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.


  Eventless Plot 
  Anisixia
  (Edition Wandelweiser) 


  
   review by Nick Ostrum
  2022-07-12
Eventless Plot: Anisixia (Edition Wandelweiser)

Eventless Plot is a group of musicians and composers originally from Thessaloniki, who are interested in the quieter side of the contemporary and avant-garde spectrum. Its core is Vasilis Liolios, Aris Giatas, and Yiannis Tsirikoglou and, indeed, those three are the full ensemble on many Eventless Plot releases. On Anisixia, however, Liolios (psaltery and e-bow), Giatas (analogy synth), and Tsirikoglou (electronics Max/MSP), are joined by Nefeli Sani (piano), Chris Cundy (bass clarinet) and Eva Matsigou (flute). Doubling in size, the ensemble generates a fuller sound than it has in the past through focusing on extended tones and textures, gradual development, amelodicism and space. They do so expertly and, remarkably, they do so evenly. On Anisixia, Cundy, Sani and Matsigou are as essential as the Liolios- Giatas-Tsirikoglou nucleus.

The album's single track, "Anisixia", evokes a calm, isolated suspension. It suggests the sensation of simply being adrift. (The triptych photograph on the inside cover speaks to that second point.) It is disorienting, but its warm, evocative tones offer solace and comfort. It is sinister, but buoyant, as the creeping hisses ride upon undulating layers of crescendos and, at one point, a heavy series of sparse piano melodies, which fades into a brittle silence. This brief moment of quiet is also a moment of gathering, as it folds into a lone piano backed by a whispering ambient hiss. Does this denote decay or presence? Is it a sign of life and electricity or the absence thereof? In this cryptic way, however, "Anisixia" also sounds distantly familiar. I had not heard this recording before my first listen, but I had heard something like it, with a similar palette and maybe even similar instrumentation (minus the psaltery) but with a heavier (or lighter) density of threads, a cooler range of colors, a different array of fog and shimmer and a more linear approach to progression. Eventless Plot, in other words, works within a recently established electro-acoustic tradition that one can trace through labels such as Another Timbre (who released the ensemble's Parallel Worlds in 2020) and, of course, Wandelweiser as of late. And they do it exceedingly well and to a heavy emotive effect. Turn this one up loud and play it as you sip your morning coffee or tea ideally with few other distractions. It will draw you in and take you away, if just for a short while.







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:


Samuel Blaser Quartet:
Rosina
(Blaser Music)



Samuel Blaser Quartet:
Rosina
[CASSETTE]
(Blaser Music)



TRAC (
Teddy Ryles/
Alexander Cooper):
Heavy Nano Ream Aria
[2 CDs]
(Bu Lang Tribute Cake)



Tyshawn Sorey (
w/
O'Farrill/
Shim/
Korten/
Allen II/
Victor):
Members... Don't!
[2 CDs]
(Pi Recordings)



Josh Berman Trio:
Everybody Else's Life,
Too
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Charles Downs Quartet (
w/
Paz/
Saft/
Morris):
Inner
(ESP Disk)



Satoko Fujii:
Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra
[2 CDs]
(Libra)



Henry Kaiser:
Gateway To Strangeness (
solo guitar)
(Metalanguage)



Michael Marcus Quartet (
Marcus/
Williams/
Rodriguez/
Mednard):
Next Stop Down
(ESP Disk)



Le GGRIL + DDK:
Diffraction
(Tour de Bras/
Circum-Disc)



Jason Kahn/
Phil Durrant/
Mark Wastell/
Caius Williams:
Where The Stars
(Editions)



The Tony Williams
Emergency w/ John McLaughlin/
Larry Young:
Emergency!
(ALAY)



Vienna FLAMMeS (
Koglmann/
Schiske/
Donhauser/
Buhlmann/
Mautner/
Rohrer):
He Said Boler o'
(ALAY)



Ballister
+
Luke Stewart:
Clocking the Wheel
(Aerophonic)



Duke Ellington Orchestra:
From Fargo Live 1940
(ALAY)



Camila Nebbia/
Chris Corsano:
Six or Seven Ways
Towards Becoming Undone
(Relative Pitch)



Hilary Jeffery (
w/ Delius/
Dunmall/
Jeffery/
Poulou):
Green Prism:
Music by
Keith Tippett
(Discus)



Paul Dunmall:
Afraid To Speak
(Discus)



Gerry Hemingway/
Izumi Kimura/
Frank Gratkowski/
Christian Weber:
Live At Bau 4
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Albert Ayler:
Reference: Albert Ayler, Spirits & Spirits Rejoice
[CD + POSTCARD]
(ALAY)







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. (49611)