direct cerebral invasion: marlo eggplant on duncan harrison, bbblood and aqua dentata on tour

December 15, 2015 at 12:55 pm | Posted in new music, no audience underground | Leave a comment
Tags: aqua dentata, bbblood, duncan harrison, marlo eggplant

Duncan Harrison, BBBlood, Aqua Dentata – “Ineluctable modality of the visible”

(self-released tour CD-r, edition of 60)

INELUCTABLE MODALITY OF THE VISIBLE: AT LEAST THAT IF NO MORE, thought through my eyes. Signatures of all things I am here to read, seaspawn and seawrack, the nearing tide, that rusty boot. Snotgreen, bluesilver, rust: coloured signs.

– Ulysses, James Joyce

The title of the compilation, “Ineluctable modality of the visible” is a direct quotation in which the protagonist has just free associated, eventually entering into the subjective/objective questionable space. Perhaps that would be the best way to describe this convergence of the works of Duncan Harrison, BBBlood, and Aqua Dentata. Despite thinking that all three are righteous talented dudes, I think this title is a very clever framework in which to curate a collection. The title demands a questioning of the senses: what is the visible, or rather, what are the boundaries of the experience of vision? When an object is observed/witnessed, it exists outside of that experience. There is the form, what we experience in seeing, and the substance, what is actually sitting in front of us. This is an extrapolation of Aristotle who felt sound was different than vision: in the process of hearing and making sounds, a mixing of substance and form are more entwined and mutually reliant [Editor’s note: errm… blimey… if you say so]. Although I may be going a little bit off on a tangent here and letting my academic brain interrupt my appreciation of just a freaking good comp [Editor’s note: ah! Gotcha].

But, damn you, Duncan Harrison! The first track immediately gets me back in my academic head! ‘(Je suis) La Loi’ makes me think of psychoanalytical linguist theorist Julia Kristeva and deconstructionist scholar Jacques Derrida. The use of breath and physiological sounds makes the listening an embodied experience. The listener feels present. It is hard not to notice if one’s lips are dry or if you possibly had too many coffees. The repetition of the words ‘la loi’ meaning ‘the law’ provides the only semi-structure. It is loosely yet intentionally reapplied throughout the piece. I once saw Harrison do a performance at Splitting the Atom down in Brighton in which he stood uttering words barefoot on broken dishes. The tension of harm and presence was so intense. That’s what it is about the track. It has an immediacy to it. Almost like if Houdini were trapped in a room, struggling with a word puzzle. Using recorded voice and live improvisation, the piece feels historical like an old lecture. Maybe the whole thing is a nod to Trevor Wishart or Ellen Moffatt. Or maybe Duncan is losing his mind. Either way, I am sold on this track.

With the second track, ‘The Rye’, there is an experiment in what sounds like tape manipulation and mouth sounds. Great mini-silences and pace. What Harrison demonstrates here is a patience unafraid to allow disconcerted emissions. Metallic whirring transmissions, water flowing, movement sounds, shushing, scratching on surfaces, wind/inhale/exhale… layers and whistles. It is a great follow up to the text-sound playfulness of his first track.

Next up: BBBlood.  Paul Watson, like Harrison, has explored different methods and techniques over the years and one can clearly hear his mixed genres spilling and building. I associate BBBlood with capital ‘N’ noise due to his early work or perhaps because of his epic 2013 Crater Lake set. In ‘Xinbad Rapid’, he erupts and flows into processes. You can see his love of patterns and repetition playing with more fully embraced samples. Despite the constant layering, it is not saturated. It still gave me the low ends and rumbles that this old grrl is a sucker for but with measured application. The track feels live yet framed. In ‘Nexistence of Vividence’, BBBlood returns to more of the crunchy reeling and wheeling and dealing. It is a typhoon that builds and waits. Never fully collapsing, the sounds peters out like attempting to catch water running through fingers. Yet there is an ethereal resolution to the struggle and the listeners are laid to rest, an aural wiping of the brow. Time to rest after the long haul.

Eddie Nuttall, a.k.a Aqua Dentata, is not from this planet. I honestly don’t think he is. His music feels like extraterrestrial communication from outside our universe. Like binaural beats and subconscious interfering hypnosis, his untitled track sounds like it is made of laser beams. As a listener, you feel like you merge with the frequency and question your ability to make cognitive sense. It isn’t because of a reliance in bombarding one with several sounds but rather a direct cerebral invasion. To call it a drone would be a disservice because it is mechanistically minimal in texture but complicated in its building. I cannot tell if the sounds are all intentional but my mind hears a widening of sensation and a pleasant obliteration. Nuttall does not back away from higher frequencies but does not accentuate their presence within the composition. I really like the way he uses volume in slight shifts. Sometimes the resonance makes my teeth hurt in the best way possible.

“Ineluctable modality of the visible” is an excellent comp with smart tracks. If one of my friends back home in the States were to ask me for a contemporary recommendation of an album of my favorite sounds in the UK, this would definitely be on the top of my list.

—ooOoo—

[Editor’s note: this CD-r was produced by the contributors to be sold at a trio of Northern dates last September.  The run was mainly snagged by attendees.  Perhaps you could try Electric Knife?  Or did I hear Duncs say he had a copy or two still?]