Musica Elettronica Viva - The Sound Pool

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Review by Luís De Oliveira

Diving into The Sound Pool: A Wild Ride Through Abstract Jazz and Experimental Electronica Alright, let’s talk about The Sound Pool by Musica Elettronica Viva (MEV). Released in 1998 across Japan, Italy, and France on labels like BYG Records, Get Back, and Spalax2, this album is not your typical Friday-night playlist material. Nope. It’s more like that weird art installation you stumble upon at a gallery—confusing at first but kinda unforgettable once it clicks. First off, the genres here are all over the place: electronic meets jazz with dashes of abstract, free improvisation, and experimental vibes. You’ve got legends like Alvin Curran, Frederic Rzewski, Richard Teitelbaum, and a whole crew of collaborators bringing their A-game. Seriously, the credits read like an international phone book—engineers, producers, performers from everywhere. And yeah, they even snuck in someone named Barbara Bryant and another dude just called “Bert.” Love it. Now, onto the tracks. There are only three: "1ere Partie," "Untitled," and "2eme Partie." Let’s zoom in on two because who has time for everything? Track 1: "1ere Partie" This one kicks things off with what feels like a jam session happening inside a spaceship. Imagine if Sun Ra met John Cage in some alternate universe where synthesizers grow on trees. The electronics bubble and glitch while saxophones wail like they’re trying to escape gravity. What sticks with me? Around the five-minute mark, there’s this moment when the piano comes in—it’s jazzy but also broken-sounding, like someone dropped the keys down a flight of stairs but decided to roll with it anyway. It’s messy, sure, but in the best way possible. Feels alive. Track 3: "2eme Partie" If the first track was outer space, this one feels like being lost in a jungle. Percussion rattles around like snakes slithering through leaves, and these haunting vocal snippets pop up outta nowhere. Is that chanting? Or just people arguing in French? Hard to tell, but it works. About halfway through, there’s this bassline that sneaks in so smooth you almost miss it. But then BAM—it takes over, grounding the chaos into something almost danceable. Almost. I mean, you wouldn’t blast this at a party unless your friends are super pretentious—or secretly genius DJs. --- So why does The Sound Pool stick in my head? Maybe it’s because it doesn’t try too hard to make sense. Instead, it lets you wander through its weird little world without holding your hand. One minute you’re vibing to glitchy synths; the next, you’re drowning in avant-garde sax solos. It’s like flipping channels on an old TV set—except every channel is playing something cooler than whatever’s on Netflix right now. Here’s the kicker though: listening to this album made me realize how much music today plays it safe. We’re spoon-fed predictable beats and polished hooks, but MEV throws caution to the wind. They remind us that music can be raw, unfiltered, and totally bonkers—and still hit hard. Final thought? If aliens ever invade Earth, we should play them The Sound Pool. Either they’ll get it and leave us alone, or they’ll think we’re nuts and run away screaming. Win-win.

Table of Contents

Download

Filename: musica-elettronica-viva-the-sound-pool.zip
  • MP3 size: 15.6 mb
  • FLAC size: 124.5 mb

Tracks

TrackDurationPreview
Untitled17:15
1ere Partie3:51
2eme Partie6:30

Video

The Sound Pool MEV
Musica Elettronica Viva - 2eme Partie (1969)

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Catalog Numbers

  • SPALAXCD14969
  • GET 326
  • 529.326
  • BYG-15

Labels

  • Spalax2
  • Get Back
  • BYG Records

Listen online

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  • online anhören
  • lyssna på nätet
  • ascolta in linea
  • ouvir online
  • escuchar en línea
  • écouter en ligne
  • lytte på nettet

Formats

  • CD
  • Album
  • Reissue
  • Vinyl
  • LP
  • 180g
  • Promo

Companies

RoleCompany
Licensed FromCharly International APS
Marketed BySpalax Music
Phonographic Copyright (p)Tempel
Copyright (c)Tempel
Made ByNippon Columbia Co., Ltd.

