The Tape-beatles
Encyclopedia
The Tape-beatles are a multi-media group that formed in Iowa City in December 1986. Its members have included Lloyd Dunn
, John Heck, Ralph Johnson, Paul Neff, and Linda Morgan Brown. Beginning with analog tape recorders, and later expanding to include digital technology and film media, the group has used collage techniques to create works that challenge the notion of intellectual property. Their works make extensive use of materials appropriated from various sources through a process they call "Plagiarism®". The Tape-beatles' body of work consists mainly of music and audio art recordings, expanded and performed cinema performances, videos, printed publications, as well as works in other media. They produce and release work under an umbrella organization called Public Works Productions.
and John Heck. Former or occasional members of the group have included Linda Morgan Brown, Chuck Hollister, Ralph Johnson, and Paul Neff. The group's initial focus was to create music that made use of techniques borrowed from musique concrète
, but applied to a popular music context. To this end, they eschewed conventional musical instruments, instead contending that tape recording and the recording studio itself was their 'instrument'.
The Tape-beatles, then consisting of Dunn, Heck and Johnson, put out their first major work, A subtle buoyancy of pulse in 1988. In keeping with the tape esthetic, the work was available only on cassette (until being reissued 10 years later on CD by Staalplaat
, Amsterdam, the Netherlands). Public response was sufficiently encouraging that the group immediately began work on a new album, adding two new members along the way: Paul Neff and Linda Morgan Brown.
Music with Sound not only established the group's signature style and technique, http://www.earlabs.org/label/LC/LC006.htm it also provided The Tape-beatles with a coherent soundtrack upon which to base a live public performance. Using multiple image projection devices (16 and 8 mm film on reels and loops, film strips and slide projectors), as well as an array of strange and obsolete recording equipment culled from audiovisual surplus outlets (the 'language master', the 'calophone', the 'wollensak', etc.). The presentation was a barrage of discarded educational and motivational material put to a musical score that varied from the bombastic to the delicate and subtly constructed. The climax of the piece found the audience being surrounded by a single room-sized tape loop.
The year 1993 saw the release of The Grand Delusion (Staalplaat), a bitter mediation on the U.S. Persian Gulf War
and the historical context that created it. In addition, the group refined their presentation approach, distilling it down to just three 16 mm projectors, used in a configuration the group named 'Polyvision', in honor of Abel Gance
's pioneering movie techniques of the 1920s. (Later this technique was renamed 'expanded cinema', and eventually 'performed cinema', by the group.)
In the meantime, Ralph Johnson moved to Oakland, Calif., to study composition at Mills College. Lloyd Dunn
suspended all zine production (see PhotoStatic Magazine) and went on a yearlong trip abroad, spending most of the time in France (see The Expatriot), but also dropping in on John Heck, then living in Prague.
Upon Dunn's return to the United States, he and Ralph Johnson regrouped to form the duo Public Works. Using similar principles to the Tape-beatles, Public Works laid the focus on digital audio production, and tightened the emphasis on the making of music, with a reduced emphasis on pure sound collage or 'audio art'. 1997's Matter (Staalplaat) was the group's début recording. An 'expanded cinema' performance of that name was also created, and the group performed that and The Grand Delusion in a dozen cities from San Francisco to Berlin, Germany.
In 2000, Public Works released the EP Numbers on the Elevator Bath label. It explored the sounds of EVP (Electronic voice phenomenon
) recordings, purported to document paranormal phenomena, and the so-called "numbers station
s" that can occasionally be heard on the shortwave band. Some of the works sampled liberally from Akin Fernandez' "The Conet Project
" recordings.
At the Sound Unseen Festival (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., October, 2001), The Tape-beatles took an afternoon to improvise with fellow sound-collage artists Escape Mechanism
(Jon Nelson), Steev Hise and Wobbly (Jon Leidecker). The result was the mini-CD and mini-VideoCD Minneapolis Summit.
More recently, The Tape-beatles have been performing their retrospective 'performed cinema' performance entitled "G.N.P.", compiled from their previous film performances, throughout Europe in 2005. Both Heck and Dunn currently reside in Prague
, the Czech republic
.
In 2007, the group was asked to provide 28 minutes of programming for The Radia Network a series that highlights electronic and experimental sound work. The program was put together from older previously unreleased material, with a generous selection of new work. That same year, the Tape-beatles were commissioned by Czech Radio to produce a 24-minute composition for broadcast as part of the series rAdioCUSTICA, edited by Michal Rataj. The resulting work, "Sombre Gertrude - Piece for Stings," was first broadcast in January 2008.
