Date: 2007
Label: Solponticello
Format: CD
Category: Other / Rock / Improvisational TRACK LISTING (AUDIO HELP)
1. For As Long As Grass Grows
2. The Pendulum, The Pit & The Hope
3. Chemanta, The Horrific Destroyer of Evil
4. The Divining Hand
5. The Fall of the House of Usher
6. Down to the Cellar
7. Killick
8. A Quiet Week in the House
Recorded March 26, 2006 by Tom Lewis at Chase Park Transduction, Athens, GA. Mixed April 2006 by Jamie Saft at Frank Booth, Brooklyn, NY. Mastered October 10, 2006 by Scott Hull Mastering, New York, NY.
Big Exploitation is an epochal and apocalyptic chamber orchestra under the direction of lunging conductor and spontaneous composer Jeremiah Cymerman. Working the group as would a manic and deliberate grindcore artist, Jeremiah continually reinvents himself while remaining ultra-focused on the big picture of creating the most honest music he can. Featuring a crack team from the rock and improvisational worlds of Athens, Georgia and New York City, the Big Exploitation is a new language of cooperative clash, controlled surprise, and subversive edification.
Having spent years working in various improv settings in New York, including Conductions with Butch Morris and Soundpainting with Walter Thompson, Jeremiah Cymerman formed the Big Exploitation in August of 2005 in his former home of Athens, Georgia. Jeremiah uses a customized system of about 25 cues to conduct the musicians, creating real-time ensemble music. Embracing the spirit of hardcore and channeling it into improvisational systems, Jeremiah and company are putting a fist through the high brow of academia while at once offering a challenging/accessible hybrid in an spontaneous setting.
As noted by Gordon Lamb of Flagpole Magazine, "…when one witnesses a performance by Cymerman and this group of players, one can't help but know it's not a purely academic exercise, either. After a show, there's as much sweat dripping from the players as from nearly any rock musician." Beautifully recorded by Tom Lewis at Chase Park Transductions in Athens, mixed by Jamie Saft in Brooklyn, and mastered by Scott Hull in New York, Big Exploitation is a record of searing sounds under the baton of precisely executed conducting. The album shifts from loud doom rock to funky jazz improvisations to spastic string quartets, often all in the same song. With Big Exploitation Jeremiah has created a record that promises to rip the faces off of its listeners and hand them back virtually unrecognizable. Enjoy!
Jeremiah Cymerman is a composer and clarinetist living in New York City. The bulk of the music that he plays is improvised (i.e. not written or composed prior to performance). He is very interested in solo performance and extended technique, and as contrived as it sounds, is interested in creating, or at least contributing to, a new language for clarinet. He has performed with Otomo Yoshihide, Butch Morris, Walter Thompson, Matthew Welch, Killick Erik Hinds, and Okkyung Lee, among many others.
Musicians:
Jeremiah Cymerman ~ Conductor
Chuck Bradburn ~ Bass
Jeff Rieter ~ Bass
Craig Lieske ~ Guitar
Christopher Hoffman ~ Cello
Jason Calhoun ~ Electric Violin
Killick ~ H'arpeggione
George Davidson ~ Saxello & Tenor Sax
Tony Evans ~ Tenor Sax
The Sickness ~ Trumpet
Mitchell King ~ Drums
Jim Wilson ~ Drums
Chris Herron ~ Percussion
