0>1: greaterthanset EP
October Man

At less than sixteen minutes and issued in a mere thirty-five copy run, 0 > 1's greaterthanset EP clearly won't be around for long—which is a bit of a shame, as its mix of electronic flutter and ambient noises is certainly beguiling enough. London-based Lee Fraser (the man pushing 0 > 1's buttons) goes in for experimental electroacoustic settings that represent some weird amalgam of microsound ambient and electronic melodic explorations.

Each track possesses a slightly different character: “A Study in Four Colours” packs string plucks, piano noodling, and electronic treatments into two colourful minutes; “drawbacktoleap” pairs glistening Rhodes melodies with the click and scrape of staccato micro-beats; a percussive army of thrums, whirrs, creaks, and clanks dominates “The Ascent of Moses”; and “Class of Classes” exudes an experimental neo-classical feel when snippets of orchestral samples slide into view. In the most directly evocative piece, “The Static Sea,” animated ripples and rustlings suggest a slightly turbulent water setting. Every second and every sound counts in 0 > 1's tightly-compressed laboratory studies.

February 2008