AUTISTICI
"VOLUME OBJECTS" (12K1045)
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%ARRAY
(IR)
12k state: "In the desire to make recorded sound as tactile
as possible Autistici has sculpted found objects, broken acoustic
instruments, synthesizers and environmental recordings into
'Volume Objects'."
Autistici - David Newman, founder of Sheffield's excellent Audiobulb
Records - crafts detailed audio landscapes comprising filigree
melodies, fragmentary field recordings and sparse, tentative
rhythms. 'Volume Objects', his first full release on 12k, evokes
portraits of places crafted from a carefully curated palette
of sound objects.
Across nine delicately constructed audio canvasses, Newman aligns
invented and real sounds. Careful, painterly in approach, Newman
creates sonic narratives of hesitant, yet undeniable beauty.
'Heated Dust On A Sunlit Window' opens with a bristling burst
of static before melting into a serene melody underpinned by
field recorded percussion, crafted into an ever-shifting ground.
'Wire Cage For Tiny Birds' captivates for nine organic minutes,
its melodies hovering, flickering, momentarily harnessed before
evaporating into a growing soundscape only to re-emerge again.
"
Newman has a rarely equalled ability to draw together contrasting
sounds, corralling them to coax new meanings through their juxtaposition
and 'Volume Objects' is a clear indication that his abilities
extend far further than his role as curator of Audiobulb Records.
Packaged with an eight page booklet of understated black and
white photography by Taylor Deupree, a visual counterpoint to
Newman's audio, 'Volume Objects' is itself a beautifully realised
object, proof that physically packaged releases are still loaded
with life.
BLOW
UP (IT)
Dopo aver girovagato nell’ultimo lustro tra netlabels
e realtà discografiche più o meno sommerse, David
Newman, musicista e sound designer di base a Sheffield approda
alla 12k di Taylor Deupree, confezionando un lavoro che non
delude affatto le aspettative di quanti avevano seguito da lontano
negli anni scorsi le evoluzioni e il meticoloso lavoro messo
in essere dall’autore. “Volume Objects” forse
concede di più al sostrato melodico rispetto alle precedenti
prove, ma in ogni caso conferma la straordinaria attenzione
dell’autore ai dettagli impercettibili del suono, quelli
riservati esclusivamente agli adepti dell’ascolto in cuffia,
che spalancano le porte di un mondo fatto di sottili alterazioni
acustiche, flussi nascosti ed impercettibili distorsioni. Un
mondo irreale ed immobile, metafisico e fuori dal tempo, nel
quale emergono suoni di corde decomposti, vecchi giradischi
impolverati ed un campionario crepuscolare di tonalità
che si fondono nello spazio della cornice digitale. Piccole
novelle per suoni persi e ritrovati, strumenti acustici, registrazioni
d’ambiente, sintetizzatori, memorie e luoghi dimenticati.
9V Tree Battery e Wire Cage for Tiny Birds sono due saggi minimi
di levità e grazia, di labor limae sulle componenti melodiche;
Attaching Softness to a Shell una miniatura esile che riluce
nella semplicità di poche linee toniche; Heated Dust
on a Sunlit Window una soffusa combinazione di texture astratte
e tiepidi clicks; Broken Guitar, Discarded Violin l’alternanza
di due strati, quello dissonante composto da violino e chitarra
e quello dronico impastato di note rumoristiche, sghembi accenni
stridenti e ticchettii.
“Volume Objects” è un affresco lirico che
narra della segreta forza del suono nascosta negli oggetti,
delle vibrazioni che essi riescono a disegnare nello spazio
e di un’estetica che verrà.
Captare l’invisibile.
BOOMKAT
(UK)
Further pursuing the mellifluous electroacoustic explorations
that have characterised 12k's recent run (particularly the releases
by Giuseppe Ielasi and Jodi Cave), Autistici take sounds from
instrumental and concrete sources, warping them into a beautifully
organic whole, bristling with a vigorously abstract intensity
whilst referencing an accessible harmonic awareness at every
turn. From the deeply resonant, microsonic drones of '9V Tree
Battery' to the very literally titled 'Broken Guitar, Discarded
Violin' a great breadth of material is covered over the course
of this album, with the latter stages dabbling with some subtle
beat constructions (as on the ear-tickling, playful glitches
of 'Attaching Softness To A Shell [C]') and an acousmatic dissection
of snoring (on 'From A False Memory') which is slightly horrifying
but constitutes another finely spun piece of sound design. As
an accompaniment to the audio, label boss Taylor Deupree has
contributed an eight-page booklet of photography, which nicely
taps into some of the imagery suggested by the music. Lovely.
CALMSCAPE
(.COM)
Calmscape have had the fortune to listen to a new album from
Autistici titled Volume
Objects
recommended listening for fans craving minimalistic ambient
filled with clicks'n'cuts and inspiring textured soundscapes.
The sound on offer here are refreshing, compared to the mainstream
ambient concept as it is abstract enough to be keep the listener
in focus while maintaining balance between abstractism and ambience
- not sounding too abstract to ruin the pleasure of an ambient
feel. Volume Objects is released from the 12K label.
COLLECTIVE
ZINE (UK)
12k is a label I have come to obsessed with in the past 18 months,
for pretty much everything they release is gold. Bar a few misfires
and things that obviously don't interest me, I can safely purchase
any release on this label and be pretty pleased with the result.
