nil-01; Intangible Arts, 2023

 

As the collective earth-bound enter into Scorpio season within a chapter of the programmed reality script that calls for much nervous agitation, it must be that people are conversing privately about "current events" with at least minimal levels of intensity. Disaster Amnesiac has his main bro for that, too, of course. We've been discussing things currently happening society-wide. Not sure if D plays music in the background as we go 'round and around with it, but I certainly do. Some music just isn't optimal for that function: your Black Sabbath or your OFF! or Sub Rosa's An Anthology of Chinese Experimental Music (2011-ish). That said, some music definitely IS. Yes, talking about Ambient Music here, a genre which 01, by nil, certainly fits within. The album features sound art conjured by Chester Hawkins during a residency at Leibig12 in Berlin. These artistic sounds are achieved from manipulations of unlikely instruments such as electric toothbrushes and found acoustics to more standardized types of axes such at modular synths and phone apps. 01 is characterized by deep blends of these disparate instruments' tonal possibilities that are sometimes colored by street and field recordings all around the city. Disaster Amnesiac has been to Berlin enough times to resonate with the brooding  results. They're fine sonic representations of the place, made even more effective by Hawkins' adeptness with his tools. Es ist doch schwer, kenst du mich? The album's cover keeps reminding Disaster Amnesiac of the the cover for Eugene Robinson's A Long Slow Screw; it's the stark black with some white dabbled in there for contrast. But mostly black. Black is the darkest shade and 01 has a pretty dark vibe, which bothers this listener not one bit. If you find yourself buggin' out currently due to which ever you know what you're supposed to be obsessing upon out there, you could probably use its sounds as a means of anxiety transference. You could also call a friend, and you'd be able to leave it playing as you yakked. Remember to tell them how much you love them.