PATTERSON, BEN - Born In The State Of FLUX/us

"Published for the opening of Ben Patterson first large retrospective exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum in Houston, this double CD anthology includes both historical recordings taken from the Early Works (issued some years ago by alga marghen), from 370 Flies CDs (an art multiple also issued by Alga Marghen and long sold out) as well as the first digital version of the no longer available LP titled A Fluxus Elegy and a previously unpublished track. The first CD starts with the first ever recording of Ants (1960), one of Ben Patterson first graphic scores, pre-dating the Fluxus group. Also included in this CD are two essential 1961 documents: Duo For Voice And A String Instrument and Variations for Double-bass, both recorded in concert at the Galerie Parnass in 1962; this event has special historic significance in that it included the first public presentation by George Maciunas of his Fluxus manifesto and plans for the Wiesbaden Fluxus Festival. Two more tracks titled Paper Piece(1960), the work that cut the umbilical cord to all of the authors previous classical and contemporary musical training and experience, and Pond (1962), a piece that reminds of Richard Maxfields electronic music with voice collage, see the collaboration of Philip Corner, Walter Marchetti and Davide Mosconi. The second CD includes more recent works as A Simple Opera (1995), a repetitive hommage to Emmett Willons on his 70th birthday, also recorded in collaboration with Philip Corner, Walter Marchetti and Davide Mosconi; 370 Flies (2003) for electronic loops and voice; as well as A Fluxus Elegy (2006), previously issued on Alga Marghens VocSon LP series and based on the basic principles of the polyphonic music of the Bantu tribes of West and Central Africa, applied to the initials of artists listed in Fluxus: The Most Radical and Experimental Art Movement of the Sixties, through encoding them in basic International Morse Code. Starting as a virtuoso double-bass performer of classical music, Ben Patterson was one of the very first founders of the Fluxus Group in Wiesban. This digipak CD will introduce you to some American neo-avantgarde music classics, a crossover between John Cage exploding influences and the experimental art atmosphere of the early 1960s in Europe. Edition limited to 200 copies in silkscreened digipack sleeve, including a 4 page folded insert with liner notes, original score as well as performance photos and program from the 1962 concert at Galerie Parnass, Wuppertal." -Alga Marghen