This latest cd on the label, from Austici (UK), is mostly pleasing,
although there are moments where it loses my attention.
Everything starts off very nicely, in the land of slumbering,
drifting electronica - pleasant whirrs and clicks, with enough
melodic interference to keep things honest. It's warm, lovely
stuff that I will always appreciate, even if it does initially
sound remarkably similar to any number of other releases I have
picked up down the years on 12k and other assorted labels (I
would whole heartedly recommend a Japanese label called Plop
if you are interested in exploring the genre). Things wander
off around track 4, "Broken Guitar, Distorted Violin",
where a distracting violin enters the fray. And track 5 ventures
slightly into noise territory, being a bit random as it is.
"Ageless Visitor, Eroded Form" is also a touch abstract,
with whoosh-y effects and alarming, almost submarine-esque pings
crashing in. The ten minute long "Attaching Softness to
a Shell [C]" reigns things back slightly, but retains the
darker mood that the album started to creating, with disconcerting
effects and samples mixed in. I think it was around this point
that I realised I hadn't been listening close enough earlier
on, there are all sorts of hidden sounds on this cd, and with
this genre it is all too easy to stick the album on as background
noise and not really get involved. Wear headphones and start
paying attention, and it becomes a whole lot clearer.
I should also mention that the packaging, as with all 12k releases,
is special - very nice black and white photography with an 8
page booklet to showcase it.
D-SIDE
(FR)
Pour son premier album aprés quelques sorties en MP3
sur des netlabels (Kikapu. TIBprod et Hippocamp, tous hautement
recommandés), l'Anglais Autistici poursuit son exploration
des rapports entre microsocme et macrocosme, entre sons trouvés
et générés, entre la narration documentaire
et l'invention du compositeur. Un territoire où les sons
synthétiques se fondent discretement dans des enregistrements
d'instruments acoustiques cassés (guitare, violon) et
dans des field recordings capturant les moments le plus triviax
de l'existence, l'ouverture d'une porte, un battement de coeur,
de la poussiere sur un vinyle, un ronflement devenant ici des
outils au service d'histoires microscopiques (superbement illustrés
dans le livret par des photos noir et blanc de Taylor Deupree),
d'instant, de visions toutes simples, telles qu'une cage à
oisequx, de la poussiere sur une fenetre baignée de soleil,
un amas de neige fondant lentement. A cent lieues des disques
d'électronique abstraite et distanciée, Volume
Objects est au contraire au ras du corps, de la peau, du souffle,
comme un microscope captant à la fois la texture, le
gout, et le tems qui passe. Magnifique! - Jean-Francois Micard.
EARLABS (.ORG)
Autistici‘s own précis of his work in general “Tiny
Details - Abstract Ambience and Broken Space” informs
a lot about his new CD release on the 12k label - Volume Objects.
Coupled with the music inspired black and white cover art and
accompanying eight-page booklet of black and white photographs
by Taylor Deupree, Volume Objects is a beautiful audio story
of “tiny details” culled from found sounds, acoustic
instruments, field recordings, synthesizers, and space.
I’ve followed Autistici‘s online work for several
years (Kikapu, Hippocamp, Stroem, TIBProd., Filament), and it’s
actually no surprise to me that he is now releasing a full length
album on such a well respected and prominent label as 12k. What
I heard always amazed me. Those traces of melody and structure
blended with noise and abstractness have been present from the
beginning, but now I hear a more refined, a more focused, a
more cogent Autistici. With Volume Objects you’ll hear
a more melodious Autistici. His signature broken ambiances and
textures of dissonance are never too far away, but there’s
clearly a greater emphasis on composing more structured and
harmonious pieces when compared with most of what I’ve
heard before.
The release notes are right on the mark and condense the album
to it’s essence in saying that: “Melody and form
are hinted at and then in a whisper, a crackle, are gone. A
sense of narrative and place created as if a hundred tiny objects
are scattered in front of you, a fractured story that you thought
you once remembered. “ I like that analogy. There’s
definitely a story here, but the storyline is splintered, scattered,
and ephemeral.
A full appreciation of Autistici‘s compositions calls
for paying attention to the minutiae of details that he incorporates
into each of them, ranging from captured organic sounds (found
sounds, field recordings, somatic sounds, acoustic instrument
samples) to synthetic tones and noises. The organic and synthetic
and the melodic and unmusical vie against one another, competing
for the listener’s attention, while, at the same time,
joining together and forming an aural lattice of complementary
textures.
Some highlights for me: 9V Tree Battery and Wire Cage for Tiny
Birds attest to Autistici‘s gentlest and most melodic
moments, while Attaching Softness to a Shell [C] shows just
how much beauty he can coax out of a just a few key ingredients.
Heated Dust on a Sunlit Window blends warm, mellow tones with
abstract textures such as fire-like pop and sizzle, the rapid-fire
keystroke clicks-and-clacks of an old manual typewriter, and
snappish wisps of noise like the crack of whip. Displaying less
melody and more discord, To Human Form and the playful From
a False Memory are key tracks. I’ll have to say that Broken
Guitar, Discarded Violin is my personal favorite track. The
initial sad, delicately resonating, guitar melody and harmonics
punctuated with droning tones, percussive noises, and fragments
of electronic noise brought a lump to my throat. The guitar
disappears during the middle third, letting the abstract electronics
tones and shreds of noise take the forefront, and two-thirds
of the way through, a catchy, but less than harmonious, violin
melody arrives accompanied by various clicks and typewriter-like
sounds. This track which had such a musical and poignant beginning
gradually slides into something completely opposite.
