Edward sol — Provocative Manner
Edward Sol is a veteran of experimental music hailing from Ukraine. I'm not familiar with his work but apparently he's been involved in a vast number of projects, and even won prizes for his movie scores
Provocative Manner" is a C40 tape released on his own Quasi Pop Records. The nice color artwork depicting Mexican luchadores didn't quite prepare me for the sonic assault of "Forget Your Tongue Use Your Teeth", side A of the tape.
The usual array of high and low pitched microphone feedback, distorted contact microphone abuse, throbbing synth pulses and sputter, tape looping and manipulation is blended with extreme cure and the composition is pristine. The range of sounds implemented on this track is impressive and the ever-changing flow of sonic accidents keeps the attention high. There's always something new happening, and each listening session reveals new traits. Even if some of the sounds used by Sol on this track are within the harsh noise standard, somehow the mix is not violent at all. It's just a pleasure to sink into the mass of noise and revel in the sea of details.
Side B's track "Time Is Short" is even more delicate. Tape and synth manipulation reign supreme and again the composition is masterful and cohesive. The sounds fall in the quieter "experimental" category except for a few bursts of violent noise. The use of straight "musical" sounds (namely a tape loop from what sounds like a Japanese traditional chord instrument) keeps things fresh but might annoy some purists of noise.
This tape is an excellent addition to any respectable experimental/noise library. It sounds like something straight out of the fertile cassette-swapping underground of the 80s, when experimentation was absolute and free and violent noise went hand in hand with the widest variety of sounds. On a second thought probably this material would sound even better on vinyl. Recommended!