Mist, Certain Expansion on Pizza Wagon
Mist, Certain Expansion, released on Pizza Wagon (#1), C20, Ltd 100
This is an excellent tape by the synth duo side-project of Sam Goldberg & John Elliot… Mist. I believe that this is Sam’s Pizza Night label & Wagon combining forces (see Discogs entry & Volcanic Tongue pages), both based in the super fresh experimental music capitol: Cleveland, OH. Both musicians are serious synth shredders, and you will definitely hear that on this record. The liner notes list electric violin & vocals as well.
Hit play and the tape’s hiss is interrupted by a set of notes, foreshadowing the oncoming progression – a river of notes. Gently filtered notes resting by the morning dew, soon to become weightless, their anti-gravity properties reaching for the stars. Just below the steamy morning fields, an emotionally dense melody adds a certain compositional structure that only nature seems capable of, steadily transforming into the soaring feeling of a championship runner within 100 vortices. It’s speedy synth playing, notey lines, and beautiful droning textures of violin that slowly shift and meld together in super-tight fashion. Totally locked in… totally tight. The other side seems to continue where the first side left off, but it’s a slower, more malleable trip, carried by twisting, morphing analog filters and passionate tears. These dudes have emotions and are not afraid to share them with the world. About midpoint this odd line rises from the depths, emitting crackling, chaffing tones. At this point it begins to slip into a spacier vibe similar to the sounds of Outerspace (a John Elliot solo project). From field to space, the 20 minute journey is an expansive ride.
The image on the tape was totally fitting; the cover is a beautiful image of a grassy field meeting a shadowed timberline. And the inside is an intense contrast, a hand-painted pattern of yellow orange and green wavy lines. A perfect compliment to the sounds on tape.
Sam Goldberg: http://samuelgoldberg.blogspot.com/ | John Elliot (of the Emeralds): http://emeraldsohio.com/
