Han-earl Park

October 15, 2020March 20, 2025

Peculiar Velocities (BAF002)

Peculiar Velocities cover art (copyright 2020 Han-earl Park) — Peculiar Velocities (BAF002) © 2020 Han-earl Park

November 17, 2020: Eris 136199’s latest album is out now (compact disc and digital download)! Eris 136199 is the chaotic snap’n’pop of Han-earl Park’s cyborg virtuosity, the symphonies of power and weight of Catherine Sikora’s tenor madness, and the heavy rock-ASMR experimentalism of Nick Didkovsky glitchy guitar.

Peculiar Velocities is Eris 136199’s first studio album, and captures the trio during their 2019 European tour; between the first date at The Vortex (London) and their performance at Jazz em Agosto (Lisbon).

[Get the CD/download (Bandcamp)…]

CD: €11 minimum (‘name your price’) plus shipping.*†
Download: €8 minimum (‘name your price’).†

CD photo: Eris 136199: Peculiar Velocities (BAF002) by Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora and Nick Didkovsky (artwork and photo copyright 2020, Han-earl Park)

* Limited edition glass-mastered CD. CD includes additional material (liner notes, artwork, etc.) not included in the download version of the album.

† Both digital and physical purchases give you streaming via the free Bandcamp app, and option to download the recording in multiple formats including lossless.

news and updates

[All articles on Peculiar Velocities (BAF002)…]

description

An uncomfortable joy, a can’t-be-reproduced-in-the-laboratory combination of rare elements, a new musical alloy, an ongoing experiment, the perfect distillation of uneasy listening.

— Dave Foxall (a Jazz Noise, Best of 2020)

それはあたかも地球外の異境から到来した明滅する運動エネルギーによって脳外科手術を施されるような驚喜の頭脳改革体験である。

— Takeshi Goda (JazzTokyo)

Gorgeous glitchy stew….

— Corey Mwamba (Freeness, BBC Radio 3)

[More reviews…]

Formed in New York in 2012, Eris 136199 is the chaotic-slamming one-person rhythm section of Han-earl Park (Sirene 1009), the deep melodic intelligence and big-tenor sound of Catherine Sikora (Clockwork Mercury), and the anthems of glitch, experimentalism and riffage of Nick Didkovsky (Doctor Nerve). Recorded during the trio’s 2019 European tour, Peculiar Velocities (BAF002) is Eris 136199’s third CD, and first studio album. The album is the follow-up to the eponymous Eris 136199 (BAF001, 2018) described as “like letting an insane brain surgeon in through your ear” (aJazzNoise, Best of 2018), and Anomic Aphasia (SLAMCD 559, 2015) which was described as “a beautiful noise” (KFJC 89.7 FM).

Surprises abound on this disc from the collision of three seemingly incompatible notions of time and rhythm in [the title track] ‘Peculiar Velocities’; to ‘Sleeping Dragon’ which insistently claims to be one thing but reveals itself to be something else; to the aural love letter to No Wave that is ‘D-Loop’….

Moments of absolute clarity, where two of us may deliberately hit exactly the same notes, are juxtaposed by equally comfortable bursts of raging chaos and easy silences.

— From the liner notes‡

Recorded with a lean, efficient boldness by Sean Woodlock, and mastered by Richard Scott, the album captures music that leaps from wispy, delicate webs to massive weather-beaten mountains. Recorded over just three hours in a single live room, Peculiar Velocities catches Eris 136199 between the first date of the tour at The Vortex (London) and their performance at Jazz em Agosto (Lisbon).

Eris 136199 (Jazz em Agosto, Lisbon, 08-11-19) — Photo © Jazz em Agosto / Petra Cvelbar

Insectoid ASMR glitches to powerful ballads of weight and light; gentle, languorous shimmers to startling No Wave noise; raspy double-guitar hockets to gutted, dismantled chorales.

