chris rainier lapsteel/e-bow/cello bow/preparations [->] effects pedals|loopers
mat watson
ems aks synth [->] analog delay
Influences
alvin lucier, broadcast, can, cluster/kluster, conlon nancarrow, dada, dark tooth encounter, dirty three, duchamp, eno, faust, fennesz, fred frith, glenn branca, hans richter, harry partch, harmonia, hendrix, hungry ghosts, john cage, kraftwerk, la monte young, leon theremin, link wray, louis and bebe barron, luigi russolo, man ray, moondog, monks, neu!, ralf and florian, robert fripp, santo & johnny, silver apples, sol ho'o'pii, speedy west, stan brakhage, stockhausen, svankmajer, [early!] tangerine dream, tinariwen/terakaft, velvets
fading fires is a collaboration between chris rainier and mat watson from melbourne, australia. their creative partnership has its origins in the melbourne fringe festival, when they first met performing as part of a 17-piece electric guitar orchestra. their music explores a variety of styles, from ambient textures reminiscent of fripp and eno’s 1970’s explorations, to the motorik style of krautrock pioneers can and harmonia, as well as the sonic rebellion of modern classical pioneers like john cage.
live, chris combines the sounds of broken machines and exotic percussion orchestras [by way of prepared lapsteel] with shimmering chords, drones and slowly drifting textures over a web of multiple loops. mat conjures up mysterious sci-fi tones, sub-harmonic landscapes and rhythmic pulses on a vintage ems aks synth.
performances have included the guggenheim exhibition at the national gallery of victoria, north melbourne town hall, loop bar, glitch bar and cinema, the great escape festival (sydney), the melbourne fringe festival and bar open (make it up club).
recordings
we are currently recording, mixing and listening to tracks for a forthcoming release, hopefully due out at the end of the year. for the moment we have posted one of the tracks that will be included on the album. there are no overdubs on this recording and it is completely improvised.
click on the album cover below to listen to samples or download tracks from
'the mechanical eye - live at loop'
this album is a live recording of a performance at loop bar in melbourne, where we collaborated with electronics legend ollie olsen, improvising soundtracks to vintage silent films.
these are a few short clips of us performing with ollie at north melbourne town hall as part of the melbourne fringe festival in october 2008, where we again improvised soundtracks to various films from the 1920's and 30's.
yes it is me... have you seen my new fringe? maybe that disguised my normal identity. i often wish i was a fish in a tank with a uv light shining above me. the wonders of photoshop have taken me there. i feel so fulfilled.
This self titled work consists of two extended pieces recorded at MPS studio in 2007, hinged on deep electroacoustic explorations rich in gesture and texture.
Thankyou, it feels so good to hit the road and drive forever till I hit the ocean. YES, we will definitely be in Australia at some point as the lead guitar player, Dennis, has parents and siblings there. So nice to meet you, stay in touch. xx J
howdie! so never played down under yet but will make it down there eventually!!! so... am sooooooo sorry i am so slow to write back with myspace... when i am on the road i dont bring computer with so i am slowwwwwwwwwwwly trying to catch up with everyone... eeeeks! anyhoooots... thankss o much for finding me again and dropping a line!
thanks! hopefully i hear back from the public bar soon and we can play this show together. if i haven't heard back in the next day or two i'll start to look elsewhere. cheers, scott.
nat
