Folding field recording, processed instruments, spectral voices and subdued computer noise into homely abstract compositions, Unspoken Words by Greek producer Hior Chronik perches between the cool world of 12k digitalia and the warmer Japanese electronics of the likes of Sawako and early Susumu Yokota. There’s plenty of this stuff out there but Chronik does it better than most, skilfully balancing light and dark while avoiding (most of) the cliches that come with bedroom ambient production.
Incorporating contributions from top-shelf musicians including Dictaphone’s Roger Doering and Schole’s Akira Kosemura adds a welcome degree of live interaction to these pieces, from the cracked bell tones of opener ‘She Wasn’t There’ with Doering to the weeping strings of ‘Sea Bells’ featuring Neo Pon of Dynamophone Recordings. His solo tracks are no slouches either, the wispy chimes of ‘Oper I’, morphed rain and piano of ‘Oper II’ and the subterranean groan of ‘Small Tree’ are all engaging work. There’s a naïveté on display, but I suspect it’s an act, as Chronik knows just what he’s doing.
Joshua Meggitt
