“…if [The Ex] can be meaningfully described as in some sense a ‘noise’ band, then theirs is distinctly a haptic noise.
“Far from the spatialised, seemingly dynamic, mobile, almost visual kind of noise which extends equally from Stockhausen and GRM...

“…if [The Ex] can be meaningfully described as in some sense a ‘noise’ band, then theirs is distinctly a haptic noise.

“Far from the spatialised, seemingly dynamic, mobile, almost visual kind of noise which extends equally from Stockhausen and GRM acousmaticians like Francois Bayle to contemporary 3D sound manipulators as diverse as Monolake and Chris Watson; equally distinct from the pungent, mustily olfactory noise of the various projects by James Kirby, whether under the moniker of The Caretaker or V/VM; the sound of The Ex calls forth to and seeks to engage with one’s sense of touch. Not only is their performance onstage at all times highly physical, but as listeners we find our physical sensations engaged. In seeking to describe the sounds we hear, we immediately reach for haptic descriptors: it is rough, textural, grainy.…”

Read the rest of my piece on The Ex in Paris at The Quietus.

01/18/13 at 1:52pm