Latest album from Pentiments documenting Chicago-based sound artist Lou Mallozzi, six works spanning from 1996-2020. Voice and raw materials creating destabilising soundscapes - testing the seasoned listener familiar with abstract musique concrète composition. Each piece is sparse and slowly increases in intensity, as Mallozzi overlaps live and pre recorded sounds. A challenging trip for sure, but what I like I like about this, and like every Pentiments release, the sound quality is rich and texturally oneiric, our ears are drawn to what is most peripheral. Even the most driest sequences on where the tape is just Mallozzi’s voice, the slightest reverberations of his timbre permeates the room acoustics - manipulating movement and conjuring what is more like a daydream than just an absurd sequence of observations. Presented with honour, which this label does so well, with essays interpreting each piece by various writers and artists. Intimate and to be taken in alone.
FROM THE LABEL:
Pentiments is honored to present Became These, a double LP collection of archival sound works by artist, professor, Experimental Sound Studio director emeritus, and all-around singular Chicago arts fixture Lou Mallozzi. Gathering previously unreleased works from 1996-2020, the collection speaks to Mallozzi’s enduring versatility and aptitude for seamlessly adopting varieties of sonic approach—one will find pieces spanning conceptually engrossing spoken engagements with the listener, timbrally rich and unpredictable concrète compositions of varying densities and intensities, ensemble works drawing from the traditions of sound poetry and free improvisation in wholly unique manners, and more. Those who have had the opportunity to hear Mallozzi’s 1999 CD release Radiophagy on Hal Rammel’s Penumbra Music label or see him perform his works live most likely already have an inkling of the kind of skill and creativity with which he has been able to interrogate voice, word and sound for the past three decades. We hope that this collection is able to present this creativity to new audiences and encourage a wider celebration of this voice of many voices.
LISTEN HERE:
https://pentiments.bandcamp.com/album/became-these
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