Vortice of the Faun

Original Liner Notes written by CLIFFORD ALLEN: As a solo artist, an orchestral approach is naturally difficult when nakedly working the axe without an ensemble to structure one's art around. Part of the appeal of solo work is in how a language is developed - phrases whittled and reshaped in dialogue with the self and surrounding space. This is orchestration in a different sense, as it takes into account the way sounds fit together and influence one another as the music begins to show its form. But Rob Mazurek is no stranger to the concept of creating a broad sonic base to work from - it's what allows him to make small groups sound utterly massive and turn orchestras into intimate conversations. Mazurek is probably best known as a cornetist and leader of such groups as São Paulo Underground, Chicago Underground and Exploding Star Orchestra, and each of these ensembles has employed a significant array of electronic and electro-acoustic resources. "Vortice of the Faun" is Mazurek's latest cassette release and was entirely constructed through electro-acoustic means, utilizing oscillators and modules designed by The Harvestman (Seattle) and MakeNoise (Asheville), some of which sample acoustic sources, though most of the cassette is created from purely electronic sounds.Hundreds of samples and audio colors were collected, and the portable rack that contains these devices - a recent addition to his quiver - has granted a tough additional dimension to Mazurek's canvas. Furthermore, this set is not entirely solo - one piece, "Arc in Light of Faun Tiger Born" features four separately conducted rabeca tracks performed by Thomas Rohrer that have been woven into a landscape of glitches, fluffs, and flinty whirrs. Mazurek has never appeared to merely augment his brass with electronic resources; rather , his dedication to electronic music is an extension of the brass tradition. There's a physicality, often abrupt but always shaped, to this music - at times it appears rooted in the economy of breath and an almost embouchure-driven phraseology of forward motion and sculpted color. But a work should at some point cease to be about the tools used and more about the effect, which can be like a swarm of pinched bees, such as the taut, screaming "Hallucination Faun's Aggressive Tiger Strong," in which sonic whorls are stretched to their subtonal limits. As Bill Dixon said about solo trumpet pieces like "Shrike" and "Albert Ayler" that he was "trying to blow the bell off the horn," the same could be said about the explosive knob attack Mazurek has conjured here. Not all of the set is so jarring, however; his composing and conduction revel in the softness and diffusion of the body and it's ability to deliver different sounds, which certainly match this undulating landscape. Other areas glance up against drilled shredding and jostled, broken-beat loops. While decidedly "electronic music," like forebears Pierre Schaeffer and François Bayle these masses and threads are infused with humanity and the hard edge of the natural sublime. -- Clifford Allen, Brooklyn, April 2015.