REVIEWS reviews...... sounds...... pictures...... words...... links...... info Ujamaa's Ambient Experience 9/98 (e-zine) http://www.susqu.edu/students/p/prindle/ eM/Greater Than Zero, Less Than One The Foundry FOU05 (USA), 1998 &laqno;&laqno;&laqno; Exploring the mysterious world of electromagnetic radiation, eM returns with its second album, Greater Than Zero, Less Than One. The first album from The Foundry label to be packaged in a standard jewel box, this is the most abstract, experimental product yet created by the Berkeley artistic collective. Greater Than Zero, Less Than One is built around the theme of the nuances of the digital world. As the liner notes put it, "Digital snow is falling, melts into satellite systems, CRT screens and automated teller machines. We swim in an ocean of zeros and ones." True to its title, the album is bracketed by the silent opening track, "Zero," and the sustained tone of "One." In between, we find a multitude of strange sounds, all processed from raw data collected from a variety of electromagnetic sources. There are many tracks of chaotic digital noise, as well as a few in which the sounds are arranged into quirky rhythms. "Hollow" and "Chasm" stand out for their subtle, nuanced drones which set them apart from the somewhat abrasive abstraction of the other tracks. Greater Than Zero, Less Than One is not for everyone, and many listeners will lose patience with it. As with every true experiment, there are some successes and some failures. While some tracks feel jerky and unfocused, others present the listener with beauty and excellence.