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Fractured (and otherwise mutated) syllables are tossed into a shimmering stew of Guy Mayor's "AGSong" then propped up with perky beats.
The decidedly documentarian feel of 11.5-minute-long "King of Buffalo" by Mark Stevens Brook is reinforced by many interviewer/interviewee spoken passages which are comingled with crystalline abstractions, buzzing loops and moodily esoteric atmospheres. Straighforward commentary is interspersed with episodes of radical manipulations. A certain drippiness permeates much of One Drop which "Helge Krabye" steers through a sometimes-tuneful/sometimes-amorphous evolution.
With ominous clatter, Ray Brunelle's brief "PnoMSdemo" sounds like the innards of a piano coming unsprung.
Rhythmic-yet-ephemeral, "bluz4rb" is the sound of Len Sasso plumbing micro-tribal regions. "Dr. Metagroove" erupts into a soft-but-virulent chaos of crazily sweltering sound molecules; beneath those flurrious activities, Roger Dean eventually injects a bit of more-musical funkiness.
The loungey elements of piano, bongo and cymbals are awhirl in the shattered chimes of
"soundasSympathy" (0:35), also by Dean.
Todd Barton surrounds his "Forbidden Palace" with drones and clangs from whch brassy fluctuations and synth-like streams emanate. Bleating horns and beating drums paint exotic soundscapes in Glen Bledsoe's "Herakleion".
U&I Software's own
Edward Spiegel presents two parts of his "Noise Symphony"; the gaseous Overture precedes the mutedly more-active First Movement, where cascading timpani rumble amid a light industrial haze, followed by subtle woodwind strata. In "Ray Join" (11:42), a slowly stirring ambient murk reveals piano chords, frog croaks, random crowd chatter and other less-identifiable bits. Quite nicely arranged by Gregory Taylor.
Tommi Lindell's 10-minute closing piece, "Lillintaa" wafts on lightly thrumming fabric, gorgeous in its luminous, shimmering inscrutability.
Disk 2 highlights U&I's other software, including the visual shapeshifters of Videodelic and Artmatic. Slideshows and QuickTime movies provide enticements for the eye as well as the ear. Eric Wenger again proves to be master of his domain submitting two dazzling, ever-morphing animations backed by cool electro-eccentric soundtracks. Glen Bledsoe neatly arranges everything and adds notes, tutorials and bios from some of the contributers which will be of interest to anyone exploring these vast-yet-accessible programs.
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