In the past I’ve talked about bent circuitry, a concept where one undoes keyboards or children’s toys and makes them create sounds in a way not originally intended. There are now a number of artists making high-tech music out of low-tech gear, and there’s also an annual festival where musicians and music enthusiasts are not only watching shows, but bringing in their tools/toys to make instruments from scratch. While there is no major bent circuitry movement just yet, fans may find Sleeper as a new hero. Sleeper is Carlos Ransom, and Behind Every Mask (Mush) is an album that doesn’t sound like a bunch of kids playing with toys. Instead, what you hear on this is anthemic music with incredible song structure, depth, and clarity, as if it’s ready made for television or movies, incredibly moody and dark almost in a nine inch nails fashion, or if David Axelrod was taking apart old Casio SK-1′s or Speak & Spell’s, he would be making the kind of music Sleeper does.
Sleeper seems to love to wash his productions in distortion, or at least create distorted sounds that probably comes from altering the sound sources, making them impossible to figure out (although the CD booklet shows some of the tools of his trade). Tracks like “Open”, “Mr. Megatron”, and “Frequency Winds” all sound like big and bold Sonic Youth productions, but instead it comes from the components of one man. Rhythmic computer printer music? Cash register funk? Yes, even within the coldness of these sounds there is a healthy pulse, such as “Faulty” which might give Moby a run for his money if he doesn’t watch out.
Fans of electronic based music will love to hear what Sleeper comes up with here, as he stretches the possibilities of the once-was-thought-to-be impossible. Complex and minimalist at the same time. Boof baf. - This Is Books Music |
