In “Loop. And Again.”, Matilde Meireles invites listeners on a journey through Belfast’s hidden electromagnetic undercurrents, each track a sonic impression of the city’s humming, droning core. The album emerges from her research project “X Marks the Spot”, where Meireles mapped telecommunications boxes whose ambient emissions formed unexpected symphonies across Belfast. Through three immersive tracks – “Introducing Variables”, “Magnetic Fields”, and “Cross Parade” – the album captures the interplay between urban infrastructure and the sounds of Belfast’s post-industrial terrain.
This isn’t just a passive listening experience; Meireles composes with recordings from contact microphones, an electromagnetic sensor, and ambisonic and hydrophone recordings of the River Lagan, crafting an experience that feels less like a piece of music and more like a meditation on modern cities’ hidden life. The looping drones seem to tug at time itself, where the static hum of communication boxes reveals subtle tonal shifts – an echo of urban life’s heartbeat that most of us tune out.
“Cross Parade”, featuring Tullis Rennie’s soulful trombone improvisations and snippets of everyday moments at a Belfast home, is a nod to the album’s social roots, grounding this conceptual work in tangible community. It’s as if Meireles is saying: yes, there’s art in the infrastructure, but it’s inseparable from the people who dwell among it.
If you’re one to wander, “Loop. And Again.” may lead you to see (or rather, hear) your own city differently. A work of quiet intensity, it’s as intricate as it is unassuming – a sonic exploration into the resonance of ordinary objects that often go unnoticed but, here, remind us of the quiet interconnections we share with the built environment. The album spins like the reel of an unseen film, one that takes place just beneath our daily awareness, pulling the listener into a rhythmic sway between art, research, and urban life. Vito Camarretta
via Chain DLK