Netlabels – a curious phenomenon, n’est pas? • On the one hand, they’re rather like havens for creatives to inhabit, artistic agglomerations producing wildly (un)predictable output; on the other, their surprising dedication to giving music away free of charge seems to have abandoned any hope of remuneration for creative endeavour • It’s hard to see them as the future; for now, at least, they’re fascinating & very useful; a gift horse into the mouth of which i have no intention of looking • Some netlabels have made the mistake of becoming stylistically typecast (e.g. one – & a feeble style at that), while others seemingly vanish overnight (the most recent being Nikita Golyshev’s excellent Musica Excentrica, that one can only hope returns soon) • The best, however, chart an altogether less predictable path through territory that is often radical & challenging • Crónica is one of my favourites, a netlabel combining physical & digital releases, some of which are free, alongside some curious accompanying paraphernalia (or, if you prefer, art) & interesting podcasts •
It was Crónica that introduced me to the Italian multimedia duo Tu M’ who, early this year, released a free EP entitled Is That You?, which quickly became—& remains—one of my favourite releases of 2008 • It comprises three tracks, one for each word of that title, exploring markedly different sonic environments • The laptop—rapidly becoming (at least, ostensibly) a sine qua non for the budding composer—is the instrument of choice for Tu M’, but this is very far from obvious in the opening track, “Is” • It’s an organic, woody composition, with clarinets & marimba pervading most clearly through the warm fog that drifts stodgily for its 5-minute duration • Tu M’ have struck a critical balance here; the sounds are obviously treated & manipulated, but at no point lose that essential quality that betrays a raw acoustic origin • It’s beautiful & tragic, a dirge-like procession that is as moving as it is striking • The longest track, “That”, occupies a more luminous landscape, spinning & pulsating with heavy radiance • Pulses, yes, but not a pulse, as such; the object at the aural centre floats tantalisingly free from any trace of rhythm, couched in the kind of soft ambient washes that, in lesser hands, become mere mush • It’s an exquisite ambient creation, static & yet always shifting & evolving, hovering around the listener, by turns sitting quietly & looming large • “You?” is something of a counterpart to the opening track, although here dirge has turned to majesty, tears have yielded to a smile, its slow chord progressions sounding like a chorale intoned on deep brass • Although voluminous, the 7 minutes of velvet richness have a lightness that’s difficult to pinpoint, but is clearly evident; maybe it’s the brightness of the cadence that begins each repetition, perhaps the impossibly slow crescendo—whatever, it is a ravishingly, emotionally laden valediction to a really excellent little EP • i cannot recommend this release highly enough • My average rating: 5/5
via 5 against 4
