Akira Rabelais - Caduceus

1. Seduced by the Silence

2. On the Little In-betweens

3. Then the Substanceless Blue

4. Where to Let Our Scars Fall in Love

5. With the Gift of Your Small Breath

6. And the Permanence of Smoke or Stars

7. Night Dances Through Heaven's Black Amnesia

8. Comme un Ange Enivré d'un Soleil Radieux

9. Surface of Soft Steps, Violets Whisper

10. In a Cadence of Vanishing

11. And Emptiness Over Eyes

12. As Fingers Trace Around the Rim of a Colourless Sky

13. A Door Opens Backwards

  Quote

On his samadhisound debut, Spellewauerynsherde, Akira Rabelais crafted austere settings to found recordings of Icelandic songs of lament.

His follow-up, Caduceus, is a different beast – a study of guitar and extreme distortion that's both harsh and mesmerising.

 

samadhisound founder David Sylvian describes it as "caustically romantic": "Akira's recording presents you with an auditory experience quite unlike

any other. It's by turns a brutal and discomforting ride. Outside of the full-on audio assault, there's unsettling disquiet in its quietude. Once heard

it won't be forgotten and for those seeking out recorded music that is transformative, experiential, this material has that potency."

 

To create the distortion, Rabelais wrote a filter by modelling sources such as fuzz boxes and old guitar pedals. Samples of AM radio also lurk in the

mix. "You can hear faint fragments of voice in a couple of places on the album. I used static concretely and as a data modelling source. It's exceptionally

tasty... right up there with a wedge of Red Leicester and a well structured Nero d'Avola."

 

Several of the pieces on Caduceus evolved in multiple directions, and all but one of the tracks are presented in two parts – for example, the opening

and closing cuts, or tracks three and four. "As with just about everything I do it's mostly a matter of listening and waiting for the tracks to reveal their

intentions. The album came to have a cinematic quality in my mind's eye, something like a soundtrack to a Western by Cocteau and

Chris Cunningham." Listening suggests scenes – the slow-motion gunfight, the hero's death, the peace of sleeping under the stars.

But usually a soundtrack sticks to the background; few films could stand up to Caduceus' onslaught.

 

Perhaps the most challenging release in samadhisound's catalogue, Caduceus is rigorous, uncommon, and essential. Its sonic rewards

are matched only by the chance to grapple with the personality behind it, which is as mercurial as the title suggests."

 

Akira Rabelais

Samadhisound

I did not enjoy Spellewauerynsherde, but I'll give this a shot when it comes out.

have you listened to eisoptrophobia?

I have not. How is it?

it's restructurings of erik satie works along with other bits and pieces. very minimal-haunting-water marked sound. maybe akira's best work to date

  On 5/13/2010 at 2:10 AM, Tauhid said:

I did not enjoy Spellewauerynsherde, but I'll give this a shot when it comes out.

fail.

  On 5/18/2010 at 6:48 AM, thanks robert moses said:

  On 5/13/2010 at 2:10 AM, Tauhid said:

I did not enjoy Spellewauerynsherde, but I'll give this a shot when it comes out.

 

fail.

Haha, why is that a fail?

Caduceus is really awesome. I just made a thread about the software Akira use for his music. Maybe some of you have made some experiments with his software (which is available for free on his webpage)

  On 5/18/2010 at 8:04 AM, Tauhid said:

  On 5/18/2010 at 6:48 AM, thanks robert moses said:

  On 5/13/2010 at 2:10 AM, Tauhid said:

I did not enjoy Spellewauerynsherde, but I'll give this a shot when it comes out.

 

fail.

 

Haha, why is that a fail?

I just think you won your saving throw against his spells.