Now available: ballast nvp078: vertonen: phothuum (3 x CDR)…plus, new reviews!

phothuum is a trilogy that explores similar elements / ideas explored in its prologue, crevarsse: embellished field recordings, electroacoustics, damaged and repurposed electronics, tape, turntable, and shortwave.
edition of 32 signed and numbered copies in hand-printed sleeves and box.
$16 ppd in the US.

 

 

Thanks to Frans from Vital for these kind words about phothuum:
I know Edwards draws inspiration from Eliane Radigue and The Hafler Trio, but zoviet*france also seems to be a significant source. The first two discs contain shorter pieces, between five and ten minutes, while the last one has two very long pieces, from the noisy first part of ‘White Stones I’ to the very delicate sine-wave-like minimalism of the third part of that title. Sometimes the field recordings take the lead, while on other occasions the electronics are the sole presence in a track, and more than once, these shifts take place within a track. From delicate analogue processing to firmly digital variations, and seamlessly going from one to the next, I am a fan…so maybe this isn’t the most objective review.

Frans also took the time to review the Eric Lunde 8 x cs set, Shoulda killed me when you had the chance……:

The first few releases I heard by Eric Lunde, from the late 1980s, made a significant impact. They were the first ones on RRRecords, and it was noise, but of a different kind. Voice manipulations, site-specific performances, a sort of ritual? It wasn’t easy to understand, and, to my delight, with many more releases by Lunde, including a wealth of written material, I still don’t understand, yet I am still fascinated by his output. the way Lunde treats his voice material is still compelling; he calls this his “reduplicative degeneration processes”. Another way to describe this is as a poor man’s version of Alvin Lucier’s ‘I’m Sitting in A Room’, and I mean this in the most positive sense. Playback of voice material from a dictaphone, recorded on another one, in a space, and this process repeats itself over and over, with the erosion gradually leading to mean noise, distortion, and feedback. Lunde also employs other sounds in similar ways, which is what makes this music compelling. It’s sound poetry, but also much more. The ‘Bruise Grind Kill’ cassette is all instrumental: “electric motor apparatuses on bass guitar and drums”, which, so says Ballast quite rightly, reminds one of early Chop Shop. One remarkable set of early Lunde music for sure.