Warung Elusion
Label: trente oiseaux
Catalog#: TOC 022
Format: CD
Country: Germany
Released: 2001
Tracklisting:
1. I (15:41)
2. II (21:58)
3. III (20:15)
Press:
Warung
Elusion is Matt Shoemaker's second release for
Trente
Oiseaux, after Groundless released a couple of
years back. It features
three long
pieces
of evolving, shifting soundscapes, moving from
long, open and
quiet
sections full of suspense to surprising
crescendos of rustling,
clamouring
sounds. Using what seems to be a subtle
combination of electronic
and acoustic
sound sources (found sounds, field
recordings), Shoemaker builds
engaging and challenging pieces, full of
surprises and suspense,
mysterious sounds
and light electronic tones. We hear clocks
ticking, metal
resonating, rain
falling against the window, voices muffled in
obscurity, a
continuously
expanding
sound-space. Each piece seems to build on the
foundation of the previous one,
the atmospheres becoming more "charged" by the
moment. It's an outstanding
work, one that has captured my growing
interest each time I sit down to
listen
to it, in headphones (with which you can
discern even the faintest of
sounds) or with loudspeakers, where the
ambience of the room soaks
up a lot of
the
nearly inaudible subtleties. Either way, it comes highly recommended.
nearly inaudible subtleties. Either way, it comes highly recommended.
- Richard di Santo - Incursion
Shoemaker is
arguably the least well known artist on
Bernhard Gunter's
trente oiseaux. His latest piece of musique concrete dynamism should
increase the value
of his stock. Gunter aptly described his work in cinematic terms. Like
a documentary
film maker zooming from a wide field of vision down to a tightly framed
shot,
Shoemaker
brings aural details into close focus. Warung Elusion opens
with very
quiet fluctuations
of gray drones and washed out frequencies, which steadily expose their
origins as
forest
field recordings. Birds choruses flutter amid electric tones and
collaged sounds of rain
and wind innocuously caressing the trees.
These are counterpointed
with more
unsettling
natural noises, like the harsh cracking of branches or hurried splashes
through shallow
water.
While Shoemaker is not as extreme as, say, German film
director Werner
Herzog, whose
Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo movies equated the rainforest with
"organized murder" , he
also wants to make it clear that not all in the great
outdoors is cute and fuzzy.
- Jim Haynes - Wire
Magazine
Warung
Elusion is Matt Shoemaker's second album
for the label
Trente
Oiseaux. The three pieces presented here (all within the 15-20 minutes
range) place him somewhere between academic electroacoustics (Francis Bayle, Yves Daoust, Robert Normandeau, Jonty Harrison) and the more 'outsider' approach of lowercase, mainly through the use of delicate field recordings, found objects, and a general avoidance of large sonic gestures. Shoemaker works into details, which doesn't mean his art is static or limited in scope. His sound and dynamic palettes are wide, each track has its climax of activity and decibels. But they are used carefully, building slowly in a foggy cinematic fashion. The second of these untitled pieces stand out. The blend of 'pure' found sounds, treatments and pure electronics reaches a captivating narrative level (although very subjective). One thinks of Lionel Marchetti's 'Portrait d'un Glacier', because of the sonic material (wind, water, footsteps) but also the manner in which they are introduced and integrated to the piece. Track three is more conventional in its development and focuses on a train/subway sound, recalling works by Bernhard Gal among others, but the eery sounds overpinning it (somewhere between a theremin and a bowed cymbal) cast a different light. By its choice of material, the first track recalls 'domestic' works by Michael Prime or Philippe Blanchard, yet again Shoemaker's compositional skills provide a compelling arrangement structured around a few brutal contrasts. A recommended listen.
Oiseaux. The three pieces presented here (all within the 15-20 minutes
range) place him somewhere between academic electroacoustics (Francis Bayle, Yves Daoust, Robert Normandeau, Jonty Harrison) and the more 'outsider' approach of lowercase, mainly through the use of delicate field recordings, found objects, and a general avoidance of large sonic gestures. Shoemaker works into details, which doesn't mean his art is static or limited in scope. His sound and dynamic palettes are wide, each track has its climax of activity and decibels. But they are used carefully, building slowly in a foggy cinematic fashion. The second of these untitled pieces stand out. The blend of 'pure' found sounds, treatments and pure electronics reaches a captivating narrative level (although very subjective). One thinks of Lionel Marchetti's 'Portrait d'un Glacier', because of the sonic material (wind, water, footsteps) but also the manner in which they are introduced and integrated to the piece. Track three is more conventional in its development and focuses on a train/subway sound, recalling works by Bernhard Gal among others, but the eery sounds overpinning it (somewhere between a theremin and a bowed cymbal) cast a different light. By its choice of material, the first track recalls 'domestic' works by Michael Prime or Philippe Blanchard, yet again Shoemaker's compositional skills provide a compelling arrangement structured around a few brutal contrasts. A recommended listen.
- Franois Couture - All
Music
- Grooves Magazine