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irr. app. (ext.), "Josephine & Elsewhere"
This limited edition collection of live recordings sees irr. app. (ext.) stripped down from its usual group configuration for the stage; for these performances Matthew Waldron braved audiences on his own. The end result is a collection of pieces which allow Waldron to extend the live sound of irr. app. (ext.) into new musical plains. There is less clutter in the arrangements, having one pair of hands forces the music to be sparser than before. Yet the core values at the heart of Waldron’s music are preserved and although his audio surrealism has a new face, it still has the same primal capacity to unnerve and enrapture in equal measure.
The music contained on Josephine & Elsewhere is markedly different to the other live recordings of irr. app. (ext.) made available previously on Aspiring to an Empty Gesture. Without a supporting cast, the music follows a more limited scope without sacrificing the ingenuity and enchantment I associate with irr. app. (ext.). "The Four Horsemen of Natural Science (After Aphrodite’s Child)" centres around a stark rhythm and Waldron’s voice, with live processing of samples interspersed as needed.
Throughout the album, Waldron uses a lot of approaches that have been dotted around the irr. app. (ext.) back catalogue but from a different angle in each case. Many of the sounds are kept low in volume and are largely ambient or incidental in character, which gives the music a sinister edge—the clanging metallic guitar and deep drone of "CMBR (Variation 2)" makes for a acutely disconcerting listening experience. However, Waldron does let rip on a couple of tracks; in particular the guitar work on "Haphazard Trajectory II" is superb. Waldron seems to be summoning up the ghost of Snakefinger with his precise but anarchic style of playing. The residue of The Residents is felt elsewhere amongst these solo performances, pieces like "Caniad At Yr Annisgwyl Sbasm" capturing that same free approach to what is acceptable in "serious" music as Meet the Residents.
As an incentive to buy a physical copy of this instead of downloading it off a blog, Waldron includes an original drawing inside each copy. Mine features a strange clump of amoeboid cells emerging from a clam shell which is a strangely fitting image for the equally amoeboid music captured on this Josephine & Elsewhere. As nice as the drawing is, the music of course takes center stage here and although it would not be the best place for a novice to start; those who have been enjoying Waldron’s experiments over the last decade or so will find something unexpected and entrancing amidst these recordings.
samples:
- The Four Horsemen of Natural Science (After Aphrodite's Child)
- Haphazard Trajectory II
- O, Wistfully Cantillating Paraceratherium
 
