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Signal - Various Artists | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 SIGNAL, the first CD release by a UK label called Finetuned, compiles a broad spectrum of sound art, phonography and electro-acoustic composition. If I had to generalize, SIGNAL tends to feature pieces that are composed of abstract hums, meandering noises, or incidental digital artifacts devoid of human composition. Glancing through the liner notes, each of the 17 featured artists contributes a statement of sorts, and more often than not it's about how vibrations or radio wave frequencies relate to a specific phenomenon in science. If you want to experience a scientifically proven way to irritate your ears, listen to Mark Wastell's "Tampura". I thought a certain Japanese Onkyo sound artist had a trademark on this technique, however if you have never heard a high harsh digital sine wave oscillator cranked at 10K, give it a shot. A few other sound artists follow suit with minimal approaches to composition using hum tones that either shift or interrupt with noise. Anyone familiar with the non-techno version of microsound or Kim Cascone's essay on the digital aesthetics of failure has probably already experienced this brand of experimentation. Sound Art tracks that fall on my good side include Jonathan Swain's confounding "Tirana Calling", which juxtaposes a loop of wailing ghostlike chants to an absurd synthesized fanfare motif. It's brilliant, and brings a smile to my face. Knut Aufermann is a virtuoso of shortwave radio static and Edric Brown crafts a beautiful IDM piece out of "signal like" themes using cello synth sounds that tug at your heart. There are a few more dissenting approaches on Signal; Ian Helliwell 's track "Sand and Cement" is straight-up digital sound collage akin to French artist Erikm with the sensibility of Christian Marclay. Kings and Queens rock a delightful Neu-inspired krautrock groove titled "Olbers' Paradox" until crickets enter your stereo. If I had to pick my favorite of the bunch, Night Night would win hands down. The liner notes says "...Wing Window vacillates in the space between those outmoded glazed triangles." I have never seen a glazed triangle, but I honestly believe the new sound is "New Age" and somehow Night Night found a beautiful balance between the "tongue in cheek" synth nerd record and tasteful trippy disorienting ambiance. File under Vangelis after a hit of Salvia. Finetuned has kindly placed entire album online to preview here. Review by Derek Morton
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