Kang, Eyvind – “Visible Breath” – [Editions Mego]

abacus   2/22/2012   12-inch, A Library

Three compositions from the luminous avant-underdog who has worked with names from Six Organs of Admittance and Master Musicians of Bukkake to Bill Frisell and Wayne Horvitz (or Animal Collective and Mr Bungle). Side A contains two pieces that materialized during some 2008 collaborations with Sunn O))).?? Ensemble includes himself on viola, and violin, voice, glass, pianos, horns (trombones!); despite the dense lineup, the music is tremendously subdued and humbling in its minimalism. Looming ominous nebula and echoes of ghostly whale calls in a vast, icy ocean evoke images of the title track while Monadoxology seems to be some kind of tragic medieval love story with startling plot twists within its meditations on tonal/harmonic relationships. The B-side came about in 2011 and doesn’t include Kang, rather explorations of harmonics and ghost tones on pedal steel guitar and modified cello. Delicately rhythmic, rich, textured drones that sometimes threaten to tear apart but maintain a translucent serenity. Out on Ideologic Organ: sub-label of Editions Mego headed up by Stephen O’Malley…