Concern – “Misfortune” – [Isounderscore]

mickeyslim   6/6/2012   12-inch, A Library

Concern is the project of Gordon Ashworth from Portland, OR, and this particular album is the final album and conclusion for this project, Concern. So enjoy! The music here is based on the fifteen string box harp, or Lap harp, which you pick up at times throughout the album. All the sounds on the album are created using the box harp and field recordings of people, fires crackling, etc. manipulated through cassette based looping and delay, and speakers and microphones. Ashworth also used huge underground hospital parking garages as crude echo chambers.

A-side sidelong starting with twinkling guitar drone with a building, swaying ambience in the background that slowly takes over for a few minutes, ending on a soft fading drone.

B1 is kind of opposite, it starts with a heady hypnotic scratch attack, and devolves into the musings of the box harp as it “solos” over the psychotic sounds, and back into mellow scratch and drone.

B2 doesn’t get as crazy and sporadic as the rest, stays soft and unnoticeable, as the volume slowly increases and decreases. Good mixing track.