Erik Griswold — Wallpaper Music IV

Wallpaper Music IV is a pressing and dense, though at points harmonically simmering example of drone craft created via the use of bowed prepared piano. This CD release appeared on Australia’s Room 40 last year, offering one long and one shorter track.

Brisbane based Erik Griswold is a composer & pianist who has been recording work since the early 2000s, releasing thus far around eleven releases. With the Wallpaper music series been one of his most known/respected work. This is my first taster on his work, with Room 40 putting it out been my reason for check this out, and I must say I’m impressed by his rather unequal take on drone-making.

The CD takes in two tracks "Wallpaper Music IV" and "Wallpaper Music IV (edit)", the first track comes in at just over the thirty-minute mark & the second six minutes. The first track opens with a series of repeated grating string slices- these are both quite shrilling & seared in their higher mid-toned attack. By around the second minute, we get a brief break, before a new layered selection of bowed grates starts to build-up. Initially, these are very much pressing & ringing in their attack, but as we move on we find more harmony and rising joy coming out of the amassed drone tones- which Griswold is skilfully building up. It really is quite astonishing listening to the way the track progresses/ changes from shrill primal-ness, through to golden and rich simmer.

The second track as its title suggests is a shorter version of the first track, with the more pressing/ shrill opening elements cut out, and just going straight into golden simmering. This is ok, but I think really the piece is most rewarding in its long term form.

If you enjoy dense and thick drone work you really do need to check out Griswold's work as he really has quite a distinctive take on the genre- to buy Wallpaper Music IV direct head over to here.