Credits

RoleCredit
EngineerAlvin Curran
Executive-ProducerDenys Lémery
PerformerAlvin Curran, Barbara Bryant, Bert , Chaia Gerstein, Constance Abernathy, Franco Cataldi, Frédéric Rzewski, Carius, Ivan Coaquette, Jean-Marie Poiret, Jeff Levine , Michael Blake , Michel Asso, Nicole Rzewski, Patricia Coaquette, Richard Teitelbaum
ProducerJean Georgakarakos, Jean-Luc Young
FeaturingAlvin Curran, Barbara Bryant, Bert , Chaia Gerstein, Constance Abernathy, Franco Cataldi, Frederic Rzewski, Carius, Ivan Coaquelte, Jean-Marie Poiret, Jeff Levine , Michael Blake , Michel Asso, Nicole Rzewski, Patricia Coaquelte, Richard Teitelbaum

Notes

  • Reissue of BYG LP from 1969.
  • Live recorded May 1969.
  • First © 1969, this reissue ℗ + © 1998 Tempel for Spalax2
  • Marketed by Spalax Music Paris France
  • Made in EU
  • 4-page booklet includes liner notes in French.
  • Almost a fac-simile reissue of the original album, initially released by the French BYG
  • Blue sticker" 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl"
  • Orange hype sticker on front sleeve "180 Gram HQ vinyl-gatefold sleeve-original artwork" barcode and catalog number
  • Packaged in gatefold sleeve with liner notes in French and photos of the main performers.
  • included Japanese insert and obi strip.

Barcodes

  • Barcode: 3 429020 149693
  • Barcode (Scanned (sticker)): 8013252332616

About Musica Elettronica Viva

Musica Elettronica Viva (MEV) was begun one evening in the spring of 1966 by Allan Bryant, Alvin Curran, Jon Phetteplace, Carol Plantamura, Frederic Rzewski, Richard Teitelbaum and Ivan Vandor in a room in Rome overlooking the Pantheon. MEVs music right from the start was also totally open, allowing all and everything to come in and seeking in every way to get out beyond the heartless conventions of contemporary music. Taking its cue from Tudor and Cage, MEV began sticking contact mics to anything that sounded and amplified their raw sounds: bed springs, sheets of glass, tin cans, rubber bands, toy pianos, sex vibrators, and assorted metal junk; a crushed old trumpet, cello and tenor sax kept us within musical credibility, while a home-made synthesizer of some 48 oscillators along with the first Moog synthesizer in Europe gave our otherwise neo-primitive sound an inimitable edge. In the name of the collectivity, the group abandoned both written scores and leadership and replaced them with improvisation and critical listening. Rehearsals and concerts were begun at the appropriate time by a kind of spontaneous combustion and continued until total exhaustion set in. It mattered little who played what when or how, but the fragile bond of human trust that linked us all in every moment remained unbroken. The music could go anywhere, gliding into self-regenerating unity or lurching into irrevocable chaosboth were valuable goals. In the general euphoria of the times, MEV thought it had re-invented music; in any case it had certainly rediscovered it. Alvin Curran

Name Vars

  • M.E.V.
  • MEV

Members

  • Alvin Curran
  • George Lewis
  • Frederic Rzewski
  • Richard Teitelbaum
  • Ivan Vandor
  • Allan Bryant
  • Ivan Coaquette
  • Jon Phetteplace
  • Gunther Carius
  • Franco Cataldi
  • Patricia Coaquette
  • Birgit Knabe

Interesting fact about Album

Here’s a cool fact: *The Sound Pool* by Musica Elettronica Viva is like a musical time capsule. Released in 1998, it blends electronic vibes with jazz roots, creating something totally unique. The album was recorded across Japan, Italy, and France, bringing together artists from all over the globe. One standout detail? It features Frédéric Rzewski, a legendary composer, alongside a diverse crew of musicians, including Barbara Bryant and Richard Teitelbaum. Together, they crafted three untitled tracks that feel more like abstract soundscapes than traditional songs. It’s wild how this album feels both experimental and timeless, even decades later.

Comments

granathliberal
granathliberal
2025-03-04
Merci
biswajitn521
biswajitn521
2025-03-03
heck yeah. this Is IT!!
alfuzosina9v0
alfuzosina9v0
2025-03-03
bestbest
nicolasgiordano88
nicolasgiordano88
2025-03-02
Hello there,

If you like 'Spacecraft' and Musica Elettronica Viva you could be interested by this info :

Official Reissue of ' Le Vaisseau Blanc' by Fondation aka Annanka Raghel & Ivan Coaquette incoming soon. For the first time in Vinyl .

https://www.discogs.com/Fondation-Le-Vaisseau-Blanc/release/10307600

Best regards.

++

Simon