GARETH DAVIS & MACHINEFABRIEK
Grower
SONICPIECES10
Sonic Pieces 2011
02 Tracks. 33mins05secs

MACHINEFABRIEK
Apollo
Machinefabriek 2011
01 Track. 21mins34secs

Grower
Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Boomkat: DLD iTunes: DLD
Apollo
Boomkat: DLD

Grower is the fourth collaborative release between British clarinetist Gareth Davis and Dutch experimental sound artist Rutger Zuydervelt as his Machinefabriek alter ego. Following last year’s Drape, which appeared on Home Normal, and culled from the same sessions, Grower is told in two parts or roughly equal length. Here, Zuydervelt uses guitars as main sound sources for the sombre introspective atmospherics he creates for Davis. There is an element of solemnity in his drone structures which echoes Davis’s contribution beautifully. The rich deep tones of the clarinet appear almost as a smoother, warmer reflection of the much colder and metallic guitar textures. These two pieces open in similar fashion, each slowly growing from a single, deep, note upon which Davis progressively places delicate motifs. Of the two, Part 1 is the more fluid piece, its overall flow growing almost imperceptibly throughout, the backdrop then slowly receding until the clarinet is left entirely alone.

By contrast, Part 2 appears much barer, especially in its first segment. Here, for two and a half minutes, the pair proceed as if they were so concerned not to make any noise that they had to make themselves barely noticeable. At times even, the boundary between processed guitar and clarinet is so blurred that it is actually difficult to identify the sound sources and differentiate them for sure. It takes another six to seven minutes for the backdrop to come into focus, but it remains fairly monolithic for some time as Davis pushes into distortion. In its later part though, this second track is much more angular and cutting than any moment on Part 1, the gentle dialogue which had settled in the earlier section of the track turning into a more heated debate.

The self-released Apollo is a different affair. An alternate edit of the soundtrack Zuydervelt created for the latest film by Japanese film director Makino Takashi, In Your Star, the piece, stretching over almost twenty two minutes of deep organic brooding sounds, field recordings and recordings of NASA flight journals, finds Zuydervelt in richer and more varied mood. Once again, he works around the drone which serves as backbone to the piece, fleshing it out with subtle nuances and exquisite touches. Zuydervelt is an undeniable expert at creating spellbinding progressive sound forms, and this is one of his most compelling compositions to date. As it ebbs and flows gently, the piece grows increasingly pastoral in its first half until it becomes subjected to an electric storm and begins to dissolve into statics, interferences and processed white noise.

Both releases are very limited runs, Grower, published on the excellent Sonic Pieces, is housed in a hand-numbered hardback book sleeve, with only 336 copies available, while Apollo comes in a more modest letter-style and is in its second run of 100 copies. Musically, they showcase different aspects of Zuydervelt’s work, his recording with Gareth Davis proving a stunning addition to their growing collaborative wealth, while Apollo allows for more contrasted yet equally as effective soundscapes.

Grower: 4.6/5 Apollo: 4.7/5

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Grower
Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Boomkat: DLD iTunes: DLD
Apollo
Boomkat: DLD