Basic Channel - Q 1.1

swil.wilson, Jun 21, 2008

Of all the alias Mark Ernestus and Moritz Von Oswald used over the course of their Basic Channel period, their work as Quadrant remains my favorite. It doesnt delve as deeply into the abstraction as Radiance, nor does it have the frenetic, almost overpowering energy of some of their other tracks. It strikes me as a perfect balance of tempo, timbre, and tone. "Q 1.1" uses plenty of the same dub echos and the form is as minimal and repetitive as one would expect, but the tones are actually more focused allowing a dark harmony to creep through the the wash of drums and echo. Perhaps "Q1.1/I" is not entirely representative of the Basic Channel sound, but I still think its the single greatest track theyve ever done (with Phylyps Rmx a close second).

The next two tracks use the same source material, but things become a bit more murky and the harmonies of the first track get buried in an aural cloud. By the time we reach the brief fourth track, the drums have all but disappeared and the faint remnants of the original are all that are left. Listening to all four tracks in succession gives the listener a chance to witness the deconstruction of a focused idea into abstraction.

To those new to Basic Channel, I would highly recommend starting here for a number of reasons. Its probably one of BCs most easily accessible releases. The extended 20-minute tracks such as "Inversion" and "Presence" are great, but can be a bit daunting and difficult to digest without proper context. Basic Channel is not for everyone. The greatness is in the details. If one tunes the music out, it begins to all run together and a ten-minute track can pass you by without seeming to change at all. It requires the listener to be actively engaged with the music, as does so much experimental music. Yes, it does work on a gut level with rhythms that you cant help but groove to, but this is only a portion of its power. If you have some idea of what to expect, or if youre a techno fan looking for something new, give this a shot.

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