- Anna Clementi — vocals, pots and pans
- Thomas Stern — bass, synthesizer, backwards guitar, glass, sand, rhythm machine, objects, broomstick, snow
- +
- Hedda Oledzki — vocals on track (A) 6, (B) 3
additional vocals on track (A) 7, (B) 8, 14
Chrislo Haas (†) — Korg MS-20 and Space Echo
on track (A) 13
The story of this record starts in 2011 on Anna Clementi’s balcony in Rome. Her long time musical collaborator Thomas Stern is reading a poetry book by famous German MERZ/DADA-artist Kurt Schwitters (Ur-Sonate, Anna Blume) which belonged to Anna’s father, Italian composer Aldo Clementi (1925-2011). Stern and Clementi are immediately attracted and fascinated by the power of the poetry. The poems in this book ignite the decade-long artistic research of the duo.
Since then, vocalist, singer and composer Anna Clementi has been working intensively with sound researcher, producer and multi-instrumentalist Thomas Stern (Mona Mur, Alex Hacke, FM Einheit) to extract the sound from the poems of Kurt Schwitters.
In doing so, they maintain a fine line between being faithful to the original and radically cutting up the poems and integrating them into into contemporary electronic sounds. From pure poem recital, to walzer tunes, played on pots and pans, cut-up sound poetry eruptions to vintage analogue Space Echo rhythms, loops, synthesizers and even pop quotations, Clementi and Stern put their hands on the poetic foundations of 20th century modern art, extracting the spirit of Kurt Schwitters’ „Merz-Gesamtweltbild“ and moulding it into a sound poetry album.
Listen
Format
VINYL LP + digital download
38:27 min
limited to 200 copies
core 025
Release date: 19 October 2024
Credits
- Recorded and mixed 2013-2019 by Thomas Stern at Sternstaubstudio, Berlin
- Mastered by Douglas Henderson
- Artist portraits by Hasan Akyol
- Cover design by Wendelin Büchler
Some praise…
” (…) Für’s gutbürgerliche Feuilleton ist die LP “Doppelmoppel – Poems by Kurt Schwitters” aber vielleicht doch zu ambitioniert-avanciert (…) Für Schwitters Freunde und Sound Poetry Fans ein kleines Fest.”
— Westzeit (DE)
Reviews
Zum Ende noch etwas HochKultur: Für’s gutbürgerliche Feuilleton ist die LP “Doppelmoppel – Poems by Kurt Schwitters” (Corvo) aber vielleicht doch zu ambitioniert-avanciert. ANNA CLEMENTI & THOMAS STERN haben sich dafür gemeinsam Texte vom OberDada Kurt Schwitters vorgenommen (ich weiß schon, dass Johannes Baader der offizielle Oberdada war, aber wer wird denn kleinlich sein). Das tönende Resultat besteht aus typischer “ich bin ausgebildete Sprecherin”-SprachPerformance, ein wenig OnomatoPoesie und dezenten elektronischen Verschränkungen (zu denen irgendwie auch der ja leider schon vor 20 Jahren verschiedene MS-20-Gott Chrislo Haas posthum beiträgt). Für Schwitters Freunde und Sound Poetry Fans ein kleines Fest.”
— Jazzjanzkurz, Westzeit (DE)
What were some of your earliest collaborations? How do you look back on them with hindsight?
With Tosca (Rupert Huber & Richard Dorfmeister) and following a collaboration with Rupert Huber, who encouraged me to start doing my own stuff …
There are many potential models for collaboration, from live performances and jamming/producing in the same room together up to file sharing. Which of these do you prefer – and why?
I like jamming/producing and live performances.
I enjoy sharing and exchanging energy and creativity on all levels.
How did this particular collaboration come about?
I’ve known Stern for many years. I think we met in 1991 something. Only 10 years later I started feeling that it was about time to start something new. So I asked Stern if he would be willing to record some vocals. Then we started arranging the vocals and so on.
Everything just happened. I think it took us one afternoon to find out that there was a lot of potential in this collaboration.
What did you know about each other before working together? Describe your creative partner in a few words, please.
As I mentioned, we met in 1991 or 1992. He was involved in an opera by Iris ter Schiphorst and I was the soloist. It was a one woman opera. But I got to know him better after 2001.
I really liked that we were both very honest and very fast in making decisions. I still enjoy working with him. We listen to each other and are very direct. And we trust each other. I like that he never tries to please anyone. In general.
What do you generally look for in a collaborator and what made you want to collaborate with each other specifically?
I did like his ‘simplicity’. Honest, direct and clear.
Tell me a bit about your current instruments and tools, please. In which way do they support creative exchange and collaborations with others?
My tool is my voice, my creativity. And of course my brain.
Stern has all the technical tools and an immense knowledge. He is creative and often understands what I’m aiming for without me having to explain a lot of things. We basically always have fun!
Before you started making music together, did you in any form exchange concrete ideas, goals, or strategies? Generally speaking, what are your preferences when it comes to planning vs spontaneity in a collaboration?
We didn’t. We just started. Generally speaking I follow my gut feeling.
Describe the process of working together, please. What was different from your expectations and what did the other add to the music?
Well … I had no expectations at all. And I prefer spontaneity.
I usually have an idea, a seed, take it to the studio and see what comes out. If nothing comes out, I don’t insist too much. I wait for the next idea.
Is there a piece which shows the different aspects you each contributed to the process particularly clearly?
Not really. He works on effects and sounds. I search for the vocality. But in the end it all goes together.
Sometimes I come back to the studio and he welcomes me with new ideas and sounds and vice versa.
What tend to be the best collaborations in your opinion? Those with artists you have a lot in common with or those where you have more differences? What happens when another musician take you outside of your comfort zone?
Of course it’s great to have a lot in common. But that doesn’t mean taste or musical background. I believe in the right energy.
The challenge of being taken outside the comfort zone can be very exciting. One should always check for what’s outside the comfort zone.
Decisions between creatives often work without words. How did this process work in this case?
Often without words. Or … a few words could be: ‘that’s crap’ let’s delete it!’
Then we laugh and go on.
What are your thoughts on the need for compromise vs standing by one’s convictions? How did you resolve potential disagreements in this collaboration?
I think listening to each other and trying to understand the different point of view is fundamental. Also in life. Openness feeds creativity.
Was/Is this collaboration fun – does it need to be?
It was and it is.
Do you find that thanks to this collaboration, you changed certain parts of your process or your outlook on certain creative aspects?
I think so. I think I found a new freedom.
Collaborating with one’s heroes can be a thrill or a cause for panic. Do you have any practical experience with this and what was it like?
The thrill, the challenge, the panic makes you grow. When I first performed ‘Pierrot Lunaire’ at the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum. The director was Urs Troller, an amazing theatre person. It was all by memory, staged and choreographed.
I wished the theatre would burn down. I was scared to death. But then it was magical …and I learned so much from that experience.
— 15questions.net (USA)