Although he was an avid collector of sound art and experimental music recordings, Alexander Meyer had no plans to start a record label, but when he discovered the music of German violinist Hans Essel and realised that none of his music had ever been released, he was moved to take on the task himself. In 2013 he sought out the advice of Daniel Löwenbrück, the former proprietor of the remarkable Berlin experimental music shop Rumpsti Pumsti and the Tochnit Aleph label and dove in, forming Edition Telemark. Now the label boasts a catalogue of more than 50 titles, although an arcane numbering system designed around multiples of pi by Meyer established 98 as the final catalogue number, imposing a built-in restriction.

Although the catalogue was originally dedicated to sound art from around the world, including a healthy dose of Fluxus artists like Ben Patterson and Takako Saito, the label eventually broadened its scope to include artists working in experimental music, such as instrument inventor Werner Durand, conceptual percussionist Sven-Åke Johansson, and Japanese sound artist Seiji Morimoto. Skyrocketing production costs and pandemic-era delays have slowed down the label’s output – Meyer runs the label strictly as a hobby on top of his job as a programmer. He’s unable to devote resources to promoting his releases, but he’s got more than dozen projects in the pipeline. The following six selections capture his commitment to fearless experimentation.

Hans Essel
“December 10, 1994 At Festival Experimentelle Musik, Munich” (excerpt) [00.00]
From Saitensack

Hans Essel was the German sound artist whose total lack of commercially-available recordings led Alexander Meyer to start Edition Telemark in 2013. In particular, he was drawn to the strident, scratch-laden music for violin and viola designed with an approach the artist dubbed “Saitensack”. The strings on the fretboards are only damped – not conventionally fingered – and the real control comes from the bowing. The visceral sounds Essel produces occupy a liminal space between noise and pure tone, with a churning energy and intensity that feels utterly instinctual.

MND
“Rhythm” [03.53]
From Schlangenfeuer: Freedom Suite

MND (Moderne Nordeuropäische Dorfmusik, Modern North European Village Music) were formed in West Berlin in 1968 by a core trio of drummer Sven-Åke Johansson, guitarist Norbert Eisbrenner and bassist Werner Götz. The group were part of a large movement that invited amateurs together with trained musicians, mirroring activities by The Scratch Orchestra in London. This double album contains a live performance from 1971 with a larger ensemble pursuing a kind of hypnotic group improvisation, slowly building a jagged group attack closer to progressive rock than free jazz. As heard here, a grotty rhythm is punctuated by the edgy slide guitar of Eisbrenner and the chanted vocals of Boris Schaak. “The result was a new kind of monastery music, nourishing the youth in their longing for community,” says Johansson of the endeavour.

Werner Dafeldecker
“Small Worlds” [27.38]
From Small Worlds

Austrian bassist Werner Dafeldecker, a crucial progenitor of lower-case improv, has increasingly explored compositional work, first in the longrunning Polwechsel, and more recently under his own name. This bracing 2004 composition was originally recorded by Australian ensemble Quiver, but this iteration was performed by Polwechsel – Dafeldecker, cellist Michael Moser and percussionists Martin Brandlmayr (Radian) and Burkhard Beins, along with two close associates, pianist John Tilbury (AMM) and organist Klaus Lang. They interpret a wide-open score that is fuelled by improvisation. The ensemble are split into a pair of trios – each of which has a nominal leader – and the make-up of which changes every three minutes, forcing the musicians to not only follow the abstract score, but to perpetually keep tabs on internal interaction and the changing trio constructions.

Ernstalbrecht Stiebler & Tilman Kanitz
“Session 38.1” [49.45]
From Ernstalbrecht Stiebler & Tilman Kanitz

One of Germany’s oldest living modern classical composers, Ernstalbrecht Stiebler had spent most of his career writing music influenced by the Second Viennese School, but soon after he turned 85 in 2019 he developed a growing interest in improvisation. It’s a practice he’s focused on ever since, and now we’re getting remarkable transmissions reflecting this shift. The collection of duets with violinist Tilman Kanitz draws upon the same classical vocabulary he’s used for decades, but freed of strict form, he’s found a remarkable openness mixing sorrowful melody, thick harmonies and quicksilver adaptation.

Tonaliens
“Vesta Part 1” [59.17]
From Tonaliens

Stunning work that captures the developing critical mass of projects embracing just intonation in Berlin, this super ensemble with singer Amelia Cuni, microntonal tuba player Robin Hayward, trombonist Hilary Jeffery, invented wind instrumentalist Werner Durand and technician Ralf Meinz luxuriates in extended harmonic explorations using the Hayward Tuning Vine, the tuba player’s custom-built software. The hypnotic long tones from this 2017 concert performance unfurl with exquisite patience, microtonal sounds taking on a life of their own as each ensemble element clashes and caresses one another.

PHREN
“10 November 2010” [1.19.20]
From Duos Auf Präparierten Instrumenten/Duos On Prepared Instruments

The experimental music scene in Munich was a key inspiration for Meyer early on, and this collection features work from PHREN, a veteran ensemble from the city originally formed in 1968 by Michael Kopfermann. The group reflect ideas shared with Hans Essel in the way they investigate the line between noise and pure tones. The members of the ensemble often tweaked conventional instruments to create new sounds, like outfitting violas and cellos, for example, with much heavier strings than usual, or wind instruments given extra tubing. The musicians improvise with these extended sound worlds, creating quicksilver journeys marked by surprising timbres.

Read Peter Margasak’s article on Edition Telemark in full in The Wire 472. Wire subscribers can read the feature online via the digital library.