Thursday, June 6, 2013

Cray - Digest 54 (sicsic051)





see you in the cosmos!  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)


The good vibes continue to exude from the speakers, and this time around it's the head expanding, mod synth jams of Cray.  When you traverse in sounds like this, one thing is for certain: this music will take you places.  Yet, once your head pierces the cosmos, the final destination is anything but certain. Digest 54, from Cray on Sicsic, is an explorers dream. So leave the dissonance at home, for the aural peaks, valleys and vicissitudes encapsulated within each trichome covered constellation will work your head like a nice dollop of kief!  Cray's bag is full of sonic possibilities that are channeled through Moog Voyager, DSI Tetra, Roland Jupiter 6, Omnisphere, Buchla 200e and euro modular.  Variegated textures and use of space are two salient elements of this release. Overall, it's one of the wildest head-trips encountered on the glowing path that is 2013.

With the commencement of the tape, the pendulum in the mind vacillates.  The ominous currents of fate lift the listener through the third eye, accelerating toward the infinite. 'Led', the first track, sets the mood for the wild times which follow.  Those times approach quickly because the second track, 'Un8d', drifts to a different state immediately.  The contrasting elements of the blips/bleeps and uniform drone are adeptly intertwined.  If a cosmic airport exists, then this would be the music of the inhabitants.  Next, buzzing low-ends are introduced, giving the sound a sinister edge prior to dissipating.  The celestial energy is reconstituted as a placid drone.  Among my favorites is the fourth track, 'Ugly Martian'.  Hiss and crackle leads to blurred sinister sounds that fluctuate.  Warbled waves of energy are interrupted as Cray unleashes these wicked emanations smeared in hash oil and pulsating with interminable mutant vigor -excellent stuff here!  See a pattern?  Each head trip is endowed with merits.  There is not a second of wasted time on this C62. Boisterous signals expand while metallic passages of sound fray at the ends in 'Moxigene 2'.  Another layer is added along with repetitive ringing tones.  My favorite track is 'Delva', the final track on side A.  Over a nearby hill, a nascent energy pulsates mildly.  Yet, as it approaches, a panacea manifests healing vibrations that circulate like a body of unimpeded water.  Patterns emerge, glistening in the mind's eye and ensconced in serenity.  A stunning manner in which to end Side A!  The flip glows just as brightly.  Dank rhythms and tones of various hue and energy expand, jut, ascend and reverberate in the ether.  Oscillating patterns of sound expand into space.  Existing in the catacombs of the mind, an intense amalgamation of sonic energy permeates the head.  It leaves the listener stunned and dazed in an attempt to perceive and process the disparate aural components. A brief reprieve leads to a passage of virulent tones, searing currents, mutating energy and fateful droplets of sonic matter.  When in concert, the synergy of the elements is immediate and beautiful.  Moving into a different state, the next track exhibits the coming together of blips/bleeps and protruding notes of random energy.  They precipitously lose energy and wither, until being reborn, as cascading tones pulsate.  Lastly, warm tranquil waves of energy emerge and recede among playful tones.  It's a fine way to end the tape!

Like any of my favorite nugs, Digest 54 is loaded with crystals on the inside.  The attentive listener should be prepared for the harvest.   Digest 54 comes with all the love of being home-dubbed in real time.  Released in a hand-numbered, limited edition of 80 tapes, it features some of the wildest artwork yet by Csenge Csató.  Though it is sold out at the source, your ticket to cosmos may be procured at S.O.L Sound.

peace and love, friends :)