If you have long felt the absence of vintage synth noise improv in your mp3 collection, the self-titled debut effort from NYC-based duo exclusiveOr can finally fill your specialized needs. Combining all manners of clicks, pops, rumbles, and pure, loveable sine tones, Jeff Snyder and Sam Pluta have created a 50-minute alien sound world that, in its best moments, captures their flesh-and-blood vitality behind the controls. Consider the trajectory of the first half of the album. Each successive track, played without pause, simultaneously builds and disintegrates into the next, before emerging into the unexpected icy beauty contained within 0111?0010 (colloquially known as "Track 5"). With crystalline harmonies juxtaposed against implosive bursts, its nebulous emotionality stands as the high point of the album.

If a release like this could ever chart, Track 7 would be the lead single. As far as nerdy synthesized noise goes, it rocks hard. If there's one disappointment, however, it's in the ninth and last piece; especially after the controlled insanity of the two tracks before it, no. 9 sounds a bit too much like an equipment test, exhibiting neither the gifted on-the-fly structuring nor creative interplay showcased by the duo everywhere else on the album.

That aside, Pluta and Snyder have crafted an impressive testament to the virtues of electronic sound. Even though their material is created from the emblematic sounds of a 1966 Buchla and 1977 Serge synth, the end result is anything but anachronistic. The detritus of every decades-old circuit lies at the base of the music, and it's captured at a low-dynamic clarity that allows it to be absolutely integral to mood and texture of the album. Listen closely. -Trevor Hunter/mv

william c. harrington
Noise noise.

This disc is an adventurous journey back to a previous era of electronic musical thought, and this is a good thing. That being said, it provides some unexpected turns, some unpredictable and large gestures, with a variety of whimsical, electronic storytelling art.

As his bio denotes, Harrington has worked in the record industry for years, where he quote "amassed a sizable collection of electonic(sp) and avante-garde(sp) recordings before going on tour."

Fans of Tod Dockstader may rejoice early on, as track # 2 "KL" is right up that alley. A surprising selection for a second track on an album, this piece deserves its rightful place in the electroacoustic concert hall, perhaps on the same musical happening as a Zappa or early pastiche tape piece. Track #3, "Arps" is another inside job that starts abruptly but finds its rightful place in the listener's ear somewhat early on.

Track #5 is my choice pick. "Blast" is something of a schizophrenic unveiling of the artists inner mind. My vote, should the composer be reading this, is that this should have been track one. A bold comment but nevertheless one that is sincere, it's nice use of timbre- and while not easily ingested, Harrington is quite comfy doing his thing. He is very much at ease in his own skin. I would love to hear more of this type of material as in this writers opinion, it is his compositional wheelhouse.

Track #6 is my 2nd favorite, (perhaps eclipsing my initial response) as the most timbrally complex of the album. Never to be underestimated, Harrington does a nice job of ramping up to the closing track as as 'Wisp o' the Will' demands that the listener take a seat for the finale.
"noise noise'", the closing & title track, sneaks up - casting the listener down into the best seat of the house. Then the composer turns on the spotlights...Twice. Harrington delivers his final message in the form of a sonic onslaught but thanks to the lead in, it comes as a necessary relief.
This album is not for the average listener or newcomer, which is what draws me to it. While not definitive or groundbreaking, music lovers of outer perimeter listening will rejoice. --mv

What I immediately appreciate about this album is the carefully constructed experience arranged for the listener. The modest or veiled cover of the disc tells us very little about what type of music is contained therein (at a glance it reads more like chemistry than it does music release), but I was pleasantly surprised to find a 30+ page booklet filled not with excessive writing, prose, or details about how to understand the music, but with photographs that suggest numerous aquatic environments that might enhance the listener’s perspective while spinning. This is a nice touch considering that music is not limited to just an auditory experience.

