Music From SEAMUS, Vol. 30
New Focus, 2021
8/10
Listen to Music From SEAMUS, Vol. 30
A stunning ensemble in the area of electroacoustic music, SEAMUS (Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States) brings a wealth of talent to compositions that are vastly different from each other while still retaining a keen attention to detail and exciting songwriting dynamics.
“Monstress”, by Christopher Briggs, starts the listen with firm, unpredictable piano as plenty of mysterious atmosphere complements the 10+ minutes of calm, twinkling moments as well as the bold experimental ideas, and “Clouds Pattern” follows with an ominous quality as low buzzing and sound manipulation mesmerize the listener thanks to Elizabeth Hoffman’s vision.
Near the middle, Julie Herndon’s “A Long Postlude” brings spoken word that actually pairs with a lightbulb used as an instrument, and, later on, processed vocals, while “Giant Dipper” mashes samples of the sounds of a boardwalk in Santa Cruz with a young child amid plenty of unique electronic texturing from Mei-Ling Lee’s mind.
Further yet, Kelley Sheehan’s “Talk Circus” combines 2 percussionists and electronics in a way that sounds like a machine in its remarkable delivery, and “Waterside”, by Lyn Goeringer, flows and ebbs like water in its reflective, soothing tone.
Much like everything on the New Focus label, Music From SEAMUS, Vol. 30 bridges organic and synthetic exploration in very fascinating, even perplexing, avenues, that showcase immense skill you’re not going to hear anywhere else.
Travels well with: Peter Gilbert- Burned Into The Orange; Curtis K. Hughes- Tulpa