Andrew Chalk

*2022 stock* Andrew Chalk's Over the Edges was recorded in one day at Colin Potter's studio, using only two strings of an acoustic guitar played with an E-Bow. The results belie the simple sources, and the album is a rich drone texture which draws the listener into its sound world. All four tracks share a common language, a slightly buzzing, gently undulating drone in a lower register, often layered until the pitches grow together. But each track also has noticeable differences from the others. The first track introduces a wooden percussion sound alternating between the channels, almost like a marimba, but unvarying in pitch. The overtones in the second track sound like crickets chirping in the background, and this track also has dim clattering in the background toward the end of the piece. The third, whose drone sounds are probably a continuation of the second, has small rings from a lone bell that sound like a call to meditation. The last piece has a quiet, shimmering feedback loop that runs throughout the track, persisting even after the last drone has faded out. Chalk has explored various aspects of field recordings and drones in his work with Ora and Mirror, but this solo work has a purity and single mindedness that makes it an exceptional recording.