Tim Catlin & Machinefabriek - Glisten
Tim Catlin is a Melbourne based guitarist and composer. His practice is primarily focused on extending and re-investigating the sonic possibilities of the guitar. Centered around drone-based and immersive methodologies his music uses a combination of both traditional and extended guitar techniques. These include guitar preparations, customised playing devices and string exciters, home-built electronics and effects, live-looping and modified guitar design.
Rutger Zuyderveldt is a very productive – with more than 50 releases in six years – dutch musician better known as Machinefabriek. Just as Catlin, Zuyderveldt’s music is also influenced by drones and effects.
These two musicians have released a joint album by the name Glisten on Low Point Records. Catlin recorded a number of tracks, drawing upon a wide range of approaches including guitar preparations, customized and abused effects through to more ‘conventional’ picking. Catlin’s initial recordings were then sent the way of Zuydervelt for overdubs, final editing and sequencing.
The start of Glisten shows a reserved side of Machinefabriek and Catlin. But with the second track “Flutter” the intensity is raised. “Flutter” opens with a lovely sound reminiscent of a sounder – with the intensity and volume raised and lowered, we get the feeling of how a bat would see the world flying through the air. The softer side of the duo is on display during the delicate and hypnotising track “Ghostbox”, before “Glisten part one” leads us back to the more meditative world of Machinefabriek and Catlin.
The album flows along nicely, with “Knell” – with its characteristic bell sounds – acting as a well devised pause in the middle of the record. With “Haul” we are back into the soothing echoing world where we were prior to “Knell”. The layers of effect are more pronounced, with the crescendo of sound coming to an abrupt end as “Haul” moves into “Arpeggio”. “Arpeggio” means the sounding of the notes of a chord in rapid succession, and the title gives a clear indication of what this piece has in store. Machinefabriek and Catlin revert back to a quiet form before the ending track “Glisten part two” takes off, and fade out abruptly.
All in all Machinefabriek and Catlin’s Glisten is a restrained record that on occasionally flirts with a powerful sound. Tracks such as “Flutter”, “Knell” and “Arpeggio” breaks up the potential monotony of the record, but I for one would like to hear this record being performed live without these pauses. The 35 minutes that the record last forgoes by quickly. A good sign I would say.
