OT: A little French and some other recent reviews

[ArsOcarina@aol.com]

Hi neighbors,

Ah yes, time again for one of those tiresome review posts of 
mine. This time I have a request for any of you French speakers 
out there -- could you possibly translate the first one for me?
Good, bad or indifferent it'd be nice to know the gist of what 
they said (last time it was a real pain to find a affordable 
translator for Lithuanian . . . no I am not kidding).

Since the CD has been out for 10 months already . . . that's
in itself a sort of a testimony as to how very long it takes 
for things to get around when you are just another oddball 
geek with a guitar and none too well connected (or talented) 
either . . . I doubt if there will be any more of these kind of 
posts from me until I put out another CD (whenever the heck 
that'll be). At least that is my sincere hope. Time to put it 
to rest chucko.

See you on the funway!

Ted Killian

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Review 1 (in French) from Jazzosphere:

Ted Killian - Flux Aeterna - 1 CD pfMentum CD 007

pfMentum s'impose depuis plusieurs années maintenant 
comme la structure à suivre dans le milieu des musiques 
créatives. Label d'où sont sorti quelques opus majeurs 
(Ganz Andere, Hear. or what, Asphalt Buddhas ou Pith Balls 
and Inclined Planes), pfMentum propose aussi de pénétrer 
plus largement dans cet univers particulier par l'intermédiaire 
d'un site web (www.newcreativemusic.com) qui regroupe tout 
un ensemble de textes, interviews ou essais qui facilitent 
l'accès de l'auditeur à cette musique. Ted Killian est sans 
doute peu connu en Europe. Guitariste-poète, sa musique 
impose un rythme et un souffle d'une grande fraîcheur. 
Sur cet album le musicien réunit dix de ses compositions 
qui participent toutes à la construction d'un espace sombre 
fait de questionnements et de réflexion mais dont l'issue 
reste l'espoir. 

http://membres.lycos.fr/jazzosphere/cdnew.htm

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Review 2 from Guitar 9:

Ted Killian -- Experimental Explorations On Electric Guitar

If you're looking for guitar music where you'll be searching 
for a stylistic reference point, but will come up empty handed, 
check out Ted Killian's CD Flux Aeterna. Imagine an Uli Jon 
Roth or Jimi Hendrix within a sonic landscape not cohabited 
by bass and drums, but simply with guitars and amps set to 
feedback mercilessly (oh yeah, and add a heaping helping of 
samples, loops and other sonic mayhem). Creativity with a 
capital 'C' is what we've got here, but it won't peak everyone's 
interest of course. That may not be the artist's desire though. 
Killian is walking his own path with these ten instrumentals; 
within the structure of what he's established however, he 
does do his job with conviction, tenacity and confidence, which 
are important elements to have in order to enjoy work that's 
constantly breaking down your preconceptions and shattering 
barriers. The highly overdriven tones on songs such as "Cauterant 
Baptism" and "Hubble" may frighten children and small rodents, 
but others will find it just what Dr. Ted Nugent ordered (if this 
reference escapes you, look for late '70s footage of Nugent 
bowing before a wildly out-of-control amp). 

Born and raised in sunny Southern California, Ted has played 
guitar for over 38 years and has never managed to learn how 
to do it correctly. But, as it turns out, this may have turned 
out to be a pretty good thing. Without necessarily having set 
out to do so, Ted has found his own unique "voice" on an 
instrument that is nearly ubiquitous in modern popular music. 
Killian began playing and experimenting early on, but (in terms 
of public performance) bloomed late. Beginning in the late 1980s, 
he began performing his original music in conjunction with the 
Ventura New Music Concert Series (Southern California) - aided 
by close friend and colleague, avant-jazz trumpeter, Jeff Kaiser. 
So began a long series of ever-changing concerts and presentations 
all around Southern California. Ted has been interviewed as a 
featured composer on "Music of the Americas" on KPFK radio in 
Los Angeles. Since the debut of Flux Aeterna his music has been 
played on literally dozens of radio stations around the globe and 
has garnered critical praise in as many publications internationally. 

In recent years, Killian has composed music for ballet, "fixed" 
gallery installations, multi-disciplinary art performances, large 
ensembles and small groups. And, after all of this, he has still 
somehow managed to avoid having ever been in anything 
resembling a "band."

http://www.guitar9.com/undiscov37c.html

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Review 3 from Rent Romus, Bay Area Improvisors Network:

Guitarists are a dime a dozen in the pop world, but when you go 
further out into exploration like Ted Killian, commonality is replaced 
with unique sound. Thus said, I was happy to receive this new CD 
from Ventura rebel label pfMentum. It's great to hear another 
voice in the world of experimental electric guitar done so well. 
Killian utilizes both his superb skills as a musician on electronics 
as well as guitar.

