We Stay Apart Because We Love Each Other. Love is Stronger than Greed.

London Improvisers Orchestra, ‘conducted’ by Caroline Kraabel

For over 21 years the London Improvisers Orchestra has been rehearsing and performing large-group free and conducted improvisations on the first Sunday of each month, working on a frayed shoestring and the goodwill of its illustrious improvising musicians and faithful old and new audiences. For the first time since 1998, the first Sunday of April this year will not see an LIO concert.

Because we and you are in isolation, together. This piece (WSABWLEO.LISTG.) has been devised, collected and collated by Caroline Kraabel from solicited 20-second (recommended handwash length) recordings by musicians from the London Improvisers Orchestra. Most of the segments are necessarily solos, but musicians who are in isolation together have also provided duos and (in one case) a trio. Where musicians have provided segments of a length other than 20 seconds, I have left them as sent, for a luxurious and varied handwashing experience. The pieces are joined together more or less in the order in which they were received, from 18 March-5 April of the pandemic year 2020.

Warmest thanks to all the musicians and listeners, and all LIO colleagues past and present, well and ill, living and dead.

We miss you very much and think of you with respect and love.

CK

Credits and details about the worldwide LIO musicians who participated, with links allowing you to explore their work:

1: LIOQ by John Edwards (double bass) and Caroline Kraabel (alto sax) London UK.

https://johnedwards.bandcamp.com/

https://carolinekraabel.bandcamp.com/

http://www.masskraabel.com/

2: March 22, by Steve Beresford (electronics) London UK

Here is my piece for your project.

It was played on a toy circuit-bent by Tasos Stamou. He gave it to me as a birthday present.

How’s it going?

Best, Steve

www.unpredictable.info

3: Adrian Northover (soprano sax) London UK

https://www.adriannorthover.co.uk/

4: Adam Bohman (words and voice) London UK

https://adambohman.bandcamp.com/

5: Isolation, by Dave Jago (trombone) Southend UK

Here’s my contribution. Are you getting many in? Cheers, Dave Jago

https://www.davejago.com/

6: Marcello Magliocchi (percussion) Bari, Italy

soundcloud.com/marcello-magliocchi

7: 20 Seconds for the LIO, by Susan Alcorn (pedal steel guitar) Baltimore, USA

I hope that you and your families are doing OK during this pandemic. I’m doing alright. My husband and I are both laying low – staying at home and only going out to get food, etc. once a week. A lot of free time on my hands since all my gigs are cancelled. So, doing the 20 second musical hand wash seems like a wonderful thing to do. Attached is my humble contribution.

Best always, and I miss playing with you, Susan

https://www.susanalcorn.net/

8: John Butcher (tenor sax) London UK

here you go

JB

x

https://johnbutcher1.bandcamp.com/

9: Short Home Improv, by Martin Vishnick (guitar) London UK

Quarantine piece – short piece!

Stay well!!

Martin Vishnick

www.mvish.co.uk

10: Melodica Quarantine Solo, by Douglas Benford (melodica) London UK

Hi All,

I attach my quarantine piece, 20 seconds long…look fwd to hearing the whole project.

Best wishes to you and all and take care!

Douglas

https://dbenford.bandcamp.com/

11: Knut Aufermann (electronics) Ürzig Germany

Thanks a lot for this invitation. Attached are two 20-second snippets from Sarah and myself. We recorded them at home last Thursday while sound-checking for a live radio broadcast, with our friend Tetsuo Kogawa in Tokio, that went out on radio stations in France, UK and US. I’ve included a picture of the setup.

Hope you are keeping well, all the best, Knut

https://mobile-radio.net/

12: Sarah Washington (electronics) Ürzig Germany

https://mobile-radio.net/

13: Kitchen Music with my Dog Mali, by Jacques and Mali Foschia (voices) Brussels Belgium

Ce fût un plaisir… n’oublies pas de créditer ma chienne Mali;)

Portez vous bien, keep safe!

