Nine

Autistici & Justin Varis - Nine

Label: Eilean Records

Date: January 2016

Map Point: Eilean 90

Colour: White/Grey

Season: Winter

Format: CD edition limited to 180 copies & DD

Duration: 101.26 mn (50.35 mn + 50.51 mn)

Track listing:

CD 1

  • 01. light blue
  • 02. red grey orange
  • 03. blue (heart of a diver)
  • 04. grey orange red
  • 05. violet green
  • 06. orange red grey
  • 07. amber (sleep test for erik)
  • 08. yellow

CD 2

  • 01. blue light (marcus fischer - version)
  • 02. red grey orange (isnaj dui - remix)
  • 03. blue (christopher hipgrave - remix)
  • 04. grey orange red (monty adkins - auva remix)
  • 05. violet green (pillowdiver - remix)
  • 06. orange red grey (offthesky - remix)
  • 07. amber (letters! on sounds - remix)
  • 08. yellow (wil bolton - remix)

Autistici is David Newman a sound artist based in Sheffield, UK and Justin Varis is a sound artist based in Los Angeles, USA. Both have released music on various labels worldwide, including David’s Audiobulb Records imprint , and some established labels such as 12K, Home Normal, Hibernate or Dronarivm. Their sound is often described as electronic, electro-acoustic, microsound, ambient, musique concrete or experimental.

They present on eilean rec. their first collaborative release, a dense and abstract opus which can be experienced in a lot of ways, feelings and melodies. a wonderful work, which is completed by some remixes from eight music artists close to their universe, including : Christopher Hipgrave, Isnaj Dui, Letters! On Sounds, Marcus Fischer, Monty Adkins, Offthesky, Pillowdiver, Wil Bolton.

 

Credits :

16 tracks, nine colours, countless possibilities. All music written by Autistici & Justin Varis
All remixes by people whose artistry we adore

Cover art by Sam Lock
Inside photography by Mathias van Eecloo design by Rémi Verdier

 

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Merchants of Air

A few months ago, I reviewed an album from Sheffield, UK based ambient act Autistici (read).  I instantly became a fan too, which shouldn't be much of a surprise since I adore ambient music.  If done well, ambient can turn ordinary hours into sonic adventures and improve people's moods.  Recently, I received this cooperation between Autistici and Lost Angeles based sound artist Justin Varis.  It didn't take me long to check it out too.

The album has become a strange collection of soundscapes, noises and drones, a bit too unsettling to be purely ambient but not harsh enough to be a noise album.  That being said, don't get me wrong on the 'unsettling' thing.  It's not meant to be negative, not at all.  But it's not really something for fans of easy digestible ambient music.  This is sound art, odd, surprising and highly experimental.

I'm not sure if it's meant to be, but opener 'Light Blue' somehow reminds me of an avant-garde version of 'Ode An Die Freude'.  There is just something in those soundscapes that sounds quite alike the classical masterpiece.  In a way, that might be an aspect throughout this entire album.  I all sounds quite alike acts like Biosphere, Zoviet France or Boards Of Canada but at the same time it's something completely different.

'Violet Green', for example, could be a modern classical piano tune but it's broken down, rearranged and re-imagined.  It still is a beautiful track, probably one of my favorites on this album too by the way. 'Orange Red Grey' is a bizarre downtempo track. 'Blue (Heart Of A Diver)' is harsher and sharper than the other songs, a definite attention-grabber.   Again, not in a bad way.  The whole simply is an abstract epos for trained ears, something truly out of this world.

The eight songs on disc one reappear as remixes on disc two.  The remixes were made by respected artists like Wil Bolton, Marcus Fisher and Pillowdiver.  Some are recognizable, others are equally abstract but all of them seem a bit more approachable than the originals.  Perhaps that's only because, by now, I'm already used to the strangeness and experimental nature of the whole album. 

In all, 'Nine' is a museum-piece, an ever-changing installation of soundscapes and noises where new things are to be discovered numerous times.  Experimental ambient fans should really check this out because this surely is something right up their alley.  Besides, this is over a hundred minutes of musical exploration, what else could you want on a rainy day like this...

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Music is Good: End of Year Top 10

#7. Autistici and Justin Varis – Nine
David Newman’s recent releases have struck an absorbing balance between experimental exploration of the properties of sound and a melodic presence, and this collaboration with Justin Varis continues in the same rich vein. Remixes by various luminaries of the genre add a further dimension to this charming collection of off-kilter pieces.