Autistici‘s beautiful, affecting sounds complemented with
Taylor Deupree’s black-and-white, music-inspired photographs,
place Volume Objects in my top ten list of releases for 2007
ETHEREAL
(FR)
Présent sur plusieurs compilations dont on a pu rendre
compte dans ces pages, Autistici passe à l'étape
du long-format avec cet album paraissant sur 12k, structure
particulièrement idoine pour l'electronica minimaliste
de l'Anglais.
On avait déjà pu saluer les caractéristiques
de la musique du Britannique : belle luminosité des sonorités,
dépouillement spectral des arrangements et apport non
négligeable de la réverbération. Ces qualités
sont une nouvelle fois développées ici, dans des
morceaux où des bribes mélodiques perlées
(Wire Cage For Tiny Birds, Attaching Softness To A Shell [C])
sont délicatement posées sur une texture plus
complexe typique du label new-yorkais (glitchs, grésillements,
cut-ups). À cette musique gracieuse et inspirée
est ajouté un livret de photographies en noir et blanc
de Taylor Deupree ; arty et évocateurs, renvoyant à
une solitude certaine (pas un être vivant n'est représenté)
et aux compositions parfaitement ouvragées d'Autistici
(importance des lignes et câbles), les clichés
du photographe agissent comme une illustration idéale
de Volume Objects.
Sur le plan musical, alors qu'on commençait à
redouter un peu l'écoute de ce qui aurait pu être
un énième « disque 12k », on est ravi
de constater que l'Anglais peut se départir de cette
grammaire plutôt classique pour s'orienter vers des terrains
dans lesquels l'accent est davantage mis sur le travail rythmique
(Heated Dust On A Sunlit Window) ou sur l'intégration
de boucles mélodiques concassées et de souffles
anxiogènes (To Human Form). On obtient alors un album
riche et varié, belle confirmation des promesses entrevues
jusqu'alors. 7/8
- François Bousquet
FREEMUSIC
(CZ)
Digitální minimalismus ve své komorní
formeš pršedstavuje jizš dekádu na svém labelu
12k Taylor Deupree, i ršada podobneš naladešny´ch umešlcuž
z celého svešta. Loni na podzim zde pršedstavili své
novinky Autistici a matador elektronické avantgardy Asmus
Tietchens.
Autistici - Volume Objects
Staré pravidlo ršíká, zše nejlepsší
obranou je útok. Jak se ale z pozice hudebníka
ubránit pršemírše hluku, ktery´ nás
cším dál tím víc obklopuje? Recept
mužzše by´t povešsit hudební kariéru na
hršebík a utéct do hluboky´ch hvozduž daleko
od hlomozící civilizace. Nebo do lesuž utéct
s nahrávacím zaršízením, ticho vzít
za spoluhrácše a spolecšneš vytváršet hudební
variantu tzv. „bílého hluku“. Prosteš
po enovském zpužsobu pršíjemnou hudbou pršekry´t
hluk okolí. Britsky´ zvukovy´ malírš
Autistici jde tímto smešrem, lecš necšekejme od nešho
zšádny´ pršeslazeny´ muzak, ny´brzš
dohromady s maximálním mnozšstvím prširozeny´ch
zvukuž pršírody, lidského konání,
hrstkou útrzškuž tónuž akusticky´ch nástrojuž,
drobné ambientní i glitchové elektroniky
vytvárší hudební ukolébavky nového
a nutno podotknout alternativního stylu.
Po sbírání ostruh na netlabelech Audiobulb,
Kikapu a Hippocamp pršisšla konecšneš CDcšková sšance.
Navíc sšéf 12k pršilnul k pršipravovanému
albu Autistici takovy´m zpužsobem, zše nechal debut Volume
Objects opatršit plneš recyklovany´m papírovy´m
digipackem, ktery´ navíc vysšperkoval vlastnorucšními
cšernobíly´mi fotografiemi. Co skladba, to jeden
obrázek.
Je pravdou, zše elektroakustická mise, na nízš
se kolázšující Autistici vydal není
na dnesšní alternativní scéneš nicším
extra vy´jimecšny´m. Pomyslnou cšervenou nitku vedeme
od On Land Briana Ena pršes nocšní vy´lety magalopolis
Namlooka a Inoue, niterné instalace Steve Rodena, permafrostem
zamrzlá tanecšní dobrodruzšství Vladislava
Delaye azš k soucšasníkužm na labelech Baskaru, Anticipate
nebo Ahornfelder. Volume Objects je pršíjemná
deska, v rámci pršedem dany´ch mantineluž maximálneš
variabilní a zvukoveš „chytlavá“.
Teda alesponš pro ty, kterší se nebojí naslouchat
hraní s tichem.
GAZ
ETA (PL)
Stillness of night.
Breaking of glass.
Strumming on guitar strings.
Gently sliding your fingers.
Snap, cackle and minute pop.
Reverse tape on repeat.
Humming of environment.
What's more, it tickles the brain.
Floating in mid air.
Nothing is moving and all is well.
You whispered something to me last night
But I can't recall the meaning or sense of it all.
If I could turn myself into an ear,
I'd prefer to listen to these Volume Objects
with an open mind.
As part-melodies come and then disappear.
