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Lilith: Field Notes (World Domination - 1998) Ahh... the unbelievable, morphogenic soundscapes which can be achieved when dedicated individualists ply the art of sonic mutations through homemade synthesizers, granular synthesis and manipulated field recordings of the Danube River, which is, of course, exactly what Lilith has done in the hour-long one-track ear-trek known as Field Notes, which was derived from excerpts of five live performances around the world then remixed into one not-exactly-unified-yet-strangely-whole whole, making for challenging, yet undeniably compelling, listening... |
| The one track of Field Notes may seem like a bit of a run-on sentence to the impatient ear, but for immersive listening, it really does the trick. Occasionally, more-or-less recognizable instruments (bells, electronics, strings, percussion) emerge from the ever-unfolding tapestry of sound, but generally the noise is alien, yet somehow familiar, often seeming to be in a rather sci-fi/Twilight Zone mode, which lends itself especially to ambient listening, though that is not its intention. To quote from their website, "Named after Earth's unlikely but hypothesized second moon, Lilith forges the genre we call "Anti-Ambience." By this, we mean to suggest that the listener cannot treat the music as "background" ambience; but must
rather actively create the experience of listening. We promise to offer
sounds that are both familiar and alien; playful and sinister. In
return, we ask that you LISTEN."
Even if you try to listen in a strictly ambient fashion, (though the noise levels are generally low enough, and arrangements are fairly uncluttered, sometimes even sparse) occasional noises will be so unusual as to turn your head in a "What the hell was that!?" reaction. Admittedly, it took several wanderings through Lilith's everchanging labyrinth, before I started to feel at home there. The continual influx of unknowable sounds from Gibbons' self-made synths and relentless alteration of source materials will prove too much for listeners who are customarily spoon-fed smooth, sweet dollops of musicality. But those interested in a bit of unpredictability will find a continuous feast of intriguing sonic wonders.
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| I recommend a visit to the comprehensively info-packed Lilith homepage, where one can get a peek at the exploratory sound artist/merry prankster Scott Gibbons, which helps one's understanding of the mind behind the processes behind the sounds of Field Notes. For truly experimental constructions blending artistic obsession with a sense of fun, I offer up a 7.7. |  |