Yves De Mey

Lichtung captures the experimental sound score for a dance solo performed by Catherine Jodoin and choreographed by Antoine Effroy & Anne Rudelbach. A year on from the piece’s premiere at Kampnagel in Hamburg, the dependably brilliant Line label releases the audio, as conceived by Brussels-based electronic artist Yves De Mey. The thirty-five minute composition begins with a quiet high frequency drone, but within just a couple of minutes the austere hiss opens up to reveal a less elusive sound characterised by channels of soft noise that eventually give way to an electric guitar. Yes, this is a Line release with an electric guitar on it – surely this has to be a first? In any case, it’s by no means intrusive or gratuitous and the instrument melts nicely into De Mey’s miniaturized sonic universe, contributing subtle chord shapes and understatedly downbeat tones while whirring machine noises keep everything grounded in sonic abstraction. This spell doesn’t actually last terribly long, but it sets a precedent for the quietly emotive sound structures to come. As the piece evolves De Mey varies the density of his music nicely, detaching from any sense of linear, cumulative evolution. The result is an evocative and strangely suspenseful affair that acquires a kind of micro-industrial feel towards the end. Lichtung is an unusual release for Line in that at certain points it taps into the more restrained minimalism of the label’s early period, yet at others it’s revealingly organic and accessible. In any case it’s another top quality addition to the 12k offshoot’s catalogue. (Boomkat)