The newly started label Filament Recordings is the brain-child of the artist Lum. The first release is the compilation “Cepheid Variable” and for those, like me who didn’t know: Cepheid variables are a class of pulsating star used as “milepost markers” to calculate the distance to nearby galaxies! Lum has previously released an EP on ClickClickDrone and contributed to compilations on the same label as well as on October Man Recordings. “Cepheid Variable” features 15 tracks by as many artists and a majority of the productions adhere to the bold statement made by Filament: “…focusing on Electronic music leaning towards a more innovative/ experimental/ unconventional sound…” Starting from the top: Poborsk’s “Tunha” has Indian inspired sounds, relies on a loop, is indeed quite aquatic sounding and short, an intro of sorts. C-mu’s “Granular Fragment 2” is a frantic sound exploration of various Asian sounding and very high-pitched sonic elements, close to being completely devoid of structure, and being just that, a fragment. Cheju of Boltfish fame delivers a stunning downtempo and minimal affair and once again demonstrates his acute sense for constructing melodies. I think it’s safe to say that you rarely hear this kind of minimalism from Cheju. Jaolz’ contribution is called “Out of my System” which is a funny title. In this piece Jaolz goes for static, bundles of it and fused with a mumbling voice-over creates a claustrophobic unnerving feeling. Ceckj’s “Clashtoy Improvisation #3” is reminiscent of the previous track in the sense that it creates an unnerving feeling. However, the tempo is fiercer and the sonic elements numerous as opposed to being minimal. The label boss himself, Lum – delivers “Crane” a rhythmically strong track containing some rather clever reversed sound engineering. Karmøy of Boltfish fame in their turn opts for the beats, which by the way is always appreciated, thus creating a fantastic track with amplitude of atmosphere and vast volumes of space. In the end the song grinds to a halt and echoes out into infinity. Karmøy’s production experience cannot be denied. Auxerre’s “Broken” is precisely that and features instrumentation sounding as if the originate from the Asian realm. Autistici’s “Leden Jar” has some definate cinematic qualities and is beatless and collage-like in its composition. October Man of October Man fame contributes “Same Information” retaining the acoustic trademarks and yet in a harsher more disjoint sonic package than on the previous releases. In Ozke’s “Piste_8” glitches and feedback sounds create a non-aggressive yet menacing atmosphere – maybe the audio recording of a sound engineer’s nightmare. Zainetica of Rednetic fame treats us with dark and sinister deconstructed dub-influenced “Mothership London” outstanding work as usual. Room’s “Hurry Home” features ground failure sounds for base and has a very precise sounding production, it’s ultra crisp and the title carries a well-known request… Ending the compilation is Luca Confusione’s “Praying not Dreaming not Believing” a heavily treated vocal samples in a sonic onslaught quite disturbing actually. Like riding the train to a place you don’t want to visit in company with rather abusive passengers. The musical width of this compilation is broad and yet with 15 different artists and 15 different tracks there’s a red line or common treats shared by many of them.
electronic desert ≡ revisited + extended