FIRST NARROWS (53'38"), the third album by loscil (aka Scott
Morgan), contains seven gritty, glitchy audio studies of rhythm
and texture. Ranging from shimmering and sonorous to gloomy
and inevitable, these terse works are immediately
comprehensible. The mechanistic pulse of loscil's music engine
winds up, layer upon layer, like a series of engaging gears -
giving off assembly-line precision and machine shop heat. Each
piece follows a similar manufacturing process and builds up
with metronomic exactitude, the variations in pulse skipping
ahead of and then lagging behind the motorized beat. While
loscil's machine-like cyclings advance robotically and deep in
the groove, looming above the factory floor are vented tremulous
and wavering electronic textures which help to soften the tone
and make the music seem somewhat less mechanical. Adding
another, more acoustic facet to the shape of this album is the
novel, however brief, appearance of soft chords played on
Fender Rhodes piano as well as resonating cello notes and
reverberant electric guitar plucks. These devices bring warmth
and linearity to loscil's computer based loops and samples and
show up in just the right measure. Still, loscil's music is based
on computer software. His virtual music systems continue to
transmit power and energy, but not with the mindlessness of a
machine. At this work's core is a creative spirit, one exploring the
perfection of technology with the flaws of humanity.

Tune in to STAR'S END this weekend for new music from FIRST
NARROWS by loscil

For more on FIRST NARROWS, access: http://www.kranky.net

For more on loscil, access: http://www.loscil.com

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Chuck van Zyl
Host of STAR'S END Ambient Radio
http://www.starsend.org