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A Closer Listen

It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed a color-based release, the last being Machinefabriek’s Colour Tones.  The new release from Autistici & Justin Varis is just that: an investigation of shades and tones, garnished with a diverse remix disc.  The topical choice is fitting for Eilean Records, whose every disc is given its own color and number, this one being white/gray, 90.

Three colors ~ blue, amber and yellow ~ get their own tracks, while the rest offer unusual combinations (violet green and red gray orange, the latter in three different orders).  Those familiar with synaesthesia are aware that color associations vary from person to person; there’s no consistency to the colors conjured by sound.  This being said, “Light Blue” might easily be interpreted as a winter sky, its light chimes reminiscent of snow, while “Blue (Heart of a Diver)” sounds a bit more like sleet (despite its intimations of oceans).  Marcus Fischer’s reinterpretation of the former sounds darker and more hollow, while Christopher Hipgrave’s remix of the latter sounds lighter and more stratospheric.  It’s amazing what the addition or subtraction of a single tone can do.

“Yellow” doesn’t sound quite yellow, but neither did Coldplay’s song of the same name.  To me the track sounds brown; but when Wil Bolton smooths it out, it sounds like a fallen leaf with yellow veins.  The 17-minute “Amber (Sleep Test for Eric)” arrives on the heels of Max Richter’s magnum opus, and in its original version it inspires somnolence.  But when Letters! On Sounds gets its hands on the masters, the track is shortened by half and turned into a dot tape dot style electronic workout.  We’d love to hear more from this artist, whose timbres may not be typical for Eilean, but are eminently welcome.  Soft electronics pop up again on “Violet Green”, but flipping the script, Pillowdiver turns the track into a soft drone piece.  The tri-colored works are less effective, only because there are so many of them.  Overall, Nine is an effective set, a seamless blend of the talents of these artists.  (Richard Allen)

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Ambient Blog

The work of ‘Autistici’ (Sheffield-based sound artist and also Audiobulb label curator) has regularly appeared on these pages, but Justin Varis (from L.A.) was unknown to me until now – even though he has released Mountains in 2013 and appeared on various collections.

The two have worked together on their new album – Nine – in the familiar collaborational way, sending material back and forth as it developed. The result is an 141 minute double album with eight tracks (not nine), completed by another eight remixes from artists ‘close to their universe’. (Think: Marcus Fischer, Isnaj Dui, Christopher Hipgrave, Monty Adkins, Pillowdiver, Offthesky, Wil Bolton and Letters! on Sounds.)

All tracks are named after different colours. It took a while before I realised that they should best be experienced in a synaesthetic way: the sounds represent the colour characteristics – at least the way the artists experience them. The opening track, Light Blue, evolves around a somewhat harsh synth sound which I did not find particularly pleasant at first. But light blue can be quite a harsh, sharp colour too. Realising this, my listening experience changed. This way, each track has his own different characteristics, some bright, some soft, all built from microscopic details.

Experiencing colours also proves to be a personal experience: the longest track – subtitled Sleep Test for Erik and a perfect track to doze away on – is called Amber; a colour close to yellow and orange and so one not immediately associated with ‘sleep’ (to my eyes, I should add).

The remixers all take a slightly different approach, adding layers of sounds to the basic material, which is like putting the original colours into the perspective of their surrounding landscape. Together, these two cd’s are a truly kaleidoscopic collection!

To conclude, here’s the (usual) sad news: although the release date for Nine is set for January, 16, the physical copies are already marked sold out! But pay attention if you’re interested: the last few copies may soon become available directly from Autistici, from Stashed Goods (UK) or from Experimedia (US). Of course, the digital version will remain available for everybody else.

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Foreign Accents

Here’s one from way back in January that I was particularly excited to see in my inbox: Nine, a new collaboration between the ever-perplexing Autistici (UK-based sound artist David Newman, curator of Audiobulb) and experimental pianist Justin Varis, off Eilean Records, one of my faves.

