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Born in NY, but now based in Berlin, composer Arnold Dreyblatt came up under the likes of La Monte Young before developing his own vernacular through instrument innovation. Here, he teams with NC via WI-based psych-folk trio Megafaun to bring his brand of driving minimalism to a new generation.
The opening “Home Hat Placement” is a Terry Riley-esque bluegrass march, where tones and rhythms repeat for brief periods before altering into something else. It’s a highbrow hillbilly fanfare for the man who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. “Recurrence Plot” changes direction with a slow, heavy plod that’s somewhere between Can, French soundtrack composer Alain Goraguer and Low, while “Edge Observation” is pure drone driven by screeches and frequencies humming and reverberating in unison. Finally, “Radiator” closes, bringing a Glenn Branca feel into the thumping, rolling Terry Riley/Can dynamic.
While these track are highly compositional and tightly controlled, they lose none of the organic elements that make music so immediately tangible and accessible. Explore Appalachia in a new context and discover a new musical dynamic in the process. The trail is overgrown, but clear…
