Deadstock
Jaw dropping dead stock discovery of a self-released record by Rotterdam-based French artist Julien Grossman, issued in 2011 in tandem with a sound installation that saw a series of dioramas placed on minimalist turntables triggered to play in turn one of six compositions each based on different scales and tuning systems. The document of the installation that exists online shows it to have been a very impressive one, and it's no great stretch to imagine how effective it would have been to experience as a whole, the intersection of sound, sculpture and motion reflecting how different scales and melodies become tied to localised, regional identities and experiences. With the exhibition now retired, in isolation the record continues to function as a highly engaging document in itself, still expressive of those very same intentions but taking on a slightly adapted form for the listener. Indeed, what can you discern from a sound once its associated visual component is removed? Each track is built from the listed titular scales and performed on various stringed, keyed and percussive instruments, the results somewhat uncanny and hypnotic, rendered in that folk-derived, near-gamelan fourth world glow we might also associate with TRjj and Kristian Poulsen. There's a wider narrative being addressed here that seeks to probe the connections between ethnomusicology and cultural experience which is as thoughtful and important as it is enjoyable, though what's also interesting is how the sounds being explored here also seem to plug into the aesthetic interest in memory and time-dilation that has become prominent in the contemporary underground. We probably still owe Hassell a debt for that. As we well now, inspiration comes from all over - what Grossman does so effectively is retain some element of mystery and the unknown while revealing his workings. We've got his map, but he's buried the key.
FFO: Inner Cop Avoidance, Kristian Poulsen, Spost, TRjj, Lloyd Miller, Michael O'Shea
