c i r c e : the black cut ~ 2015

Information, Full Credits and Analysis of
Anna Stereopoulou‘s album c i r c e :the black cut:
Released on 30th of May, 2015
Research + Production: Anna Stereopoulou©2003 – 2015
Part of the composer’s same titled worldwide project, launched in March 2014 and encouraged by
7MNS (Seven Moons) Music label, female:pressure and Association Concept Artgentin.

N E W S [22 December 2019]: CIRCE The Black Cut by Anna Stereopoulou amongst the 20 Best Music Albums of the Decade 2010-2019 selected by Fontas Troussas for LiFO
Read Article (in Greek): https://www.lifo.gr/articles/music_articles/263362/20-ellinika-moysika-almpoym-poy-agapisame-ti-dekaetia-2010-2019

c i r c e
:the black cut:

decoding a sonic glance…
…decoding anna stereopoulou

c i r c e :the black cut: is the natural continuation of Anna Stereopoulou’s previous albums /projects, …oneirograph…v.5.spindle, electron [ήλεκτρον] and A ∞ [aleph / infinity (‘bridge’ album / 7MNS)]. The whole work is based on the composer’s ongoing research on the Ηuman Βrain (various types of waves, ear structure and function, balance, senses, etc.), Astrophysics, Philosophy and Psychoanalysis topics and theories, as expressed by the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan [Three Fundamental Dimensions; Real, Imaginary, Symbolic (1901-1981)], the Austrian psychoanalyst Otto Rank [‘The Trauma of Birth’ (1884-1939)], the philosopher Plotinus [Three Ontological Principles; the One, the Intellect, and the Soul; (circa 203-270 /Greece)], as well as many other Art & Science elements of her same-titled project, such as ‘The Black Square‘ painting (Kazimir Malevich, 1915), the graphic score of the composition ‘Treatise‘ (Cornelius Cardew, 1963 to 1967) and the ‘semia’ (symbols) found on the Phaistos Disk (circa 2nd millennium BC, Crete island, Greece).

The departure from Aeaea -Circe’s island-, the visit to the Underworld and Thrinacia (island of the sun god Helios), the return to Ithaca and the death of Ulysses, are ‘narrated’ through ancient world hymns’ and scripts’ excerpts, which worship Mother Nature and archaic deities, and knit a scenario that is later resolved upon arrival to a new Aeaea, just after the work’s Golden Ratio (time-wise), met on ‘The Black Cut’ section. In the place where we discover our own very first memory; our own Birth; Life itself; the Universe.
The music of the album is moving on a A-E-A-Ǝ-A form (‘Aeaea’ island) -with hints of the ancient Greek drama structure- and it is constructed in a way that gives freedom of multidimensional movement to the listener to travel within the Time-Space axes, by setting their own Start-to-End course on any part of the music, without imposing the western philosophy of the Arrow of Time (left-to-right) direction. Also, the 432Hz-reset (‘A’) sections, in combination with other traditional harmony-rhythm elements, express an effort made to worship various bygone and aboriginal cultures from which we are called to remember the Sound of our Heart(beat).

Specialised in the field of Music Composition for Film, Theatre, Dance -recently awarded with the’Best Original Score’ award (9th CIFF, 2014 /’A Place Called Home’ dir.: Maria Douza)- Anna Stereopoulou composed, directing an Audio Film (i.e. Soundtrack), through a special Sound Mixing that offers a psychoacoustic environment and a musical ‘review’, suggesting a genre she likes describing as Sonic Moving Images.
c i r c e :the black cut: album is a journey through many Earth and Space coordinates, through mankind’s social and musical history and, definitely, through many memories and dreams of Anna’s life so far, mainly led by her Piano playing.
[you can scroll down to find Full Credits + Lyrics]

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«Il nostro mondo sarà quello in cui Sentiamo delle Anime» ~ Spiros Train

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CIRCE :The Black Cut: by Anna Stereopoulou [Album Cover Image by Filio Magenta Photography ©2013-2015]

List_of_Tracks

1. [A ~] The Port (galanthus main theme)
2. [E i] Totem
3. [Eii] Gear
4. [A φ] The Seabed + the hill
5. [iiƎ] White Dwarf (the black cut)
6. [i Ǝ] Define Me Not
7. [∞ Å] The Hill + the port (arianrhod’s theme)
8. c i r c e ~ the Real cut

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« aeaea is a planet, a forest of thoughts, in which you can find (…) yourself lost (…). aeaea is a spot of a glassy sound within the ocean of dreams, a fun-fair of fears, while you face them. aeaea is your will to find the edge, the other end, the core of infinity…
aeaea is everywhere and within everyone.» ~ annastereo

·
CIRCE :The Black Cut:
· Artist: Anna Stereopoulou
· Format: Digital Album [a limited number of printed copies is available on request]
· Available on the Official BandCamp channel of Anna Stereopoulou and at…
· · Κύκλωπας – Κύκλωψ Δίσκοι / Kyklops Records [8 Soultani Str., Exarchia, Athens, GR
W: https://www.facebook.com/kyklops.records/
· · Το Σπίρτο [To Spirto café /artspace; 81 Vass. Sophias, PC 151.24, Amaroussion, Athens, GR
W: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Το-Σπίρτο/409593409123223 | Τ: +30.211.4060.424]
· · Δισκοπωλείο Λωτός / Lotus Record Shop [7 Skra Str., Thessaloniki, PC 546 22, GR
W: http://lotus.gr/ | T/F: +30 2310 260776 | E: lotus@lotus.gr
· Released: May 30th, 2015
· Research + Production: Anna Stereopoulou [All Rights Reserved]
· Genre: Sonic Moving Images /Cinematic [OST]
· Style: Various [Ambient, Electronica, Piano, Psychedelic, World Music]
· Length: 77′
[Hidden /Bonus Track. 8 comes with a series of special frequencies and the Key decoding ‘circe’. Available only in printed copies, on request.] – t.b.reprinted

Lyrics by:
· Anna Stereopoulou [‘White Dwarf’ (original title ‘7 Cells to Freedom’) – English, written in 2003, completed in 2015]
· Also, excerpts of the following texts and ancient scripts are sung or recited, on:
·· ‘The Port’: To Rhea; The Fumigation from Aromatics. Orphic Hymn 14 (Ancient Greek)
·· ‘Totem’: An Incantation Prayer: Ishtar 24 (Akkadian)
·· ‘White Dwarf’: Cantus Circaeus (Introduction) by Giordano Bruno, ed.: John Regnault (Latin, 1582)
·· ‘Define Me Not’: Indian Classical Pattern of Singing on the word ‘Mother‘ [(Mā), performed in Bengali]
·· Ardui Sur Bano Yasht 5; Hymn to the Waters, from ‘Avesta: Khorda Avesta’ (Book of Common Prayer, Old Persian /Younger Avestan)
[Please, visit Album link and individual track pages to find lyrics and texts’ excerpts.]

Anna Stereopoulou: Piano, Hammond Organ, Synthesizers, Lyre, Bansuri, Other Objects
Research – (Music) Production* by Anna Stereopoulou / [Composition, Orchestration, Sound Design + Mixing]
Recorded at AEAEA Studio, Athens, Greece, between September 2014 and April 2015
· Recordings + Field Recordings: Anna Stereopoulou [2008, 2011, 2014-2015]
[*recorded with: Zoom H2N, Shure SM 58, built-in stereo microphone of Canon PowerShot S3 IS digital camera (various locations / Greece)]
· Track ‘Gear’ was composed /produced by Anna Stereopoulou (‘electron’ project /2011). Mixed anew (2015).
· An excerpt of the Live Performace of the ‘7 Cells to Freedom’ composition (2003) is heard on ‘White Dwarf’. Live Recording by Kit Venables [Peacock Room, Trinity College of Music, London, UK, June 20th, 2003]
· Open-Source material used on ‘The Port’ (Lion Roar) and on ‘White Dwarf’ [Selection of Space Sounds, “compiled through the Canadian Array for Real-time Investigations of Magnetic Activity (CARISMA) data”.
· Recitations on ‘White Dwarf’ recorded by Luca Colella
· Female Vocals on ‘Define Me Not’ recorded by Somali Panda
· Heartbeat sound on Track 7 kindly provided by Spiros Train

Performed by:
· Piano, Hammond Organ, Synthesizers**, (Celtic) Lyre, Bansuri, Other Objects – Anna Stereopoulou
[**Monotron Duo & Monotron Delay (analogue ribbon synthesizers) / Drone Lab V2 (4 voice analog drone synth, rhythm generator and FX processor) / VST Sounds]
· Violoncello on Tracks 1, 2, 5, 6 by Elsa Papeli
· Electric Double Bass on Tracks 1, 2, 5 by Alexander Trampas
· Vocals on Tracks 2, 6 by Labros Kantzos
· Vocals on ‘Define me Not’ by Somali Panda
· Vocals on Tracks 1, 2, 5 & Recitation on Track 1 by Anna Stereopoulou
· Recitation on ‘White Dwarf’ by Luca Colella
· Lyre on ‘Gear’ (w/ Boss RT-20) & ‘White Dwarf’ by Anna Stereopoulou
· Lyre built and offered as a present by Stefanos Michael (‘Stef Cajones‘ Cyprus, 2014)
· Excerpt from ‘7 Cells to Freedom’ heard on ‘White Dwarf’ is part of the ‘Utopia’ Music Theatre, composed, directed, produced by Anna Stereopoulou (1998-2003). Live Recording of its presentation at the Peacock Room, Trinity College of Music on June 20th 2003. Sound Engineering: Kit Venables. Performers: El. Guitar – Erik Skarsbo / Violoncello – Yoon J. Kim, Diego Carneiro, Milo Bird / Marimba & Percussion – Paul Lovegrove, Jon Raper

