
Sean E. Matzus - Environmental Wall 1 [The White Visitation. - 2020]Environmental Wall 1 finds respected US noise maker Sean E. Matzus(Thewhitehorse, theNIGHTproduct, Black Leather Jesus, Last Rape) presenting up a nicely seared ‘n’ fierily feasting thirty two minute 'wall' based around field recordings of a creek in rural Pennsylvania. The release appeared October of last year- coming as either a cassette or digital download- I’m reviewing the latter. The track is based around a field recording Matzus made near Fairchance, Pennsylvania- with the artwork of both the tape & digital release featuring a picture of a black pipeline spurting water out into a tree & scrub surrounded waterway. Matzus nicely modifies the recording- so instead of the expected wet & watery texturing, we have a more urgently seared & tightly chopping 'wall'.
The ‘wall’ here is based around a blend of tighter/higher pitched juddering-to-feasting textures, and mid-ranged taut crackle- with a selection of smaller grained forks & pop appearing ever so often.The higher toned elements have a nicely feasting & semi-wonky quality to them that is most appealing, while the mids are both nicely crisp & tensely consistent in their attack. I’m not usually a huge fan of high & mid-tone focused 'wall' matter, but this is a most compelling piece of work. With Matzus doing a splendid job with the altering of the water recording, so there is nothing aquatic about it at tall.
The title suggests there will more than one in this series- and let's hope there is, as Matzus is doing something rather original & distinctive here. At the time writing there are still a few copies left of the fifteen copy edition left- so to hear a sample and pick-up a copy head here      Roger Batty
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