This project between
Kim Cascone and
Scanner (
Robin Rimbaud) goes deeper than the I-remix-yours-and-you-remix-mine approach that has become the standard mode of "collaboration" in the world of electronica. If they worked on these two pieces separately, from a distance, surely they emailed their sound files back and forth a number of times. This is a collaboration, you can feel the imprint of both artists' hands in every second of these 40 minutes:
Cascone's cold digital landscaping,
Rimbaud's dark ambiances, both fused into one music. "Behavioral Sink" is slightly more eventful and joyous than "Atavistic Endeavor," atmospheric and disquieting. Some people could argue that they share too many similarities to justify the existence of both. Maybe they developed from two propositions, each coming from a different camp. Despite the repetitiveness, they do go well together and make up a comfortably short and constantly fascinating album. Both tracks clock in at 20 minutes. The music strikes a great balance between depth (i.e., number of sonic layers) and momentum (number of sonic events), resulting in pieces that neither impose themselves or beg the listener for his or her undivided attention. A dreaminess akin to
Fennesz or
Stephen Vitiello's music allows the pill to go down smoothly. Recommended.