Having recently reviewed work released under Ata’s alias Sote, I wondered what I was in for. Would this tear my speakers apart as his Warp Records 12″ did with ease? Would I be experiencing the same crushing distortion and pulsing beats? Fortunately, no. However, the same traits are present: an ear for the unconventional and a feel for the experimental.
Side A begins with a wash of gentle static and the clacking of percussion. Computer manipulated tones sweep and cut, the processing of acoustic instrumentation swinging from speaker to speaker. Gongs and pianos bounce off one another as static hiss flows ever present, like a stream. Suddenly the static peels back and a rapid fire piano duels with a horn which is occasionally slips in and out of processing. A gust of uncertain strings opens Side B, rapid upscale runs punctuate the uneasiness. Swirls of electronic noise blends with the orchestra, at intervals underpinning and overstating the mood. There’s a deft use of computer processing and manipulation at work here, just enough of each to make it feel cohesive.
Side C continues with much of the same tense atmosphere of Side B. More traditional Middle Eastern chord structures are at work here, and for the first time so far, it definitely feels Iranian. Gradually things get more cluttered, as each section vies for space, jostling like a busy marketplace. Strings sweep back and forth like a rapid fire conversation, as electronic whirs burble all the while. Side D brings the release home in a somewhat mournful tone, opening simply with some lone processed strings, which gradually sink into more and more processing. A lone filtered piano takes over, punching out a brief motif before the strings regain their footing. Once again, as time goes on, processing creeps up and smothers the strings, before they manage to climb free and play one last passage, and cut abruptly.
I found this to be an interesting excursion into processed orchestra music. It also helped that I wasn’t familiar with the source material, therefore alleviating any distinction between the orchestra and manipulator. If a computer could ever imagine Middle Eastern music, I’d imagine it’d sound just like this. Quite an experience.
Nick Giles