Interviews
Lloyd Dunn
Lloyd John Dunn is a founding member of the mixed-media and experimental sound art group the Tape-beatles and founder, publisher and editor of several small-press magazines, such as PhotoStatic and Retrofuturism...
, John Heck, Ralph Johnson, Paul Neff, and Linda Morgan Brown. Beginning with analog tape recorders, and later expanding to include digital technology and film media, the group has used collage techniques to create works that challenge the notion of intellectual property. Their works make extensive use of materials appropriated from various sources through a process they call "Plagiarism®". The Tape-beatles' body of work consists mainly of music and audio art recordings, expanded and performed cinema performances, videos, printed publications, as well as works in other media. They produce and release work under an umbrella organization called Public Works Productions.
Lineup and early years
Members of The Tape-beatles currently include Lloyd DunnLloyd Dunn
Lloyd John Dunn is a founding member of the mixed-media and experimental sound art group the Tape-beatles and founder, publisher and editor of several small-press magazines, such as PhotoStatic and Retrofuturism...
and John Heck. Former or occasional members of the group have included Linda Morgan Brown, Chuck Hollister, Ralph Johnson, and Paul Neff. The group's initial focus was to create music that made use of techniques borrowed from musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
, but applied to a popular music context. To this end, they eschewed conventional musical instruments, instead contending that tape recording and the recording studio itself was their 'instrument'.
The Tape-beatles, then consisting of Dunn, Heck and Johnson, put out their first major work, A subtle buoyancy of pulse in 1988. In keeping with the tape esthetic, the work was available only on cassette (until being reissued 10 years later on CD by Staalplaat
Staalplaat
Staalplaat is an independent record label that is located in Amsterdam with a separate store in Berlin. Created in 1982, the company's mission was created as a sound forum for sound artists, who write and perform new and experimental music...
, Amsterdam, the Netherlands). Public response was sufficiently encouraging that the group immediately began work on a new album, adding two new members along the way: Paul Neff and Linda Morgan Brown.
1991–2000
A grant from Intermedia Arts Minnesota enabled The Tape-beatles to finish their second work in 1991, a CD for the Canadian label DOVentertainment, entitled Music with Sound. This was the record that put The Tape-beatles on the map to some extent, garnering favorable reviews in Keyboard, as well as putting them on the Top 10 Imports of the Year list in Pulse the in-store magazine for the Tower Records chain. It remains the work for which the Tape-beatles are the best-known.Music with Sound not only established the group's signature style and technique, http://www.earlabs.org/label/LC/LC006.htm it also provided The Tape-beatles with a coherent soundtrack upon which to base a live public performance. Using multiple image projection devices (16 and 8 mm film on reels and loops, film strips and slide projectors), as well as an array of strange and obsolete recording equipment culled from audiovisual surplus outlets (the 'language master', the 'calophone', the 'wollensak', etc.). The presentation was a barrage of discarded educational and motivational material put to a musical score that varied from the bombastic to the delicate and subtly constructed. The climax of the piece found the audience being surrounded by a single room-sized tape loop.
The year 1993 saw the release of The Grand Delusion (Staalplaat), a bitter mediation on the U.S. Persian Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
and the historical context that created it. In addition, the group refined their presentation approach, distilling it down to just three 16 mm projectors, used in a configuration the group named 'Polyvision', in honor of Abel Gance
Abel Gance
Abel Gance was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. He is best known for three major silent films: J'accuse , La Roue , and the monumental Napoléon .-Early life:...
's pioneering movie techniques of the 1920s. (Later this technique was renamed 'expanded cinema', and eventually 'performed cinema', by the group.)
In the meantime, Ralph Johnson moved to Oakland, Calif., to study composition at Mills College. Lloyd Dunn
Lloyd Dunn
Lloyd John Dunn is a founding member of the mixed-media and experimental sound art group the Tape-beatles and founder, publisher and editor of several small-press magazines, such as PhotoStatic and Retrofuturism...
suspended all zine production (see PhotoStatic Magazine) and went on a yearlong trip abroad, spending most of the time in France (see The Expatriot), but also dropping in on John Heck, then living in Prague.
