SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO - POSZYCIE


Although the trio already formed in 2003, this is my first encounter with the Warsaw-based trio Signal To Noise Ratio. Since its formation, the trio developed 'from early prog-rock and lo-fi experiments into the current ambient/drone/experimental incarnation'. Their 22 years of experience are combined in this album, which is a sonic surprise in different ways.
The four tracks on Poszycie (which translates to 'sheathing') are exploring real-time musical dialogue and cross-cultural tuning systems in immersive long-form soundscapes, and that is a perfect description.
The first thing to note is that the instrumentation is mostly acoustic: guitar, flugelhorn, 'de-huntified' horn (Przemysław Piłaciński), drums (Adam Izaak Wasążnik), gongs, and a synthesizer to complete the setup (Maria Białota). Guest performers are Maja Baczyńska playing standing bells on Pozornie w lesie nic się nie dzieje ('On the surface, nothing seems to be happening in the forest'), and the Warsaw Gamelan Orchestra on Hadap ke Barat ('Facing West' - which was previously released in 2024 in combination with two slowed down versions).The third track Wrzesień ('September') is a drone track presenting the amplified flugelhorn and the 'de-huntified horn' 'processed through custom Max delay algorithms and tube guitar amplification.' (I have no idea what a de-huntified horn is exactly - I only know that a 'hunting horn' is a horn without keys or valves. So maybe a de-huntified horn is a former hunton horn with valves? Tell me in the comments if you know more). Tamta strona/ta strona/nigdzie ('That side/this side/nowhere') concludes the album with a trio improvisation exploring jazz-inflected non-metric rhythmic patterns. The use of the synth and guitar in this track feels rooted in early German Krautrock (to me).


The four tracks - each around 15 minutes - are all very different yet share the same atmosphere. It is a unique and adventurous combination of unhurried improvisation, genre-defying instrumentation, and a refreshingly unconventional approach.


Poszycie is available on CD and as a digital download.


Poszycie by Signal to Noise Ratio








MINUA - BODIES OF WATER, PT. I


Minua is a German-Icelandic-Swiss-Australian quartet that loves to defy genres as much as it defies national borders. Their music - created with woodwind and brass instruments, guitars, zither, and modular synthesizers - can be described as 'existing somewhere at the intersection of contemporary composition and drone music'. Fabian Willmann (bass clarinet), Raphaël Rossé (euphonium, serpent), Kristinn Kristinnsson (guitar), and Luka Aron (guitar, synth) combine their diverse musical backgrounds into unique soundscapes truly different from most.


Bodies Of Water, Pt. I is the first part of what is going to be a two-hour trilogy (the other parts will be released in the following months). The inspiration for this project comes from the elemental nature of water itself. "Like tides, the music moves gently but with force, blurring the lines between acoustic fragility and electronic texture. It’s a sonic space where time stretches, form dissolves, and sound becomes environment."
This first part of the trilogy presents two tracks: Moraine (15'41") and Oxbow (20:18). Both start with a slow melodic theme, which gradually grows into "a mass of sound where bass clarinet, euphonium, and synthesizer lock into a stratified, glacial pattern.' (Moraine)Though the repeating melodic theme is reassuring at first, the atmosphere darkens 'as a deeper harmonic field emerges and droning electric guitars fade in and out like underwater shadows.' (Oxbow)But it doesn't end in a climax: 'eventually, the piece returns to calm, subsiding into quiet resolution.'


Minua's different sound and approach are a welcome change in a genre where too much music sounds like many others. It is not yet clear when the other two parts of the trilogy will be released, but I guess this will be this year.
Body Of Water, Pt. I is a digital-only release. The final trilogy will be available on CD too.


Bodies of Water, Pt. I by Minua

--- originally published on Ambientblog ---

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