Guanxi ::: Pixel [T4015]
Guanxi, an alias of DS1984 (디에스천구백팔십사) from South Korea; Pixel is his debut album of this newly acclaimed project, presented exclusively on top-40.org.
To fashion a statement, almost all songs are based on an improvisation and then digitally cropped, spliced, diced and overdubbed - they are combined to create some form of coherency - reminiscent of mosaicism. This is an experimental and flotsam prism of productions - something of a transitional state of mind.
A word from top40.org "Stimulated by organic performances, which feature natural recordings taken and manipulated to form an exploration of composition, Guanxi focuses on the difference between natural and digital acoustics.
Another point of interest in his work is the investigation of the myriad of errors arising from analog and digital systems. Common for all of Guanxi's artistic endeavors is a fascination of working on the limits of technologies when finding new sound material, pushing computers to the limit to obtain an aesthetic that emphasizes the imperfections of modern technology.
To boot, this collection of compositions is charming and lofty, bordering on a spiritual grandeur of a spring morning hymn. Evidently, this fabled sweetness of meditative ringing bells dissolves in a glitchy vibration in contrast with a swing of the cosmological pendulum - the never-ending story of a subtle and hidden beauty of environmental acoustic reiterations, charming and alerting at the same time.
The extreme tenseness of seemingly relaxing compositions, the elastic bounciness of innermost subtle melodies makes the overall impression so sleepy, tidy and sedative. Yet, intense and arousing at the same time the unforgettable and oh so uncommon place experience for an overflowed ambient stream of our musical landscape. Don't miss it!" - Lev Kantor.
It’s been ages since I’ve been able to carve out time to write a review, let alone download some wonderful music and get a real chance to listen to it. Okay, it’s only been over a month, but in internet time that could seem forever and blah blah bla y’all didn’t come around to hear me bellyaching, so on with the show and, of course, I pick an album that was released in April 2010.
Back in the fall, Resting Bell released a work by Guanxi called Graveryard Shift. And like any good work, it got me looking at other work from the artist and there I found A Corner in England (Pitjamajusto) and Pixel (Top 40). All three of these albums were released last year and all three are quite good, but it was Pixel that caught my ear.
As I searched for information about Guanxi, I was reminded of the old bit from the movie Airplane. Leslie Nielsen’s character says that they have to land the plane to get a women to a hospital. The stewardess says, “A hospital? What is it?” And Nielsen responds, “It’s a big building with patients, but that’s not important right now.” That’s kind of how I feel about Guanxi, it doesn’t matter who or what Guanxi is or isn’t, what is important now is the music.
Pixel is a well-made ambient album, evenly paced and quite interesting throughout its 27 minutes. I found a certain amount of depth to the tracks that was relaxing as well as slight surprises that kept me attached to the album as a whole. You can’t go wrong with any of the Guanxi 2010 releases, but if you were only to download one, I’d stick with Pixel.
(Русский) Guanxi - это один из псевдонимов артиста из Южной Кореи, скрывающегося под именем DS1984 (디에스천구백팔십사). Top-40.org с гордостью представляет его дебютный альбом.
Почти все треки построены на экспериментальных импровизациях, которые, будучи порезаны, покрошены, перемешаны и хорошенько взболтаны, образуются в когерентную мозаику плавающих звуков. Вдохновленный природными проявлениями, Guanxi исследует разницу между живой и цифровой акустикой, превращая записи окружающей реальности в полотно для своего музицирования. Одновременно с этим происходит сознательная эксплуатация мириад ошибок и погрешностей, возникающих при работе цифровых и аналоговых систем на пределе их возможностей. Guanxi находит источник вдохновения в сбоях компьютерных машин, нарочно эксплуатируемых в режиме перегрузки, создавая тем самым особую эстетику несовершенства современных технологий.
Торжественная, чарующая, почти религиозная торжественность мелодичного гимна легкого на подъем весеннего утра, неспешные переборы дробно звенящих в вихре цифровых компрессий колокольцев и штук, вращение космологического маятника, история без начала и конца, скрытый романтизм звуковой природы урбанистического лихолетья - все это успокаивает и одновременно приводит в чувство. Незабываемое, хотя уже почти забытое сегодня музыкальное переживание вдохновляет и на малые подвиги, и на внутренние свершения... Не пропустите!
