CD – King Tree

Can some obsessive and repetitive sound sequences impress themselves on the listener so much that their continuous repetition creates space for more synthetic, rhythmic and sharp moments? Clearly the composer Ryan Teague, a native of Bristol, is showing special care for these rhythmic passages, considering them to be as important as the melodies. These are Recursive Iterations, structured in seven different compositions that look at cinematic sound design drawing on a neoclassical music element and engaging electronics. The liner notes highlight that the musical structure originates from an algorithmic system; however, the basic idea seems both simple and artisan: putting together some apparently disparate elements, working through iteration and on musical structures that are not contiguous with each other. It’s a cyclic return, differently framed for each of the seven tracks, made by negative and circular spaces, crossed by a constant tension reinforced by some syntetic scorias beating at regular times and skilfully compatible with each other, with a gradual rise of some reactive and concentred networks. One might argue that the background could obliquely refer to the fundamental abstract experiments of the mid 1990’s (for example, the productions Mo’ Wax and the first electronics edited through software). Teague shows great skill in drawing together the right elements, making good use of pauses and timing. The slow and measured paces, together with the gentle loops, give life to what we call a “downtempo ambient” music, interspersed with tense and digital cuts, on the border between post-rock, contemporary chamber music and so-called intelligent dance music. A sweet music, but definitely not for everybody.

 

Ryan Teague – Recursive Iterations