Thomas Köner, Zyklop

Mille Plateaux
Released: 2002

Give Mille Plateaux credit. For many years, the label wrapped its identity up around the so-called "glitch" school of musical experimentation (most obviously in their popular Clicks & Cuts compilations). The folks in charge of the label obviously saw this pigeonholing as fundamentally at odds with their non-linear, "rhizomatic" ethos, which rejects (via Deleuze and Guattari) the striation of musical culture into set genres and programmed attitudes in favor of fluid, ever-changing networks of musical experimentation. Or, to put it in plain English, Mille Plateaux has always been an experimental label, so, once the experiments started repeating themselves, the label decided to move into new terrain. One of these new terrains is outlined brilliantly on Thomas Köner's Zyklop, a monumental two-disk fusion of environmental and ambient musical experimentation.

Actually, the two disks here should really be viewed as two distinct works. Disk one is called "Une Topographie Sonore: Col de Vence." The first part of the title translates as "A Sonorous Topography," while "Col de Vence" is a bleak mountain region in southern France. Köner's web site suggests that the work is an attempt to turn his memories of this bleak mountain region into a sort of "musical map," using not only field recordings from this and other remote regions (the sounds of wind, trees, birds, and rain can be heard at various points throughout) but also mixing these natural sounds with the "man-made" sounds of electronic instruments, machines, and the like. Köner is attempting to create a psychological and musical map of a physical location: to express in musical terms the moods, emotions, and impressions created by this isolated place. And boy does he succeed. This is an incredible work, as good as anything I've heard in recent years. It is a rich, complex work that becomes richer and more complex with each listen. Most impressive are the interplay between the rich natural world (the sounds of rain playing with the sounds of crickets and birds) and the somber, isolated human world (the sounds of moody synthesizer lines trailing off into nothingness, with the occasional human voice murmuring a line here and there). This is just a wonderful, essential listen for anyone interested in experimental music.

And then there's disk two, which is comprised of four distinct sound installations. The first track, "Des Rives," was produced for a 1998 installation in Paris. It is the shortest track (at 7:55), but it packs a lot of information into that small space. The track seems to be fusing a propulsive beat with various field recordings made at (I can only guess) an airport (perhaps Paris' own De Galle?). It's an arresting track (especially after the subtle textures of the first disk), and it's engaging in many ways, though the continued presence of voices (an announced message at an airport?) is a bit distracting. This is a bit odd, since the vocal passages on "Une Topographie Sonore: Col de Vence" seem entirely in keeping with the isolating tone of the work. Why do the vocals on "Des Rives" bug me? Well, I think they simply stand out too much, and they don't seem to fit well with the beats and funkiness. These vocals are even more annoying on the third track, "Tu, Sempre," where they practically dominate the entire work- to the detriment of the otherwise fascinating fusion of sputtering echoes and droning, melancholy synth lines.

By contrast, the second track (created for a 2002 installation in Minneapolis) and fourth track (created for a 2002 installation in Frankfurt) are wonderful mood pieces. The also share a title: "Zyklop" (which is, among other things, a computer software program that recognizes-via integration with a digital camera-a user's hand movements). Although the two tracks are different in many ways, they both feature stuttering mechanical sounds (imagine the sound of film that has been rewound but hasn't been shut off, the trail of film flapping against the canister), echoing digital footsteps, and moody synthesizer tones. The effect of both tracks is similar: anxiety. These are tracks that seem ready to burst out of their protective wrappings at any moment-but never do. They are intense, frightening, and fascinating works (especially the final five minutes of track four, where the shuttering film canister sound speeds up and is matched with intense waves of synth drones). But even these otherwise fine works pale in comparison to "Une Topographie Sonore: Col de Vence," the real treasure on this two-disk collection.

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