To fashion a statement, almost all songs are based on an improvisation and then digitally cropped, spliced, diced and overdubbed - they are combined to create some form of coherency - reminiscent of mosaicism. This is an experimental and flotsam prism of productions - something of a transitional state of mind.
A word from top40.org "Stimulated by organic performances, which feature natural recordings taken and manipulated to form an exploration of composition, Guanxi focuses on the difference between natural and digital acoustics.
Another point of interest in his work is the investigation of the myriad of errors arising from analog and digital systems. Common for all of Guanxi's artistic endeavors is a fascination of working on the limits of technologies when finding new sound material, pushing computers to the limit to obtain an aesthetic that emphasizes the imperfections of modern technology.
To boot, this collection of compositions is charming and lofty, bordering on a spiritual grandeur of a spring morning hymn. Evidently, this fabled sweetness of meditative ringing bells dissolves in a glitchy vibration in contrast with a swing of the cosmological pendulum - the never-ending story of a subtle and hidden beauty of environmental acoustic reiterations, charming and alerting at the same time.
The extreme tenseness of seemingly relaxing compositions, the elastic bounciness of innermost subtle melodies makes the overall impression so sleepy, tidy and sedative. Yet, intense and arousing at the same time the unforgettable and oh so uncommon place experience for an overflowed ambient stream of our musical landscape. Don't miss it!" - Lev Kantor.
It’s been ages since I’ve been able to carve out time to write a review, let alone download some wonderful music and get a real chance to listen to it. Okay, it’s only been over a month, but in internet time that could seem forever and blah blah bla y’all didn’t come around to hear me bellyaching, so on with the show and, of course, I pick an album that was released in April 2010.
Back in the fall, Resting Bell released a work by Guanxi called Graveryard Shift. And like any good work, it got me looking at other work from the artist and there I found A Corner in England (Pitjamajusto) and Pixel (Top 40). All three of these albums were released last year and all three are quite good, but it was Pixel that caught my ear.
As I searched for information about Guanxi, I was reminded of the old bit from the movie Airplane. Leslie Nielsen’s character says that they have to land the plane to get a women to a hospital. The stewardess says, “A hospital? What is it?” And Nielsen responds, “It’s a big building with patients, but that’s not important right now.” That’s kind of how I feel about Guanxi, it doesn’t matter who or what Guanxi is or isn’t, what is important now is the music.
Pixel is a well-made ambient album, evenly paced and quite interesting throughout its 27 minutes. I found a certain amount of depth to the tracks that was relaxing as well as slight surprises that kept me attached to the album as a whole. You can’t go wrong with any of the Guanxi 2010 releases, but if you were only to download one, I’d stick with Pixel.
(Русский) Guanxi - это один из псевдонимов артиста из Южной Кореи, скрывающегося под именем DS1984 (디에스천구백팔십사). Top-40.org с гордостью представляет его дебютный альбом.
Почти все треки построены на экспериментальных импровизациях, которые, будучи порезаны, покрошены, перемешаны и хорошенько взболтаны, образуются в когерентную мозаику плавающих звуков. Вдохновленный природными проявлениями, Guanxi исследует разницу между живой и цифровой акустикой, превращая записи окружающей реальности в полотно для своего музицирования. Одновременно с этим происходит сознательная эксплуатация мириад ошибок и погрешностей, возникающих при работе цифровых и аналоговых систем на пределе их возможностей. Guanxi находит источник вдохновения в сбоях компьютерных машин, нарочно эксплуатируемых в режиме перегрузки, создавая тем самым особую эстетику несовершенства современных технологий.
Торжественная, чарующая, почти религиозная торжественность мелодичного гимна легкого на подъем весеннего утра, неспешные переборы дробно звенящих в вихре цифровых компрессий колокольцев и штук, вращение космологического маятника, история без начала и конца, скрытый романтизм звуковой природы урбанистического лихолетья - все это успокаивает и одновременно приводит в чувство. Незабываемое, хотя уже почти забытое сегодня музыкальное переживание вдохновляет и на малые подвиги, и на внутренние свершения... Не пропустите!
