Etant Donnes "Offenbarung Und Untergang" Les Disques du Soleil et de l'Alcier 1999 C-DSA54062 (37:50)
1. (8:31)
2. (9:42)
3. (4:52)
4. (4:09)
5. (3:52)
6. (6:44)
Etant Donnes: music. Michael Gira: voice. Saba Komossa: voice. Mark Cunningham: trumpet.
Etant Donnes are French brothers Eric & Marc Hurtado who take their name from the Marcel Duchamp peep-show like art exhibit of the same name. The duo have been releasing music since the early '80s on cassette and quite a few cds in the '90s, several with big name guests including: Robert Gorl, Lydia Lunch, Genesis P-Orridge, Alan Vega and here, Michael Gira (SWANS, The Angels of Light) and, very briefly, Saba Komossa. This cd is based upon the text "Offenbarung Und Untergang" ("Revelation and Demise") by Austrian expressionist poet Georg Trakl in 1914. Trakl was a pharmacist who served on the front in World War I and was overcome by drug and alcohol addiction and the overwhelming suffering he witnessed. In early November of 1914 at the age of 27 he took his own life via cocaine overdose at the military hospital in Krakau. The brothers Hurtado create a fittingly eerie, somber and desolate soundscape as backdrop to Gira's reading and singing (in German) of Trakl's equally somber poetic text. The music is of an ambient / environmental nature with drones, washes, noise, rumblings, bits of percussion, found sounds and Mark Cunningham's gentle trumpet playing. Gira's voice is deep and entrancing whether he's speaking or singing (tracks 2 and 6) despite the fact I don't understand a word he's saying here. Thankfully English (as well as French) translations of the text are included in the insert. This is a really dark and beautiful piece of work recommended not only to all Gira devotees but anyone in search of aural story telling. It's not very long and about $17 new but it's worth it. There have been a few other recent releases by Etant Donnes ("Mort Aux Vaches" and "Re-Up") that I now want to look into. All three are available from Soleilmoon Recordings ...
Where did I get this cd? - from Marie's CDs via Ebay.