Sutherland, Randy Lee – “Lip Music Swamp” – [Underwater Experience]

Feels more like Eno than Evan Parker. Randy Lee Sutherland
whips his winds across multitracked landscapes. Each piece
feels mathematically similar; featuring a lot of notes,
and yet achieving a drone-like effect. Even though the same
notes are scattered rapidly in a stochastic manner.
Hyperdrone? Sutherland does mix in different instruments
(the whistle on A3 tilts that piece towards a calliope, on
other pieces the alto sax provides the more swampy vibe of
the title.) This cassette has a consistent feel, but each
piece has its own unique personality, or at least flavor.
The multitracking of similar note patterns feels like rain
drop ripples on a lake. At other times, like the outset
of B3, it sounds like the chattering of a flock of birds.
Might even be some timing algorithm underneath it all? The
random nature defies the tranquility of more typical drone.
Sutherland achieves an odd blend of easy and uneasy, and a
paradox of static sound built from a lot of movement.
Another fine experience from Patrick Mullins’ Underwater
Experience label.

-Thurston Hunger