Martin Kay — All Things Metal

As this releases title suggest it features purely field recordings made in & around metal objects. Over a five year period this Australian sound artists, field recordist, & designer visited various different places & environments around the world to capture the twelve tracks on offer here.

When one thinks of recordings based around metal they’d imagine that the sound pallet & type of sounds created would be fairly narrow- but Kay really does mange here to capture quite a wide variety of sounds & tones.  We go from the low  down buzzing yet piecing drone of "Kerosense Heater"(recorded in Niseko Japan), which takes in a recording of said item as it contracts with heat. Through to the circling yet detailed tonal vibrations  of "Stadium Support Pillar"(recorded in Melbourne Dockland).  Onto the weather gusting & rattling of "Two Storage Boxes"( recorded in Surakhani, Baku). Through to warming yet slightly creepy elector buzzing meets distant oriental advert chatter of  "Street Light In Male Entertainment Distr."( recorded in downtown Sapporo).  Onto  to slow tumbling & rumbling metallic sound of "Dumbbell Rolling"(recorded in a Melbourne car park).  Through the taut & tensioned pitter patter &  back wash of "Rain On Iron Gutter"( recorded in Futako Tamagawa district of Toyko)

I’d heard one other release by Mr Kay in the past, and that was 2013 Black Mountain debut Closing In, which saw him mixing environmental field recordings, found sounds/other field recordings, with drone to electro morphed abstracted instrumentation. But this is the first purely field recordings I’ve heard from Mr Kay, and I must say I was most impressed with the range, type, and replayability of the sounds he captured here - but also the atmospheric depth  is most telling with many of the recordings too. All in all another very worthy release from 3leaves.