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Novi_sad, "Jailbirds"
On his second full-length release, this young Greek composer continues refining his technique of meshing abrasive electronic noises, pure digital drones, and field recordings into small audio ethnographies that are more than happy to make jarring, unexpected transitions.
Consisting of two 20 minute pieces, the first half, “Komdu! Hvert?” is the more subtle and simple of the two tracks. Opening with quiet rushing water that gradually and gradually increases in intensity, it is met early on by a deep pulsing bass tone that can definitely cause pain at higher volumes.
This slowly transitions into a whistling track of white noise, the bass thump replaced with a droning low end tone, slowly being met with looping found sound elements and other indecipherable textures. Eventually sheets of shimmering tones and chirping birds become the focus of the track, a more ambient and lighter resolution to a dark beginning. The piece closes with a high-tension line like hum and the sound of crickets, a perfect metaphor for the combination of organic and synthetic presented here.
“Torched Estates” is, in comparison, simultaneously more complex and dissonant in comparison. It begins with sheets of rain that get louder and louder as a high frequency emergency tone cuts through the mix, which is painful enough before a swelling of digital noise becomes the focus, all culminating into a violent quick digital squelch before falling away, leaving an eardrum numbing bass note.
This constant rumbling eventually enshrouds a subtle bit of static and clicking that stays consistent, eventually allowing layers of analog lo-fi noise to come in and command attention. While it begins to resemble a harsh noise recording in intensity, dynamically it stays sparse enough to allow the subtleties to be heard, rather than just violently commanding attention. It ends with the emergency type tones that opened the track, the sound of a typewriter, and eventually a shrill, tinnitus inducing tone that would make Ryoji Ikeda proud.
While still a young composer, Thanasis Kaproulias is already establishing himself as a powerful and innovative artist in this field of experimental music. His attention to detail is especially noteworthy, as is his use of pure electronic as well as organic found sounds in unison. I foresee Novi_sad being regarded as among the top experimentalists in the very near future.
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