200 Words: ANDREW KIRSCHNER
(In 200 Words, we highlight a new record we like a lot, via a 200-word review by Marc Masters and 200 words (or so) from the artist about whatever they choose.)
ANDREW KIRSCHNER - The Arm and the Eye cassette (Soundholes)
The two sides of Andrew Kirschner’s The Arm and The Eye are objectively quite different: one is a minimal synth-loop sketch where simple repetition creates complex effects; the other is an active mesh of stabbing violin, rattling percussion, and other rhythmically-rich sonic accents. Yet the mood of The Arm and The Eye is remarkably consistent. This is calm, patient music that nonetheless exudes tension and intrigue. Nothing is rushed or exclaimed, yet I’m always drifting toward my seat’s edge to glimpse at what’s coming next.
While I’d hate to downplay Kirschner’s transfixing synth meditation on Side A, I find myself rewinding and replaying Side B so often that I can’t deny it would work as an album by itself. His violin playing alone is fascinating, but the way it weaves through the various background sounds he embeds behind it - particularly the primal, Angus Maclise-like drumming - lifts the piece to a Cagean level of controlled chance. It produces an effect I haven’t felt since the heyday of Alastair Galbraith’s work with Bruce Russell in A Handful of Dust - a kind of lucid hypnosis where everything feels ultra-real yet the sum of all the parts is gloriously surreal, like a waking dream.
– Marc Masters
ANDREW KIRSCHNER on The Arm and the Eye
If you're not truthful in your art, it's gonna suck and more importantly, you're a liar. I started working on this album about 2 years ago when I was suffering from major panic attacks. Mental health is a theme that's in every single one of my releases and is responsible for what will be on said releases. I recorded the A side while having one of my worst attacks. The stillness of the synth was representing a plea for the state of my mind to be in while the junk loops were what was actually transpiring, dreadful thoughts repeated over and over again. In my works, I try to find a constant juxtaposition of chaos and beauty because that's what's going through my head constantly. Another ongoing theme is my obsession with repetition, no doubt having to do with whatever my mental state is at the time of recording. So I guess I tried to kind of hypnotize myself with the repetition to take my mind off of what was going on and it actually worked to my surprise! Using music as a sort of medication has been very therapeutic for me and my quality of life and I hope those who suffer from any problems, be it mental or physical will find a solace in this recording. You're not alone. The B side is composed of outtakes from an album I did called so much sorrow, which was all violin improvisations. I wasn't happy with how some of it turned out while recording it, so I cut all those parts into tape loops and played them over each other. The source material is a tape I recorded of myself and the band Lambsbread in the mid 2000s doing an improvisation in the LambsDen with anything we could find. Bells, metal pipes, drums etc are in there. I toyed with the idea of releasing it stand alone but after speeding it up and down, I could never find a speed I liked because I thought it all sounded so great on these different speeds. I hope you enjoy this, thank you Marc for the opportunity and Daniel for putting this out. Love and respect always.
The Arm and the Eye is out now on Soundholes. Buy it here.
