“There is always a transcendental idea in technology – it’s not only about making it work but thinking about where it will go,” says Maciej Śledziecki speaking to Abi Bliss in The Wire 469. Along with collaborator Marion Wörle, Śledziecki is one half of Berlin based music making and robot building duo Gamut Inc. In their recent Wire interview, the pair explain their fascination with software-controlled acoustic music, their instrument building processes, and how they incorporate human factors into their music.

To accompany their interview Gamut Inc have recorded a mix of music that has influenced their work over the years. “The mix unites some pieces that have been with us for a long time,” say the duo over email. “Some of them represent our preference for microtonal pieces: when we discovered Ivan Wyschnegradsky a few years ago, it immediately grabbed us both; Messiaen's “Les Berges” harbours those enchanting enigmatic scales and also inspired our work with computer-controlled pipe organs; Oskar Sala's "Caprice Rubato" has been a favourite of my playlists for 20 years – I was lucky enough to see him live once, and could only marvel as he demonstrated his trautonium; Stine Janvin's piece beautifully shows how electronic concepts are brought back and forth to analog ways of playing, which is something we pursue in our work as well; Gagaku/Japanese Court Music impressed us very much during our stay in Japan last year. We got books and recordings, and started to analyse this very old music. It seemed so familiar and reminded us of some of our musical ideas. The mix is strongly influenced by rhythmic structures and harmonies that inspire us a lot and have also shaped our music.”

Tracklist

Z‘ev “Kliks”
Laurie Spiegel “Drums”
Jonny Greenwood “Proven Lands”
James Tenney “Spectral Canon For Conlon Nancarrow”
Luigi Nono “La Fabbrica Illuminata A Soprano E Tape”
Olivier Messiaen “Les Berges”
Stine Janvin “Like Last Night”
Sawir Sutan Mudo, Nurasni, and Zaidir SK “Padang Magek”
La Monte Young & Marian Zazeela “The Tamburas Of Pandit Pran Nath”
Rrose “Curl”
Oskar Sala “Caprice Rubato”
György Ligeti “Musica Ricercata”
Gagaku “Japanese Court Music”
Ivan Wyschnegradsky “Prelude in Quarter–Tone System: IV”
Peggy Lee “Is That All There Is”

Read Abi Bliss's interview with Gamut Inc in The Wire 469. Wire subscribers can also read the article online via the digital library.