This is an odd two-disc set in that there's no particular relationship between the works presented; it's pretty much like two entirely separate releases that just happened to have been packaged together. And one is a re-mix at that.
"Kitnabudja Town" was originally released by Marchetti (under the nom, Roger De La Frayssenet) in 1997; this is a re-mix of same and, without listening to them side by side, one gets the idea that the piece's core has been retained at the very least. It's a travelogue of sorts, a collage of found sounds, music, conversation (including Burroughs), electronics largely sourced from African, Indian and Arabic climes with appearances from disco and soul territories as well. Although the frisson of excitement accompanying 90s collage aesthetic has paled somewhat, Marchetti's choices are refreshingly street-oriented, holding up rather well insomuch as they provide gritty, sharply focused images of the landscape. Still, absorbing all the disconnected scenery over some 71 minutes might test the patience of some listeners.
Favory's "Des Spheres" is a very different creature. The 51-minute work is very much on the ambient end of things, albeit a bubbling, slightly disturbing version. There is a consistent, tonal throb beneath the surface activity, the later consisting of burbles, sonar-sounding beeps, gnatlike buzzing and more. The shifts it makes are slight, mostly having to do with those top layers of sound; sometimes you have the impression that you're almost hearing snatches of conversation, perhaps alien in nature. It eventually settles down a bit into something of a low simmer, the sonar pings echoing in an increasingly cloudy sea. The journey is pleasant enough though the relative lack of depth in the sound field and limited change of focus make it feel less substantial in retrospect.
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