MACHINEFABRIEK & ANDREA BELFI

Pulses & Places

Genre: MODERN CLASSICAL / AMBIENT

MP3
FLAC

Boomkat Product Review:

This ninth release in the Brombron series (hosted by Korm Plastics) comes from the absurdly prolific Machinefabriek and Italian electro-acoustic musician Andrea Belfi. For this project, Rutger Zuydervelt plays guitar and organ, while Belfi concentrates on drums and assorted percussive instruments. While the mood of the music is consistent with Machinefabriek's propensity towards atmospheric, detailed ambience, there's a markedly more organic aspect to this music that sets it apart from most of the Dutch composer's collaborations. The presence of Belfi's live, acoustic drums puts a very different slant on this music, bringing a kind of swaying, somnolent rhythm to the first piece, while Zuydervelt's layered drones map out a woozy trail. The second piece features a less processed sound from the Machinefabriek end, and you can hear the distinct metal hum of guitar strings building up a hushed mood before Belfi's toweringly loud bass-drum starts plunging through the mix at pace. The final two tracks feature longer improvisations, embracing a heightened melodic content - part way through 'Pulses & Places III' it becomes clear that there's something akin to avant-rock going on here, and this is probably about as far away from ambient music as Zuydervelt has strayed in his career to date. 'Pulses & Places IV' commences with the stirring of grimy organ figures, and before long the duo embark upon a faintly proggy, full-blown minor key jam complete with rhythmic, acoustic guitar strumming. A notable and welcome deviation from Machinefabriek's more usual modus operandi, this collaboration with the excellent Belfi marks a real highlight in Zuydervelt's recent output.

MP3 Release (4)