Tracklist

01. Momenti (ninety-three sine waves) (06:00)

02. Sequenza IXb (alto sax) (07:54)
03. Cello Sequenza (06:06)
04. Omaggio a Joyce (shot #1) (01:08)
05. Chants Parallles (sons fixs) (17:32)
This release is dedicated to the memory of Italian experimental Composer Luciano
Berio (1925 - 2003). He is noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1
968 composition Sinfonia and his series of solo pieces titled Sequenza) and also
for his pioneering work in electronic music.
The artistic legacy of Luciano Berio features an amazing variety of topics, cult
ural codes and conventions which he has created in his body of work throughout h
is life. Beginning his experiments with electronics in the fifties and throughou
t the next two decades, Berio was always unbiased by the accomplishments and mus
ical development in Paris and Cologne. His approach was more focused on the soun
ds and their effect on the listener instead.
Limited Liability Sounds aka Adam Makowski decided to pay homage to the compositi
ons of the artist that represented a bold step towards the evolution of new musi
c in the last century, bringing together minimalistic drones, samples and sounds
as a collage representing the character of Luciano Berio's work.
VITAL WEEKLY REVIEW:
To say I am well versed in the work of avant-garde composer Luciano Berio (1925-
2003) is not true; in fact I hardly heard any of his work, although 'Folk Songs'
is the one piece that I know very well, and love very much. My father gave me t
he record, and I remember I played that piece over and over, and ignored the oth
ers that were on there, such 'Nones', 'Concerto For Two Pianos' and 'Chemnis IV'
. So perhaps I am not the right person to judge the five pieces on the homage th
at Polish Adam Mankowski, also known as Limited Liability Sounds, just released.
For instance I can't say whether or not Mankowski uses Berio's methods of compo
sing, or that his homage is more loosely based on Berio's work. Some, if not all
, of the titles, are inspired or taken from Berio's work. Limited Liability Soun
ds operate from a more electronic angle, but perhaps as such relates to some of
Berio's work. Maybe he uses sounds from compositions? Much like Berio, Limited L
iability Sounds plays for the effects of the sounds on the listener. If there we
re no connection to Berio, I would perhaps have said something about processing
acoustic sounds and instruments, that this is perhaps part of the world of elect
ro-acoustic music and at the same time also from the world of ambient music. In
each of the five pieces, ranging from one to seventeen minutes, Mankowski aims f
or bringing on some kind of mood; all of these a bit darker. The most obvious on
e being 'Chants Paralleles (sons fixes)', with its extensive use of reverb going w
ild over stringed sounds, creating a dense cloud of sound; in 'Momenti (ninety-t
hree sine waves)', the sound of perhaps ninety-three sound waves rise and disapp
ear, solemnly and dark. Vast webs of sound are spun in all of these pieces, exce
pt perhaps the sparse clicks of the shortest piece, 'Omaggio a Joyce (shot #1)'.
I thought this was an excellent release, a fine bridge between worlds, which so
metimes seem not alike, the worlds of modern classical music, drone music, ambie
nt and electro-acoustic music, and probably an invitation to start listening to
the work of Berio (again?). (FdW)
RESOUNDING FOOTSTEPS REVIEW:
Admittedly, electronic music is not my usual forte, at least I though it wasnt un
til I started to do some research into what it was, the instruments, and its his
tory. While it might never be something that I feature a lot here on Resounding
Footsteps, when I do, you can rest assured that what I am presenting to you is w
ell worth your time. Case in point? Limited Liability Sounds. The group sounds m
ore like a legal firm that deals with musical copywriter than an actual musical
project (hell maybe they are in their down time) but damn do they come up with s
ome excellent music. Their 2016 album An Homage to Luciano Berio blew me away with
 its potential.
To start with, why the hell is Luciano Berio? Honestly, before I was given this
album to review I had no idea who he was. Doing my due diligence and research (o
ften my favorite thing to do for albums), I found out that he was one of the pio
neers of electronic music with a career that spanned decades. He is something of
a cross between a classical composer, a jazz musician, and an ambient artist. R
oll all of that together and what do you get? The forefather of one of the large
st and frustratingly unrecognized genres of music in history. Electronic music i
s not just odd avant garde sounds fit together asymmetrically and called art. Some
artists may have turned it into that but the real musicians, the real artists (
Limited Liability Sounds for example) push the boundaries of melody and rhythm a
nd harmony without pushing the boundaries of taste. They create sounds that are
clearly music but inverted, inside out, upside down, and backwards. They can tak
e old music with old instruments and create something new and magical. Electroni
c artists the real avant garde musicians out there.
Limited Liability Sounds takes some of Luciano Berios most recognizable works and
reformulates them using keyboard and guitar drones. Listening on a computer wit
h a decent pair of headphones isnt enough for music like this. LLS is music that
needs to be played as loudly as possible on the best speakers available. There a
re dozens of sounds (and melodies) going on at any given time with an equal numb
er of instruments or techniques. Yet, with some much going on, there are nuances
that can be missed if you arent careful or you arent listening for them. Some of
the drones are low, boiling just at the edge of human hearing, around the fear f
requency, while other drones are so ear piercingly high I had to wince. It was a
ll beautiful, in its own way. The atmosphere is dark and tragic yet it has a hid
den strength that encapsulates and captivates the listener. There is something i
n the music, like an audio drug, that makes us keep listening. The music moves a
t a feverishly slow pace, as if to antagonize the listener, teasing them with do
zens of layers of sound and story before moving to the next movement.
The music feels half like a classically composed album, with rigid structure and
form, and half like a jazz album, all spontaneity and chaos. The two halves of
the music are in constant battle for the listeners attention. Both are of equal p
ower and strength, each has a certain grace and gravitas about it. Each melody i
s graced with both halves, creating something that is both, yet neither. A uniqu
e sound that is more than the sum of its parts.
If you have never given electronic music much thought, now is the time to stop.
Now is the time to listen to it, research it, feel it and understand it. Limited
Liability Sounds created an album here, an album of covers that would give Sunn
O))) a run for its smoky, drony money, that would make Luciano Berio proud. Some
where, he is smiling. An album that is made to honor someone can achieve no high
er mark. Limited Liability Sounds will forever be on my radar and in my playlist
because of this album. They have made a damn good album with true talent and sk
ill.