Having split our domes straight open with Digitalis releases like the might-as-well-declare-it-a-classic Assimilating The Shadow and the ambitious multi-EP As Iron Sharpens Iron, One Verse Sharpens Another, Ricardo Donoso’s catalog under his given name sits heavy, waiting for you to dig (back) in for a(nother) round of nocturnal electronic meditation. Add in this year’s claustrophobic underwater opus on Further Records under the Scuba Death moniker, and the image comes to mind of an artist weighted down by superlative material, casting it into the world in high-demand physical incarnations at a rate just a few paces behind the speed at which he creates it. “Keep it coming,” I say. We will not stop returning for more.
Earlier this month, Donoso sparked vinyl presses into action again with a new project that represents a major shift in his artistic practice. Songs for Echo, a soundtrack for Julie Nymann’s film of the same name, marks Donoso’s first forays into composition for a specific visual work, as well as the inauguration of his own label, Kathexis. Landing somewhere between his previous technoid explorations, frosted with overlapped synth leads and panning rushes of rhythm, and incidental ambient music focused on time-distorting stasis, the soundtrack slides through a series of diverse atmospheres in the course of its seven song cycle. “Part I” juxtaposes animated synth blips against a muffled bass drum pattern as a recurring chime voice comes to inhabit the treble range of the mix. “Part III” sinks into abstraction with glitchy whirrs and slow-building vocal pads before cranking the bass up for a thumping coda passage. “Part VI” casts aside any semblance of structure to allow a billowing cloud of synth static to wash out the spread. Each distinct fragment of the cycle uproots listeners’ expectations of action and recursion, veering down unexpected alleyways in the darkness while tracking down the site of twilit solitude suspended at the core of each of Donoso’s releases.
Songs For Echo is available to order in a limited vinyl edition now.
• Ricardo Donoso: http://www.ricardodonoso.com/
• Kathexis: www.kathexis.org
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