Sonic Circuits VII

“Philip Blackburn’s Innova label and its series of Sonic Circuits CDs documenting the International Festival of Electroacoustic Music always provide a fresh and varied selection of today’s electronic music. This fine disc brings together works as diverse as Jose Halac’s “The Breaking of the Scream” (emotional exorcism through Argentinean folk song), Mario Verandi’s “Figuras Flamencas” (title self-explanatory), Thomas Gerwin’s “Rollenspiel” (which, as the Press Release says, “turns your head into a roulette game”) and the cavernous ambient of Christina Agamanolis’ “Aftermath”. The shorter pieces are, as is often the case, more effective. Mark Applebaum’s “Dead White Males Remix” (nice title, but I still prefer David Lang’s long-lost “Eating Living Monkeys”) is a ProTools hatchet job on Applebaum’s existing orchestral work, while Mike Frengel’s “Long Slender Heels” is a slab of post-rock foot-fetishism worthy of Zorn, and Timothy Oesau’s “Angola du Sons” (to be played “at a volume slightly below permanent damage”) should slightly realign the configuration of your internal organs. A nice variation on the inevitable end-of-the-year compilation albums, this is an ideal Christmas gift for impressionable youngsters. “

– Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic