[reviews] afe113lcd
genetic transmission: spiral

Tomasz Twardawa is a living legend in his home country of Poland. In that nascent freedom that has overwhelmed the country - things were bad at first but now the economy is back on good footing and things are only getting better and it has stayed, most importantly, politically stable ever since the Communists were thrown out in 1989 and Lech Walesa was a national hero - Tomasz has built himself up quite a cult following in his homeland.

This newest release of Genetic Transmission, "Spiral" is a one-song drone full of blurry wastelands and icy but jagged waterways for miles, which, after a closer listen you begin to hear more little mechanical noise as well as sampled sounds from who knows where, after such a job of fitting it in the way he does, which is a great skill in itself and nowadays, especially, with music being a sort of universal language, especially when it comes to the experimental, the industrial and/or ambient styles, the Poles can dig it just as much as the Brits can or the French or American hipsters, etc., even the Middle East has its long-hidden talents finally emerging in a clearing of freedom, where the fog is lifted and reality crashes to earth and suddenly a nation is left to wonder “what now?” when the “dictator” is overthrown, what next? Well, usually a circle of coups then, when the dust settles it turns into one tyrant being taken out for another, however unpremeditated that may be.

Getting back to the music, Genetic Transmission which is the name that Tomasz uses here, recording "Spiral", a one-track CD that clocks in at 42:57. "Spiral" (the song) is one endless barrage of seemingly white noise, but at closer listen you can pick up tidbits of this sample or that loop of tape played backward, but identifiable as music, at least at one time, before Tomasz got his hands on it! But seriously, "Spiral" is an apt name for this, as it goes in a circular motion, an endless rotation of loops and maze-like soundscapes that end up in dead ends but manage to wiggle out and keep trying ever new paths.

The clanking of antique-sounding objets, the tick-tock, tick-tock of the clock, the vacuum cleaner sound(?), the chimes, the, moaning and the bells pealing among many other sounds all the rest of the cut-up-and-put-back-together sounds of mundane things that take on new meaning when re-fashioned in this and the howling wind-noise that blows over the rest of this welded together industrial-orchestra, like a continuous wind and dust storm, overshadowing, but not overwhelming the cacophonous, found sounds that, when put together in such a way, synergizes it and makes into something completely different, something new, i.e.: 1+1=3.

If you like puzzles and picking out what you can or to see what can be done with a really well-done audio "cut-up" then you’ll want to hear Spiral for yourself.

[Blond Adonis]