“[Holland] Tunnel construction required workers to spend
large amounts of time in the caisson
under high pressure of up to 47.5 pounds per square inch (328 kPa), which
was thought to be necessary to prevent river water from entering prior to
completion of the tubes. "Sandhogs",
as they were termed, entered the tunnel through a series of airlocks, and could only
remain inside of the tunnel for a designated time period. On exiting the
tunnel, the workers had to undergo controlled decompression to avoid the bends, a
condition in which nitrogen bubbles form in the blood from rapid decompression.[27]
Fortunately, no workers died as a result of decompression sickness: the work
involved "756,000 decompressions of men coming out of the compressed air
workings," which resulted in 528 cases of the bends, none fatal.[28][29]
Completion of the tunnel took nearly seven years and claimed the lives of 14
workers.” ~Wikipedia J
I’m pretty sure that STRNGLV’s side of this split, a half
hour’s worth of layered, ever fluctuating textural synth loops, a la Alessandro
Cortini, could give anyone who worked on this project an immediate flashback.
Whenever I listened to this tape (a good full ten times before writing this
review), I kept imagining myself several stories below a major metropolitan
cityscape, exploring tunnel after tunnel of hissing, gurgling pipes, scurrying
fauna and the faint tribal echoes of vehicles passing over distant, loose storm
drains. Somehow, the passages were all well lit, never feeling overtly
ominious, nor commercially polished. This is an excellent soundtrack for
dreaming big time weird shit.
A great pairing for this split, the Pelktopia side feels
somehow not quite fully out in the open, but definitely in open air, communing
with the great elements. Imagine taking a long stroll along a busy pier, but,
defying gravity, you get the whole underside to yourself, gentle waves lapping
just inches above your head. Pelktopia trades synths for heavily processed electric
guitar effects that stretch patiently plucked single notes into infinity.
The mental space provided by each sound artist alone is its
own worthwhile journey, but doing so while looking through the beautifully curated
16-page color art booklet provided by Aubjects, the fostering DIY label, is
thrilling. Busily squirming pictures of organic chaos are juxtaposed with the
spirit of cold-hearted order, unrealized blueprints of ambition. I’m pretty
excited to look more into this progressive label.
and/or
-
- Jacob An Kittenplan