Arcane Candy

First we have to deal with the big, fat elephant in the room. Although they share a word in their names, Arcane Device and Arcane Candy are completely unrelated entities. The latter is a zine about unusual music, art and travel active since 2000. The former, which mainly consists of sound projects employing “manipulated feedback processing,” is the brainkid of a New York City resident David Lee Myers. Commencing activities in 1987, the Arcane Device project buzzed and plodded along for six years until David pulled the plug on it in 1993. Now, over two decades later, the power is back on. As it says on the label’s web site, Pulsewidth, with “an enthusiasm for electronics and the world of electrons as it relates to the realm of vibration and sound, …Myers’ accidental discovery of feedback music led to a new appreciation of the unseen forces underlying audible electronics.”

Sheathed inside an attractive mini-LP gatefold jacket, the two CD-Rs in question offer up a plethora of sonic fabrics that are worthy of release on a label called Pulsewidth. Disc one consists of 14 short live tracks in the four- to seven-minute range that were recorded with equipment like digital delays, filters, pedals and oscillator circuits in spring and summer 2014. We’re talking all sortsa harsh, pulsating synth drones buried in between flanged layercakes, as well as subterranean bubbling and a wallop of wowzy wowzy woo woo. Quietly corroded pulsations also find their way into the program, along with drones supporting a robot with dry heaves, and others that are trebly and corroded or wobbly and minimal. Then we get some morse code pinging and metal lid tappin’, flanged and wheedling layers, dry icy chattering, music for a forlorn headache, and plenty of rattling and scuttling with woozy synth.

Disc 2 contains four long tracks in the 15 to 20-minute range that were recorded with a Mini-Modular in summer and autumn 2014. Built out of somewhat simpler sonic materials, several layers of scintillating drones wash over each other as Robbie the Robot gets all wound up. Then layers of pulsing, chattering and wheedling turn all stately as a bomber squadron looms overhead, which sounds really dramatic. Next, some delayed mic scratching appears accompanied by an intermittent deep pulse and layers of whistling and twittering. Shutting down the disc are some hovering flying saucers that get attacked by a swarm of insects. Then your annoying alarm clock goes off as a metallic giant ground sloth digs a new room under your house. Thus ends your engaging tussle with Noise Matrix Mantras + Modular Waves, an excellent comeback from a long dormant musical entity of the corrosive ambient variety. Welcome back.

Label: Pulsewidth Catalog Number: pw08 Format: 2-CD-R Packaging: Mini-LP gatefold Tracks: Disc 1: 14, Disc 2: 4 Total Time: Disc 1: 71:36, Disc 2: 71:10 Country: United States Released: 2014 More: Discogs, Pulsewidth

Text ©2015 Arcane Candy

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2015 at 5:23 pm and is filed under Arcane Device. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.