So here’s something pretty damn cool:
Aaron Taylor Kuffner is a composer and sculptor who reached notability through his Gamelatron Project, which is basically a huge, unmanned, MIDI-operated orchestra of Balinese and Javanese instruments that’s performed at a wide range of venues across the world from 2008 to present.
Before the Gamelatron Project, however, Kuffner made music under the name Zemi17. Zemi is Japanese for cicada and 17 references the 17-year lifespan of an average cicada in the United States. So yes. Gamelatron put Zemi17 on the back-burner, but NYC label The Bunker, after discovering a recording of a 2012 live set, requested Kuffner put out a 12-inch under the name.
And so he will. Zemi17’s techno- and gamelan-fusing Impressions EP will drop on vinyl and digital formats on September 1. And hey, suck on this: each 12-inch is infused with insects, birds, motors, and gongs. Oh no that’s not what I mean!! I mean each track is a collage of those sounds!! That’s okay, it was a miscommunication!!!
There are clips of the EP’s two tracks below, both of which extend beyond 10 minutes in full. There’s also a tracklist, just to be formal. And there’s a pre-order link here, just to be nice.
Impressions EP tracklist:
01. Impressions
02. Rangda
• Aaron Taylor Kuffner: http://aarontaylorkuffner.com/index.php
• The Bunker: http://thebunkerny.bandcamp.com
More about: Zemi17
