SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE
Grandfather Harmonic
CIRCA212
Preservation 2012
06 Tracks. 50mins32secs

SEAWORTHY
Bellows And Breath
CIRCA112
Preservation 2012
08 Tracks. 38mins38secs

Grandfather Harmonic
Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD
Bellows And Breath
Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

The first two in Preservation’s second batch of releases for their Circa project, which aims at showcasing lesser-known artists with a taste for exploratory experimentations, these two albums, released in a series of 300 copies each on CD and as unlimited downloads, come from Tennessee-based artist Frank Baugh (Sparkling Wide Pressure) and Cameron Webb, from Sydney (Seaworthy). Although both already have a number of releases under their respective belts, most of Baugh’s have been very limited runs, for the most part on cassette. Webb on the other hand has been publishing records since the late nineties and has appeared on Steady Cam, Low Point and 12K, for whom he has recorded two solo albums and a collaboration with Matt Rösner. Circa originally comprised a set of six releases by Fabio Orsi, Aaron Martin & Justin Wright, Nickolas Mohanna, Aera C, Deep Magic and Quiet Evening, all published through 2011.

Evolving within a similar frame, and similarly inspired by particular musical instruments, Grandfather Harmonic and Bellows And Breath are ultimately quite different records, yet their respective atmospheric nature justifies their association here. The former was inspired by memories of Frank Baugh’s childhood in rural Tennessee, especially that of the harmonica his grandfather used to play, while the latter takes its cue from the noises made by the harmonium Cameron Webb used whilst recording.

Although usually working primarily with guitars and field recordings, Webb has for Bellows And Breath taken a different approach, using harmonium and melodica as his main sound sources, and adding found sounds and processed guitar textures to create a series of somewhat dense, hazy drone-like sonic constructions which develop almost imperceptibly, not only over their respective course, but over the course of the whole album. Indeed, as his sonic palette remains fairly constrained, Webb never veers far from his original soundscapes, only occasionally pulling back on complex layered structured to reveal more intimate details. This is for instance the case in the opening sequence of Breathe Deep, where tiny found sounds progressively get covered by layers of harmonium. At first these are fairly stripped down, but as the piece progresses, the structure becomes more ample. On Rattled Rushes or The Rustle Of Weather Beaten Leaves, Webb swaps harmonium for acoustic guitar, but no melody of sort ever take shape. On the former, bribes of notes are scattered over the first couple of minutes of the piece, but rapidly, Webb brings in a much denser soundscape, which rapidly appears riddled with glitches and distant textural noises, whilst on the latter, he magnifies the sound of a hand brushing again the wood or that of fingers picking on strings until they become strangely alien. With Scuttled Path And Stone though, Webb sketches a more substantial series of musical phrases which, whilst challenged by more vaporous sound forms, manage to stay above the surface for the whole piece.

Grandfather Harmonic is in comparison much more eclectic, even if Frank Baugh occasionally relies on similar drone-like forms. His choice of instrumentation allows him to process his compositions in a variety of shades and tones, from the layered guitars of opening piece Across The Red River and the droning song form of Future Voice to the warm keyboards and processed guitars found on Looking To Remember and the abstract formations of Cross Plains, Pump House/Spring Water or Simple Touch. Although essentially instrumental, this album occasionally lets vocals filter through, but Baugh’s voice, on Cross Plains, Future Voice or Simple Touch, remains distant, at times tuneless, and drowned in by layers of sounds so his contribution remains completely obscure.

The range of influences is pretty vast here, from Krautrock to new wave, ambient and experimental rock, but Baugh seems willing to keep them relatively segregated. Looking To Remember for instance is an atmospheric piece which blends sequenced guitars and smooth keyboard brushes, whilst Cross Plain or Future Voice have a much rawer electric sound. The epic centre piece, Pump House/Spring Water is a two-part sprawling slab of abstraction, the first of which, taking two third of the piece, sees a recurring guitar motif surrounded with odd noises and occasional monotone vocals, whilst the second becomes much denser and dissonant as Baugh continues to adds layers. Simple Touch, which closes, takes off from a drone and slowly expands its range without changing its textural aspect through the course of the piece, until it vanishes amongst looped voices.

Frank Baugh’s grandfather’s harmonica doesn’t appear to make an appearance here, and how the music relates to his childhood memories is quite unclear, but the result, although perhaps less consistent that the Seaworthy album, has a certain charm. Overall, Cameron Webb presents a series of rather monolithic compositions with Bellows And Breath, where the treatment applied to the various sound sources is equally as essential as the role they play against lighter structures. Everything is in the details here, but details are not always easy to pick out, making this whole album into a rather dreamy experiment.

Grandfather Harmonic: 3.3/5 / Bellows And Breath: 4.2/5

Sparkling Wide Pressure | Preservation
Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD