The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!

The Squid's Ear
Facebook: Squidco Sales



Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Give Guitars to People 
  The Look of Silence, Vol 1
  (Recommended Records) 


  
   review by Thomas Mellish
  2020-12-15
Give Guitars to People: The Look of Silence, Vol 1 (Recommended Records)

Give Guitars to People, as a group, is the work of both Jochen Arbeit and Patricia Bateira. However, The Look of Silence, Vol 1 was created by Arbeit and Bateria lending their services to Victor Rua. When asked for a description of the album, Vitor Rua said that the music is "meta-idiomatic." Most, in this context, would take idiomatic to mean the musical style of a certain epoch or individual. I, on the other hand, am more inclined to take idiomatic to refer to the vernacular and expressions that are unique to a native speaker. As such, meta-idiomatic, as a term, denotes the interrogation of sounds, expressions, and utterances.

When noise and sound are thought of, especially in the context of music, the genre of Shoegaze comes to the fore. Sound, rather than sprawling and oozing, became concrete; sound was reified into great walls. Sound was seen as something to be constructed — to be built. Give Guitars to People can be viewed as a continuation of this exploration. The Look of Silence, Vol 1 certainly does produce sounds and textures that are not too dissimilar from My Bloody Valentines' 'Loveless.' However, that being said, I would contend that Give Guitars to People provide a more nuanced and lucid investigation of the notion of sound and noise. Whereas Shoegaze and noise tracks have discernible and conspicuous endings and beginnings, The Look of Silence, Vol 1 exists in a musical landscape where the arrow of time stands still. Informed by their influence of deconstructive art, such as Dadaism, this 43 minute and 18-second-long album (which consists of only one track) does not pertain to the notions of beginning, middle and end. As said themselves, Give Guitars to People tracks invite listeners to participate in a progression, as opposed to a cycle. Structures and frameworks are made otiose.

At first, dissonant calls and shrieks all interplay and converse over a sprawling framework. The listener is overtly aware of the fact that the track is constructed; the track exists in a place that is orthogonal to the listener. However, as the collage of sound progresses, the natural begins to interject and gain a foothold. Thunderclaps are the first of these. Following this interjection, cascading guitar bends aim to emulate the natural. They fight through and reach an apotheosis, before being drowned again in the milieu of noise. This unique game of cat-and-mouse between these naturalistic sounds and their constructed copies allows the track to dissolve into the ambient surroundings. Like a Chameleon changing its colour, the music morphs so that it can blend into the natural. This game of mimicry continues after the sounds of children are heard, where a bizarre flurry comes to the foreground. Swells and nadirs aim to recapture the complete freedom of playing children.

However, this game of mimicry eventually fails. A volta midway through the song signifies the construction of a new noise. This one, however, rather than aiming to emulate and slip into the surroundings unnoticed, is far more overt. This noise is far more grotesque; it throbs and pulsates. Feedback loops between naturalistic interjections highlight the chasm between the natural and the constructed. The mimicry crumbles as the noise becomes more looped, more reverberated. The wall of noise in the most literal sense has been built. The wall of sound has become impersonal. Nature and the constructed have been separated; the wall serves to divide and define.

The Look of Silence, Vol 1 lends form to the notably amorphous idea of noise. By contrasting and comparing it with the natural, this record allows listeners to consider their place in the environment, and how they complement or counteract it. Perhaps, this record may even comment on how music can be used as an art form that can both support and alienate our habitat and general environment from ourselves. Or, it's just 43 minutes — give or take — of guitar feedback. I think I'll go with the former.







Comments and Feedback:



The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Kim Jae Jung:
Shamanism
(Relative Pitch)



Joe McPhee/
Susanna Gartmayer/
John Edwards/
Maria Portugal:
Monster
(Klanggalerie)



Signe Emmeluth/
Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten/
Axel Filip:
Hyperboreal Trio
(Relative Pitch)



John Butcher/
John Edwards:
This Is
Not Speculation
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Izumi Kimura/
Lina Andonovska/
Dominique Pifarely:
Seven Dreams
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Jerome Deupree/
Sylvie Courvoisier/
Lester St. Louis/
Joe Morris:
Canyon
[2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Marc Baron/
Eric La Casa:
Contrefacons
(Swarming)



Francisco Lopez:
Untitled (
2021-2022)
[2 CDs]
(Bu Lang Tribute Cake)



Eventless Plot |
Haarvol:
The Subliminal Paths
[CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Innovo Editions)



Akmee:
Sacrum Profanum
(Nakama Records)



Karl Evangelista Quintet
feat. Bobby Bradford and
William Roper:
Solace Angles
(Asian Improv)



Sveio:
Latent Imprints
(577 Records)



The Sleep Of Reason
Produces Monsters (
Rasmussen/
Mitelli/
Rezaei/
Koenig):
The Sleep Of Reason
Produces Monsters
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Dan Brown/
Dan Reynolds:
Live At
The Grange Hall
[unauthorized][CASSETTE]
(Sacred Realism)



Matt Mitchell:
Sacrosanctity
(Obliquity)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj/
Mike Majkowski/
Magda Mayas/
Tony Buck):
Love
(thanatosis produktion/
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj/
Mike Majkowski/
Magda Mayas/
Tony Buck):
Love
[VINYL]
(thanatosis produktion/
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Mary Halvorson Septet:
Illusionary Sea
[2 LPS]
(Firehouse 12 Records)



Darius Jones:
Legend of e'Boi (
The Hypervigilant Eye)
[VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(Aum Fidelity)



Irene Schweizer/
Rudiger Carl/
Johnny Dyani/
Han Bennink:
Irenes Hot Four
(Intakt)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (15843)