Machinefabriek - Ontrafelde Tonen (7" vinyl)

You know what, this might actually be my favourite Machinefabriek thing I've heard to date, but before I get started on the music I'll talk you through the concept and packaging, because both are totally sweet. These pieces of music were created as continuous loops to be played on speakers mounted in small wooden 'bird houses' on trees in Haarlem, The Netherlands, in October 2010. The design of these is laid out for all to see in the fold-out poster sleeve. The record itself is on nice thick clear vinyl and there's a download and a little handwritten “Thank you!” card in the one I'm reviewing too! The sounds on the two sides are texturally very different, and really give an excellent snapshot into the tone-building antics of Mr Zuydervelt, who also created a third piece not included here based around watery sounds. The two pieces that are included are one of choral sounds and one of metallic sounds. The choral one is a beautiful, ethereal piece with pure, clean voices treated with loads of reverb and echo, cut up, even played backwards sometimes, so that the music which results is undeniably choral in tone but melodically drifts and drones of its own accord. Blissful stuff. On the other side all the sounds are metallic, making a clanking, scraping dark ambient soundscape that's absorbing but unsettling. The stark contrast between the two tracks brings their tonal qualities into sharper focus and as such it's a smart move pairing them like this. Ambient 7”s can often seem a bit pointless to me because this type of music often takes a while to really develop but this is excellent, succinct stuff that stands alone on its own merits. Also worth mentioning that it's a lathe cut edition of 100. Get involved.