 Mark Francombe has a well heeled reputation for experimental electronic and improvised music. Moving from his native UK to Norway in 1997 he settled in Oslo where he has since become a mainstay of the cities improvised electronic music scene as well as running his own label Synch Non Synch. A founding member and guitarist of the 1980's UK indie band the Cranes his musical lineage is wide & varied which is conspicuous in his new release Ear, Nose & Throat. Released this time on Oslo based Synesthetic Recordings Ear, Nose & Throat is a cinematic journey of manipulated guitar improvisations, sampled, filtered and processed into a soundtrack that is both melodic and mesmerising. Looping riffs build and morph into multiple layers and textures creating a rich audio imagery that given recent microsound debates I wont make too much of but if one is to see sound as colour or image then this music is definitely a candidate. The press release eludes to Eno / Fripp's 'No Pussyfooting' and I would definitely add Ennio Morricone to this comparison if only to illustrate it's diversity. Each of the 4 tracks that make up this album have a distinct coherence but what really intrigues is the multiplicity of voices created from the one guitar and a bunch of FX. Screeching feedback to reversed reverberating guitar, often organ like in it's breathiness and timbre coupled with rhythmic snippets cut up and sequenced in a wry nod to glitch but ultimately not. The originality in Francombes palette of sound is also due in part to his modified baritone guitar pitched between a standard and bass guitar allowing for an enhanced lower end, giving the recording a real dynamic frequency depth and balance. Tongue Lip Cheek & Chin Synch Non Synch synch non synch 06   Apparently
made up of recordings that didn't make the Ear, Nose & Throat cut this
group of tracks is far more than a just a sequel. To my ears it has less
finesse but is in many ways all the more exciting for it. You still have
the multiple loops and layers of Ear, Nose & Throat but with a much
darker, more cerebral edge. Cut from the same block there are many
similarities between the two releases but perhaps without thinking
Francombe has let go a bit on this and it really does work as an
separate album in it's own right. There are also some added analogue
signal manipulations, piano and pads thrown in which lends it an
interesting variation to it's sister release. Think dry desert
landscapes or perhaps icy glaciers being in Norway but it contains all
the audio pictorial references needed for a vivid blackout experience.
Track 1 [ Tongue ] is my pick of the bunch with a definite electro feel
it moves along on chopped white noise rhythm gradually dropping the
beats for layers of melodic entwined guitar writhing into sculpted
abstract noise workouts. This track features on this editions new net
release Explorations in Sound Selection 1 (artwork included) free
to download with the edition. |
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THE WIRE Adventures in
modern music Ex-Cranes guitarist
Mark Francombe wonders if he should release exerything he records. On
the evidence of the massively varying quality of these five albums, that
would be an unwise course. Icons of Kipple is an inconsequential
installation piece based around looped voices and advertisments.
Badgered features some interesting signal processing and FX action
applied to some rather pedestrian guitar playing. Too often Francombe
relies on looping and layering simple pentatonic figures in a style that
recalls the longueurs of Steve Hillage's New Age echo suites. The far
superior The most fearless animal in the world (which according
to the sleevenotes is the honey badger - what is it with the badgers?)
contains similar lapses, but for the most part its loop pieces work
extremely well. Francombe likes big, bold sounds such as some decidedly
Edgar Froese-like patches from his Roland guitar synth, and he's partial
to mashing things up with gaudy delay feedback. |