TIM BLECHMANN / SEIJIRO MURAYAMA - 347
Recorded in Paris at La Comète 347, this CD presents an episode of the activities of Blechmann and Murayama intent in capturing different types of resonance in a large room, aiding themselves by various boxes of speakers and a snare drum. This is a classic case of document that exists just as a testimony of a live event, for getting tangible aural satisfaction from these successions of charged silences, diminutive noises and percussive patterns at home is not warranted (unless you’re a member of the “anything goes” reductionist party). What I did welcome instead was the hushed echo of the urban and inside environment caught by the microphones (including the alarm of an ambulance that, at one point, keeps company for a while until it dies – the alarm, not the transported person, hopefully). Nothing much to say in addition, except that we’re convinced by the seriousness of the intentions, but not overly enthusiastic due to the scarce depth of the acoustic messages. (Nonvisualobjects)
ANDREA POLLI – Sonic Antarctica
Quoting from her website's biographic notes, Polli - a woman gifted with an impressive curriculum vitae, go check yourselves - "works in collaboration with atmospheric scientists to develop systems for understanding storms and climate through sound (called sonification)". Therefore, it doesn't come as a surprise that this is another audible documentary, though quite different from what I had expected having read the title. In fact, the large part of this disc is taken by the above mentioned scientists speaking about lots of things (all of them related to the central theme, of course) and the inner reasons for what they do (moral obligations, role of the scientist versus the community, you get the picture). The verbal material is mainly interspersed by the continuous irregular pulse of the electronic signals that come from various weather stations placed in the explored areas, and – very infrequently – other types of sound such as walking on a glacier, the inside of helicopters in flight, radios and even a short snippet featuring penguins. Therefore be warned: this is more a spoken record than a collection of Antarctic sounds. An interesting listen from an intellectual point of view; a little less in terms of power of evocation elicited by field recordings. But, ultimately, it’s indubitably a sincerely purposed mission. (Gruenrekorder)
SON OF ROSE - All In
Iranian Kamran Sadeghi – aka Son Of Rose – utilizes the voice of a piano, an eBow and drums whose primary components get heavily processed during a live interaction with electronics. His interest lies in finding a way to render the timbral traits of popular instruments unrecognizable, which he achieves quite successfully. The problem might lie in the almost complete nonattendance of a compositional temperament, which – despite the solemn dignity of certain extended reverberations and the interest generated by accumulations of self-harmonizing hybridized tones – is felt as a slight impediment after a while, rendering All In more a gathering of simple experiments and ideas than a fully fledged inventive creation. This notwithstanding, some of the pieces are clearly the fruit of an attentive work of deconstruction, and the title track features the kind of impressively luminescent drones that will cause many aficionados to perk their ears. However, we’re not talking about “can’t miss” stuff. (Blanket Fields)
