Zachary James Watkins

New from the ever-essential Tapeworm series, this release is by Californian sound artist Zachary James Watkins, whose CV reveals a seasoned background in composition that boasts multiple degrees, awards and commissions. Black Spirituals was recorded last year, arising from Watkins' "intense dialogue" with fellow artist Morgan Craft - comparatively little else is revealed in terms of the genesis of these four pieces, although Watkins cites the use of a dusty tape recording of a late 1970s lecture given by Bernice Reagon (of the vocal group Sweet Honey On The Rock) - something you can hear dissolved into the frenetic drums and rather uplifting, loose guitar chords of 'Black Spirituals III-IV'. The music here is improvised, although certainly, the opening piece feels like a very measured and considered affair, furtively undulating through a modulating synthesizer drone. That account might not make it sound like anything particularly out of the ordinary, but in practice there's something utterly captivating going on here. 'Black Spirituals II-IV' is very different, however, stirring up a torrent of distorted bass noise the like of which you might expect to hear from someone like Stephen O'Malley, Oren Ambarchi or Daniel Menche. At more than twenty minutes this piece's running time is hefty, but the full duration reveals all manner of aggressive overtones and feedback formations. The cassette concludes with a ten-minute recording that's closest in spirit to the synth drone of the opener, though it even more clearly invites comparison with the LaMonte Young school of minimalism. Excellent stuff - limited to 250 copies. (Boomkat)