GRISHA SHAKHNES “ARCS” (Marginal Frequency)

Tel Aviv artist Grisha Shakhnes specializes in field recordings, and “ARCS” delivers the goods like a clandestine briefcase swap in a darkened alley. In fact, this is the exact vibe that Shaknes is going for here, as if he pulled a slip of paper from a “mood hat” with the words “darkened alley” written on it, thereby tying him to clandestine nocturnal deeds for the duration.

And that’s great, because he’s pretty good at it. Lots of low end, with discrete features emerging here and there, lots of details you have to squint your ears to catch. Sort of makes listening like a treasure hunt, or a form of audio forensics, like in one of those 1970s movies where sound engineers have to parse clues from recordings to discover who committed the crime: “The Conversation,” or the one with John Travolta. Those were pretty good movies. Can’t get away with those now, what with hi-def video surveillance and GPS tracking all over the place and whatnot. Still, relics of a forgotten time…

Marginal Frequency recommends a subwoofer, and I don’t disagree. Stick your head right up next to that old stereo speaker for the full effect.

Marginal Frequency

--Ryan

CRISTIÁN ALVEAR Y SANTIAGO ASTABURUAGA “capas de un tapiz” C55 (Marginal Frequency)

To understand: Cristián Alvear and Santiago Astaburuaga are a Chilean duo who perform here the works of Rolando Hernández (side A, “topializ”) and Nicolás Carrasco (side B, “sin titulo #21”). Alvear and Astaburuaga play a variety of instruments and electronic components, sometimes dropping into moments of almost complete silence. These lengthy compositions, almost half an hour each, require a delicate touch and almost scientific care. Metronomic rhythm intrudes at points, as does mechanical interference.

If you imagine a space, a studio, a museum perhaps, maybe a laboratory, where sound becomes a subject to be scrutinized as if it took on physical properties, “capas de un tapiz” would be the recording of it. It’s almost impossible to separate the functions that brought about these sounds’ creation from the sounds themselves, and imagining Alvear and Astaburuaga surrounded by instruments and other ephemera and exploring, experimenting, and discovering is the only way to fully enjoy and understand this tape. But hey, it sounds pretty intense too, so maybe just do what you want?

Marginal Frequency

--Ryan