November Shows…

Posted by rwiens on 5th November 2014 in Upcoming Shows

Malcolm Goldstein Violin & Rainer Wiens Guitar

AND

Electric Spring Trio

Thom Gossage – electric spring kalimba

Frank Lozano – sax, alto flute

Rainer Wiens – guitar, electric bass kalimba

November 26th
Résonance Café 5175A ave.du Parc
$10

Introduction to Infinity: Rhythm and Improvisation Workshop

Posted by rwiens on 27th April 2015 in Music & Rhythm Workshops, Music/Rhythm Workshops

Rainer Wiens

Introduction to Infinity: Atelier du rhythme et d’improvisation avec Rainer Wiens présenté par Studio d’Improvisation de Montréal.

**email studioimpromontreal@gmail.com to sign up!

Un atelier qui donne les outils aux improvisateurs pour créer une approche personnelle de rythme. Ouvert aux musicien(ne)s de tous les styles, toute sorte des instruments, et niveaux d’expérience////A workshop about giving improvisers the tools to create a personal approach to rhythm. Open to musicians of all styles, any instruments, and all levels of experience.

This workshop will be given in English and French.
L’atelier se donnera en français et en anglais.

(for English, scroll down)

Rainer dit:
”Je pense à mon approche de rythme comme étant modale. Au lieu de penser à la verticale (one ee and a ,2 ee and a) -Je pense d’unités longues et courtes de pulsation disposés dans des schémas rythmiques mélodiques cohérentes. Je crois qu’un rythme forte implique déjà une mélodie.

Dans les rythmes modales, forts accents sont déterminées par la nature de l’expression rythmique, non pas par le downbeat. Lutter contre la gravité des downbeats est la partie la plus difficile, mais conduit à des nouveaux rythmes frais. Un grand nombre des rythmes dans le cours sera présenté oralement en premier. Les rythmes sont faciles à entendre en raison de leur cohérence, même se ils l’air bizarre sur papier, car ils ne sont pas cliché.

Le cours est une introduction, mais donnera aux participants un processus par lequel ils peuvent travailler sur leurs propres nouvelles façons de manifester rythme pendant les 10 prochaines années.”

Rainer Wiens est l’un des guitaristes créatifs de pointe au Canada. Connu également pour sa profonde compréhension du rythme et son imagination sonore, son travail en tant que compositeur improvisateur vien des puits profonds: les traditions de kalimba africain, les abstractions de guitare préparée, et l’interaction de groupe de jazz. En tant que vétéran respecté de la musique créative, Rainer a des collaborations de longue date avec Malcolm Goldstein, Jean Derome, et Thom Gossage, et a parcouru le monde à la recherche de nouveaux sons, de collaborer avec des musiciens et des danseurs partout.

Les frais pour le cours est de 25 $. Les places sont limitées, alors inscrivez-vous maintenant à studioimpromontreal@gmail.com.

————————

Rainer says:
”I think of my approach to rhythm as being modal. Instead of thinking vertically (one ee and a ,2 ee and a) -I think of long and short units of pulsation arranged into coherent rhythmic-melodic patterns. I believe a strong rhythm already implies a melody.

In modal rhythms strong accents are determined by the nature of the rhythmic phrase, not by the downbeat. To fight the gravity of downbeats is the most difficult part ,but leads to fresh new rhythms. A lot of the rhythms in the course will be presented orally first. The rhythms are easy to hear because of their coherence even if they look strange on paper because they are not cliched.

The course is an introduction but will give participants a process whereby they can work out their own new ways of manifesting rhythm for the next 10 years.”

Rainer Wiens is one of Canada’s leading creative guitarists. Known equally for his profound grasp of rhythm and his sonic imagination, his work as an improvising composer draws from the deep wells of African thumb piano traditions, prepared guitar abstractions, and the group interplay of jazz. As a respected veteran of creative music, Rainer has longstanding collaborations with Malcolm Goldstein, Jean Derome, and Thom Gossage, and has traveled the world in search of new sounds, collaborating with musicians and dancers everywhere.

The course costs $25. Space is limited, so sign up now at studioimpromontreal@gmail.com.

RAINER WIENS invitation

Posted by rwiens on 27th April 2015 in Uncategorized

28 aout / August 28th – Montréal Concert

Posted by rwiens on 19th August 2015 in Upcoming Shows
Friday, August 28 at 9:00pm
1214 de la Montagne

Mella Mella – Mystery and Joy

Posted by rwiens on 5th October 2015 in CD Albums

I first started playing kalimbas and other lamellaphones while working for choreographer Lucie Gregoire in 2001. At the time there was an African store called Giraffe on St.Denis. When I would walk in the staff would bring out 30 or 40 kalimbas for me to try and I would leave with 3 or 4 of them.

At the time I was at the beginning of an ongoing examination of rhythm that continues to this day. Because of the layout of the kalimbas (left thumb, right thumb) they lent themselves to exploring melodic polyrhythms, positive and negative rhythms, palindromes and rhythmic canons. To date I have written over a thousand pages of rhythmic ideas, explorations, exercises and compositions.