One wonders where beauty begins and
ugliness ends.
Does an image of an abandoned shed
surrounded by snow mean much to you?
All I recall are the black and white photographs,
Gently wrecked by lack of memory and what came after.
-
Tom Sekowski
GO
MAG (ES)
Ambient. Cumpliendo aquella promesa de publica en formato largo
a todos los artistas que desubrio con el recopilatorio Blueprints,
Taylor Deupree da ahora la alternativa al misterioso Autistici,
un inglesito que gusta por igual de la musica concreta y de
ese ambient de grano grueso y espacios abiertos que es marca
del sello neoyorquino.
Volume Objects contiene una decena de piezas cuyo punto
de partida esta en la captura de sonidos fabricados con objetos
cotidianos (de ahi el ingenioso titulo del disco), sonidos que
se amasan, disgregan y vuelven a unir, portatil mediante, hasta
producir ambientes espesos y llenos de grumos en los que no
es raro adivinar algun breve destello de luminosidad. El unico
problema, en realidad, es que resulta dificil encontrar algun
rasgo de personalidad propia en el interior de estas delicadas
y bonitas piezas. Y no es que Autistici no haga bien su trabajo;
todo lo contrario:
Volume Objects es un ejemplo de detallismo y paciencia,
es solo que parece haber creado este disco para hacer feliz
a su jefe. Y para eso, miren, ya tenemos al propio Deupree,
que lo hace much mejor. - Vidal Romero
JAZZTHETIK
(DE)
Es ist ein Schweben und ein Pflücken als ein bodenständiges
Musizieren, was die Musk des Briten Autistici auf Volume
Objects ansprechend beschreibt.
Etliche kleinteilige Geräusche scheinen durch die Lüfte
zu schweben, von Autistici irgendwo aufgenommen, aneinandergereiht
und mit Fragmenten von realen Instrumenten ergänzt. Das
flirrt ganz leicht durch die Luft, ganz leise, ganz vorsichtig
- und kommt in lauten Umgebungen überhaupt nicht zur Geltung.
Hier ein Klicken, das an Anschläge alter Schreibmaschinen
erinnert, durch ein Kratzen, ein Schaben wie von Schuhen auf
hartem Untergrund. Und alles bekommt ganz viel Zeit, um erfasst
zu werden, zu einem Setting beizutragen, das aber nur in Ansätzen
wirklich in Melodien übergeht. Sobald man einer solchen
wie einem verwunschenen Wesen habhaft geworden ist, ist sie
auch schon wieder verschunden, auf seltsame Weise, so dass man
sich fragt, ob man das wirklich gerade gehört hat und wie
das wohl zustande gekommen ist. Oder um es mit dem Titel eines
Stücks auf dieser schönen, kleinen Platte zu sagen:
"From a False Memory." Die Schwarz-Weiß-Fotos
von Taylor Deupree im Booklet tragen ihren Teil zu diesem Eindruck
bei, wirken ebenso wie kaum vom dieser Welt, obwohl sie nichts
Unbekanntes zeigen. Sehr schön aber.
MILK
FACTORY (UK)
Autistici gives over his first full-length to the object - to
its ruses and to its allure. It’s something evident in
both the album and the photographs that accompany it. Shots
of metallic wires and their sharp calm; woodboards and their
comforting simplicity; even a granular wall, wrinkled like an
aged face, betrays a mystery that cannot be exhumed. Never in
any of this is there a subject to be found.
In the album, too, pieces aren’t driven by a compositional
(subjective) sense. Autistici is concerned with tracing the
line of sound itself, with letting it develop, fleshing it out
by (re)approaching it time and again from weirdly skewed studio
perspectives. Autistici ensures that the featured objects or
source sounds are indeed of a spectral nature. The edges of
each are smoothed down or frayed, and polished until they gleam
in a way that makes them all sound strangely similar. "Wire
Cage For Tiny Birds" features prickly whirlpools and a
glassy shimmer that suggests rain falling in a moonlit sky,
but then, in a stealthy manner, Autistici eclipses that presence
with clouds of sweet cosmic static. It is these juxtapositions
which manage to plant a sense of quietly astonishing incident
within these works. There is a bracing astringency and definite
economy of approach to the compositions, yet the fluid subtlety
of construction either affords them a certain dramatic momentum
or the ability to brim with richness.
Only on occasion does he seem to get lost in the labyrinth of
his own project, the digital twists and cut-ups getting somewhat
away from him. Otherwise these glitchscapes achieve a radiance
of appearance, refracting sound sources into a mercurial flood,
allusively suggesting form and structure, and maintaining just
enough textural warmth and serendipitous, fleeting beauty to
sustain the listener along the way.
MUSIQUE
MACHINE (.COM)
Volume objects presents the listener with nine separate
audio snap shots or sound paintings that mix together environmental
recordings, minimalist electronica elements, ambience, subdued
guitar and other instrumental elements.
For most of it’s near 45 minutes playing time it stays
subtle, ambient and quite subdued in it’s execution- there
nothing that jumps out at you here most of the tracks are really
best described as slow shifting and quiet audio canvas. Though
at the same time there’s often quite a deep weaves &
maps of smaller sounds, tiny sonic details and harmonic touches
to keep ones mind interested. I have to say I enjoyed the more
defined rhythmic moments on display here -where jittering beat
patterns are allowed to build up a constant skeletal structure
over the ambient tides of melody and texture like on the wonderfully
titled Heated Dust on a sunlit window. Some of the tracks here
seem a little too vague and unfocused for their own good- drifting
from one element or texture to another in a rather woolly manner-
but on the whole this is a rewarding enough release.
