The idea of putting vocals in front of electronic music is not a new one. But employing vocals as a human, word-less instrument alongside the non-human generation of electronically generated washes, drones, bleeps and such and do that in an improvisational setting…that’s breaking new ground.
There may not be two individuals better able to tackle such a challenge than vocalist Theo Bleckmann and producer, engineer and multi-instrumentalist Joseph Branciforte. They first took on this task with LP1 in 2019, which was all improvisational. For LP2, the two mix the sudden with the scored, allowing themselves to enhance improvisations with cues and afterward, with overdubs. The textures that result sound somewhat familiar but as a whole, not like anything else.
“1.13” would be a fine murmur procession with just Branciforte’s part. Bleckmann’s extended, layered chants blending in perfectly with that gives that song a distinctively Gregorian monks touch you can’t quite capture without human involvement. By contrast, Bleckmann’s cooing lead voice rides atop the slow-moving, lo-fi waves for “11.15,” approaching and receding like the tide.
Things turn a bit more radical on the brief microloop “10.14.4,” where Branciforte turns in the extended chants for hoots and beeps. It’s also where post-tracking takes on a bigger role as all this gets blurred together into a smooth, vocal puree.
The voices work as a harmonious backdrop to what sounds like an mbira with effects swirling around it during “8.11.” Instruments are looped in tactfully at other spots as well, deepening the strange but alluring hybrid between man and machine, as for the lushly hypnotic “7.21,” but even more so for “9.23,” which leans more toward the composed side of things. Using the widest variety of instruments, they form an alien orchestra around a composed form. Bleckmann’s voice plumbs both the depths and the heights of his wide vocal range, making Branciforte’s elaborate, breathing construction something extraordinary.
By erasing lines of distinction between immediate and contemplated, natural and processed, Joseph Branciforte and Theo Bleckmann crafted something that’s truly novel, yet truly inviting.
LP2 will be available starting December 8, 2023 from Branciforte’s Greyfade label. Order up a copy from Bandcamp.
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