Ian Andrews | Ceremonial
Ferric | AQ-CDR
Ian Andrews is a Sydney based artist who has been producing film, video and sound works since 1981. Lately his work has branched into Flash with the generative audio/visual compilations 'ether-1' and 'ether-2' and his 'narrowband' online album 'Radiohack' (http://radioscopia.org). 'Ceremonial' is his first printed CD album under his own name and the inaugural release on Fallt's 'Ferric' burn-to-order series of CDs.
Having listened to 'Radiohack's' (self-)composed sputter, my expectations were duly set only to be wrong-footed by the driving rhythms and easy fluidity of 'Ceremonial'. Truer to say that it glides like mercury; take 'Gynoecium', 'Working the Hole' and 'Andevoranto' and file under Propulsive Dub. Andrews also uses melody; 'Da' is in the same vein as the former but smoother, flirting with pop-lite inflections and easy listening vocals.
But for all 'Ceremonial's' aerodynamic sleekness not much is left unflecked by digital grit and off-centre interventions. 'Departure', slower and grittier than most, takes things under water and ticks over on slapped bass twang. Finally, with a hint of Vladislav Delay circa 'Entain', 'Jaffa' burns slowly, its chords rippling in the middle distance whilst we view in a grainy photo or through a smudged lens the memory of a picnic in a park when birds were singing and glasses chinked convivially.
Well paced and thoroughly immersive.
[GM]
