Erdem Helvacioglu

Istanbul-based Erdem Helvacioglu's Timeless Waves, released just days after his disc for Innova, is a focussed yet diverse effort, this time firing electric guitar and the Togaman guitar viol through assorted electronic processors. Originally conceived for a 53-speaker interdisciplinary installation in Istanbul's Eminou Square, the piece holds up well in stereo. Sonically quite different, each section maintains a thread, thanks to Helvacioglu's tasteful yet imaginative use of effects, which never bury the instrumental source. Opener "Fear" charts an appropriately crepuscular space. "Love" follows with swooping slide guitar and brittle, breath-like, bowed viol parts reminiscent both of vintage Bollywood's most gorgeous slide guitar moments and the chafed ambient of Toronto's Khôra. The churning, introverted "Anger" superimposes layers of thick distortion, while "Sadness" returns to the palette of "Love," delving further into percolating pointillism and lithe, bowed wisps. "Surprise," the most gestural of the collection, deploys limp, chewed-up twangs that dance amidst curdled scrapes and polished metallic warps. Closer "Joy" is far from rapturous, instead building sober, motorik minimalism from tabla-like pulsations and intersecting aerodynamic melodic fragments. Like his other recent disc, the wide scope makes for an exciting listen while offering much in the way of deftly articulated detail and substance.