Daniel Blinkhorn — Terra Subfónica
Through 19 tracks, Mr. Blinkhorn offers a panoply of radiophonic miniatures that may be short in stature, however sound much larger than life. I often roll my eyes when any piece of art is described as a “feast for the senses,” but this time (and this time alone) I will make a rare exception. This disc truly is a feast for the senses. The sounds found on Terra Subfónica run the gamut, including mixing and melding of: field recordings, crisp electronic pops and crackles, aquatic sounds, ticking clocks, jazz guitar, voices, and even some beats thrown in for good measure. Of course that really only begins to scratch the surface. Despite each track’s short length, ranging from 1 ½ to 5 ½ minutes (though most tracks clock in well below 3 ½ minutes), there’s a focus and unity to each piece with the larger sum. I think these tracks are just the perfect length, which play like briskly moving samplings of sounds. It’d be hard to believe that a casual listener wouldn’t find something intriguing or enjoyable on this album. There’s a little something for everyone.
My only qualm with Terra Subfónica are the extensive notes on each piece contained within the insert. Truthfully, a lot of the commentary came off as a bit pretentious for my tastes and I ended up just skimming over them. While I tend to like a little commentary on the recording process, I felt a little too much was given away, especially with the tracks being so short. There’s something to be said, for having some mystery surrounding your work. Of course, I was happy to shelve the booklet and just absorb the sounds.
Once again, along with Adrian Dziewanski’s Island Terminus, another classy release from the fine folks at Gruenrekorder.