In 2008, Ben Duvall and I were living in a large shared house in Toxteth after graduating from the University of Liverpool. At that point I'd been working on various spontaneous, short-lived and one-off projects including a duo called Avian Flu with Sean Wars (later of Bodies on Everest). Sean and I mounted two cheap guitars on keyboard stands and used metal slides, volume controls and a couple of simple overdrive effects to tame feedback and create a sheet of abrasive, rising-and-falling noise in open tunings. Sean always came equipped with good enough amplifcation and we played one particularly memorable show at Bar Fresa (now 'NO64') in Liverpool city centre, which Ben attended.
Ben approached me in late 2008 with an elaboration on the table-top guitar mounting idea - one that both of us had been familiar with following our deep dives into no-wave composers like Glenn Branca. For the first iteration of Ex-Easter Island Head, Ben and I placed three solid-body electric guitars on cork boards, to act as dampener and to aid balance, atop keyboard stands, then put timpani mallets to use on the bodies of the electric guitars. The emphasis for the first Ex-Easter piece was on gradulating shifting polyrhythmic patterns played on the guitars, set to open tunings. Striking the bodies of the guitars in subtly morphing ways created undulating overtones amidst the overlapping percussive hits and dynamic changes. The idea took root and found a key receptive audience member in Gareth Hardwick, who released Mallet Guitars One on his imprint Low Point Records.
By the time we arrived at a second outing, Ex-EIH was four strong with Nicholas Hunt on trumpet and Jacob Chabeaux on extended percussion - though all of us took turns striking the various guitars and utilised tuned metal objects such as singing bowls. Ben and I further manipulated the sonic field of the electric guitars, making use of 'third bridges' and striking the strings with knitting needles. Allen keys also made their debut on this piece, a key feature along with the under-string embedded object (third bridge). Intricate palm muting also became an important slow-attack feature to allow the polyrhythms to jump out and appear more prominently. Elaborating on our initial concept while bringing in a melodic instrument player (Nick) and a talented drummer (Jake) gave Mallet Guitars Two a pronounced narrative arc, and the playing-performing became less understated, more tactile/haptic. Again Low Point Records took a keen interest and released it, backed with a live recording we made in front of an actual Easter Island Head - Moai Hava - at the World Museum in Liverpool, accompanied by the a.P.A.t.T. orchestra. All of these pieces were recorded by Ste Cole via his mobile 'What Studio?' setup.
That ensemble collaboration coupled with Jake's and Nick's moves to London meant we invited in multi-instrumentalist Jon Hering (then of a.P.A.t.T.) to round Ex-Easter Island Head out as a trio. Mallet Guitars Three condensed the 'music for solid body electric guitars plus other instruments' premise further, making it the most coherent, cohesive long-form piece in that original phase of output. Audio engineer James Rand would come to dub this sound 'woodland techno' during the record mixing process. The capture of MG3 was made ultra comfortable in a home-studio-style setting: an annex flat attached to shared accomodation where all group members lived. A drumkit was utilised along with contact microphones and voice, along with multiple electric guitars, solid bodied electrics in various states of having been malleted. The tempered extended-technique playing of and with the guitars became even more delicate and minute in detail, which was expertly captured in chief by Ryan Blakeley. The playing-performing is even more sensitive than before: bowing guitar strings with allen keys and plucking reactive third bridges, paired with deep knowledge of the tonal capacities of our instruments, meant this record inhabits its a timbral realm all of its own. For me MG3 is the defining statement of intent for the project, with its release on Low Point Records in late 2013. Though counted as an 'EP' for being under thirty minutes in length, its 28:58 run-time belies the fact it contains an enormous sense of scale, attention to detail and dynamic contrast. A lot happens quite quickly (and quietly); the recording methodology is 'microscopic' in approach and opened us up to the potential of close microphone recording. It is a very comfortable cross between a live record and a studio album, and is truly of its moment. It is vertiginous, miniature and macro in scope, zoomed in and out.
