Charlemagne Palestine

Minimalist composer Charlemagne Palestine has unearthed some old Moog recordings from 1967 to ‘70 at the New York City Intermedia Centre. Each track is labelled as a study in sine tones through Moog and electronic sound generating devices Palestine had tweaked himself. In-Mid-Air is actually a collection of synthesised drones. An audiophile, Palestine has long been fascinated in the sounds generated by machines found in everyday life such as home appliances, cars or aircraft engines. Specifically, Palestine appears to be fascinated by the continuousness of these sounds, which would denote a connection with In-Mid-Air. Small tone oscillations exist within a larger continuous tone; undulations in a stream of sound. The sounds are piercing, initially difficult to listen at first, but when the ear adjusts one can absorb subtle changes and overtones. The sounds are akin to the music of Iannis Xenakis, except Palestine does not aspire to emotionless music, seeking engaging minimalism instead. Adventurous, In-Mid-Air is a challenging yet rewarding listen and also happens to be early sound sketches of a talented composer as a young man.