Fredrik Rasten: two electric guitars, one acoustic guitar
Ruben Machtelinckx: two electric guitars, one acoustic guitar
Fredrik Rasten’s Strands of lunar light is a luminous exploration of spectral microtonality for multiple guitars, all played by Ruben Machtelinckx and himself. In the liner notes Rasten describes the music as elements of an imagined moon: I envision this music as emanating from a moon inhabited by otherworldly life forms and ecosystems; these sounds as evoking the moon’s topographies, beings, lunar rivers, and strands of light — as if this moon’s essence were itself sonic, vibrational matter. Rasten’s compositional and instrumental practice is driven by a deep interest in the sonic details of harmony and microtonality, with just intonation as a main resource and entry point. In the context of his other compositions, Strands of lunar light explores a new territory comprising a dense, spectral harmony derived from a complete segment of an harmonic series. The work is part of Rasten’s continuing exploration of just intonation realized on guitars, building on his earlier released works Six Moving Guitars, Svevning and Lineaments.
Biographies
Fredrik Rasten is a Berlin-based guitarist and composer primarily focusing on rational harmony and related acoustic phenomena. Reaching for an active state of listening and an intuitive exploration of the complexities of tonal interactions, his work draws on influences from minimalist styles, folk musics and other exploratory modes of sound making. Besides his solo projects, he both performs and composes as a member of the Berlin based ensemble Harmonic Space Orchestra, and the long-lived experimental groups Pip and Oker. Rasten's compositions have been presented on music festivals including All Ears, Louth Contemporary Music Society and Next Festival, and his recording output has been published on labels such as SOFA, Edition Wandelweiser, Ftarri and INSUB.
Ruben Machtelinckx is an active member of the Belgian and European scene for improvised and experimental music both as a guitarist and composer. Since the very start of his artistic course he has focused on his own personal projects.
His catalogue of releases exceeds ten records as a bandleader, with collaborators such as Arve Henriksen, Ingar Zach, Nils Økland, Hilmar Jensson, Joachim Badenhorst, Frederik Leroux, Toma Gouband, Øyvind Skarbø, Fredrik Rasten and Thomas Jillings.
Machtelinckx’ music has evolved from gentle melodies and folk influences to a sound world where friction and a hidden discomfort reside, without letting go of the power of songs and strains. In extension of his musicianship he runs Aspen Edities, an independent record label for contemporary music that issues both improvised music and compositions, often combined in a peculiar interplay.
Machtelinckx won the 2020 award for Best Belgian Jazz release with his album Porous Structures.
Liner Notes
I envision this music as emanating from a moon inhabited by otherworldly life forms and ecosystems; these sounds as evoking the moon’s topographies, beings, lunar rivers, and strands of light — as if this moon’s essence were itself sonic, vibrational matter. Musically and acoustically, Strands of lunar light departs from a set of tones corresponding to a confined harmonic series segment of a very low fundamental frequency: 5.15 hertz. Through twelve continuous sections, each employing various methods of activating openly tuned guitar strings, the music is sculpted from the twenty-four pitches corresponding to harmonics 24 through 47 of this fundamental frequency. At times, the natural second (octave) harmonics of the open strings are activated and introduce a secondary, octave transposed version of the original harmonic series segment, doubling the fundamental frequency to 10.30 hertz, and thereby revealing a brighter vibrational realm. As a consequence of the rational pitch relationships integral to harmonic series of tones, these two sub-audio fundamental frequencies (pitch wise existing two and three octaves below the E-string of a double bass, respectively) can be heard in the music as the frequencies of the interference patterns produced by the simultaneous sounding of any pair of adjacent tones in the respective sets of tones. These interference patterns, of 5.15 or 10.30 hertz (depending on the octave of the tones produced), are perceived as even pulsations occurring with varying degrees of clarity over the course of the piece. I imagine these fundamental frequencies and their related harmonic tones as the elemental components of a moon, and this music as offering a glimpse into its vast lunar-sonic existence.
