Till

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‘Till’ is the debut release of one Brian Leber, from Chicago, USA. Or better his first widely available work. The three pieces here were all released in small editions here and there between 2001 and 2004. Although his background is inside more serious composing, his work includes the more common (at least in Vital Weekly grounds) field recordings, electro-acoustics and drones. Apparently Leber writes scores before he performs them, leaving out the improvised side of his music. This works in various directions, each represented on this CD. In ‘Isobar’, the opening piece, things start out at a relatively soft volume, working their way up scale in a mighty crescendo before everything goes into decrescendo, which takes about the same amount of time. Sounds sources seem to include short wave radio, field recordings of a heavy storm and debris flying around. In ‘Tracing Stones’, a stone plays a role, but also the gentle playing of a cello. Here there is also a strong sense of density, but it works on a totally different level. The music is more and spacious, yet still dense. A bit Olivia Block like, or certain periods of Organum. The last piece is ‘Mountains And Rivers’, which apparently has the ‘sound of manipulated objects and double bass’. The opening sounds reminded me tablets dissolving in water. Vaguely in the background there is the humming of a bass, and light crackle of an unknown origin. This piece, like the previous, has also two parts in it, because it breaks down and seems to be moving on to something else. I am not too sure why this is, but in ‘Mountains And Rivers’ it doesn’t work to well. Both parts are quite loosely organized, but fail to leave a lasting impression. That’s a pity, since the other two are very nice, but maybe two-third isn’t a bad score either. (FdW)