Han-earl Park is the instigator and mastermind behind Eris 136199, as well as groups including Sirene 1009 with Dominic Lash, Mark Sanders and rit. (f.k.a. Caroline Pugh), and co-conspirator in projects with Richard Barrett and others. Park is the constructor of the machine improviser io 0.0.1 beta++, and of Metis 9, a playbook of improvisative tactics. He has performed with Wadada Leo Smith, Paul Dunmall, Evan Parker, Lol Coxhill, Josh Sinton, Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen, Ingrid Laubrock, Gino Robair, Tim Perkis, Andrew Drury, Pat Thomas and Franziska Schroeder. His ensembles have performed at festivals including Freedom of the City (London), Brilliant Corners (Belfast), ISIM (New York), CEAIT (Los Angeles) and Sonic Acts (Amsterdam).

Saxophonist, improviser and composer Catherine Sikora, known for her big sound and lyrical melodic work, works as a solo performer and with Eric Mingus, Enrique Haneine, Brian Chase, Han-earl Park, Ethan Winogrand, Christopher Culpo and Ross Hammond. In recent years Sikora has toured in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia. She was a featured soloist in Eric Mingus’ radical reimagining of Tommy by the Who (Adelaide Festival 2015), and was artist in residence at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris in 2014 and in 2020.

Guitarist, composer, and computer music programmer Nick Didkovsky has composed music for Kathleen Supové, ETHEL, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Meridian Arts Ensemble, New Century Players, ARTE Quartett, as part of the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, and his own bands Doctor Nerve, Vomit Fist, Häßliche Luftmasken, and others. His compositions and guitar performances appear on more than 50 records. For over 30 years, his avant-metal big band Doctor Nerve has fueled Didkovsky’s intricate compositions with the energy of rock, punching holes through the walls between heavy metal, contemporary music, and improvisation, and performing at festivals including Moers, FIMAV, and the Whitney Museum’s ‘Whitney Live.’ With computer music pioneer Phil Burk, Didkovsky developed the computer music language Java Music Specification Language (JMSL).

‡ Liner notes only available with the CD.

personnel

Han-earl Park (guitar), Catherine Sikora (saxophone), and Nick Didkovsky (guitar).

track listing

Ballad of Tensegrity I (≥ 5:12), Ballad of Tensegrity II (2:28), Peculiar Velocities I (3:46), Peculiar Velocities II (3:36), Sleeping Dragon (5:22), D-Loop I (≥ 6:16), D-Loop II (5:13), Polytely I (≥ 5:01), Polytely II: Breakdown (5:33), Anagnorisis I (2:09), Anagnorisis II (2:19). Total duration ≥ 46:54.

recording details

Music by Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora and Nick Didkovsky.

Recorded August 9, 2019, Hackney Road Studios, London.
Recorded by Sean Woodlock. Mixed by Han-earl Park.

Mastered by Richard Scott.
Design and artwork by Han-earl Park.

Thanks to Sean and Richard; to Colin Webster, Ingrid Laubrock, Alex Hawkins, Charles Hayward and Melanie L Marshall; to Rui Neves, João Brilhante, Inês Nunes and everyone at Jazz em Agosto/Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation; Kathianne Hingwan, Kim Macari, Ali Ward and everyone at The Vortex; Matthew Nolan at Note Productions; Aoife Concannon, Adam Nolan, Kenneth Killeen and Caitríona O’Mahony at Improvised Music Company; to Lee Paterson; to Laurent Carrier and everyone at Colore; to Paul Acquaro of Free Jazz; Mike Borella of Avant Music News; Dave Foxall of aJazzNoise ; and Tim Owen of _____on Sound.

 A big thanks to the backers of our Kickstarter project for their awe-inspiring generosity; helping bring this music to you! A massive thanks to Phillip A., Bruno Bissonnette, Mike Borella, Colin Cahill, Jeremy Clarke, Gary Couse, Nicholas Croft, Don Davis, Andrew Raffo Dewar, Tom Duff, Erik Ellestad, Lee Rice Epstein, Goldi, Owen Green, Rich Hollis, Martin Hoogeboom, Terry Kattleman, Gary W. Kennedy, Liam, Bartholomew R. Mallio, walt mattes, Andrew McKenzie, Rob Miller, Eric Mingus, John Minnock, david m morris, Neil, Matthew Nolan, Michael Rogers, Steffen Schindler, Ken Shimamoto, Craig Sines, j. sinton, Marte van der Loop, Tom Ward, Bernd Wimmer, aJazzNoise, and the Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music, and to our anonymous backers.

