When I think of “ritual,” I think of something that happens beyond the
everyday, something that’s set aside and sacralized for a specific purpose,
whether that something is spiritual or religious or not. Could just be a ceremonial
type thing, something you set out to perform while focusing intently on the
steps, revering each moment. Could be conjuring demons in the woods. The possibilities
are literally endless.
When Fletcher Pratt tackles a ritual practice, he does it with a Nagra
IV-S tape recorder, on which “all sounds [were] recorded and processed.” Talk
about focus! His medium is magnetic tape, and he hunkers down with it, cradling
it like a precious heirloom, ready to turn what’s on it into a paean to the
ever-loving cosmos that it came from. Maybe that’s what he thinks when he’s
working, “ritualizing,” or maybe not, but in the end the result is the same: the
sounds come via a carefully crafted process that’s hopefully repeatable. Given that
this is volume II, that seems to be the case.
The tape squirts and spits as it reels around the Nagra, also
shimmering and crackling and twinkling and chirping. It’s the sonic equivalent
of the natural world, all in motion all the time, a complex system of physics
and matter. And even if Fletcher Pratt doesn’t decide to don a cloak and
perform secretly in the middle of a forest, it wouldn’t be the most outlandish
thing to picture if he did. In fact, Rituals
for Magnetic Tape Vol. II is its own shrine to its own self, with fragrant
organic incense the only thing getting sacrificed to it. Mellow out and
descend!
https://fletcherpratt.bandcamp.com/
https://flop-house.bandcamp.com/
--Ryan
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