I was living close to Thom Gossage and thought it would be fun to try out these ideas in a duo format. Each of the kalimbas had a name, written in black magic marker, and we started putting pairs together. I would bring rhythmic sketches, we would learn to play them and then improvise. Most of our rehearsals were done outside, much to the delight of marauding gangs of three year olds.

Over the years we would record a dozen pieces annually and before my hard drive imploded (“Wow I’ve never seen a computer do that before”) we had about 150 compositions. Time passed and the commercially non existent duo became even more non existent.

Several years ago I started writing new pieces for kalimba duo. These were longer, multi part pieces which were quite difficult and it took a long time to be even able to hear the rhythms correctly. We recorded these new pieces and originally they were the ones I had wanted to release. To my dismay and surprise, I preferred the recordings we had done ten years earlier. This disturbed me at first because I believed and wanted to believe that as musicians get older, the music becomes richer, deeper and more assured, yet I preferred the older recordings. There was a lightness and joy that the newer duos lacked.

I rewrote some of the new duo pieces for solo kalimba, then spent over 6 months working on them 6 to 8 hours a day until they felt natural and then went into the studio to record them. Dino Giancola, engineer and calm positive presence, did his usual fantastic job giving the music nuance, detail and clarity.

MELLA MELLA – MYSTERY AND JOY/MYSTÈRE ET JOIE

Posted by rwiens on 8th October 2015 in CD Albums

Mystery-and-JoyJ’ai commencé à jouer des kalimbas et autres lamellophones en 2001, au cours d’un contrat avec la chorégraphe Lucie Grégoire. Il y avait alors sur la rue Saint-Denis une boutique africaine appelée Girafe. Chaque fois que j’y entrais, les employés me présentaient trente à quarante kalimbas pour que je les essaie et je sortais invariablement avec trois ou quatre d’entre eux.

À l’époque, j’ai entamé d’une analyse rythmique approfondie qui se poursuit encore aujourd’hui. Par la disposition de leurs lamelles et grâce au doigté utilisé pour en jouer (pouce gauche, pouce droit), les kalimbas se prêtaient à l’exploration de polyrythmes mélodiques, de rythmes positifs et négatifs, de palindromes et de canons rythmiques. À ce jour, j’ai écrit au-delà d’un millier de pages d’idées rythmiques, d’explorations, d’exercices et de compositions.

J’habitais près de chez Thom Gossage et j’ai pensé qu’il serait amusant de tester ces idées en duo. Chacun des kalimbas avait un nom inscrit au marqueur noir, et nous avons commencé à les grouper par paire. J’apportais des esquisses rythmiques, nous apprenions à les jouer et improvisions ensuite sur celles-ci. La plupart des répétitions avaient lieu à l’extérieur, pour le plus grand plaisir des bandes errantes de gamins de trois ans.

Nous enregistrions annuellement une douzaine de pièces, et avant que mon disque dur implose (« Wow! Je n’ai jamais vu un ordinateur faire ça… »), nous avions environ 150 compositions. Les jours passèrent et le duo sans existence commerciale devint définitivement… non existant.

Il y a plusieurs années, je me suis mis à écrire de nouveaux duos pour kalimbas. Ces pièces à plusieurs parties étaient plus longues, techniquement plus difficiles, et exigeaient davantage de temps pour entendre les rythmes convenablement. Nous avons enregistré ces « nouvelles pièces » qui, à l’origine, étaient celles que je souhaitais distribuer. Mais, désarroi et surprise : je préférais les enregistrements que nous avions réalisés dix ans auparavant. Cela me perturba, car je croyais et voulais croire qu’avec la maturité du musicien la musique devenait plus riche, plus profonde et plus assurée; pourtant, j’aimais mieux les anciens enregistrements. Ils dégageaient une légèreté, une joie, qui manquait aux nouveaux duos.

J’ai converti certains des duos récents en solos, puis passé plus de six mois à travailler sur ceux-ci, six à huit heures par jour, jusqu’à ce qu’ils me semblent naturels, pour ensuite les enregistrer en studio. Comme d’habitude, l’ingénieur du son Dino Giancola avec sa présence calme et positive a réalisé un superbe travail, donnant à la musique nuance, détail et clarté.

 

MELLA MELLA – MYSTERY AND JOY

Mella Mella - Mystery-and-JoyI first started playing kalimbas and other lamellaphones while working for choreographer Lucie Gregoire in 2001.At the time there was an African store called Giraffe on St.Denis Street.When I would walk in the staff would bring out 30 or 40 kalimbas for me to try and I would leave with 3 or 4 of them.

At the time I was at the beginning of an ongoing examination of rhythm that continues to this day.Because of the layout of the kalimbas (left thumb, right thumb)they lent themselves to exploring melodic polyrhythms,positive and negative rhythms,palindromes,and rhythmic canons.To date I have written over a thousand pages of rhythmic ideas,explorations,exercises,and compositions.

I was living close to Thom Gossage and thought it would be fun to try out these ideas in a duo format. Each of the kalimbas had a name, written in black magic marker, and we started putting pairs together. I would bring rhythmic sketches,we would learn to play them, and then improvise. Most of our rehearsals were done outside, much to the delight of marauding gangs of three year olds.

