24.02.07
If the planet was a gigantic museum of noises, David Toop would probably be the principal curator of its 'esoteric' section.
Having debuted on Eno’s Obscure label in the 70s, he’s continued exploring the secret life of sounds and their capricious mating habits with an Attenborough-like tenacity in both print and on record for over 30 years. As interested in the gaps as what fills them, the fluctuating sinewaves, simmering white noise, feathery bursts of flute and even torn paper are scrupulously edited into something more akin to sound-design than soundtrack. Whilst this sonic minimalism makes previous works (particularly the amorphous Spirit World ) appear positively mainstream by comparison, it’s surprisingly figurative and not without lyrical charm. Portuguese guitar-worrier, Rafael Toral, American conceptualist Miya Mosaka on Koto and Welsh avant-harpist, Rhodri Davies are amongst the younger generation of ambient apprentices on hand to help Toop sing the body eclectic.
SID SMITH
Click here for the Samadhisound reviews archive.
Website design and build: Rebels In Control, after cover art by Chris Bigg. Art direction: David Sylvian. Banner images from the Hypergraphia book.