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Palancar (otherwise known as Darrell Burgan) is steadily carving out a niche for himself as an Electronic Musician with a wide-ranging creative power. Across the combined 18 tracks of his albums Mesomatter I (76:05) and Mesomatter II (66:50) he traverses an impressive sonic terrain of remote undertones and alien ambience. On these two volumes he aspires to bypass the conscious sensibilities of the mind for a direct connection to that which is elemental within the listener. Moving from the dolorous to the ecstatic in a balance of opposing tensions, Burgan dispatches his thought experiments in a continual liberation of sound. Mesomatter I & II exert an eerie, mesmerizing pull. Through the assured and expressive use of atonality ideals congeal and realize off of an extensive aural palette. Synthesized chord clusters churn into a soft mass of expanding rounded sound as one desolate, dissonant scene changes seamlessly into another. Choosing an impressive range of textures, from the curious to the furious, superbly arranged into impartial collisions of indefinite pitch and amplitude, these captivating designs invite us to explore the vastness of the cosmos. The absence of signposts such as rhythm or melody portend a one-way journey to these outer most reaches. Navigating Palancar's elusive interstellar darkness we are surrounded by hushed electronics and gloaming modulations. The spaciousness, timelessness and chilling aural undertow conjure a surreal realm of unidentifiable timbres and tones writhing beneath a cavernous reverberation. Somewhere in this formless night a primitive beauty emerges. Tender yet massive, thought provoking when it wants to be, Mesomatter I & II reveal an artist expressing themselves freely and without fear or hesitation - the highest aspiration of the EM genre.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 25 January 2024 |
