In line with the DIY approach adopted with their Not
Applicable imprint, Carnivalesque, the seventh
album from British duo Icarus, comes complete with recycled
packaging. This is truly characteristic of what Icarus,
a duo formed at the tail end of the nineties by Ollie
Brown and Sam Britton, are about. Originally found collating
records with strong drum’n’bass influences,
the pair have since veered way off track, leaving the
dancfloor behind to focus on more challenging musical
forms, as demonstrated on last year’s I
Tweet The Birdy Electric, published on Leaf.
While the pair are said to currently be focussing on
personal studies, with Ollie Brown halfway through a
doctorate in evolutionary simulation in London and Sam
Britton spending a year in Paris studying composition
at the IRCAM, Carnivalesque demonstrates a
totally visionary approach to electronic music, far
away from any beaten track.
Returning to their own label for this mini album, Icarus
collect here three tracks, ranging from just over six
minutes for Part One to twenty minutes for
Part Two. Clocking at thirty-six minutes in
total, the three tracks should very much be heard as
one evolution of a concept. Very much like the artwork,
these sections appear to be made out of recycled elements
discarded by musicians less smart than these two. Sounding
like a collection of gigantic mobiles made up of junk
and brought to life by the slightest, most delicate
breeze, Carnivalesque scintillates all the
way through glitches and twitches, debris of melodies
are caught up in clouds of noise experiments, microscopic
sonic formations trample over others, multiple themes
run concurrently, developing independently, suddenly
appearing to merge into one another before dividing
once again, until the mind surrenders, numbed and rendered
totally unfit for even trying to make any sense of this
chaos.
This frenetic salvage operation of the sonic space has
become the privileged exploratory ground for Brown and
Britton. Yet, if the soundscapes and sound constructions
require a lot of focus and involvement from the listener,
this is not to say that Icarus wear out their audience.
Quite the opposite. The candour with which Carnivalesque
is assembled is not only truly enchanting, but also
rather refreshing. Continuing the work started with
I Tweet The Bird Electric,
Icarus set out to expand on their particular acoustic
template, and manage to create a wonderfully captivating
and fine piece of work.
4.5/5 |
