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It’s hard to define in specific terms what distinguishes generic drones from interesting ones, as sometimes the difference can be a matter of context, but generally it’s because something is happening in the drone, perhaps a richness to the overtones, perhaps additional sonic elements. The quality can be fairly subtle and, yet, substantively transformative. Both those latter points — the overtones and the extraneous sounds — are central to The Roots of the Mountain Ash Embrace The Stone II by composer Natalia Beylis.
The sounds — thick as a chocolate shake — are made from a pump organ. Beylis’ interest is the way the simple act of the air making its way through the device creates microtonal variations. In addition, there is something almost alive in the creaking of the instrument. As she puts it in the accompanying liner note: “The clatters and groans heard within this recording are the sounds of my old pump organ leaning into its idiosyncratic self.”
This isn’t meditative music, per se, because at times the dense sine waves of the organ speed up, and then they quickly, even suddenly, subside. Such is not the stuff of a peaceful listen. However, it is fascinating as music to make peace with, to enter into a contract with to just listen for the half hour or so straight, and follow where the sounds take you. More from Beylis, who is based in Ireland, at nataliabeylis.com.