Univorm by Thomas Mahmoud

Cassette only – limited edition of 100 copies
SOLD OUT AT SOURCE

Artwork by Stefan Fähler.


Tracklist:
A: Univorm A
B: Univorm B


Born in 1977, Thomas Mahmoud is a Berlin based cross-disciplinary artist – musician, sound designer, performer, author and radioplay producer.

Since stepping down as the singer with Cologne based band Von Spar (L’age d’or, Tomlab), he has pursued his interests in deconstructing sounds, using analogue and digital tools to work with textures and field recordings. His installation and sound design work is renowned, not least his 48-hour opera with the Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop or his work with choreographer Kat Válastur at the Onassis Cultural Center in Athens.

Many musicians eras­e mis­takes – sta­tic pro­duced by tan­gled wires between the instru­ment and the ampli­fier painstak­ingly fil­tered-out, the ran­dom record­ing mis­takes deleted and corrected, until every­thing is pleas­antly plain. Oth­ers work with the waste of these pro­ce­dures, with the dis­pens­able, the sonic trash. This is how Mahmoud works. He lis­tens closely and grabs the hiss and the hum, not the tone, of a thick bass string. He samples the breath­ing, not the voice, of his favourite singers.

A collaborator by instinct, Mahmoud has worked with the likes of Can Khan Oral, Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, Mouse on Mars, Birds Of Death, Jammin’ Unit, Dr Walker, Tilman Kanitz, and many more.
“Univorm” is his most recent multimedia project, in collaboration with visual artist Stefan Fähler.

Reviews

Boomkat:

Berlin’s Thomas Mahmoud takes a fair leap from the twee pop of Von Spar into proper, abstract sound design with absorbing results for The Tapeworm. RIYL Marcus Schmickler, Cam Deas, Kevin Drumm

Bleep.com (UK):

The prolific Thomas Mahmoud rocks up on The Tapeworm (Stephen O’Malley, Pye Corner Audio) for a full-length cassette. Univorm finds the former Von Spar singer and Mouse On Mars collaborator constructing a record from ‘mistakes’ and ‘incorrect sounds’. For instance - when a bass string is hit and creates a load of hisses and overtones, Mahmoud amplifies them until they are fully incorporated into Univorm’s sonic mesh. It makes for another intense listening experience that has been brought to us by The Tapeworm.

Thomas Mahmoud is a Berlin based cross-disciplinary