Collaged field recordings of a swimming pool by Fletina on their Serrof (UNFATHOMLESS U84) album. I see I was pretty dismissive of Causal, the first EP by this Scottish sound artist, but at least today’s item has a bit more substance and texture. Additionally, it is based on actual experience, which counts for a lot in my book; seems they were working a part-time shift at a local swimming pool and found themselves entranced by the sounds of mechanical machinery – pumps, valves, motors, and even the humming of the overhead lights. There seems to have been some emotional connection formed too, the creator themselves not certain if they were haunted by the aesthetic charm of these churning whirrs, or experiencing a strange kind of loneliness. As to the latter, you certainly won’t find a trace of human life on the finished results of Serrof, and that might be the entire point.
I shan’t say that these sounds invoke a sense of futility to rank with the works of Beckett, but in their quietly insistent manner they do somehow bring us closer to the truth of a specific location, which I think is one of the stated aims of this Belgian label. All of the cover artworks get treated this acidic, queasy way by Daniel Crokaert, the label boss. (27/08/2024)