Oren Ambarchi

Ambarchi's more propulsive tendencies have lately manifested in units featuring Jim O'Rourke and Keiji Haino. Here, the Australian instrumentalist harnesses all that energy and imports it to a (mostly) solo studio situation. The single track is an epic Krautrock-inspired workout that most closely resembles the Faust/Tony Conrad Outside the Dream Syndicate recordings from the '70s. Ambarchi tackles the role of Faust singlehandedly, multitasking on drums, bass, guitar and other sundry sounds, all in one daylong session. The drum and bass pulse that frames the piece possesses fine motoric tendencies, but they're tinged with a metallic residue and enhanced by the phantasmal guitar washes that sweep in and out. The piece rounds out with a string trio (standing in for Conrad, assumedly) ratcheting up the atmosphere in the last third, providing a lovely coda to the whole experience.