Structural Damage

earsay artists Andrew Czink and John Oliver have formed an ensemble called Structural Damage whose mandate is to perform new work for piano / keyboards, guitars and electronics with special invited guests for every concert. The first performance of this ensemble took place on the occasion of Rainer Bürck's "Without Fear" CD release concert at the Shadboldt Centre for the Arts, Burnaby / Vancouver on January 23, 1999. The program notes for the concert read as follows:

Structural Damage
Collaborative Piece for two pianos and electronics
Andrew Czink and Rainer Bürck - pianos
John Oliver - sampler and CDs

The second half (of tonight's concert) feature a large scale collaborative work for two pianos and electronics by Rainer Bürck and Andrew Czink with the electronics handled by John Oliver. Developed through e-mail discussions and sharing recordings and processed sound files, all the elements were put together in the past ten days since Rainer arrived in Vancouver. The piece is a complex sonic tapestry with huge dynamic range and dramatic gestures (and even some funny bits). It's a work we' ve been looking forward to presenting for months.

Simply put, this piece is improvisationally developed around a loose structure, in relation to a number of pre-recorded sound files and samples who's final order and mix were determined through rehearsals and how the spirit moved us tonight. We made recordings and various processed variations of them independently of one another over the past few months. The result was a diverse range of sonic and gestural material to build the piece out of. Sometimes it's uncanny how the sound worlds blend together, while at other times the range and variations are staggering. The journey is somewhat akin to traversing an epic landscape. Fasten your seatbelts and hang on.