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Oto Hiax

Lea — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 15:10:38 +0000

“Editions Mego is proud to present the first full length release from Oto Hiax. Comprised of Mark Clifford (Seefeel) and Scott Gordon (Loops Haunt) ‘title’ follows on from last years acclaimed EP ‘One’.
Embracing a series of sonic opposites ‘title’ employs electronic and concrete sound to construct a labyrinth of moods sliding from basic repetition to complex audio suites. The mood is such that the listener is advised to embrace the unexpected as unusual elements gently drift across the audio plane. Exquisitely executed, this is no foray into generic sound design but a rich and complex ruse whereby seemingly jarring sonic elements play out a subtle and harmonious bridge between a variety of musical styles and genres. Insh carries the kind of hallowed kraut comfort that only seasoned professionals can harness whereas Eses Mitre disorientates in the most enticing fashion. Oto Hiax have produced an album of exquisite detail and beauty. Now is their time.“

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A Script For Machine Synthesis

Lea — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 13:33:39 +0000

The latest work from Florian Hecker A Script for Machine Synthesis is an experimental auditory drama and a model of abstraction. A Script for Machine Synthesis presents a complex simplicity that spirals in an unending manner as an audio image of the uncanny valley. It is the third chapter in the trilogy of text-sound pieces Hecker has collaborated with the philosopher Reza Negarestani. A resynthesized voice outlines procedure as procedure itself unfolds.

The suggestive encounter with a pink ice cube is a conceptual point of departure for a scene in which linguistic chimeras of descriptors are materialized through synthetic trophies, mental props and auditory objects.

Hecker presents a synthesis of the gap in the valley which we almost know. The motifs Hecker has staged in the last decade, the text, the sound, the scent, the obelisk, the demon, the self, the other all appear throughout in a thorough, rigid and formal exploration.

Exeunt all human actors, A Script for Machine Synthesis is an experiment in putting synthetic emptiness back into synthetic thought.

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A 1000 Keys

Lea — Tue, 04 Oct 2016 10:33:52 +0000

Thomas Brinkmann takes his seductive reductionism to the next level. A 1000 KEYS is a harsh meditation on the expressive qualities of digital sound production. In translating the timbre of a grande piano into binary codes, thus rebuilding its corpus with 0 and 1s, Brinkmann subverts the sensual qualities of this proto-romantic instrument in a sardonic way. Replacing the musician with a mathematically precise series of frenetic repetition and intriguingly dissonant difference, the result sounds at times like a violent ride through the brains of Schönberg or Webern, at others like Feldman‘s ephemeral sketches or Russolo‘s futurist outburst.

Brinkmann‘s conceptual framework is resonating in the tracktitles. Using shortcuts of international airports, he refers to non-places that establish their own space-and-time continuum, while lacking individual identity and history. These functional scenarios are steril passages for anonymous, objectified masses, at the same time there’s hardly a better place to grasp the very subjective character of time.

A 1000 KEYS is a fatal hommage to minimalism and a consequent denial of virtuosity and the idea of creative genius. Paraphrasing the romantic idea of human perfection, Brinkmann found a way to create sonic algorithms of tenderness and brutality, establishing dramatic expressiveness in his constructivist analytics. The result is of radical beauty.

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It’s Hard For Me To Say I’m Sorry

Lea — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 14:36:32 +0000

Recorded in Kobe, Kyoto, Tokyo, September 2015 Photos by Jim O’Rourke. Layout by Shunichiro Okada Despite decades of activity and having crossed paths in various collaborations Editions Mego is honoured to release the first ever duo recording from two of the most highly regarded citizens of planet experimental electronic.

Individually, Jim O’Rourke and Christian Fennesz have been responsible for numerous legendary works which merge the traditional avant-garde with contemporary sensibilities. On It’s Hard For Me To Say I’m Sorry these giants of experimental relectrice practice come together for an immensely powerful sonic experience. The signature of both O’Rourke and Fennesz cohabit this new release with O’Rourke‘s gurgling harmonies swimming amongst the shimmering frequencies and strummed melodies produced by Fennesz.

Two side long tracks situate themselves as a warm electronic adventure. Simultaneously radical and comforting these works shift from gentle sonorities to fully distorted explosions all of which reside within a template of tension between musical and non-music matter. Timeless in execution and presentation It’s Hard For Me To Say I’m Sorry is a deeply rewarding sonic experience from two of the most romantic gentlemen active in experimental music today.

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