The written word is amazing, but it can only do so much. While it can form itself into a poem or a novel or a news story on an experimental-leaning music site, it cannot make everyday words sound ghostly. Unless perhaps you use italics, but I would never. Similarly, the written word cannot take on the form of gorgeous witchy beats. That leaves the score at zero for the written word, two for Pennyslvania-based producer Balam Acab. No, I didn’t know we were keeping score either.
Chalk one more up for Balam Acab (a.k.a. Alec Koone), since he’s due to release his debut record WANDER / WONDER on August 29 through Tri Angle. The record will follow up See Birds, Koone’s acclaimed EP from the previous year. From the sound of first Mp3 “Oh, Why”, the producer is sticking fairly closely to his established style, though the track’s tranquil first half suggests some stretching into new ground.
Koone, in fact, has some ambitious intentions for the record, which he mixed in New York with Sam Haar of Blondes. Describing the album, Koone had the following to say: “It’s not classical music, but in the tradition of a classical work like a Bach Cello Suite, I see it as more of a whole musical piece with themes/motifs/ideas reoccurring throughout, connecting the tracks together as opposed to simply being a collection of songs that sit next to each other in isolation.” He also suggests that you play the record very loud. In essence, it will be kind of like listening to a Bach piece at full volume, except replace all the instruments with muffled vocals, fluid samples, and downtempo beats.
WANDER / WONDER tracklist:
01. Welcome
02. Apart
03. Motion
04. Expect
05. Now Time
06. Oh, Why
07. Await
08. Fragile Hope
• Balam Acab: http://www.myspace.com/thebalamacab
• Tri Angle: http://tri-anglerecords.com
