Tabs Out

batry powr – Un1ty Flute

2.16.22 by Matty McPherson

I recently upgraded to an Xbox One, putting me only about 8 years behind the current swing of things. My issue is that I refuse to actually use the console for any bloody games; I’ve chosen to cite the “screen configuration” as my primary issue, but I think I’ve just simply moved past wanting to go dive off the deep end with a game. Also, the dishwasher nearly burned the house down and so I need to play “Dishcleaner Adventurer” for the foreseeable future.

I do like that game a lot though, as it leaves room for a tape. Although I find myself wanting to revive the old Oblivian lady elf again with the couple of spins Un1ty Flute has received. Maybe you heard of Hundred Waters and have enjoyed their music from a halcyon era ago. Well, this is frontwoman Nicole Miglis, in a deceptively distanced space of music. Her batry pwr project is centered around one limitation: using electronic gear that runs on batteries in remote places. Except Un1ty Flute didn’t quite come out like that – it’s a sudden spur-of-the-moment kind of recording that Leaving Records graciously has brought to us.

As a C30 goes, it leans into proof-of-concept territory. Side A’s title track purposely tries to pull you down to the swamps of Florida, recontextualizing it as a majestic airy land. In its own way, it reminds me of both the aforementioned Oblivion soundtrack, while also sneakily integrating field recordings and wistful sounds that could have come out of a rare Environments tape (for my money, it’s the one in a Country Stream). At first, I didn’t quite believe this was real, nor that actually this genuinely had THAT potent of a utilitarian function here. It’s not a piece of music that can just be summoned, but only felt out to its terminal end. Side B, simply titled ii, is much more in a contemporary sphere. Miglis has DJ’d and soundtracks her days, and this side of the tape errs more towards the “battery powered” electronic aspect that could return in a future from here. It all gravitates around a simple piano loop and an ethereal vocal. Two pieces come to mind: early Ana Roxanne and Jessica Pratt’s Opening Night intro from her 2019 album. Likewise, once I actually found myself in the rhythm, I was a little dismayed. I still had a mountain of dishes to go and no more ii to take in!

Edition of 250 from Leaving Records.

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Music En Berlin – ANIMAL

2.14.22 by Jacob DeRaadt

I had no knowledge of this project before being sent “ANIMAL” by the label, Orb Tapes. The seven tracks are divided into “Scenes,” somehow that really appeals to me, not labeling things songs but rather a glimpse into a world.  

Right out of the gate, “The Hunt In the Woods” has a lo-fi industrial dirge that has me hypnotized, slowly dissolving into crackling whispers of broken electronic pulsations, like wires short circuiting in sewer water. There’s lots of space for the dissolving sounds to interact, some call and response with the juxtaposed textures. Each track has its own distinct flow and tonality rather than one long continuous jam session, something I can appreciate as a listener. The element that unites all of the pieces sonically is the slow, steady percussion underpinning each “scene.”

Later on there’s gently rustling detritus paired with simple digital rhythms and bowed instruments. None of the compositions overstay their welcome.  Some of them border on the cinematic, which might be a dirty word for some but is welcome to these ears. I look forward to hearing more from this project!

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