Michael Valentine West :: Multi-Surface Function (Polygon Network)

Crafting enigmatic soundscapes, Michael Valentine West—unsurprisingly also scoring soundtracks for several independent films—delivers seven tracks jam-packed with sophisticated glitch elements, evoking a resemblance to his previous audio compositions but with a greater emphasis.

Jam-packed with sophisticated glitch elements

Crafting enigmatic soundscapes, Michael Valentine West—unsurprisingly also scoring soundtracks for several independent films—delivers seven tracks jam-packed with sophisticated glitch elements, evoking a resemblance to his previous audio compositions but with a greater emphasis; this time releasing again on Polygon Network—the avant-electronic music label based in Bilbao, Spain.

With precisely chopped beat patches and noisier swirls, the slanted audio structures of the opening track “vlnc” start to fall apart, leading us through Gescom and Mantle of Gets-like rhythmic distortions featured on “df_nkt.” MVW takes refuge in these oddly solitary soundscapes, coarsened textures, and tangled blips and bleeps; the microbursts of “brough” and “crmr,” with their brittle clicks and cuts, perfectly capture this dynamic. The senses are rattled by an enormous ten-minute dark ambient and glitch implosion on “alx” that combines expansive abstract components from MVW’s unique sonic oeuvre. The erratic “hypcub” concludes and simultaneously feels utterly alien, isolated, and light years ahead of itself.

Multi-Surface Function is available on Polygon Network. [Bandcamp]