_Insane Logic_
by Ozone Player
2000, Visual Power #VP001
http://www.ozoneplayer.com
1: Whales in Fog
The first thing that strikes me is the sheer quality
of the sound programming. Throughout this track and
the rest of the disc, there are endless examples of
fresh and well-programmed timbres, typically taking
advantage of unusual overtone formants that lend some
sounds a non-western feel, and other sounds a wholly
non-terrestrial feel.
Circa 0:40, a subtle digital sustained tone enters the
left channel, suddenly breaking off and then seeming
to be vaguely hinted at in the resonance of reversed
noises that immediately sneak in from the right
channel (and which sound to me to be intervalically
related to the opening notes of the piece). So the
one barely-noticed sound emerges only momentarily from
the pre-existing texture and opens a yet doorway of
opportunity for the second sound, which might've been
more distracting upon its entrance were it not for the
excellent foreshadowing. This is a great example of
the sort of subtlety in Otso Pakarinen's tailoring of
sound -- which is easily missed if one only pays
attention to the more drastic sonic flourishes taking
place on the surface.
At 0:48, a new theme comes in (seemingly derived from
the opening motive of the piece) that is reminiscent
of much of Wendy Carlos' album _Beauty in the Beast_,
in terms of timbre, tuning, and rhythmic style. Much
of _Insane Logic_ shows either a strong influence from
Carlos, or the use of similar additive synthesis
technology -- and possibly both of these factors.
At 1:03, we get the first of many mallet-percussion
sounds on the album, soon giving way back to
crystalline bell tones, foggy pads, and dark
colorations. Still in the same harmonic and motivic
territory as we started (despite the numerous changes
in surface effect), the piece concludes ominously with
a different take on the material that began at 0:40.
This time, it is slow and spooky, rather than quick
and jaunty.
2: Shipping
Here we have perhaps my favorite Ozone Player track.
The propulsive succession of major-to-minor modulating
chords, carried at a wide intervallic parallel by
electric piano and synth strings, pulls me along
through the piece at full attention. The mood is
almost bipolar, and the harmonies that come up are
wonderful. An excellent track.
3: The Reality Dysfunction
We start with loops from recordings of male speech,
reminding me of the title track from the Cure's early
album _Pornography_. This passage also quickly ties
Ozone Player's music back to the avant-garde
electronic music of the 60s and 70s, before leading on
to some of the heavily-processed, squelchy drums that
form an important core in the sound of this disc as a
whole. The vocal timbres gradually become less jagged
and more constant, pointing us into a peaceful seaside
moment -- where the crabs seem to be whispering nasty
thoughts in our drowsy ears!
Awakened by the phone, we realize that we have fallen
asleep in the middle of a child's piano lesson. The
crabs won't admit that they were just a dream,
however. Will the child's mother scare them with her
vacuum cleaner? Apparently not, but her vacuum sets
our troubled ears off into another polyvalent fantasy,
this time involving the flanged digital artifacts we
were editing out of a flawed audio track in the studio
this morning, before going to the beach to cool off.
Speaking of the beach... it's now deserted, autumn
having somehow set in. Clouds move over our heads,
and a memory of childhood piano-playing precedes the
arrival of a massive, evil crab god with multiple
tentacles.
Luckily, we run into Wendy Carlos in Bali (listening
to gamelan music and driving a dune buggy, no less),
and she offers to help us navigate away from the
beach, past the Space Invaders, and into the interior
of our heavily-stressed psyche. Sick and tired of our
chaotically-flitting attention, Wendy gives us a
couple good slaps, and we wake to find ourselves
mercifully free of whispering crabs and all that sort
of thing.
4: Casino Mobile
After a quick peek at the Milky Way from the window of
an intergalactic transport, we decide to check out the
futuristic amenities of our vacation craft. Numerous
shops and vending machines greet us, as we search for
just the right spandex bodysuit for our date with the
insurance consultant from Alpha Centauri. As we sip
on our re-hydrated, freeze-dried kiwi soda, there's no
doubt about it: life is swell as can be.
And there again is another breathtaking portal with a
view of the Milky Way. It makes us remember how small
our troubles are in the face of such immense
distances. Why, that's it: today is going to be the
day that we stop putting things off and start ticking
off items on that to-do list for the future. Ah, this
trip was such a great idea.
And those stars are sure gorgeous.
5: Minibar
Now that things are going better, we've decided to
throw a party for our new friends of the crab
persuasion. From 0:00-0:47, we find ourselves rushing
around, trying to find enough beers to keep the whole
crustacean gang happy when they arrive. (After all,
we don't want to have another bad crab trip like that
last one, do we?)
At 0:48, the more familiar guests we were less worried
about -- the large humanoid bunny rabbits -- show up,
full of the usual gossip. At 1:24, those curious
crabs come sauntering in. It's hard to tell with them
sometimes whether they're upset or just being aloof,
you know? However, once one of them starts
breakdancing on the antique coffee table at 1:35, it's
clear that things are gonna get wild. There's a brief
moment of tension at 1:48 when an argument over the
ownership of an open beer bottle begins at the back of
the room, but that's masterfully broken up at 2:00 by
a bunny who can do somersaults while making balloon
animals. Amazing!
