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Smile on the Void
by “A Produce”
Hypnos Records, 2001
Enigmatically pseudo-named electronic musician “A Produce” has returned
with another of his somber, elegant albums, this time with a title which is
a wry homage to Steve Roach. Some of the music on this Produce album does
show a bit of influence from the Tucson master “floating” electronic tones
accompanied by percussion rhythms - but most of it is original, pure
grade-A Produce. It can flow in the classic “dark ambient” mode, with
brooding, dissonant electronic atmospheres shimmering with menace or
despair, as in track 2, “Night Curve.” But it can also access more poignant
emotional territory, with tragic almost organ-like minor chords accompanied
by rumbling bass lines, as in track 3, “The Big Sleep.” And then again,
Produce can do the “drone” thing as well, with the psychedelic “Visions”
(track 4), one of my favorites on the album.
Produce’s earlier albums specialized in a kind of minimal, gemlike sound,
provided in (usually) short pieces which did not change from beginning to
end. Smile on the Void still makes some use of this style, but in
this album Produce has chosen to enrich his textures and move away from
minimalism. He can still create an ultra-quiet “relaxation” piece, such as
track 5, “Inner Sanctum” which is very much in line with the quiet Hypnos
sound. But then after that, he wakes the listener up with two longer,
up-tempo pieces which derive not from ambient so much as from thirty years
of electronic rock, complete with sequencers, drums, bongos, and other
percussion, and minor-key power chords. There are even some passages played
on hard-edged electric guitar, courtesy of Produce’s friend Scott Fraser.
With this variety, “A Produce” shows that he is more than an electronic
minimalist or experimentalist. He proves with this album that his electronic
voice can sing in many styles, from the mystical to the dramatic. There are
even moments of passion, though they are always tempered by his ironic and
sometimes detached attitude, which keeps Produce’s music from being either
naïve or pretentious. The musical smile is gentle, and the void doesn’t have
to be magnificent to be quality produce.
HMGS rating: 9 out of 10
Hannah M.G. Shapero 4/25/01
SMILE ON THE VOID tracks include:
1 smile on the void
2 night curve
3 the big sleep
4 visions
5 inner sanctum
6 i woke up dreaming
7 spirit room
EER-MUSIC.com Editor's note:
I found this release a bit too "all over the place" style wise
from track to track and never could really get into it to either
relax or groove enough. At least Hannah liked it. For me, I will
pass on this one and keep my James Johnson and Steve Roach ambient
works nearby. Or maybe I'll just go and compose my own musicks to
chill-out to . . . CodeX Hypnos
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