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The Crystalline Address (review)



thanks to Doug Benford for fwd'ing this to me! :)
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 THE CRYSTALLINE ADDRESS
 Scanner/Kim Cascone
 Sub Rosa
 25 Nov 2002

Bill Tilland says:
Given the nature of their "instruments," one would be hard-pressed to
isolate the individual contributions of Scanner (aka Robin Rimbaud) and Kim
Cascone on this collaborative release. In the past, Scanner's attention has
typically been directed toward the random pulses, static, white noise and
other ambiguous messages from shortwave radios and cellphones, while
Cascone, who has a background in computer music, has tended toward
abstract, meticulously controlled electroacoustic compositions. The
potential for fruitful collaboration certainly exists here, and regardless
of who is doing what, the interaction of the two sound artists is clearly a
success. A wide range of sounds is presented for the listener's
consideration - from crunches, crackles, hisses and pops to wobbly
oscillations, twitterings, clear bell-like tones and vast, sonorous drones.
And thanks (probably) to Cascone, the material is carefully organized, with
its own underlying logic and structure. Consequently, the result is much,
much more that just a collection of curious noises.

The two pieces on the CD are roughly twenty minutes each. They use a number
of common sound elements, but the first, "Behavioral Sink," is somewhat
more spacious, and has a more pastoral ambience. It's easy to see/hear this
music in terms of a "soundpainting," with the two artists collectively
creating electronic landscapes populated with strange electro-mechanical
creatures making their way within a bewildering, inscrutable geography,
caressed by gentle cosmic winds. The second track, "Atavistic Endeavor," is
somewhat busier, with at least a touch of menace - but still light years
and decibels away from the predictable weight of hardcore industrial. The
soundworlds on display in The Crystalline Address are no doubt inhospitable
to carbon-based lifeforms, but the environments are dynamic and interactive
-- and presumably quite congenial to their inhabitants.

As is usual with Cascone, sounds themselves are recorded with great clarity,
and this CD will be a real treat for all fans of electro-acoustic
music.
25 Feb 2003

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