The going is getting tough for non-conforming specimens who don’t embrace divine teddy bears when they go to bed. But faith in Sound pulls one out of the quicksand of anthropoid esoterism, a convenient means to ignore the abominable Truman Show we’re unwillingly participating in, worldwide. Here’s our cherishing of an aural study by Matthijs Kouw and Phil Maguire, who produced two abundant hours of sublime dronage taking their cue from architectural structuralism converted into symptoms of radiance. Still grounded in the terrene environment, we are called to find our own habitat within a physical place. A room, perhaps an entire building permeated by synthetic flows that envelop the subsurface body and inhibit pollution in our innermost districts.
Thankfully, Kouw and Maguire were in no hurry. The sounds emerge gradually and steadily, evenly spreading mind-cleansing frequencies over lengthy stretches stolen from silence. Forms of apparent staticity reveal spontaneous internal organizations; harmonic relationships are established at the level of subliminal perception. There’s not too much interference to be detected across the four sections, yet one does catch “active” particles and micro-movements (for example, at the beginning of “Interpretative Zone”) escorting the main drones. The latter remain, in any case, the prevalent psychoacoustic constituent through the whole set. These whirring marvels suggest a shift to dimensions different from the pitifully earthbound in a shorter time than expected. We absorb waves and observe mutations while attempting to elaborate phantom audio shapes. The inner currents born from this activity signal, as always, important developmental phases.
In her pioneering research, the late Maryanne Amacher conceived buildings as veritable instruments to be employed in symbiosis with the responsive interiority and auditory peculiarities of human beings evolved enough to be a component of unique processes. Unconsciously, Kouw and Maguire floated very close to that concept with Isometry, a work to be listed among the finest albums in the branch of murmuring minimalism. Individuals acquainted with Eliane Radigue’s L’Île Re-sonante, Mirror’s Front Row Centre and, in general, Stephan Mathieu’s most ineffable output will not be insensitive to the point of missing this masterpiece. It’s a genuine tool for extensive sessions of brain enhancement which yields great results via speakers and headphones.
MASSIMO RICCI. TOUCHING EXTREMES. 