MENS, RADBOUD & MATTHIJS KOUW — 3/4

On October 22, 2018, ERS Records released ‘3/4’ – a double CD featuring new work of Radboud Mens and Matthijs Kouw. On their new album, Mens and Kouw use a 12-meter magnetic string instrument and a modular synthesizer to create 6 carefully tuned pieces. With a total playing time of over 2 hours, ‘3/4’ continues the long-form drone explorations first released on the LP ‘1’ on Moving Furniture Records in February 2017. ‘3/4’ was recorded live in the studio in February 2016 and is released in a limited edition of 300 and packaged in a 3-panel carton sleeve.

In its use of specific tunings and the long string instrument to create long-form drone compositions, ‘3/4’ continues and pays homage to the work of American minimalists Ellen Fullman, La Monte Young, and Alvin Lucier. Within the constraint of a tuning in a specific key, each track on ‘3/4’ immerses the listener in frequencies that change very gradually. Starting with a deep hum with warm frequencies, the pieces gradually build up to a collage of textures and frequencies that are carefully moving in and out of the drone. Each track slowly reveals different sides and details of a sonic sculpture and brings about a loss of the awareness of time. In this rich tapestry of drones, nothing much seems to happen to the careless listener. However, an attentive ear will reveal a complex variety of resonances, phase-differences and emergent sonic artefacts.



https://clinamen.bandcamp.com/album/3-4