Copyright © 2001 Claustrum
1. Secret (live)
2. Radiophare III
3. Distant
4. Radiophare II
5. Another ELF-VLF
6. Radiophare I
7. Fantasy in radio minor
8. Magnetic
9. Telephobia
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Finding its way to the dark woods of ambiguity past what most people
immediately recognize as music, the sonic art of Claustrum achieves a dual
axis of dissidence. One pole is the differential in texture and quanta of
the sounds used, and here the band establishes an alien presence; the other
spectrum is the degree of familiarity of the feelings these songs convey,
and on that scale Claustrum moves inversely toward what we find most natural
in experience. Seizure of audial landscape by a barricade of low harmony
generating from its discordance a pulse wave of interference, alternating
with a pinging shriek of lost electronic signal, introduces a passage in
comfortable rhythm formed of the contortions of a sine wave. Over this
voices like translucent layers of skin form a varying translucence of
texture. Although digital instruments often create melodies, much of what
makes this release striking is the poetry of silence and the breaking apart
of sounds, creating a sense of experience although not necessarily what is
conventionally meant as music. The electronic, in its pre-computer sense of
the organic and chaotic, prone to distortion, takes a preeminent role. These
works demonstrate a poetry of location and effect, carrying the listener
through the process of change learned over the scope of an event, with music
augmenting the theatrics of sound. Verse-chorus structure is eschewed in
favor of small dramas of life as seen from a speeding vehicle, scenes which
blow by in an instant or drone like a long journey, assembled around
concepts of the artist which vary by each song. An example would be this: in
the background a jumping electronic noise gives rhythm to three frequencies
of bass drone that forms a pulsing undercurrent to the change in
motif-patterns. Motif patterns are grouped by sound, abstract concept,
rhythm and convey a layer of moods through converting abrasive noise into
familiar sounds and synchronizing its change in dynamic shape to a desired
reaction by the listener. These artists manipulate vibrators in the body of
the listener; melody heard is heard distantly over the massage of sound
touching the flesh. Beyond its grating aesthetic, this music fits into the
modern world because it is natural to encounter both these machine noises
and the stories they tell, bending nature to technology and showing the
natural aspects of mechanics. A fascination with cosmic forms suggests a
sympathetic mental process, as if the universe were made of thoughts that
resemble sounds, and in the deep emptiness of space we see the hollowness
and grandeur of void. This release remains enigmatic for its spacious
concepts outside of expected reality, yet fundamental to it as any
sensation. Released under the name "Clausthome," the second version of this recording has a live version of "Secret" and "Fantasy in radio minor" replacing the now-rare "Spectrosphere."
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