If one were only aware of Autistici’s wildly imaginative work as a sound designer and not of any of Varis’s releases, one might assume that this might be the sort of collaboration where one person’s job is to be the straight musician, while the other’s is to process and embellish. However, taking into account the highly unusual experimental character of Varis’s EP for Audiobulb, Mountains, it’s clear that this was not the cause. That was more of a microsound album riddled with odd manipulations and ethereal effects than straight neoclassical, and so it isn’t surprising that Nine is two sonic explorers investigating abstract, deeply textural territory. That trek takes down in a bathysphere into the ringing sanctuary of “Blue (Heart of a Diver)” and into the arid spaces of “Orange Red Grey” without missing a beat, in keeping with the slightly rambunctious sensibilities of these two with regard to composition. However, on the epic “Amber (Sleep Test for Eric)” time slows down as layers of minute details accumulate to form the emotive theme.

The release comes with eight remixes that are really more like radical reworkings from some of the brightest in the international microsound community: Pillowdiver, Isnaj Dui, Christopher Hipgrave, Marcus Fischer, Monty Adkins, Offthesky, Letters! On Sounds, and Wil Bolton. Out of all these, Dui’s contribution stands out most, perhaps because her approach so strongly contrasts with Autistici’s.

It’s hard to pin down what keeps me coming back to this collection. It’s impassive but emotive, manic and then meditative– Varis certainly confronted Newman with something more emotionally cohesive than what one would expect from Autistici, and the result is pretty wonderful. If you’re at all interested in modern takes on sound design, this should be among your essential listening for the year.

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Vital Weekly

A work of collaboration between David Newman, who goes by the name Autistici and one Justin Varis, of whom I only remember a remix that he did for Newman (see Vital Weekly 738). I don't think he has many releases to his name. I am not sure what the title means; there are eight collaborative pieces here and eight remixes and they all have names of colours. The cover says '16 tracks, nine colours, countless possibilities'. All right, fair enough. Autistici I know best for manipulating recordings of instruments and field recordings, extracting small bits out of that and creating warm glitchy music with that. In recent times this music shifted more and more to the world of ambient music but on this particular work it seems he goes back a bit more into his own past and creates music that is taking all of these short sounds and he starts looping them around. Maybe it's the influence of Varis? Or perhaps it is what Varis brought to the table. Whatever it is, it sounds actually not bad at all. From what I heard on Eilean Records so far this music with rhythm is something we don't hear a lot. The warmth and the melodic touch are never far away in this music and that is also something we love Autistici for. It is not music that is completely and utterly 'new' by any means, but it is just very well made. Not as quiet at times and that makes it quite enjoyable.

This comes with an extra CDR of eight remixes, one of each original, and all of them by 'people whose artistry we adore'. It may not be that these remixes bring the original into an entirely new sound world; very likely it just fits along what one has just heard. The remixes are created by Marcus Fischer, Isnaj Dui, Christopher Hipgrave, Monty Adkins, Pillowdiver, Offthesky, Letters! On Sounds and Wil Bolton. That's a nice who's who of similar thinking minds of the laptop scene (though I didn't recognize the name Letters! On Sounds), or perhaps I should say analogue processing scene, tape scene, reel-to-reel specialists and what have you. All seven that I heard of before create something that can easily be related to the original - more of the same if you will, but everybody slowing things down a bit more, playing the ambient card more than the original I think. It's that oddly named Letters! On Sounds that makes the difference here. The guitar is mixed up front and soon finds itself in a cut-up version of the recordings, along with the speeding up of other sounds and a bit of rhythm thrown in. Now that makes quite a difference. I wish remixes were more about making a difference and along such lines. But all in all these two CDRs are filled with some great music.

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Beach Sloth

Celestial in nature, Autistici & Justin Varis create a living breathing work with the touching tender tones of “Nine”. Over the course of the album the duo focus on the fragile elements of sound. Pieces build themselves up only for error to make them ever so slightly askew. By opting for this particular scenario the duo goes for the quieter moments in life. Thus, the classical origins of many of these pieces receive light and tasteful glitch effects leading to blurred melodies with unpredictable beautiful moments. With this approach the piece radiate a sense of wonder of the world.

