Emptyset - Material

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  • Material is a sequel of sorts to last year's Medium EP, which saw Emptyset's Paul Purgas and James Ginzburg relocate to Woodchester Mansion in the Cotswolds. After setting up a large sound system, they pushed noise at high volume through the building's structure and recorded its responses: high frequency shrieks and chatters that rattled up stairwells and echoed down empty corridors, sub-bass detonations that rumbled through the walls and floors. Material contains three short recordings made using the same methodology in a series of different spaces: London's Ambika P3 concrete bunker, a nuclear power station, Trawsfynydd, in Wales, and Chislehurst mine in Kent. All three are fascinating and detailed listens, especially when played through decent speakers, which make it possible to detect the subtle differences between the three locations. Ambika P3's metal staircases hum and buzz quietly in the background, while sub-bass pulses abruptly cut out to leave long trails of echo rippling sharply outward through its cavernous interior. The reverberations that rumble through Chislehurst mine, in contrast, are soft and pillowy, hinting towards the dulling properties of rock and earth. The recording at Trawsfynydd is the strongest of the three, and packs a real emotional punch. The power station itself is now decommissioned, and will remain standing empty until 2083. Appropriately, the echoes that rattle through the recording are harsh, chilly and sinister, painting a portrait of a space now devoid of human activity. The result is a subtle but powerful meditation on humanity's ability to inflict profoundly disruptive effects on our environment.
  • Tracklist
      01. Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station - Snowdonia, Wales 17.12.12 02. Ambika P3 - London, England 12.12.12 03. Chislehurst Mine - Kent, England 02.11.12
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