My mum and Dad's cat when I was a teenager was called Jasper. he was ace, a totally neurotic seal point Siamese who ate all my jumpers & shredded the curtains, trashed the christmas tree, got locked in an holidaying neighbours house for a week and stole another neighbours sunday roast of the table (in front of them). Nostalgia aside, we have a new CD in by neo-droner & sound designer Jasper TX called 'Singing Stones' which had Clint & I cooing over its cover like the quiet design spods we may well be. The most sumptuous aerial photo of the countryside (where???), bathed in a radiant glow of sunshine, it's complemeted by the grand, moving ambient cacophony inside, where the journey begins with soothing waves of delicious drifting ala Stars of the Lid is underpinned with the sound of digital insects munching their sandwiches, the wind gently caressing their storm shelter as they cling to the virtual peaks of a desolate musical mountain, somewhere, sometime. I'm most intrigued by this generation of sonic adventurers, their use of deeply affecting ambient tools, spliced with fascinating laptop future-glitch & experimental dub/noise textures and calamitous classical abstractions. I'm sure fans of the likes of Machinefabriek will devour this alarmingly interesting CD. It'd take me a good 2 hours to review it in depth, such is the scope of imagination/detail on here. Really worth your attention, housed in a tri-fold card sleeve on Fang Bomb.
Love this record? Hate it? Tell us.
Sound clips for Singing Stones by Jasper TX: on CD at Norman Records UK. CD, Fang Bomb, FB010, £12.29.
Jasper TX, known to his friends as Dag Rosenqvist, is a busy man indeed. Besides being one half of the rather amazing post-rock duo De La Mancha, he has released a number of carefully drafted and very well received solo recordings in his Jasper TX guise over the last few years, with labels such as Miasmah, Kning Disk and Lampse.
The visual aspects of Rosenqvist’s music cannot be neglected. Feelings superimposed on feelings; he works his music like a painter, applying layer after layer of colors to his compositions. In these deeply cinematic, drone based pop workings, the guitar is the most commonly featured instrument. It is however not always recognizable as such – his soundscapes could often be anything but. The sound is altered, by gentle hands, until it gets under your skin, into your soul and further.
»Singing Stones« is the fifth album proper from Jasper TX. Over almost 60 minutes, we are told a heartfelt story of windswept islands in past times, a small community surrounded by the dark sea. It’s a story of sadness, of being left behind, a story shrouded in darkness and death, but not without a glimpse of light – in hope of a possible reunion.
This is a personal album, allowing us a glimpse not only of Dag Rosenquist’s unique musical skills, but also his inner life, his beliefs and his compassion. And by echoing our not so distant history, with »Singing Stones« he actually manages to teach us all a little bit about ourselves.
