Uitgebracht
November 2011
- The concept sounds like something straight out of Raster-Noton's laboratories: working alongside the nuclear physicists Bo Cederwall and Torbjörn Bäck (whose names might be straight out of a Thomas Pynchon novel), Axel Boman and the multi-media artist Kristofer Hagbard created musical algorithms "based on the scientists' models of how radiation is emitted from various isotopes." Instead of the pure abstraction of data-driven music, though, Boman and Hagbard have erred on the side of listenability and even, yes, danceability: only the first track, the two-minute "Gamma spectra of Barium-133, keV = Hz," forsakes musical structure in favor of seemingly arbitrary oscillations, but even here, a deep, chiming bell tone keeps us grounded in the realm of the musical.
The other four tracks are deep, radiant techno in the vein of Oni Ayhun and Luke Abbott. "Gamma decay patterns of Nickel-56 at E-level rnd and Calcium-48 at E-level 8278 keV" is the closest thing to a hit, with a pop-oriented chord progression underpinning its powdery drum hits and fizzing arpeggios. "Three exited nuclei of Lutetium-167 and gamma spectra of Cobalt-60" (sic) arranges bright, stuttering melodies over a tingly house beat in a way suggestive of music boxes gone haywire.
"Technetium-89, Technetium-99 and Zinc-69 all at E-level rnd" is based around an odd, flickering melody. The result, when paired with a slow, electro-tinged 808 pattern, is a kind of nuclear-powered funk—deeply strange, but also deeply intuitive. The EP closes out with "Three exited nuclei of Lutetium-167 at E-level rnd" (again, sic), an explosion of rainbows at 118 beats per minute, vibrantly detuned and strafed with winking pitch bends. Four Tet and Emeralds, it would seem, draw power from the same isotope.
Tracklist A1 y-spectra of Barium-133, keV = Hz
A2 y-decay patterns of Nickel-56 at E-level and Calcium-48 at E-level 8278 keV
A3 Three exited nuclei of Lutetium-167 and y-spectra of Cobalt-60
B1 Two nuclei of Xenon-131 alternating E-level and 1721 keV
B2 Technetium-89, Technetium-99 and Zinc-69 all at E-level
B3 Three exited nuclei of Lutetium-167 at E-level