With the
ever-increasing number of bedroom electronic music producers prodding their way
through local scenes and beyond, the question inevitably becomes, what must one
do to rise above the cult of mediocrity?
With his latest release entitled HospitalSongs, Naugatuck producer Jon Siemasko, known as Schemawound, has proven
that the answer lies in constant experimentation.
HospitalSongs is a collaboration of
six years’ worth of recordings described in the liner notes as “an attempt to
recapture the muse that had escaped (Siemasko).” What would originally be just an exceptional
ambient electronic work transforms into more of a tale of recovery; a trip into
the mind of a once troubled individual.
After a
disconcerting opener of feedback and glitchy noise, Schemawound shows off his
ability to put together quite the catchy beat on “The Operating Theater”, with
driving lo-fi drum samples carrying the tune.
Lo-fi percussion remains a pressing recurrence throughout the album. The distorted backings employed on nearly
every track, along with melodious feedback, coincide perfectly with assorted
synths to create a comprehensive array of atmospheres and a stimulating listen. The track “Number from Synthesisia”, for
instance, is undeniably jumpy and totally danceable, as an uptempo drum beat
rocks out behind a quirky synth melody.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have “Further Analysis Required”,
which relies heavily on a repeating explosion-esque sample as a beat, providing
a much more calm and ambient feel to the tune.
The
album is constantly evolving, both in mood and through the addition of
unexpected instrumentation at pivotal points.
The track “Wet Hands”, for example, uses a near-authentic brass sound
for its principal melody, which is a drastic change from the straight
synthesized sound HospitalSongs
would have you expect. When used in
conjunction with the pseudo-tribal drum beat behind it, the track takes the
album somewhere completely new, and it works exceptionally well. What’s more is that the dissonant melody only
adds to the chills HospitalSongs
should be giving you already.
There
is no doubt that HospitalSongs is
to be enjoyed as a single entity, rather than individual tracks, especially
since each track runs seamlessly into its successor. While each track definitely has something
special to offer, the only way to become truly immersed in the strange, eerie
atmosphere that is HospitalSongs is
to listen to it all the way through.
-Jeff Allen
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