Any doubt that the
term "drone," as applied to this sort of music,
is completely and ridiculously misleading should be
eliminated after listening to this recording. While
all sorts of pulsing tones are used and thrown away
on Long Heat, the most noticeable aspect this collaboration
is that it never sits still or relies on constant droning
sounds to achieve its rather confusing effect. Kuwayama
Kiyoharu, otherwise known as Lethe, and Jonathan Coleclough
construct a fairly ominous set of sounds, one on top
of the other, until they produce the sound of music
burning. Crackling, sticks snapping, and slowly detuned
winds flow through a series of almost indefinable transitions;
each new sound ushers in a new palette and a fresh movement.
Sounding almost like a variation on a theme, the duo
slowly allows an intensity to build, never really letting
go and simply adding intriguing sounds as they move
along, almost as though they were eager to drop the
old ones as quickly as possible. At around the 21 minute
mark, the atmosphere begins to spiral out of a control
ever so slightly: the clanking of metal, the sounds
of birds chirping, and the endless wail of synthetic
tones grows over its own container and sounds more and
more threatening with every passing second. There's
almost never any doubt that anything released by Coleclough
is going to be good, but not since his work with Colin
Potter on Low Ground has his work felt this powerful.
Lethe's contribution may have something to do with this,
but unfortunately there are no details provided on the
packaging in regards to who contributed what and how.
There are two editions of this release available. One
is a single disc edition and the other is a two-disc
edition limited to 250 copies and available only through
ICR Distribution. There's little reason not to own this;
the fevered pitch this album reaches and it's beautiful,
destructive aftermath exceed any description that might
be applied. - Lucas Schleicher |
