EXT Vol. 1

CLOCK DVA :: ADI NEWTON (TAGC/THE ANTI GROUP/SPECTRAL UNIT) + TEZ (LITEZ/PRAGMA/BLACK BAMBOO)

EXT VOL. 1 FIRST EDITION :

1. SIGNED SPECIAL EDITION BY ADI NEWTON WITH A 4-PAGE TWILL PAPER BOOKLET AND CD: 100 HAND-NUMBERED COPIES
2. CD A5 DIGIPACK: 500 COPIES
3. BLACK VINYL 33 RPM: 300 COPIES

THE SIGNED SPECIAL EDITION BY ADI NEWTON IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE VERSION WITH THE 4-PAGE BOOKLET + CD A5 DIGIPACK, PRICED AT 50 EUROS. FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO PURCHASE ALL THREE VERSIONS OF EXT VOL. 1, WE RECOMMEND ADDING THE SPECIAL EDITION THAT ALREADY INCLUDES THE CD A5 DIGIPACK TO THE CART FIRST, THEN ADDING THE 33 RPM VINYL.

REVIEW!! PAOLO BERTONI (BLOW UP):
“EXT Vol. 1 promises to inaugurate a new chapter in the revitalised Clock DVA saga, intended as the first in a series of releases focusing on the more experimental inclinations developed during the many years of relative silence in Adi Newton’s main project. The album comprises sessions recorded by Adi and TeZ in 2016 at the prestigious EMS studios in Stockholm, during a week they dedicated to working intensively with modular synthesizers such as the Buchla 200 and the Serge.

Its exclusively instrumental nature might seem superficially comparable to works like Digital Soundtracks or Post-Sign, but beyond its analogue core lies a distinctly different improvisational component, tied to psychic automatism and an unrestrained embrace of elements of chance. The vibrations of the opening track, Thinking Mirrors, lift us into a sci-fi scenario that is as captivating as it is riddled with unknowns, with pulsating dynamics that build and unfold into rhythmic DVA classicism. This momentum spirals into a spatial vortex in the subsequent Pharmaceutics, only to settle into cosmic realms with Falling Star.

Second Window carves out jagged melodic trails that avoid any hint of over-aestheticisation, while The Black Corridor exudes profound gloom, reinforced by metallic reflections and noise-laden streaks. The relentless rhythms of Time Whirlpools blend the essence of DVA with Kraftwerk, and Meridians conjures an imaginative voyage through celestial bodies. Rating: 8″

CLOCK DVA EXT VOL. 1 (ARMCOMM RIZOSFERA EUROPE ARMEU 007)

This volume presents the first of a series of collected compositions based on sonic material recorded at Elektronmusikstudion EMS Stockholm between the 18th and 24th of April, 2016.

Improvisational in nature and open to creative experimentation, they form the base of new original tracks for this and subsequent editions of the CLOCK DVA EXT volumes. Music improvisation, also known as musical extemporisation, is the creative activity of immediate (“unmediated, in the moment”) musical composition which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians. Furthermore, it is related to psychic automatism and precognitive action. These actions are the direct result of an intuitive creative process which is further amplified and expanded by artists who access this resource of creativity between one another. It is through this process that the emotional and unconscious can be made audible and expressed. Although improvisational and containing chance elements, these recordings also contain the spirit—which is what separates them from purely aleatory music. Within them, one can hear some of the tentative sound experiments that would be further developed into the album NOESIS.

Elektronmusikstudion EMS Stockholm was formed in 1964 as part of Sveriges Radio. After five years, Sveriges Radio renounced its leadership of EMS and in 1969 EMS became a state-funded foundation. In 1970, the large computer studio at EMS became operational. At this time, the studio was housed at Kungsgatan 8 in Sveriges Radio’s old premises. The technology in the studio, with its hybrid design of digital computer control and analog synthesis, was world-leading. This attracted a wide number of composers from several countries, which in turn led to the studio’s early establishment as an important international player. In addition to the large computer studio, there was also a smaller studio for analog sound processing called the Klangverkstaden. During our seven days, we utilised the facilities at Studio 3 where the Buchla 200 system is housed and Studio 6 containing the Serge modular synthesizer, which can be interfaced with from the studio computer through a Kenton Pro 2000 mkII MIDI-CV interface.

It is with this history and spirit that the resulting recordings were inspired and made at EMS. 

(Adi Newton / Maurizio TeZ Martinucci, London and Amsterdam, 2024)

Personnel on these recordings: Adi Newton and TeZ Maurizio Martinucci

All compositions: Newton / Martinucci published by Mute Song

Post-production at A.I. Mission (UK) & Optofonica (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) 2023

Publishing & Copyright by Rizosfera and Clock DVA

Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi, 2024

Front cover image: generated with ASPIRAL code developed by TeZ – http://www.tez.it/aspiral

Back cover photographs: E. Gabriel Edvy

Eternal thanks to Michael Von Hausswolff, who arranged the sessions and remains an enduring friend and artist. Special thanks to Giancarlo Ibtaba Cotticelli for his support & E. Gabriel Edvy for being there with us throughout and documenting the sessions