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 | Ferrella/Schaefer:Effigy (Earthboys - 1998) Ambient/experimental do-it-yourselfers Thomas Ferrella, Kevin Schaefer and friends have gathered their instruments for a little free-form improvisation, recording their explorations live to a two-track recorder. As a result, they've created a collection of unpredicatable, shape-shifting mutations. |
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Silence becomes Porte Des Morts, where a pulsing electronic backdrop is dappled with odd beats, bubbly outbursts and shimmery waves of synth. A variety of other accents work their way into the piece... metallic pattering, odd samples, electronic pulses... all to an alienating effect. Eerie flutes sound like mournful loons crying across the synth-drone flatland of Aztalan. With only some additional, intermittent percussion entering the scene, the track is sparse (and at 7:55, the disc's shortest).
A quiet, metallic blur opens Drumlin which seems to percolate in a fog. In this airy, yet claustrophobic zone strange bits of sound and music are heard... flute cries, assorted thumps and a continual two-note bass pattern. The simmering hush is eventually broken by symphonic blares of brass, which lead to jazzily wandering sax and piano in the mist.Driftless seems to submerge us into a deeper murk... oppressive, possibly sinister atmospheres engulf. I rather enjoy it! Darkened subharmonics swelter and are sprinkled with random metal clatters, distorted bell sounds and what sounds like metal shavings being poured. The dark waves roll and lighter swells of flute seem to offer some hope. Droning strings lead into the Tension Zone, another murky, softly haunted place. Sporadic, muted beats and deep buzzes are intermingled with echoey, detuned keyboard tinklings. Spooky gives way to scary, as the sounds intensify and retreat Schenk's Corners (12:55) seems more populated, by virtue of the distorted voice samples here. Honking horn sounds, elastic piano chords and an electrically oscillating backdrop are only parts of this varied arrangement. Warped samples, noisy bursts and whispery winds are also woven into this crazy quilt of sound. Things quieten toward the track's end, with sporadic tribal beats and windchime tinkles. Growing out of nothingness, Little Blue Stem ventures into more "symphonic" realms, with standard orchestral elements mixing within another quiet haze. A weird wirey sound dominates for some time then drops back before piano, brass, cymbals and xylophone sounds do their thing. To be sure these "arrangements" are unordinary. |
| These decidedly different worlds offer a distorted reflection of an already twisted place. If you're looking to meander through experimental, unusual and unpredictable soundscapes, Ferrella/Schaefer can take you there with Effigy. |  |
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