Sonogram (Todd Gautreau) should be commended for realizing
music that lasts only as long as its founding idea. Each of the 21
tracks on SUBSTRATES (66'55") are short, one to four minutes
each and consist of an elemental idea which unfolds over the
course of the composition. Instead of needlessly stretching the
work out for several minutes, Gautreau chooses to present a
two-minute idea in the space of two minutes. The content of this
album ranges from pieces based on industrial drones and
process music to amorphous ambient drift to the harmonized
composition of melodious keyboard lines. It's an album of
gentle, thoughtful songs. The music on SUBSTRATES
encompasses the extent of this artist's early Ambient works.
Presented seemingly in no order, the listener explores the
foundation of Sonogram's music. As the album plays, and fades
into the fabric of the listening space, it becomes difficult to gain
anything more than a vague familiarity with individual tracks.
While quite different from one another, the transitions between
tone and mood go unnoticed. Even the few seconds of silence
between tracks, rather than disrupting transitions, takes on an
interstitial quality essential to the experience. Along with
electronically produced music, the sounds of surf, dream voices,
playground sounds and odd, unidentifiable samples work their
way into the album at unpredictable moments and add to the
feeling of ambiguity. SUBSTRATES is masterfully simple, less
collection than reflection.

Tune in this weekend to STAR'S END for music from
SUBSTRATES by Sonogram

For more on SUBSTRATES, access:
http://www.simulacrarecords.com

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STAR'S END broadcasts every Saturday night/Sunday morning
from 1am-6am (EDST) on:

88.5fm WXPN Philadelphia, PA
88.1fm WXPH Harrisburg, PA
90.5fm Worton/Baltimore, MD
104.9fm Allentown, PA

and live on the web...

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