With a first audition, what jumps out most is the meticulous attention that appears to be given to drum patterns across the board. Individual measures frequently singled out and attentively modulated to inject a great deal of interest into the proceedings.
A focus on rhythm work and interesting percussion
As we approach the endgame of 2023 I begin to reflect on all the great noise I’ve heard this year. More importantly I start to think about what else people can fit into the next couple of months to satisfy me as I move towards inevitable festivities and self-imposed liver problems. With one of their last releases of the year, Touched Music presents to me Pattern Language by Iris Ipsum (aka Solomon Rosenthal), a frisky and playful set of pieces with a focus on rhythm work and interesting percussion.
With a first audition, what jumps out most is the meticulous attention that appears to be given to drum patterns across the board. Individual measures frequently singled out and attentively modulated to inject a great deal of interest into the proceedings. This is an approach I’ve always enjoyed, a step that’s often overlooked in modern production and can very much help tracks avoid the perception of being ‘loop based’.
This technique is present right from the starting whistle, with examples the whole way through the release but really present in the opening pair “Scatters, Remnants” and “Gaussian.”
This onus on rhythm also lends itself to strategy I hear used in many of the melodies throughout—instead of overarching pads and morphing sequences (often playing a more reserved part in the guise of bass-lines) what we end up with is melodies split into much smaller phrases, bursts of harmony that quickly make way for the beats behind. It’s quite inventive as it allows my Gestalt principles to fill in the gaps as I please and make of it what I will.
Overall there’s a very glitchy tempo but a couple of outliers dare to mix things up a bit. “Signal 01” speeds everything up and infuses some liquidity, “Xel” will please all of you electro-heads out there with its robotic pulses and “747” wibbles and wobbles its way through the pack to stand out amongst its peers. The almost environmental ambience of “Inner Array” feels at first glance much at odds with that which surrounds it but it’s a nice cool down before the jarring structures of the final track “Parallel Plane.”
As if it wasn’t good enough already, the attentive mastering ears of John Tejada ensure that all the original crispness and clarity shine through on the final tracks. One to check out as you move into October for sure.
Pattern Language is available on Touched Music. [Bandcamp]
