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ANLA COURTIS/KOUHEI MATSUNAGA: s/t

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Artist: ANLA COURTIS/KOUHEI MATSUNAGA
Title: s/t
Format: CD
Label: Prele
Rated: * * * * *
This collaborative work by former Reynols guitarist and concrete composer Anla Courtis and Japanese laptopper Kouhei Matsunaga manages to stay cohesive while exploring all sorts of crossings and swappings: solo pieces, long distance remixes, live collaborations, and my favourite tecnique of all, a "telepathic collaboration" (!) recorded in 2004. As underlined by the opening solos, Courtis seems use analogue means (tapes and guitars I guess; possibly a blank tape, Reynols-style, in "Amnesia of Amenesia"), while Matsunaga opts for a colder digital processing, mainly working with high-end frequencies and harmonics; both ways, as I've said, match very well together, creating a rich and detailed album even when a truly minimal sound palette is employed - which is especially true in the telepathic duo (a case for parapsychology?). The two live sessions (one of which features added audio scum by Rudolf Eb.er) are, predictably, the weirdo/free side of the cd, with a more varied, but less structured and refined flow of sounds, and while interesting they dilute the tension of the previous pieces. That said, this remains a truly worthwhile example of audio infection.

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