Pamelia Stickney: Theremin
Mark Holub : Drums
Chris Janka : Guitar
New Album 2016!!!
Praesentation im Radiokulturhaus WIen am 08.Maerz 2016!!
Covergestaltung: Louise Rath
OUR 2014 ALBUM „hurts so gut“:
Cover Art: Louise Rath
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A broken wind up children’s toy, driving drums, theremin and distorted guitar crash together in this fun, mad-cap debut by three musical powerhouses.
A collection of first-time-ever-played-one-take tracks, improvs, and songs, the ‘Hurts so gut’ LP is the work of Chris Janka (guitar), Mark Holub (drums) and Pamelia Kurstin (theremin). Originally Blueblut formed for a one off concert at Porgy and Bess for the ‘Vienna Room Service’ festival in 2013, but the Vienna based three liked what they played so much that they decided to continue. By the end of the year, powered by crates of beer, curries and sweets and with open access to Chris’s basement studio, a distinct sound and album had emerged.
About the individuals in Blueblut: Pamelia Kurstin is probably the most recognisable player of the theremin in the world today, being instrumental in the instrument’s development she is the go-to Theremin player. Alongside her own compositions and releases she has performed with the likes of Yoko Ono and David Byrne. Mark Holub is best known as the animated Anglo-American drummer and bandleader of London based and Mercury Prize nominated jazz-rock outfit Led Bib. Holub recently decamped from London to set up home in Vienna. Flying machine maker, sound engineer, guitarist and automata creator Janka is a kind of Viennese Caractacus Potts figure with a basement studio to rival Peter Blake’s. He also recorded, engineered and mastered the record.
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Floating somewhere between psych and avant-rock, Blueblut’s chameleon-like players make a myriad of musical colours. Kurstin takes the role of ethereal ocean siren and walking jazz bassist, Janka of a thrash punk mathrocker and Holub seething at the back, builds and bubbles with grooves and rock energy tearing apart Blueblut’s emerging musical language and inventing new pathways.
BLUEBLUT Hurts so gut (Blueblut Eigenverlag): What the f…! Was sich da in Skilehrer-Engleutsch so blaublütig präsentiert, ist tatsächlich nicht von schlechten Eltern. In diesem Fall sind es sogar drei, nämlich Pamelia Kurstin, die Theremin-Queen aus Kalifornien, und der Led-Bib-Drummer Mark Holub, der ebenso wie sie dem Magnetismus von Wien nicht widerstehen konnte. Dort ist der Gitarrist Chris Janka in ihrem Bunde der dritte, ein stadtbekannter Lustmechaniker (oder Caractacus Potts für die, denen dazu Bäng Bäng in den Kopf schießt), der sein Unwesen schon mit Rudi Fischerlehner in Blendwerk trieb, mit Missing Dog Head auf den Hund kam und mit seinem Schmäh hier das Augenzwinkern mitverantwortet von Titeln wie ‚Fuckhead Toothbrush‘, ‚Monky Buh‘ oder ‚Erde, Wind & Pfurz‘. Kurstin [von der Live in Wels 2009-DVD] vom Unlimited 23 her im Hinterkopf zu haben, reicht nicht aus, sich ihre krawallschachteligen Jauler, Exotica-Triller und „Oh my God!“-Kräher vorzustellen in einer apocalypsomanischen Verpraterung und narrenfreien Atomisierung Wiener Blutstropfen. Kurstin bläst Hirtenflöte, beschwört Yma Sumac oder spielt Geige (alles per Thereminvox), während die Burschen einen zum Moschen anstiften oder sich von einer Domina peitschen lassen. Es wird, groovy, aber schräg, geschrammelt und entsublimiert ohne Rücksicht auf blaue Flecken. Jankas Gitarre stolpert über die eigenen Saiten und besteigt dennoch Gipfel des umgekehrt Erhabenen. Holub joggt über die Strudlhofstiege. Blueprints all dessen ließen sich womöglich in japanischen Trickkisten finden. Der Rabatt-Anarchist Willi Landl baggert als lallender Discostenz Kalypso an. Bis zuletzt eine Spieluhr sich bettwärts schleppt wie ein blutleerer Vampir in seine Kapuzinergruft – aber doch noch brav die Klospülung zieht. Es ist, statt bloß mit ASMR, mit heftigen Kopfkratzimpulsen zu rechnen. [BA 82 rbd]
But actually comparisons are pretty meaningless with this group, in which imagination and entertainment combine to utterly distinctive effect – improv meets rock meets rampaging robots! [JazzNothEast]
Hello, I’m very happy to listen your album.
I just say to you your music is very wonderfull and jubilant.
Thank you very much.
I hope i will see you on tour. T.B.
You rock so hard I threw in a couple extra Euros – LOVE IT !! C.O.
I just bought your vinyl. Sounds kinky, doesn’t it? It really reminds me of Captain Beefheart with Jimi Hendrix on the Theremin, but with a big dose of musical integrity and ‚ear‘ thrown in. It’s crazy, but it all makes perfect sense. I love it. P.
