MARK FELL
Periodic Orbit Of Dynamic System Related To A Knot
EMEGO133
Editions Mego 2011
02 Tracks. 46mins38secs

Amazon UK: LP | DLD US: LP | DLD Boomkat: LP | DLD

Precision is the key with Mark Fell’s work, and things couldn’t be any more precise than his latest album, Periodic Orbit Of Dynamic System Related To A Knot, which comprises two tracks, entitled This and That, each lasting precisely twenty-three minutes and sixteen seconds. Equally, the music presented here, whilst sourced from various projects, is, as ever, extremely dynamic and clean cut, and the result of extensive digital processing. In fact apart for the sound of a Mac Mini failing to load a DVD and a Pi Saw flute, the entire album was recorded, mixed and edited via MIDI.

Mark Fell first came to attention in the late nineties as one half of SND, a project he set up with Mat Steel, with three albums released in four years on Mille Plateaux, with a fourth album published two years ago on Raster-Noton. With his solo project, Fell has continued to explore the possibilities of digital processing, most prominently in the last couple of years on a series of releases for Editions Mego and Raster-Noton.

Although only comprising two side-long tracks, the music on this album is sourced from a wide variety of projects, from previously unreleased material, live versions or outtakes. Fell also used parts of a quadriphonic piece originally composed for Barcelona’s Supersimetria and presented earlier this year. The two tracks are arranged into sequences of various lengths and appearance, some extremely syncopated and hectic, others much more sequential and regulated. The transitions between these segments are for the most part extremely obvious as Fell juxtaposes them somewhat abruptly, yet as they are often collated from similar sound sources, it is actually surprisingly easy to loose one’s bearings and succumb to the strange hypnotic aspect of this work. At times however, Fell opts for more subtle alterations, as he progressively erodes one set of patterns and builds up another until the conversion is complete.

Both tracks follow similar patterns, alternating between moments of intense digital assaults, some fairly succinct, others, like the one opening This, expanding over longer periods, and calmer sections, where digital stuttering makes way for more subtle sequences. This is often in these quieter moment that Fell’s intricate work becomes much easier to appreciate as he reveals how sounds actually interact with each other and at times alter the course of a track drastically by way of repeat sonic mutations.

Like previous records, Periodic Orbit… can at times feel extremely cold and devoid of human touch, yet the music actually appears to react to changes in very organic fashion, continuously evolving from one sequence to the next, at times smoothly, at others more suddenly. Perhaps due to its seamless set up, this album may well be Mark Fell’s most hypnotic release to date.

4.4/5

Mark Fell | Editions Mego
Amazon UK: LP | DLD US: LP | DLD Boomkat: LP | DLD