VSLS
"26" CDR
Frequent
Sea
Genre: drone, experimental,
ambient
Oakland CA
October 2009 |
Seems abandoned
factories are all the rage these days. The audio for this dark drone
release is based on field recordings collected at several defunct
industrial sites, providing an eerie back story to an otherwise
mysterious sonic experience. I am a bit unclear on the methods employed
to create the sound, although VSLS' Travis Johns (le
Pink Canoes, Satellite) makes use of disparate
frequencies to create binaural beats - something which produces a
unique ebb and flow amid the drone. According to his website, Johns
has a particular fascination with the perception and effect of sound
on the subconscious mind - something which might explain the
chilling effect of this album's two compositions.
At nearly thirty
minutes, the first track - "COMAE" - is not for the casual music
fan. Indeed, what we get is a deep, mechanical drone that evolves
at a tectonic pace. But the track's beauty comes from what is accomplished
with such slow-changing sound. Deep within the noise are faint
nuances and imperceptible details, and over time the drone
metamorphoses in terms of pitch and timbre. The atmosphere of "COMAE" is a very alienating and
isolating one, something you'd expect to hear while trapped in an
empty
room.
The second track,
"Industry One," is cut from the same cloth, although Johns makes use
of a recurring motif which sounds like the chomping of an overhead
helicopter. It's an even more menacing composition than the last,
thanks to the rumbling boulder of drone and the eerie heli-noise
which becomes increasingly abstract over time.
The inauspiciously
titled 26 may not seem like much at first glance - after all,
it's intensely slow-moving musically, and with only 25 copies in
existence, it's about as obscure as it gets. But contained
on this CDR is a remarkably powerful, industrial, and alienating
album that thoroughly commands the listener's attention.
travis johns' myspace
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 2 tracks,
ltd to 25 copies, distributed by
the
label,
released 2009] |