MASTURBATORIUM

 THE HAFLER TRIO

This recording utilises elements from various pieces, most being initiated with this project in mind, amongst which are: Psychological Astronomy Psychophysicist (Newton, McKenzie), The Threat That Cannot Be Obeyed The Hafler Trio (McKenzie, Karkowski), SPIRICOM The Hafler Trio (McKenzie, Karkowski), Tesselation The Hafler Trio (McKenzie, Karkowski), A Luna Kanula Asburd (McKenzie, Ponton), I Remain, Yours... The Hafler Trio (McKenzie, Karkowski), Tantric Resonance The Anti Group (Newton, Baker, Dennis), The Ames Room The Hafler Trio (McKenzie), Imsak The Hafler Trio (McKenzie). Every other sound was constructed especially for this Goddess Ritual accompaniment.

Back cover photograph of the Goddess herself during this ritual taken by the legend that walks like a man, Les Barany. Front cover photograph © Annie Sprinkle. H3O logo by Mark O. Design: Jon Wozencroft. Much more that thanks are due to Annie, Ellen and Anya for above all, faith. To all everywhere — "we're all somebody's baby". Dedicated to Marthe (she'll know why — eventually).

Contact The Hafler Trio @ Alexander Boersstraat 30, 1071 kz Amsterdam, NL


 

The construction and realisation of this piece is riddled with contradictions and confirmations (as it should be). It has evolved from a collection of half-formed (but well intended) ideas about the relationship of sound to the sexual condition of people, to a concise working example of a pragmatic approach to the same. Annie Sprinkle, "Post Porn Modernist", brought her show of the same name to Amsterdam in 1990. This show, which had already confronted many people with their own perceptions of sexuality was now to be presented to a so-called 'liberal' audience, with all their attendant differences interpretation. Miss Sprinkle's show was a golden opportunity to implement various hypotheses about the construction of vibrational patterns to precise physical processes. A rough sketch was made of a sound piece that would accompany an intense ritual at the end of the performance, wherein Annie demonstrates the first steps to a form of 'Macro Sexuality' based not only on the genital orgasm, but on the possibility of total ecstacy by means of the utilisation of sexual energy channelled through the body, to the mind, and ultimately through the spirit. After the first (sell-out) run in Amsterdam, recordings were made of sexual noises produced by her. The reason for this was as follows: just as Islamic cultures believe that a photograph of a person contains is a fragment of their soul, an audio recording contains just as much, if not more spiritual information about the situation, character and essence of the person or 'atmosphere' it is made of or from. By means of manipulatory processes, sculpting and juxtaposing these 'slices of life', a powerful composite and 'affirmation' of the desired effect was constructed (by means of sympathetic/empathetic vibration). This was the starting point. As it now stands, the piece (in possibly) its final version is built up of three reasonably distinct sections, involving eleven disparate elements (the key number al magic[k]). The basis of the first deals with the resonant frequencies generated by the various planets in our solar system and a recording of a pulsar named PSR 0833 minus 45, regarded by many as the most likely candidate for an extra-terrestrial radio transmission. Added to this are the three resonant frequencies of the earth itself. In Annie's show, this section is a time of preparation, of invocation and evocation, the beginning of the Goddess ritual. The lighting of candles in remembrance of friends who have passed away and the setting of the wavelength that she wishes to communicate on. Next, there comes a section almost entirely constructed from noises produced by sexual actions carried out by Annie herself — sucking and saliva sounds, vaginal penetration, fingers running over skin, breasts slapping together, using a Hitachi 'Magic Wand' vibrator, hair rustling, orgasm vocalisations, all within a highly charged erotic state. These recordings were made with as much attention to detail as possible. Added to this section is a near-subliminal configuration of pure sine waves exactly tuned to attract communication with the 'dead', as developed by the SPIRICOM organisation in North Carolina, USA. These frequencies have been utilised as a 'carrier' wave to facilitate two-way communications with the deceased. The correct frequencies to enable these communications to take place were passed on to the experimenters by radio from one of their ex-colleagues who had died some seventeen years previously. At the end of this section, a detail from a much larger work concerning the influence of the moon on the psyche is introduced. The many so-called coincidences involving the number eleven in the first moon landing (if it actually happened!) are used, together with a large text written 'automatically' by a 'lunatic' during a full moon. These texts were then processed eleven times. Naturally, the entire assemblage of the contents of this release and its mastering took place on Sunday 28th April — the most esoterically important full moon of the year. The next section, the climax, is based on various elements: the backbone is a tantric rhythm created especially for this project by THE ANTI GROUP. Added to this are 333 layers of Annie having her first "Breath Orgasm" (achieved by focusing entirely on her own sex sounds), careful manipulations of the SPIRICOM frequencies, voices from nowhere arising from atmosphere recordings in an abandoned bath-house (water=moon) — the location of a ritual carried out by The Hafler Trio on a full moon Summer Solstice in 1990, a recording concerning and evoking both native American sexual techniques (where many of Annie Sprinkle's current sexual roots lie) and obscure Sufi techniques of harnessing sexual energy for many applications, and other abtruse elements which it is not necessary or wise to elucidate. This piece has been heard in context with considerable effect by hundreds of people; it remains to be seen if this practical, functional work will have as much effect outside its original setting. Finally, we would urge listeners to experiment with applications, and report to us in alt candidness.