Jan St Werner - Transcendental Animal Numbers (Thrill Jockey)
Cassette/DL
Out Now
With one full-length release already under his belt in 2013, Mouse
On Mars co-pilot Jan St Werner releases a second.
I suspect you'll either love this album, hate it or have no idea
what to think at all.
When the album Blaze Colour Burn was released by Jan St Werner
earlier this year, it certainly met with Louder Than War's approval and
compared to Scott Walker's highly praised Bish Bosch album. This latest release consisting of two twenty
minute tracks (therefore ideal for cassette release), again attempts to break
down musical barriers and give us a little alternative listening material.
The two tracks Transcendental
Animal Music and Parrodisia are described as being sounds obtained from
computer algorithms and andextreme panoramic shifts of sonic scales. No me neither. What I did find though was something so
original that it had me hooked from beginning to end.
Initially, I assumed that Transcendental Animal Music was animal
sounds and calls which had been fed through synthesizers and emulated but
apparently not. The sounds here have
been fed through a mathematical system to create scattered sounds. It all sounds very 'Tomorrows World' to me
and I'm sure that Professor Brian Cox would almost orgasm over the whys and
wherefores of how it was created.
In layman’s terms (ie, me), it's intriguing to say the least. It's something you will never have heard the
likes of before, and to be honest, may not do again. Whether it is music or just series' of sounds is
open to debate. What it is however is someone daring to be
different in a World of predictability and completely throwaway soundtracks to
our alleged lives.
Whatever, give it a listen, or at least a part listen just to say
that you have done. Apparently Werner
describes the album to the Schrodinger cat theory that proves that particles
can exist in various states. No, me
neither.
Will I listen to Transcendental Animal Numbers again? Probably not.
Am I glad that I have done once?
Yes, I am.
7.5/10
Links
Published on Louder Than War 20/12/13 - here
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