Cassette
First of two tapes this week from Jesse Dewlow's (aka People Skills) Saga House label is this new set of unexpected recordings from Linda Smith, an artist perhaps best known for a type of lo-fi folk that stands in stark contrast to the music presented here. Originally recorded between 1990-97 to accompany the staged performances of Laure Drogoul's work on amnesia and 'speculative reproductive experiments' (i wont pretend to know what that means), Smith has re-edited these 16 tracks specifically for this new release, re-presenting a playful and often disorientating tendency for carnivalesque experimentation. Tape loops, samples and self-help tutorials bolster thrift store synth and drum machine whirrs and rattles in a blurry miasma of sound (not exactly songs), flitting between pretty instrumentals and abstract digressions. It makes sense this music was recorded to score some other conceptual element, as they leave a lot of space on to which the listener can project meaning, moving in unrecognisable shapes and with shifting frequencies. What that's got to do with amnesia i don't know (or forget), but Smith's bedroom pop approach to sound design is distinct and instinctive in a way that's a little off-kilter and very much engaging.
