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Anna Homler (Los Angeles, 1948) is a performance artist, vocalist and composer
whose vocal acrobatics fall halfway between Meredith Monk and Laurie Anderson.
She started out in 1980 with performance art and around 1985 began to focus
on the human voice and invented a language of her own.
Pharmacia Poetica (1987) is a multimedia performance and installation
that she would continue to develop over the years.
The five-song cassette Breadwoman (Pharmacia Poetica, 1985) documents
a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Steve Moshier.
It featured the first versions of Ee Che, OO Nu Dah and Yesh' Te.
The 2016 reissue adds two lengthy compositions:
the repetitive loop of Sirens (12:06) and
the esoteric ceremony of Celestial Ash (17:06).
Her first triumph was the phantasmagoric album
Do Ya Sa' Di Do (AMF, 1992), featuring
Ethan James, Steve Moshier, David Moss and Bernard Sauser-Hall.
She fully revealed her surreal persona in
songs such as Moshier's Ee Che, a bluesy chant over an industrial beat,
the cubistic carillon Do Ya Sa Di Do and the
folkish dance Oo Nu Diya.
After lending her vocals to the first incarnation of
Voices Of Kwahn
and to the project Sugarconnection (sound sculptors Frank Schulte and Axel Otto)
on the 20 brief vignettes of Plays Alien Cakes (No Man's Land, 1994),
Homler teamed up with
keyboardist, guitarist and violinist Geert Waegeman and percussionist Pavel Fajt
for the 15 abstract folk dances of
Macaronic Sines (april 1995 - Lowlands, 1995), with lively lullabies like the funk-jazz Komida Kapak,
and for the live album Corne de Vache (Victo, 1997).
House of Hands (ND, 2000)
with Viola Kramer, Steve Roden, Nadine Bal, Alain Neffe, and Lyn Norton
offers twelve of her under-developed songs.
Kelpland Serenades (september 2001 - Pharmacia Poetica, 2005) is a live improvised collaboration with electronic keyboardist and contrabassist Steuart Liebig.
Anna Homler started the project Puppetina with
multi-instrumentalist Stepanie Payne. Their
Piewacket (PNT, 2001 - ReR, 2005), featuring accordionist Ethan
Holtzman and credited to Puppetina, was devoted to Homler's simulation of international folk music.
The catchier tunes, such as M-Bira Song and
Sweet Clarina 12,
sounded like a hybrid of
Meredith Monk and
Enya.
But the lively Country Western Song had a rustic and down-to-earth
quality that was missing from both the other visionaries of imaginary folk
music.
Cafe Song evokes a Slavic wedding,
Scary Song an expressionist cabaret,
Monkey Jazz a swinging radio group from the 1950s,
and
Accordian Song a Louisiana madhouse party.
Electronic noise and hypnotic procedures permeate the Far Eastern-sounding Do Wa Do and Organ Song.
The voice is distorted beyond recognition by the electronics in
Bongo Song.
And no less creative are the instrumentals Bell Song, a micro-concerto for toy instruments and found sounds,
French Song, for sampled voices and Parisian merry-go-round,
and Barbie Song, six minutes of
musique concrete for kindergartens.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Antonio Buono)
Anna Homler (Los Angeles, 1948) Š una cantante, compositrice e performer, il cui canto acrobatico Š qualcosa a met… strada tra quello di Meredith Monk e Laurie Anderson. EsordŤ con una performance nel 1980 e intorno al 1985 inizi• a focalizzarsi sulla voce e invent• un linguaggio proprio. Pharmacia Poetica (1987) Š una rappresentazione multimediale che ha continuato a sviluppare nel corso degli anni.
La cassetta Breadwoman (Pharmacia Poetica, 1985) fu una collaborazione col multi-strumentista Steve Moshier. Questa offre le prime versioni di Ee Che, OO Nu Dah e Yesh' Te.
Il suo primo trionfo fu Do Ya Sa' Di Do, nel quale figuravano Ethan James, Steve Moshier, David Moss e Bernard Sauser-Hall. Rivel• completamente la sua personalit… surreale in piece come Ee Che di Moshier.
Dopo aver prestato la sua voce per la prima incarnazione delle Voices Of Kwahn e al progetto Sugarconnection (gli scultori del suono Frank Schulte e Axel Otto) su venti brevi vignette di Plays Alien Cakes (No Man's Land, 1994), Homler collabor• con il tastierista, chitarrista e violinista Geert Waegeman e il percussionista Pavel Fajt per le 15 danze di folk astratto di Macaronic Sines (Lowlands, 1995), uno dei suoi lavori pi— creativi, e l'album registrato dal vivo Corne de Vache (Victo, 1997).
House of Hands (ND, 2000) con Viola Kramer, Steve Roden, Nadine Bal, Alain Neffe e Lyn Norton offre dodici delle sue canzoni non ultimate.
Kelpland Serenades (Pharmacia Poetica, 2005) Š una collaborazione improvvisata dal vivo col tastierista elettronico e contrabbassista Steuart Liebig.
Anna Homler avvi• il progetto Puppetina con il multi-strumentista Stepanie Payne. Il loro Piewacket (PNT, 2001 - ReR, 2005), che include il fisarmonicista Ethan Holtzman, Š dedicato alla simulazione della musica folk internazionale di Homler. I motivi pi— orecchiabili, come M-Bira Song e Sweet Clarina 12, suonano come un ibrido tra Meredith Monk e Bjork. Ma l'animata Country Western Song ha una qualit… rustica e positiva che manca alle altre visionarie della musica folk astratta. Cafe Song evoca una cerimonia nuziale slava, Scary Song un cabaret espressionista, Monkey Jazz un gruppo swing anni '50, e Accordian Song un party da manicomio della Louisiana. Rumori elettronici e procedure ipnotiche permeano le sonorit… da Estremo Oriente di Do Wa Do and Organ Song. La voce viene distorta attraverso l'elettronica tanto da non essere riconoscibile in Bongo Song. E non meno creativi sono gli strumentali Bell Song, un micro-concerto per strumenti giocattolo e found sounds, French Song, per voci campionate e carosello parigino, e Barbie Song, sei minuti di musica concreta per giardini d'infanzia.
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