Liminoid / Lifeforms

Headphone Commute Review

     

I couldn't possibly return from this voyage without mentioning one of the most prolific artists, Aidan Baker. Look, I couldn't even begin to rummage through Baker's discography, so after reviewing Fantasma Parastasie, which he released together with Tim Hecker in 2008, I settled on his latest for the Montreal based label, Alien8. This is a two-track release, with Liminoid broken up into four distinctive parts, while Lifeforms is a single 30 minute piece. It starts off quietly, with lucid textures, soft guitar strums and distant drones. "Incorporating composed and improvised segments, the piece uses elongation of sound and layered polyphony in an attempt to create a liminal and/or numinous state". In an almost apocalyptic setting reminiscent of the darkest hours of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the ensemble of guitars, violins, cellos, and drums, engulf the beauty unleashed by the romantic classical orchestra with that of a skilled master of drone and noise. And then the vocals come in! Lifeforms is a whole other beast. Unfolding from a continuous string bowed drone-chord, the cellos are plucked around the 10 minute marker, and then, half way through the piece, the strings drop out in lieu of pulsating metallic sounds, played by Alan Bloor (aka Knurl). Commissioned by The Penderecki Quartet in 2003, this is indeed a symphonic masterpiece, that lifts me out of the abyss into the aural bliss. This may be Baker's best. Highly recommended.