Confluence

Released at the same time as Jgrzinich and Seth Nehil's Stria (that one on the Belgian label Erewhon), Confluence presents three more electro-acoustic pieces resulting from their collaborations between 1998 and 2000. Their stated intent was to "study evolutionary patterns of sound dynamics through various methods of live generation and recorded mediums that focus on multiplications and groupings." In other words, the interaction and resonance taking place between smaller parts of a greater whole — a sound organism of sorts. These pieces involved a long process of gathering sound sources which included the use of group recording participants reacting to sounds played to them by playing themselves (on small percussion instruments and objects like bowls). This is an interesting concept, but you can choose to ignore it all and just listen. Each piece contains layer upon layer of sounds moving at different paces, creating rich but not too dense textures that allow you to focus on a different "region" of the sonic space each time you press the play button. Somewhere between musique concrète and very detailed drones, the music opens up and sucks you in. Both artists collected the material, but Jgrzinich composed "Pneuma" and "Lohme," two 20-minute pieces, leaving the 5-minute "The Distant Edge" as Nehil's sole contribution (the situation is reversed on Stria). The latter piece features car horns and other street sounds that make it sound more aggressive than the other two, so it works as a kind of interlude between Jgrzinich's quasi-ambient pieces. In its last minutes, "Lohme" threatens to turn into one of Francisco Lopez's sound constructions. Recommended. ~ François Couture, Rovi