| Artist: Dwight Ashley Album: Ataxia Released: 10 October 2006 |  |
|
Dwight Ashley may never learn to tame his impulses into a style. The smoldering emotion of Ataxia (68'28") does not fit comfortably into any one movement. His influences here are less musical and more from national and world events. In 12 crowded compositions Ashley finds refuge in a surreal world of sound. On Ataxia his so-called neo-expressionism melts into a tempestuous state of the union message where blunt collages of battling tonalities and churning sonic textures advance like a storm front. With very little in the way of rhythm, melody and harmony, Ashley's compositions are realized through variations in timbre and tone - the most basic concept in Electronic Music. The songs are found in the making, and Ashley discovers new possibilities along the way. His work penetrates, then devours. It is a way of thinking in sound - which captures the brutality of our time. Though the political inquisition of this work may estrange some listeners, Ashley is so strident and strange, he comes off looking like a harbinger, not an oddity. Ataxia is a truthful cultural inquest and appeals for less chaos on higher ground.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 4 January 2007 | |
| Reviews |