Carter Scholz – 8 Pieces
Not to be confused with Sgt. Carter from the TV show Gomer Pyle or Tom Scholz from ’70s mega rock band Boston, Carter Scholz is a composer, computer music programmer, performer, writer, science fiction author, graphic and font designer, editor and polymath. 8 Pieces, the first collection of his computer music, has a very Larry Polansky feel at times, and that’s a good and obvious thing, since Carter was a student of Larry’s at Dartmouth’s Bregman Studio. These eight non-Reese’s pieces cut a pretty confident swath of enjoy-ability through the impossibly thick brambles of academic composition. All kinds of desirable tones and drones are floated into your auditory canals, forming a permanent memory imprint of beautiful drifting. “Lattice” features pleasant electronic wafts that delve from unison to dissonance and back again with slight, elegant “classical” touches here and there. “Rhythmicon”, as the title implies, is kind of a more rhythmic version of the above.
“Kaleidophon (Strict)” is comprised of pretty, shimmering bursts of music box-like sound gone so subtly and gently awry. “Epimores” consists of a dark, nine-minute web full of beating, wheedling and whistling drones in a slightly threatening manner. The four tracks of digital feedback in “Hamilton Circuit” sound much more vast, wide open and ambient—a tour over huge international oceans and mid-American plains. “Jet” “juxtaposes very loud sounds of a jet aircraft and very soft sounds of the four classical elements: air, earth, fire and water.” “Luminous Void” “is dedicated to the memory of Jim Horton, pioneer composer of live computer music. (I wonder if Horton ever heard The Who?) Its seven sections correspond roughly to Tibetan Buddhism’s bardo of the peaceful deities. Sound sources include digital feedback, sferics, Tibetan instruments and voice, fragments of Jim’s music and voice, and the sound of Doug Hollis’ wind organ in Berkeley, California where Jim’s ashes were scattered.” “Kaleidophon (Stochastic)” “is a version for analog filters tuned to the first 16 members of a harmonic series and rung by a random source. The activity of each harmonic follows the same canonic form as the strict version.” All in all, 8 Pieces is a fine collection of experimental composition that will please any and all fans of the genre.
Label: Frog Peak Music Catalog Number: FP009 Format: CD Packaging: Jewel case Tracks: 8 Country: United States Released: 2000 More: Discogs
Text ©2003 Arcane Candy