Though certainly not one of my favourite releasers on the 12k
label who are renowned for their releasers that aptly mix of
ambience, electrontica and organic elements together- it’s
far from a complete failure with some very effective moments
here & there.
NEURAL
(IT)
Rarefied and abstract digital soundscapes, acoustic iterations
('Broken Guitar', 'Discarded Violin') and bleeps come to us
from David Newman, aka Autistici, for the 12K label directed
by Taylor Deupree. Extremely sensitive constructions full of
melody, crackle attitude and very contemporary styles, characterized
by an almost narrative air, focusing on tiny details, halfway
between natural and machinic imagery. It's a circular and embracing
sound, made of complex textures and unusual orchestrations,
which evolves along its nine tracks according to a measured
continuum of audio elements, field recodings and omnipresent
small improvisations. The atmospheres become alluring and crepuscular
in the minimalist abuse of sound inserts, following oblique
and glitchy paths, veined by more dream-like sequences and strong
poetic jumps. A rather inspired and rarefied ambience, which
isn't ruined at all by the experimental cut. - Aurelio Cianciotta
RIF
RAF (BE)
Autistici excelleert in preciseiewerk. Spreek gerust van audio
narratives: zorgvuldig uitgesponnen audioverhalen met een textuur
waarin je verzwolgen wordt. Geniet van de subtiele crackles
of van de ijzingwekkend traag transformerende elektronische
lagen in "Wired Cage For Tiny Birds". De elektroakoestische
puzzel "Heated Dust On A Sunlit Window" is onze favoriet:
een verfijnd spel tussen huisgeluiden en elektronische prikken.
Delicaat en delicieus. (svs)
ROCKERILLA (IT)
Sebbene l'intenso rapporto fra immagine e suono, landscape e
musica, paesaggi urbani ed esplorazione uditiva sia cosi abituale
da non potersi intendere come fondamento di un lavoro discografico,
bisogna ammettere che il concept di Volume Objects
mostri dei risultati
obiettivamente appaganti. Le nove tracce pubblicate dall'artista
britannico su 12k si reggono su delicatissimi equilibri di minimalismo
elettroacoustico, in cui beat, click e disturbi si rimescolano
in un'interazione melliflua e affascinante. A completare il
progetto troviamo anche un booklet con otto fotografie in bianco
e nero firmate da Taylor Deupree (boss della label), un ulteriore
documento visivo che esplicita le vibrazioni sonore contenute
in istantanea apparentemente statiche.
SIGNAL
TO NOISE (US)
The interpretation of 'organic source materials' in an electronic
framework seems to be a thematic for 12K's current run of releases.
It appears a worthwhile investigation, as Autistici prove with
their gracefully composed album of dejected melody, electronically
sourced interruptions and found sound beds. Whilst electro-acoustic
music has ventured to measure some more compositional or sound
(im)balance relationships, Autistici seem more interested in
testing for the edge of concentration in their listener and
at what point you can snap the listeners attention into and
out of focus. 'Wire Cage For Tiny Birds' for example is a series
of broken passages of tuneful sound linked through a series
of connecting textures and process patterns. The piece is deeply
musically, but at no point really resolves into what would be
accessed as a clearly articulated 'musical' progression. It's
within this hazy juxtaposition of sounds, musical fragments
and field recordings that they stake their claim.
Works like 'Broken Guitar, Discarded Violin', complete with
earthing hum from the guitar scattering across the stereo field,
offer an primitive quality - one that is constantly being attacked
by the digital processes and cut-ups that mark out much of the
actual shape of the piece. Again 'Ageless Visitor, Eroded Time'
create this same impression of sound objects caught in a clutter
of musical expressions - sense is left up to the listener and
their level of engagement, something welcomed wholeheartedly
in an age of over-simplification and narrative binaries. - Lawrence
English
THE
SILENT BALLET (.COM)
How does one define an album? Case in point - Autistici's debut,
Volume Objects. Yes, I could utilize generic terms
like “experimental,” “minimal,” “subtle,”
or even the nebulous “good” to describe the album,
but these concepts have been stretched so loose that they don't
fit any musical work anymore. In an age when bands that play
what used to be defined as “hair metal” can define
themselves as “ambient” with the click of a mouse,
it is clear that these definitions do not serve their intended
purpose and are of minimal use to the conscientious reviewer
of a complex work of music. Negative definitions do not suffice,
either. To say “
Volume Objects
is not pop-punk, nor is it shoegaze,” does nothing to
inform the prospective listener as to what the album actually
is, and a list of negatives that apply to any given work would
be far too unwieldy for anyone to be able to use to its intended
effect. Thus, it seems that I will have to take the long route
to definition, and hopefully through analysis and abstraction
we will arrive at a concise definition of at least this individual
work of art.
One of the aforementioned “generic” terms may still
serve as a useful starting point – properly defined, of
course. “Subtlety” is a trait often discussed in
music, but its meaning is always taken for granted, as if there
is an ideal of musical subtlety that everyone understands univocally.
