Artist : Paul May & Platform
Title : Broken Hulk Display
Genre : Electronic
Year : 2009
Date : 03/06/2009
Bitrate : VBR kbps
Tracks : 04
Label : Minimal Resource Manipulation
Source : CDDA
Encoder : Lame 3.97
Length : 20:51 min
Size : 29,2 MB
Tracklist:
----------
01.Where To Begin 05:45
02.The Last Barber 03:42
03.There Is No 04:31
04.Trouble Lodge 06:53
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20:51 min
Matthew Atkins, also known as Platform, has released a couple of CDRs in a relatively short time span,
teams up here with a drummer, Paul May. May has half of Ladywoodsman, and has played on albums by
Alexander Tucker, Duke Garwood, Carolyn Hume and Barkingside. He's an improvisation drummer. They
know eachother for fifteen years, but this is the first time they worked together. May has supplied a tape of
his percussive work to Atkins who has transformed the material. Atkins stays close to original rhythm
tapes, adding sparsely electronics, and occasionally creating loops of the drums. This all makes great
sense as the four pieces on this CDR (lasting almost twenty-one minutes) have a great vibrant feeling.
Electro-acoustic manipulation meets up with the improvised playing that has a slight jazzy touch to it. From
all the discs I received from Platform in the past months, I think this is the best release. Playful, skilled
manipulation of the material, reminding me of the Steven
Hess/Robert Hampson (Main) collaboration. Maybe Platform should seek the collaboration more?
(Vital Weekly)
Drummer Paul May and electronic artist Matt Atkins (aka Platform) combine forces here for an utterly
compelling journey into the world of experimental sound. Using recordings of Paul's improv percussion
skills and then getting to work on processing and treating them, Platform delivers a totally coherent,
intriguing and amazingly lovely series of tracks. What I enjoyed the most was the variety with the work -
one minute you get freeform, almost jazz-like sections, which then cunningly work their way into a melodic
and, it must be said, almost 12k-esque chord-led feel. Coupled with the frankly out-there final track that
uses a 4/4 kick to up the tempo somewhat you've got yourself an engaging, beautifully produced work that,
in my opinion, is the finest release on the label so far. What a great way to start 2009!
(SmallFish)
Paul May + Platform arrive in my lugholes next, brandishing a bag of tools, an old drum kit made of
plumbing & biscuit tins and possibly an eerie glockenspiel /theramin set up. And an echo machine. They
then proceed to take all this dubious musical instrumentation into a pitch black dark shed and quietly
stagger around in a meditative fashion, brandishing their sticks and bits of sound manipulating trickery like
two pissed zen warriors searching for the new sound. As far as de- constructive avant-garde gear goes, I
love the dub/echo chamber effects on 'Broken Hulk Display' and have to admit as a display of electro
acoustic and experimental percussive sound, this CD is quite the cookie. I'm feeling utterly relaxed
considering the jarring unpredictability of it all. If yr a bit of a Wire reading beardy-weirdy you'll love this. Me,
I haven't a shelf big enough to hold a dictionary containing all the words that they use, I'm well archaic. This
is a very absorbing listening though!
(Norman Records)
This neat little CDR features Platform reconfiguring the percussive subtlety of one Paul May, in a release
that, from the outset, grabs the attention, and never lets go until the final flourish. Although essentially
minimalist in feel, the sonic pallette here is full of invigorating and exciting gestures, with Platform
deforming MayÆs percussive structures, layering them with slap-echo, or muscular reverb, to form an
active fabric of rhythmic elements, fractured and spliced with subtle organic tonalities. At times, there is a
loose free-jazz feel to the whole proceedings, a bit like Billy Cobham on a minimalist holiday with Keith
Jarrett..this is a nice appetiser for what I would hope would be a more protracted foray with this successful
pairing at some point in the future.Clocking in at a mere 20 or so minutes..I would have loved to have heard
more.. BGN
(White_Line Editions)
http://www.minimalresourcemanipulation.co.uk/