VA: SMM Vol. 2
Ghostly

Christopher Willits, Lusine, and Cepia bring forth Ghostly's experimental side on this second volume in the label's ambient series. Those familiar with Pollen may be startled by the broad stylistic range of Willits' sixteen-minute marvel “Breathe (in seven sections),” not to mention the explicit adoptation of Robert Fripp's razor tone. The piece moves from opening flutter into dreamy passages where clicking patterns glide over billowing clouds to labyrinthine episodes of rapid-fire skitter. Included as a bonus track on the CD version of Serial Hodgepodge, snuffling surges of static and cello bowings dominate Lusine's “Payne's Gray” while Cepia's pieces include a jittery, bass-plummeting gamelan workout (“Sqr Exp”) and starburst ambience (“Ramp”). SMM Vol. 2 is more ethereal in spirit than the initial outing but just as satisfying.

December 2004