If there is, I'm not aware of it, and so subtlety will be defined
for the purposes of this review as “the placing of greater
importance on the effect of (relatively) inaccessible or less-audible
portions of the piece, as opposed to that of melody, form, and
structure.” To clarify, this is not to say that melody,
form, and structure are not important, but rather that they
are less important than the aforementioned qualities when experiencing
a “subtle” work of music. Does the album fit this
description? A close listen to “Wire Cage for Tiny Birds”
reveals that the work is indeed “subtle.” A melody
is built up, then decays, leaving only the underlying sounds
for the listener to grasp. A melody is soon built up from these
fragments, and then this melody decays, leaving only the seemingly
insignificant underlying fragments of the melody to continue
the song once more. Autisici is demonstrating the essence of
subtlety, here – what makes the song is everything that
runs below the surface. Even such basic qualities as melody
and form are subject to, and created from, the underlying, overlooked
elements of the track. So we can define Volume Objects as exhibiting
“subtlety.” It is a good start, but not quite enough
to characterize the entire work, however.
Autistici's debut is also an incredibly sensual album. When
I say sensual, I am not referring to the more commonly-used
definition of “suggesting sexuality.” Rather, sensuality
in
Volume Objects
relates directly to the senses, beyond the obvious auditory
stimulation. Autistici is among the slowly growing number of
artists that is intent on developing the tactile quality of
music, focusing on the force of the sound made upon the listener's
ears, in addition to the sound itself. “To Human Form”
exemplifies this strategy, tactfully shifting additional resonance
into the track by selecting sounds that often oppose each other
in impact upon the listener's ear, powerfully contrasting to
create a beautiful whole where one sound would be far too harsh,
the other too delicate. In a bold move, Autistici also attempts
to add visual stimulation to the album's experience as well,
utilizing track titles like “9v Tree Battery” and
“Heated Dust on Sunlit Window” to create mental
images for the listener to interact with, and by packaging the
album with photographs taken by Taylor Deupree that are based
upon the aforementioned titles. Even the album's title,
Volume Objects,
implies sensation beyond the basic auditory experience offered
by nearly all musicians. Autistici is making music using objects,
and the visual/tactile properties of these objects are a part
of the work just as much as the sounds that compose it.
“Space” is the final word I will use to help define
Volume Objects.
Autistici breathes this space into all of his compositions,
allowing the tracks to be loose and conform not to a rigidly
defined pattern, but to the mind of the listener. By leaving
some space within the tracks empty, the definition required
by most artists is lost. In this context, however, this space
does not detract from the whole, but rather allows room for
the listener to grab onto some of the more subtle elements of
the tracks while still keeping the upper levels in focus. Though
the amount of space given to the listener is large, and may
tempt those less focused away from a close listen, Autistici's
clever use of space affords those with more patience to see
all of the little details that make each track work so wonderfully.
“Broken Guitar, Discarded Violin” is a perfect example
of this trait in action (or, perhaps more precisely, inaction).
The track's arrangement is sparse, allowing each element to
show itself, if subtly, and when the titular discarded violin
comes into play, the close listener is rewarded with a powerful
sense of fulfillment.
Now we can define
Volume Objects
satisfactorily. The album is a subtle exploration of various
forms of sensual impression that utilizes space as a means to
involve the listener in the creation of meaning within the pieces,
as well as providing a means of access to the subtle within
the context of the album. It is an experience that is never
tiresome, never dull, and offers untold rewards to anyone who
will give it a few moments of their time. There are very few
albums that merit such a long, arduous definition process as
this one – that alone should show just how special this
experience is. Let less deserving artists be pigeonholed into
ill-fitting categories, be described in awkward comparisons.
To ignore this album would be to do yourself a great disservice,
a crime against your musical imagination. Autistici has created
a masterpiece of experimental expression, of interaction between
listener and artist, and of the interaction between differing
forms of art. The greatest art doesn't defy definition, rather,
it cries out to be clearly and imaginatively defined. -Zach
Mills
TERZ
(DE)
Autistik
hat sich ja mittlerweile in der Mitte der Gesellschaft als Schimpfwort
eingenistet, dabei hören Autisten nicht etwa nichts, sondern
haben vor allem ihre sehr eigene und spezifische Wahrnehmung.
Erneut ebenso hochwertiges wie interessantes Audio auf 12k:
das UK-Projekt lotet den Zusammenhang von Klang und Raum auf
eine äußerst diffizile und detailreiche Weise aus.
Die Geschichten aus gefundenen, selbsthergestellten und Field-Klängen
enthalten Teile und Zusammenhänge, bei denen wir genau
hinhören sollten, sonst entgeht uns womöglich Wesentliches.
Eine wunderbare Schule des Hörens und der kleinen Teile,
kongenial illustriert und interpretiert durch Fotos von Taylor
Deupree. Ganz groß.
TEXTURA
(CA)
Autistici's
Volume Objects is a near-perfect exemplar of the found-sound
sculpting aesthetic. What makes the recording so satisfying
is that David Newman (aka Autistici as well as manager of the
Audiobulb imprint) uses sonic textures and field recordings
in the service of a thoroughly worked-through compositional
design. Sounds are not used recklessly or indulgently but instead
arranged to form intimate sound spaces that invite reflection.
The tactile dimension is strongly evident—something track
titles such as “Wire Cage for Tiny Birds” and “Broken
Guitar, Discarded Violin” strongly reinforce—but
they're merely starting points, not ends in themselves. The
sounds of innumerable minute phenomena—dust on a window,
a door opening, bodily noises—are transformed radically
to simulate the clack of a typewriter's keys and gamelan tinkles.