Bass Communion’s Theo Travis and Steven Wilson showcase two contrasting soundworlds, called Pacific Codex 1 and 2. Of behind-the-scenes crediting for the album is Steve Hubback, whose metal sculptures provide the source material for the disc. How BC go about creating the textures is not specified, which makes each listen of the Codexes more compelling.
Perhaps it’s a power of suggestion in the booklet but the unfolding of the symbiotic relationship between metal, air, and water is a constant through the course of the album. Careful attention is given to the interaction of the electronics with Hubback’s instruments -the illuminating of partials, complete control of fluctuating densities, large sound masses adjacent to immersive microsounds, and an overall volume-centric approach to form. The color of the music drifts between dark greys and whites to the furthest ends of the color spectrum in other moments. The performances themselves are decidedly organic, which gives a solid foundation for the electronic manipulations. In closing, I am also impressed with the cohesion of the disc, as the overall experience leaves the listener feeling whole, as though the high tide has just receded after a pensive day.

Pacific Codex is a fine project that will provide hours of return listens, be they focused or environmental. Inside the case one will find a standard cd of the album, as well as a DVD containing surround mixes, additional photography and credits for the release. Cheers to Bass Communion for going the extra few miles at the service of the musical experience for the listener. Highly recommended album, particularly the physical release.

This record was received in with a description clearly stating: "Attention: Avant Garde." While this is quite the tricky descriptor to use these days, I actually think it describes this disc in one true sense of the phrase (think pre-postmodernism). On it you will find a swath of instruments that convolve effectively on my new music friendly ears, and this is somewhat exciting; Hammond organ, drum machine, heavily manipulated electrical guitar (often soloing, twanging or looping on top), some 8 bit and overly tweaked electronics of unknown origin– and yet there is still some room for interpretation, live performing, a respectable guitaristic presence, and a mix that was articulated by way of an engineer with sensitive ears.

Guitar tone is finely tuned in. The standard musical devices are arriving consistently via left field, with some occasional reinforcement happening on the right wing. A heavily tapped/panned stereo image conveys something of a psychotropic, sonic projection towards the listener which makes for a nice, live, soundstage.

The average track weighs in at 6.5 minutes, and ironically – incorporates a very non-avant garde song writing formula. This is where I hope that igOr will start to focus his energies of his militia of tomorrow. Themes, variations, solo sections, micro-level panning, occasional chorus, guitar passages, etc did not exactly throw me for a loop –but at the same time the content inside these worlds is not always predictable.

I will cheers Mr. Igor credit for his occasionally defined, and unique musical voice. Can’t say I’ve experienced an over-abundance in the way of this variety of non-sampled, electronic, guitaristic, spacious, 8 bit, a-rhythmic, white noisey, free-form guitar jazz, and I will say igOr does a good job of not shooting 'the shredder wad’ in what has become a playing field defined by athleticism before musicality. Kudos to that my fellow guitarists! But my alter-ego is questioning the longevity of this record –not every record should be required to be held to this same rule, so I encourage the reader to define these avant garde sounds on his own.

When I adopt this approach to listening to this, I can say that some new and interesting rules and textures arise from this disc. So cheers to igOr and his battalion of sonic soldiers. And while I cannot speak for every reader and open minded listener on this review site – what I can say that for those of us who seek the innovation in every album-- this disc may very well provide some well-timed curveballs in an often comfy game of experimental tides.

The album Antipodesia contains dimly lit soundscapes of earthly and alien origin, many of which are being serenaded or illuminated by Mills' seductive trumpet off in the distance. Intermixed are manipulated samples of a variety of sonic impulses and instrumental performances, most of which are driven by groove-oriented beats and percussion.
The use of voice is dispersed on occasion, as are loop-style programmed sounds amidst live recordings. The melodies are often simple, which becomes effective and evocative over the course of the album. "Brightlands Avenue" is an example of what can result from a captured improvisation that is later touched up and through composed like a soundtrack to a scene in a film.
Many of these scapes strike a balance between natural and surreal environments, acoustic and electronic soundworlds, and often times include layered field recordings from disparate lands. "Zagreb" is a nice example that incorporates industrial or transportation sounds juxtaposed with a drifting and lyrical, Dvorak- style melody. The closing epic, "Sawtooth" commences with a droning pad with granulated noise particles that weave in and out of the foreground. When Mills’ trumpeting reappears it is one of the most thought-provoking and interesting moments on the disc.
For those into audiovisual aesthetics, there is a fine booklet included in the liner sleeve which contains some photography that one might imagine themselves inside while listening to the music. Recommended to fans of abstracted world music, manipulated world instruments mixed with groove, and those on the lighter and hemp-friendly side of Miles Davis’ electric period.