pop_andp31

"The four parts of this tempestuous nocturnal journey, take us
through rain soaked labyrinthine streets and alleyways of a
shadowy metropolis reminiscent of the film "Blade Runner" or a
much smaller and strange decrepit world like one conjured up by
the Brothers Quay. Either way, the work definitely sounds
as if we were listening to this particular world from a very small
perspective like that of a fly or a moth. The fourth part of this work
ends in such a way that doesn't provide a sense of completion, but
leaves the listener wanting the journey to continue. Who knows?
Maybe it will with a sequal?
We shall see." (DL - and/OAR)

Most of Jonathan Benham's sound sources were digitally
recorded, but in a few instances analog tape was used. He
employs a variety of recording techniques and utilizes standard
microphones, his own custom built contact microphones, as well
as a device he made to capture the otherwise unheard
electromagnetic frequencies which are ever present in our
environment. Often, he effects and alters sound produced within a
physical environment during the recording process by funneling it
through different devices he has designed and built. Jonathan
creates experimental musical instruments and other sound
generating devices that are often used in his recordings. Some of
the sound sources in this latest collaboration with Christopher
McFall feature a number of these devices as they directly interact
with wind, rain and sleet in their natural environments.

Christopher McFall is a sound artist working out of Kansas City,
USA. His primary methods of working involve the use of
computer-based programming techniques, which are applied to
art of processing sounds from treated analog field recordings and
then re-combining them in a multitrack format. The main motivation
behind Christopher's workings revolve around the desire to
manipulate/engineer recorded aspects of the macroscopic world
around him into composite sound-based musical compositions.
Christopher McFall has released work previously online with
Con-v, Filament Recordings, Laboratoire Moderne, Alg-a and
Testube. His CD debut 'Four Feels for Fire' was released on
Entr'acte in the fall of 2007.

VITAL WEEKLY (MARCH 2008)
Last year Christopher McFall made his debut in Vital Weekly
through his nice, but not entirely original CD for Entr'acte (see Vital
Weekly 599) and here returns with a collaboration with one
Jonathan Benham. He provided McFall with some of the sounds
used on this recording, which deal with field recordings, including
electro-magnetic frequencies - the sort of hard to hear sounds
from anything that works on electricity. Sometimes he manipulates
the sounds while recording them. McFall processes these sounds
no longer in real time, but works on them through the use of the
computer. Layered, changed, combining, re-mixing that is the sort
of work he employs. The four pieces here, spanning about thirty
minutes, are quite nice. Even when not entirely original in the world
of microsound/glitch/field recordings, there is a good sense of
tension in these recordings. McFall uses a bit more reverb (or
perhaps added by Benham already) to give a creepy undercurrent
to the material at hand. It could be the soundtrack to a scary movie
dealing with metallic monsters rising from the earth and coming to
live in a rusty scenery. Very nicely executed, can't wait to see things
moving here. (Frans De Waard)

EARLABS (MARCH 2008)
The cover art (downloadable PDF booklet based on a beautiful
intaglio print by Jonathan Benham) for For Wings That Seldom
Sleep is definitely suggestive as it depicts the scaled,
membranous wings of cicada in various orientations against a
grainy background of soft hues. Recognized for their greatly
amplified late afternoon and early evening "singing", these natural
noisemakers serve as an appropriate aural metaphor of the sonic
flavor on this album and bring a soupcon of pathos it.

For Wings That Seldom Sleep contains four compositions ranging
in length from just over five minutes to almost eleven minutes
delivering just about thirty-three minutes of compelling listening. In
this joint effort, Jonathan supplied the recordings and Christopher
did the post -recording consisting of selecting, assembling, and
editing/processing this material into the present work. Source
sounds were recorded on a digital recorder using various
microphones and, in some instances, old analogue tape
recordings going back to the 1980's were used. Christopher was
very selective in the sound segments that he used and the
processing and effects used were minimal. One conventional
technique common to classical music used in composing these
pieces was that of repetition/reiteration. For example, at the very
beginning of For Wings That Seldom Sleep 1 you'll hear traffic
sounds (contact microphone recording of a bridge which I was
beneath it). That same "sound image" (as Jonathan refers to it) is
used several time within the composition and you'll hear it again
towards the conclusion. It's this technique coupled with others that
help tie together incongruent parts and unify the individual
movements.

Although the individual segments share mutual source sounds
and similar production/design, each composition has distinct
nuances that allows it to stand on its own allowing for four different
sound stories revolving around a common theme. It might be the
agitated, cacophonous gristle of layered noises on For Wings That
Seldom Sleep 1 or the dense, steadily building tempest of sound
on For Wings That Seldom Sleep 2 that dissolves into a hazy
blanket of effervescence. It could be the initial segment of deep
percussive resonations and moans on For Wings That Seldom
Sleep 3 or the brief interlude of watery sounding echoes and
metallic noise on For Wings That Seldom Sleep 4.

The strongest feature of For Wings That Seldom Sleep is revealed
in Christopher's now well-known proclivity for taking indigenous
field recordings and processing them into new amalgamations of
music and how this is combined with Jonathan's expertise at
collecting sounds and editing/flavoring them with his own custom
built devices. The end result is a very convincing album of
modern-day, digitally processed Musique Concrète merging the
skills of two contemporary sound artists. Taken as a whole, I'll
describe the general ambiance of the album as "weathered" and
"urbanized". Urban-based field recordings and manufactured
sounds are combined with recordings of various weather
phenomenon (rain, sleet, ice, snow, wind) and collected
electromagnetic frequencies. The sounds are then either
processed by means of various audio editing software or through
direct interaction with Jonathan's experimental sound
manufacturing instruments.

An excellent digital MP3 release from and/OAR and a top-notch
collaboration between two collectors and sculptor's of sound
whose hearts are clearly in their work. A not-to-miss album for
anyone who enjoys experimental sound art. (Larry Johnson)