pict.soul

A first collaboration between Tetsu Inoue and Carl Stone, pict.soul has been released by the record label of Cycling '74, the computer company that produced the Max/MSP software. One could fear the album would turn into something like a demonstration tool, but it is not the case. The music remains computer-based electronica, but in general inspiration prevails over system requirements — it sticks close to both artists' previous releases. Of course, each of them tugs on the bedsheets and the balance between Inoue's delicate, experimental ambient music and Stone's more jagged-edge constructions shifts from one track to the next. "%.disc" is pure Inoue: soft, insidious, and mesmerizing. "(.ram)" and "@.fine" are most probably Stone creations: busy, they build interruptions and glitches into something you could dance to if you had a third leg in the middle of your back. Everything in between finds the two compromising to find common ground — and explore something new, as "?.digit" testifies. A sample (circus organ?) is literally orchestrated to form a mechanical fanfare. Interesting in concept, it is not completely convincing. Otherwise pict.soul is a fine CD recommendable to fans of Kim Cascone, Kit Clayton, and the like. ~ François Couture, Rovi