Distant Animals
Lines
SWITZERLAND Hallow
Ground HG1804 LP
(2018)
New work from the UK-based composer Daniel Alexander
Hignell. There is a previous
collaborative album, Bambi with Hákarl
under his own name on dsic’s LF Records from 2012, where the drones and distant,
distressed vocals were underscored with reverberation and ghostly drum
machines; Hignell’s machinations more understated, existing as an environment
for Hákarl’s violin to manoeuvre within.
As good as Bambi is, a lot of
time separates these two releases, and Lines
should be seen for what it is perhaps intended to represent; a starting point
of Hignell’s art practice proper. It
takes the form of two pieces of music, each around 17 minutes in duration. The press release suggests the influence of La
Monte Young, Morton Feldman, Eleh, and Mauricio Kagel in Hignell’s work. It goes on to describe the work thus: “Inspired
by a 130 page text-score, and performed upon a modular synthesizer, the work
explores participatory approaches to performance, utilising text that leads its
performer to undertake emergent and evolutionary changes in timbre and rhythm
over extended time periods.” There is
also reference to other aspects of Hignell’s activities;
performance/participatory works in particular; in a nutshell – regarding this
work specifically - I’d say where side A is about the drone, side B concerns
itself with analysis and deconstruction of noise musics.
Side A is A Pure Drone. Like a cloud of a thousand passenger jets
flying overhead simultaneously. Hignell
employs a dense overlaying of sounds to form the drone; quite unlike Eleh’s
more recent, singular investigations into the sonic possibilities of electrical
currents. The opening and closing of
potentiometers and the fine adjustment of rotary controls becoming more and
less raucous over time. Heavy. Ideal for kicking off your mid-week
psychological excursions.
Side B is
named Lines Made By Walking. Drone plus abrasion? Subsonic and multi-layered. A more “composerly” dynamic. But lighter than A Pure Drone, somehow. More of
a “composition” in the layman’s eyes, perhaps.
The greater variance of sounds; a wider palette, although not that much
wider – we’re still barely out of monochrome and considering a trip to L. Cornellissen. Pitch elements emerge from the fog,
reminiscent (to me) of Kaleidophon:’s late 90’s White Dwarf. There’s immense
power here. The breakdown into ambient
hum halfway creates the perfect environment for the loud, bell-like shards of
crystal that announce the maelstrom of the second half of the piece. Even here, buried just behind each façade are
unexpected references; techno/rave at 10:20, albeit very briefly; the tone
generators of Wendy Carlos a minute later…
Sometimes,
it seems to me that we are running back towards obsolescence as fast as we can
with our arms open wide ready to desperately embrace aging machinery and
formats; analogue synths, reel-to-reel and cassette tape, for example. But we are optimistically wanting to wring the
last, untapped crumbs of beauty out of them before it’s all over for good. For me, Lines
is an exemplary example of this.
Recommended.
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