Album Cover Image taken by Filio Magenta Photography©2013-2015
Album Cover Layout by Anna Stereopoulou

The music was first presented as work-in-progress, in 2014, at FUZZ Athens [Support Act at Chaostar band concert /April 25th), Piano City Milano festival (May 17th, Italy), Beton7 Arts Centre (December 16th, Athens, GR) and IRIS Cinema Theatre (December 21st, Athens, GR).
The album is part of the composer’s same titled world project, launched in March 2014 and encouraged by international art networks and platforms, such as 7MNS (Seven Moons) Music label, female:pressure and Association Concept Artgentin [VJ Mushroom / Gabriel Otero]. The project’s first presentation took place in Athens (Greece) and Worldwide [“Vuelo Libre” (CIRCE Family Album /7MNS) – Exhibition – Concert premiere / December 15-21, 2014] continuing its course during 2015 with concerts, seminars and collaborations with its participants, coming all from 25 countries to date.
The New Call of the c i r c e :the black cut: project was launched on Saturday, June 6th, and it was announced during the meet-up taking place on the same day, at 18:00 (17:00 CET) in AthenStyle Youth Hostel [10 Ag. Theklas, PC 105.58, Monastiraki, Athens, GR (2′ from Monastiraki metro station)], inviting everyone to the conversation about the making of the album and the project’s steps so far, the participant artists and the supporting networks, as well as the guest projects and future plans, on a worldwide basis. The Open Call was also announced online, on June 12th 2015, and it is available on the following link: http://wp.me/p2zRWp-f9
(Past) Event Information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1602311130009050/

_news about the album release and/or the new open call have also been published on:
[english]
7MNS Music: http://7mnsmusic.weebly.com/news/anna-stereopoulou-shows-us-a-new-vision-for-circethe-black-cut
[greek · ελληνικά (a-z)]
Δισκορυχείον / Vinylmine [κριτική από τον Φώντα Τρούσα]: http://diskoryxeion.blogspot.gr/2015/12/electronic-cd.html
Against the silence [κριτική από τον Μπάμπη Κολτράνη]: http://wp.me/p29Nvg-1aH
Αrtic.gr: http://artic.gr/new-album-anna-stereopoulou/
Chimeres Greece: http://chimeres.info/blog/2015/06/03/nea-kykloforia-anna-stereopoyloy-c-i-r-c-e-black-c/
Michael Cacoyannis Foundation [5.06.2015]: http://www.mcf.gr/el/foundation/news/
MusicPaper.gr [thanks to Andy Dimopoulou]: http://www.musicpaper.gr/news/item/6560-kykloforei-o-neos-diskos-tis-annas-stereopoylou
Παρατηρητήριο Αμαρουσίου: http://paratiritirio-amarousiou.blogspot.gr/2015/06/album.html
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_radio broadcasts + playlists aired:

«La Danza Poetica» podcast – #032 “Greece Wavelengths”
Hosted by Lisa Greenaway (a.k.a. DJ LAPKAT) [Melbourne, Australia | June 2015]
Various Tracks from the album
• info: http://lapkat.com/2015/06/02/la-danza-poetica-032-greece-%CB%9C-wavelengths/
• listen: https://www.mixcloud.com/ladanzapoetica/la-danza-poetica-032-greece-wavelengths/

«Doctore Xyramat» radio show on Freies Sender Kombinat
Hosted by Xyramat [Hamburg, Germany | July 10th, 2015]
[“Totem” track + Spoken Message /Statement]
• info: http://www.fsk-hh.org/blog/2015/07/10/1072015_23uhr_doctore_xyramat

«Against the Silence» playlist [«Against the Silence» blog]
Hosted by Bob Coltrane [Athens, Greece | July 27th, 2015]
“The Black Cut” trailer
• listen: https://www.mixcloud.com/againstthesilence/againstthesilence-playlist-270715-by-bob-coltrane/

«Zerrspiegel» (“Distorting Mirror”) radio show on ColoRadio
Hosted by Antje Meichsner [Dresden, Germany | September 2015]
“[∞ Å] The Hill + The Port (Arianrhod’s Theme)” track + Message]
• info (in german): http://coloradio.org/site/2015/09/52698/
• listen: https://www.mixcloud.com/shannon_soundquist/zerrspiegel-female-electronic-artists-iv-agf-special/

«TIME; decoding 2015» best of 2015 mix
by dj Spyros_aka_Fake [Greece, Saudi Arabia | January 2016]
“• [i Ǝ] Define Me Not (red giant)” track
• listen: https://www.mixcloud.com/spyros_aka_fake/time-decoding-2015/

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c i r c e :the black cut:
© Copyright, Anna Stereopoulou, 2014~2015~
A STEREOSCOPIC perspective of Music & Art ©