Детали релиза : Greg Davis & Steven Hess - Decisions (2005) [FLAC (tracks + .cue)]

Credits
Computer [Laptop] - Greg Davis
Drums, Percussion - Steven Hess

Although Greg Davis first made his name with delicate collections of electronic/acoustic hybrid compositions, most prominently collected on Arbor and Curling Pond Woods, his more recent offerings have been far more austere and difficult. The release of a series of drone-based tracks on Somnia (Kranky) earlier this year, shortly followed by Yearlong, based on live recordings made with Keith Fullerton Whitman between 2003 and 2004 in a variety of places around the world, have revealed a far wider musical scope and a thirst for uncompromising sound/noise exploration.

Although not as well known, drummer and percussionist Steven Hess has appeared on many records by the likes of Pan American, Bosco & Jorge or with the Dropp Ensemble, and has also collaborated with French musician Sylvain Chauveau as On.

Decisions, released on Longbox Recordings, documents a series of recordings made at Hess’s home during 2003, in nine tracks and forty-five minutes. The fruit of live improvisations, with Davis on laptop and Hess using a wide range of percussive instruments, Decisions is extremely rich in tones and sounds. The basis of these nine tracks is Hess’s scarce percussions, which are then treated and developed by Davis. A very simple approach, which results in a series of fascinating minimal recordings.

Although rhythmic elements occasionally appear all along this album, the process used here doesn’t allow for forceful constructions. Instead, the pair progressively make their way through a series of fractured soundscapes, collating sounds and noises to slowly build up their compositions. Adding textures and tones to Hess’s organic sounds, Davis adds substance to the framework of these tracks.

Each track is named according to the date when it was recorded and given a number, which adds to the somewhat esoteric nature of this record. The album opens with 021703(11), where electronic and percussions appear as locked in a revolving dialogue, as if Davis and Hess were communicating using some strange coded language. 042903(02) is livelier and more intricate. A series of light wooden sounds circle around all the way through, and are progressively augmented of distortions and glitches. A similar process is applied on 060303(15) and 060303(11), establishing a running thread through this album.

0402203(05) and 041803(04) reveal darker, heavier soundscapes, based on cymbals and bell sounds and resonance, which are then stretched and treated through Davis’s laptop. Dense sonic clouds appear to hover for a moments before being pushed away by new ones. On the latter, the pair work around a high-pitched noise, which is constantly faded in and out of the scope, while other sounds are left swirling around it. The album closes with 041803(mix), which seems to combine elements of each of the eight previous tracks and offers a summary of what Davis and Hess can produce.

Decisions is a difficult and complex record, which requires attention and involvement to understand its depth and substance. This electro-acoustic piece is likely to disconcert fans of both Davis and Hess’s many projects as it operates away from their usual work, yet, with very little material to work on, what they manage to produce here is simply magnificent.

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