Sunday, July 22, 2007

Artscape/Exotic Hypnotic: Ilya Monosov

Ilya Monosov @ Artscape/Exotic Hypnotic, Langsdale Auditorium, July 21, 2007, Baltimore, MD

This set took a long time to emerge from a haze of technical issues as an unusual amount of feedback, line noise and burned amplifiers nearly derailed this performance. Eventually, some interesting textures did emerge. But they were quickly dragged down by some questionable samples and beat-karaoke. The samples of Terry Riley's Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band whet my appetite for the real deal as Monosov (and his conga playing apprentice) didn't add anything to that great sound. After several misfires with similar samples this began to feel more like a failed DJ experiment than a live performance.

3 comments:

ilyaemonosov said...

hi. thanks for the review. i agree totally with you, it was a failed DJ set (i meant to DJ, thats why the set was under a fake name and not supposed to be a Ilya Monosov set). a few corrections.. there was no terry riley samples. i composed, performed, and recorded all the music in that set besides one percussion section, and another piece taken from a tibetan ritual record (about 30secs long loop). its crucial that blogers and members of the experimental music scene take responsibility for their actions, writings, and blogs. i again, appreciate the review and encourage you to sample / hear my works which can be heard at www.frogpeak.org and on my myspace page, as well as on the CDs and LPs i have released over the past 10 years. regards, Ilya Monosov

Unknown said...

Hello Ilya, thanks for stopping by.

It's entirely possible that some of the Terry Riley being played on CD between sets leaked through - either during the set or in my memory. If I am wrong, I stand corrected on the sources of your material from that set.

I am intrigued enough to seek out your discs. It's entirely possible that there are and will be several great studio recordings in your catalog. And I know the folks at Frog Peak have a great deal of taste.

D

ilyaemonosov said...

hi.
yup, they did play Riley works issued on Cortical Foundation Records in the late 90s. thats what you felt you heard during my set. and again, i agree with your review, that set was a disaster.
best wishes,
ilya