Logreybeam is Gabriel Morley who may already be known to many as one half of the City Centre Offices signed act, Yasume, the other half being John Twells (a.k.a. Xela). Morley has already stated that this particular Logreybeam project was far more about the processes of composition and sound design than about accessible, melodic music and this shows in the character of the material.
Consisting of nine tracks, all of which have their roots in field recordings and/or orchestral instruments of one kind or another, ..Mannerism is possibly the most abstract release on Type so far (and by the look of their roster of future releases, for some time to come).
..Mannerism has been composed around orchestral instrumentation, yet these instruments have frequently been artificially and digitally manipulated and distorted almost totally out of existence. The album has been constructed as a series of movements in an electronic symphony, and one of its strengths is that whilst there are few genuinely recognizable signifiers of this, it is somehow obvious nonetheless. What’s remarkable about this rather austere sounding mix of academic compositional techniques is that the end product is so accessible.
One of the central sources of its success can arguably be attributed to the sheer evocative power of the opening track “Premonition.” Morley has somehow created an extraordinarily detailed and wholly recognizable mise-en-scene without providing the listener with any particularly distinct or familiar aural references. “Premonition” is the sound of Morley’s orchestra tuning up for the performance that is to follow, and it’s a stroke of genius.
Anchored to some form of structure by a repeated double-bleep, the warped, mutated and distorted orchestral instruments of “Premonition” flood into every corner of the soundstage resounding alongside unidentified clangs and crashes all of which immerse the listener completely, building up anticipation of the recital that is to follow.
A digital conductor calls the players to attention and the album begins with “Aspect Of Mannerism.” Extracted, as the liner-notes denote, from a stringed instrument, this pulsing, crackling drone piece bristles with latent energy, the buzzing drone gradually brought into focus as a structured rhythm of clicks and crackles emerges.
“Opiate Of The Masses” into which “Aspect Of Mannerism” seamlessly segues, is the track on the album that most obviously exhibits its source material, this time unmistakably a church organ. It is essentially two tracks as a brief lull leads into a coda consisting of a muffled drone over which a clicking rhythm slowly takes shape. “Muado” is the albums crescendo, built-up to by the brief “Post ‘Du Mortem,” and is more noticeably comparable to Morley’s collaborative work as Yasume, consisting as it does of a much more overt melodic refrain working in perfect harmony with their trademark glitchy, complex and intricate chatterings and whirrings.
What follows is an intermission of sorts in the form of “Beetelgeuse.” Yes, that Beetelgeuse. Danny Elfman is credited in the sleeve notes as writer of the original theme. Again, the source material is tricky to detect among the reverbed chimes, the looped distortion and bass but the result is still quite beautiful.
The album takes a much darker turn after this, the windswept tones of “PreyWithMe” leading into the albums most minimal, chilling and longest piece, “Somnus: Sleep” which, perversely, uses almost as many orchestral source instruments as “Premonition,” before closing with the wowing, distorted stringed instrument in “Untitled.”
It is highly recommended that you listen to It’s All Just Another Aspect Of Mannerism on good quality hi-fi equipment, if possible, as there is a staggering amount of detail in the production. It is also recommended that you listen through speakers rather than headphones as the music fully and atmospherically exploits all dimensions of the soundstage. This can be both frustrating and rewarding as the luxurious intricacy and sheer depth of the production flows wonderfully from good quality equipment, and once you’ve heard it in this way it’s something of a wrench to hear it in any other.
At a diminutive 37 minutes and 58 seconds, the term album is being stretched to its limits by It’s All Just Another Aspect Of Mannerism, but Type have proved time and time again that quantity matters very little and that is indisputably the case here.
A work of sheer artistry, ..Mannerism is a subtle, painstakingly constructed symphony of the orchestral, the organic and the digital that truly justifies the use of the term sound design.
Available in a gorgeous, minimal, matte laminated digipak, It’s All Just Another Aspect Of Mannerism is available now on Type Records.
