I know I am not the only person who has caught himself in a public situation hearing some sort of malfunctioning machinery and thought it would have sounded great on record. Obviously not, because it is that concept specifically that defines Blake Edwards' newest album, a gorgeous picture disc with accompanying CD-R of related material. It is his careful mixing and understated processing that make this shine, however.
Crippled Intellect Productions/Ratskin Records
Even though it is made up of loud, occasionally obnoxious machinery noises, much of Fait a la Machine is actually reserved and almost serene at times.While "Metal Scrapping Facility, Exterior (Conveyors, Loaders, Compactor, Baler)" resembles early Esplendor Geometrico with its use of miniscule delays that give it that vintage spring reverb feel (which may have simply been a natural occurrence), the overall sound is warm and almost calm."Lathe, Vertical Turning Machine, HVAC System, Air Compressors, Gas Compressors, Cooling Fans, Factory Acoustics" has a similar placid quality via its slow and droning atmosphere, but here tainted by a sense of menace.
Perhaps most impressive are the pieces that lock into a rhythmic groove that is so tight and effective that it sounds programmed and sequenced.The idling on "Metal Scrapping Facility, Interior (Chain Conveyor, Alligator Shear, Loader, Hammer Mill)" sets the foundation for the piece, but everything else expands it to a polyrhthmic, almost catchy piece of mechanized clattering.The layered, inhuman chugging of "Hydraulic Hammer, Diesel Engine, Forge, Die Mold Cutter" does this as well, with whistle-like white noise bursts and machinery sounds resulting in the most complex piece on here. "1600 Ton Forge Press, Milling Machine, Cylindrical Grinder" is rather sparse compared to the rest of the album, with a slower paced metallic kick drum sound that is rather repetitive, but also functions well as a deconstruction of techno music.
Unsurprisingly, the recordings do—at times—dissipate into unadulterated noise, in the best possible way."Diesel Engines, Lathe, Sander, Gas Turbines" sounds like pure white noise covered in heavy reverb, like the Incapacitants playing in a vacant aircraft hangar."Lathe, Loader, Vibrating Conveyor, Chain Drive Conveyor Belt, Hydraulic Motors" is similarly devoid of rhythm, but has more nuance to it, becoming more textural and varied throughout its duration.
The accompanying CD-R, Machines Domestique, is a single hour-plus length composition that presents machinery on a smaller, more ubiquitous scale.Focusing on HVAC systems, computer server ventilation, and turntable motors (along with some of the larger scale machines), it has a quieter, slowly developing pace to it that works better both with the sonic clarity and length possible with a digital medium.
Unlike a lot of recordings of natural and dissonant phenomena, Fait a la Machine works just as well as a piece of music as it does an audio documentation of the world surrounding us.It makes that leap from interesting to enjoyable in a way few such recordings can.Even though I do not think Edwards did much in the way of direct sound manipulation, his careful mixing and structuring is what crosses this over into something far more musical than it would seem on the surface.
samples:
- Diesel Engines, Lathe, Sander, Gas Turbines
- Metal Scrapping Facility, Interior (Chan Conveyor, Alligator Shear, Loader, Hammer Mill)
- Machines Domestique
 
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