UK-based electronic producer Phil Edwards has spent the last four years releasing music as PJE, with an impressive back catalogue of CDR and netlabel releases to his name on label such as October Man Recordings and U-Cover. This 3 inch CDR EP Abstractions follows on from last year’s Melancholy Guitar Pieces netlabel release on Webbed Hand, and occupies a very similar aesthetic space, with each of the eight untitled tracks collected here being built around a single acoustic guitar and field-recorded sounds. Track one gently introduces the atmosphere that predominates here, as tentative acoustic guitar strokes glide against a crackling backdrop of subtle textures, the occasional just-out-of-earshot snatch of voice teasing the edges of perceptible hearing, before the guitar strums begin to gather pace and move into moodier chords.
By contrast, track two floats with an icier feel as frigid-sounding harmonic drones drape themselves like a fog over the chiming, brittle guitar textures, before track three cuts back on the more overt use of electronics in favour of a comparatively more vigourous wander through jangling, folky guitar chords, the occasional snatch of what sounds like sampled birdsong seeping into the mix. While there’s a sense of palpable intimacy to much of the music here (something particularly brought out by the close-miked guitars), it’s left to the final closing track to introduce an eerie sense of isolationism, as humming drones, delicate guitar strokes and the occasional whisper of recorded conversation gets sucked away in one last spooky wash of noise. Intriguing, and perfectly formed at just eighteen minutes in length.
Chris Downton
*
