Keith Fullerton Whitman Lisbon CD

With all of his recent explorations into vintage analog equipment, drones, collaborations, and everything else under the sun as Hrvatski, it's amazing that Keith Fullerton Whitman has time to eat a good meal, let alone release albums and tour with such breakneck speed. But this particular recording is something special when placed in contrast to the rest of Whitman's work. This is a raw, nearly untouched recording of a performance in Lisbon on October 2005 where he picks up on some of the ideas left in 2002's excellent Playthroughs and blends them with elements of every single release he's had since, quirky synth signals, frantic digital chirps, field recordings, and other assorted sounds all harvested and filtered through his custom computer programs and processes. At times the performances are somber and gentle, progressing along with a slow grace and subtle nuances, and there are other moments when Whitman destroys that vibe with tension and dissonance. But it's this tension that leads to progress throughout the performance, and when it comes to experimental music, few do it better than Whitman. This is the embodiment of everything he's presented under his own name thus far, and the results couldn't be any more enjoyable. ~ Rob Theakston