Dan Abrams: Stream

abr-s.jpg (8k) Dan Abrams: Stream
(Mille Plateaux - 2001)

Stepping out of (but not too far away from) his previous soundvehicle (Shuttle358), Dan Abrams propels a definitely-digitized Stream of sounds through a script-based software synth (even resampling snippets from optimal.lp and frame).

Imagine rarefied impressions of other more-contemporary electronic music forms...

Abrams introduces this disc with a quick little Hello (0:11) in the form of muted pulsations. A stuttering monotone of a microrhythm lies beneath the puffy glow of A Shell, occasionally switching to a more-direct beat. Dotted by motes not unlike the spattering of a vinyl record, Academic blips with hazy bleats, not quite meshing with an additional percussive cycle.

Not as scary as the title may imply, Monsters locks into a repetitious set of patterns, varying slightly as it progresses. Bespeckled with grainy bits, The Theory floats lightly atop gauzey percolations and bass bubbles. An insistent groove is reduced to its subatomic elements, as Bendy pitter-patters and thrums, sometimes popping in and out of phase.

Wispy cymbal-esque cycles and throbbing lows permeate the billowing rays of Duck Beam, though those elements drop out in the final moments. Simply dreamy Freezing wafts along in beatless (except for the semi-regular grit) splendor. Bright and boppy, though out-of-focus, Mr Fish (6:19) swims in lazy circles through an effervescent murk.

The recycling process of 8.9 Stream yields fascinatingly oblique sound material. Some of the tricky mis-matched rhythms make for more-challenging listening, but generally Dan Abrams handles the microsound thing with aplomb (as to be expected). If you missed it, Dan interviewed here in January 2001.

Do yourself a favor and browse Mille Plateaux's intriguing selection of unusual sounds.

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This review posted June 30, 2001

AmbiEntrance © 2001-1997 by David J Opdyke (except CD cover art, rights retained by original owners).