a r t i s t : Xela With Greg Haines And Danny Saul
t i t l e : The 12th Chapel
d a t e : 2007
l a b e l : Rite
c a t : RITE001
s o u r c e : Vinyl
g e n r e : Avantgarde/Experimental/Improv
r l s. d a t e : Jul/2007
t r a c k s : 01
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 30,3 MB
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New bespoke Type Records offshoot Rite opens its account with
this highly limited one-sided 22 minute LP documenting an
incredible session by Xela (Type's John Twells) alongside
guitarist Danny Saul and Miasmah's Greg Haines. The recording
is an impressionistic representation of the trio's set at
Manchester's Cross Street Chapel - I say impressionistic since
the whole affair has undergone a bit of post-production
saucery, although it's near impossible to tell what happened
when, and how it came about. Despite being sourced from
instantaneous, unrehearsed performance, the various components
all hang together beautifully - the sounds seem to merge
together, enveloped in a kind of spectral fug, yet thanks to
some deftly underplayed effects all the instrumental elements
of the piece are established without ever over-asserting
themselves. For the sublime opening Haines strikes up a few
loose piano phrases while Saul's acoustic guitar infuses with
the reverberant ambience of the location, paving the way for
some occultish vocal howls from Twells. Thus far the music is
characterised by a weightless, ethereal quality, although it's
soon hit by an almighty headrush of noisebound gravity. The
piece rapidly accumulates density, embracing a euphoric ascent
into clamorous feedback and primal synth oscillations through
its mid-section. All of a sudden the more ambient, folkish
tendencies of the set's early phase has been annihilated by
plumes of fuzz. It's all a far cry from the brittle IDM
compositions of Xela's debut "For Frosty Mornings And Summer
Nights" - heck it's even a pretty radical departure from the
morbid psych infusions of "The Dead Sea". This improvisation
is suggestive of far freer, more experimental work from Xela
and his collaborators, material that manages to bridge the gap
between caustic sound sculpting and ghostly aloofness. Upon
reaching a triumphant crescendo, the music dies with a few
waves of distortion and Haines' mournful cello strokes,
leaving the sound to fizzle out in the echo of the chapel's
hallowed frame. And all this on consecrated ground? I can only
hope they salted the earth afterwards. Quite a remarkable
record indeed. -boomkat.
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01-The 12th Chapel [23:38]
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23:38 min