|
|
news - what's the latest?
|
from Exposé Magazine
written by Phil Derby
Mollusk - Accretions
(The Foundry fou.14, CD, 2001)
The Mollusk project, as he calls it, is the brainchild of Malcolm Bly, being born of experimentation with digital online audio. It is sampled sounds and field recordings constructed entirely within the digital domain. Though the end result is abstract, there is a surprising depth and warmth to some of the pieces. "Argonautica: Three " has a churning undercurrent, blending with delicate drones, at times sounding like the quiet chattering of sea creatures. "Barnacle: Archipelago" is pure drifting ambience, reminding me some of Vidna Obmana's more textural works, but only as a starting reference point, having the same mood as the general body of Vidna's work, but not conjuring up images of any particular piece of his. "Evolution of the Snail's Brain" is divided into six distinct parts. The first part is an assortment of swirling noises and pulses, something one might expect from constructed digital abstractness. On part two, after a stretch of near silence, a sound ratchets slowly upward. You can visualize the knob being turned as the sound moves. This six-part centerpiece of the album is more disjointed and experimental than the rest. After the somewhat dark but soothing initial tracks, it's quite a change of pace, but a deliberate one. "Hadal" and "Barnacle: Island" are haunting, intense dark drones, very good stuff. The last track ends things back in experimental mode. Accretions is something for the sonically adventurous.
2001 (c) Phil Derby / Exposé Magazine