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Novi_sad, "Inhumane Humans"
After a few well received discs, the latest work of Greek composer Thanasis Kaproulias comes courtesy of Sub Rosa’s New Series Framework project, expanding on the careful (and not so careful) use of raw noise in composition. Kaproulias is definitely on the careful end of that spectrum, restraining layers of harsh noise at times to allow calmer, more ambient moments to shine through, all the while exploring the concept of inhumanity from multiple perspectives.
"Srebrenica" initially uses the theme to showcase sounds without human interference.Opening with quiet field recordings from the ruins of Olympia in Greece, there are only the sounds of crickets, cicadas, and rivers to be heard.Then, detached and fragmented Morse code can be heard, bringing with them a dense, fuzzy drone that almost sounds like a guitar.A sinister, ominous feeling slowly develops, exacerbated by sharp, abrupt sounds of barn doors creaking and slamming, as the wind would do in a world without people.
The piece reaches a peak when harsh digital noise starts to creep in, at first slowly but eventually dominates the mix.As it is going on, recorded conversations of a woman discussing her experiences being raped during the Bosnian civil war are heard, putting forth a decidedly different, more disturbing example of inhumanity that is punctuated with the dissonant roar.Eventually the noise pulls away, revealing only the pastoral recordings from before.
"Aircraft Noises" is a literal title for the second piece, a mixed-down version of a multichannel installation performance.There’s no subtlety to be heard in the opening moments:a sprawling field of high end digitally compressed noise is heard, though propelled by some semblance of a rhythmic structure that could purely be a figment of my imagination.The sound frequency is expanded, bringing in lower, less compressed sounds that are more identifiable as a jet engine.
This is eventually pushed into the world of pure harsh noise walls, layer upon layer of distorted engine noise that drowns out all around it, until samples of flight safety recordings in various languages occur, pre-recorded and disembodied voices telling passengers what to do during a crash in a juxtaposition of human and synthetic.All the while, beeps from in-flight intercoms are miraculously shaped into a bizarre melodic accompaniment, and the piece ends with shrill buzzes and fighter jets passing over a military airport.
Again, Kaproulias expertly balances the use of noise and ambience with a flair for drama and tension.I'm personally impressed with the way the disc utilizes raw, wall noise approaches without succumbing to the temptation to simply shred speakers, but instead convey beauty as well as aggression.It also bounces dynamically between quiet and loud moments, and not simply focusing on jarring transitions.While the two pieces on here are thematically linked, they do feel somewhat disparate in their approach and the result is what feels like two separate works rather than one unified one.Not that it’s a problem, as both stand strongly on their own, but it's a caveat that should be acknowledged.
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