Gregg Kowalsky – Tape Chants
Oakland resident Gregg Kowalsky is back with his second album on Kranky. Gregg claims that after composing music on his computer for 5 years, he felt ‘limited by the unlimited possibilities of digital production’. In order to be musically reborn, he decided to take a completely different approach to his ambient compositions. The man began experimenting with “tape loops, cassette players and recorders, analog synths, sine oscillators, mixer feedback, contact mics and various acoustic sound sources”. After two years of learning how to create these sounds, he started playing them live. He handed out some boom-boxes and tapes and walked through the crowd turning levels up and down. The shows themselves were a sound experiment because everyone was hearing a slightly different version of the song. However, he was not the first person to do this. If you have ever seen the movie Fearless Freaks, a documentary about The Flaming Lips, you would know that this idea has been around for years. Even so, Gregg’s ambition is astounding. It’s really inspiring when you see a talented musician actively try to become more talented by trying new things instead of just honing down an already present sound. What’s so great about this album is that even though the man is new to this form of technology, he comes off like a master of the craft.
- James
