This one snuck out last fall and I totally missed it until now, but longtime-fave Samara Lubelski firing off two side-long solo violin improvisations (with a beautiful cover by Bill Nace as a bonus) is essential listening. Lubelski has written and released so much incredible music in the last 20+ years, always exploring new avenues and surprising with her shapeshifting abilities. When it comes to experimental music and improvisation, there’s not much she can’t do. Partial Infinite Sequence finds her sculpting violin tones into expansive, incandescent shapes, using sparse effects to traverse a mountain of tension to find release.
The A-Side sputters up the incline, high-pitched wails echoing against a silent backdrop only to crash back into a staccato sea of midtones. Minimalist passages peer into empty space, searching out the longest distance between points of light and find solace there. On the flipside, Lubelski moves quickly, ratcheting up the noise and traversing sonic valleys with phased, repetitive tones and harsh echoes. It’s oddly captivating music, existing singularly in the moment until it passes and you’re left wondering if it even happened at all. Luckily, it’s an easy answer – just press play and go again.
