Jason Kahn/Jon Mueller: Papercuts (2004)

MARK CORROTO,

Mark Corroto

Senior Contributor since 1999

Mark misses his large dog Louie, but endeavors daily to find and listen to new and interesting sounds.

Recent articles (997 total)

Published: April 6, 2004

Percussionists Jason Kahn and Jon Mueller are musical carpenters.

The 18:06 that comprises Papercuts is a sound construction completed over a one year collaborative period. Their house of music is the manipulation of various papers, both of the handmade and commercial variety.

Kahn, a current resident of Zurich, has worked with Evan parker, Voicecrack, Christian Marclay, Bhob Rainey, Kevin Drumm, and Otomo Yoshihide and in the bands Repeat and Leaving Trains. Jon Mueller, label chief at Crouton Music, has performed with the groups Telecognac, Pele, Collections of Colonies of Bees, and Raccoons. He has also worked with Byard Lancaster, Matt Turner, Achim Wollscheid, and Fred Lonberg-Holm's Lightbox Orchestra.

This very tactile-oriented sound sculpture stacks varying paper manipulation sounds upon each other. Play this disc without reading the instrumentation and you either hear circadas or fire. In fact, Papercuts reminds me of GX Jupitter-Larsen’s band Haters and their noise creations—except where Haters made harsh sounds like smashing glass or roaring fires, Kahn and Mueller stick to more subtle sounds. Their Papercuts enter and exit without resolution. But the meditative quality of these sounds is undeniable.

Track Listing: Papercuts

Personnel: Jason Kahn - electronic processing; Jon Mueller - electronic processing

Style: Modern Jazz