Also available with…

Eris 136199 (Peculiar Velocities) Hoodie (limited edition) [details…]

80% ringspun cotton, 20% polyester, 280gsm hoodie.

Unisex fit.
S, M, L, XL, XXL.

100% for the perfect noise-night-out.
Celebrate your love of skonkin’ improvised goodness by wearing the noisily official Eris hoodie.

Also from Eris 136199

Cover of ‘Eris 136199’ (BAF001) by Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora and Nick Didkovsky (artwork copyright 2018, Han-earl Park)

Eris 136199 (BAF001) [details…]

Personnel: Han-earl Park (guitar), Catherine Sikora (saxophone) and Nick Didkovsky (guitar).

Track listing: Therianthropy I (≥ 3:43), Therianthropy II (8:56), Therianthropy III (3:55), Therianthropy IV (6:30), Adaptive Radiation I (6:44), Adaptive Radiation II (8:48), Adaptive Radiation III (5:54), Universal Greebly (10:58), Hypnagogia I (8:03), Hypnagogia II (4:45). Total duration ≥ 68:25.

CD cover of ‘Anomic Aphasia’ (SLAMCD 559) with Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora, Nick Didkovsky and Josh Sinton (artwork copyright 2015, Han-earl Park)

Anomic Aphasia (SLAMCD 559) [details…]

Personnel: Han-earl Park (guitar), Catherine Sikora (tenor and soprano saxophones), Nick Didkovsky (guitar; tracks 1 and 5), and Josh Sinton (baritone saxophone and bass clarinet; tracks 2–4).

Track listing: Monopod (27:19), Pleonasm (Metis 9) (17:08), Flying Rods (Metis 9) (7:41), Hydraphon (7:34), StopCock (10:54). Total duration: 70:33.

updates

11-17-20: released!
12-04-20: added the hoodie.
06-26-22: small updates including review quotes.

April 22, 2020April 23, 2020

New improvisative pieces for solo guitar

Awesome news! I am excited to announce that I am a recipient of the Arts Council of Ireland Music Bursary Award, and that I will be creating a suite of improvisative, obliquely narrative, pieces for solo guitar, working with mentors Richard Barrett and Annette Krebs, and consultant Han-Ter Park to build a new compositional approach, and create companion pieces to my teaching work. As wrote in my proposal:

I will create a suite of new improvisative, obliquely narrative, experimental pieces for the solo guitarist. The bursary award will grant me time to research ways in which to effectively incorporate elements transposed from narrative forms (e.g. the manipulation of genre expectations) into my solo practice with its physical techniques and interactive tactics that I have developed systematically over twenty years. In addition, I will explore the ways in which studio-based techniques (editing, montage, etc.) may be used as a fluid compositional strategy in the context of improvisative work….

My solo practice was built on my studies with improviser-composers such as Wadada Leo Smith, and periods of independent study in 2003 during which I transposed to the guitar improvisative techniques of pianists such as Marilyn Crispell and Keith Tippett, and in 2008 during which I incorporated techniques from drummers such as Rashied Ali and Tony Oxley. I aim to expand on this practice by transposing to the musical domain, elements of genre manipulation found in works by writers such as Jeff VanderMeer and film-makers such as Bong Joon-ho. In addition, I aim to amplify these possibilities via the interactions between improvisation and studio-based compositional strategies.

To this end, in addition to my independent studies, I will consult with film-maker Han-Ter Park to explore aspects of cinematic techniques relevant to this project, and work closely with mentors improviser and composer Richard Barrett, and composer and sound artist Annette Krebs. Barrett and Krebs have unique insights into the intersection of improvisation and composition, the incorporation of programmatic and/or narrative elements, and studio-based techniques.

I am very, very grateful for the support of the Arts Council, and my collaborators. I feel privileged to be given the opportunity to work on this project, and I am very much looking forward to sharing this work with you. Please stay tuned: I will be announcing soon ways you can follow this work-in-progress.

