Monday, December 04, 2006
paradigm9
the second package sent to me from magnanimous records' curt seiss contains two cds of his paradigm9 project. that group, which also has dani seiss and james pilato, seems to be primarily rooted in soundtracking the arts. so far they've crafted original sounds for theater, film, dance and other art projects. when you're making music around other people's visions there's bound to be some variety, and that's no exception here. along with the first package that curt sent he included a paradigm9 7" entitled flaming guns of the purple sage which was a terrific set of rousing, futuristic, spaghetti western cuts, for a film of the same name. the following two cds are a whole lot different, not just from that release, but from themselves as well. it's nice not knowing what to expect from one of paradigm9's releases.
the halo effect 3" cd
[2003, magnanimous]
the film the halo effect, i can only imagine from the name and the accompanying music, has to be science-based. it's too intelligent sounding to be anything else. this mini-cd is one twenty-two minute long track with a great field recording/drone/atmospheric guitar dynamic going one. the main layer is an at night field recording, with the obligatory chirp of crickets, amongst other nature sounds. add to that a nice, spacey, droning guitar and, fairly buried, brass instrumentation. that instrument sounds like a horn, but i suck at guessing instruments, i'm pretty certain that it's made out of brass, though. anyway, the (alleged) horn makes its appearance periodically, and when it does come it provides an interesting twist, giving off a warm, old timey feel, that contrasts with the sterner tones from the guitar. it's an exceptional addition. at around the eight minute mark, just when you begin to think that this song lacked direction and was strictly atmospherics, paradigm9 begin tidying up a bit. amongst the drone and field recording a pattern slowly emerges, and when it finally exposes itself (around eleven and a half minutes) you just smile, nod and listen along in appreciation.
on both flaming guns and the halo effect, i'd have to say that paradigm9 have shown an acute knack for properly conveying mood. they find their main theme and do a terrific job of fully realizing it so that even without being aware of what their inspiration was, you still get a feel for where they were coming from. for a group who, for the most part, base their livelihood off of scoring others' art, you can't ask for anything more.
The Halo Effect Excerpt (from 5:25 to 10:01)
the music to "animus"
[2006, self-released]
well then, perhaps i misspoke. while the two previous albums had more of a continual theme to them, this is the one that had to be all over the place. looking up the definition to animus on dictionary.com i find that it could either mean animosity or intention. that was no help. the music isn't very angry, so i'll rule out animosity. that leaves intention. works for me, but i can't even begin to fathom what kind of short film lars wilgren (aka missionslang or half of the duo, polyphasic) has on his hands. the music on animus ranges from being a bit more accessible in sound to experimental, ambient and sparse guitar pieces. i'd have to say that my favorite tracks on here are the more experimental ones, the fourth piece sticks out in particular. there's some distorted vocals sparingly used in the right and left speakers, various electronic sounds and a repetitious guitar part. it's both experimental and pleasingly memorable. the sixth track is my pick for the other highlight. that one's a minimal and haunting string-based number with a great use of both channels, as well as effects, which are subtle and used masterfully. for the remainder of the disc, which is only twenty-six minutes or so for eleven tracks, there's a few darker ambient pieces, and then the forays into a more accessible field. those tracks have more of a band vibe, propelled largely by the drumming, there's also guitar (sometimes acoustic, sometimes a bit more spacey), as well as some sirenesque vocals which are there moreso for the sounds they make, as there's no lyrics. the more traditional band songs aren't my favorites, but not having this film to accompany the music seems like a bit of a handicap since i have no real clue as to why something sounds like it sounds, and it's possible that the songs i take as not being as good as other ones, fit in perfectly to lars' creative vision
the copy of the music to animus that i have is an advanced one that isn't available yet, but the cd should be released next month, most likely on magnanimous.
Untitled Track 6
the halo effect 3" cd
[2003, magnanimous]
the film the halo effect, i can only imagine from the name and the accompanying music, has to be science-based. it's too intelligent sounding to be anything else. this mini-cd is one twenty-two minute long track with a great field recording/drone/atmospheric guitar dynamic going one. the main layer is an at night field recording, with the obligatory chirp of crickets, amongst other nature sounds. add to that a nice, spacey, droning guitar and, fairly buried, brass instrumentation. that instrument sounds like a horn, but i suck at guessing instruments, i'm pretty certain that it's made out of brass, though. anyway, the (alleged) horn makes its appearance periodically, and when it does come it provides an interesting twist, giving off a warm, old timey feel, that contrasts with the sterner tones from the guitar. it's an exceptional addition. at around the eight minute mark, just when you begin to think that this song lacked direction and was strictly atmospherics, paradigm9 begin tidying up a bit. amongst the drone and field recording a pattern slowly emerges, and when it finally exposes itself (around eleven and a half minutes) you just smile, nod and listen along in appreciation.
on both flaming guns and the halo effect, i'd have to say that paradigm9 have shown an acute knack for properly conveying mood. they find their main theme and do a terrific job of fully realizing it so that even without being aware of what their inspiration was, you still get a feel for where they were coming from. for a group who, for the most part, base their livelihood off of scoring others' art, you can't ask for anything more.
The Halo Effect Excerpt (from 5:25 to 10:01)
the music to "animus"
[2006, self-released]
well then, perhaps i misspoke. while the two previous albums had more of a continual theme to them, this is the one that had to be all over the place. looking up the definition to animus on dictionary.com i find that it could either mean animosity or intention. that was no help. the music isn't very angry, so i'll rule out animosity. that leaves intention. works for me, but i can't even begin to fathom what kind of short film lars wilgren (aka missionslang or half of the duo, polyphasic) has on his hands. the music on animus ranges from being a bit more accessible in sound to experimental, ambient and sparse guitar pieces. i'd have to say that my favorite tracks on here are the more experimental ones, the fourth piece sticks out in particular. there's some distorted vocals sparingly used in the right and left speakers, various electronic sounds and a repetitious guitar part. it's both experimental and pleasingly memorable. the sixth track is my pick for the other highlight. that one's a minimal and haunting string-based number with a great use of both channels, as well as effects, which are subtle and used masterfully. for the remainder of the disc, which is only twenty-six minutes or so for eleven tracks, there's a few darker ambient pieces, and then the forays into a more accessible field. those tracks have more of a band vibe, propelled largely by the drumming, there's also guitar (sometimes acoustic, sometimes a bit more spacey), as well as some sirenesque vocals which are there moreso for the sounds they make, as there's no lyrics. the more traditional band songs aren't my favorites, but not having this film to accompany the music seems like a bit of a handicap since i have no real clue as to why something sounds like it sounds, and it's possible that the songs i take as not being as good as other ones, fit in perfectly to lars' creative vision
the copy of the music to animus that i have is an advanced one that isn't available yet, but the cd should be released next month, most likely on magnanimous.
Untitled Track 6
