Christopher Tignor

Core Memory Unwound

BY Eric HillPublished Jun 22, 2009

An aptly titled solo debut from the musical director/violinist of the Slow Six ensemble, this release tests the elasticity of piano and violin themes with live sampling software. Where Slow Six dabble in Glass/Reich minimalism, these pieces come closer to the classical chamber music of Koji Asano or even austere John Cale. The eight pieces progress in pairs that alternate between purely acoustic and treated electronic works. "Last Thought at Night" is a lovely duet that slowly interlocks and pulls apart like a door latch, while the piano on "Last Nights on Eagle Street" tiptoes through an arpeggiated patch of violin samples. The title track at the centre of the album inverts the cascade, creating waves of piano samples that envelope slowly shifting drones spiking in the upper frequencies. Both sides of the equation approach each other closely on the subtly evanescent moments of "Cathedral," a two-parter that closes the album.
(Western Vinyl)

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