This project is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.

April 9, 2020April 17, 2020

Improvising guitar, writing about

Studies for Guitar — © 2013 and 2020 Han-earl Park

I am very happy to announce that I will begin writing on the practice of improvisation and, and for, the adventurous guitarist. I aim to create a resource for both educators and practitioners, and the Cork City Council Arts Office has awarded me an Individual Artists’ Bursary to begin this work. As I wrote in my proposal:

A technical and practical text, it [the monograph] will be a unique and much needed contribution to the literature for, and about, the improviser and the experimental guitarist. My goal is to create a work for broad circulation that becomes a teaching, learning and theoretical resource for practitioners generally.

I aim to create a work that is part technical instruction for the guitarist with a working knowledge of musical improvisation, and a broader exploration of creative possibilities in the context of real-time, interactive performance. As a practitioner’s report, the work will not only be a reflection on the evolution of my practice and personal pedagogy, but will also be an invitation to the reader to similarly engage with their practice.

I will also be working with mentor-collaborators, and I am grateful to guitarist, improviser and composer Nick Didkovsky, improviser, composer and researcher Owen Green, and composer-improviser, researcher and mentor Richard Barrett for agreeing to read and comment on my work.

Please stay tuned: there are more parts of this project to be announced, and I will share parts of this project as they become ready.

This project was made possible with funding by the Cork City Council Arts Office.

April 6, 2020October 15, 2020

Eris 136199 will be releasing Peculiar Velocities!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hanearlpark/eris-136199-effortlessly-strange-improvised-music

€1,200 pledged of €650 goal. 184% funded. 44 backers.

You did it!

Thanks to you, our awe-inspiring backers, we will master the recording, create the artwork, write the liner notes, press the discs, and get the music to you. You have been fantastic, and I am awestruck by your generosity, and really touched by your support.

I’ll be back in touch over the coming months with news and updates about the rewards and the progress of the production, but, in the meantime, I hope you will join me in celebrating this achievement. Getting strange, noisy, undomesticated improvised music released can sometimes be a difficult task, but you have made it possible.

As for me? I celebrated by doing some late night soldering 😊

Please take care, and, again, thank you so very much. You have been above and beyond.

Han-earl Park (guitarist, noise-maker, and mastermind behind Eris 136199).

March 28, 2020October 15, 2020

Eris 136199: stubborn weirdness and gleeful mischief

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hanearlpark/eris-136199-effortlessly-strange-improvised-music

Back a few months ago, while reflecting on the mix, I wrote:

Listening to a static mix of #eris136199’s August recording. I love the final track: it’s, by turns dreamy and queasy, polytonal music that slides in-out of tune….

But I wonder if this track will make sense outside the context of the tour in which the trio played some of its most harmonious music (hitting _real_ chords, and sounding _real_ harmony). I feel like this track was almost a respite of sorts….

There are moments when #eris136199 stubbornly refuses to play in the same key/tuning. Almost unbearable—maybe even bad taste—listening you wish the trio would surrender to harmonic gravity. And when one player does resolve the disharmony, it’s plays like gleeful mischief. [Source…]

If you’re wondering, yes, this track made the cut. It’ll be the second piece on the album, and, for its stubborn weirdness while refusing the easy trapping of being #seriouslyexperimental or #cuteandquirky, it might be my favorite on the album.

“There are moments when #eris136199 stubbornly refuses to play in the same key/tuning. Almost unbearable—maybe even bad taste—listening you wish the trio would surrender to harmonic gravity. And when one player does resolve the disharmony, it’s plays like gleeful mischief.”

Find us on Kickstarter! Joining this project means that you will be the first to hear this vividly strange and beautiful music. Your support will also mean that we are able to make the best album we can. Plus, as we have surpassed our target thanks to our awe-inspiring fans, you will now also have an opportunity to unlock upgrades, and some very, very special bonus rewards.

I honestly think this album has the best music I’ve put on record, and I am very grateful to be able to share this strangely beautiful music with you. [Kickstarter page…]

Formed in New York in 2012, Eris 136199 is the quick-reacting cyborg virtuosity of Han-earl Park, the mighty melodic imagination and big tenor sound of Catherine Sikora, and the diamond-cut precision and grind-meets-experimentalism of Nick Didkovsky.

