Emile Bojessen — Ice

Ice is a recent(ish) C30/ digital download from UK based sound-maker & academic Emile Bojesen. It severs up two around twelve-minute tracks of disorienting, at points temple drilling drone/ electro texturing- that really shifts ‘n’ ebbs into some rewardingly unexpected places.

The release appears on Germany’s Geraeuschmanufaktur, who always have a good ear for less formal/more distinctive work within the noise/ ambient/ sound-art genres.  The blue shelled and labelled on one side tape comes presented in a monochrome single-sided sleeve, this features an oddly angular picture of an ice landscape and is perfect for this release. There’s also a 112 page PDF, that comes with the release- this features a long-form poem by Ansgar Allen- that is influenced by the releases sonics

The two tracks here are self-titled, and flow into each other- so this could have been a single track, though each part has its own identity/distinct elements.  So the first sidetrack opens with a blend of wavering-yet-rising drone work and this creepy waving synth bass tone- the drone sound akin to early and deep Tangerine Dream, but the bass tone hints at either sinisterly lopsided goth music or lo-fi horror film synth scaping.  As we progress Bojesen adds in spacy, to yawning angular elector scaping atmosphere-with the two original elements remaining but they are often bent out of shape or warped as we get taken on a real sound adventure. Later on, he brings in church organ-like simmer 'n' climb, warbling-to-swimming drone matter, and electro texturing washes. The track ends on a hovering tone simmer, and this leads into the second track.

So the second track starts with the waving and pressing tone simmer- fairly soon we can make out a distant electro chattering/ drilling- tone growing in the mix, and this is soon added tonal chops ‘n’ knocks. At points, these feel almost rhythmic, and at others not- they also have a rewarding 3D quality about them. As we move on we this sort-of mix of between off-centre ethno-ambient and warbling-to-bay electro improv, again there is a nice loose, yet never meaningless flow to both elements, and as we move on we almost wonder into sparse, slurred and abstract Autechre terrority.

Ice highlights Bojesen growing and developing sonic prowess- setting off from the expected drone/ electro texturing going somewhere rather strange and wonderful. I do hope he goes further down this wormhole, as there is a real feel of weird wonder and sonic brave-ness going on here, which is most refreshing/ distinctive. To pick up a copy of the release drop by here