Alike Untils by Ben Zucker

Ben Zucker's latest solo project brings together several threads in his varied and prolific output into a dynamic flow of vibraphone-powered electroacoustic intensity.

The centerpiece of the album, "Aloier-Abyme," comes from a single-take session in Zucker's home studio with an interactive software setup listening to pitch and volume to shape cascading feedback and resampling, creating an ever-evolving field of sound surrounding and augmenting the architectural precision of the live performance. The music ricochets from rhythmic patterns across registers to narrow, unstable drones, ready to re-erupt at a moment's notice through the collaboration of human and machine improvisation.

The bookend tracks, crafted out of other performances using the same setup, reveal another side of this volatile, crystalline system. Soft, insistent repetitions undergird layers of samples reconciling shifting drone and explosive glitch that fold together into collages straddling mystery and organic inevitability.

Zucker's previous albums have highlighted their expertise an in-demand improviser around Chicago, as well as an immersive proclivity in sound design and ambient music informed by years of work in contemporary composition and theater. Until Alikes represents an exciting new direction for Zucker's constantly shifting artistry.

"Between thought and expression, lies a lifetime"

(Velvet Underground)

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