There’ an alarming rate with which Francisco Lopez can realise quality materials and have them issued. This year alone the iconic Spaniard has somewhere in the vicinity of 5-7 new releases – all of which document his feverish quest to uncover sound worlds that exist at the very edges of our perception, or equally those we rare have the chance to come in contact with.
#164 is a powerfully dense piece of work spilling out of source materials collected in Belgium – and whilst the volume and dynamic of the work might not be “dense’, the personality and character of the sounds (even when quiet) carry with the a probing quality. This added to the submerged and compressed nature of the bass rumbles creates an effect not unlike being trapped in a submarine being depth charged – the pressures around you shifting as bass bombs erupt with irregular frequency. As this initial phases passes, Lopez unleashes a more full band noise assault with trademarked shifts in volume. In the later part of the composition a wonderfully rich rhythmic texture emerges creating an interesting and in many ways unexpected sense of urgency to the conclusion of the work. A complete sound universe as usual – crafted with care, imagination and a determined rigour to evoke emotion from the most abstract of sources.
Lawrence English