Jacques

https://jacquesfoschia.bandcamp.com/

14: Microsolo, by Chris Hill (clarinet) London UK

Hi Caroline, minisolo as requested. Great idea and thanks

C. Hill

15: Y se quedarán los pájaros cantando, by Daniel Cano Amaro (trumpet) London UK

Hi Caroline,

Hope you’re well.

Please find attached the short solo piece for the LIO. The title comes from a poem by Juan Ramón Jiménez entitled ‘Y se quedarán los pájaros cantando’. It could be translated as ‘And the birds will stay singing’.

Take care, Daniel Cano Amaro

https://danielcanomusic.bandcamp.com/

16: Coronavirus, by Dave Fowler (percussion), London UK

Looking forward to being with the orchestra for real, but in the meantime, thanks & hope you’re all keeping well. We have been in quarantine for nearly 2 weeks. I don’t know how I ever had time to go to work!

Dave x

http://www.squidco.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Produ…

17: Sebastian Sterkowicz (acoustic guitar and rubber band) London UK

Hope you are well, and coping through this strange time okay!

Please find my solo piece attached to this email; for a change I am playing here on acoustic guitar with rubber band preparation.

Looking forward to hearing the music:)

Best, Sebastian

soundcloud.com/sebastian-sterkowicz

18: I.Kallin, by Ivor Kallin (voice, harmonium), London UK

I’ve attached my 20 seconds of virtuosic wizardry, feat. Indian harmonium and voice, and I callin’ it I.Kallin

Take care, be well and see you at the other end of this nightmare.

Ivor

https://linearobsessional.bandcamp.com/album/a-goose-is-a-horse

19: John Edwards (double bass) London UK

Better in mono x

https://johnedwards.bandcamp.com/

20: April, by Sue Lynch (tenor sax) London UK

Hope it’s all going well over yonder. Our residents did an 8pm handclap for the NHS staff tonight; even if nurses didn’t hear, it was a nice morale booster to see all our neighbours again, everyone is hiding away!

Thanks for suggesting this, Sue xx

https://suelynch.bandcamp.com/releases

suelynch.wordpress.com

21: Olivia Moore (violin) London UK

Hi There,

Here is my 20 second violin contribution for the April Quarantine piece.

Many Thanks, Olivia Moore

www.oliviolin.com

https://limefield.bandcamp.com/album/amoghasiddhi

22: Under the Nails, by Sylvia Hallett (violin) London UK

Special thanks to Sylvia Hallett for suggesting that the segments should be 20 seconds, the recommended duration for hand-washing, rather than 10 seconds as initially proposed! CK

http://www.sylviahallett.co.uk/

23: Quarantine Piece, by Stephan Barrett (clarinet) London UK

Quarantine 20 second recording (home clarinet practice attempt!) Looking forward to hearing the combined LIO piece! SB

Postcards from the Volcano: https://www.facebook.com/postcardsfromthevolcano/

Littoral Transmissions: https://soundcloud.com/littoraltransmissions

Georges Kaplan Presents…: https://georgeskaplanpresents.bandcamp.com/

24: Laura Cioffi (alto flute) Glasgow, Scotland UK

Here’s my 20 seconds’ worth!

Hoping that you are keeping well during these times.

Best wishes, Laura

https://www.lauracioffi.net/

open.spotify.com/playlist/3vFYmuChUKHMGdiWgZKn1s?si=kJPG_tK2T3OZIroXcFkb-g

25: Ten Seconds of Steel, by Mike Cooper (lap steel guitar) Rome, Italy

www.cooparia.com/welcome/biography

26: Pei Ann Yeoh (violin) Malaysia

Good to hear from you and hope you’re managing well under the circumstances. Thanks for organising a piece in these times. I’d like to participate in April’s performance – I’ve recorded something ‘short’ but it’s not 20 secs long ­– it’s surprisingly difficult to be concise! Something to work on I suppose. Please feel free to edit as you wish.

Best wishes from Malaysia! We’re on Day 13 (as of 30th March 2020) of Movement Control Order here – another 15 days to go!

