The shimmering fragments and chopped-up texture-tone of opening passage ‘[After]’ sets something of a curious precedent for Asobi, the debut recorded outing for Lawrence English’ Object project. While the Brisbane-based sound artist and label curator has made a name for his work in field recording-based compositions, Asobi sees his work take a different shape. Here, English meticulously layers flickers of organ and laptop-produced percussion to fashion a sound that oscillates between both dense, claustrophobic abstraction and stark, at times beautiful, moments of clarity. If you’re willing to let your guard down, you’ll uncover some surprisingly evocative sketches. Asobi‘ most effective passages occur when English gives his often-shrouded motifs room to breath and resonate. The ambient progression of Having Been You’ and the droned nuances of ‘Noshi on Land’ prove stunning moments, while ‘Did They Speak’ inches closer to conventional melody than anything else here, its fragile atmospheres dipping and gurgling as if submerged. Asobi isn’ for everyone, but at its best, the record embodies an odd, but fascinating dichotomy; a sound world that’s both highly synthesised and indelibly human, distant and immediate.
Dan Rule
