Red dwarfs in their own right, a heap of old cassettes stowing away sound samples and melodic sketches forged in 1988 by Simon Scott, were recently found by the sound practitioner to be still emitting a certain dim light and energy. Scott thus took the recordings to a host of artists who might be seen as the sterling silver of a growing subsection in experimental electronica to do with them what they may: amongst others, featured here are Ateleia, Christopher Bissonnette, Orla Wren, Dale Lloyd, Fourcolor, Aus, and Mark Templeton.
The cluster of players here open up a complex system of wide expressive and dynamic range. Most artists choose to subject the tapes to heavy manipulation or, in some cases, even drop in new elements, but on a whole the pieces remain beautifully weighted and uncluttered in their structure. In a marked change of pace, Aus moves away from rhythm toward a mountain of density and texture, his piece sounding like ice breaking before one’s eyes against a gradual undulation of ebb and flow. Moskitoo, too, forgoes her more honeyed phrases in favor of sustained organ tones that support sparse snaps, and the occasional whispered vocal, all atop an interplay of glistening timbres and filigree guitar lines.
Indeed a number of those on hand are seen outside the capacities of their respective identities, and this helps ensure the works never congeal into cliche. After the overlapping, circular (not to mention, mystical) quality of Orla Wren’s contribution, Simon Scott’s technically imperfect piece deviates wonderfully from the previous measured performances and thus becomes strangely gripping. In its later stages, the work gravitates toward dark, dramatic eruptions rather than wispy interludes, toward new sound universes rather than the merely picturesque. The arcane forces of those forgotten tapes are thereby not simply reshaped but revivified by those on hand.
Max Schaefer
