CHRIS DOOKS & MACHINEFABRIEK: The Eskdalemuir Harmonium (Komino Records)

themilkman on Sep 25th 2012 01:36 am

Chris Dooks & Machinefabriek: The Eskdalemuir Harmonium

CHRIS DOOKS & MACHINEFABRIEK
The Eskdalemuir Harmonium
KOM1NO004
Komino Records 2012
04 Tracks. 34mins57secs

Chris Dooks is, amongst other things, something of a documentarist whose sound work has often been centred around collecting snippets of films and documentaries which he recontextualises through processing. Following a couple of electronic releases as Bovine Life over ten years ago, he published a record built entirely from sound excepts from films and documentaries sourced from the Northern Region Film And Television Archive, documenting a hundred years of culture in the North of England. The same preservation purpose serves this collaborative effort with Rotterdam-based sound artist Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt). Based on recordings of a crumbling old American harmonium which Dooks found in a farmhouse near Lockerbie in Scotland, the album is articulated around four textural pieces which incorporate melodic components as well as mechanical and environmental noises. The second piece, Betamax And Dictaphones, also features excerpts from the vinyl pressing of a radio documentary. Continue Reading »

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