|
John Duncan states somewhat disingenuously in the sleevenotes that the source material for this latest release -- purportedly a set of sonifications of geomagnetic phenomena recorded on the site of Peru's Nazca hieroglyphics -- is probably a hoax. But if it is the case, as Duncan asserts, that this doesn't really matter, would it not have been preferable for the results to be presented free of its irrelevant contextual baggage? Or is Duncan perhaps subtly taking the mickey out of the (commercial?) need for non-figurative soundworks to be hitched to a juicy central conceit? As always with Duncan, he delivers music of great substance. The five pieces here are richly detailed and seductive exercises in evolving texture, less harsh than you might expect, and possibly, if you're in a sufficiently credulous state of mind, suggestive of the fantastical. The endless glissandi that feature heavily on the second side recall Stockhausen's Hymnen; now there was a composer who enjoyed a bit of quasi-mystical obfuscation. -- Keith Moliné, THE WIRE, March 2010 |