-──────────────── ▄██▄ ──────── ▀█████▄ -── ███ ███ ─ ▄██▄ ▀█████▄ ──── ▐███ ███▌ ▀██▀ ▄██████▄ -─ ████ ████ ▄▄▄ ▄██████████▄ ▐█████████▌ ███▌▐████▀ ▀████▀ ███████████ ████ ██▀ ─── ▀▀ ▐█████ █████▌▐███ ▀ ██████ ██████ ▀██ ────────── ███████ ███████▄ █ -.2ooo.- ─────── ▄▄▄ ──────────────── "HiGH ▀ iNTELLiGeNCE tRoLLS" _______________________________________________________________________ a r t i s t : We're Breaking Up t i t l e : Here and Above d a t e : 2003 l a b e l : 2+++ g e n r e : Avantgarde r l s. d a t e : Okt/2004 t r a c k s : 02 b i t r a t e : VBRkbps s i z e : 67,2 MB _______________________________________________________________________ Here and Above considers music as a transcendental experience. Its layers of patterned tones, buried signals, shifting drones and static recall the way some music makes you want to switch off the light, put on your headphones and drift inward, and how it also makes you reach out your arms and take flight. But the album is infected with something that confuses this movement. The steady rumble of traffic outside forced Michael to record wearing headphones. His recorder had to run off batteries to reduce radio interference. And the relative isolation of the basement studio where he mastered Here and Above was not immune to the constant hiss of air vents and computer fans. Ultimately the two tracks, about 26 minutes each, realize there is no escape. In most places today it's hard to find solitude at home when the floors shake and distant stereos pump through walls. If you can locate an open space without people a multitude of voices still swarm around you via radio, tv, and mobile phone transmission. You can't see or stop them, but touch a tv aerial and you amplify their signal. Observe buildings gazing into the horizon. Feel streetlamps pouring light on you at night. Imagine that in breathing you exchange part of yourself with your surroundings. Here and Above can neither remove you from this world, nor immerse you in another. It breathes, rising and falling, engaged in its process of self-transformation until the cd stops. We're Breaking Up Michael Rodgers, electronics We're Breaking Up is the electronics project of Michael Rodgers. Melting channels on his mixing desk have prompted some reconsideration of sound sources, but the approach to the music remains the same. Michael is a multi-instrumentalist who played in punk bands in Memphis before getting involved with free improvisation. Living in London since 2000, he brings a sense of urgency and openness to many musical combinations. Ongoing projects include Broken Hands (guitar duo with Anthony Guerra), We're Breaking Up (solo electronics), and has collaborated with Paul Hood, Nishide Takehiro, Dion Workman, Barry Weisblat, Margarida Garcia, Pedro Lourenτo, and others. Performances include Freedom of the City (London), Musica Ex Machina (Bilbao), and Placard Headphone Festival. Michael's published recordings include cds by the groups Broken Hands, We're Breaking Up and Neutral Density Trio. In November 2003 We're Breaking Up contributed a track entitled 'Receiver 1' for New York-based Antiopic label, as part of their Allegorical Power Series. 'Receiver 2' is included in the Resonant Cities programme of 2004's Drift Festival in Scotland. (http://www.twothousandand.com) _______________________________________________________________________ 01-Here and Above-Untitled 01 [27:35] 02-Here and Above-Untitled 02 [26:15] ------- 53:50 min _______________________________________________________________________