There is a contemplative feeling, which rests on the verge of anxiousness, as experimental composers Kali Malone and Drew McDowall present Magnetism.
As the collaborative album begins, a foreboding hum crawls toward a succession of warm notes. The build up is achingly slow, yet gently creates a sense of comfort in its repetitive tension. As a listener, you desire more but feel content in the same breadth. But the resolute architecture of the 7-minute opener, ‘Nothing Here Is Lost,’ unfolds with simple grace that leaves one numb.
This compelling feeling charged with an impending energy exists across the Idealogic Organ release. As noted in the record label’s press release, the project came together out of a decade-long deep friendship, which was shaped by conversations of music, life and admiration of the other’s artistic evolution.
From a technical perspective, McDowall employs Karplus–Strong synthesis, delay, and distortion. The pair also decided to impose certain limitations on their improvisations, such as programming “bespoke tunings on a monophonic modular synth patch and recorded performance takes without overdubs.” This process, as Malone described it, felt like singing and allowed her to follow an internal voice.
The pair would also go on to leave the recordings untouched for a year. Upon their return to the project, recorded in McDowall’s Brooklyn studio, the music “had taken on some uncanny, mystical quality.”
“The music is surprisingly accessible even though some of the timbres are extreme,” McDowall said. “It’s not foreboding or even opaque. We might even be dabbling with pop sentiments.“
‘The Secret of Magnetism,’ much like the opener, begins with a rising hum. But soon enough, the distorted fuzz culminates in a piercing, almost excruciating tenseness. And as the song winds down, the emptied exhaustion is magnified.
On ‘Withdrawn Into The Source,’ a forlorn tolling strikes with such vitriol. This piercing aspect is haunting and unworldly at times. And with such gravity, the synth fades away in a two-minute eclipse that feels surreal.
In an almost religious contemplation, ‘The Sound In My Mind’ recalls Malone’s previous work on The Sacrificial Code, a deeply powerful work of organ arrangements.
Lastly, the 11-minute ‘A Sound That Is Alive’ charges through with crackled energy. Through the undulating swells and valleys of distortion, the song grips with an unsteady melody. The song itself quivers with such feeling, harrowing across to a resolution that suspends space. And as the song and the album itself begin to wind toward a gratifying resolution, there is repose.
Magnetism is available on all streaming platforms and can be purchased on bandcamp.
Kali Malone: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Linktree
Drew McDowell: Instagram / Linktree
Review by Joshua Gutierrez
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