DeForrest Brown Jr.’s first release on Planet Mu is a slightly unusual one for the label. This is electronica, but perhaps only on a technicality. It’s a deliberate exercise in “time-based release”, essentially time-stretching, with two 23-minute parts of the same single work spreading out to fill an LP. Solo jazz sounds- saxophone predominantly, and others, it’s hard to tell- are pulled, padded, stuttered and morphed into unplayably long notes, which are then blended into what sounds like quiet city street found sound- rustling, distant drone, wind, traffic (but not a lot of it), and general hubbub.

This in turn is then delayed echoed and processed to add an extra layer of abstraction. Some of this stereo delay forms patterns, seemingly accidentally, which occasionally border on rhythm but only become actually rhythmic in the second part “without excess”. The second part also dips the outdoors atmospheres down in favour of metallically-treated choral noises and a selection of other oddness.

The result is like listening to a busker on a far-away street corner whilst under some sort of chemical mental influence, then in the second part, wandering into a church during choir practice then youth group. It’s an unorthodox experience, and I’ve got to say, not an experience that will always be welcome- but as a soundscaping exercise, it certainly has the dual virtues of being thought-provokingly emotive, and also distinctive and unique. The artist’s strong association with counter-culture and apparent animosity to modern streaming culture doesn’t shine through sonically as much as it does in the associated press release, but it’s a rich and interesting listen nonetheless.