Pedestrian Deposit (Jonathan Borges and Shannon A. Kennedy) possesses a certain, restrained relationship to texture. Sources both electric and acoustic operate on a logic of hybridity_ becoming compositional elements organized through their activation of a shared acoustic space. This functions in multiple directions: in some instances, the cello is captured and converted to a subtle electronic variation, expanding the range of the tone through this capture, at other times it acts as a sort of mimicry, tools of one sort operating on the language of the other_ the cello played like a burst of noise, or electronic presence informed by the technique natural to the bow. The compositional practice developed by the duo is strict, bearing the marks of tension informed by the rigor of live performance. The pieces on Kithless are documents of this practice; Drift Gently Down the Frigid Tides of Sleep was recorded live at ‘Activating the Medium XIII:ICE’ in San Francisco on April 17, 2010. The performance extends the use of hybrid and musique concrete forms by engaging with the physical limits of the body through voluntary hypothermia, transforming the performers state and relationship to compositional tools. Under a Veil of Living Light, a staple from the 2009 East Coast tour, is a drifting of the hybrid forms expressed above, weaving in and out of each other; traces of texture, combined and re-combined.
Kithless is Pedestrian Deposit’s first LP album since its incarnation as a duo in 2008. It follows their compact disc releases Austere and East Fork / North Fork, both on Monorail Trespassing (2009 and 2010, respectively)_ their body of work thus far shows a dedication to a minor, often overlooked, field in contemporary practice directly concerned with the technologies of composition and the ways in which sounds touch each other. Recorded June 2009 – June 2010, and mastered by William Hutson, and transferred for vinyl at Dubplates and Mastering by Frederic Stader on March 16, 2011. In an edition of 500 copies.
