Lee Gamble

In a Paraventral Scale

BY Bryon HayesPublished Jan 29, 2019

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London-based post-jungle sound artist Lee Gamble is releasing his latest album, Flush Real Pharynx, in three parts. The triptych of EP-length song cycles will capture the evolution of what the producer terms the "semioblitz," which he describes as "the aggressive onslaught of visual and sonic stimuli of contemporary cities and virtual spaces."
 
In a Paraventral Scale is the first phase of Gamble's post-postmodern cultural theorizing, using the imagery of a snake's scales — the ones that run along the sides of the reptile — to evoke a sort of fruitless writhing. There are quick movements at play, but the locomotion is sort of listless.
 
At times, the music echoes this sense of unhurried meandering, such as within the insouciantly cinematic gusts of "Fata Morgana." Elsewhere, there is definitely a swiftness at play, especially where the atmosphere tends to be more club-oriented. The hyper-punctuated percussion of "Moscow" and the genetically modified jungle of "In the Wreck Room" epitomize this hastier mode. Gamble really revs his engine with the noisy sound design piece "BMW Shuanghuan X5," which acousmatically transmogrifies the sounds of a high-performance vehicle into synthetic organ chords.
 
Gamble's music has consistently been buoyed by a conceptual underpinning, which has seemingly become more and more dystopian with each consecutive release. Perhaps it's an echo of the zeitgeist. Either way, Gamble allows his music to stand on its own, and that's where his true talent lies.
(Hyperdub)

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