By 2:12, everyone is too busy dancing to have any
cares in the world. Even the growing sensation of
awkward drunken-ness can't spoil one heck of party.
6: Insane Logic
For the duration of this piece, Otso takes us on a
calm evening's boat ride. The city is beautiful, even
if it is well below freezing. The waves carry us away
in introspection.
On this track, we can hear numerous examples of the
way that Otso gives detailed life to what could easily
have been static pads and piano tones. Each timbre is
alive at the micro-level, spreading overtone coloring
out from the fundamentals like expanding
fractals. We've also heard an astounding variety of
vocal timbres so far on the disc, always fitting in
perfectly with the otherworldly sounds that surround
them. This track is an incredible tone painting that
shows the depth of Otso's skill at programming organic
and personalized sounds.
7: Praise
Squelchy drums, foreboding female vocals, and whirring
machine noise lead me to fear another potential
conflict with a crustacean overlord, but luckily at
0:18 I realize that it's just the arrival of the
transdimensional circus, with it's stilt-walking
clowns and animal wonders. At 1:05, the
fortune-teller arrives, with an elephant procession
following not far behind.
The march is helped along at 1:14 by low vocal
phonemes, modulated by sample-and-hold, or perhaps
instead moving through a rhythmic wavetable. At 1:33,
we are giving a few seconds to take in everything
we've seen, before the circus procession begins to fan
out and circle back in elaborate patterns all around
us.
8: Beam
Yet another vocal texture welcomes us gracefully into
an ancient temple. The enormity of the wall and
statues is almost overwhelming, but there remains an
air of benevolent mystery that allows us to know that
we will remain safe within these walls. Truly, this
is a time for contemplating the many enigmas of the
universe and its hidden secrets. We settle down to
meditate at the innermost sanctum, and the world
outside fades from our perception. We have entered an
inner world of silent contemplation.
9: Warezz
(There may be an error in the indexing of the CD at
this point: the music for this track begins 5 seconds
before the track begins. A mistake? Or intentional?)
We reach now another favorite of mine. The
combination of slick sequencing and an unpredictable
series of moods is extremely attractive. As
especially with the track "Insane Logic", here we have
an incredible example of detailing in the
sound-programming at the micro-level. Even the
briefest of sounds has an inner progression of sonic
detail.
By this point on the disc, I'm finding that Otso could
do an incredible ambient album any time he wanted.
Though the overwhelming feel of this disc is one of
jaunty humor, it's mixed with a very moving degree of
innocent wonder, conveyed through an extremely
effective use of pads and sustained textures that
occasionally float to the surface -- often at totally
unexpected moments.
10: Process
Here we another breathtaking example of the exact same
sense of the wonder and enormity of surroundings that
I have admired throughout this disc. I can't deny
that tracks like this and "Beam" are the most
appealing to me, and yet they are also the hardest for
me to describe my reaction to accurately. I think
that's it's precisely because of how gripping I find
the controlled intensity of these tracks that I
experience them as more of a direct experience than
the others. And why I am therefore far less able to
(or
eager to) try and translate my direct sensory
experience into words.
There's no doubt that I have loved every track on this
disc, but it's been the least characteristically
"zany" of the tracks that I find most appealing.
Never let it be said that Ozone Player albums are
merely tongue-in-cheek. There's an incredible sense
of depth and sincerity as well.
11: A Shortcut to Nowhere
If rock did indeed die, then this track must be the
mummified remains returning to life, judging by the
sound of the undead guitar that helps kick things off.
But I spoke to soon, because then we are off on a
fantastically-sequenced chase through underground
chambers. This track is perhaps the most filmic on
the album, and would heighten any action scene that it
might accompany on film.
Throughout, we never stray too far from the basic
groove, and at the same time we never hear a retread
of anything we've heard before. Instead, things are
continually being remade anew, and every recurring
element takes on a new character.
12: Transport?!
Perhaps remembering our little drive with Wendy Carlos
through Bali, we have decided to go and listen to some
Javanese gamelan this time around. Unfortunately,
Wendy's not along to take the wheel this time. So now
we must choose the least insanely maniacal of the
local taxi drivers.
Our choice made, we settle back for a few seconds --
before realizing how fast we're being driven around
corners and through alleys. It's impressive how
people manage to jump out of the way so quickly.
Nonetheless, it would probably be good to stop here
and try a different taxi.
But each driver seems as gleefully reckless as the
last, and it all becomes a blur of sites seen only a
little too quickly to assimilate. This is a whirlwind
tour, no question about it.
At 4:04, we finally find a driver who knows how to
slow things down a little. We take shortcuts through
back alleys, and along the harbour piers. A whole
world of people takes to these darkening streets,
typically unseen by tourists. It's a whole new world
of color and activity, thrilling but never so
threatening as our earlier race through the more
obvious streets.
Here in the hidden by-ways, we have finally achieved
our goal: to be transported to a whole new world that
was previously unimaginable, and yet clearly operating
on its own untraceable logic -- possibly even outside
our own understanding, but definitely not outside our
deepest appreciation.
- D. K. Herpich
( tepmuseq@yahoo.com )