me to a collection of Tarkowskis poladroids, which he took his entire life. I copy you some of them here, and you may also click here to be redirected to the page and look for your favourite. I love his way of looking at things.

New Song, Hard Times

Javi Krawietz — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:11:23 +0000

What can I say – I try hard to keep going on, but sometimes life just decides to go a path of its own. It is like songwriting: you may have a very precise idea of what you’re looking for, but once you start working you never know where you’ll land. It is something that has fascinated me for ages.

Does it happen to anyone else?

I, for my part, may have written a bass line or a solo, but when I press record, in the minimal fractions of seconds where I actually have to start playing what I had written previously, somethings clicks and I play something completely different, I let go and something that is much better (or much worse) comes out.

Something like that happens in all aspects of my life. Decision making is for me not such a complicated task – it usually takes place quite fast, but that decision may be almost inmediately changed depending on the situation.

Anyway I decided to post here very recently and try at least to write a song each weekend – of course it has turned out to be another way. I am working SOO much (TwinKomplex rules!) that I really just don’t find the time to do anything else. What the hell, I even dream about working! But here are my last efforts. I think that it sounds pretty decent, I am happy with the sound of it and with the lyrics. Always open for comments and happy about recieving them, so if you want to say something, just mail me, or go to Facebook, Twitter or Soundcloud.

Why or why not by J. Krawietz Goes Electro!

And another thing – I’ve been a fan from Jon Rafman for ages, since I stumbled upon him on the internet. His website 9-eyes is a fantastic collection of weird and nice pictures found on Google Street View. The world may be getting smaller, there may be almost no place to hide or get lost. But it is still full of surprises. Take a look at the website and you’ll see. Here a foretaste:

See you around!

Back Again and Warming Up

Javi Krawietz — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:43:29 +0000

Well, I’m Back! There’s been a lot going on since we launched the website – I’m right now the “artist of the week” in La Parcela Music, Mondosonoro Canarias publishes a small review of the E.P., the fantastic Spanish creative-commons blog Monasterio de Cultura posted my video… Quite Cool! I’m also talking to more sites and magazines that are interested in publishing reviews and the Videoclip has been seen by hundreds of people… THANKS TO EVERYONE!

The London show was great, I hope that I get the photos soon so that I can post a couple for you all to see – I just copied one of the few I have here for you all:

Photo by Ventura Mendoza

It was a great experience to play in such a big place, and having John Moore (yes, THE John Moore from The Jesus & Mary Chain) opening before me was at the same time an honor and a little bit surreal. He turned out to be a very nice guy, close and respectful, funny and cool. And the other guys who came to “A Typical Day on Golden Beach” were also great. We did good.

It was a pity that I couldn’t get to see much of London with such a short schedule. I certainly have to come back some day. It seemed interesting.

I’m starting now a concert-ofensive with hopes of doing a small Germany-Tour during November and December. I’ll keep you posted.

And now, for all of you, a small video I found the other day. It’s magical (if you, like me, have always been fascinated by space, this is going to blow your brains out!). Thanks to Chris Abbas for the wonderful film – I’ll probably be using it as a projection in my shows.

See you soon!

Start

jkrawie1 — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:26:48 +0000

It all starts with a small step. Beginnings are always funny moments, full of a strange magic – a strange nervous and exciting sensation.

I always wanted to do this and never could: work, life, other things, laziness… Something always got in the way.

But if there’s something I know, is that creating songs, and specially getting on the stage and singing them, leaving my soul in each and every beat, is what keeps me going on, it helps me getting in touch with myself and with everything. I hope that you keep reading this entries, that you share this journey with me. This blog will be a collection of thoughts, videos and rarae avis. Be advised.

Thanks to everyone who has been with me through all this years, to everyone who taught me something, to everyone who could not make it all the way.

And thanks to everyone who is starting this journey with me.

Let’s begin, then…