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The Ultraphonist CD, Discover The Antistress With..., is the second release from the Belgian label Foton Records, released at the same time and with a certain stylistic similarity as their first release by Urawa. Ultraphonist are similarly Belgian and are perhaps better known as the duo Silk Saw, who have released 3 albums to date, though they have also recorded under the name Jardin D'Usure. As with Urawa's Villa Vertigo, Discover The Antistress With... comes in a slim CD case, with card cover, a photograph (Herbasplit by Caroline Eggermont), and a graphic poem on a slide (Power by Bart Bosmans).

Discover The Antistress With... starts with your First Lesson, minimal tones tuning up in a slight, rumbling loop. The balanced state is a one-two rumble, with quiet, rough clicking sounds picked out like the sound of dropping and lifting a stylus on vinyl. Your First Lesson went fairly easily, and you are now ready for Harmonium. A bass hum, with a slight background whirring presence. This is a constant with hints of other sounds brushing past the edges. Shifts in the hum suggest a certain reverberating drone - a totally tonal sound.

As with any instrument, the Ultraphonist included, you have to practice, and with practice comes Endurance. Bass sounds come as periodic discharges, rapid peaked pulse against a scraping background. Then the bass becomes a wave, with background elements suggesting the strumming of slight, metallic stings. Tones remain minimal though seemingly more pronounced as we move on to Pendulum. Sound is more coherent and layers add extra denseness - streaks of sound against the bass deeps, before strips are torn in rapid fashion and the stylus jumps back in a repeated click, the arm bouncing somewhat.

The sounds of Method seem more compressed, layered hums announcing full intent and presence. After a minute a melody offers a suggestion of presence in the background, out weighed by the sheer density of the palpable bass hum. About 5 minutes little glitching beats become audible as we move to a dripping electronic sound - the plunk like the slow motions of displacement, an individual drop impacting on fluid surface, rippling waves from the central crater. While How To Practice Scales is the flickering sound of a solid springing back into form looped, then accelerated to provide an oscillating effect. Slow waves of bass peaks and troughs building to a sudden conclusion.

To practice scales takes Discipline and we hear the determined sounds of piano in a practice session. Which is influenced by the tonal rumbles and scrapes of the Ultraphonist. With Discipline Discover The Antistress With... gains new levels of complexity - sounds used being stronger and peaking in real audibility. The sound dies back down again, but in doing so becomes more explorative in its tonal shifts. >From there we enter the cycle of the Antistress Station, a rotary sound with a buried whistling sigh and a growing humming, reverberation. Moving through to a session of glitching that brings us to your Examination. Bass pulses and a calmly paced beat suggest that with the Examination we've gone to another level, as an Ultraphonist you are ready for rhythm. Though remember that you have to use the instrument sensitively, and even rhythm is in keeping with its minimal tones.

Discover The Antistress With... is one of those albums where turning it up and leaving Ultraphonist to it is your best bet. Relaxing, even going as far as turning out the lights and lying down is likely to produce the best results. It'll drive some crazy and they'll reject it as non-music, but it serves a different purpose that others will happily absorb, chances are you already know which of those categories you are in. In sound construction Ultraphonist does remind of Silk Saw, but in a very stripped down fashion!

RVWR: PTR
February 2000

More Information

Foton Records

Label site - includes sound samples, as well as exclusive tracks

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