CHEN BROTHERS «Ally»	US ($7 + $3 shipping shipping): OUT OF PRINT International ($7 + $6 shipping): OUT OF PRINT
The Chen Brothers’ «Ally» is a limited edition of 50 archival CD-R’s in recycled, hand-made packaging designed and printed by Jeremy Chen with sound by Jonathan Chen. In a reversal of the usual procedure, the packaging—designed by Jeremy, complete with track titles and times—was made before the music that it accompanies and served as the score for Jonathan, who used the specified titles and timings as a framework within which to improvise.
“Several years ago, my brother Jeremy and I began discussing the possibility of a collaborative project. Our initial idea was just that the collaboration would have something to do with the creation of an album: I would be responsible for the sound, and Jeremy would be responsible for the visual. As our discussion continued, we decided that Jeremy would design the sleeve before I would make the music, reversing the way recordings normally proceed. Thus, Jeremy would determine all the visual content of the sleeve, including the track names and times, and I would create the music to fit these parameters. This turned out to be a difficult task for me. I wasn’t used to accommodating a time frame in such a specific way as a composer. I made several versions of a couple of the tracks, but I didn’t feel like they were right. “Meanwhile, the sleeve, which had the year 2006 printed on it, was missing its well past due CD. I had put the project aside for a couple of years when I decided on a different approach. I decided that maybe my brother was the composer here and that I was the performer/improviser. He had determined the track times and the instruction to me was to “do something within that time.” I treated each of the times as a stopwatch score with the instruction being to start and stop within the given time frame. Within that given time frame I improvised on electronics, in this case feedback. The recording was made at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center in Troy, NY” . –Jonathan Chen
1. Stretch [0:26] 2. Flow [1:15] 3. Anti-podal Testament [4:37] 4. Zero Sum + One [5:54] 5. One Possibility Is [3:29] 6. Failure (Hitting the Fan) [0:48] 7. Resistance [2:02] All sound by Jonathan Chen CD track titles, times, and design by Jeremy Chen The packaging of «Ally» was produced by the Chen brothers and released in collaboration with Suppedaneum.
Jeremy Chen is an artist and educator producing work in three areas: individual practice (print, drawing, sculpture); collaboration with other artists; and work with the public or specific communities. He is a founding member of The Moving Crew, a collaborative group of cultural workers engaged in activities including site responsive events, installations and performances. Chen received an MFA in Printmaking and Center for the Book Arts Certificate from The University of Iowa. He lives and works in Grinnell, Iowa. Former Chicagoan Jonathan Chen’s work, including composition, improvisation, and installation, has been performed or installed in the US and internationally. Some works have a conceptual focus out of which materials emerge, other works are born out of experimentation with the actual materials involved in the work. He received an interdisciplinary PhD in Electronic Arts from RPI in upstate New York and is currently based in Brooklyn. External links: Jonathan Chen (official site)