decayREVIEWS: JULIA MAZAWA “God Bows To Math” Cs (Nice Ass Industries, 2011)
A new tape from local artist, seamstress, record cutter and musician Julia Mazawa on her own Nice Ass Industries label based out of Oakland, CA. Mazawa’s setup is shockingly simple, often using just a turntable with custom cut records.This tape starts with subtle loop slices, whirled and cracked microsounds, often referencing ancient recording technologies through their crunchy and nuanced textures. Barely pouting steam whistles, distant motor putterings, lost voice recordings, ancient telegraph messages lost at sea all wash up and down in the mix into a subtle rhythmic wash. Dense delays of one sound shift through microscopic feedback manipulations and turn into other sounds leading to a new sound, but all falling back into a “locked groove” aesthetic of experimental composition.
The B side works well as a continuation of the explorations of the A side, with the loops seeming to build up density a bit quicker, and coherse the listener into a gel of subtle looping feedback controlled with pinpoint precision. Louder rhythmic pulses build up and then slowly decay into mathematical wind textures, the presence of absence also plays well into this release. The delay plays into the looping themes of the release, and provide a nice textural jacket to the sometimes raw source material. Record loops and subtle pops and purs orchestrate the backbone of these minimalist turntable?? explorations. Cassette is the perfect format for this release as the warmth of the magnet colors these sounds in a beautiful way, look out for more from her and this label, each release is more and more crafted and heading in a steady direction.
Overall : 8.2/13
written by : malo
