It can be hard to know what you’re hearing on Whelk, the opener to guitarist and electro acoustic composer David Daniel’ second solo release. It begins as a thick molasses of tone, possibly originating from electric guitar though quite processed and immersed into numerous indecipherable ingredients. The beginning seemed to emphasise stasis, though the piece continues to develop rapidly. At one point there appears to be a roaring cacophony of cymbal work, whilst about a minute and a half later it’s dipped right down into a low drone, a little bit of fuzz and near ambient bottom end rumbles. This is just the first five odd minutes and there and eight to go. Without plugging in to traditional notions of structure, Daniell seems very interested in the evolution or movement of his pieces, displaying a strong interest in dynamics and gradual textural shifts. It descends into waves of guitar drones and some strange plonking that continues for the remainder of the piece, conjuring up ritualistic associations. What does all this mean? It’s anyone’ guess, but the journey is never dull.
Daniell is involved in composer Rhys Chatham’ two current ensembles, and performs regularly in a duo with Doug McCombs (Tortoise) as well as regularly improvising with the likes of Thurston Moore and Tim Barnes, so he’ got the credentials. Yet he’ also got a firm desire to operate on the fringes of musical experimentation, often introducing overtly musical elements into his sound pieces. This is particularly apparent on ‘Sunfish’ where he begins with an acoustic guitar, repetitively strumming away, moving over time from a musical to a textural tool, as the background solidifies into high-pitched drones that almost subsume the guitar. Yet at this moment when the transformation is almost complete, a few bended reverbed notes ring out, drawing the piece back from the brink of a musique concrete world. Yet nothing can save the final piece from this electro acoustic world as ill-defined field recordings compete with deep cinematic drones and manage to produce on of the most subtle and evocative pieces on the disc.
Bob Baker Fish
