Light Collapse - Species [Torga Anum - 2017]Species is an hours worth of dense & subtle shifting sonics, that sits somewhere between subdued wall noise, grim & grey ambience, and what sounds like looped/ layered field recording ebb & flow- all to create decidedly organic & uneasy hours listening. The release appeared in the form of a CDR on Russian label Torga Anum- back in 2017- in an edition of 36 copies- so you may still be able to hook a copy of this. The CDR is presented in a double-sided & oversized card slip sleeve- this takes in monochrome collage artwork taking in a close-up of a flea, tape reels, inter-locked human bodies. The release also features an art inlay card, that takes in more collage artwork.
Russian project Light Collapse stands as one of the longest running & prolific of walled noise/ textured noise projects. It started in 2005, and has so far as stacked-up six pages of releases on Discogs. Behind the project is Vitaly Maklakov- whose been active in the wider Russian noise scene since the early 2000’s- with his other projects been Kromeshna, Obozdur, 581C.
The self-titled track here comes in at eight seconds over the hour mark- and it really is decidedly drifting & woozy shifting in it’s unfolded. It begins with a very thick & fairly foreboding/ mysterious blend of industrial focused churning & scarping textures, higher pitch tone drift, and a line of brooding drone sustain. As the track progresses we get slow-moving layers of new sound ebbing & floating into the thick & often suffocating sonic field- there’s blunter more grinding textured noise dwells blended with eerier whistling breath loops. Churning aquatic like rumbles, amassed feasting judder & jitter- which sounds like a flock of distant mechanical birds. All manner of creaks & air like buffets, more slowly growing- then-depleting currents of harmonic ambience, distant car rush texturing blended with lulling metallic snaps & scrapes. The whole thing is very swirling in its structure- yet there is both focus & feeling of building/shifting mood present through-out the track.
Species is certainly an eventful & often rewarding journey into dense/ shifting soundscaping, with Maklakov creating a worthy crossbreed between walled noise, grim ambience, and generally sonic unsettlement- as I mentioned in my intro this had an edition of 35 copies…so if it sounds like your thing, you should still be able to hook this. Roger Batty
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