“Blueblut rules the entire world! We need a massive U.S. tour as soon as possible PLEASE !”C.O.
monsieurdelire:
BLUEBUT / Hurts So Gut (Bluebut – merci à/thanks to Dense Promotion)
Wow. Y a beaucoup de plaisir à avoir avec ce disque, un trio theremin-guitare-batterie qui n’est pas ce à quoi vous vous attendez. Avec Mark Holub, le batteur-leader de Led Bib, Chris Janka à la guitare et la théréministe Pamelia Kurstin, Tous trois chantent aussi. Hurts so gut nous brasse d’une forme à l’autre de rock expérimental, avec influences RIO, bruitiste et no-wave. Kurstin fait de la mise en boucle, les trois musiciens cabotinent et délirent sur des thèmes composés, quand ils n’improvisent pas à fond de train (dans “noASMR”). La dernière séquence de quatre pièces est ahurissante: on passe du calypso à la berceuse. [Ci-dessous: Tout l’album est en écoute libre sur bandcamp. Commencez par “You Think”.]
Wow. There’s a lot of fun to be had with this record, the debut by a theremin/guitar/drums trio. And it’s not what you expect. With Mark Holub, the leader/drummer of Led Bib, Chris Janka on guitar, and Pamelia Kurstin on theremin. All three also sing. Hurts so gut rollicks through many forms of experimental rock, with influences ranging from RIO to no-wave to noise. Kurstin uses a looper, all three musicians go crazy on precomposed themes, when they’re not improvising their hearts out (on “noASMR”). The final four tracks make up a shocking sequence that takes us from calypso to lullaby. What a ride!
Rezension aus FALTER 25/14
Bandname und Titel deuten es schon an: Hier liegt eine sprach-, ja kontinentübergreifende Kooperation vor, der Wiener Gitarrist Chris Janka hat sich mit Thereministin Pamelia Kurstin und Zeugler Mark Holub (beide USA) zusammengetan. Die Musik hätte in die heroische Zeit der Knitting Factory der frühen 1990er gepasst und findet im Idealfall eine gute Balance zwischen räudigem Groove, hysterischem Sound und Schabernack mitunter nervts.
Klaus Nüchtern in FALTER 25/14 vom 18.06.2014 (S. 28)
Blueblut – Hurts so Gut
(blueblut1. Pay-what-you-like download/LP Review by Peter Slavid)
I have often heard it said that jazz musicians take themselves a bit too seriously, and sometimes I’m inclined to agree. But there’s not much doubt that Blueblut had as much fun making their new album – Hurts so Gut – as I had listening to it.
It’s not for the purists, but those of you familiar with Led Bib will enjoy lots of it – their drummer Mark Holub is one member of this Vienna-based trio. But the sound is very different. Pamelia Kurstin is probably not the only jazz Theremin player – but she’s certainly the best known and the only one I’ve ever come across – and her bent notes pervade this CD. The theremin is a fascinating instrument that can move from singing to screaming in an instant and can sometimes sound like lots of other instruments and at other times like nothing you’ve ever heard before.
I haven’t come across Chris Janka on guitar before but he seems to be an all round experimental sound artist who describes himself as “Flying machine maker, sound engineer, guitarist and automata creator”.
Originally Blueblut formed for a one off concert for the Vienna Room Service festival in 2013, but the trio apparently liked what they played so much that they decided to continue. By the end of the year, powered by crates of beer, curries and sweets and with open access to Chris’s basement studio, a distinct sound and album had emerged.
The first track You think is typical (but only in its unpredictability). It starts with some strange squawking, then wailing electronics, and then the voice comes in to scream “Is this what you thought it was gonna be like?” followed by a heavy rock riff and finishing up with some distorted sound. Both the sound and the words seem to set the tone for the rest of the album.
The second track Bondàge starts with a theremin wailing a melody over a solid guitar riff and a rock beat. Held together by the drums the sound then gets more frenetic and electronic before returning to the melody.
So on other tracks we might get a twisted theremin walking bass, some thrash punk guitar, a toy piano playing a nursery rhyme, strange vocal interjections, some ethereal electronic wailing, some very jolly tunes that sound like film music and through most of it lots of energetic driving drumming – and sometimes you get all that on one track.
Experimental sounds and electronics can sometimes be too overpowering and difficult. Here they are delivered with wit and a sense of fun over the driving rock rhythms that made this an easy CD to listen to.
Blueblut are on a nine-date European tour starting at the end of October and are appearing at the Vortex on November 3rd with the duo of Seb Rochford with Pamelia Kurstin.
On Wednesday, October 01, 2014
Foto: Louise Rath
Improvisation à la Blublut heißt den Moment überspannen und ihn restlos auf Überrumpelung trimmen. Mit diesem Trio jenseits von Jazz und guten Sitten verpassen die drei international umtriebigen Grenzgänger Pamela Kurstin (Theremin), Mark Holub (Drums) und Chris Janka (Guitar) dem Neuland einen kräftigen Tritt: Wunderschön beschädigte Gitarrenmelodien perlen schräg zu Boden. Die Soundtropfen saugen die satten und tiefen Bassvibes des Moog-Theremins gierig auf.
Der Komplize am Schlagzeug verpasst den komplexen Sounds einen kompakten Drive: Hypnose vs. Texmex vs. Noise vs. Groove?
Geht alles, wenn es sich die richtigen Leute ganz einfach trauen, denn Überraschung ist der Königsweg ins Unentdeckte!
Text: Herbert Zgubic