Mem1 - Mem1 /+1 [Interval Recordings - 2009]Mem1 is a very ambitious duo combining modular electronics with cello. As far as I can make out, this release features collaborations with other artists. I'm not sure what to make of this release. It seems to be an ambient piece mostly, occasionally recalling Jim O'Rourke before he went towards the unsatisfying direction of neo-60s pop. Track 2 (with Ido Govrin) does have a good low-end drone, probably propelled by a string bass from what I can tell. The track with RS-232 does rumble a bit at the beginning, but otherwise most of this release doesn't have much that is remarkable. Too few players here stand out in a rather monotonous, uniform soup. Well actually track five has a bit of a motorik rhythm to it, recalling Tangerine Dream maybe, but that's about it. Again, I don't see the point of a collaborative album such as this when there's too few an instrumentalist here that really has any character on his or her own. There's plenty of improvisational groups out there doing much better things than this, so I don't get it. Lawrence J. Patti
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