Disquiet

The cello-tronic rituals of reverberation that are the stuff, the modus operandi, the trademark of Ted Laderas‘s OO-Ray get a thorough workout on his maximalist “If We Aren’t Blind” (MP3). It’s a sample cut off a forthcoming album, reportedly titled Magnifcations, and the result is less drone-like than it might at first appear to be. For all its extended tones, it really sways, if slowly, back and forth, with gently layered swaths of sound. What’s especially remarkable about the piece is how far a little vibrato, heard throughout, can go — how the technique adds density to simple wave forms. As mediated by Laderas’s bank of technology, the lone cello takes on a kind serene majesty — sustained, rich, formidable. More info at Laderas’s website, 15people.net, and at that of the releasing netlabel, luvsound.org, where the MP3 recently appeared as a “single of the week.”

By Marc Weidenbaum