Tim Olive & Nick Hoffman – No Flag

tim_olive_nick_Hoffman

CD – Copy For You

Recorded in September 2012, in Kobe, Japan and with a cover designed by Biki, Tim Olive and Nick Hoffman’s No Flag is a project divided into five different parts that run from four to thirteen minutes approximately. Tenuous melodies are ringed in the first composition, interspersed with clicks and what can be classified as glitches, followed by indistinct percussions and deep breaths. The second track begins with a mechanical and faint background track; perhaps it is a field recording that has been retrofitted with other electroacoustic intrusions. To be honest we cannot know exactly what is happening behind the scenes, because the granular noises and drones have different provenances. The line between found sounds, artfully modulated tones and free form improvisation is blurred throughout the five tracks. Olive maintains that “the real magic” in these processes “happens when playing with other people”, and it is natural, because this goes even beyond their own limits. The artist has repeatedly declared that he uses very few side effects and almost never digital ones, trying instead to get the best sound from limited means and focusing on the absolute potential of a few sources. Even so, the result is not at all penitential and everything resonates in a charming fashion.

 

Tim Olive & Nick Hoffman – No Flag (excerpt)