“light blue” sets the mood for the rest of the album. Beginning with hushed noises the song gradually builds up into a light and fluorescent hued drone. From here fragments of melody find their way into the mix. Far more contemplative in its approach is the near silence of “red grey orange”. Hovering about with a sense of joy is the celebratory piece “blue (heart of a diver)”. Playful with its percussive elements is the kaleidoscopic “grey orange red”. Akin to Oval’s mid-90s masterworks is the subtle “violet green”. By far the highlight of the album is the lullaby of “amber (sleep test for erik)”. The tactile touch that permeates the piece gives it a low key feeling. On this piece the duo let a gentle atmosphere emerge as the melodies constantly shift like sunshine in a quiet stream. Closing the album off on a lovely note is the autumnal “yellow”.

Autistici & Justin Varis use a light deft touch on the elegant arrangements of “Nine”.

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Tome To The Weather Machine

On Eilean Records first foray into 2016, the UK/Los Angeles collaborators fall headlong into studious, crystalline electro-acoustic sound sculptures that reside on the bleeding edge between compositional work and sound-art. Both Autistici and Justin Varis build up elongated tones into so much scaffolding, a protruding center in which electronic tailings, organic field-recordings and found sounds circle and add accoutrements to the towering edifice of sound at the composition's tonal center. Some tracks, especially evident on "Grey Orange Red" cling very loosely to compositional elements such as melodic overtones or passages and instead construct loosely-joined edifices of tonal passages that fit together with a painters sense of warmth and hue. Stray bits of piano flutter and fluctuate through magnetic fields of oscillating tones and the pitter-patter of glitched audio fragments anchoring and spiriting away compositions into some permanent-twilight of wilderness-recreating shopping malls and the straw-gold hue of Terrence Malick shooting through a Midwestern wheat field. Like all Eilean Records releases, Nine holds in perfect tension a sense of challenge - an invitation to active listening - and the easily won rewards of hearing so many beautiful sources interacting and assembling together in novel ways.

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Tartine de Contrebassee

Les résolutions de la nouvelle année n’ont jamais été faites pour être respectées. Aussi ai-je tenu deux semaines avant de retomber dans le confortable bouillon musical de la calmitude qu’est l’ambient. Ça vous a manqué, non ? Intéressons-nous en ce début d’année à Eilean Rec. , petit label français sans prétention qui a comme principale caractéristique de vendre toutes ses copies physiques avant même la date de sortie de ses albums. Explorant essentiellement tous les interstices situés entre l’ambient et l’électro-acoustique, la discrète entité a déjà proposé des travaux touchants de la part de gens estimables (Pascal Savy, Masaya Osaki) et estimés (Dag Rosenqvist, Spheruleus, Aaron Martin) ; un bouillon de talents éveillant inlassablement notre curiosité à chaque nouvelle sortie.

Pour inaugurer 2016, Eilean Rec. nous propose une collaboration qui n’était certainement qu’une question de temps avant de voir le jour. D’un côté se trouve Autistici, projet britannique de David Newman dont les sonorités se rapprochent pas mal d’un 12k hypodense plus aérien, sur lequel il a d’ailleurs sorti son premier long format avant de rendre visite à Home Normal ou Hibernate pour ne citer qu’eux ; de l’autre, Justin Varis, dont on ne sait au final que peu de choses. Quelques recherches nous indiquent cependant son rapprochement régulier à Autistici et son label Audiobulb Records, usant de field recordings plus incisifs et proches de leurs origines, mais c’est à peu près tout.

Mise en commun de ces orientations artistiques, Nine est une toile pointilliste en perpétuel mouvement travaillée par les deux compères, dont les différentes pistes qui la composent sont autant de couleurs sur une palette, et dont les infinies possibilités de mélanges sont tous les états par lesquels le tableau est susceptible de passer. Visions d’une journée estivale où l’horizon dégagé nous salue de derrière les vertes collines, où la bise méridionale qui caresse des mers d’épis crée une houle végétale renversant nos repères terrestres, où l’harmonie fluide des formes, des couleurs et des mouvements enivre nos sens et nous porte aux antipodes des morsures que le froid est finalement venu nous porter.

