Machinefabriek + Stephen Vitiello - Box Music [12K - 2008]Box music is an rewarding and offten haunting collection of ambient/ experimental and strange sound scapes built with the use of everyday items; with each of the five tracks using a different set of items to create these compelling, haunting and alien sound worlds. The five tracks here are split between 2 from each artist with the last track been collaboration between the pair – with each track been named after the items that were used to create it. First up is a MachineFabriek track entitled Bells,Book, Tin Foil, Buttons- which enters with a haunting, penetrating and lonely sunrise like drone that shimmers ever so often with sudden tinkling bell tones. The drone is also broken here and there by sudden ripping or scuttling tones too & through out it stays haunting yet very odd. Latter on with the track Broken record, cassettes; Stephen Vitiello build’s up a sort of slurred, muffled and looped sound tapestry of song snippets, stretched and damaged voices, and turntable textures- feeling like a more twitchy and hyperactive take on Willaim Basinski meets Philip Jeck. The collaborative track entitled Chocolate Sprinkles, Tape, Egg Cutter, Plastic- starts with ushers in a strange wavering harmonic drone which has top of it: doom like plucking tones, distant stereo panning voices, piercing gong tones, along with all manner of atmospheric and strange rustles, slows shakes, settles ect. All in a very creative and rewarding collection of soudworlds; that show’s in the right hands highly compelling, bizarre and atmospheric sound scaping can be made with the most ordinary everyday items. Roger Batty
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