Richard Greenan’s NX imprint delves into the wellspring of sonic arts at Goldsmiths University, coming up with an IDM beauty by Chinese debutante Jia Wei Chong, aka 76%.
In Chong’s own words, Sonoluminescence is ‘inspired by the mesmerising phenomenon where sound waves cause microscopic bubbles in liquid to implode and emit brief flashes of light’. True to his word, 76% proceeds to uncap a plunderphonic geyser – sloshing sample manipulation against an array of analogue synths and mutant percussion.
Each piece is an otherworldly sonic interpretation of a natural phenomena. Rippling, erupting melodies are painstakingly blended with samples of water, the cracking of bursting bubbles, and echoes that reflect light scattering through liquid. Chong’s focus veers from a tangled mass of creaking fibres (‘Knot’), to children bouncing balls through a vortex (‘Mod 2’), and the heaving salt and sulphur of the Mexican coastline (‘Cancun’).
Listeners are coaxed through layers of fetid, peaty trip hop on ‘Soft Soil’, before a spiky amble across tarmac on ‘Walkwave’ – the crunching, three-legged rhythms for which were generated using Chong’s very own home-made shoe-installed snythesizer (??!). Light is decoded into zero g serialist tones on ‘Red and Black’, before closing with an earth splitting homage to the perpetually rumbling ‘Mount Yasur’.
Recommended if you like Autechre, Daphne Oram, Suzanne Ciani.
