Thuistezien 135 — 01.01.2021

No View, The Radio XXVIII
Kevin Shea
Hypocrisies of Improv


Kevin Shea is a very unique New York based drummer working in the fields of improvisation and free jazz, famous for refusing to play ‘straightforward’ beats or rhythms, no matter how diverse his collaborations may be. He could be compared to Dutch free jazz drummer Han Bennink, firstly as both employ incredible technique on their instrument although used in completely atypical fashion, and secondly, as both fully embrace and celebrate the absurdity of what they do, ading a significantly performative character to their music. In this manner avant garde drumming almost becomes a medium of experimental satire rather than just musical expression.
The piece ‘Hypocrisies of Improv’ is a video manifestation of Shea's solo album ‘Love Letter to my Drum Pad’, made entirely on drum practise pads during lock down. Apart from demonstrating the vast amount of practise and preparation needed for improvised music, it also expresses the absurdity of what last year has meant to all of us, each of us desperately struggling to cling on to the realities we once had. Notice the elaborate placement of microphones around the set, exemplifying his attempt at preserving a recording studio in his living room.

In Shea's own words on the piece: 'My comprehension of practice pads extends from the meditative approach to shakuhachi. In this style, the instrument is not performed or listened to for musical pleasure, but instead experienced as a gateway to prayer… as a meditative aid for performer and audience alike. I consider the practice pads as spiritual objects played to experience ecstatic epiphanies via exercise-based meditation. A massive/active quantity of notes is mandatory in order to achieve a vast space of endorphin-infused enlightenment. In order to reach the infinite abyss of epiphany, the performer must not think literally about sound as it is conventionally assumed via muzak disease. Paradoxically, filling sonic “space” (as it is conventionally understood by muzak masochists) with many notes is the only way to experience blissful limitlessness and spacious expanse. In another approach to shakuhachi, the player emulates nature... like the sounds of insects buzzing. The orchestra of insects also informs my practice pad sessions — it is one of many weapons used to destroy human being's physiological prescript toward psychical muzak abidance.'


About the series: No View, The Radio
The arts are taking a break. Theaters, museums, concert halls and galleries are closed. To a large extent, the art that is so desperately needed right now is inaccessible. Imagine being quarantined at home without films, without books, without music. Though we may not access the art, we can still think about it. The enforced rupture of this isolation can also be an opportune moment to reflect on and from, the arts. Every Friday for the upcoming weeks we will showcase original musical works by different artists, selected by Alex Andropoulos.


Overview episodes No No View, The Radio

I. House Flood — Sholto Dobie
II. Heaps — Saber Rider
III. Detached [ but Interconnected ? ) — Alexandropoulos–McEwan & Sasha Zalivako
IV. Salon Gout — Wanda Group
V. West jam — Goze
VI. Your Feeling — Genevieve Murphy
VII. Katilluik and the Warp — Bill Orcutt
VIII. YSTERA — Tzitzifriki[a]
IX. The Moon, the Bear and the Princes — Orphan Fairytale & Katja Louisa Stonewood
X. Look in all directions — Yeah You
XI. Uileboombox — Lyckle de Jong
XII. Pane, Both Sides — Edgars Rubenis
XIII. Touching a Mountain — Katherina Heil & Rik Möhlmann
XIV. On the Platform — Booker Stardrum + Chris Williams
XV. Stalingrad 1917 — The Rebel
XVI. Rainbow Bits — City Dragon
XVII. You Would Sound Much More Convincing If You Spoke As If You Cared — Horse Whisperer & Anna Danielewicz
XVIII. Rehearsal 06.08.2020 — Kurws
XIX. Planetary Synchronicity 2 — Alexander Johannes Heil
XX. Leaks — Soft Tissue
XXI. Realistik Soap — Cindy Lee
XXII. Stand Your Ground and Hold Water — ch
XXIII. 00 03 58 23 — Farida Amadou
XXIV. Western Front — Sarah Davachi
XXV. Protection from City Planning — Wendy Eisenberg
XXVI. Tone Cloud — Tsev
XXVII. This Could Be Any Day — Comfort
XXVIII. Hypocrisies of Improv — Kevin Shea
XXVIV. Number One — Sasha Zalivako
XXX. Selten gehörte Hausmusik — Black to Comm
XXXI. Improvisation on ‘An Air Swept Clean of All Distance’ — Rhodri Davies
XXXII. Paradoxes — Mariam Rezaei
XXXIII. Untitled —  Tongue Depressor
XXXIV. Tara Clerkin Trio —  Tara Clerkin Trio
XXXV. Wrens sing all the winter through, frost excepted —  Ernest Vilsons
XXXVI. Sticky —  Still House Plants
XXXVII. For West Den Haag —  David Fenech + Klimperei
XXXVIII. Summer Of Love —  Watkins/Peacock
XXXVIV. The Turn Things Take — John Butcher
XXXX. Unsound Body — Emile Van Helleputte
XXXXI. Non Human Logic — Helena Celle
XXXXII. Lost in Deep Taiga — Abiboss
XXXXIII. Ultramix — Skrot Centralen
XXXXIV. Sonic Cartographies for Plotters #1 — Sébastien Robert
XXXXV. Measuring your Metaphysics & Removing our Aesthetics — The Modern Institute
XXXXVI. Sinisen Ruusun Tapaus — Cucina Povera
XXXXVII. Another One of Those Human-Type Situations (Parts 1 & 2) — Chris Corsano
XXXXVIII. Bedroom Jam-Type Situations — Manos Plitsis