Krispen Hartung

"Much like a painter layers textures of paint to create a piece of art, Hartung does the same with sounds to create a truly unique album of improvisational, ambient music." - The Boise Weekly
"Creating experimental yet arresting musical moods, Hartung wrings sounds out of his acoustic guitar that you've never heard before." - C|NET DOWNLOAD.COM
"Idaho based guitar player Krispen Hartungs' new record features his unique approach on the guitar. His compositons reflect his abstract thoughts and uncommon melodies." - AbstractLogix.com
"Very adept usage of the looping tool and some really interesting guitar work interspersed with the background loops...a strange and haunting journey and very well executed improvisation." - Valkir
"Hartung stretches the boundaries of the acoustic/electric guitar, creating inventive collages of non-traditional sounds, oblique melodies and delightful dissonance...this is truly original art." - Ben Burdick
Discography
"Abstractions and Associations" is a collection of colorful, dynamic, and freely improvised performances recorded live at the 3rd Annual Boise Experimental Music Festival, 2008 (www.boisemusicians.com/BEMF-3).
"Visceral" - EVOLVED AS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN DRUMMER/PERCUSSIONIST BOB STERLING AND ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYER KRISPEN HARTUNG. LIVING IN DIFFERENT CITIES, THEY DECIDED TO EXCHANGE SOUND FILES BASED ON SPONTANEOUS IMPROVISATIONS AND THEN DEVELOP SOUNDSCAPES, SONGS AND TONE POEMS BASED UPON THEIR SHARED IDEAS. AS EACH PIECE DEVELOPED, THEY WOULD ADD IMPROVISATIONS AND AURAL MODIFICATIONS IN ORDER TO DEVELOP A FULLY-REALIZED COMPOSITION. OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL MONTHS THEY ACCUMULATED A SUBSTANTIAL BODY OF WORK WHICH THEY INTEND TO RELEASE AND SHARE WITH YOU. THEIR FIRST COLLECTION, 'VISCERAL,' IS NOW AVAILABLE AS A CD OR AS INDIVIDUAL MP3 FILES.
"Mojo at the Dojo" - cleverly selected out of consideration of the performance venue (i.e., an Aikido dojo) rather than actual programmatic musical intent, the adroitly improvised live music on this work nevertheless does conjure a fair share of the psychological drama (if not the physical) of an old Kurosawa samurai movie duel between master swordsmen.
The two musical protagonists, Krispen Hartung (on nylon-string guitar and laptop) and Ted Killian (on electric guitar synth and live loops), parry and weave - often as though in extreme slow motion - through the course of three tracks (totaling slightly over the fifty-minute mark) with a rare, almost perfectly matched skill and simpatico.
"Music Unfit for Children" - a Hartung family collaboration and experimental collection of improvisational compositions. Each musical composition is based on various children's toys, acoustic and foundsound instruments, and processing by the notebook computer and Cycling 74's Max/MSP.
"Mandolin from Mars" - a colorful and complex exploration of the 6-string mandolin and laptop computer. This work weaves a fantastic story of the "red planet," babbling mountains, and menacing telepathic messages from the ancient chimera of HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
"Fragments" - a collection of live electro-acoustic performances recorded at public venues or via the Internet. This free improvisational and avant-garde work exhibits a tasteful balance between the sound of the acoustic guitar and electronic processing via the notebook computer and various tone altering effects.
"Interstellar Delirium" - a delightful entanglement of insane free-improvisation and experimental electronica inspired by imagery of a spaceman's last dying moments and twisted hallucinations in the vacuum of space.
"Places" - a collection of improvisational ambient soundscapes will take you on an eclectic journey through the heart and mind, through the abstract, bizarre, and beyond! Krispen Hartung transforms and re-architects the sound of the acoustic guitar, incorporating real-time loops, avant-garde melodies, and ethereal sounds. These compositions test the boundaries of popular music art by combining unpredictable and spontaneous composition with melodic appeal.
"Live at the Kulture Klatsch" - a free improvisational work entitled "Live at the Kulture Klatsch," featuring didjeridu artist and percussionist Vincent Miresse
"Descent to Self" - a collection of improvised and computer-based avant-garde compositions
"Xperimentus" - a collaborative project comprised of duo compositions of he and 13 other looping artists from around the world.
CD details, reviews, videos, sound clips, pictures, and more at: http://www.krispenhartung.com