[reviews] afe098lcd
pholde: aperture of the internal surface

[...] Where Knurl represents the harsh side of the composer, his alternative project Pholde shows other ways of treating concrete sounds of metal. Pholde is more subdued in expression compared to the extreme extroversion of Knurl.

The term Ambient Noise is the closest label to put on the Pholde project, though do not expect any sort of tranquillity on this project neither. This latest album from Pholde titled "Aperture of the Internal Surface" contains two long pieces of work.

The two pieces circulate in spheres of ambience; spheres, that operate in everything from concrete metal sounds to more abstract textures. The source material for these pieces appears carefully selected and consciously restricted, the same effects turning up again and again, but in different contexts and with varying functionalities.

Considered as a musical work, the album is extremely fascinating with its many layers of sounds resulting in some immense listening experiences, but the fact that Mr. Bloor manage to extract so many atmospheres and expressions from the concrete source makes the album even more fascinating.

Whether you like or dislike noise a musical sounds, Alan Bloor is certainly a great scientist of concrete noises, a scientist OR a composer if you like, that deserves your attention.

[Niels Mark]