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Toronto-based composer Aidan Baker carries out a three-fold career:
soundscupting under his own name (using the electric guitar as a primary sound source), progressive-rock in the trio ARC,
doom metal under the moniker Nadja (started in 2003 as a solo project but later
transformed into a duo with bassist Leah Buckareff).
After the tentative Touched (2002), the minimal glitch soundscapes of
I Fall Into You (Public Eyesore, 2002 - Basses Frequences, 2008)
and the
degraded lullabies of Letters (2002 - Basses Frequences, 2008),
Nadja released collections of colossal drone-intense jams:
Slow Loss, off Skin Turns to Glass (2003),
the 21-minute EP I Have Tasted the Fire Inside Your Mouth (2004),
Bug Golem and Memory Leak, off
Truth Becomes Death (Alien8, 2005 - Conspiracy, 2008),
the three-movement suite Bliss Torn from Emptiness (2005),
Clinodactyl and Ossification, off Bodycage (Profound Lore, 2005),
the live Trembled (Utech, 2006 - Utech, 2008),
the three monoliths of
Radiance Of Shadows (Alien8, 2007 - Conspiracy, 2008), an exemplary take on doom-shoegaze fusion,
Thaumogenesis (aRCHIVE, 2007), that contains just one 62-minute monster lungubrious piece for bass, guitar and drum-machine a` la SUNNO))),
its companion Thaumoradiance (aRCHIVE, 2008), that contains (bad) reworking of two previous pieces (one being Thaumogenesis),
the EP Guilted By The Sun (Elevation, 2007), which is also one of the best,
Touched (Alien8, 2007), a compilation of old material.
In these works the logic of heavy metal (the heavy riffs) is wed to the logic
of electronic soundsculpting (haunting background soundscapes).
12012291920/ 1414101 (Invada, 2007) and II - Points At Infinity (Profound Lore, 2008) were collaborations with British doom-metal band Atavist.
We Have Departed The Circle Blissfully (Conspiracy, 2006, 2006) is a collaboration with Fear Falls Burning.
Unfortunately, Nadja released dozens of recordings of very mediocre material
instead of releasing just one good album.
Among his droning/ambient recordings are:
the double-CD Oneiromancer (Die Stadt, 2006), possibly his artistic peak,
Pendulum (Gears Of Sand, 2006), an abstract dronescape that ranks as one of his best,
The Sea Swells A Bit (A Silent Place, 2006),
Thoughtspan (Tosom, 2007),
Exoskeleton Heart (Crucial Bliss, 2007),
Broken & Remade (Volubilis, 2007),
Figures (Volubilis, 2007),
Green & Gold (Gears Of Sand, 2007 - Beta-Lactum Ring, 2008), a detour into slocore ballads (with actual singing),
I Will Always And Forever Hold You In My Heart And Mind (Small Doses, 2007),
Orange (Thisquietarmy, 2007), a collaboration with Thisquietarmy, i.e. Eric Quach,
An Open Letter To Franz Kafka (Laughing Bride Media, 2007) with Beta Cloud, i.e. Carl Pace (Baker on flute, Beta Cloud on trumpet, synth and guitar),
Nagual (aRCHIVE, 2007) with Todd Merrell or Patrick Jordan,
Skin Turns To Glass (The End, 2008), a rather monotonous experience.
etc.
Again, being prolific is not a good recipe for being great.
ARC features
Aidan Baker as the guitarist of a trio with two percussionists, as documented on
The Circle Is Not Round (A Silent Place, 2006).
The 20-minute solo guitar improvisation Fragile Moments In Slow Motion (Universal Tongue, 2008) and the
Live From The Rotunda (Philadelphia, PA, February 2007) (Gears Of Sand, 2008) continued
Aidan Baker's drone-oriented program, while
Scalpel (The Kora, 2008) seemed to open a new direction with its
gentle folkish approach (the guitar sounding like a guitar and not like an
alien moan).
Magma To Ice (Fario, 2008), split with Netherworld, contains a 19-minute
Nadja piece, one of the heaviest ever.
I Wish Too, To Be Absorbed (Important, 2008) is a
double-disc anthology of rarities from 2000-07.
Fantasma Parastasie (Alien8 Recordings, 2008) was a collaboration between
Aidan Baker and Tim Hecker.
Leah Buckareff and Aidan Baker split the next two Nadja albums.
Trinity (Die Stadt, 2008) and Trinitarian (Important, 2008) contain two sides, one per composer.
Baker's Book of Nods (Beta-lactam Ring, 2008) sounded like a somnolent loop of syncopated jazzy patterns.
Nadja's Desire In Uneasiness (Crucial Blast, 2008) added a real drummer
and a Helios Creed-like space guitar.
The highlights of Nadja's The Bungled And The Botched (Consouling Sounds, 2008) were, respectively, the flute and the piano used in each of its two sprawling compositions.
The amount of released clearly took a (heavy) toll on their quality and originality (both rapidly tending to zero).
Reviewers of new Nadja or Baker releases started simply photocopying old reviews.
Nadja's
When I See The Sun Always Shines On TV (The End, 2009) is an album of cover recordings.
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