He interfaces the two seamlessly to create a powerful and unique 
voice to the known fair we've come to expect from other players 
such as Nels Cline. This CD has made it quite clear that rock is not 
dead it just got cloned and reconstructed before it's original was 
gutted by the music industry. Killian creates a full musical adventure 
with ten cuts of thematic tunes ranging from rhythmic scream 
sessions to all out grooves digging deep into the history of the guitar.

He even makes an interesting musical reference to a famous Jimi 
Hendrix performance one summer in the late sixties, and I would 
swear I hear some Sun Ra in there as well (though I may be tripping).

What I love about the improvised scene growing throughout the 
world is the abolishment of specific styles that continue to eat 
away at the artistic status quo. I'd say if you have an open ear 
to electric guitar exploration with appreciation for the hard core, 
you'd want to get this one. Flux Aeterna is another nail in the 
coffin of pop sensibilities, and I thank Mr. Killian for that.

http://www.bayimproviser.com/interviewdetail.asp?interview_id=12

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Review 4 from Matt Borghi, All Music Guide:

Ted Killian's Flux Aeterna begins with a eerily apocalyptic electric 
guitar solo that in places seems to quote parts of Jimi Hendrix' 
by now world-famous rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" 
from 1969's Woodstock Music Festival. With the first track as 
a point of departure, Killian moves through a series of compositions 
where the guitar plays the main role, while surrounded by a variety 
of synthesized harmonic tapestries. For the most part, though, 
the guitar is the primary melodic instrument on Flux Aeterna, 
and really shows Killian experimenting with it in a lot of new ways. 
In places, this recording sounds like the work of Robert Fripp and 
King Crimson, and in other places there's strangely experimental 
work going on that's reminiscent of Brian Eno, and even some of 
John Cage's work. However, one thing is certain: Ted Killian has 
created a fantastic disc that truly creates a new harmonic 
vocabulary both for the guitar and for the guitar as background 
and foreground instrument. Guitar players in particular should pay 
special attention to this recording, but if you're looking for a 
recording that seems to be slightly -- very slightly -- tinged with 
an 1980s synthesizer sound (as well as a very unique guitar sound), 
then this is certainly a fantastic recording. 

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A5ho7gjvr36ib

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Review 5 from Guitar Player's Matt Blackett:

Ted Killian, Flux Aeterna. Feedback shreiks and EBow howls over 
hypnotic grooves add up to a great soundtrack for a ba dream. 
pfMetum -- MB

July 2002 issue "Quick Hits" (p.104)

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Hard to believe, but there are actually radio stations playing 
”Flux Aeterna” from time to time (in the wee hour I'll bet).

KUCI.88.9 FM        Irvine,CA—USA
KCSB 91.9 FM        Santa Barbara, CA—USA
KZSU 90.1 FM        Stanford, CA—USA
KDVS 90.3 FM        Davis, CA—USA
KFJC  89.7 FM       Los Altos Hills, CA—USA
WPKN 89.5 FM        Bridgeport, CT—USA
WHUS 91.7   FM      Storrs, CT—USA
WOMR 92.1 FM        Provincetown, MA—USA
WXYC 89.3 FM        Chapel Hill, NC—USA
WNCW 88.7 FM        Spindale NC—USA
KDSU 91.9 FM        Fargo, ND—USA
WSIA 88.9 FM        Staten Island, NY—USA
KLCC 89.7 FM        Eugene OR—USA
KTRU 91.7 FM        Houston, TX—USA
KBCS 91.3 FM        Bellevue, WA—USA
WSUM 91.7 FM        Madison, WI—USA
WORT-FM 89.9        Madison WI—USA
CKUT 90.3 FM        Montreal, Quebec—Canada
CFLX 95.5 FM        Sherbrooke, Québec—Canada
CJAM 91.5 FM        Windsor, Ontario—Canada
CIUT 89.5 FM        Toronto, Ontario—Canada
3D Radio 93.7FM Adelaide—Australia
RTR 92.1 FM     Perth—Western Australia
FRK 105.8 FM        Kassel—Germany  
RCV 99 FM           Lille—France
90.1 FM         Sens—France
RCV 100.4 FM        Barcelona—Spain
RF 91.5 FM          Barcelona—Spain
KAPSAI FM 100.2 Marijampole—Lithuania

Anywho, thanks for your time. Over and out . . .