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Fractal Guitar 3

by Stephan Thelen

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Glitch 09:37
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Ascension 13:38
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about

In 2021, I was simultaneously working on four albums: Transneptunian Planets (with J. Peter Schwalm, Eivind Aarset, Tim Harries, and Manuel Pasquinelli); Fractal Sextet (with Jon Durant, Fabio Anile, Colin Edwin, Andi Pupato, and Yogev Gabay); Music for Piano and Strings (an album
of piano quintets and string quartets written either by Fabio Anile or me), and this album, Fractal Guitar 3, the third installment in the Fractal Guitar series.
While being stylistically very different, these four albums are connected in many ways, not to mention the fact that various musicians appear on more than one album. In hindsight, it's interesting for me to see how progress on one album often provided fresh inputs into one or more of the other albums, and how ideas that appeared on one piece were often further developed on pieces on other albums, albeit in a different form.

"Morning Star," for example, is based on a similar "5 against 7" polyrhythm just as "Pluto" from Transneptunian Planets and "Fractal 5.7" from Fractal Sextet were. One of my goals as a composer is to invent new non-standard beats, often using odd meters, polyrhythms, isorhythms, and other techniques. It then sometimes happens that such a beat suggests different applications in different settings. For example, this particular beat first appeared on "Orbit 5.7," a track from Sonar's album Black Light.

Another example is "Black On Maroon," which is based on the same rhythmic patterns in 7/4 (simultaneously played in different speeds and in different octaves) as "Slow Over Fast" on the Fractal Sextet album. The title of this piece is taken from a Mark Rothko painting.

A third example is "Ascension" which is based on similiar musical material as my sixth strinq quartet of the same name (recorded by the Al Pari Quartet for Music for Piano and Strings). This version of the piece was co-composed by Markus Reuter and J. Peter Schwalm.

A fourth noteworthy example is "Glitch," a piece that started as a possible track for Transneptunian Planets, but then was further developed and finished as a track for Fractal Guitar 3. It's a new version of "Angular Momentum," a track that was co-composed by Manuel Pasquinelli and also first appeared on Black Light.

Finally, "Through The Stargate," although not directly related to any
of the pieces of the four albums mentioned above, is a further exploration of material used on "Enneagram," the opening track of Black Light. This piece was co-composed by Eivind Aarset, who introduced the “Richard Wagner theme” that inspired the orchestral ending. As a bonus track, I have included an edited version of this piece which focuses on Eivind’s parts, mixed by our mutual friend J. Peter Schwalm.

As usual, I would like to thank all the musicians who were involved in the making of this album: without them, it would have been impossible to make. Thanks also to Leonardo "Moonjune" Pavkovic for his unwavering support.

– Stephan Thelen, Zürich, September 2022

credits

released November 4, 2022

Recorded between March 2021 and June 2022 in Zürich, Berlin, Oslo, Portland, Frankfurt, Rome, Santa Cruz, Agoura Hills and Aldekerk.
Drums recorded by Reto Muggli @ Powerplay Studio A near Zürich, Switzerland, May and September 2021.

Mixed by Benjamin Schäfer and Markus Reuter for Unsung Productions @ Horus Sound Studio in Hannover, Germany, July - August 2022.
Mastered by Lee Fletcher, September 2022.

Produced by Markus Reuter and Stephan Thelen.
Executive producer Leonardo Pavkovic for MoonJune Records.

01 THROUGH THE STARGATE (Thelen/Aarset) 16:17
Eivind Aarset: electric guitar, e-bow, effects, noise orchestra Markus Reuter: touch guitar U8
Jon Durant: fretless guitar, clouds
Fabio Anile: electric piano, clavinet, synth
Stefan Huth: touch guitar U8 (bass)
Yogev Gabay: drums
Stephan Thelen: electric guitar, synth, strings, programming

02 MORNING STAR (Thelen) 09:49
Markus Reuter: touch guitar U8, soundscapes
Jon Durant: guitar, fretless guitar
Bill Walker: glitchy strat, yinyang guitar, koto guitar
Stefan Huth: touch guitar U8
Tim Harries: bass guitar
Yogev Gabay: drums
Stephan Thelen: fractal guitar, electric piano, synth, programming

03 GLITCH (Thelen/Pasquinelli) 09:37
Eivind Aarset: electric guitar, e-bow, effects and glitches
Markus Reuter: touch guitar U8, spanky loop
Jon Durant: guitar
Fabio Anile: electric piano, synth
Stefan Huth: touch guitar (bass)
Tim Harries: bass guitar
Andi Pupato: percussion
Manuel Pasquinelli: drums
Stephan Thelen: electric guitar, organ, samples, programming

04 ASCENSION (Thelen/Reuter/Schwalm) 13:38
Eivind Aarset: tremolo guitar, e-bow
Markus Reuter: touch guitar U8, soundscapes
Jon Durant: fretless guitar, clouds
J. Peter Schwalm: synth, electronic percussion
Stefan Huth: touch guitar U8 (bass)
Andi Pupato: percussion
Manuel Pasquinelli: drums
Stephan Thelen: electric guitar, strings, keyboards, programming

05 BLACK ON MAROON (Thelen) 11:32
Eivind Aarset: electric guitar, e-bow, glitchy digitalia Markus Reuter: touch guitar U8, soundscapes
Barry Cleveland: bowed cymbals and guitars, guitar, psychedelic soundscapes and effects
Stefan Huth: touch guitar AU8 (bass)
Manuel Pasquinelli: drums
Stephan Thelen: electric guitar, electric piano, strings, mellotron

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