The latest em:t release, 302 Acid’s 0005 Even Calls, is a very cool voyage into a new territory of improvisational ambient jazz.
Doug Kallmeyer, Justin Mader and Andrew Reichel make up 302 Acid. Some may recognize Reichel’s name from em:t’s earlier release gel-sol1104. There some similarities with the earlier album, but 302 Acid’s CD has more of a live feel, largely from the interaction of the bass and drums.
Unlike a lot of ambient music, the tracks on 0005 sound like they are being played by people. 302 Acid isn’t interested in lulling you to sleep, either. Many of the tracks feature pretty aggressive sounds, creating landscapes somewhere between Eno’s On Land territory and industrial soundscapes. Squelchy noise, sampled voices and dubby echo effects are are used to create constantly shifting textures.
One of the highlights is martariggus. It’s one of the less aggressive tracks, but nevertheless has a constant intensity. It shifts languorously slowly, almost like drastically time-stretched audio, and has an orchestral feel, blurring the line between what sounds electronic and acoustic.
martariggus mixes seemlessly into push button, an interesting mix of space rock and ambient electronica.
Another highlight is paranoiac, a short, dark piece that combines deep double-bass sound with noise effects that have a breath-like quality to them.
road trip to tokyo features synth textures over deep bass and driving drums, set a backdrop for a collage of voices and effects. The result is a sort of My Life in the Bush of Tokyo.
The final track, nocturnum, explores quiet bell sounds that fade into pulsing drones that in turn fade into nothing.
All-in-all, 302 Acid’s Even Calls is an exciting and intense collection of electronic rock. It’s unique enough to begin to carve out it’s own territory, a sort of jam-band ambient music.
Tracks:
- AIBOC
- fluffer
- six
- mortariggus
- push button
- paranoiac
- tunnel vision
- road trip to tokyo
- calibrations
- BD Williams
- quest
- nocturnum
