Going into this release, from 2014 & 2018 sessions, a natural expectation would be for a rough, sparse, gnarly ride. Violinist Davies, apart perhaps from her soaring melodic contributions to Richard Dawson's work, has tended to favor that pathway, as has Julian, whether under his own name or under his nom de musique, cheapmachines.
But that doesn't quite eventuate, resulting in a more approachable date than anticipated and an extremely enjoyable one. Two tracks, about 21 and 24 minutes long. The first, "NR1", opens with a high, fairly gentle though acerbic drone, the violin sliding long a grainy tone, with multilayered, quavering electronics alongside. The pair play with subtle variations on this initial element, Davies scraping around the central tone, maintaining that established comfortableness to an extent but never letting it settle into complacency. They work this vein for several minutes, always locating new and wondrous sounds and interference patterns, before Davies enters the odd plucked note and things shift to a slightly different pathway. the violin stroking rich, relatively tonal chords, almost verging on a song. Julian's electronics shift into combinations of hazy eruptions, low growls and even quasi-telephone rings. Even when matters almost come to a halt, as they do some 15 minutes in, there's always a strand, perhaps some soft electronics or a rhythmically plucked string, that maintains a weblike connection and initiates the following sequence.
"NR2" begins in a low, wooly area, with foggy hazes and rumbling, soft bellows, the violin agilely flitting above. Some elements stumble, some remain consistent, all evoking a bracingly "real" space, containing inscrutable activity, a deep and resonant zone where each movement causes one to take notice. Soon, a steady violin drone sets in, its tonality wavering microtonally, over sine-like electronics, again almost evoking some arcane song form, very enticing. The music fragments, coalesces into new, surprising forms, fragments again, emerges with the violin whistling on a bed of glitchy pops. Ultimately, a very complex drone reestablishes itself, blending tonal and abrasive elements, very satisfying and even transporting.
A wonderful session featuring two unique musicians; highly recommended.
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