Thanks, Pei

soundcloud.com/pei-ann-yeoh

27: Idle, by Martin Clarke (alto sax) London UK

Hi guys, here’s my contribution to the lockdown release!

best wishes and I hope you’re well.

martin clarke

martinclarkemusic.net

oemrecords.net

rockscottage.net

28: Martin Hackett (electronics) Oxford, UK

soundcloud.com/martin-hackett-717490473

29: Handwash, by Robert Jarvis (trombone) Faversham, UK

Hi, Please find attached my ‘handwash’.

With thanks, Robert Jarvis

www.robertjarvis.co.uk

30: Jerry Wigens (mandolin) London UK

https://www.jerrywigens.net/about

31: Pascal Marzan (10-string micro-tonal guitar, timer) London UK

http://pascalmarzan.blogspot.com/

32: Being Able to Tell if it was Good Would Make it Valid in Some Way, by Staircase Trio: Susanna Ferrar (violin, voice), Jerry Wigens (mandolin), Pascal Marzan (10-string micro-tonal guitar), recorded on their joint staircase in Stoke Newington, London.

33: Susanna Ferrar (violin, timer) London UK

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/susanna-ferrar-760bb51a

34: Erzbergerstraße 31 March 2020, by Phoebe Bognár (flute, voice, plus birds, street and clock) Frankfurt, Germany

It’s a confusing time, quite honestly… I was supposed to be here for some auditions but as it turns out they are now cancelled! Making the most of things though… catching up on lots of tasks that were piling up.

And this was a lot of fun to do! This is the sounds of my neighbourhood of Obertshausen. There’s a beautiful clocktower here that I love the harmonic partials of. I usually go for walks or stick my head out the window around the hour. I wanted to do a little vocal diary entry into my flute and play on those harmonics, so here it is – with love to the LIO community!

Phoebe

phoebebognar.com

soundcloud.com/phoebebognar

35: Andrew Ciccone (electronics, percussion, objects), London UK

Hi! Here’s a 20-second piece at the 11th hour. It’s a sound collage of me playing otamatone, flexitone, a tape machine, a creaky hinge and some steel and concrete items.

Hope you’re well! Cheers,

Andrew Ciccone

https://omphalopticon.bandcamp.com/

36: Twenty Seconds on Flugelhorn, by Charlotte Keeffe (flugelhorn, voice) London UK

Hi everyone, just a quick email sending my love to you all at this surreal time.

I’m looking forward to hearing the results of this lovely idea for April’s Concert/track! Let’s keep keeping in touch; shall we do another track for May’s Concert?

Charlotte Keeffe

37: Gero Kempf (double bass) Oxford UK

So, just did my 20sec. It was inspired by Adrian´s conduction, “Hive”, signalling that I should play time. Quite a memorable event in the context of my improvisational practice here in the UK! So, that resonates even until today. In these 20sec, I’m adding in bringing my left hand fingernails suddenly closer to the lowest string played. The one reflecting time.

Best, Gero

38: Handwashsong, by Charlotte Hug (voice, running water) Zurich Switzerland

I hope you and your families are healthy and well! We are fine. I am grateful for this.

It inspired me a lot to use these micro-timeframes of a handwash to connect with the LIO and all these wonderful musicians. I miss you! All my Love and be well!

Yours,

Charlotte

39: LIOisolation, by Crystabel Riley (percussion) London UK

instagram.com/xcrswx/?hl=en

40: Emily Shapiro (clarinet) London UK

http://emilysuzanneshapiro.com/

41: Emil Karlssen (percussion) Leeds UK

Wonderful initiative with the LIO quarantine piece – here’s my submission. Hope you’re keeping safe. Take care, see you when all this is over.

best wishes, Emil Karlssen

https://emilkarlsen.bandcamp.com/releases

42: Sutherland’s New Law, by Rowland Sutherland (flute) London UK

soundcloud.com/Rowland-sutherland

43: LIO Handwash, by Cath Roberts (percussion) and Tom Ward (flutes)

Looking forward to hearing the finished piece. Sending healthy vibes, Cath

Thanks for asking us – yes, Cath & I are isolating together. Here’s a short duet we just recorded for you! Tom

http://cathrobertsmusic.co.uk/

https://madwort.co.uk/

44: Self-isolation, by Neil Metcalfe (flute) London UK

For technical reasons, this was recorded in person by Caroline Kraabel in an isolation-appropriate manner. Travel was by bicycle. Neil unlocked the front door of the flat-block from upstairs, then Caroline placed the recorder on the bottom step and retreated back to the other side of the door. Neil played his solo segment and went back upstairs, so Caroline could come back in and collect the recording.

