(03.29.05) Prhizzm first caught my attention on Audiobulb’s Intricate
Maximals compilation and it is his EP release on Scotland’s
Benbecula Records which has most recently been my fascination.
Magpie-like, I am seduced by the shiny things or, as in the case of
electronic music, the highly textured things, and Prhizzm’s work is
both shiny and textured. Built from granulated layers of synthetic
sounds and micro-movements of particles, The Prhizzm EP is a
joyous explosion of electronic ephemera that is both sagacious in its
construction and innocent in its expression.
“Grasping the Equinox” rolls a bit of piano through several layers of
DSP, squelches bursts of noisy synth work over the top like a splash
of citrus freshness, opens the reverb door in the basement to let all
the echoes out and — and only then — collapses into the remote
semblance of a pop song structure. Yeah, ignore the static scatter of
noise bubbling over the climax of the song. That’s just part of the
Prhizzm charm (and yes, that spelling is correctly — it is all about
making you check double-check the data your senses are taking in).
Sure, Prhizzm was raised at the piano bench with a violin shoved under
his chin while Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin spun on the record player
in the other room, but it was easy access to computer hardware and the
spare turntable that really turned Brendan Dellandrea (a.k.a. Prhizzm)
to a life of musical poly-glittering.
“Empty Your Mind” is filled with grandiose electronic overtures that
are dragged back down to earth by a clattering, popping layer of
electronic detritus. “Bending Shadows Towards the Light” percolates
like the music heard in the explosive state change of boiling water,
the burst of energy as each pair of hydrogen atoms splits away from
that singular oxygen making an ever-shifting cacophony of pops,
clicks, whirrs, growls and whines. It is an atomic micro-symphony.
“I Miss You Already” comes way too quickly, a three and a half minute
finale that builds a luminous synthesizer melody over a foundation of
crackling beats. It takes your breath away and then, spent, fades
into nothing. Much in the way his name bends words and light,
Prhizzm’s music makes me want to bend language. That is, really, the
whole reason I’m out here listening. The Prhizzm EP comes highly
recommended.
The Prhizzm EP is out now on Benbecula.