Upon Dunn's return to the United States, he and Ralph Johnson regrouped to form the duo Public Works. Using similar principles to the Tape-beatles, Public Works laid the focus on digital audio production, and tightened the emphasis on the making of music, with a reduced emphasis on pure sound collage or 'audio art'. 1997's Matter (Staalplaat) was the group's début recording. An 'expanded cinema' performance of that name was also created, and the group performed that and The Grand Delusion in a dozen cities from San Francisco to Berlin, Germany.
In 2000, Public Works released the EP Numbers on the Elevator Bath label. It explored the sounds of EVP (Electronic voice phenomenon
Electronic voice phenomenon
Electronic voice phenomena are electronically generated noises that resemble speech, but are not the result of intentional voice recordings or renderings. Common sources of EVP include static, stray radio transmissions, and background noise...
) recordings, purported to document paranormal phenomena, and the so-called "numbers station
Numbers station
A numbers station is a shortwave radio station of uncertain origin. In the 1950s, Time magazine reported that the numbers stations first appeared shortly after World War II and were using a format that had been used to send weather data during that war.Numbers stations generally broadcast...
s" that can occasionally be heard on the shortwave band. Some of the works sampled liberally from Akin Fernandez' "The Conet Project
The Conet Project
The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations is a four-CD set of recordings of numbers stations, mysterious shortwave radio stations of uncertain origin believed to be operated by government agencies to communicate with spies "in the field"...
" recordings.
2001–present
John Heck rejoined the group to work on a new proposed work for The Tape-beatles that would be called Good Times. A long-term project, it was envisioned from the start that the composition would take its full form as an audio visual presentation. The work was completed September, 2001. It premiered at the Sound Unseen Film Festival in Minneapolis, USA in October 2001, which also inaugurated a Tape-beatle tour of the US Midwest.At the Sound Unseen Festival (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., October, 2001), The Tape-beatles took an afternoon to improvise with fellow sound-collage artists Escape Mechanism
Escape Mechanism
Escape Mechanism is the title of a sound collage project instigated by Minneapolis based artist Jonathan Nelson. Using fragments of audio from a variety of previously recorded sound sources, the project is an experiment in recycled media....
(Jon Nelson), Steev Hise and Wobbly (Jon Leidecker). The result was the mini-CD and mini-VideoCD Minneapolis Summit.
More recently, The Tape-beatles have been performing their retrospective 'performed cinema' performance entitled "G.N.P.", compiled from their previous film performances, throughout Europe in 2005. Both Heck and Dunn currently reside in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, the Czech republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.
In 2007, the group was asked to provide 28 minutes of programming for The Radia Network a series that highlights electronic and experimental sound work. The program was put together from older previously unreleased material, with a generous selection of new work. That same year, the Tape-beatles were commissioned by Czech Radio to produce a 24-minute composition for broadcast as part of the series rAdioCUSTICA, edited by Michal Rataj. The resulting work, "Sombre Gertrude - Piece for Stings," was first broadcast in January 2008.
Selected discography
- A subtle buoyancy of pulse (1988)
- Music with Sound (1990)
- The Grand Delusion (1993)
- Matter (1996)
- Good Times (1999)
- Numbers (2000)
- Minneapolis Summit with Escape MechanismEscape MechanismEscape Mechanism is the title of a sound collage project instigated by Minneapolis based artist Jonathan Nelson. Using fragments of audio from a variety of previously recorded sound sources, the project is an experiment in recycled media....
, Steev Hise and Wobbly (2001) - Sombre Gertrude - Piece for Strings (unreleased). Commissioned by Czech Radio's Radiocustica (2007)
Selected filmography
- The Grand Delusion "PolyVision" 1996
- Matter "expanded cinema" 1997
- Good Times "expanded cinema" 2001
- G.N.P. "performed cinema" 2005
External links
- Official Public Works Productions Site
- Mp3s by the Tape-beatles on UBUWEB
- Allmusic Guide Entry
- Listing at Discogs.com
Interviews
- from Plaza of the Mind Interview with Lloyd Dunn by Kurt Weller, 2007.
- Radio Feature The Some Assembly RequiredSome Assembly RequiredSome Assembly Required is a sound collage radio program in the United States, produced in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the first radio show known to focus exclusively on works of sample based music, and appropriation in audio art...
Interview with Tape-beatle's Lloyd Dunn and John Heck, 2002. - Radio Feature The Some Assembly RequiredSome Assembly RequiredSome Assembly Required is a sound collage radio program in the United States, produced in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the first radio show known to focus exclusively on works of sample based music, and appropriation in audio art...
Interview with Public Work's Ralph Johnson, 2007.