45: 20 Seconds for LIO, by Charlie Watkins (balloon?) London, UK

hi, here is my 20 second piece. thanks so much for doing this!

charlie

https://chaarliewatkins.bandcamp.com/

soundcloud.com/chaarliewatkins

46: It’s in the Air, by Sue Lynch (tenor sax) and Adrian Northover (soprano sax) London UK

47: Mark Sanders (percussion) Birmingham UK

https://www.marksanders.me.uk/

48: Simon Petermann (trombone) Bern, Switzerland

You might not remember me, as I played only once with the LIO and it was last November already. I am from Berne, Switzerland and I play with Cath Roberts and Dee Byrne in the band MoonMot, that’s also how I came to play with the LIO. I actually planned to come and play with you that April weekend, but now I’ll have to postpone it for a while…

https://simonpetermann.ch/

49: Jackie Walduck (vibes and breath) London UK

soundcloud.com/jackie-walduck

50: Tracy Lisk (percussion) Philadelphia USA

https://tracylisk.bandcamp.com/

51: Trevor Taylor (percussion) UK

http://musicontheedge.com/musician.php?mus_id=10

52: Male Basic No. 1, by Phil Minton (whistling) London UK

https://www.philminton.co.uk/

53: Dee Byrne (alto sax, pedals) London UK

I was using my pedals to create an underlying texture – distorting and looping the sound of my keys opening/closing and blowing into the sax without a mouthpiece. X

deebyrnemusic.com

54: David Ryan (clarinet) Northern Italy

http://www.david-ryan.co.uk/music.html

55: Ed Lucas and Antony (percussion, noises) London UK

I hope you are doing well. Thanks for setting up the isolation piece on Bandcamp.

Here is my recording – it’s a duet with the other musician in my household (plus domestic machine and the open window). He’s not a LIO member because he’s only 2 months old!

all the best, Ed

lucas.earshots.org/live

56: Sounds to Wash Hands by: 20 Seconds of Something, by Jason Yarde (alto sax) Hastings UK

Good morning to you and yours!

I do hope you’re all fine and dandy this sunny weekend. Apologies for sending these so late! I actually did these as soon as I got the email, just very quickly on my phone… Too busy! I look forward to hearing everything,

All the Beats

Jason Yarde

https://igg.me/at/AcouBomb

http://joyandears.com/

57: Julie Kjaer (flute) and Paulo Duarte (guitar) Copenhagen, Denmark

I hope you are all doing well in spite of this whole crazy world situation! I’ve attached a 20 sec clip with Paulo and me playing (guitar + flute) I know the deadline was yesterday, and possibly it’s too late for you to receive this. No worries if you can’t use it because of that!

I also just wanted to say that I think it’s great you’re doing this!!

Here we are doing ok. Loosing work, as for many others, is a bit of a challenge.

I hope I’ll see you both in not too far a future!

Lots of love

Julie

www.juliekjaer.com

www.paulodiasduarte.com

www.paulodiasduarte.bandcamp.com

58: Honja (Alone), by Hyelim Kim (taegum) London UK

How are you?  I hope you are doing reasonably well, considering the uncertain times we’re in. It is a shame that we won’t be performing in April. But I would like to join the collage piece that you suggested. Please find the audio file attached. Its title is Honja, which means ‘alone’ in Korea.

Thanks again. Hope to see you soon.

Kind regards,

Hyelim

59: Breath Clock, by Caroline Kraabel (alto sax) and clock (ticking) London UK

The first few seconds of a slightly longer piece that’s available here: https://carolinekraabel.bandcamp.com/track/breath-clock-4-april-2020