Papermusic
Those who think a compilation album entirely composed of sounds made by paper might be, if not an outright oxymoron, akin to listening to the subtle tones of paint drying will have those preconceptions neatly dissolved within a few second of the brilliant opener, from David Cooper Orton, "Paper Bach Raider" (not the only excruciating-yet-amusing pun for a title here). It reminds me of something Blue Man Group might do, with pitched tones (really!) that sometimes evoked tapdancing, sometimes rainsticks, coming together into bursts of immediately accessible rhythms.
The next piece, from Michael Peters, opens like a burst of applause, fading into what could only be lightning, somehow produced by a flat sheet of writing material. Great use of pitchshifting, different levels of ambience and panning. Most enjoyable, followed by is Paul Jackson's 42-second "Shrink-fit Chuddles", with drawn-out twisting giving way to...bubbling? Where the hell does bubbling come from? I love this short little tidbit.
Rinus van Alebeek's "Eine Kleine Papier Symphony" is probably the most abstract piece. It begins with outside environmental sounds, partway through fading out, replaced by a new ambient situation, with actual voices in the background over sliding books in the forefront. It sounds like the literature is in conversation, and suddenly these shocking noises, like paper...screaming. It ends with a return to another ambient place, with vocal music distant, and the paper providing a bit of counterpoint. Interestingly, it makes me think of a library, though the following "At the Public Library" from Anders Östberg is more specifically located there. This demonstrates the fullest tonal wash yet, like a soft, crispy static that's not at all harsh, slowly and blissfully fading away. It really didn't strike me as a physically recorded piece until some footsteps come and go, which I found a great little (non-paper...or cardboard slippers, maybe) new element.
Sonoprint's "Paper Music" largely composed of rhythmic motorlike hisses, like steam escaping, or gears shifting. It starts slowly, but entrancingly, slowly accumulating more layers until the end. This seemed too short at 3:20, I wanted it to keep going.
Subscape Annex' "Tarot Talking" takes a unique angle, utilizing Tarot decks as the sound source, in fact five decks. I liked this bit of subtext, and am a bit surprised the use of particular literature wasn't explored elsewhere in the compilation, it's an interesting non-sonic element that lends a certain flavor when listening. It's a long piece, 13 minutes plus, demonstrating an incredible range of sounds, with lots of apparent looping and different fidelities which broadens things. At times it's a real polyrhythmic feast with overlapping pulses. Again, the knowledge of the arcana involved in the "instruments" made a fascinating background to it all.
Norelpref's "Pulp Friction" (yuk yuk) exploits some fascinating rhythmic pitchshifting things, and a background that seems like vibrating sheet metal, a most unusual texture. It fits in well with the next piece, A.J. Wimbush's "Paper Dub", which often evokes brushes on a snare, or even radio static, and a very cool staccato figure that keeps coming back, "ba-duh-duh-dunha-ba-DAH". I was pleasantly surprised by the rhythms in these two pieces, in addition to the panoply of sounds demonstrated elsewhere it was a nice touch to hear the further percussive possibilities of parchment.
Nick Robinson, the father of the collection, furnishes the closing "Canson". I found this to be one of the most well-developed pieces, seemingly orchestrated. There's a gentle ostinato throughout, with enormous reverb crashes and some strange ascending tones. Very well realized, and seemingly the most planned-out piece of all here.
This really is a fascinating and most surprising compilation. Previously, when I thought of paper, and sound, I thought of toneless white (natch) noise. Overall, this frequently made me think of an experimental percussion ensemble (So Percussion comes to mind) with hundreds of unique, even hand-made instruments at its disposal. Some of the sounds made are just unbelievable, like the screams, washes and especially the squeaks which showed up on a number of pieces and sounded most like a screech trumpet being twisted like a balloon animal. I had to laugh out loud sometimes, but was mostly entranced by the explorations of this unique idea. Recommended.
Papermusic site (as with other Chain Tape Collective works, the entire recording is available FREE OF CHARGE here)