textura

Albums
Jessica Bailiff
Basic Soul Unit
Christoph Berg
Billow Observatory
Bitcrush
Michael Blake
bvdub
Celer
Cello+Laptop
Sylvain Chauveau
The Colossal Ithaca Trio
Displacer
Kyle Bobby Dunn
Filterwolf
Ghost and Tape
Gunshae
Hideyuki Hashimoto
Szymon Kaliski
Fritz Kalkbrenner
Listening Mirror
The Peggy Lee Band
Yuri Lugovskoy
Missy Mazzoli
Melodium
Nebulo
Nite Lite
Frédéric Nogray
Offthesky & MWST
Pill-oh
Positive Flow
Le Réveil Des Tropiques
Scott Sherk
Andy Stott
Talvihorros
Robert Scott Thompson
To Destroy A City

Compilations / Mixes
Catz 'n Dogz
Cold Blue 2
Friendly Fires
Imaginational Anthem 5

Reissue
Jethro Tull

EPs / Singles
Aqua Marine
Jah Warrior
Landing
Manual
Ruffhouse
Chris Weeks
Xoki & Hieronymus

Chris Weeks: A Deconstructed Sun
Nibbana

Chris Weeks (aka Kingbastard) uses the elemental makeup of the sun as inspiration for this thirty-three minute EP (digital only) of richly detailed reveries on Tigerbeat6's ambient sub-label Nibbana. A natural companion recording to A Haunting Sun (Weeks' debut outing on Nibbana), A Deconstructed Sun borrows melodic and tonal fragments from its album-length predecessor and alchemizes them into new forms, resulting in ten three-minute audio collages where sing-song lullabies (“[S]”) sit comfortably alongside synth-heavy kosmische musik explorations (“[Ne]”).

Using the chemical names for the elements as titles, Weeks plays off their associations in fashioning the make-up of the individual pieces. “[He]” exudes an airiness and lightness of tone in its sonorous splendour, for example, that's suggestive of the fundamental qualities one associates with Helium. Sometimes, however, Weeks surprises the listener by utilizing a different style than expected. In that regard, lilting rhythms and child-like melodies unexpectedly characterize “[Fe]”; “[Si],” by comparison, assumes a more severe electronica style in its sound design.

Weeks is no slouch in the scene-painting department, as a track such as “[C]” makes evidently clear when its becalmed piano melodies drift through a dense, rippling mass of static and hiss. Best of all, he presents genre variations in ultra-concise form, such that a credible space drone such as “[N]” makes its presence felt in a mere three-minute running time. Even though an unassuming and lo-fi quality permeates the recording, Weeks repeatedly shows himself to be a masterful arranger who's able to effortlessly combine a multitude of disparate sounds into coherent wholes.

December 2012