CD – Baskaru
Metallic strokes, sparse voices, buzzing insects, sirens and dogs barking. Emmanuel Mieville is very skilled at capturing moments of reality in exotic contexts. These recordings were made in Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Peru and Malaysia and contain atmospheres that have been captured with sensitivity, strength and an understanding of significance. Intentionally editing only the essential, the artist has made a small number of meaningful superimpositions; combinations that are constructed in a truly unusual and interesting manner. The captures, which have been picked from both natural sounds and from human activities, seem meticulously selected. In some cases there are also “direct” interventions: the author himself speaks of “played” metal and wooden sculptures in the album notes, though these manipulations are rarely distinguishable as independent musical parts. Mieville approached sound engineering during his time at film school and in some way his inspiration seems permeated by a sort of filmic narration, even though steeped in electro-acoustic and concretist culture. The last of the five tracks is particularly suggestive (the one recorded in Kuala Lumpur) – a muezzin song is evinced alongside the noisy chirps of birds and the primitive rhythmic percussions of improvised drums, all dipped in an ambient background with emergent street noises, soft voices of children, hisses and assorted growls.