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Six Organs of Admittance, "The Manifestation"
Strange Attractors
Six Organs of Admittance released The Manifestation as a one-sided 12" on the BaDaBing label in 2000, limiting the pressing to 500. Strange Attractors they have appended another nearly 23 minute exploration hithertounreleased, thereby doubling the music. The CD version makes the 12"seem scrawny now in retrospect, especially since the new song ("The SixStations") surpasses its companion piece ("The Manifestation") by a fewnylon guitar strings. "The Six Stations" endeavors to be more than justa song, though. Chasny intends it as an aural experiment complete withlab report. He employs an antiquated astrophysics equation (theTitius-Bode law which approximates the spacing between the planets;look it up) to create modes for a six-movement piece. Each movementcorresponds to the first six planets from the sun and is in a differentkey dependent on the mode. There is plenty of literature in thepackaging which tries to explain the method in Chasny's madness, but itcomes off at first glance as the scribbling of a deranged astrologer.Yet I like the madness, even if it is just the appearance of madness.To unify the two songs on the CD, Chasny has recorded the sound of aneedle playing the side of the original clear vinyl which was etchedwith a picture of the sun. This sound plays underneath the entirety of"The Six Stations." And now you begin to see all the motifs bendinginto each other: Six organs for six planets for six stations; celestialbodies connected by an equation which influences the modes of thesong's movements, with an underlying physical connection of rawcrackliness. Even without the theory, the music itself is sublime. Thecrackling needle is hypnotic, uniting the intricacies of all sixmovements with its subtle dissonance. The one planet which is perhapsleast admirably represented is our own mother planet. Apparently, inChasny's reasoning, Earth has no mode and thus no music to accompanyit. Instead, David Tibet of Current 93 reads some awkward poetry overthe crackling needle. The song suffers from this segment insofar as Ibristled uncomfortably with each stanza. Yet the other 5/6 of elegantguitar plucking more than makes up for Earth's unfortunate (but perhapsapt) tribute. The title track begins with drones and chants, eventuallycoalescing into a coherent melody, sometimes with male and femalevocals dancing around the guitars. Three-quarters of the way through,the song breaks down again into a restrained and temperedimprovisational session, only to pick itself up by the bootstraps inthe last 4 minutes and recollect itself into once again coherent guitarmelodies. The sounds on both songs are commensurate with other SixOrgans of Admittance records, arranging the well-paired avant-folk andpsych drone in this couplet of songs. In fact, both suites are likemedleys or samplers of Chasny's unique repertoire of sounds. I don'tmean to say that it all sounds the same. On the contrary, the movementsin these suites are indispensable for fans of Chasny's work, asessential as stars in any respectable constellation.
Six Organs of Admittance released The Manifestation as a one-sided 12" on the BaDaBing label in 2000, limiting the pressing to 500. Strange Attractors they have appended another nearly 23 minute exploration hithertounreleased, thereby doubling the music. The CD version makes the 12"seem scrawny now in retrospect, especially since the new song ("The SixStations") surpasses its companion piece ("The Manifestation") by a fewnylon guitar strings. "The Six Stations" endeavors to be more than justa song, though. Chasny intends it as an aural experiment complete withlab report. He employs an antiquated astrophysics equation (theTitius-Bode law which approximates the spacing between the planets;look it up) to create modes for a six-movement piece. Each movementcorresponds to the first six planets from the sun and is in a differentkey dependent on the mode. There is plenty of literature in thepackaging which tries to explain the method in Chasny's madness, but itcomes off at first glance as the scribbling of a deranged astrologer.Yet I like the madness, even if it is just the appearance of madness.To unify the two songs on the CD, Chasny has recorded the sound of aneedle playing the side of the original clear vinyl which was etchedwith a picture of the sun. This sound plays underneath the entirety of"The Six Stations." And now you begin to see all the motifs bendinginto each other: Six organs for six planets for six stations; celestialbodies connected by an equation which influences the modes of thesong's movements, with an underlying physical connection of rawcrackliness. Even without the theory, the music itself is sublime. Thecrackling needle is hypnotic, uniting the intricacies of all sixmovements with its subtle dissonance. The one planet which is perhapsleast admirably represented is our own mother planet. Apparently, inChasny's reasoning, Earth has no mode and thus no music to accompanyit. Instead, David Tibet of Current 93 reads some awkward poetry overthe crackling needle. The song suffers from this segment insofar as Ibristled uncomfortably with each stanza. Yet the other 5/6 of elegantguitar plucking more than makes up for Earth's unfortunate (but perhapsapt) tribute. The title track begins with drones and chants, eventuallycoalescing into a coherent melody, sometimes with male and femalevocals dancing around the guitars. Three-quarters of the way through,the song breaks down again into a restrained and temperedimprovisational session, only to pick itself up by the bootstraps inthe last 4 minutes and recollect itself into once again coherent guitarmelodies. The sounds on both songs are commensurate with other SixOrgans of Admittance records, arranging the well-paired avant-folk andpsych drone in this couplet of songs. In fact, both suites are likemedleys or samplers of Chasny's unique repertoire of sounds. I don'tmean to say that it all sounds the same. On the contrary, the movementsin these suites are indispensable for fans of Chasny's work, asessential as stars in any respectable constellation.
