Disquiet

First a few seconds on electric guitar, which quickly fades. Later a deep hum surrounding a ringing piece of serrated metal. Then more guitar, tinged with feedback that comes close to matching the texture of the metal. Later on, single notes from what sounds like an acoustic guitar, plucked in the darkness, and then subsumed by more darkness. Then mixes of these elements, the tensely plucked guitar heard against the drone, and so on, and so forth, always with these long pauses — long enough to suggest that the piece is, in fact, over — in between. This is how Pays Natal by Julien Skrobek proceeds: slender sound pieces that follow one another, occasionally combining, for a little over half an hour. The result (MP3) is an exercise in which the roles of silence and music are, by most standards, reversed, and the mind is left to keep track of the elements, thus requiring close concentration. More details at the releasing netlabel, restingbell.net.

By Marc Weidenbaum