Mais surtout, il y a cette maison perdue à côté du point de fuite vers le soleil. On s’en rapproche si naturellement au cours de l’écoute qu’on réalise à peine qu’on finit par y pénétrer. Tandis que le crépuscule et ses fraîches paresthésies pointent, on suit la lumière d’une fenêtre et les détails commencent à fourmiller ; on discernera dans les derniers morceaux les aboiements du chien de nos grands-parents, on abandonnera les discussions familiales pour refaire tourner cette vieille boîte à musique qui nous rassurait jadis lorsque le sommeil nous abandonnait ponctuellement. L’album semble très bien représenter ces lieux et objets importants de notre vie, à la fois très loin de tout notre étouffant quotidien et au plus près des nécessités de notre cœur. Grey Orange Red ou Amber (Sleep Test for Erik) transpirent de la même candeur et innocence dont on s’abreuve dans les points de repère familiers de notre enfance, la chaleur rassurante de ces souvenirs revivant à travers Violet Green ou Yellow. Mélange d’enregistrements de terrain retenus, nappes ambiantes redondantes et pichenettes micro-tonales, les instants dépeints semblent à première vue immuables, mais les strates multicolores évoluent pourtant à chaque fois qu’on détourne le regard, à l’image des éléments sonores qui glissent sans résistance entre les différents plans de cette fresque aux détails exclusifs à chaque auditeur. L’histoire de répétitions imparfaites qui se détachent de leurs chemins pour suivre leurs propres voies.

C’est pourquoi le second CD de ce double album est moins subsidiaire qu’il n’y paraît, offrant une réinterprétation aux points de vue multiples de Nine. Et quels points de vue : que ce soit les chaleureuses accolades de la flûte de Katie English sous son pseudo Isnaj Dui, la berceuse aux craquements épidermiques de Christopher Hipgrave, la plongée dans l’éther avec Pillowdiver ou un mirage lointain légèrement anxiogène de la part de Offthesky, les habitués reconnaîtront des références du genre qui se sont prêtées au jeu du remix avec brio (à l’exception notable du Letters! On Sounds épileptique). On comprend alors mieux que l’album original n’est pas une œuvre statique, mais une ébauche proposée par David Newman et Justin Varis, comptant sur ses auditeurs pour en réassocier les couleurs et en modifier le cadre grâce à leurs propres expériences, transformant Nine en une esquisse unique pour tout un chacun.

Au-delà de ça, c’est un album qui condense parfaitement ce qu’on attend généralement d’un travail ambient : des contrastes palpables, de la rêverie à la pelle, et un espace suffisant pour y apporter nos propres effets personnels qui vont le contextualiser et le rendre différent des autres. Une bien belle sortie pour les chercheurs d’ailleurs, et encore plus pour ses trouveurs.

Aucune édition physique ne survit plus de quelques jours chez Eilean Rec. , mais c’est pas grave, on est à l’ère du digital ou bien ?


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SWQW

Souvenirs mouvants, couleurs fuyantes et histoires de (non-)répétitions.

Les résolutions de la nouvelle année n'ont jamais été faites pour être respectées. Aussi ai-je tenu deux semaines avant de retomber dans le confortable bouillon musical de la calmitude qu'est l'ambient. Ça vous a manqué, non ? Intéressons-nous en ce début d'année à Eilean Rec. , petit label français sans prétention qui a comme principale caractéristique de vendre toutes ses copies physiques avant même la date de sortie de ses albums. Explorant essentiellement tous les interstices situés entre l'ambient et l'électro-acoustique, la discrète entité a déjà proposé des travaux touchants de la part de gens estimables (Pascal Savy, Masaya Osaki) et estimés (Dag Rosenqvist, Spheruleus, Aaron Martin) ; un bouillon de talents éveillant inlassablement notre curiosité à chaque nouvelle sortie.

Pour inaugurer 2016, Eilean Rec. nous propose une collaboration qui n'était certainement qu'une question de temps avant de voir le jour. D'un côté se trouve Autistici, projet britannique de David Newman dont les sonorités se rapprochent pas mal d'un 12k hypodense plus aérien, sur lequel il a d'ailleurs sorti son premier long format avant de rendre visite à Home Normal ou Hibernate pour ne citer qu'eux ; de l'autre, Justin Varis, dont on ne sait au final que peu de choses. Quelques recherches nous indiquent cependant son rapprochement régulier à Autistici et son label Audiobulb Records, usant de field recordings plus incisifs et proches de leurs origines, mais c'est à peu près tout.

