Released
1997
Label
Ichor Recordings
Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund
Contact
Ichor
Recordings
PO Box 232
Nanaimo
BC Canada V9R 5K9
Visit
Last Edit/Update
08 March, 1998
:Spybey:Theriault:
:SPYBEY:THERIAULT:
Track Listing
1. neve
2. umbra
3. sima
4. voe
5. bise
6. greatcircle
7. llanos
8. nesse
Mark Spybey (Dead
Voices On Air) and Jean-Yves Theriault (Voivod) have
released a limited edition collaborative project through Canadian Ichor Recordings.
The CD comes in a neutral beige burlap sleeve, with a small tag carrying the number of the
release and the artist/title: :spybey:theriault:. Containing more than 70
minutes of music, the CD moves on the spectrum from noise to ambient of the experimental
nature that Spybey has become known for. Most of the tracks are extended and
developmental, conjuring up vivid progressions of images on the moviescreen of the
listener's mind. Truly, this is music for the eyes.
The opening track --
"neve" -- begins with a rapid distorted percussion loop that slowly develops
into a continuous drone. A number of busy little sound squibs and scraping, grating noises
complete the impression of being dragged through a centrifuge of disjointed sound.
"umbra" is a
musical landscape of a subtler kind. The rhythmic thumping of a guitar leads into this
voyage through a vaporous realm of atmospheric sheets of sound with soaring, spinning
highpitched tones travelling through it like beams of colorful light.
The soothing, lingering hum
that introduces "sima," evokes the mental half-distance between wakefulness and
sleep. Like a dream, skipping percussion, and sawing, gyrating sound effects enter the
piece. Then, at the end, peace returns, as the hum slowly subsides. On the following track
-- "voe" -- the dreams turn to nightmares, as the music slowly transforms into a
chaotic whirl of noise and grinding machinery.
Grand orchestrals introduce
"brise," after which the piece fades into an aural image of being in a warzone.
Rolling, echoing percussion effects, pulsating synths, and occasional fragments of muffled
walkie-talkie communications combine to create an intense, soaring atmosphere.
One of the longest pieces on
the CD, "greatcircle" is another sonic voyage that begins very subtlely in an
ambient cloudscape, and then moves down to earth. Rapping percussion enter and exit the
celestial soundfabric. At the center of the piece everyhing fades, then returns again with
greater insistence -- the percussion accelerating into a galloping pace, and manipulated
voice samples whining prominently in the foreground.
"llanos" is a wall
of crashing metallic percussion, ringing chimes and ambient buzzing that breaks the
attention, before the monumental 20-minute track "nesse" concludes the CD.
Beginning with what sounds
like heavy intermittent heaves for breath, brief samples of intercom dialogue, beeping as
of a cardiogram, and various other echoing sounds and noises, "nesse"
establishes the mood of a near death experience. As the percussional elements intensify,
and the intervals between breaths shorten, the piece takes on the sensation as of a
struggle back to life. This long evocative piece returns to a scene of quietness at the
end, the struggle over, the question of life or death resolved. . . but unclear...
(Note: This limited and hard
to find CD is available from Skin Graft by mail order for $14: Skin Graft Records,
P.O. Box 257546, Chicago, IL. 60625).
Copyright Last Sigh
