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Gates McFadden's fullest album to date has improviser/composer Joel Schrauben making a digi-romantic Glenn Branca of himself. But not via an army of guitarists; it's just Joel and a laptop - therein being dozens of delay loops and tones. You Can See Russia... is an exercise in infinite repetition; fitting in that the Palin remark appropriated is just one of a series of infinitely repeated talking points this season - repetition to the point of a loss of meaning. Fortunately for Gates McFadden, the loss of meaning here is not a descent into idiocy but one of recontextualization; where repeated tones and sounds layer upon one another building a veritable Tower of Digital Babel that comes crumbling down when Schrauben (as creator) sees fit. Schrauben achieves a unified, suspensefully ambient statement that gives credence to those who may assert that tension and resolution are overrated concepts.
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Joel Schrauben, aka Gates McFadden, has wasted no time in filling out his compositional niche by releasing his second album for 2008 within three months of his first. Get Out The Tape re-emphasizes the G.McFad tendency towards patterned construction of songs, approaching a minimalist idm but not quite. If anything, Gates' voice is becoming more mature as Schrauben's techniques become more sophisticated. Get Out The Tape employs repetition and subtlety in variation to beautiful effect so that each moment is a pleasant stasis of sound without becoming disengaging. These eight new songs are written and performed on laptop with some sampling of Schrauben's old band Bear Mountain Picnic thrown in for good measure. Think of mashing Stars of the Lid's heavenly swells with the stylized electronic adolescence of Cornelius. It's up on last.fm now, or you can get it here.
Gates McFadden is the solo project of Joel Schrauben of Michigan-based bands Fields of Industry and Bear Mountain Picnic. Schrauben's solo work is diverse and can range from abrasive noise to light electroacoustic compositions. His music is instrumental, often loop-based and largely informed by experimentation with recording technique. In 2008, Gates McFadden's first release from Arts Vs Entertainment, 8 Tracks, showcased a selection of Schrauben's guitar driven work.
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Gates McFadden's fullest album to date has improviser/composer Joel Schrauben making a digi-romantic Glenn Branca of himself. But not via an army of guitarists; it's just Joel and a laptop - therein being dozens of delay loops and tones. You Can See Russia... is an exercise in infinite repetition; fitting in that the Palin remark appropriated is just one of a series of infinitely repeated talking points this season - repetition to the point of a loss of meaning. Fortunately for Gates McFadden, the loss of meaning here is not a descent into idiocy but one of recontextualization; where repeated tones and sounds layer upon one another building a veritable Tower of Digital Babel that comes crumbling down when Schrauben (as creator) sees fit. Schrauben achieves a unified, suspensefully ambient statement that gives credence to those who may assert that tension and resolution are overrated concepts.