March 25, 2020October 15, 2020

Eris 136199: effortlessly strange improvised music

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hanearlpark/eris-136199-effortlessly-strange-improvised-music

Eris 136199 is back! help release our third album! [Kickstarter page…]

Last year, during our second European tour, Eris 136199 went into Hackney Road Studios in London to record our next album, and our first studio album. As engineer Sean Woodlock hit the record button, we knew straight away that something very special was taking place that day: leaping from insectoid ASMR glitches to powerful ballads of weight and light; from the gentlest, languorous shimmers to startling No Wave noise, from raspy double-guitar hockets to gutted, dismantled chorales. And, to both our surprise and delight that thrill of musical discovery has translated beautifully during the mixing process.

The music, recording and the mix are complete, and this is where you, our awesome fans, come in. Eris 136199 now needs to take the final steps to releasing the album: mastering the album, creating the artwork and design, and pressing the CDs. And we are offering special rewards (including exclusive never-before-heard recordings, limited edition merch, and one-of-a-kind items), so please check out the various rewards and see where you might fit in to help us!

To our wonderful fans who blew us away with your support during our successful 2017 Kickstarter, we are so pleased to be sharing this latest project with you. And to both our long-time fans and those new to Eris, we promise that the music on this latest album will be very different from anything else; something beautifully strange and unexpected even for the wonderfully unpredictable Eris 136199.

Please have a look through the available rewards, and, when you’re ready, help bring noise to life!

[Kickstarter page…]

Eris 136199 Kickstarter poster — Photo © Jazz em Agosto / Petra Cvelbar

March 19, 2020October 15, 2020

Eris 136199: Kickstarter launching soon!

Update: the campaign has launched! Please join us on Kickstarter.

Eris 136199 is back! get ready to help release beautifully strange and unexpected music!

To be notified when the Kickstarter campaign goes live, sign up to my newsletter:

[About the newsletter…]

Formed in New York in 2012, Eris 136199 is the quick-reacting cyborg virtuosity of Han-earl Park (Sirene 1009), the mighty melodic imagination and big tenor sound of Catherine Sikora (Clockwork Mercury), and the diamond-cut precision and grind-meets-experimentalism of Nick Didkovsky (Doctor Nerve).

video credits

Music by Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora, and Nick Didkovsky.
Recorded by Sean Woodlock. Mixed by Han-earl Park.
Photos © Jazz em Agosto / Petra Cvelbar.

updates

03-25-20: our Kickstarter is live!

March 15, 2020April 23, 2020

Appearance cancelled: Birmingham, Cheltenham and London

I am sad to announce that I will unfortunately not be taking part in the events in Birmingham (March 17, 2020), Cheltenham (March 19), and London (March 21 and 22). All the events, however, are still taking place without me, so please support the fantastic community of local musicians and curators.

My warmest thanks to all the artists involved, big thanks to Jamie Dawson for again offering to lend me the use of his guitar amp, and special thanks to Tom Ward, Andrew Woodhead and Chris Cundy for inviting me to perform. I hope we can set up a rematch in the future.

