Bastian Void and Sima Kim :: Double review (Chemical Tapes)

The two twirled here are one of retro-futurist synth purism from Bastian Void, the other of postclassical-ambient texturalism from Sima Kim.

Two new doses of mind-altering audio from our fave ferrochrome pharmacists, Chemical Tapes, whose wares were last sampled here. The cassette’s resurgence as a format was the subject of a recent interview with Head Chemist Rob; neither CD-r nor net-label appealed, and vinyl was too expensive to start with; the allure of pro-dubbed cassettes and pro-printed covers (with home-dub and self-print option) was compelling, making it viable—for prospective label curator and artist alike—to release a physical product. Add to that the retro caché for a tape-weaned generation—the discreet charm of the analog, the engagement of tactile audio, and you get tape’s chemistry. The two twirled here are one of retro-futurist synth purism from Bastian Void, the other of postclassical-ambient texturalism from Sima Kim.

‘Warm daylight, myself at age 8, sitting in computer class. Circuits and pine trees. Views out various bedroom windows. The research laboratory down the street. Atari in the basement. Wood paneling. Office buildings. Power generators sitting in the forest. Light shapes cast on walls. Science class. Old computer games. Leaves and educational video tapes.’ Like this accompanying blurb, [5-TASB] Phonics is something of a nostalgia-fest from musician/visual artist Joseph Bastardo, who also trafficks as Looks Realistic, Homeowner, and Gay Shapes, among others. Since 2009 he’s curated tape label, Moss Archive, with previous form on Digitalis, Constellation Tatsu, Faux-Pas, YDLMIER, Field Hymns, and Orange Milk. Trailing several releases already this year—Looks Realistic (Where Does It Come From) and Homeowner (Themes from 172), and more Gay Shapes (on the way), Bastardo seemingly rarely sleeps, preferring to indulge his somnific urges on others with woozy spools of hypnagogue analog, not to mention his nicely judged retro-futurist artwork (see here). The results of growing up with ‘the cathode-ray productions of the 80s transmitted directly into his brain’ come out in electro-tonal collage, gently pulsing and arpeggiating synth sketches captured in a kind of retro-hyperreal oneirism. Phonics represents a fusion of nature and technology in visuals, text, and sonics, somehow seeming to span the nature-technology divide, making circuitry sound naturalistic. No new direction for Bastian Void, rather tapping deeper into a familiar stylistic vein—a queasy (not cheesy) sci-fi pastoralism of lo-fi cyber-70s schools programme themes; a kaleidoscope-eyed reverie shot through with images of once-hip graphic didactics—of Tomorrow’s World applied science and technology, as if gesturing towards a sense of wide-eyed rapture-of-the-new now errant in an age of po-mo knowingness. Ears of OPN fans, BoC interlude lovers, and any Look Around You buffs, might well be pricked.

Sima Kim has racked up a raft of physical and digital releases since he began recording in 2011, to the point where he’s already issued a collection of miscellaneous past works. Having studied musicology, harmony and counterpoint at university, he initially approached composition from a more musique concrète, avant garde and classical bent, citing holy minimalist Arvo Pärt as a main influence, naming Bach, Beethoven’s romanticism and Profokiev and Stockhausen’s diversity as inspiration. Now a self-taught tape musician, he’s slowly evolved his own style in pursuit of his main themes, articulated, somewhat prosaically, as ‘silence, notes, layers, textures and so on.’ (DOEF) Whatever follows the tone set by previous releases on Twice Removed, Unknown Tone, and Inner Ocean—all fragile tape-saturated post-classical piano and field textures. The title track is a beguiling floating affair of serene Budd-ist drift progressively swelling to oceanic, while “Misapprehension” is a remote drenched looping offcut. It’s mastered by Wil Bolton, who includes a more guitar-mediated re-work of his own, while Tokyo’s own drone-enthroned, Hakobune, pitches in with a more tenebrous variant—at a doleful remove, as is his recent nebulous wont. For those wanting to see more Sima, check his Live at Pink Moon video clip, or lend an ear to his CT mix.

Phonics and Whatever are available on Chemical Tapes.