ascoltare - gallery
having released one album proper, and 2 (one, two) off centre bastard pop sonic experiments, dave 'gwei-lo' henson teamed up with dj/rupture to provide a double headed bill of messed up electronica. this 'gallery' release forms the basis of the ascoltare set that was on offer. as before the packaging is all part of the overall appeal. the cd is housed in a sealed bag, wherein the cd is supported by a cardboard holder emblazoned with an ac/dc styled logo. genius.
5 tracks - all over 7 minutes in length continue as with the other cd-r dubbel releases in using 'found' vocals (ahem !) and sonic clicks, beats, and industrial clangs. sometimes a melodious section is provided for a welcome respite, for example the opening of 'on a natural charge' and shows that the ghost of etheral ambient is never that far away, however rather than letting the blissmood last for 74 minutes (a la fax releases in 1994) the distortions and electronica distresses are soon brought back into focus. the track also features a scary effect ridden odb vocal while the industrial noises do their midi'd thing in the background. making for a totally fascinating 7.5 minutes.
'vile haze' has more of the ripped rap vocals to some rather strange random noises, which if it continued for the whole 7 minutes would become tiresome, as it is a steady manipulated white noise beat kicks in, with a minimal melody holding the proceedings together in abstract fashion. as always, in ascoltare's world, the norm is never maintained for too long, as the beat subsides and we are plundered back into the abyss of ticks and clicks.
if this was on vinyl i would be checking my deck, cabling faults and probable culprits for interference.
over the course of the 5 tracks - (there is little to distinguish one track from another as the noises all flow into one another - and these are not songs as such), the listener is subjected to all manner of leftfield weirdness, interjected with outer body vocals and a broken science fiction soundtrack. the open-mindedness of the listener is paramount to whether this experiment will be enjoyed or not - if you want machines to make music that don't confront and challenge you, then go buy the latest moby album, if however, you desire something a little more intense and awkward, then go find out more about ascoltare, and hurry, there's only 250 copies of this available !