(Abstract, Minimalism) Bernhard Günter (Gunter) - Monochrome White / Polychrome W/Neon Nails, Monochrome Rust / Differential (2x2cd) - 2001, 2002, FLAC (tracks), lossless

Monochrome White, Polychrome w/Neon Nails, Monochrome RustThe original idea for Monochrome White came to me during a visit of a large Bill Viola retrospective in Frankfurt. One of the installations consisted of of a video image projected onto (and through) several semi-transparent tissues hung from the ceiling. I found the weightless aspect of this work extremely attractive, and so on my way home started thinking about ways to translate this impression into music.
The result of my reflections was the original concept for Monochrome White (still called White Painting at the time): the piece would only use high frequency spectra to lift it off the ground, so to speak, and it would only use "empty" intervals (4ths and 9ths) to not have it rest on a root note, but to have it harmonically floating/suspended.
When i 1999 i received Darren & Vicky's "In Audio 1" cd, i really liked the sonority of the small noises and glitches on it, immediately felt this was the right source material to realize my concept for Monochrome White with, and as the press release coming with it stated that it was an openwork in progress, i felt entitled to use it.
I started by treating, filtering, and transposing the sounds i had read into my Macintosh, and developing a formal scheme to organize the piece, then started assembling the different layers in ProTools. When i had finished the first two layers (of four planned), a visit by a fellow artist interrupted my work, and kind of broke my red thread of imagination, so that i stopped working on it.
In May 2000, Darren & Vicky organized a concert for me in London, and in one of our conversations i asked Darren whether any artists had used the In Audio cd for works of their own. Darren said nobody had, and i told him that i had, but that my original plan had never been fully realized. I promised to send him a mixdown of what i had finished so far. In October 2000, i finally took the time to restore my ProTools session, and made a stereo master of it. When listening to the piece, i realized that it was actually quite complex enough, and did not really need the two additional layers originally planned. I then decided to propose it to my friends Richard Chartier and Taylor Dupree's label LINE (because it was listening to Richard's cd SERIES that actually lead me to restore my piece), only to find that by some amazing coincidence they were already set to release the "In Audio 2/1" cd, Darren & Vicky's own variation of the original In Audio cd.
So it seems that a definite Karma is bringing Darren & Vicky, Richard, and myself together in the context of an interrelated project, and i'm very happy about it. However, our project did not stop at this point, as i devised a concept that turned Monochrome White into a triptychon.
The original piece was mutated into Polychrome w/Neon Nails, the second piece included in this release. Polychrome w/Neon Nails is actually of lower pitch (although this does not appear so to the ear), and the rate of change has doubled compared to Monochrome White, while its symmetrical structure has been retained. It is a very present, active work, sounding like a big number of digital insects going about their business (or at least this is one possible metaphor for it).
The third piece in the triptychon, Monochrome Rust, presents what a shiny new, digitally clean piece like Polychrome w/Neon Nails might become after fifty years of degradation, and corrosion - the Neon Nails have have become rusted, and lost their shine. Nevertheless, this study of transience is not negative; it rather contains some of the calm of handling memories of long gone events, seen in a new perspective created by the passing of time... Monochrome Rust will be released on LINE next year.
The concept of the triptychon includes the possibility of playing all three parts (or any two of them) simultaneously, making it a perfect work to be presented in the form of a sound installation.
Bernhard Günter, january 2001
Monochrome Rust / Differential
Monochrome Rust, the third piece in a triptychon, initiated with the works Monochrome White and Polychrome w/Neon Nails, presents what a shiny new, digitally clean piece like Polychrome might become after fifty years of degradation and corrosion - the neon nails have become rusted, and lost their shine. Nevertheless, this study of transience is not negative - it rather contains some of the calm of handling memories of long gone events, seen in a new perspective created by the passing of time.
Differential is, in a way, the epilogue, the final touch added to the triptychon of Monochrome White, Polychrome w/Neon Nails, and Monochrome Rust that completes this cycle based on the work In Audio by British duo, Immedia.
The title Differential refers to the way I have derived its basic material: Digidesign's Sound Designer II software has a function called 'compare files' this process compares two sound files, and writes the difference between them (i.e., the frequencies they do not have in common) into a new sound file. For Differential, I had Sound Designer first calculate the difference between Monochrome White and Polychrome w/Neon Nails, then the difference between Monochrome White and Monochrome Rust, and finally, the difference between the two difference files. I listened to the resulting difference between differences, and decided that the 'drama' of the piece would be better if I reversed the whole, which I did. I then developed the appropriate panorama and equalization settings to make the entire process of the piece more apparent, and more perceptible. The final step was turning the volume down, until the piece was about half as loud as the three others in the work cycle.
Differential is a very subtle, very filigree piece, maybe even more abstract and minimalist than the three pieces it was derived from, much like a translucent version of Monochrome White. I'm quite fond of the piece, and believe it will turn this work cycle into a complete whole. It also adds to the use of the whole cycle for an eight channel sound installation.
I dedicate Differential to the people who have made it all possible: Darren & Vicky, Richard, and Taylor.Bernhard Günter, august 2001

AUDIOCHECKER v2.0 beta (build 457) - by Dester - [email protected]
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-=== DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE! ===-
Path: ...\bernhard gьnter - monochrome white - polychrome with neon nails (line, 2001)
1 -=- 101 - monochrome white.flac -=- CDDA (100%)
2 -=- 201 - polychrome w. neon nails.flac -=- CDDA (85%)
Summary 92,50% CDDA
106364660
DIOCHECKER v2.0 beta (build 457) - by Dester - [email protected]
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-=== DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE! ===-
Path: ...\monochrome rust - differential 2002
1 -=- 101 - monochrome rust.flac -=- CDDA (100%)
2 -=- 201 - differential.flac -=- CDDA (100%)
Summary 100,00% CDDA
188858244