SND – Vandky-K Integ Paradise 7.6

SND named this after a cloned cow, for reasons I can’t possibly fathom. At no point are you reminded of farm animals at any point during the recording. Instead, you get that sweet, technically talented music they are well known for. If I had a sore spot about the EP, it is that it is that there are only 93 copies of this, already sold out. I’m not sure whether or not to blame Dust Science Recordings for this, or blame SND for releasing through their label in the first place.

Musically, this seems like a logical evolution for SND. A few true SND heads (yes, they exist) claim that SND loosens up whenever they release EPs, since there isn’t the same level of attention and pressure that comes with a full release. Often there’s a greater emphasis on emotional content than what tends to be the case with an entire album. 4,5,6 showed this off to some degree.

I mention 4,5,6 because this EP has a lot in common with that overlooked artifact. The songs on here go into deeper bass frequencies (don’t worry; they’ve kept the skeletal structure that made them famous). On the first track, which stretches out longer than anything they’ve done before, the flirtation with multiple chords is wonderful. Brief glimpses of those lower pitched sounds eventually overtake the track by the end. It is that conflict which makes the track so immersive.

The lower hits segue into the second paradise track. Here the beat becomes more prominent. Handclaps try to anchor the whole thing, but the different variations on the same pattern make it difficult to keep hold. With the final track, there’s actually the closest they’d get to a beat workout for the first half of the song. Right in the middle of the track they get into whatever they count as melody.

Obviously, with any SND album, you’ll need good headphones for this. Indeed, SND’s releases were one of the main reasons I brought such ridiculously over sized headphones in the first place. Shame about the unavailability of the songs due to the fickle nature of the label, but it is worth seeking out.

SND Week

Yeah, that looks pretty cool.

SND remain a true favorite. When other artists ‘jump the shark’ SND has stayed tried and true to its roots. If they felt that the scene they worked in had grown too overbearing, they simply dropped off the planet. In 2002 they did this and came back about six years later to basically start right back up.

This week I’ll be reviewing almost everything SND-related. Whether that is Mark Fell’s solo work or Mark Fell’s work with other musicians, they are all fair game. As I sorted through the various projects, I noticed how little information exists about what Mat Steel does in the duo. I know they specialize in minimalism, but he takes it to a new extreme. No actual side project or writing from him. Anytime there’s an interview, Mark handles it. Mat’s job might be the ‘weaker link’ of the duo.

Mat: Hey Mark, I added a single beat on that last track. You like it?

Mark: Yes, I mean, there’s about 597 different beats on there, but yours really sounded great in that particular section.

Mat: Anything else I can help with? Perhaps I might assist you with some of the programming?

Mark: While that does sound helpful, you could help me out in other ways. Remember art school? Man that was fun. How about you go downstairs and get me a beer and we’ll talk about it some more.

Mat: Sure thing!

                I’m assuming that their average recording sessions go something like this. But that’s all irrelevant who contributes the most to the music. What their music focuses on is as much what’s there as what isn’t.

                If anyone needed a light introduction into electronic minimalism, they could do worse than this. Containing the same muscle as Autechre without the ornate imagery, they incorporate influences of garage, techno, hip-hop and glitch. I don’t mean glitch in a “aw, how sweet” sense which a lot of musicians use. Rather, it is meant as an easier way to get into the chance rhythms offered up by the experimental musician Yasunao Tone (indeed, that’s what Mark Fell stated inspired his latest album ‘Multistability’).

                 SND in general appears to be in full swing after such a hiatus. Having released an album on the prestigious Raster Noton label last year, they released an EP this year. Solo work-wise, Mark has been busy. Not one, but two full lengths are expected, with the first one on Raster Noton just dropped about a week ago. Then, and hold onto your hats here, there’s another one in December on Editions Mego. Most likely that one will be the harsher, more abstract of the two, but lately Mego’s been harder to predict.

                Yes, I know how infinitely nerdy this duo is. But consider it a testament to the inner nerd that lives in us all.