tomas phillips

Intermission / Six Feuilles

Back in stock! To give you an idea of Tomas Phillips' pedigree as a composer of abstract electronic minimalism, his first published work appeared on Bernhard Gunter's seminal Trente Oiseaux imprint; one of the most revered labels within the genre. Trente Oiseaux's Morton Feldman fixation has certainly rubbed off on Phillips, and this latest work directly references Feldman's Intermissions series, taking the form of a single lengthy piece that mutates slowly and with astonishing attention to detail. Intermission/Six Feuilles's unfolding narrative runs through a series of miniature movements made up of sine waves, amplified textures, the gentlest of koto plucks and of course, the sparseness and dislocation of Feldman-esque piano phrases. It's the deftness with which Phillips sews all this together that makes this release special. Each section is punctuated by brief silences, evoking the feeling of montage as if the whole piece is a collection of scenes, a feeling that's greatly aided by how tangible and seemingly physical Phillips' sound palette is: there's a real atmosphere - even a sense of location to the recordings and sound material assembled here, no matter how abstract their form might be. An extremely beautiful work, Intermission/Six Feuilles comes very highly recommended indeed.