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OREN AMBARCHI, "SUSPENSION"
Touch seems to be seeking out guitarists who manage to make the guitarsound like it hasn't sounded before. It seems odd that the red appled'Suspension' digipack cover wasn't one of large Mego style large cardenvelopes, like the recent Touch releases from Fennesz and RafaelToral, because Oren Ambarchi approaches the guitar with as unique anear as either of them. Like Toral and Fennesz, there is almost alwaysan underlying melodic base to what at first appears abstract, althoughAmbarchi's music probably requires more attentive listening to discernthis. About halfway through the intermittent speaker shaking drones andpulses of the title track, it sounds like his guitar morphs into anunderwater merry go round music box before it fades out in a shimmeringglow of glitch-like sparkles. A former drummer who switched to guitarbecause no one else in Sydney, Australia was willing to make music withthe kind of experimental edge he sought, Oren Ambarchi has made abeautiful record that moves onwards and upwards from nis previous Touchrelease 'Insulation'. The odd thing about 'Insulation' was thatalthough it was an improvised work, it reminded me of KarlheinzStockhausen's meticulously composed 'Kontakte' more than any of thenumerous comparisons that have been chucked Ambarchi's way. Theseinclude Keith Rowe, Tod Dokstader, Main, Dean Roberts, James Plotkin,Pimmon, Pan Sonic, Kevin Drumm, Jim O'Rourke, Pierre Schaefer and evenBrian Eno. That's not to say that these comparisons are unwarranted, asif you like many of the artists in that list, you may well also likeAmbarchi's deeply submerged six string soundscapes. He's moved on from'Insulation' in that he allows a little more repetition into thepicture, and this and the ultra low bass tones he coaxes from hisguitar give a warm glow to his spacious improvised pulses and rhythms.I'm not quite as amazed as many reviewers that Ambarchi creates suchunusual thrumming textures from just one little old guitar with nolaptop processing or other such trickery, as I've seen just what KeithRowe can do with an untuned guitar lying flat in a sea of springs andscrap. However that does nothing to detract from the fact that Ambarchihas made astonishing progress in relatively short time. From the widesonic range of feedback tones on 'This Evening So Soon' to the distantmemory loop simulations that open 'Wednesday' to the electron magnifieddeep bass textures and pulses of 'Gene', 'Suspension' is yet more proofthat Touch is putting out some of the best recordings around these days.
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