Graham Dunning & Edward Lucas | End of a cable
TSSS Tapes (CS/DL)
A fiery static and fluttering trombone invite you to the End of a Cable, the just-released effort by Graham Dunning & Edward Lucas on a brand-new tape label out of Spain, TSSS Tapes. And this is a welcome effort on all accounts. These seven short pieces by the duo blend a peculiar mix of sound objects, instruments and the turntable. Do we hear bats as the two slough and drain their breath? The tactile surfaces, squawks and distortions all play well together in this collision of warp and recess.
There are dissonant ruptures along the way, as they rattle and inflate the conversation with ersatz, post-jazz flourishes, synthesizing a keen balance between whaling blurts and lil’ frenetic microsounds. At times a sort of quirky utilitarianism seems at play (Disorderly) and at others it feels as though Dunning & Lucas want to mock the droids that made so many modern day sci-fi classics sing. It’s perfectly imbalanced.
My standout track is the reserved Rotary, which has this snakelike in-wait style with these short blurts of coloration, coming off like a riddle unfurling slowly. Through the rubberized pangs and shallow silences, squall and drag, the lethargic and exuberant moments, is a record that begs to be heard.
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