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CD
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KRANK 197CD
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"From Christopher Bissonnette: 'This new series of works reflects an evolution of my adeptness with modular synthesis. As with my previous release Essays in Idleness, Pitch, Paper & Foil was constructed from a range of synthesis and compositional techniques. The goal with this album was to form a collection that exhibits more restraint than previous works. Modular synthesis can be an unruly medium and taming it in order to produce delicate or subtle tones can be challenging. As with Essays..., I have allowed the artifacts of the process to find their way into the finished product. Tape noise, distortion and by-products of the random sequencing method all contribute to the character of the final recordings.' Continuing the explorations of the analog synthesizer first revealed on his last album, Bissonnette's deft touch in recording and mixing is a joy to experience. While most contemporary analog synth slingers find themselves unable to not overload the sound-field with the endless array of possibilities the instrument provides, Bissonnette provides a master class in economy and control."
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CD
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KRANK 187CD
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"'Essays in Idleness was born from a desire for a more tactile approach to sound generation. With a limited number of sound sources, the process encouraged more focused examination of the available range of choices. The album is a series of experiments subsequent to a period of deep reflection on my working process. This sequence of tracks is the culmination of two years of intense exploration with the intention of allowing the medium to have a more profound effect on the outcome, the methodology allowing chance, risk and error to play a greater role. Some of the studies focus on a generative process, allowing the composition to build upon itself, while others are constructed from more complex textures and compositional fragments that shift and modulate organically.' -- Christopher Bissonnette. The third album from Canadian composer Christopher Bissonnette sees him expanding his palette by narrowing his sound sources to a self built analog synthesizer. Eschewing the whiplash and/or everything including the kitchen sink style of assembly so common among current analog aficionados, Bissonnette instead applies his signature compositional style of using long held tones and sweeping drones that alternate between, and fuse, pure tonal transcendence and patient, sparkling melodies that slowly reveal themselves."
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LP
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KRANK 187LP
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CD
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KRANK 118CD
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"In Between Words is a collection of works that continue Christopher Bissonnette's explorations into orchestral and spatial acoustics. Cultivating an increasing interest in field recording and found sounds, Bissonnette has woven spatial ambience into these new compositions, while still concentrating on moments of near empty space between 'instruments.' Inspired by the continuous din, the constant low-level hum of urban background noise, interspersed with all manner of mechanically-created sounds, Bissonnette finds in this a near-melodic soundtrack to his daily life. On the final track 'Jour Et Nuit,' this seems most apparent, as one can almost hear sparse traffic on a highway in the sweeping long tones. Using orchestral sound sources as well as recording his own sounds to manipulate and process, Bissonnette has crafted a symphony of six movements, with melodies as ghostly apparitions that fade in and out of view. Recorded as spontaneous mixes, these compositions maintain a sense of organic fluidity while creating passages of escalating tension."
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CD
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KRANK 087CD
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"Periphery is a collection of piano and orchestral based material, recorded and produced over the past year. Christopher Bissonnette developed a system of exclusion and reconstruction, using seconds of samples to produce extended textural edits, often removing any traces of the original source, yet retaining the fundamental nature of each modeled phase. Audio patches are constructed with sets of randomized variables. Most tracks are mixed and recorded live, resulting in organic, sinuous compositions. Interstitial moments, trails of reverb and tonal passages are all manipulated to become the groundwork for compositions. These extended phases create a fragile balance of tension and atmospheric placidity. The results are introspective compositions; layered with delicate minutae, extended and immersive."
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