Mike Hovancsek - koto, gu zheng, sitar, guitar, tambura, waterphone, percussions, etc. David Badagnani - oboe, english horn, sheng, saw-ou, khaen, guitar, banjo, etc. Mark Allender - viola da gamba, sanxian, double bass, throat singing, percussions, etc.
Frequent guests: Stefanie Workman - banjo, flute, guitar, percussions, etc. Joe Culley - tabla, percussions, etc.
Influences
Yo-Yo Ma, John Cage, Zakir Hussain, Ned Rothenberg, Harry Partch, Nanae Yoshimura, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, gagaku, Sun Ra, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Steve Reich, Huun-Huur-Tu, Miles Davis, Albert Ayler, Keith Jarrett, Filipino kulintang music, Ralph Towner, Ravi Shankar, John Coltrane, Chinese temple music, Kronos Quartet, Ornette Coleman, Shakti, John Zorn, Thomas Mapfumo.
Sounds Like
Pointless Orchestra was a group that existed in one form or another between 1993 and 2005. We combined tunings and instruments from a wide array of cultures with improvisation and extended playing techniques. We assembled these elements into several different types of music, including ominous film soundtracks, Asian court music, free improvisation, sound collages, and frantic drum jams.
The group provided us with a remarkable outlet for our creative ideas. We were open to every possibility, including inviting numerous guest members to join us, incorporating avant-garde theatrical elements into our performances, collaborating with dancers, performing live film soundtracks, building our own instruments, collaborating with videographers, finding unique ways to incorporate language into our music, trying many different kinds of instruments/scales/techniques, and staging large-scale multimedia performance pieces.
While we weren’t always 100% successful in everything we did, we were always willing to take risks and to embrace new ideas. Our work ranged from disappointments (like the gig we did with Eugene Chadbourne during an ice storm, when only 15 people showed up to hear us!) to wonderful successes (including our live accompaniment to films for the Avant Garage Music and Film Festivals in Cleveland and Columbus, and our extremely popular multimedia performances).
We disbanded Pointless Orchestra in February 2005. The members are currently pursuing separate creative projects that are too numerous to list here. A short list includes:
* Mark Allender has released a solo CD titled Battery, recorded vocal music for a project titled Cappella, and created Bowed Radio, an internet radio program that is devoted to experimental bowed string music.
* Mike Hovancsek released a solo CD titled Temporal Angels and is working with Anand Naad, a group that combines Indian classical music, jazz improvisation, East Asian string instruments, and chant. He is currently finishing his second solo CD.
The members of Pointless Orchestra got tired of negotiating with indifferent, incompetent, and downright corrupt record labels over the years so we decided to give away our entire catalog for free from this website! The cover art and liner notes are also available here. Each release is described below:
Rarities – Rarities is a collection of previously unreleased material and pieces that were originally only available on various compilation CDs. It includes surreal Egyptian big band music, Sanskrit chant, abstract explorations performed live on WCSB FM, a piece that combines Indonesian and Japanese instruments, and two pieces recorded live in concert as part of the “Pointless Night Out” concert series. Guest musicians include The Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent Choir, Margot Milcetich, Joe Culley, Stefanie Workman, Mark Bussinger, Mike Foster, and Brian Klempp. - Download Now!
The four discs that follow were originally scheduled to be released on a record label (one that we will not name here). After years of delays and frustrations it became obvious that the director of the label had aspirations that greatly exceeded his abilities. As a result, Under Moons, Scattered Meditations, The Angel Scratch Radio Project, and Throwing Silverware Down Stairs were released independently and, until now, were not widely available.
The Angel Scratch Radio Project – Angel Scratch is a collection of material that the group recorded for an ill-fated radio project. It is a series of pieces that explore ways of combining language and music. Spoken passages include an authentic narration of an execution, a story about meeting William S. Burroughs, phone messages left by an anonymous stalker, poetry, a recording of a reporter who found himself in the middle of a bomb attack during his broadcast, and the invented language of Anna Homler. Guest musicians/poets include Hammond Guthrie, Cheryl Townsend, Paul (River) Guerguerian, Janet Kuypers, Jim Cole, Anna Homler, Phil Kester, and John Kuegeler. - Download Now!
Throwing Silverware Down Stairs – The title to this CD was chosen when a reviewer from a rock music newspaper described the abstract music of Pointless Orchestra as sounding like “throwing your silverware drawer down the stairs.” This CD includes the most challenging work the group ever did, including Asian chamber music, a live radio collage (with a confused caller put on the air live!), pieces of music recorded live at “The Body Festival,” radio DJs from around the world talking about Pointless Orchestra, a sampler/harpsichord/timpani/piano piece, and a live recital hall performance with legendary Egyptian composer, Halim El-Dabh. Guest musicians include Halim El-Dabh, Janet Kuypers, Matt Turner, John Hajeski, Mike Foster, and Amy Denio. - Download Now!
Scattered Meditations – This CD is a collection of abstract, meditative music that manages to be both calm and challenging at the same time. We were not interested in doing fluffy New Age music on this recording. Instead, we experimented with ways of layering, bending, and altering sound in order to create an other-worldly experience. Guest musicians include Jim Cole, Jen Singleton, and Jeffry Chiplis. - Download Now!
Under Moons – Under Moons is a collaboration between Pointless Orchestra and poet, Cheryl Townsend. The pieces are abstract accompaniments to the spoken passages by Townsend. Guest musicians include Phil Kester, Jim Cole, Paul (River) Guerguerian, and Brian Klempp. - Download Now!
Approaching Totality – This CD was the first full-length release by Pointless Orchestra. It was originally released by Without Fear Recordings. This CD represents the early years of the group, when the sound often included studio collages and electronic manipulation of the acoustic instruments. “Approaching Totality” is made up of recital hall performances, live radio broadcasts, studio recordings, and live concert recordings. This CD generated a lot of good press and charted well on college radio around the world. Guest musicians include Amy Denio, Joseph Celli, Paul (River) Guerguerian, Z’EV, members of Illusion of Safety, Matt Turner, Anna Homler, Mike Foster, John Hajeski, and Panya Roongruang. - Download Now!
open contest! i want to start a contest. starting today may 11. 2009 (11.05.2009) ending may 11. 2010 (11.05.2010) the contest is named "which world do you want to live in?" it can be interpreted as an individual statement/suggestion/hope/scifi/ view on the now or future world. it can be include posi- or negativ visions, sights, perceptions & last but not least xtra sensoric perceptions. plan is to release a physical cd as an artwork. - a "complete artwork" - what means a holistic "thing". it also means a small release underwritten by all artists as a collectors item between 50 & 2 or 500. (that depends on how mutch money i will have that future day to produce it! ;-) it would be fantastic to do a lot of collaboration work on solo ideas/trax/works but it is also possible to bring in an individual statement or track which is already ready. (instrumental/with vocal/radio play & so on) the cd..s i make are containing 80 min. and all participating artist are decide the trax and list order they shall/will put in/on. i also suggest to do the mastering – for to get so close to a „commercial“ product as possible. BUT this is only a suggestion! & no condition. (if an artist means it is essential to take his mix & the democratic way says also yes - we do so!) Make an account and login he(a)re on earritation.net AND make an account on http://www.itbreaks.com join the group The Travel(l)ing Town Musicians for information & discussion lets star(t)! Harald aka Earritation
Just stopping by to let you know that Zikrayat proudly invites you to visit their new website at www.zikrayatmusic.com where you can also listen to previews of the upcoming cd "Zikrayat - Live at Lotus."
Online Now!
