Disquiet

The Phoning It In radio show and podcast gives new meaning to the whole idea of lo-fi: featured musicians literally phone it in, performing over their telephone. The series’s archive is pretty deep, so for starters check out Justin Shay‘s performance, dated June 29, 2006 (MP3, phoningitin.net). Shay employs a Loop Station to build expansive passages from delicate, quivering layers of sound. His Phoning It In set includes two pieces, one almost song-like thanks to the presence of a rustic woodwind, the other all the more ethereal thanks to its absence. Both have an introspective, casual ambience that is amplified by Phoning It In’s techno-primitivism. More on Shay at virb.com/justinshay.

By Marc Weidenbaum