ea balancing act with controled dynamics

Winds Measure continue their uncompromising assault on minimalism with this monumental collaborative work by Andy Graydon, Andre Goncalves, Ben Owen, Gill Arno, Richard Garet, and Gil Sanson, working collectively as EA. Barely a handful of the names resonate with me, to the rest I must apologise to in advance. The curiously titled “Balancing Act with Controlled Dynamics” perhaps loosely explains some of the sonic content showcased here. These slender, amorphous pieces form an elegant mosaic that re-define the parameters of lower case, bringing together a range of sensibilities that encompass low –register undulating dronescapes, wispy tone washes, erupting electronica, radio sampling, and epic near-silences. This is an intense, exploratory workout, that actually is a “balancing act with controlled dynamics”..never before has a CD title been so descriptive of its contents. We get the feeling that every moment is carefully engineered to project us into an audio netherworld, teetering at the brink of entropy, an exemplary sketchbook of growth and decay, that uses calculated and protracted silences to engender drama and anticipation..audible tectonics that shift and swell, explode and disperse, the audible equivalent of a peculiarly benign volcano, brooding and sombre. A compulsive mutation of styles, and at just short of half an hour, there is enough here to stimulate an active imagineer, barely enough to be truly immersive. Well worth a listen. BGN.

reviewed by BGN in white line.