Život škrguće zubima.
Dan responds on Side B with a collage of his own. Known primarily for his bass and vocal work, he has been nudging closer to the instrumental and downtempo worlds and continues this journey here. “Paulix Redux Three” sounds like confusion and yearning, a jumble of song and speech fragments laid across a bed of occasionally dissonant notes. Is this what it feels like to care for a loved one, to cede control to doctors, to yearn for an accurate diagnosis and a more effective treatment? When the bass begins to play, it does so in a vacuum, and is swiftly defeated by horn and hospital tones, the most disturbing sounding like the tools used to suck spit from the mouth or fluid from the lungs.
More hopefully, Dan also integrates the sound of birdsong, echoing an earlier use by his wife. In Dan’s case, a contrast is created between the sound of birds, a dull TV segment and the sound of sawing, an indication perhaps of the dueling emotions of a caregiver: encourage, give in, distract one’s self with work. One thing is certain: together this couple has produced an unflinching portrayal of strength in the face of illness. All proceeds go to the Letha Rodman-Melchior Cancer Fund. We wish the couple our very best in the days and years to come. - Richard Allen
Letha Rodman Melchior and her husband, Dan, at home in Durham
Known by the alias Tretetam, Letha Rodman-Melchior has released singular sound constructs on CDR and cassette since 2008 on such labels as Ikuisuus and Robert & Leopold. For her first-ever vinyl release, she sheds the veneer of mystery and comes clean with this sweeping haboob of sound, as deft and defying as horns on a hen. From the vantage of time and deep insight, some (i.e. Tom Lax) say Tretetam / Rodman-Melchior’s unique audio gems find a middle ground between United Dairies (notably HNAS) and Vanity Records (ditto Mad Tea Party). But why not the let the artist herself fill you in on the Handbook for Mortals backstory? “From early on, I found that I liked listening to blended sounds of familiar things; TV, lawnmowers, children playing outside. I noticed that when I played records, I wouldn’t flip them over because I found comfort in hearing the needle stuck in its groove. “When I lived in Chinatown on Canal Street in New York, I loved to lay in bed and listen to the vendors shouting, blending with the heavy traffic and tiny wind chimes; I would pretend I was someplace else, somewhere I didn’t know. I love that feeling. “I became interested in field recording after hearing Salmon Run by Graham Lambkin, and had found a website called The Quiet American. I began piecing my tracks together under the name Tretetam, and was influenced by Lambkin, Marcel Türkowsky, Emiliano Maggi, Moondog, Maya Deren’s films and more recently Aaron Dilloway’s Modern Jester and Ryan Martin’s York Factory Complaint / DeTrop. I also must say my husband Dan Melchior has been my musical hero since I met him in 1999.” Siltbreeze is proud to add Rodman-Melchior to its illustrious and unique discography. A portion of all sales will go to the Letha Rodman-Melchior Cancer Fund. - www.midheaven.com/item/handbook-for-mortals-by-rodmanmelchior-letha-lp
Letha Rodman-Melchior, Handbook For Mortals (2013)
Bewitching, para-dimensional field recording and song collage tipped to fans of Graham Lambkin and Kye Records* "Known by the alias Tretetam, Letha Rodman-Melchior has released singular sound constructs on CDR and cassette since 2008 on such labels as Ikuisuus and Robert & Leopold. For her first-ever vinyl release, she sheds the veneer of mystery and comes clean with this sweeping haboob of sound, as deft and defying as horns on a hen. From the vantage of time and deep insight, some (i.e. Tom Lax) say Tretetam / Rodman-Melchior’s unique audio gems find a middle ground between United Dairies (notably HNAS) and Vanity Records (ditto Mad Tea Party). But why not the let the artist herself fill you in on the Handbook for Mortals backstory? “From early on, I found that I liked listening to blended sounds of familiar things; TV, lawnmowers, children playing outside. I noticed that when I played records, I wouldn’t flip them over because I found comfort in hearing the needle stuck in its groove. “When I lived in Chinatown on Canal Street in New York, I loved to lay in bed and listen to the vendors shouting, blending with the heavy traffic and tiny wind chimes; I would pretend I was someplace else, somewhere I didn’t know. I love that feeling. “I became interested in field recording after hearing Salmon Run by Graham Lambkin, and had found a website called The Quiet American. I began piecing my tracks together under the name Tretetam, and was influenced by Lambkin, Marcel Türkowsky, Emiliano Maggi, Moondog, Maya Deren’s films and more recently Aaron Dilloway’s Modern Jester and Ryan Martin’s York Factory Complaint / DeTrop. I also must say my husband Dan Melchior has been my musical hero since I met him in 1999.” Siltbreeze is proud to add Rodman-Melchior to its illustrious and unique discography. A portion of all sales will go to the Letha Rodman-Melchior Cancer Fund. For more info on this, visit: http://melchiorfund.blogspot.com." - boomkat
Tretetam
soundcloud.com/tretetam
Tretetam (2008)
ikuisuus.bandcamp.com/album/tretetam
Moon Mountain tape (2013)
On her latest installment of her Tretetam project, LethaRodman Melchior seamlessly weaves exercises of piano and clarinet with eclectic field recordings and vocal submissions that produce a powerful display of distance and engagement with the listener. Moon Mountain (Robert & Leopold) places Rodman Melchior in the position of performer and editor, and her execution of the latter role places the listener in a uniquely voyeuristic position. Since the volume of her field recordings and vocal selections often vary, sometimes at the mercy of the clarinet and piano pieces, one gets the feeling of listening to a neighbor practicing their scales, or walking down an apartment hallway to find a distant apartment blaring symphonic rehearsals. Some of the most powerful moments of the cassette painstakingly place different elements in the background, progressing the movement of the compositions until a different sequence of sounds appears in the foreground. This dynamic manipulation of elements and composition of recordings presents a privileged feeling of omniscience, understanding the unfolding of the elements before the players know their next step.
A phone rings. Strings pluck and race along the neck. Synthetic tape noise obscures a distant piano. Someone is practicing. The feel of the instruments ranges from engaging, classical cycles to the ensemble atmospheres of orchestrated jazz; often, these feelings are captured within a range of mere moments, as one element fades into the background or another reaches into the fore. There are animals. Fluttering choruses and an opera singer. Rodman Melchior effectively produces leaps in volume on the second side, contrasting a peaceful, quiet close to the first. Her engagement of the elements produces a stage, the elements progressing like actors executing cues, exiting scenes.
This feeling of distance is difficult to explain. Rodman Melchior’s compositions are almost visual, as her gentle hand carefully places each sequence. By producing dynamic ranges between her recordings, her work surpasses the feeling of a collage, and she clearly engages her audience with this privileged position to watch over each of the affairs and trials of the actors in this tape.
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