ORDINARY MACHINERY: “Stand While Fields Pass” c20 (Three Songs of Lenin)


I’m not particularly well-versed when it comes to field recordings. In fact, this is probably the first one I’ve listened to where any part isn’t prefaced by “do you know what animal makes this sound?”. Nonetheless, Scott “Work/Death” Reber makes this one a memorable listen. The only notes included within are “recorded while others slept, at work under highways, near electricity, and refrigeration”. Apparently, Scott has been working third shift for the last few years and, combining said sounds of car tires bumping, water dripping, and white noise buzzes, he totally expemplifies that feeling of dancing around the border into late night mania when left to one’s own devices. Sometimes harsh, but always ambient, you’re left almost nervous when the tape clicks off and the hum disappears, like the silence of a power outage. This isn’t his frist endeavor into “found sound” editing but, without downplaying his other releases, I found this to be surprisingly dynamic and probably my favorite thing I’ve heard from him thus far.
Comes in Scott’s signature packaging style of Crass fonts and neutral 2-color screenprint insert.

PO Box 29680
Prov., RI 02909