RHaD (Research for Historical Audio Documents) is a side project of Raffaele Pezzella (better known as Sonologyst). What Pezzella brings us here is a concrete example of something of what I have always believed – that ALL sound is music, whatever its source (radio transmissions, telephonic conversations, hi-fi test signals, old and forgotten documentaries, unknown field recordists). More than that, there is something else that goes beyond the simple creation of seemingly random sound collages; there is no doubt that here we have the uncovering of secret worlds and other realities, existences parallel to ours and yet separated by vast temporal and spatial distances. Here we have recordings and found sounds that have been manipulated in such a way as to render their contexts irrelevant and meaningless. Subtle concatenations of sound and substance, mood and context, in some instances creating a sense of otherness, that what we’re hearing are broadcasts from dimensions and realities that are not the one we live in. It’s exactly like trying to tune into a specific station on a vintage radio set but you don’t quite know where it is: as you turn the dial this way and that, you catch glimpses of other lives and other existences playing out just like your own. They are of our world and yet not part of it either. These six “metasonic” messages from seemingly emanate from an unknown Otherwhere and that alone will entice us to listen further and more deeply, in the hope of catching something that will peel back the layers and give us what we’ve yearned for. And that, I think, is where the true beauty lies in this album.
Psymon Marshall
released June 18, 2021
REVIEWS
Avant Music News
avantmusicnews.com/2021/10/02/amn-reviews-rhad-metamusic-2021-unexplained-sounds-group/
Laurent Fairon
Metamusic is a 40mn sound collage of mysterious radio transmissions, found vocals, spoken words, vintage electronic sounds and a number of guest stars on classical music instruments like organ, guitar, bass or piano – respectively Michael Bonaventure, Stefan Schmidt, Daniel Barbiero, Francesco Arrighi and Mara Lepore. Adroitly avoiding any ca 2021 digital artifact along the way, Metamusic's sound design is bringing the listener back to the glorious 1960s and '70s, yet the music sounds rather timeless to these ears. Metamusic recreates the sound of early European avantgarde with plenty of tape manipulations, sound collages, buzzing sounds, French spoken word and contemporary classical music instruments. The sound crafting is superb, the collage technique creating an ever-changing musical soundscape full of weird sounds, grotesque sound manipulations and Surrealist juxtapositions. What's not to love?
Gonzo Music
'Metamusic' is een fascinerend luisterspel van veertig minuten dat als basis gevonden geluiden, stukjes uit radio-uitzendingen, fragmenten uit (telefoon-)gesprekken en allerlei andere gevonden maar intrigerende geluiden en klanken gebruikt. Die worden dusdanig gemanipuleerd dat ze in een volledig nieuwe context een andere betekenis krijgen. Aangevuld met gitaar, orgel, bas en piano bespeeld door Michael Bonaventure, Stefan Schmidt, Daniel Barbiero, Francesco Arrighi en Mara Lepore creëert Pezzella een onwerelds klinkend verhaal dat intrigeert van begin tot eind. Een arbeidsintensieve geluidscollage is het geworden, die de luisteraar overrompelt in zijn bevreemding. In vroege industrial tijden hoorden we dit soort werk wel eens. 'Metamusic' is er een hedendaagse versie van.
Metamusic by RhaD.
Featuring: Amline Thomas, voice; Michael Bonaventure, organ; Stefan Schmidt, classic guitar on track 1.
Daniel Barbiero, double bass; Francesco Arrighi, piano; Mara Lepore, piano, on track 3.
Radio tape recordings from Audiobox transmissions (1997-98).
Edited by ©Unexplained Sounds Group
Mastered by Raffaele Pezzella
Artwork: “Detour”. Collage on forex on cardboard by RhaD. 2020
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