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




Heard In

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


  Joda Clement / Tim Olive / Mathieu Ruhlmann 
  Eidolon
  (845 Audio) 


  
   review by Massimo Ricci
  2022-03-29
Joda Clement / Tim Olive / Mathieu Ruhlmann: Eidolon (845 Audio)

Eidolon is the minimally edited fruit of a pair of studio summits that occurred in 2018 and 2019, both of them preceding live performances in Vancouver. Joda Clément (MS-20, harmonium, glockenspiel, field recordings, feedback), Tim Olive (magnetic pickups, preamplifier, octave generators) and Mathieu Ruhlmann (ukelin, cymbal, tapes, objects) have carved their own niches in ambits that blend improvisation, exploitation of the surrounding environments and art based on found materials. All three have individually published commendable works in the past, thus the reviewer's curiosity of hearing them in joint action was obvious.

The wire connecting vibrations of impressive magnitude and ear-piercing frequencies is kept in tension by a permanent restlessness, occasionally underscored by human manifestations sensed in the distance. Every feature that might refer the listener to a sort of aural normality is mercilessly dismembered in an abstractionism halfway through industrial and superterrestrial. Trance-like episodes are brief, promptly disrupted by now ectoplasmic, now concrete emanations. Drifting car engines mix with ghosts of radio stations burning in an oxidized frying pan. Voices are guessed, but a body or face is not envisioned. Sonically impure currents suggest clouds of chemical (make that "nuclear") particles. At times everything falls silent for a short while, revealing only background electrical whirring. And yet, by some miracle, the four tracks — never winking at us, more often tainted with unsympathetic interference and coarse noise — couple with our life stream in total unselfconsciousness.

The desire to learn about the processes inexorably gives way to the unconditional acceptance of the result. Well aware of the serious commitment of the experimenters, we perceive these improvisations as a kind of soul tranquilizer. It's always better to scrutinize what's apparently hostile to discover unexpected therapeutic qualities, rather than looking for a harmony that does not exist. Tim Olive, alone or together with cohorts, has been trying for many years to explain how little is needed to put the finger on hypothetically unachievable truths. In reality, they are just around the corner. And they crackle, squeal, buzz and hum as any trustworthy replica of the universe's concealed soundtrack.







Comments and Feedback:



More Recent Reviews, Articles, and Interviews @ The Squid's Ear...


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

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Derek Bailey/
John Stevens:
The Duke of
Wellington
(Confront)



Paul Dunmall:
Away With
Troubles And Anxieties!
(Discus)



Shifa (
Musson/
Thomas/
Sanders):
Ecliptic
(Discus)



Natsuki Tamura/
Satoko Fujii:
Ki
(Libra)



Borah Bergman/
Anthony Braxton/
Peter Brotzmann:
Eight By Three
(Mixtery)



Hedvig Mollestad Trio:
Bees In
The Bonnet
(Rune Grammofon)



Acid Mothers Temple &
The Melting Paraiso
UFO:
Black Mountain
ide
(Rolling Heads)



Evan Parker/
Bill Nace:
Branches (
Live at Cafe OTO)[VINYL]
(Open Mouth)



Alexander Hawkins/
Taylor Ho Bynum:
A Near Permanent State
Of Wonder
(RogueArt)



Joseph Holbrooke (
w/ Derek Bailey/
Gavin Bryars/
Tony Oxley):
Last Live 2001 -
In Memoriam
Derek Bailey
And
Tony Oxley
[2 CDs]
(Tzadik)



Zeena Parkins:
Modesty Of
The Magic Thing
(Tzadik)



Dave Douglas (
Douglas/
Ridout/
Adewumi/
Brennan/
Pass/
Royston):
Alloy
(Greenleaf Music)



Ivo Pereleman/
Nate Wooley/
Matt Moran/
Mark Helias/
Tom Rainey:
A Modicum
Of the Blues
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Angles 11:
Tell Them
It's The Sound Of Freedom
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Sifter (
w/ Lisa Mezzacappa):
Flake/
Fracture
(Queen Bee Records)



Jean-Marc Foussat:
Abbatage
(Fou Records)



Chester Hawkins:
Apsis
(Intangible Arts)



Karl Evangelista's Apura +
Andrew Cyrille:
Bukas
(577 Records)



Frode Gjerstad/
Alexander von Schlippenbach/
Dag Magnus Narvesen:
Seven Tracks
(Relative Pitch)



Kaze (
Fujii/
Tamura/
Orins/
Pruvost) with/ Koichi Makigami:
Shishiodoshi
(Circum-Libra)







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. (582)