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Dream Memory (43'06") shows the galactic breadth of Ken Camden's recording studio. His third release is a fuss-free spaceout not reducible to an idea or two. The eight tracks seem each a small electrical spectacle - their aimless openings revealing themselves as part of a carefully constructed realm. Driving the wheels which turn this music are Camden's synthesizer creations, processed guitar playing and harmonizing ethereal vocals. Lovely dream zones, which sustain briefly, are then relieved by stumbling, urging sequencer patterns. Expanding and enlarging before scaling down, the pulsing echo of tones support spacey voices and rotund slices of electronic sound. Bending light into darker regions the pleasantly experimental sections of Dream Memory trill, bleat and growl as the thinker and the musician emerge before us. From disjointed meditations to terrible ecstasies and maximized aural landscapes Dream Memory speaks to our condition. Created by the motion of molecules in the brain, the listener enjoys each ongoing moment - set alight by Camden's accomplished music. Although Dream Memory is not a self-consciously produced retro album, this music really did begin long ago - in the imaginations of groups like Cluster, Neu! and Harmonia, and is being further cultivated by the generations of musicians who continue to recognize the value of such works. This genre of music is one of the most powerful wonders in the world. It would have to be deliberately misunderstood.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 26 November 2015 |
