From The Archives #7 Architects Office

 

One of the cassettes featured / pictured in the 'Tapeworks' book is "AO 353" by Architects Office. Released in 1986 on audioFile Tapes. I hadn't played this tape in over ten years so I thought I'd dig it out and give it a reappraisal. I bought the tape in 2010 from Jürgen Eberhard of Fiene Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim. Unfortunately it is sans booklet. 

I was made aware of Architects Office through Dan Plunkett of ND Magazine. It was either reading about them and their work with filmmaker Stan Brakhage or the compilation cassette "A/aND : A Cross Cultural Collaboration Between A/a & ND Magazine" (1987). Whichever, I am a big admirer of their output. "AO 353" is a C60 with two very differing sides. Side A features six pieces beginning with abstract piano, improvised abstract piano, it's all very 'Klang-Klang' as a piano is attacked rather than played. The beating of strings and the framework. 'AO 262' (the third piece ... most Architects Office tracks seem to be documented by their number, the same approach is carried out by Japanese sound artist Takahiro Mukai) features tape sources provided by Stan Brakhage with floating (sci-fi) synth sounds and masked voices. The same sound can be found on 'AO 277' but without the Brakhage tapes and with the addition of a plinky-plinky (toy) piano. At this point the whole abstract + improvisational sound approach is reminding me of a Fluxus album I have by Joseph Beuys and Nam June Paik, it's all very similar. Are Architects Office fluxus music? 

'AO 342' again has the floating synth sound, 1970's Star Trek outbursts mixed with Delia Derbyshire type whoosh and warbles. This time with the sounds of French Horns, live and manipulated through tape and child voices. This piece I can imagine being used as soundtrack to an experimental film. Side A ends with 'Variete'. This also features on the A/aND compilation cassette. A very structured piece with electronic synth pulses and electronic harpsichord giving at all a Popul Vuh / Tangerine Dream vibe. A nice way to end the side after some 'difficult' abstract experimental listening. 

Still in the realms of experimental and abstract, Side B is more of a cognitive listen. 'AO 217' is a recording of a visual presentation. An audience watching a film. A child's voice says "Is This A Thing?". There's muttering, murmuring, laughing, coughing from the assembly, some folk make animal noises, maybe depicting what is on the screen (?). A whistling starts and builds. It's all very listenable. 'AO 301.5' is also a live recording. Subtitled "Shuke Anthem" from January 1986. A bass clarinet with synth keys and tape manipulations gives it a sort of sinister cabaret feel. 'AO 219' is a journey, we know this by the repeated train station announcements. It's a long piece featuring bass clarinet, random synthesiser and piano with field recordings and voices. The final piece 'AO 239' is a conversation between Lisa, Linda and Nancy with laughing and howling all to a backdrop of industrial style electronics. 

After ten years or so this was a great listen, it brought back memories of Dan. I don't have much AO. "Soundtracks" a collection of AO recordings that Monochrome Vision released in 2014 on CD will go on the 'to play' list for sure. If anybody has a spare copy of the 'A/aND' cassette then please get in touch.