Though many of the nine “audio narratives” opt for
ambient stillness, Autistici isn't afraid to shake things up:
“Broken Guitar, Discarded Violin” flirts with conventional
musical territory by pairing the rough saw of a violin with
the pluck of a damaged guitar, while parts of “To Human
Form” could pass for avant-techno of an admittedly heavily
abstracted, electro-acoustic type. Elsewhere, Newman strikes
an admirable balance between structure and looseness; the material
clearly reflects the imprint of the arranger's hand yet also
unfurls in loose and organic manner. The textural detail alone
is captivating: in “Ageless Visitor, Eroded Time,”
swooshing noises, cannonading ruptures, and ambient tones swirl
within a soft stream of static particles; and in “Attaching
Softness to a Shell [C],” a descending synthesizer motif
induces entrancement alongside the whispered chatter of insectile
organisms. Throughout the album, the listener surrenders to
the seductive pull of the rich flow of detail and texture. An
eight-page booklet displaying achromatic photographs inspired
by the track titles and taken by Taylor Deupree nicely enhances
the release too.
TOKAFI (.COM)
Noises
from afar heard through a door left ajar: An accessible model
of music as sculpting.
It is often said that 80% of a message is processed by the eyes.
No wonder, then, that more and more sound artists are trying
to approach the visual arts with their music. Autistici, too,
talks about his approach to composing as „sculpting“
and the title of this album already provides listeners with
first clues as to the threedimensional nature of its audio content.
Others have gone this way before. While Norbert Möslang's
drastic data vision "Header_Change“ on Jason Kahn's
„cut“ label sought for resolution in the abstract
hallways of binary code, though, „Volume Objects“
may well represent a more accessible and intuitive model.
Having said all this, it comes as a bit of a surprise to find
out that up until last year, Autistici did not even have a single
physical release to his credit and had instead turned into an
integral part of the netlabel community. „Volume Objects“
now comes both as a result of changes within that scene, which
have lead the UK-based composer to conclude that finding high-quality
material on the web is getting increasingly difficult and that
there are unique benefits to a tangible medium.
Speaking more concretely, the CD is accompanied by a booklet
containing black and white photography inspired by the music,
courtesy of 12K label boss Taylor Deupree. The cross-sensory
implications of Autistici's music are therefore mirrored by
its truly multi-medial packaging.
These images are causing cross-complications and making the
appreciation of "Volume Objects“ simultaneously more
difficult and more rewarding. Deupree has shot a series of pictures
all occuppied with space, entities within that space and the
importance of the spectator's relative angle: He finds peace
in cold metallic wires, aesthetical clarity in fields of askew
guitar pegs, comforting curvatures in simple and straight woodboards
and entire life stories in a tiny fragment of granular wall
structure. The connection to the music is, however, not an easy
or obvious one. Quite often, one finds dissonance instead of
an immediate harmonious symbiosis.
The reasons can be found directly in the way that Autistici
builds his pieces. His work is marked by a constant desire to
change and to permutate. In a recent interview with earlabs,
he spoke of refining tracks until „the original obsessive
element (i.e. the one which sparked the compositional process)
has been thoroughly examined from different angles“ and
that is exactly how „Volume Objects“ works: Pieces
evolve along the lines of sound itself, instead of succumbing
to external factors of arrangement. This evolution can be guided
by juxtapositions, which seek for understanding through contextual
shifts. Or it can be driven by gradual manipulation of the source
material.
While the former finds its climax in two short pieces in the
opening half of the album ("Heated Dust on a sunlit Window“
and "Broken Guitar, Discarded Violin“), the latter
is brought to perfection in the two long tracks framing "Volume
Objects“ as if it were a precious painting. "Wire
Cage for Tiny Birds“ opens with summerly string pluckings,
fades out into the underlying field recording, then begins anew
with the motives smoothened to a soft cloud of harmonics.
"Attaching Softness to a Shell (C)“, in turn, focusses
the listener's complete attention on a musical necklace of tones.
Like someone playing "Snake“ on his cellphone, Autistici
keeps adding notes to the loop, slowing all movement down, then
builds momentum again by shortening the cycle.
Transformation is one part of the album's formula, a sense of
rhythm and surprisingly concrete percussive patterns another.
But what truly provides the mind with visual cues is the fact
that Autistici never reveals the origins of his sounds. As a
listener, you constantly find yourself feeling that this howling
or that screaking seems familar, without ever really being able
to put your finger on it. „Volume Objects“ is a
world of words only spelt out in half, of truths and terms on
the tip of your tongue, of noises from afar heard through a
door left ajar.
It is these unfinished stimuli which force the brain to actively
make up the rest. Deupree's photos confront one's own creative
mind with the endresult of the same process of someone else.
Anyone who first read „Lord of the Rings“ and then
went on to watch the movie knows this can feel akward at first.
That, however, does not render them useless. Not only are they
works of art on their own right, but they serve as perfect reminders
of how inspiring on a highly personal level Autistici's solo
debut in the physical world has turned out to be. - By Tobias
Fischer
TOUCHING
EXTREMES (IT)
It's getting increasingly difficult to come up with something
genuinely new in the area where Autistici is stepping. Over
the course of nine tracks, we're shown different facets of this
sonic painter's aesthetic, whose style has more to do with the
peculiar placing of a series of acoustic events than a real
compositional concept. The adjective "tactile", referred
to the recorded sounds on the press release seems pretty coherent
to what I perceived in the disc. True, there are several of
the genre's trademarks (delicately ringing bell tones, whispered
gentleness, extremely simple guitar arpeggios broken by electric
discharges) but are we really sure that one still needs to hear
the damaged vinyl effect in a record after all these years?
