Mike Fazio: The Vast Apart
Faith Strange

The Vast Apart presents a different and somewhat unexpected side of Mike Fazio's music-making but an immensely satisfying one nonetheless. In contrast to the long-form soundscapes associated with his orchestramaxfieldparrish alias, the new release is dominated by models of concision, vignettes that in some cases last little more than two minutes at a time. Calling it new, by the way, requires some clarification: as Fazio explains on the inner sleeve, the album's ten tracks originated as demo tracks (three or four albums' worth, apparently, and half of it obscure covers) recorded in 2007 for an intended live band project involving Fazio's (since-deceased) colleague Jeff Ladd. With that project never reaching fruition, the material remained archived until 2017-18 when Fazio rescued it from the vault to midwife it into its now-issued form.

The material exudes an ease and confidence that are natural byproducts of experience, which Fazio has in spades: the release is the thirty-fifth independent recording to have appeared on his Faith Strange imprint since 1992, and during his career he's participated in hundreds of sessions, soundtracks, dance productions, and independent live theater presentations. Fazio himself describes the album as “a collection of oddities,” though endearingly; originally conceived with the LP format in mind, The Vast Apart's tracks, brief by design, accord nicely with the two sides of a vinyl release, though the ten also work well when played sans interruption in the CD presentation.

A strong case could be made for The Vast Apart as a guitar album, but, ever the anti-traditionalist, the New Yorker rarely plays the instrument straight-up, preferring instead to reprocess its sound using digital filters and granular synthesis. Guitar histrionics are eschewed in favour of textural explorations, Fazio's focus as much on atmosphere as rhythm and compositional development. Such treatments lend the material a seductive quality that draws one in to attend closely and better appreciate the artistry in play. Such an approach also gives the tracks a rather stealthy character in the way they get under one's skin: what at first might seem a sketch or work-in-progress, reveals itself after repeated exposure to be subtly crafted sound design. In “The Empath (And Other Love Stories),” for instance, limpid lead guitar playing naturally functions as the primary focal point, but the pitch-shifting swirls and warbles fluttering in the background prove just as interesting.

January 2019