Pianotronic Duo Subterminal (MP3s)

Adam Williams plays piano and Leonardo Rosado provides the electronics, and on their collaborative album, Take This Longing, recorded under the combined name Subterminal, it’s difficult to imagine either without the other. There are moments when field recordings of water lap, as if against Williams’ piano itself. And there are moments when the light beeping or woodblock beats suggest a percussive element. Overall, the effect of their commingling involves soft, dispersed chords treated by all manner of little noises — some add, others transform; sometimes they layer in little sound effects, and at others they seem introduce brief delays that lend a cyborg charm. Just as the word glitch seems to have been relegated to the dustbin of recent music history — in large part due to it having recently been set aside by Oval, an artist closely aligned with its origins — along comes a collection such as this one that refreshes the whole idea.

More details at feedbacklooplabel.bandcamp.com. More on Williams at myspace.com/themodelcitizenuk, and on Rosado at subterminal.tumblr.com.