Music by Simon Whetham we reviewed quite a bit. ‘Successive Actions’ is already his fifth release for Cronica and another apparition of his “kinetic sound performance project series ‘Channelling’ in which various motor devices, salvaged from obsolete and discarded consumer technology, are activated by playing sound recordings through them. This produces new sounds from the devices, amplified using various microphones and techniques.” For other works in this series see also Vital Weekly 1437 and 1405. I am unsure to which extent this particular set of recordings differs from the previous instalments. Judging by the sounds, there may not be that many differences. As it happens with this kind of release, documenting installations with sound, without the visual component, it is very hard to imagine what these look like and what the hell one hears. That said, as before, this sounds all quite fascinating. On the risk of copying too much of the previous review, the music has a solid electro-acoustic character, vibrant and energetic. Percussive music, if you will, but none of the standard percussion bits, more akin to a drummer playing household objects and debris. With the hushed and muffled tones, the music gets a layer of mystery about, with the listener being locked up in a dark dungeon, not a cave, but a plastic one, made out of waste, and we hear waste dumped on top, rolling off a hill and we don’t know if there’s an escape. Again, as before, lovely stuff, with the note about not being too sure what the differences are. (FdW)
via Vital Weekly