Following Mallet Guitars Three, Ex-EIH were offered a spot at 'World Event Young Artists', part of the 2012 cultural olympiad. Based in Nottingham for a stretch of time, we performed in multiple venues while working on a piece for Large Ensemble that became my closing stretch of activity with the group.
Ben approached me in late 2008 with an elaboration on the table-top guitar mounting idea - one that both of us had been familiar with following our deep dives into no-wave composers like Glenn Branca. For the first iteration of Ex-Easter Island Head, Ben and I placed three solid-body electric guitars on cork boards, to act as dampener and to aid balance, atop keyboard stands, then put timpani mallets to use on the bodies of the electric guitars. The emphasis for the first Ex-Easter piece was on gradulating shifting polyrhythmic patterns played on the guitars, set to open tunings. Striking the bodies of the guitars in subtly morphing ways created undulating overtones amidst the overlapping percussive hits and dynamic changes. The idea took root and found a key receptive audience member in Gareth Hardwick, who released Mallet Guitars One on his imprint Low Point Records.
By the time we arrived at a second outing, Ex-EIH was four strong with Nicholas Hunt on trumpet and Jacob Chabeaux on extended percussion - though all of us took turns striking the various guitars and utilised tuned metal objects such as singing bowls. Ben and I further manipulated the sonic field of the electric guitars, making use of 'third bridges' and striking the strings with knitting needles. Allen keys also made their debut on this piece, a key feature along with the under-string embedded object (third bridge). Intricate palm muting also became an important slow-attack feature to allow the polyrhythms to jump out and appear more prominently. Elaborating on our initial concept while bringing in a melodic instrument player (Nick) and a talented drummer (Jake) gave Mallet Guitars Two a pronounced narrative arc, and the playing-performing became less understated, more tactile/haptic. Again Low Point Records took a keen interest and released it, backed with a live recording we made in front of an actual Easter Island Head - Moai Hava - at the World Museum in Liverpool, accompanied by the a.P.A.t.T. orchestra. All of these pieces were recorded by Ste Cole via his mobile 'What Studio?' setup.
That ensemble collaboration coupled with Jake's and Nick's moves to London meant we invited in multi-instrumentalist Jon Hering (then of a.P.A.t.T.) to round Ex-Easter Island Head out as a trio. Mallet Guitars Three condensed the 'music for solid body electric guitars plus other instruments' premise further, making it the most coherent, cohesive long-form piece in that original phase of output. Audio engineer James Rand would come to dub this sound 'woodland techno' during the record mixing process. The capture of MG3 was made ultra comfortable in a home-studio-style setting: an annex flat attached to shared accomodation where all group members lived. A drumkit was utilised along with contact microphones and voice, along with multiple electric guitars, solid bodied electrics in various states of having been malleted. The tempered extended-technique playing of and with the guitars became even more delicate and minute in detail, which was expertly captured in chief by Ryan Blakeley. The playing-performing is even more sensitive than before: bowing guitar strings with allen keys and plucking reactive third bridges, paired with deep knowledge of the tonal capacities of our instruments, meant this record inhabits its a timbral realm all of its own. For me MG3 is the defining statement of intent for the project, with its release on Low Point Records in late 2013. Though counted as an 'EP' for being under thirty minutes in length, its 28:58 run-time belies the fact it contains an enormous sense of scale, attention to detail and dynamic contrast. A lot happens quite quickly (and quietly); the recording methodology is 'microscopic' in approach and opened us up to the potential of close microphone recording. It is a very comfortable cross between a live record and a studio album, and is truly of its moment. It is vertiginous, miniature and macro in scope, zoomed in and out.
Following Mallet Guitars Three, Ex-EIH were offered a spot at 'World Event Young Artists', part of the 2012 cultural olympiad. Based in Nottingham for a stretch of time, we performed in multiple venues while working on a piece for Large Ensemble that became my closing stretch of activity with the group.
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