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SONOLOGYST - Shortwave Spectrum

Format: do-CD Label & Cat.Number: Cold Spring Release Year: 2023 Note: *The new Sonologyst "sonic documentary" delves into the secretive realm of shortwave transmissions; a chronicle of clandestine shortwave transmissions culled from a span of nearly four decades (1982-2021). These mysterious transmissions - repetitive voices, signals, sound pulses, short pieces of music - were collated and edited to compose the tracks of the main album.* Price (incl. 19% VAT): €20.00 More Info The new Sonologyst "sonic documentary" delves into the secretive realm of shortwave transmissions; a chronicle of clandestine shortwave transmissions culled from a span of nearly four decades (1982-2021). These mysterious transmissions - repetitive voices, signals, sound pulses, short pieces of music - were collated and edited to compose the tracks of the main album. Immersed in an isolating fog of dark ambient, deep drone music and cinematic sound art, it provides an auditory exploration of the ongoing Cold War. Originating from covert radio stations engaged in military and espionage endeavours, the tracks unveil a hidden sonic landscape of strategic communication. The second disc, in its extensive presentation, provides a deeper immersion into these enigmatic broadcasts. Each recording remains unaltered, accompanied only by a ghostly drone. It offers an unfiltered glimpse into the world of clandestine communication, where words are transmitted beneath the radar and in the shadowy confines of the electromagnetic spectrum. Double CD in a matt-finish gatefold ecopak with graphic design by Abby Helasdottir. ############### "Raffaele Pezzella's musical project Sonologyst doesn't need much introduction. I reviewed several of his works and liked it a lot. There is always an aspect of darkness that doesn't appeal to me much, a particular ritualistic element, but on this new double CD, that element is heavily reduced. You can find an indication of the source material in the title, shortwave sounds, and, in particular, from what is called number stations. This takes us back to the days of the Cold War when secret services worldwide used radio transmissions to communicate with agents in the field—voices reading groups of numbers, Morse codes or otherwise random bleeps and hard to intercept and block. The Cold War may have ended, but the information notes that in recent years, Chinese, Korean and Indian Numbers Stations have been picked up, and I assume these are at the core of the music here and not the 4CD set released by Irdial in the 1990s. It would make a damn good book to describe the use of radio (waves) as a musical instrument and the history thereof, as I believe that, next to the mouth, the radio is one of easiest accessible instruments available for any would-be musicians (if you already wrote such a book, then let me know). That is not to say that it's easy to play great music based on radio waves, but Sonologyst is a true master in crafting deep, dark, and highly ambient music with that ghostly atmosphere lingering in the background. Listening to this, I believe he sourced many of his sounds from something that is called websdr (Google that and look for the one of the University Of Twente, which is the biggest), allowing for scanning a lot of radio waves and whatever he does with this, he does it well. I have no idea if there is some additional processing, or maybe there is 'just' extensive layering and mixing of signals. As much as Number Stations are mysterious, so is this music. Oddly enough, maybe, there are six tracks on the first CD, somewhere between five and fifteen minutes, and the oddity is that these are more minimal than the forty-two-minute piece on the second CD. Each of these six stays in stasis and move within the given parameters. The long one, 'Shortwaves', is a piece that moves between many stations, picking up spoken word, classical music, pop music and whatever else along the way, against a backdrop of drones. Still, somehow, it is less spectacular than the first disc, but this is purely a personal preference for all drone-based minimalism. 'Shortwaves' is a piece with much more action, riding the shortwaves (pun intended) of the radio transmissions; I am sure many will disagree with me and prefer this faster-paced action. It shows that one can do many things with radio waves, which is why I'm still fascinated by it." (FdW)