February 5, 2020July 13, 2021

performance diary (Birmingham, Cheltenham, London) 020520

upcoming performances
date	venue	time	details
March 17, 2020	The Lamp Tavern Barford Street Birmingham B5 6AH England	7:30pm	~~Han-earl Park (guitar)~~ presented by Fizzle. Also performing: Bruce Coates (saxophones), Sarah Farmer (violin), Walt Shaw (percussion) and Lee Boyd Allatson (drums). Admission: £7/5 at the door. [Fizzle page…] The event is still taking place, but Han-earl Park will no longer be taking part.
March 19, 2020	Smokey Joe’s 16 Bennington Street Cheltenham GL50 4ED England	8:00pm	Chris Cundy (reeds) plus ~~Han-earl Park (guitar)~~ presented by Radio Egypt. Admission: £5 at the door. The event is still taking place, but Han-earl Park will no longer be taking part.
March 21, 2020	waterintobeer Unit 2 Mantle Court 209–211 Mantle Road Brockley London SE4 2EW England	7:00pm (doors: 6:30pm)	Tom Ward (saxophone) and ~~Han-earl Park (guitar)~~ presented by BRÅK. Also performing: Cath Roberts and Charlotte Keeffe, and Colin Webster and Matthew Grigg. Admission: one Bank of England note. [BRÅK page…] The event is still taking place, but Han-earl Park will no longer be taking part.
March 22, 2020	Hundred Years Gallery 13 Pearson Street London E2 8JD England	4:00pm (doors: 3.30pm)	~~Han-earl Park (guitar)~~, Alex Bonney (trumpet and electronics) and Cath Roberts (baritone saxophone). Also performing: Ti/om (Tom Ward: bass clarinet and flute; and Tim Fairhall: double bass). Admission: one Bank of England note. [100 Years Gallery page…] The event is still taking place, but Han-earl Park will no longer be taking part.

Continue reading “performance diary (Birmingham, Cheltenham, London) 020520”

January 20, 2020October 15, 2020

Work in progress…

I can’t wait to share this recording with you! Skronkily rockin’ music from a skronkily rockin’ trio. Please sign-up to my newsletter to keep up-to-date about this upcoming album.

December 27, 2019November 3, 2021

Kaleidoscopic, thuggish, optical retina-effect astringent free jazz (review: Eris 136199)

How does “barnstorming saxophone” relate to “alien facehugger tendrils”? “a mad scramble up loose terrain” to “incendiary guitar wrangling”? and “shimmering vibrating guitar screeds” to “subversion of traditional rock guitar tropes”? Find out in Paul Khimasia Morgan’s Sound Projector review of Eris 136199:

I’m impressed…. I’ve found myself coming back to this album again and again. The more attention you give it, the more you get out of it. I find it an exhilarating, intense space to inhabit for an hour and ten minutes. Park, Sikora and Didkovsky have constructed an extremely captivating slew of wistful improvised post-jazz noises. Han and Nick’s guitars are approached as sound-making devices much of the time, and as such take on tight supporting roles for Catherine Sikora’s barnstorming saxophone in muscular and fascinating ways. This is none of your dour, worthy, self-sacrificing hair-shirt improvising or take-no-prisoners blast of willful abandonment; you can hear the musicians bouncing off each other and having fun. These musicians are working at their limits, both physically and psychically. [Read the rest…]

And as a bonus, according to Morgan, the CD’s “geometric designs on the sleeve recall a hyperactive quasi-sci-fi futurism of late 80s and early 90s rave/acid house flyers”!

Thanks so very much to Morgan and to The Sound Projector for the wonderful review. It’s the kind of review that would’ve persuaded me to go get the album right then and there 🙂 (Plus, I think “a kind of melding of prog-jazz and No-Wave” might be tied as my favorite description of the album.)

[About this album…] [Get the CD/download (Bandcamp)…] [All reviews…]

CD: €11 minimum (‘name your price’) plus shipping.*†
Download: €8 minimum (‘name your price’).†

CD photo: ‘Eris 136199’ (BAF001) by Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora and Nick Didkovsky (artwork and photo copyright 2018, Han-earl Park)

* Limited edition glass-mastered CD. CD includes additional material (liner notes, artwork, etc.) not included in the download version of the album.

*† Both digital and physical purchases give you streaming via the free Bandcamp app, and option to download the recording in multiple formats including lossless.

October 25, 2019April 23, 2020

Two+ Bagatelles

Listen to some fresh-off-the-pick music, and support an awesome, not-for-profit music venue at the same time!

Out now: solo guitar studies/bagatelles by Han-earl Park. Available from The Vortex’s Bandcamp page, all purchases go towards helping their continued work presenting the very best jazz, improvised, and experimental musics.

Catherine, Nick and I had a fantastic time when we performed at The Vortex in August, and I am very happy to be able to support the venue (with its amazing crew) in this way. Plus, for those who’ve been asking me for a solo recording, here’s a super rare chance to pick up a new one.

Album available to stream via the free Bandcamp app, and download in multiple formats including lossless.