plasmalamp
_void travelling_ cd
worm interface, u.k. - wi018
01. psi clones
02. void traveller
03. alpha
04. slowly
05. lenticular clouds
06. altered bios
07. tak
08. scrambled messages
no matter how outsider-like their albums appear to be, worm interface
likes you to like them. this is reflected well enough in their recent
releases by jake mandell, solar x & more recently baraki. the sounds
are almost obligatory soothing & comforting; solar x even manages to
render a merzbow-like screech ear-friendly in his song 'supertechno'.
but whereas all of these releases seemed to veer into a form or another
of eclecticism, touching different sounds to prove their point,
plasmalamp's first full-lengther for worm interface, _void travelling_,
instead focuses on a closed set of sounds: the world of bleeps &
old-style beatboxes. & indeed, on a first listen, it does become a
wonder whether paul verna, the human personae behind plasmalamp, has
even bothered with structure at all. sure enough, the opener, 'psi
clones', is contained fairly well within a five-minute frame, but as
soon as you get into the second track, 'void traveller', the premise of
the music becomes clear - or perhaps more nebulous, depending where you
stand from -: sounds themselves are what deserves your attention.
you'll have to wait for five minutes into this song before an actual
melody begins - & it doesn't even last that long!
is it ambient then? the answer would be obvious if it weren't of the
darned beats - usually breakbeats in one form or another, as verna
doesn't seem very concerned with the detroit-by-berlin thump. but the
thing is, they're not everywhere, & although this album overall has a
definite ambient _purpose_, the bleeps - & hell, _every_ sound on this
album - pop in like as many little bursts, or sprinkles, begging you to
take notice &, more especially, enjoy. song structure on this album
being so loose & blurry, & the songs themselves developing so slowly,
the bleeps are pretty much all you'll have a hold onto apart from a few
exceptions, such as 'alpha' - which somehow recalls disjecta circa
_clean pit & lid_ - & 'altered bios'. this recording is to be
appreciated for its detail & its complex, albeit somewhat obscure,
musical narrative, with each successive listen bringing something new to
like about it. it may sound outside trends, compared to aforementioned
solar x's afx-infused drill n bass & jake mandell's cutting-edge
beatstry, but that's partly what makes it so throughly enjoyable. it is
hard to even pinpoint actual influences, although an _incunabula_-like
sound can be found here & there, though used in a fairly different way
as the autechre classic. & maybe this is ambient, but if so, it
functions on two modes: you can either revel into the beauty of its
numerous bleeps, or you can use its soothing qualities to make you fall
asleep. or both. take a pick.
--
david