|
Vancouver-based Scott Morgan is a disciples of
Brian Eno's Before And After Science.
Armed with an arsenal of electronic instruments, Morgan (disguised under the
moniker Loscil), pens brief instrumental vignettes.
Triple Point (Kranky, 2001) samples Morgan's first self-released
album, A New Demonstration Of Thermodynamic Tendencies, inspired
by thermodynamic concepts and formulas.
The techno vapors of Hydrogen and Fuel Exergy,
the industrial pulse of Zero,
the haunting sci-fi soundscapes of Pressure,
Discrete Entropy and Enthalpy recycle old ideas with modern
means.
Richard Bone has been doing for many years.
The longer Conductivity and Absolute capture different aspects
of sound, but then don't find much to do with them.
The "watery" theme of Submers (Kranky, 2002) helped Morgan craft
a much more focused and creative work.
The album is a stylitic tour de force that runs the gamut from the
subliminal, and quasi-gothic, kosmische musik of Mute
and Triton to the tribal techno of Gymnate.
Argonaut whirls with the
dervish-like flavor of Terry Riley's Rainbow in Curved Air, set against
a solemn undercurrent of drones a` la Brian Eno's Music For Airports.
The harsh electronic pulsation of Le Plongeur loops around eerie
background drones.
The psychedelic quality of Resurgam and the massively tragic quality
of the Kursk requiem herald an artist who has emotions besides ideas.
Scott Morgan uses real instruments on
First Narrows (Kranky, 2004), but the studio processing is so intense
that the difference is only one of timbres.
Lucy Dub still has some
repetitive patterns, sometimes reminiscent of the Terry Riley's undulating
structures, although somewhat indecisive and shapeless.
The guitar sings the melody of Ema.
The organic, amoebic evolution of Mode is spoiled by sloppy beats.
Sure, Brittle has some haunting, angelic cosmic drones;
and the instruments pen the ten-minute new-age impressionism of First Narrows (with a dub-like cadence and languid guitar wails) and the
intense nine-minute psalm of Cloister.
But, overall, this sounds like a less focused work than its predecessors, and the lo-fi beats truly annoy in the long run.
Plume (Kranky, 2006) is built out of the same principles (a synthetic
sound over which live instruments improvise) but by a more sophisticated hand
(and perhaps a cleverer intelligence).
The vignettes (that are allowed more time to coalesce) create disturbing
musical robots at the border between chaos and organization.
Motoc evokes both Brian Eno's "before and
after science" vignettes and Neu's rhythmic
fantasies.
The eight-minute Rorschach radiates drama from the dripping notes of
the first minute, even before alien distortions and soft beats begin to
populate its vast empty space.
This second track sounds like the static counterweight to the dynamic first track.
Zephyr is then a compromise between the two, as electronic rhythms
percolate through the gentle dissonances but hardly unsettle the shimmering lake
of tones.
Bellows sounds like a study in contrast: "dirty" drones versus syncopated beats.
Live instruments are typically used to inject the human presence into an unhuman
machinery.
The glacial electronic winds of Steam assail a tide of piano notes in
a somewhat darker atmosphere at an exhausting tempo.
In a similar manner, an erratic xylophone dents the mechanistic ambience of
Chinook, evoked by oscillating structures and steady beats.
The most exciting puzzle of the album is
Charlie, the longest track at almost nine minutes, whose instruments
are blended into a swirling vibrating vortex and then projected into a
droning black hole.
By comparison with these intense mini-symphonies, the relaxed eight-minute Halcyon and the aquatic resonance of Mistral are almost new-age music.
Having toned down and better integrated the beats, Morgan can sail towards
the inner geography of the psyche in masterful ways that only Brian Eno at
the peak of his art could concoct.
|
(Translation by/ Tradotto da Giovanni Giustini)
Plume (Kranky, 2006) e’ congegnato secondo gli stessi principi (un suono sintetico sul quale improvvisano gli strumenti), ma con una mano piu’ sofisticata (e forse da un’intelligenza piu’ acuta). Le vignette (che richiedono piu’ tempo ad amalgamarsi) creano inquietanti robot musicali al confine tra caos e organizzazione. Motoc evoca le vignette di Before And After Science di Brian Eno e le fantasie ritmiche dei Neu. Rorschach (otto minuti) irradia pathos sin dalle sgocciolanti note del primo minuto, anche prima che distorsioni aliene e soffici battiti comincino a popolare il suo ampio spazio vuoto. Questo secondo pezzo sembra il contrappeso statico alla dinamica prima traccia. Zephyr e’ quindi il compromesso fra i due, poiche’ il ritmo elettronico si infiltra nelle aggraziate dissonanze ma a malapena increspa il baluginante lago di toni. Bellows suona come uno studio sul contrasto: droni "sporchi" contro battiti sincopati. Gli strumenti live sono tipicamente usati per immettere la presenza umana in un macchinario non umano. I glaciali venti elettronici di Steam assalgono una marea di note di piano in un’atmosfera in qualche modo piu’ cupa ad un ritmo estenuante. In modo simile, un imprevedibile xilofono perfora l’atmosfera meccanicistica di Chinook, evocata da strutture oscillanti e battiti stabili. Il puzzle piu’ appassionante dell’album e’ Charlie, la traccia piu’ lunga con i suoi nove minuti, i cui strumenti sono mescolati in un roteante vortice che vibra, e poi proiettati in un buco nero di droni. Paragonate a queste intense mini sinfonie, la rilassata Halcyon (otto minuti) e le risonanze acquatiche di Mistral sono quasi new age. Avendo moderato e meglio integrato il beat, Morgan puo’ ora navigare verso la geografia interna della psiche in maniere magistrali che solo Brian Eno al culmine della sua arte poteva concepire.
|
