AIKO TAKAHASHI - MONOLOGUE


Shortly after the release of The Grass Harp (in June, on Laaps), the Quiet Details label features another beautiful gem by Aiko Takahashi. It is called Monologue, because 'when an artist creates, they speak in solitude, and only later does the work become a dialogue, resonating with the listener's sensibility.'
The track titles - like 'Foam, Glue And Pencil On Paper', 'Soap And Glass Beads', 'Collage On Paper Laid On A Cardboard' - all reflect the way Aiko approaches her compositions: 'each piece is a small world, a sonic microcosm made up of interconnected elements.'
These elements are all fragments of compositions she made at different times, created with no more than a felt piano, bells, sine waves, and field recordings. When combined, all fragments and pieces come together, 'forming a unique, living organism.'
The result is as refreshing as a cool summer breeze.


Monologue is released on CD (which contains a long-form edition of the album and a fine print of the album artwork), and is of course also available as a (24/48) download.


Monologue by Aiko Takahashi








SETH THORN - A CURIOUS DOUBLING OF TERMS


A Curious Doubling Of Terms is the debut album of Seth Thorn. But he isn't exactly a debutant in the field of music. Quite the opposite: he is a violinist with a PhD in Computer Music and Multimedia, composing 'by writing sample-level code for sandbox modular hardware systems.' He is also active in somewhat related fields like leading the Glitch'N initiative, as well as developing haptic violin hardware through his startup called Matter Squared.


As a musician, he is primarily a real-time improviser. This also applies to the music on A Curious Doubling Of Terms (perfect title, by the way): 'live improvisation, spontaneous structure-building, and experimental mélanges of violin and code.'Not all tracks feature the violin as a main instrument - the violin is most prominently heard on What Lies Before and Friends Show The Way. Of course, I am not sure if and how the violin may be used in conjunction with the software to create all the 'foggy textures' using Haze, a software tool he wrote himself, for generating densely patterned lo-fi soundscapes'.


The fact that there's a lot of complex technology at work here does not mean the music sounds as such. The result is a warm bath of soundscapes that I myself would not particularly call 'lo-fi'.Most of the album is quiet and contemplative, with one exception in the end: the closing track Morbid Symptomagic Logic breaks the spell somewhat with its intense, complex, breakbeat-like rhythm.


A Curious Doubling Of Terms is released on Audiobulb Records and is only available as a digital download.


a curious doubling of terms by Seth Thorn

--- originally published on Ambientblog ---

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