4 out of 5

Label: Auris Apothecary

Produced by: Agakus, Mike Bridavsky (recorded by, track 1 and 2, track 3, respectively)

Some excellent noise and hiss from Auris Apothecary’s resident corruptive force, DAS, and Agakus, Brainwave Saturation is further exercise in recycled formats (recorded over audiobooks from the local library), spread across three date-specific sessions.

In sifting through AA’s output, and recognizing some genres I don’t feel I have strong experience in (e.g. black metal), DAS’ work makes me retroactively realize – accepting this is likely obvious to most – that it’s not always about knowing the genre, rather just reflecting on how it makes you feel. So while I suppose I have more exposure to noise / experimental than some, I’d still say it’s limited overall; however, it is a scene I sought out on my own, stretching back to listening to radio static when I was unaware there were people making sounds to fill that need. Listening to Brainwave Saturation and comparing it to other artists in my catalogue made me appreciate what I feel Scarlatti (and his various compatriots) bring to that equation, and what his works make me feel: that I’m often a step removed from the noise, and asking myself what I’m thinking about. It’s not immersion, but it’s not immersion breaking, either: it’s disruptive enough to merit attention, and then drifting enough to allow me to insert my own feelings, extending into the way Dante (and Auris) play around with format.

The title – Brainwave Saturation – and the recycled nature of this cassette are part of that. What does it make me think, exactly…? Well, I don’t know if that matters. Just that it does.

The three tracks here touch more on the drone side of noise than something more caustic, with 08.12.11, the second track on side two, a particularly brilliant stroke that marries drone to “rock” (as far abstracted from that as we can be, mind you) across two approximate halves, linked by some guitar / feedback (?) elements. It’s slow to the punch, of course, but allows for a perfect sense of drifting in its opening, before a brief pause and restart in a more aggressive approach. The preceding 08.11.11 is probably the most immersive session, offering waves of slowly building guitar and noise, in a manner that reminded me slightly of mid-era Skullflower (between the noisiest early eras and more blissed out modern era), and partially what had me thinking about the difference between DAS and other artists.

The side-spanning, 40-minute A-side, 08.05.11, is the only one that didn’t quite click for me, at least in totality. Perhaps due to its length, it ends up feeling like several sections recorded as one, and while I accept there’s perception involved here – that I should be able to “hear” this as separate tracks, even if it’s billed as a single one – such perception tends to influence me quite a bit, and I struggled to find a thread here that I could follow. Rather, the side comes across as patches of noise, of varying intensity / minimalism, stopping and starting, and as such, didn’t quite meet that middleground of being contemplative. Individual sections very much work, just the overall side was a bit distracting, though this is absolutely made up for by the B-side – and perhaps worthy of some extra thoughts in comparison.