Without References / Cindy Van Acker [LP]

Goat (JP) - Without References / Cindy Van Acker [LP]

Peerless man-machine outfit Goat(JP) return with a brittle contemporary dance soundtrack that locks into the pointillist rhythmic micro-precision of the now classic Joy In Fear. Directing an IRL physical performance, the band totter between rhythmelodic, ritualistic minimalism and intricate, pneumatic beat music -- if you need a link between Daniel Schmidt, Autechre, On The Corner-era Miles and Midori Takada, this is it. The six parts to "Without References" perfectly highlight the synchronicity between Goat's remarkably precise acoustic practice and the physical movements coordinated by Cindy Van Acker, a choreographer renowned for her meticulous stage direction and work with Mika Vainio. In their shifts from tendon-tweak tension to lissom melodic fluidity, Goat prove the ideal foil and spurs for Van Acker's rigorously demanding performances, laying down super crisp commands and rhythmic geometries that manifest a ludi ideal of "dancing to architecture." The extended performance technique and recording nous of Koshiro Hino (guitar, percussion), coupled with Atsumi Tagami (bass, percussion), Takafumi Okada (drums, percussion) and rendered by the deft spatialization of Bunsho Nishikawa's mixdown -- all faithfully suspended in Rashad Becker's mastering -- come to mirror the way com(more...)

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