Machinefabriek & Aaron Martin - Cello Recycling/ Cello Drowning

Rutger Zuydervelt, a man better known to the experimental music world as Machinefabriek is somewhat prolific; a fact you might have gathered from his steady flow of super-limited edition 3” cdrs which seem to slip out relentlessly month after month. American multi-instrumentalist Aaron Martin is possibly less productive only having one full-length album to his name so far, but he is no less intriguing and between them the duo have come up with a project which is far more than the sum of its parts.

The ‘Cello Recycling’ project was originally commissioned for use in an art gallery; Zuydervelt took cello improvisations from Aaron Martin and built them into the slow-burning post-ambient monster that is ‘Cello Recycling’. However here we see the original piece accompanied by Aaron Martin’s take on Rutger’s work, where he ‘drowns’ the original piece in a bath of murky water taking into submerged directions it has never before drifted. The two pieces together are perfectly complimentary showing two sides to a tarnished coin – one giving us pent up emotion, fizzing and shuffling awkwardly until it explodes majestically, the other giving us peaceful reflection as seen through the eyes of a serial killer who has just completed his final gift to the world. An inventive and incredibly beautiful look at the cello as an instrument and noise making tool; this is an absolute must for fans of post-classical music, the droning beauty of Stars of the Lid or even the moody post rock of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Moody, kinetic and hugely enjoyable stuff, this needs to be played loud and absorbed totally…

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