- Two Variations is modular synth music, and if we included the liner notes that detail exactly how it was made, it would about double the review's word count. The details of M. Geddes Gengras's patch would help probably 2% of people understand his method with the clarity of a cookbook. For the rest of us, all we need know is that a system has been set in place to produce perpetual, multilayered music. This is by no means a new idea in 2016, but it's one that can deeply satisfy close listening if you're, say, a fan of Labyrinth techno exploring the Kraut-inflected synth epics by the likes of John Elliott or Bee Mask.
Gengras describes the first piece, "03.06.2015," as "two pairs of marimba mallets attached to a pair of dice," an image that gives you a sense of how the rapid-fire string of tones shift and tumble through a series of plaintive pitches. However, the action isn't really in the oscillators and their pinging rhythms, but in their harmonic after-effects. Big, billowing clouds of rich colour roar like sea spray, and you'll either find yourself luxuriating in their glow or waiting for more traditional forms of development. Like "03.06.2015," "04.10.15" comfortably fills an entire side of the cassette, and its somewhat angular textures mutate into plucked string tones over the course of 30-plus minutes. Sound transformation is a core compositional strategy here, but when the medium becomes the message, the music may feel inessential for listeners who value linear structure and contrasts. Functionally-minded types, however, could layer these pieces over drum & bass tunes to brain-expanding effect.
Tracklist01. 03.06.15
02. 04.10.15