asher l ubeboet cell memory

Having just listened to and then ultimately becoming addicted to their recent collaborative release of beautiful, pastoral Musique Concrète A Map of the Ocean [Bremsstrahlung Recordings], this newest joint effort between Asher and Ubeboet given the title Cell Memory and released on Ben Ownen's excellent Winds Measure Recordings label, provides the listener with an equally rewarding listening experience but via a darker corridor of sound and carrying with it a noticeably more primal ambiance.

Following as it did in the foot steps of A Map of the Ocean, that first listening of Cell Memory came as a bit of sonic shock to my system. The warm, bucolic ambiance of the former is no where to be found on the latter. Cold, dark ambient soundscapes is not unknown territory to me, but this new collaboration treads deep into this territory - deeper than I had expected.

Cell Memory consists of two tracks: alter (the other) and nullus (neither) are of almost equal durations and have a cumulative length of just over thirty-seven minutes. Both works would appear to be based on field recordings which have been processed/manipulated into a potage of thick, churning, primordial drones. You'll notice similarities to Ubeboet's drone style and Asher's earliest online works. Within just a few seconds of listening to alter (the other) it became clear that there are ties to something ancient here - maybe a connection to those basic genetic memories, fears, and other instincts that are forever embedded in the DNA of our cells for the purpose of making our chances of survival a little more likely. It doesn't take long for the scratchy, bristly introduction of alter (the other) to evolve into a densely layered, rumbling, shadowy drone. It could be compared to the best of what is referred to as glacial ambient or, with those ghostly voices lamenting in the background, it could be the sonic accompaniment to a scene in a film whose setting is the abandoned, wind-swept ruins of ancient buildings. Likewise, nullus (neither) carries with it a similar musical aesthetic although it comes across as more opaque than its predecessor with an overall stormier atmosphere and contains some comparatively noisier and more abrasive moments including a few bursts of industrial-like machine noise.

Another outstanding collaboration between two prominent sound artists demonstrating their skill and versatility in manipulating sound so as to reflect whatever mood they deem as suitable for the immediate moment.

reviewed by Larry Johnson, 04-06 - 2008 in earlabs