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KK Null & Cris X, "Proto Planet"
The first collaboration between Kazuyuki Kishino and Cristiano Lucani is a mass of mangled samples, processed field recordings, electronics, and piano that at times resembles an understated take on harsh noise, and at other times a sloppy, yet engaging mess of sounds. While an intense devotion to structure and composition might not be here, there are more than enough pleasurable noises and small, but fascinating outbursts to more than make up for that
Across these five untitled pieces, the dynamic jumps and skips around hyperactively, never settling into one style or approach for too long.For instance, the first piece leads off with chirping noises and squelchy, spastic electronics propelled by an unconventional, yet distinctly rhythmic undercurrent that guides it along.It feels like the legion of noises someone like Merzbow might create, but with less abrasive components.The second half thins things out to clicks, piano improvisations, and odd alien atmospheres to close the piece in a much different way than it began.
The second segment immediately eschews subtlety and instead goes right into a dense insect swarm of harsh noise that eventually disintegrates into undulating electronics and a ring modulated rattling that is at times painful.This is all before settling into a glitch-ridden passage of disturbing ambience that conjures dark, obscured images of creatures lurking in the darkness.The third comes across even more of a collage feel with rhythmic throbs and a later emphasis on water and field recordings, complete with frogs and aquatic life that seemingly bounds from one setting to another.
The fifth piece especially has the most hyperactive qualities to it.Cut up and scattershot samples are thrown recklessly atop a bed of slowly pulsing electronics that makes for the only constant throughout the otherwise chaotic composition.The fourth segment demonstrates a bit more of a order to the entropy, however.Even amidst the stop/start stabbing electronics, a sense of organization can be heard, first directing everything towards an old school wall of harsh noise, but then stripping it away, leaving only the most sparse and delicate bits of the album to be heard.
Album does not necessarily feel like the most appropriate descriptor for Proto Planet.There does not seem to be any clear overarching sense of structure or composition notable throughout.Instead it comes across more as a series of sonic miniatures:captivating collages of processed field recordings and mutilated electronics that take multiple listens to pull apart.It is a case where cohesion is unnecessary, and instead it works best as a compilation of sounds that jerkily jump from one passage to the next, making it easy to dive in at any point and enjoy what is there.
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