The next one is by Modelbau, who is, of course, Frans de Waard, etc. If you don’t know by now, go to the main website of Vital Weekly and type Modelbau in the search field. There, I’ve said it. So let’s go directly to “Single Stream”, the first C60 on the label. As with the Sick Days release, both nameless tracks cover the whole side. And both compositions should also be labelled something like Lofi experimental drone ambient or something in that region. Because it’s Modelbau, and that’s what he does. Mostly … Ok, sometimes … Well, at least this time, though it all sounds raw and edgy. As we’ve learned in the past, it’s a mixture between the used sound sources and the ‘current setup’ and it feels like this was done with a setup with loads of delays (machines or tape loops) generating a nicely saturated sound all over.
The first side opens nice and grainy, and graininess in different layers is a constant factor during the ride. There are a lot of dynamics in here where it’s sometimes the massive background being pushed to the front, and sometimes the somewhat finer sonic tissue has the overhand in the mix. It sounds like the feedback in this composition is so saturated it sometimes gets on the edge of filling up the whole thing and pushing away everything else, and I love that part. Because it’s not what’s happening, and with his 40+ years of experience, Frans knows exactly what he’s doing there. From the two sides, this first one is the most loop-based.
The other side is more experimental and drone-based in structure. It almost sounds like untreated high-pitched frequencies are used to create the ever so minimal ‘dance of interpolating waves’ between those sounds. And that mixed with the previously described feedback manipulation … If done a few octaves lower, the interpolation would have become a bit more obvious, and this whole release could have been on the Moving Furniture side-label Eliane Tapes just as well. It’s a magnificent piece, but it does take some energy to listen to. It’s not to be played in the background because of the higher frequencies used, so it’s not one of the most accessible pieces by Modelbau to listen to. Intriguing, massive and complex.
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