Mise en commun de ces orientations artistiques, Nine est une toile pointilliste en perpétuel mouvement travaillée par les deux compères, dont les différentes pistes qui la composent sont autant de couleurs sur une palette, et dont les infinies possibilités de mélanges sont tous les états par lesquels le tableau est susceptible de passer. Visions d'une journée estivale où l'horizon dégagé nous salue de derrière les vertes collines, où la bise méridionale qui caresse des mers d'épis crée une houle végétale renversant nos repères terrestres, où l'harmonie fluide des formes, des couleurs et des mouvements enivre nos sens et nous porte aux antipodes des morsures que le froid est finalement venu nous porter.

Mais surtout, il y a cette maison perdue à côté du point de fuite vers le soleil. On s'en rapproche si naturellement au cours de l'écoute qu'on réalise à peine qu'on finit par y pénétrer. Tandis que le crépuscule et ses fraîches paresthésies pointent, on suit la lumière d'une fenêtre et les détails commencent à fourmiller ; on discernera dans les derniers morceaux les aboiements du chien de nos grands-parents, on abandonnera les discussions familiales pour refaire tourner cette vieille boîte à musique qui nous rassurait jadis lorsque le sommeil nous abandonnait ponctuellement. L'album semble très bien représenter ces lieux et objets importants de notre vie, à la fois très loin de tout notre étouffant quotidien et au plus près des nécessités de notre cœur. Grey Orange Red ou Amber (Sleep Test for Erik) transpirent de la même candeur et innocence dont on s'abreuve dans les points de repère familiers de notre enfance, la chaleur rassurante de ces souvenirs revivant à travers Violet Green ou Yellow. Mélange d'enregistrements de terrain retenus, nappes ambiantes redondantes et pichenettes micro-tonales, les instants dépeints semblent à première vue immuables, mais les strates multicolores évoluent pourtant à chaque fois qu'on détourne le regard, à l'image des éléments sonores qui glissent sans résistance entre les différents plans de cette fresque aux détails exclusifs à chaque auditeur. L'histoire de répétitions imparfaites qui se détachent de leurs chemins pour suivre leurs propres voies.

C'est pourquoi le second CD de ce double album est moins subsidiaire qu'il n'y paraît, offrant une réinterprétation aux points de vue multiples de Nine. Et quels points de vue : que ce soit les chaleureuses accolades de la flûte de Katie English sous son pseudo Isnaj Dui, la berceuse aux craquements épidermiques de Christopher Hipgrave, la plongée dans l'éther avec Pillowdiver ou un mirage lointain légèrement anxiogène de la part de Offthesky, les habitués reconnaîtront des références du genre qui se sont prêtées au jeu du remix avec brio (à l'exception notable du Letters! On Sounds épileptique). On comprend alors mieux que l'album original n'est pas une œuvre statique, mais une ébauche proposée par David Newman et Justin Varis, comptant sur ses auditeurs pour en réassocier les couleurs et en modifier le cadre grâce à leurs propres expériences, transformant Nine en une esquisse unique pour tout un chacun.

Au-delà de ça, c'est un album qui condense parfaitement ce qu'on attend généralement d'un travail ambient : des contrastes palpables, de la rêverie à la pelle, et un espace suffisant pour y apporter nos propres effets personnels qui vont le contextualiser et le rendre différent des autres. Une bien belle sortie pour les chercheurs d'ailleurs, et encore plus pour ses trouveurs.

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So What

Un intento sinestetico è la premessa che informa il punto 90 sulla sempre più affascinante mappa che sta modellando la francese Eilean, nuova coordinata che inaugura le attività del 2016 della label e di cui sono autori l’inglese David Newman aka Autistici e l’americano Justin Varis. Realizzato attraverso la formula  dello scambio a distanza del reciproco materiale, “Nine” concretizza una collaborazione avviata attraverso le attività della Audiobulb, label gestita da Newman che ha pubblicato alcuni dei lavori di Varis.

