Curio from BJM Mario Bajardi, the Italian polymath and prolific musical genius who gave us Lux Theatre Works in 2021. We might have encountered more of his solo violin work on that item, but today’s Vortex (NO LABEL, SELF RELEASED) is almost all electronic, packed with synths that don’t know how to quit, heart-stopping beats, and a general sense of heightened drama lurking at every corner. He claims influences from krautrock and Depeche Mode, the latter being particularly noticeable, except that our Sicilian friend has considerably upped the ante on the electro-pop form, introducing a lot more aggression and implied violence, strong shadows and theatrical lighting. I feel I should enjoy this more, but it’s not especially likeable despite the melodies and the energetic pulse; often it turns into a ghost-train ride, a long walk down a hall of mirrors in the funhouse, showing us images we don’t care to see. (02/03/2023)
Another fine release from Aviva Endean, the Australian performer who impressed us with her 2018 album for the Sofa label in Norway. Moths & Stars (ROOM 40 RM4191) is something you could call a solo clarinet record, but there’s a lot more to it – feedback, field recordings, microtonal “humming”, repurposing of sounds from her own archive of recordings, and general management of acoustic space. Much intimacy and very careful arrangement. You get the feeling she builds up these layers in a very intuitive manner and in response to whatever the situation demands; although I don’t understand the technicalities of the approach she describes, what clearly comes across is the excitement and joy of discovering new things. Isn’t that the point of experimental music? All too often we have the impression that new musicians use certain methods in order to simply state something they already know; Aviva Endean appears to be genuinely engaged with the unexpected, the unknown. I suppose this was made in a studio, but quite often it feels like it was taking place outdoors (on aboriginal lands, to boot), hopefully at night (it all plays like a suite of nocturnes) and under the huge skies which Australia offers. On the title track it seems we can actually hear the beating of a large moth’s wings (or an approximation of same), which is totally in line with her intentions to capture and evoke both large scale vistas and intimate details of nature. (02/03/2023)
Odd collaged / cut-up and sample type thing from Refree, i.e. Raul Refree whose reputation as a collaborator and producer has been steadily growing since 2002 and his first release for Acuarela Discos. His El Espacio Entre (TAK:TIL / GLITTERBEAT GBCD132) is deliberately bitty and eclectic, intending to evoke a semi-surrealist travelogue, or time-travelling cinematic experience. It contains a lot of traditional Iberian music nestling alongside the more contemporary sounds (clipped beats and micro-samples), and romantic piano fugues. I like the idea that he’s attempting a “sonic diary”, but if he is, he’s not putting enough of himself down on the pages; he claims to be expressing a deep melancholy, “different kinds of emptiness”, but mostly what emerges is rather maudlin sentiment, rather than an intimate, honestly-felt emotion. Even so, the perplexing trajectory of its surface is quite unusual, and once you get used to jumping about from one unmarked country bus to another, you might find it an enjoyable ride. (02/03/2023)