Search - Sigmatropic :: Sixteen Haiku and Other Stories

Sigmatropic
Sixteen Haiku and Other Stories
Genres: Alternative Rock, Special Interest, Pop, Rock

Track Listings (22) - Disc #1
1. Introduction - (featuring Robert Wyatt)
2. Haiku One - (featuring Laetitia Sadier)
3. Haiku Two - (featuring Martine Roberts)
4. Haiku Three - (featuring Mark Muleahy, In The Museume Garden)
5. Haiku Four - (featuring Alejandro Escovedo)
6. Haiku Five - (featuring Carla Torgerson)
7. Haiku Six - (featuring Carla Torgerson/Ahis Boyatzis)
8. Haiku Seven - (featuring Akis Boyatzis)
9. Haiku Eight - (featuring Edith Eitzel)
10. Haiku Nine - (featuring Mark Eitzel)
11. Haiku Ten - (featuring Cat Power)
12. Haiku Eleven - (featuring Simon Joyner)
13. Haiku Twelve - (featuring Lee Ranaldo, Unprofitable Boat Line)
14. Haiku Thirteen - (featuring Alex Gordon)
15. Haiku Fourteen (a)(Sung In Greek) - (featuring Akis Boyatzis)
16. Haiku (b) - (featuring John Grant)
17. Haiku Fifteen - (featuring James William Hindle)
18. Haiku Sixteen - (featuring Lee Ranaldo)
19. Dead Sea, The - (featuring James Sclavunos, Logbook II)
20. Water Warm - (featuring Pintcie Maclure, Sketches For A Summer)
21. This Human Body - (featuring Howe Gelb)
22. Jasmines, The - (featuring Steve Wym)

FeaturesCat Power, Robert Wyatt, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, Alejandro Escovedo, — Mark Eitzel, Steve Wynn, Howe Gelb, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth and more... — 'Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories features the poetry of Gree... more »

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CD Details

All Artists: Sigmatropic
Title: Sixteen Haiku and Other Stories
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Thirsty Ear
Original Release Date: 1/1/2004
Re-Release Date: 1/20/2004
Album Type: Enhanced
Genres: Alternative Rock, Special Interest, Pop, Rock
Styles: Indie & Lo-Fi, Experimental Music
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 700435714229

Synopsis

Product Description

FeaturesCat Power, Robert Wyatt, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, Alejandro Escovedo,
Mark Eitzel, Steve Wynn, Howe Gelb, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth and more...
'Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories features the poetry of Greek Nobel Laureate George Seferis set to the beautiful and subtly colored music of Sigmatropic. Following on the album's success in Greece, the poems
were translated into English and sung by an all-star cast including Cat Power, Robert Wyatt, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, Alejandro Escovedo, Mark Eitzel, Steve Wynn, Howe Gelb, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic
Youth, and more.
Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories blends live instrumentation and studio wizardry into a diverse collection of
songs which drift fluidly through folk and rock styles into dark ambience and back out again, several times
over. Multi-instrumentalist and producer Akis Boyatzis is the nucleus of Sigmatropic. Augmented by a
rotating cast of Greek musicians, Boyatzis coaxes an alluring moodiness from unconventional song structures
which hinge mainly on the unique restrictions of the Haiku form. The mood of the music never fails
to complement the lyrical content, and each vocal performance is beautifully integrated with the music that accompanies it.

CD Reviews

Gorgeous soundscape, low on the songwriting.

Jonathan Vanasse | Lawrence, KS | 09/18/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I suppose it's an empty critique to say that the album does not showcase much strength in songwriting. Yet the album was the collaberation of 19 established vocalists (e.g. Cat Power, Robert Wyatt who is also featured on the new Bjork album "Medulla", and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth), none of whom are working with their own lyrics but are converting the poetry of George Seferis to music.

The poetry is gorgeous, no doubt. The music itself matches and maybe excells Seferis' kaikus. Ranging from light acoustic experimentation to what borders on trance, the album is musically varied and stunning. It's amorphous in it's form and has little in the sense of forward motion or climax, but works tremendously well in it's soundscape and emotive atmosphere. In many ways, the work sounds like the product of a marraige between Miles Davis and Sigur Ros, with the occasional passionate affair with Bjork.

I like."

It's a pearl of a find...

M. A. Bucci | Mississippi | 01/31/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I can't believe this CD isn't more popular, given its interesting mix of artists and its beautiful and evocative melodies and lyrics. I think it would appeal to a wide variety of music fans, from those into ambient sounds to anyone who digs unusual but catchy pop tunes, like the Talking Heads. I bought it after hearing Cat Power's song -- the shortest one on the CD, clocking in at an infuriatingly short 2 minutes. Besides the music, the CD bestowed another bonus: I discovered the work of George Seferis. Sigmatropic is a wonderful homage to his poetry and an exciting example of the interpretive possibilities of modern music."