gregg kowalsky

Battery Townsley

*Beautiful clear vinyl edition, limited to 280 copies and individually numbered* The ninth release from Giuseppe Ielasi's Senufo Editions features Gregg Kowalsky's captivating performance consisting of 10 cassette players positioned inside the bunker of Battery Townsley, a World War II coastal fortification in Marin County, California. Ielasi also contributes a 'Studio Mix' afterthought on the other side, but the real star of this LP is Kowalsky's séance-like drones and spatial disturbances, beautifully recorded by Marielle Jakobsons. Using the natural (well, man-made) resonance of the bunker we get a real sense of swirling space as Raga-like drones mingle in the ether and glance off cold concrete whilst shuffling, scuttling rodent sounds emerge from the peripheries, drawing the ear in any one of ten directions at once. In stark comparison, Giuseppe Ielasi's studio mix tempers the psychedelic mass of sound into one long viscous drone, pulsing and radiating waves of slow moving energy which explore the full parameters of their sphere, like some dreamy reminiscence of the original event. This is a beautiful album, especially when coupled with the sleeve artwork from Jefre Cantu-Ledesma. Clear vinyl, limited edition of 280.