Cassette Review // Ben Brown & Stefan Christoff "In Duet" (New Motion)
Isolated piano keys and the sounds of everything crashing down around them begin this cassette. There is a scraping, but it's almost like a scratching and then it turns into a banging. This very much feels like someone just playing this beautiful classical song while the entire world falls apart around them. The piano notes get higher as the percussion begins rolling. This sound feels like an awakening. The percussion feels like sticks breaking now but it takes on a rhythm which feels like it has become hypnotic.
The way that these notes come through it can sound as if they are singing. Such a distinct pattern, as if to tell the story of the chaos surrounding it. This is the sound I want people to hear when they think instrumental music is borning and when they think that a sound has to be "metal" or "hardcore" to take on the feeling of destruction. The piano becomes more dramatic now, truly showcasing the sound and urgency of this feeling. You can feel those last notes come through, almost like a distress signal, as I'm assuming the first song comes to an end.
A quiet rattle now, glass rolling around. Pianos begin to build the sound once again, though this time they are accompanied by a calm such as which the ocean can bring. The bass still hits in these piano notes to let you know that the mood is dire. The piano grows more erratic while the percussion just seems to be banging out of control. This has all been building, but it now finally seems as if it is spiraling out of control. A driving force now, as if we are rushing to the scene.
As the percussion rumbles like a storm, it also begins to calm as we then hear the soft shaking of some form of percussiong which reminds me of crickets. The piano takes back control now and brings about this classical piece. The percussion comes in, crashing cymbals and slowly feeling as if it is beginning to fall apart all over again. The piano goes back and forth now, feeling hypnotic once again through that loud percussion assault. This feels like we could be watching such a scene play out in a film that is either tragic or just glorious and important to the plot.
Onto the flip side, we begin with a song called "Free Palestine Now", which I think is important because even if you're not creating a punk rock anthem with a catchy sing-along chorus, it's good to have that awareness. The piano comes in with the triangle ding and this just sounds serious. A little clacking now to keep a steady rhythm and this just feels delicate as well. The beauty in this is how the piano drives and just feels so compelling: it's telling the entire story. You can watch this one play out in your mind like a movie as well.
The piano once again plays those notes where it feels like it's singing. You can sing along and recognize the pattern without using any actual words. It's that powerful. The percussion throughout this has been a bit more in the background and less forceful than it was on the previous side, but there are some cymbal crashes still. What I like about how this song is going is that it felt before like the percussion was bringing the destruction but now it feels as if the piano is the one spiraling us out of control.
You can hear the percssion, almost like a primal moan, as the song reaches an end and fades out. The cymbals feel like they're sifting as the piano keys come out and create such a sound of beauty. It truly feels like now we are in that post rock / neo-classical sound, but almost emerging the same way that a sunrise might bring upon a brand new day. The way this all comes down can also just feel like gentle rain, not quite a storm but something more relaxing. There is a sort of crunching sound behind the piano now, as it all begins to just open itself up once again. It reminds me a little bit of "Halloween", in the way that the percussion is.
This all begins to grow, like we're reaching the peak, and then there is this percussion part which sounds like metal, like how you might sound riding a horse with a lot of coins in your pocket. It does have this galloping pace, but then the drums come in big and bold, just carrying on with the piano keys getting higher and higher. In some ways I'm also reminded of a pinball game, but this just feels more like it is outside and we are blossoming. Drum sticks drop and this just has such a strong sense of brightness. One final push, as we reach a definitive ending.
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