Entr’acte
E38
“with what remains” is the first release by Helena Gough, a sound artist based out of Birmingham, England. Often the work of sound installation creators doesn’t translate particularly well to disc, the spatial aspect turning out to have been crucial to the piece’s success. While it’s impossible to say how much if anything has been lost in this case, the works on “with what remains” stand entirely well on their own, providing a wide range of absorbing soundscapes that only occasionally falter.
Impossible to identify all the sources utilized herein, but one picks up all manner of open-air recordings, closely miked micro-events and pervasive electronics weaving in and out of the mix. It’s actually not too difficult to place oneself into a “room” and imagine walking through these sounds; there’s more than enough apparent three-dimensionality to do so, a consistent thickness. If I had to pick out a favorite, it might be “condensed milk” with its juicy mix of liquid and cracking sounds embedded in a vaguely metallic, dully echoing ambience. Something about the pieces recalls classic electronic work by people like Gottfried Michael Koenig and Dick Raaijmakers, rather heady company. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Gough’s music attains the heights of the best of those fellows, but it’s not very far out of their league. If you enjoy them, you’ll derive a good deal from her compositions as well. Solid stuff.
Posted by Brian Olewnick on March 31, 2007 11:25 AMhello - i've just been pointed in the direction of this review. thanks brian for taking the time to listen and write, much appreciated.
i just wanted to clarify one detail: i'm not a 'sound installation creator' - all the works on this album are conceived of as being pieces for lone listeners, at home, perhaps in the dark, and listening in whatever conditions they have available (stereo hi-fi, headphones or home studio...). they were never intended to be installation/gallery based, or reductions of ideas intended for any space other than that of the listeners mind...
hope that makes sense - please question if not!
Posted by: helena gough at March 31, 2007 1:58 PMThanks for the clarification, Helena. I was under the wrong impression!
Posted by: Brian Olewnick at March 31, 2007 4:14 PMThought I'd pull this review out of the archive to say I finally heard this recently after catching Helena live a couple of times over the last few weeks and have really enjoyed it. Kind of Fennesz meets John Wall meets a pile of raw field recordings.
Can't believe Brian was eight months ahead of me here....;)
Posted by: Richard Pinnell at December 6, 2007 2:45 PM.................................................. © 2003 - 2006 bagatellen ..................................................