Vancouver’s Keith Freeman is an introspective fella. As Khyex he weaves
impossibly gorgeous guitar melodies, loops and samples, and synthesizer
accoutrements together into an astonishing whole, at once internally focused and
also universal in scope. Vocal snippets appear throughout, and Freeman treats
each one with a sense of wonder, giving each some space to breathe and allowing
specific personalities to peek through. It’s like we’re listening to a dream he
once had, and he’s provided us a soundtrack for it. And while it’s not, Sparrowing could easily be mistaken for
a guided meditation recording. I’m feeling meditative, and it feels like there’s
a purpose to the whole thing. How could there not be a purpose to this?
Maybe we’re just spectating as Freeman’s own guided meditation unfurls
before us. That would explain the hermetic nature of the recordings, the
insularity, the inward focus, like he’s processing everything that he’s ever encountered,
all moments, important ones and mundane. How does it all together? What gives
our lives meaning, purpose? We’re with him here, within him, listening to the
Khyex response to stimuli, experiencing the reverberations within his own head.
Maybe that’s what this tape is – a continuation of that chamber between his
ears through which reverberates the mysteries of life and existence. Wouldn’t
that be something if we could help him figure out what he was trying to get at
this whole time? I’m sure you can email Hotham Sound if you want to bounce
ideas off anybody. Or if you just want to pick one of these delightful cassette
tapes up for yourself.
https://hothamsoundrecordings.bandcamp.com/
--Ryan
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