Sub Routine is very quiet almost soft spoken at times, and yet it is a very powerful and intense release, based on an isolating sonority and rambling structures and shapes.
Intermittent foregrounds, the first piece, is based on distant grainy drones and sound objects that play around through the entire release. There are also very pleasant melodic and rhythmic patterns that evoke ambient music in its most avant-garde fashion. Also the sporadic presence of voices give to this piece a relaxing and almost dreamful character. The second half acquires a more soundtrack-like character, creating drama and suspense moods.
Closed under interpretation is the second piece; and it starts quietly and shy, like a kid afraid to ask questions. As it advances the piece spreads and gains volume to fade away again.
Listening to Macro rhetoric, number three, is an incredible experience, very personal, almost isolating with a beautiful looping background that fades in and suddenly disappears. A looped drone is left alone and slowly fades away. Macro rhetoric is a personal recommended.
Peices of eight and dubloons, is almost a self-contained release. Each part of this piece is so strongly individual and set such different scenarios that each transition builds an enormous tension.
One beautiful and long-lasting ending to a really beautiful and mysterious work.
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Following is a short interview that I did to James McDougall:
Q. What do you feel are the biggest differences between your three previous releases and Sub Routine and what is the importance of this particular release in your process as an artist?
A. Largely, I think the development of a more mature sound and a transition from older more puerile influences to newer, broader, explorative ones. In terms of general difference I believe Sub Routine is more pared back in content, subdued, protracted and focused. It’s also more organic and fluid in structure; less rigid, skittish and cluttered (among other things I’m sure!). Formerly I may have relied too much on synth based elements, but as has time passed, I've become increasingly intrigued by the role of concrete textures and the kind of effect that can be acquired from field/location recordings. I guess this release marks a certain personal turning point in style and its importance for me consists in approaching a more accurate portrayal of all that ineffable stuff you’ve been trying for so long to flesh out or get of your chest with better results. It’s still very much a personal learning/exploring process and yes there is much to understand and rein in.
Q. If you have to point out what was the most important learning after composing and recording Sub Routine, what would that be?
A. How to better control what you’re doing in terms of content: composition and detail, as well as the engineering side of things. That there is a fine balance between to little and too much and I’m learning (gradually) to pull back on things, slow things down, include a greater degree of abstraction and attention to finer details, elements of surprise, timing and so on. Another important thing is making better use of ones (sonic) environment; there’s so much you can extract from both urban and natural locations. I try to make it a habit to take my digital recorder (zoomH4) just about every where I go- much to the embarrassment of my girlfriend! People are rarely dumbfounded as to way you would be taking a photograph of something, but that odd looking contraption with the round fury thing at the end can be disconcerting! More importantly though, keeping your ears peeled, especially with regard to the internet: there are legions of individuals from every corner of the world making some seriously interesting sounds, irrespective of the all hallowed bricks and mortar formats; so much for your local record store.
Q. You think there are elements like movies, records, cities, buildings, people,... that you can directly or indirectly link to the process of creating Sub Routine?
A. Recently I’ve had occasion to get out into the surrounding countryside more often; day trips to mountainous rainforests, kayaking coastal estuaries, camping trips to local Islands, that sort of thing (south east Queensland). The bulk of the recordings that went into Sub Routine were captured en route on these outings- not to mention the occasional junk market and the masses of records no one seems to care about anymore. Structurally speaking, I became interested in the idea of representing the continual episodic change that you experience on these treks as you move through time, from one place to the next. The day is long; where you commence is not always the place you return to, and you encounter much variation in mood, situation and impression of your where abouts. I suppose Sub Routine was an attempt to capture this tooing and frowing of the day, coupled with a reflection on the anima that the landscape exudes and the peace and peculiarity it bestows as one trudges through it. |
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