split series 5 review by michael thomas jackson

This is the fifth installment of TIBProd's split CDr series and it's a brief one. Both artists are from Argentina, come from different backgrounds and present distinct approaches to experimental sound production. As a coherent release, however, the pairing works quite well and the cover art doesn't suck either.
Adrian Juarez is an internationally prolific musician who has been stylistically all over the place. He has dabbled in strict composition, IDM, ambient works and Latin American folk musics. In addition he runs the Frigida Records netlabel and is active as a producer for various projects, some of which are borderline pop. 'Superficie' is a fourteen and a half minute exploration of percussive timbres that falls somewhere between the work of Eddie Prevost and that of Z'ev. Cymbals, small bells and other metallic objects are brushed, stroked and struck with various implements to produce a lovely array of sounds. There's nothing here to indicate any electronic augmentation and the piece plays out like a real-time improvisation. Of course the means of sound production in such an avant-garde approach to percussion instruments has been known to obscure the distinction between natural and synthetic sounds since Varese's 'Ionisation' hit the scene in 1931. Either way it's a stellar work despite a few awkward moments and less than superb recording quality. Dynamically, it's never overly-aggressive and the flirtations with silence provide an intimacy that is rare in solo percussion music unless we're talking about the late John Stevens or the young American Brian Osborne. Sensitive music like this suggests an almost cliched ritualistic demeanor, but here seems quite genuine in this regard. A man and his instruments not in a dialogue, but in an intrinsic monologue as if they've been fused into one immaterial being that transcends the concept of a tangible product.
After some searching I was finally able to ascertain some information about Leandro Barzabal. He seems to be most involved with fellow statesman and trumpet/laptop artist Leonel Kaplan, who deserves your attention as well. Barzabal has also worked with a whole host of underground notables including Jack Wright, Chris Corsano, Gunter Muller and Anla Courtis. After focusing on guitar deconstructionism his work turned to concrete objects, homemade circuit-bent instruments, and here further treats them to a variety of electronic alterations. Unfortunately my less than average and rather aged computer can not properly translate the title of this ten minute work, but it has wormed its way into my ear for several listenings now nonetheless. Thuds, squeaks, tinkles, scrapes and whines flow like the table of periodic elements have been rendered into a single lava-like substance throughout the piece. There's also some elastic objects employed and it's actually pretty rudimentary work with metal wires twanged, wodden blocks dragged around and the microphone takes a beating itself. Like Juarez's track, it has the flow of an improvisation, but this one has an impeccable sense of composition that is damn impressive. The buildup of noise that gets trumped into gentle rustling in the final two minutes is brilliant. My only complaint? Senor Barzabal, get yourself a freaking website!
Buenos Aires represent! This is a great release, hindered only by its brevity and some poor mastering. TIBProd continues to scour the globe finding some really interesting audio artists that don't lean too far in neither the noise camps nor the ambient doldrums. This is highly recommended and is a thoroughly rewarding disk.