A few weeks ago was the official release of the latest batch of Kringloop Kassettes. And slowly I’m going through all of them, but here I have a problem. A release on which I get stuck because I haven’t the faintest clue what to do with it. My head is making over hours on what I’m hearing; I’m trying to comprehend everything I’m hearing and connect the dots. If you listen to the release, you might understand what I mean.
I had never heard of Quinten before this release. The international database of information, better known as the World Wide Web, tells me he is an artist with mostly abstract output in visual and auditive aspects. As a sonic artist – probably better than a musician – he is also active in Belch and e.m.i.r.s projects. But those are also unfamiliar to me. So, everything I hear and read is new. I have been looking for other ‘Beheadings’ as this release is titled “Beheadings 4”, but no such luck. One can only think and fantasise here.
The 90-minute tape has two long tracks named “untitled”, but the two sides of the cassette are entirely different. Side A is highly diverse with sounds. Maybe eclectic is the term to use, but I’m a bit hesitant to use exactly that term. It’s experimental, weird, incoherent at moments, sometimes harsh, and quite ‘arty’ at other moments. In some moments, it’s almost like a Pollock painting where all kinds of sounds are thrown onto a canvas; at different moments, it’s more like Kiefer’s techniques: They could be anything as long as they do the trick. The resulting composition, however, lacks a bit of coherency. It’s like a ‘study for sound on canvas’; yes, there are many beautiful moments and experiments. But … But …
And then there is that other side of the release. Here it’s the sonic painting you were looking for on the first side. Like a Plinko pyramid, everything falls into its place. It’s almost magic. What you first thought wouldn’t combine suddenly combines. Looks, drones, noises … Everything. Except maybe for those last few minutes, I forgive Quinten. That’s a composition, too, just not ‘mine’. In a museum and knowing what would be in that final room, I’d skip it. I would leave the museum inspired and mesmerised.
Comments
Post a Comment