Cyclic Defrost (.COM)
Back in December the label 12k released ‘Wind Dynamic Organ, One & Two’, and ‘Wind Dynamic Organ, Deviations’. The first by Swiss artist Zimoun, and the second in collaboration with Taylor Deupree. Both works are based on the Wind-Dynamic Organ, Prototype III located in the Bern Cathedral, where Zimoun had access to record over the past few years. While the first album is a solo effort of more unmanipulated sound, the Deviations delve even further into the possibilities of such a captivating instrument.
The LP has 6 tracks and is based solely on sounds from the organ, we discovered endless details and came back with an idea of three acts of two songs each. ‘Deviation I’ opens subtle, almost tactile, slowly gaining weight, making us think of shores. The effects are quiet but keep a mystery to themselves, hiding in the texture to come out like muffled electric sparks. Distant harmonics appear every now and then, like reflections taking place only when we look away.
Our first act closes with the introspective ‘Deviation II’: its crackles and chirping sounds of the evening nature, and a smoothed kaleidoscopic organ with melodic patterns making pirouettes with each other. There’s a shoegazy feel in the echoes enveloping these voices, and rewards for those eager for buried details in sound.
Our second act begins with ‘Deviation III’, revolving thick layers of sound with distant whirs that seem organic, until the echoes and resonance of ‘Deviation IV’, another favorite, flourish with an organ sound turning spiritual and reminiscent of a humming choir. These vibrations impregnate a wistful ambiance in the atmosphere. It’s another dialogue, with the second voice reaching a tone of melancholic beauty. A reverie of looming drones that trigger our subconscious in a loop.
We reach the last act with the ritualistic ‘Deviation V’ and its voices hidden behind sonic curtains. Feels like preparing thick colours to spread on the next audio canvas, the intricate ‘Deviation VI’, a space where vaporous pads stream every now and then. Think of memories making their way through an intricate forest, absorbed in a labyrinth of impossible directions. There, where we’ve already been and there, where we’ll never be. It’s a cathartic resolution to the deeply woven trails before.
Taylor Deupree is one of our favourites in sound treatment, his ability takes us to a world where every object has a soul and a story to tell. Digging for the essence through field recordings, and infusing this alchemy with dreamlike acoustic atmospheres, he reaches a calm state; so complex yet so smooth. His works are like audio sculptures, carved with millimetric precision. This is a mood to submerge oneself in.