“The array of enormous sounds and hackle-raising textures on Phos combines the spontaneity of improvisation with the full potential of digital postproduction. The trio recorded the material live during one night in the studio, after which Cymerman and engineer Marc Urselli passed it back and forth, blowing it up and cutting it down. The results feel massive enough to generate their own gravity—especially when heard through headphones. On “Incantatory Sentience,” twanging strings and detonating beats circle around your head like a midnight dance enacted by blacked-out skyscrapers. “Corpuscular Refraction” is even less decorous, launching one blast after another, each more withering than the last. From start to finish, Phos sustains a black-on-black atmosphere illuminated only by the occasional spray of aerosolized crimson.”
-Bill Mayer, The Chicago Reader
Mariel and I previously worked together during her tenure in Mivos Quartet, who have performed my piece Moonblood extensively since 2012. This collaboration began with her invitation to work together on a solo piece, and was recorded during the sessions for her album Cartography. Tuning the lowest string of her cello down to an incantatory G, we used my pre-recorded electronic loops as an aural score which Mariel interpreted by ear. The opening is a call and response between the extremes of the cello’s register, evoking a liturgical responsory. Over time, these transform from cavernous depths into a climactic and joyous frenzy of noise riffs. The title references The Irradiant Force of Sound, a 2003 talk given by the composer Iancu Dumitrescu, and describes the act of shining brightly. More specifically in the context of Dumitrescu’s thought, it refers to a sacramental revealing of the inner life of sound. It is dedicated to the great composer, conductor, and musicologist Ana-Maria Avram (1961-2017), a dear friend and fearless advocate for the advancement of spectral musics.
Announcing the release of “Sheen” the debut album by BLOODMIST. As individuals, Jeremiah Cymerman, Toby Driver and Mario Diaz de Leon have been responsible for some of the most extreme and intense music to come out of New York’s experimental music scene in the last ten years. As a trio of clarinet/electronics, bass, and guitar, they perform impassioned and haunting free improvisation under the name BLOODMIST. Since 2011, the group has been slowly developing a unique voice that pays to tribute to the collective experience of the group, encompassing the worlds of extreme metal, modern classical composition, noise, free improvisation, compositional rock and beyond. Their self-titled debut release, comprises six tracks of abyssal, vividly layered improvisation, further refined by detailed studio editing. Beautifully recorded and mixed by Jamie Saft in Upstate New York in February 2015, “Sheen” is a landmark collaboration from three masters of dark experimental music.
Release date: January 29th, 2016 on 5049 Records
Album Release Event: January 27th at Roulette
