March 26, 2021 - Outsider Art
Material Loss aka Chris Riviera aka Chris Robinson aka Chris James is here with a second project release. The mysterious Leeds-based artist continues down the path set out in 2020’s Material Loss EP, a twisting and unyielding path, deep in the shadow of the unknown. The sounds found here are sensory beyond passive listening, they are used as a tool to probe the environment other senses are blind to. Pulsing synth drones are sent out as echolocators, relaying information back to their source and at times setting off a cascade of other sound sources. The tension is visceral, with synthetic audio elements taking on organic traits––breathing, dreaming, stirring. Often the effect borders stress, especially in the first three pieces. Non-linear arrangement clashes directly with harshly repetitive elements; a state of laminar flow interrupted by short jolts and an ever-growing sense of unease. The final piece ‘Helic,’ in similar fashion to the final track of Material Loss EP, breaks this pattern slightly, adding a more coherent melodic structure to the mix. The tones do not lift the mood of the track from its predecessors though. Instead, the slow, stretched chords call out like a starting sequence to a machine long thought dormant; not a welcoming chime, but a reminder of something lost, something that sits on the edge of false nostalgia and a memory caught on the tip of the tongue, just out of reach. It’s unnerving in the best of ways. 🍍