Radere - A Season In Decline

Some lush and vivid audio here from Philadelphia-based sound artist Carl Ritger who has previously released on Install, Rural Colours and Milieu Music. The recordings were created between winter 2009 and Autumn 2010. Bearing that in mind and the discs title it's not difficult to feel the seasons flowing through the sonic fabric of the album. Carl paints this engrossing world using guitars, small percussion, electronics/ computer and also field recordings. Everything from trickling water and gently plucked strings help to weave this tapestry that clocks in at just over forty one minutes. The early stages are emotive, reflective and pastoral and fairly light and breezy. For me things really get going a little over a third of the way when things become deeper and denser as fuzzy hissy slabs of sound morph into the mix and things dynamically shift in subtle transitions. The impending chaos settles down a little, but then the piece comes to a climax with sculpted feedback and rich harmonics. Quite a staggering transformation from the tracks starting point but a really pleasurable experience listening to how things evolve and transform in an unpredictable way, much like the seasons I guess. Comes in a numbered edition of 100 copies in screened Arigato pak... Well worth checking out.