Nel disco i due sound artist danno forma sonora a singoli colori o loro sequenze attraverso variegate soluzioni di flussi ambientali, che tentano di definire uno spazio emozionale legato alle tonalità scelte. Si parte dai freddi riverberi di “Light blue” che man mano si fanno largo a partire da uno sfondo di quieti droni e si passa al breve e scarno intermezzo della prima configurazione del trittico “Red grey orange”, che attraverso le pulsazioni ritmiche che definiscono e caratterizzano le schegge luminose delle ulteriori due tracce (“Grey orange red” e “Orange grey red”) si pone come esempio di come la sequenza non sia una mera sommatoria, ma definisca delle tattili gerarchie. “Blue (Heart of a diver)” ripropone il tema iniziale che però qui, attraverso il movimento di dense fluttuazioni fuse con stratificazioni sintetiche, assume una profondità e una capacità avvolgente differente. La seguente “Violet green” smorza la componente sperimentale e si avvicina alle sonorità elettro-acustiche più affini a Varis, introducendo abbozzi di melodia pianistica che sembra non voler mai giungere a compimento e che rimanda alle atmosfere del suo ep “Mountains”.  Il calore che ne emana  infonde anche l’ipnotica e luminosa “Amber (Sleep test for Erik)” e la conclusiva “Yellow” in cui torna protagonista il grave suono del piano.

Il secondo disco che compone l’album propone la rielaborazione delle otto tracce di “Nine” curata da altrettanti musicisti affini alla cifra stilistica dei due autori (come da loro stessi dichiarato). Il risultato che ne scaturisce tende a tratti ad enfatizzare la componente principale delle composizioni originarie (come nel caso di Christopher Hipgrave e Pillowdiver), ma più spesso cerca una configurazione differente (Isnaj Duj, Offthesky, Wil Bolton)  che sottolinea quanto possa essere personale la percezione cromatica e la relativa immagine risultante.

È una tavolozza ricca e affascinante quella risultante dalle due parti di cui “Nine” si compone, un universo cangiante che ancora una volta dimostra quanto i suoni possano efficacemente costruire un vivido immaginario visivo.

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Music Won't Save You

Un arcobaleno di colori e sfumature, trasfigurato in suono dalla tavolozza di due artisti adusi alle miniature elettro-acustiche, per la prima volta impegnati in un’esperienza collaborativa. Queste, in estrema sintesi, le premesse di “Nine”, lavoro che David Newman, alias Autistici, e Justin Varis hanno dedicato, appunto, a nove colori, condensati in un itinerario di otto tracce nelle quali convivono con naturalezza frammenti acustici e saturazioni sintetiche, plasmate in una gamma di frequenze ampia proprio come quella della luce che dà luogo ai colori.

Benché non sembri sussistere sempre una diretta relazione tra i colori rappresentati nei titoli dei brani e il loro contenuto sonoro, non possono non cogliersi le graduali variazioni di intensità che si susseguono lungo i cinquanta minuti di “Nine”. Dalle pulsazioni di cobalto dell’apertura “Light Blue” alle persistenze luminose di “Blue (Heart of A Diver)”, dagli sciabordii e dalle pulsazioni ritmiche di “Grey Orange Red” alla sparsa, silente “Orange Red Grey”, simbolica dimostrazione di come la semplice diversa combinazione dei medesimi elementi possa produrre risultati tra loro molto distanti.

Allo stesso le miniature elettro-acustiche frutto della collaborazione a distanza tra Newman e Varis variano per durata e struttura, palesando in maniera più evidente l’approccio destrutturato dell’artista inglese e quello più organico dell’americano. Lo si percepisce nettamente nell’ovattata quiete ricamata da microsuoni di “Violet Green” e tra le profonde risonanze pianistiche della breve conclusione “Yellow”, così come lungo gli oltre diciassette minuti di “Amber (Sleep Test For Erik)”, ninnananna elettro-acustica che si snoda attraverso variazioni di frequenze finissime, funzionali a un’ambience ipnotica, come un caleidoscopio dai movimenti impercettibili.

“Nine” è completato da un secondo cd contenente l’integrale rimaneggiamento dei suoi brani, da parte di una platea di artisti di tutto riguardo, che si sono alternamente concentrati sugli aspetti più delicati e acustici (Isnaj Dui, Wil Bolton e Christopher Hipgrave) ovvero su quelli più cerebrali e destrutturati (Monty Adkins, offthesky) degli originali, spesso stravolgendoli negli elementi e nelle durate, in modo da ricavarne una morbida ambience armonica ovvero screziature elettro-acustiche surreali. È l’ideale complemento alla ricchezza di spunti del lavoro e alla certosina opera di giustapposizione espressionista dei suoni in esse realizzata da due veri e propri artigiani elettro-acustici, che in “Nine” hanno dimostrato sensibilità pienamente complementari.

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