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Gal relive
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For whatever reason I am not sure of, the work of Bernard Gal was never much reviewed in these pages, despite his past seven releases, a book and a DVD. Its perhaps a name you see more in the announcement section. Since 2002, he has played over 150 concerts on four continents, armed with his laptop and devices, and through a mixture of on the spot improvisation and through the use of pre-recorded sounds from his previous work (audio, installations), he plays almost every night something new, it seems. So its perhaps a more than wise decision to release an album of various piece, as recorded in concert. The press texts gives a detailed description of each of the eight pieces, and its a pity that this is not on the cover, as it is a pretty interest read. The sounds he uses, the spaces he played in, and, in some cases, the people has played with (pianist Xenia Hu, Guzhengplayer Yeh Jiuan-Reng and the voices of Mandy, Marianthi and Vivian). Gal's selection of his concert recordings is a great one - at least as far as I can judge, as I never saw him play live. Its almost possible to say that these are hardly 'live' pieces at all. They make a coherent whole. Gal shows himself an excellent player on the microsound scene, taking bits of his work and presenting new contexts for them. The spaces play a role in his work in as far that when the audience is super quiet, he is super quiet too, such as in the near silent 'Schulterblatt'. Things buzz, hum, crack in a highly intelligent way and never leap into boredom, despite the ominous length of this release. A very fine release altogether.

[Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly, Netherlands 11/2008]