A Closer Listen
One of summer’s most original records is a left field surprise, although the equipment used to make it can be found in many traditional basements. Trådlös is performed on a repurposed sewing machine, which begs the question: if the original owner wanted Philip Holm to put the machine back together the way it was, could he do it?
Once upon a time, everything was DIY. Our ancestors sewed and mended their own clothes, cooked their own meals, built their own houses. In certain houses and fairy tales, one grew accustomed to the sound of the spindle, which signaled that something was being created or fixed. That sound is found here, along with the tailor’s fiddle, which “is similar to the hurdy gurdy in the sense that it has a wheel rubbing against the strings. However, on the tailor’s fiddle, when the wheel turns, the sewing needle also moves up and down.” As a result, Trådlös has the feel of a medieval folk concert, the artist bringing the sounds of the home into a more public arena. In so doing, it joins other releases in the (extremely limited) appliance arena, which includes Pawn’s Kitchen and Matmos’ Ultimate Care II, each very different in timbre. To add to the allure, everything from the purchase of the sewing machine to the luthier work to the recording and pressing was all done “within a radius of 750 meters” in Helsinki.
The LP showcases a quartet of tones. “Del 2” is the only piece that sounds like a field recording, highlighting the percussive sounds of the sewing machine apart from the strings of the tailor’s fiddle. Although brief, the track may be the set’s most important, grounding it in the everyday, growing more frantic as it progresses, as if a deadline is near, and the penalty for missing it is death. (An unlikely scenario today, but once upon a time …) “Del 1”, “Del 5” and “Del 7” shine a spotlight on solo string work. Unadorned, the tailor’s fiddle seems lonely, even mournful, as if playing a lament; “Del 5” is reminiscent of “Danny Boy.” In contrast, “Del 3”, “Del 4” and “Del 6” sound like duets, stretching simultaneous tendrils of melody and drone. “Del 3” touches upon dissonance and noise before relenting, while “Del 4” revels in chaos from beginning to end.
The album closer, “Den 8”, is by far the longest track, thirteen and a half minutes of undulating drone, exposing a multitude of sub frequencies along the way. The general populace has never heard a sewing machine like this, although history often falls into a blur of distorted memories. Adopting modern recording techniques, Holm changes the script from physical to metaphorical, pexploring how time can champion or ravage lost artifacts. To these ears, he’s spun straw into gold. (Richard Allen)
Available here by contacting the artist
Fri Jul 28 00:01:13 GMT 2023