Even though He Can Jog is an anagram of John Cage, Erik’s compositions are no where close to being Cageian-like. The music on Middlemarch (named after the classic George Elliot novel) is a heartfelt, entertaining, and perplexing flurry of sonic excitement consisting of warm melodies, lively broken-beats, occasional vocals, and flickering tones inspired by the intersections of intimate collections of memories. It's a whimsical blend of folk-pop influences, IDM flavorings, and hazy ambient textures. Erik's method of composing makes use of software programming, acoustic instrument samples, electronic production, and improvisation via the manipulation of sounds using custom-built patches.
I have to admit that Middlemarch is not the usual kind of experimental electronic music that I listen to or review. After receiving the promo copy and hearing it or the first time, I had pretty much decided that it was not something that I could write about. However, I’ve learned that first impressions are quite often deceiving and found that to be the case here. Repeated listening and a thorough reading of the notes that accompanied the disc revealed an underlying richness in compositional style/content and emotional intensity that one casual listening just doesn’t reveal. So here's an album of serious, skillfully composed experimental electronic music that's able to bring a smile to my face by simply being exciting, entertaining, uplifting, and just plain fun to listen to?
While some listeners might at least initially be put off by the quirky blend of folk, pop, IDM, and ambient elements that went into the making of the nine eclectic works comprising Middlemarch, a little more unbiased and considerate listening will reveal the same compositional vitality and emotional depth that I came to realize. Middlemarch is an important release for Erik personally being as it is a kind of sonic memoir detailing a few years of his life, and he "counts the whole record as a catalogue of these memories of people and places and his own process of becoming."
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