Over the years we would record a dozen pieces annually , and before my hard drive imploded(“Wow I’ve never seen a computer do that before”)we had about 150 compositions.Time passed and the commercially non existent duo became even more nonexistent.

Several years ago I started writing new pieces for kalimba duo.These were longer,multi part pieces which were quite difficult,and it took a long time to be even able to hear the rhythms correctly.We recorded these new pieces and originally they were the ones I had wanted to release.To my dismay and surprise,I preferred the recordings we had done ten years earlier.This disturbed me at first because I believed and wanted to believe that as musicians get older,the music becomes richer,deeper and more assured,yet I preferred the older recordings.There was a lightness, and joy that the newer duos lacked.

I rewrote some of the new duo pieces for solo kalimba,then spent over 6 months working on them 6 to 8 hours a day until they felt natural and then went into the studio to record them.Dino Giancola,engineer and calm positive presence,did his usual fantastic job of giving the music nuance,detail and clarity.

GOLDSTEIN / WIENS DUO – Friday July 15, 2016 @ Resonance Café

Posted by rwiens on 28th June 2016 in Upcoming Shows

GOLDSTEIN/WIENS DUO

Friday July 15, 2016 @ Resonance Café, 5175 Ave du Parc (coin Fairmount), Montréal
Rainer_Concert

New Music Clips – Ripplegaenger

Posted by rwiens on 1st October 2016 in Listen to Music

“Narrow Road to the North” by Ripplegaenger

Narrow Road to the North-Voyage 1

Narrow Road to the North-Voyage 2

Narrow Road to the North-Voyage 3

 

 

©Music by Rainer Wiens and Maya Kuroki

Rainer Wiens & Malcolm Goldstein – “YES”

Posted by rwiens on 25th October 2016 in Upcoming Shows

After 20 years of playing together…

Rainer Wiens and Malcolm Goldstein release YES, their first CD.

Après 20 ans de jouer ensemble…

Rainer Wiens et Malcolm Goldstein faites sortir, YES, leur premier cd.

Goldstein-Wiens Duo
Malcolm Goldstein is one of the few violinists to have shared the stage with John Cage and James Brown.An important member of the Judson Dance Theatre movement Malcolm is one of the most original and profound improvisers in the world.He has forged a sound and voice on his instrument that is unparalleled in the world.
He has been improvising with prepared guitarist Rainer Wiens for 2 decades and they have developed a rapport that must be seen to be believed.Audacious, grounded,organic,powerful, playful and surprising.
Don’t miss it.
Admission $10.

Le Duo Goldstein-Wiens

Malcolm Goldstein est l’un des quelques violonistes à avoir partagé la scène avec John Cage et James Brown. Membre important du collectif Judson Dance Theatre, Malcolm est l’un des improvisateurs les plus originaux et les plus profonds au monde. Avec son instrument, il a créé un son et une voix qui n’ont pas d’équivalent [dans le monde].

Il a improvisé avec le joueur de guitare préparée Rainer Wiens pendant deux décennies et ils ont développé un lien qui doit être vu pour être cru. Audacieux, ancré, organique, puissant, ludique et surprenant.

À ne pas manquer.
Billets$10

 

À l’affiche…

Posted by rwiens on 25th October 2016 in Upcoming Shows

THE PLANT ¬¬¬¬

Jeudi le 3 novembre 2016 ¬¬¬¬

La Plante ¬¬¬¬

Portes à 21h ¬¬¬¬ 8$ / nobody turned away for lack of funds ¬¬¬¬

¬ Jason Sharp & Kaie Kellough ¬
Le saxophoniste Jason Sharp a récemment fait paraître son premier album A Boat Upon Its Blood sur Constellation Records et il joue à Montréal depuis plusieurs années avec Land of Kush, Ratchet Orchestra, Mendham et Matana Roberts. Il joue en duo depuis plusieurs années avec Kaie Kellough, un auteur, poète et musicien qui travaille avec les mots et leurs sonorités.
http://kaie.ca/kaie-kellough-jason-sharp

¬Alcrete¬
Alcrete est l’ensemble de musique avant-garde à géométrie variable du compositeur Eamon Quinn, qui est aussi membre de divers groupes dont Wreckage With Stick et Jerkwater Image.
https://alcrete.bandcamp.com/

¬Rippleganger¬
Rippleganger is a new project for composer and multi-instrumentalist Rainer Wiens, who collaborates here with vocalist Maya Kuroki.
http://rainerwiens.com/
http://www.mayakuroki.com/

¬ Eric Craven / Marielle Groven / Alex Pelchat ¬
Brand new trio playing its first show with Eric Craven [drums, guitar, keys, etc…], Marielle Groven [piano] and Alex Pelchat [electric guitar, cntct mic], who also play with some bands such as 1/4 Tonne and *Shining Wizard*.
http://drophead.ca/
https://mariellegroven.wordpress.com/
https://alexpelchat.bandcamp.com/releases