Fortunately, the artist is intelligent enough to displace some
of these obvious presences with a rather concrete view of things,
which include casual sources such as a motorbike, or someone
snoring (!), thus adding a most welcome human element to a patchwork
that otherwise might result in yet another "imperfectly
perfect", cracked-glass framed photograph of already visited
territories. At the end of the day, "Volume objects"
can be considered instead as a collection of vignettes somehow
modified by a child's crayon into scribbled figures that, although
not beautiful, possess now a few characteristics and slight
deformations that attract our curiosity more than before.
VITAL
WEEKLY (NL)
In Vital Weekly 550 we reviewed 'Blueprints' a compilation by
12K, introducing a fine bunch of musicians, who all were supposed
to have forthcoming releases on 12K. Several have been done
already and here is Autistici from the UK. He has released before
on Audiobulb, Hippocamp, Kikapu and Wandering Ear (the latter
three are completely new to me). I described his pieces in 'Blueprints'
as 'spacious ambient sounds', but nothing else, so probably
I didn't noted it more than just that. For 'Volume Objects'
he creates music with objects, I think. These are hand held,
touched, scraped, smashed and loved: I am not entirely sure.
But it deems to me that the sounds are sampled and treated on
the computer to create this warm, glitchy music. Nice stuff
I think, but also quite normal. Too poppy to be serious musique
concrete, because of the brevity of the pieces and the looped
character of the sounds, and also in the areas of microsound
this is hardly unheard stuff. Taken that not all the pieces
could bother me that much, and the result is a pretty average
release. Not good, and certainly not bad, but not one that easily
remembers for its quality.
WHITE
LINE (UK)
12k have pulled off yet another coup in the form of the UK’s
AUTISTICI, aka David Newman, who also finds time to curate and
run the very fine Audiobulb imprint. Packed with highly charged
and slightly eccentric creativity, Volume Objects is infused
with a refreshing pallette of original sounds, culled from an
inventory of found objects, broken instrumentation, field recordings,
synthesisers, and doubtless a comprehensive armoury of software.
The net result being a vigorous, organic 9- track ensemble of
pieces that are as varied and inventive as can possibly be packed
into one piece of shiny plastic. Volume Objects combines effusive,
and energetically calibrated editing, with beautifully obtuse
usage of instrumentation that could be the lost cousin of Future
Sound Of London, during their “Life Forms” incarnation.
Most of these sounds interlock for the briefest of moments,
and in fact the whole Autistici aesthetic here seems to deny
any sense of permanence, as sounds and images fleetingly appear,
then dissipate like condensation on a window, or dust motes
on a camera lens. Newman’s attention to detail stands
up to close scrutiny, particularly under headphones, where most
of the tracks reveal hidden depths and subtle interventions,
floating in and out of focus, shifting perspectives, and distorting
windows. At a loss to find any true spiritual counterparts,
I am reminded of The Boats, maybe,or Skoltz_Kolgen’s recent
Silent Rooms, as Autistici inhabit a dusty, slightly surreal
netherworld of broken gramophones, decaying violins, and quietly
muttering showroom dummies - anachronistic elements that are
suddenly and inexplicably fused and merged within the digital
realm, conjoined for the briefest of moments, creating glimmers
of rare beauty. Singling any one track out for celebration is
pointless, as every one here is a gem, but for me, the curiously
entitled Heated Dust on a Sunlit Window, and the wonderful Attaching
Softness to a Shell emerge as personal favourites, especially
the latter’s compelling mix of phone-tone slides that
sound like the telemetry of some lost satellite, whose last
whispers are still transmitting through the ether. Housed in
12k’s classic and superbly designed digipak, with a booklet
containing Taylor Deupree’s photographic interpretations
of the tracks on offer, this work is truly exceptional.Here,
12k have once again released an artist whose work departs from
their original brief - as this is most definitely not minimalism
in any shape or form; however, what we do have is the emergence
of an artist whose work will no doubt be imitated and plundered
forsome time to come, such is the strength and depth of it’s
creativity. 12k have most assuredly saved the best release of
the year until the end..a fine departure from 2007, and most
certainly a label and artist to stand up and pay attention to.
More please. BGN
THE WIRE (UK)
UK sound designer and composer Autistici hooked up with 12k's
Richard Chartier at a concert in Sheffield. His fascination
with the priciniple of Ambient is such that he claims to have
a hard job in sustaining his concentration during conversations,
distracted as he is by the circumambient sounds of air conditioners,
passing planes, the hum of striplights. The Chartier connection
is evident in Volume Objects, as is the influence of
Taylor Deupree, to whom he also listens, but this is no pallid
derivative. Each track is accompanied by a photograph, containing
some seemingly inconsequential landscape detail - a fence, the
close-up of the pebbledash texture of a wall - which function
as visual aids or springboards for further imagistic speculation.
What's great about Volume Objects is the interplay
of the tiniest of sound particles, dancing like atoms amid the
field recordings which provide much of the feed in the mix.
