Radian
Distorted Rooms
About this item
Vienna has a storied history as a ground zero for new music. Radian, who call Vienna home, embody the city’s spirit of innovation. Martin Brandlmayr (drums, electronics), Martin Siewert (guitar, electronics) and John Norman (bass) are stalwarts of the European contemporary music community.
‘Distorted Rooms’ presents a dazzling new elevation of Radian’s employment and manipulation of microtones with a new emphasis on abstracted guitar motifs, often employing a more loop-based or electronic approach to the guitar’s sonics. Radian’s visionary approach to composition speaks to a lifetime of working in forward-thinking music. The trio expertly hone in on sounds often removed from the sheen of the recording process and mine them for unique, rich textural sound palettes which they then meticulously arrange.
‘Distorted Rooms’’ creative process began with multi-stage recording of often the smallest sounds, from pick-scrapes to an amplifier’s latent hiss. These slivers of sound are then restructured and processed through a variety of techniques that transform them drastically. Radian have always been interested in sounds that might be considered byproducts and maximizing their creative and aural potential. More minor gestures like switching a pedal on and off or toggling the guitar’s pickup are miked and spun into textures that crackle and froth to fascinating effect.
Radian’s angular, expansive music delights in tension and contradiction, sound and silence, improvisation and composition. The trio employ a singular and wholly unique sense of microtonality. While their creation process is complex, the resulting music is emotionally affecting, creating an aura of suspense and at times unease. Brandlmayr, Siewert and Norman share an unconventional, wildly imaginative approach to sound.
“Radian [have] perfected a painterly approach to sound construction.” - Pitchfork
“With music like this, repeat listens always prove hugely rewarding, enabling stirring new passages and sounds to all of a sudden emerge, as if they’d been written in disappearing ink.” - The Quietus
“The visceral thrill of the trio’s sound increases in their live performances, where the tactile crispness of their music is heightened.” - Chicago Reader
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