Frank Rosaly — Centering And Displacement

Frank Rosaly's "Centering and Displacement" is yet another unclassifiable release from Utech.  To call this a sparse, loosely rhythmic work for processed percussion would perhaps be most accurate.  This is an atonal, monochromatic, emotionally neutral piece, focused on textures, heavy on analog fuzz, employed in sketched polyrhythms.  Rosaly is fascinated by the organic imperfections in the overtones and resonances of the instruments.  This is certainly a piece for deep listening, with roots in free jazz and classical minimalism. 

Though the album is divided only into side A and B, there are something like 4 movements here.  The first is a sluggish drum set rhythm in an odd meter punctuated with crumpled pockets of dissipating distortion.  Whimsical, liquid bass tones slide up and down in pitch between the transients of the drums, creating an odd sensation of momentum.  Mulched up ring modulated synth sequences appear occasionally, also drenched in pleasant analog distortion.

For the second section, the piece thins into circling quasi-melodic bell mantras, which rotate around the ring mod synth from the previous part with a heady gamelan feeling.  Rosaly then distills the sound until the rhythm is thinner still, until eventually the only sound is a single 3 note phrase recurring every few seconds.  This part feels more reverant and focused than the first, which had some similarities to noise rock.

The second side is more of a drone.  Warm, again uneven amplfier buzz contributes a thick and tonally grounded low end to its first 7 minutes.  The abrasive yet elegant and full bodied shimmer of scraped cymbals is interwoven through it, recalling the work of Organum, who famously loves metallic contact sounds like these.  A soft sprinkling of bells remains in the backdrop as well.  The sounds compliment each other well.

The final musical movement is almost a melody, a contemplative filtered synth sequence that verges on melody, sounding like the more understated works of Biosphere.  Rosaly flirts with the idea of giving it real sonic presence, but ultimately it never rises above a murmer.  There are also rustling field recordings that sound like water droplets hitting an empty soda can.  It's fitting that this beautiful segment is the last.

Much like the work of fellow avant percussionist Z'EV, this music is uniquely spiritual in its ascetic tracing of rhythmic mandalas.  Unlike many of Z'EV's works, this is a well rounded, diverse and listenable album worthy of analysis and pondering.  Highly recommended