JEPH JERMAN – Prayer * Tactus
Despite the attention-catching sources listed on the cover – which include Tinguely’s machine, Tibetan prayer wheels, burden busket and drum for “Prayer” and stones, volcanoes, shortwave, wire and vlf for “Tactus” – the music heard in this CD results as a rather murky proposition, of which I’m not able of appreciating the underlying essence, if there is one. Think “hundreds of substrata flowing into a vast mass of aural mud” and you’ll have a vague idea about how these pieces sound. “Tactus” is a little more bad-tempered, massively grimy so to speak, but still not on an adequate level for my own needs of listening-induced gratification. Theoretically, this work asks to be placed halfway through early :zoviet*france: (wondering if the central asterisk in the title is just a coincidence) and the territory in which artists like Jim Haynes gather their sonic detritus. Sorry to report that we’re quite distant from those heights; the less than lo-fi quality of the whole recording doesn’t help, either.
MICHAEL NORTHAM + JATIN VIDYARTHI – Golden Shadow
Michael Northam is a renowned master in the juxtaposition of different acoustic planes, whereas Jatin Vidyarthi was an unknown name here until two days ago. Together they have created a work that, though not really deserving masterpiece status, offers several impressive facets and a few moments of veritable emotional fulfilment. Golden Shadow is mostly based on the combination of humid soil and soulful substance, if you get the picture. Sounds of concrete matters, traffic, perhaps electricity and esoteric instruments merge seamlessly, their sequences and intersections creating a continuum that not even the subdivision in seven tracks manages to interrupt. It flows for about a hour with the right percentage of humanity, a sort of mix between the faith in a superior scheme of things and the awareness of the limitedness of a normal life. Every once in a while we’re welcomed by the kind of intensive drone treatment we expect from this type of release, yet it’s not a hypnotic album by any means. The sequence of events is well planned but, at the same time, benefits from a rudimentary naiveté which, on the long run, opens the lungs quite a bit. As everything in which Northam is involved, seriousness transpires from everywhere.
MASSIMO RICCI. TOUCHING EXTREMES. 