Downtempo IDM escapades are αlive and well, taking us further and further into this decade.
Computer code for deciphering aliens
Oh, how we enjoy good blips’n bleeps. Its cyber-kinetic aura floating in the breeze, Qebo & William Fields blissfully craft computer code for deciphering aliens. These relaxed, flickering sound sculptures found on αlive ebb and flow through R2-D2 and C-3PO conversations; their whimsical nature surrounded by melodic bursts (“Thira Clock”) and swaths of texture’n glitch elements, as evidenced on “Difora Pulse.”
As αlive is in fact, a live recording that took place in Athens Summer 2021 using selected hardware and William Fields’ own compositional system—subtle timbres cascade from left to right, as if tapping us on the shoulder to get our attention. The fluid electrical pulses and pulsars that illuminate the senses come to life, quite literally, on “Ishii Pump,” where Autechrean soil is unearthed; dilapidated beats and strange tones and drones capture the sound scape, taking us to uncharted worlds. Abstract and dissolving blips’n bleeps continue to crunch away, while tracks like the closing “Xale Ladder” give us comfort knowing that downtempo IDM escapades are αlive and well, taking us further and further into this decade.
Performed and recorded live in Athens, Greece on August 11, 2021. Produced by Alex Retsis and William Fields, 2021-2022. YouTube playlist.
αlive is available on 3OP. [Bandcamp]
