{Mandorla CD 002 / Christian Munthe & Christine Sehnaoui – Yardangs}

yardangs
Christian Munthe & Christine Sehnaoui

1) micro: shale                                               3:05

2) meso: siltstone                                          5:43

3) meso: siltstone                                          8:43

4) macro: sandstone                                     12:58

5) macro: gneiss                                            9:11

6) micro: limestone                                        3:33

7) meso: schist                                              8:54

8) meso: shale                                              8:51

Christian Munthe: acoustic guitar / Christine Sehnaoui: alto saxophone

All tracks by Munthe (STIM) and Sehnaoui (SACEM).

Recorded by Keith Talent in Göteborg, Sweden, May 6-7, 2007.

Graphic Design by Dyan Pritamo

“Stylistically, it fits neatly into the long tradition of spiky improv: a rough and tumble flow of sounds that had me bouncing about in my chair for a bit. There is busy interplay between the two: a constant push against one another to force the music on, twist it into further shapes. Yardangs is a perfectly listenable, expertly played album.” – Richard Pinnell, The Watchful Ear

Christian Munthe is a Swedish free improviser and experimental sound artist concentrating on the sonic possibilities offered by an acoustic guitar. Since the 1980’s, he has performed/recorded solo as well as with Günter Christmann, Anders Dahl, Nina de Heney, Patrick Farmer, Mats Gustafsson, Thomas Lehn, Paul Lovens, Phil Minton, Tatsuya Nakatani, Roger Turner, Phil Wachsmann, a.o. He has performed all around the European experimental music circuit, as well as on major festivals, such as the Nickelsdorf Konfrontationen, Time Flies and the Vancouver Jazz Festival.

Born in 1978, Christine Abdelnour Sehnaoui lives in France but is of Lebanese origin. After discovering improvised music in 1997, she began a process of self-taught study and sound experimentation using the alto saxophone. She has developed extended techniques and complex patterns of sound production, exploring the microtonal aspects of the saxophone and its high-pitched tones. She employs subtle tonguing techniques, unpitched breaths, spittle-flecked growls, biting, slicing notes and breathy echoing sounds from the bell of her horn. Far from any narrative effects, her music addresses the relation between listening and concepts of perception, time and space. Aside from her musical activities, Christine studied sociology and works for an independent DVD label of experimental cinema (LOWAVE).