Monday, July 10, 2023

Oren Ambarchi - Stacte.2 (1999)


Two untitled early guitar/looping experiments from the great Oren Ambarchi. I first heard Ambarchi years ago via his collaborations with Stephen O'Malley/Sunn O))) -- Burial Chamber Trio, Gravetemple, Pentemple, Shade Themes from Kairos -- but only recently started listening to his solo stuff. Five albums in, I've yet to hear anything that's less than excellent, and Stacte.2 was where I started, so that's where we're starting. Its joyful, minimal, textural sounds are all guitar-sourced and I'm guessing are the results of tape looping, as according to the album notes: "All sounds = guitar – no editing no processing no computer no". I still don't understand how those aren't synths but what do I know.


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5 comments:

  1. One of the most adventurous artists out there. I’d have been cool with him working that ping-tone glitch thing he perfected on GRAPES FROM THE ESTATE, but I love his album-length beat excursions too (get on HUBRIS promptly if you haven’t checked that yet). I think there are a couple of these STACTE entries where he loops classic rock licks from the likes of AC/DC and then just lays these destroying solos over them, a ton of fun. I envy you getting to know this dude fresh.

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  2. Thanks for this digi style- I'll echo above-best & so very adventurous - would love if you'd keep upping his harder to find stuff like this-Live Knots is a favorite of mine-have fun

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  3. Thanks! I found him last fall when a friend tipped me to Shebang which quickly became my personal soundtrack. He's excellent.

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  4. Thank-you, you are a very nice person for sharing and caring

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  5. Shebang from last year is good but I like his "Ghosted" also from last year even more - on Drag City with two of the guys from Swedish bands Tape and Fire! (Johan Berthling & Andreas Werliin). definitely In my top five 2022. His two albums with Fire! "in the mouth - a hand" (2012) and "She Sleeps, She Sleeps" (2016) are also very good and very different to anything else mentioned in these comments so far.

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