Fibrr Records from London, UK, is a label that has a small output. But the few releases I have from them do make an impact. The CD I reviewed from them before this one was ‘Blast 23’ by Blast Of Silence. Which is a live collaboration between label owner Julien Ottavi and Kasper T. Toeplitz (https://www.vitalweekly.net/number-1390/). In that review, I wrote, “Not a minute of this thing does not intrigue me in some way”, and somehow, this release has the same effect. As for the medium CD, this release is just too short, with A total playing time of only 37 minutes, but having said that, the price on Bandcamp is only €8. Maybe this should be considered a mCD instead of a full-length release. I don’t know. And actually, I don’t care too much, because it’s about the music. Right? And that is beautiful, without any doubt!
The release contains two tracks of two live recordings Julien and Zbigniew did together. Dates were May and September 2012, location Les Ateliers de Bitche in Nantes. Which also explains the title of this release. The live sets were by two guys with laptops, and as for used software, that’s a guess for everybody. The opening track (the May recording) is 17 minutes long and starts with a piercing sound. But if you play it loud enough, you hear voices in the background. Was this recorded with microphones in the venue, or is it a subtle aspect added by one of the artists? The track evolves relatively quickly into a more drone-like structure, and after 6 minutes, it almost falls silent. There is some deep rumbling, and then a lovely piece of noise crawls from the silence, abruptly ending to make space for the September recording.
The September recording is 20 minutes, and the dynamics of the first few minutes and the reverb make me think this was a microphone recording but rest assured, it’s done properly. Again, there are two guys with laptops, so there is a lot of digital sound creation. There are way more dynamics and sudden changes in the composition than in the first track, and a high-pitched noise breaks into silence and a few voices after 7 minutes. Voices (French, I don’t speak French at all). Microscopic sounds. What’s happening… The silence makes me wish there was a video… And again, slow building noise, breaks, piercing feedback, high frequencies … Very lovely sets. Makes you wish you were there. But you know you can’t. Zbigniew Karkowski died in Peru ten years ago on December 12, 2013. The cover states, “[this release] stands as a poignant tribute to the memories of the incredible moments we shared and the powerful music we created together.”
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