Australian imprint Room40 has been on quite a tear as of late, releasing quality material from uber minimalists
Richard Chartier and
Janek Schaefer as well as avant-gardeners
Text of Light and Function.
On Isolation was presented in tandem with a University of Tasmania conference in 2006 to discuss the concepts of isolation, disconnect and solitude. The label assembled a veritable who's who of Microsound and avant-garde producers including
Steinbrüchel,
Chartier,
David Toop,
Scanner and
Greg Davis; commissioning them for their own creative interpretations on the subject matter. The result is a carefully sequenced series of meditations that range from near silence (
Greg Davis' "Riwalla Farm" excerpt) to playful drones (
Chartier's "A Field for Recordings 3") to glitch laden workouts that resemble cicadas at night (
Sébastien Roux's "Guet-Apens"). It's a very well balanced compilation worth the time and money for any fan looking to keep abreast of modern electronic composition's evolution. ~ Rob Theakston