Akumu "Magmas"
Akumu's exploration of diverse and beautiful sound sources continues.

Deane Hughes of Akumu has a particular talent for manipulating sound sources into fascinating and new shapes and forms. His release from Last year, "Fluxes", was a complex exploration of field recordings made during a trip to South America which were manipulated and woven into an intricate tapestry of abstract sound. With the release of his latest disc "Magmas", Deane continues to explore the sonic riches from his travels, but takes a more pulse/beat driven approach rather than the free form nature of "Fluxes". With it's use of percussive and drone elements, "Magmas" presents itself as a travelogue of new environments, an unbroken flow of sound and fluidity suggesting both alien landscapes and more familiar terrain. Tracks slowly bleed into eachother, a constant parade of images and soundscapes that shift naturally from one into another in a slow but steady stream.

A brief vocal track, "Maximon", opens the disc, leading into "Evolute" featuring a wave pattern that sweeps in and out interspersed with a simultaneously hypnotic and beautiful metallic noise pattern. "Come for Festival?" shifts the tone subtly, adding a more percussive element to the sounds of metal that play throughout. As the song progresses tones become more frenetic in nature, eventually reaching a fever pitch of scraping and whirring before returning to a sense of calm. "Imitated" follows using a shifting rhythm overtop an oscillating drone, gradually building in complexity and intensity. "Aguanatural" employs fluid sources as a backdrop for a mesmerizing repeated percussive pattern, an overall effect that brings to mind the work of musique concrete artiste Aube given his preoccupation with water and its charms. "Alarma" is a hypnotic and beautiful piece using a siren-like oscillation underneath an almost playful percussive undercurrent. "Landscape XIX" has a windtunnel quality to it, a struggling almost choked percussive pattern that works in contrast to the steady pulse of the underlying drone. This pulse eventually gives way to "Arrythmica" which has a certain manic energy to its percussive elements ultimately leading the listener to the cool chill of "And other isms", which closes the disc with a pulsing wave pattern.

Without doubt "Magmas" is a release which firmly establishes Deane as a master of the shaping and creation of sonic environments. It's an engaging and thoughtful release which solidifies Akumu's position as a truly innovative project and Deane's standing as a distinct and important artist in the experimental genre. Highly recommended.

rik - ping things