Backwards to re-issue Maurizio Bianchi & Ryan Martin's 'As Strong As Death Is'
For roughly the past 40 years, the cryptic tally of works by Maurizio Bianchi has formulated a somewhat religious rite of passage, a communion of tone and definition based around his various devotional phases in his life. Coming to the forefront of industrial music and noise composition in the late 1970’s, just as the world was recovering from the jarring wake left behind by groups such as Throbbing Gristle and Whitehouse, Bianchi was bundled within the zeitgeist of extreme experimentation due to the use of provocative subject matter and sonic assault. Though by 1983, Maurizio Bianchi seemed to have “disappeared” after conflicting releases and disappointing acceptance amongst his peers. It was not until the mid-90’s when Maurizio Bianchi resurfaced, now with a focus on spiritual guidance and restraint, that he released varied recordings of his newly sculpted ambient works and re-visitations of his now classic albums from the previous decade. Up until present day, Bianchi has enjoyed a renaissance of interest in part due to his expansive reissues of previous works and his dedication to new recordings, which state that Bianchi is still a zenith in the world of the experimental electronic music.
Around 2008, New York City based artist / musician Ryan Martin, of industrial outfit York Factory Complaint andCopley Medal, started correspondence with Bianchi about the reissue of his mechanically clinical ambient masterpiece, Endometrio, for release on Martin’s co-founded imprint, Dais Records. During this time, Martin was forming his own solo label to release private edition works under the title Robert & Leopold and asked Bianchi to present his recent exploratory violin compositions as the label’s debut release. Since that time, Bianchi and Martin have collaborated in various forms including the release of Bianchi’s recent exploration, Arkeomene, and the featuring of Martin’s artwork on the cover of Bianchi’s contentious single, Amentest. Most notably however was the complex and deliberate musical collaboration between the two entitled
As Strong As Death Is.
Spanning the course of two years to write and create, composers Maurizio Bianchi and Ryan Martin took on the pilgrimage of scoring the abstract concept of marriage based on the biblical Song of Solomon. Employing a variety of prepared electronics and conventional instruments along with accompanying strings, tapes and sampled recordings, this abstract collaboration seeks to flesh out the union, to understand the universal desire to be one and explore the yearning for partnership.
Constricted lullabies walk down the aisle to create a consortium of moving, ghost-like haunted consolidation. Mixed and edited by Anthony Mangicapra (Hoor-paar-Kraat) and mastered by Kris Lapke (Alberich / Hospital Productions). Recorded in both New York City and Opera, Italy between the years 2010 and 2012, which saw its initial release in 2013 as a limited double cassette on Martin's own Robert & Leopold imprint in an edition of 100 copies, which quickly went out of print. Italy-based label Backwards has now reissued this manuscript in the form of a double LP vinyl release for listeners in 2016.
