Coming in an exquisitely designed dvd case, this single track, 38-minute work is the result of the mail collaboration of US musician Adam Sonderberg (of Dropp Ensemble and Civil War fame) and UK drone expert Paul Bradley, which should be well known to ChainDLK readers by now. Not much information is given on how the project developed, except that the former sent sound sources which were altered and mixed by the latter. Once again (as heard on his works with Darren Tate and Monos), Bradley reveals his amazing ability and taste for flowing, detailed soundscapes. As suggested by the title, "Anoxia" is a brooding, sombre experience. The initial sources (guitars? strings? field recordings?) are stretched and manipulated into fibres, shades, drops of sounds: any detail is widened until it becomes blurred and unrecognizable. As the piece progresses, the deep reverberating drones make it sound more and more like a dirge. Think of Mirror's hypnotic live sets and turn the already scarce light out.

UK artist David Wells is quite a newcomer, with only a 3" cdr on The Locus of Assemblage which I haven't listened to yet, but his contribution to the Drone Works series is a very successful and mature one. Unlike most of his predecessors, who opted for a slowly (often painfully slowly) evolving track, Wells juxtaposes different movements and atmospheres, in a sort of oneiric gallery. The menacing start, with massive, buzzing metallic drones, gives way to more suspended fragments (à la Monos/Mirror), leading to the serene ending of far-away seashore sounds. Definitely a name to keep a look out for, especially for his forthcoming collaboration with Paul Bradley.

Limited to 200 signed copies, this pro-replicated cdr shows how the alchemy between these two frequent collaborators works at its best even in a difficult situation for drone/minimal sounds like a live performance. The two lengthy tracks document the concerts of 21st October and 18th November 2004, and, while being as refined and cohesive as a studio work, they show a more open and "psychedelic" side of the Potter-Bradley partnership, closer, say, to Monos' wanderings than to the oppresiveness of "Confluence". Using the usual array of (my guess) treated guitars, synths, softwares and field recordings, they weave shifting, suspended soundscapes, at times so static that they lull you in a state of ecstatic concentration, then suddenly waking you up with the urgency of an epiphany.

Another fine 3" on Wallace and it's again visceral music. While musicwise Tangatamanu reminds "new age/ambient" music much more than "isolationism", the use of repetitive patterns has the same discipline of the Claudio Rocchetti's works. Tangatamanu reminds of Morton Feldman, Can, Popol Vuh (above all their works for Herzog's movies), Cornelius Cardew, just to name a few, but there's also a big minimalist feeling haunting the ten tracks of this mcd. Reading the list of the instruments (Prepared piano, guitar effects, bamboo flutes, seashells, percussions, flautos de barro, electronics) you can get the idea the "seventies-sensation" is there and it's true, but thanks to god it's not an useless "kraut-freak-wonnabe". To complete the picture of this cd consider it consists in the music for two installations realized by Studio Azzurro: therefore if you're into contemporary art maybe you know what to expect. Sit down, relax and read your old zen meditation manual this could be the soundtrack.

Australian musician Darrin Verhagen has been around for a while (also with his remarkable label Dorobo), but I admit this is my first exposure to Shinjuku Thief, and it's been totally different from what I expected. Coming in a really beautiful layout based on pictures of flames against a black background, "Sacred Fury" does live up to its name: this is a heavy, bombastic work. The amazingly crisp and vivid sound quality gives a surround feel to the massive orchestration of explosions, cries, electronic noises, quasi-chamber interludes and tribal percussions. Though carefully dosed, the strictly musical element is almost swept away by the all-out conflict around. With its sense of urgency and panic, this easily puts most "miltary industrial" records to shame.