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Aaron Martin & Machinefabriek, "Cello Recycling/Cello Drowning"
The international collaboration between electronics mangler Rutger Zuydervelt (aka Machinefabriek) and cellist Aaron Martin makes for an ominous, foreboding piece that would make for an excellent Hitchcock movie soundtrack.
Using only the sound of Martin's cello and recorded water sounds, Zuydervelt feeds the source material through a battery of effects and signal processing, but still leaves enough of the instrument's natural sound in the mix, which only adds to the suspenseful tension created by the two long tracks on this disc. "Cello Recycling" opens ominously enough: the hum of alien machinery looming off in the distance somewhere and all sub bass hum and occasional rhythmic clicks is submerged in reverb. As the track progresses, the untreated sound of Martin's cello rises in the mix, the heavy organ like sustain of the strings thick like fog in the air. The climax is a full on roar of fuzz and distortion that would make any noise artist proud.
"Cello Drowning" remains a more subtle overall work, building upon the metallic echo of processed water drips, shaped into an almost rhythmic backing track aided by the more pronounced sound of the cello. While this track doesn't reach the harsh noise conclusion of "Cello Recycling," the subtlety works even better, leading to more pronounced sense of dread throughout, culminating in a swell of intensity at the end of the disc.
Originally commissioned for an art gallery, Type has seen fit to make this work more widely available, and as a crossover between the post-classical, the ambient, and the experimental worlds, it succeeds on all levels.
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