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Recommended by us on 30th September 2011
...according to our Clinton on Fri 30 Sep, 2011.
This is the second album I think from Ryan Potts under the Aquarelle moniker. The boy describes himself as an FX pedal fetishist - each to their own - he satisfies his lustful cravings on this four track slab of blissed out noisy ambiance. The most blatant and obvious influence is Fennesz with the circling pulsating digital scree of the first two tracks, giving way to a calmer more rural sounding hiss on 'Origin' which despite the fuzz and treble has a haunting, gorgeous ambiance to it. The sounds on this slowly evolve and alter as the track progresses. It has a warm and textural feel, which gives way to the final track 'The Blue Light was my Baby' which uses electro-acoustic textures and less of the distortion to create a warm coda of carefully strummed guitars. Nicely, the album strips away the layers of distortion as it goes on and of course that's first the trick in the Fennesz 'Endless Summer' book of blistered ambiance but its a trick worth repeating.
Describing the music of Aquarelle’s Ryan Potts is a difficult task indeed. It’s related to the hazy, heavily treated output of musicians such as Fennesz and Tim Hecker, but one would be remiss to locate it solely within the realm of electronic ambient or drone, as there are often strong organic, rhythmic and composerly elements to Potts’ work. In fact, the title of his last record, “Slow Circles,” might offer the best point of access into the Aquarelle aesthetic, in which compositional tropes such as cyclicality and accretion are woven together with surging, bright overtones, fragmented acoustic guitar melodies, and monumental distortion. Another point of distinction between Potts’ guitar-based compositions and that of the laptop-wielding contemporaries and forebears amongst whom one would be tempted to locate his sound is the fact that he largely eschews digital, “in-the-box” processing. A self proclaimed “FX pedal fetishist,” his compositions carry with them a boldness, depth and grit that is all but impossible to cultivate through DSP alone and aligns some elements of his sound with that of Scott Cortez/Lovesliescrushing and late-period Yellow Swans.
Using a palette of electric and acoustic guitars, vintage and boutique effects pedals and various percussion sources, Potts crafts highly detailed, slowly evolving soundscapes which beg for repeat listens so that one might get inside their myriad layers. “With Verticals” opens the record, blooming suddenly into a startlingly propulsive edifice replete with crackling, distorted guitar sounds married to quasi-Reichian percussion. Later, “Origin” sizzles and hisses its way into a staggeringly detailed drone opus before opening up into a veritable vista of acoustic guitar, cymbal and cello histrionics. A cohesive and fully immersive collection, “Sung in Broken Symmetry” is an assured statement from a young musician who is equally comfortable navigating frailty and violence. Mastered by James Plotkin. Edition of 300, first 50 on clear vinyl. Includes digital download coupon.
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Norman Records,
Unit 20, Croydon House,
Croydon Street,
Leeds,
LS11 9RT, UK.
Tel/fax: (+44) 0113 245 4399
Email: phil@normanrecords.com
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