2(3) - Incomplete Tryptich Reviewed on the Sound Projector:
Nice little thing in a perspex box is a cassette tape which arrived from Berlin in April 2012. It’s the very first release on
Emitter Micro, a tiny DIY label from Berlin.
Pierce Warnecke and
Christoph Limbach
prepared three separate recordings but decided to release only two of
them; the decision was to do with the limitations of the C30 cassette,
and rather than compromise on a matter of such mathematical precision,
they elected to keep the third piece in reserve as the unseen and
unheard part of this “incomplete triptych”. The decision to pack the
item in this see-through box only deepens the riddle of inaccessible and
inscrutable music in some way. I had half expected the package to be
welded tight or sealed with superglue, but as it happens I was able to
pop the lid quite easily and soon had the all-white cassette spinning
happily in my machine. After I took it out I noticed that the title has
been inscribed on the shell in “blind” (using laser etching), another
near-invisible component to the work. The duo haven’t missed a trick in
assembling this conceptual home-grown art object, no aspect left
unpondered. It’s also very good to listen to, when you’re prepared for a
good facial scrub of late-night scrapery and unexpected electronic
blastage. Realised using just a prepared drum kit and live electronics,
this is music that starts out strangely minimal and uncertain, only to
turn violent and abrasive at the turn of a screw, then subside into
sullenness just as suddenly. It’s as though the two players were
studiously trying to avoid treading directly on any known modern music
genre, and set out to walk the self-imposed tightrope with the aim to
avoid the major pitfalls presented by free improvisation, “reduced”
improv, and table noise – to name but three. I do like the unexpected
moments that erupt out of this set-up, and some of their high-volume
sounds are just spot-on as headache-cleaning solvents or industrial
cleansing agents. They also sent me a CDR, their second release, not yet
heard at time of writing but I’m glad to have it because both of these
existed in tiny editions – 30 copies only – and it’s probably no
surprise for you to learn they are pretty much sold out at the parent
website. However, they also organised a music festival in May this year,
with some substantial players on the roster – which gives one hope for
the future, if they can leap from making very limited pressings to
setting up a three-day art music festival in a capital city in just one
year. Many thanks to Pierce for sending these.
