Fred Lonberg-Holm/Abdul Moimeme/Carlos Santos | Transition Zone
(Creative Sources Recordings)
The dramatic potential of so-called electro-acoustic improvisation lies in its intransigent hybridity, its capacity for inventing enigmatic, untranscribable, electronically enhanced sonic structures never before heard, for which such considerations like a steady beat, hummable melodies—much less conventional musicological matters like “functional harmony,” etc.—seem hopelessly quaint. Cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, electric guitarist Abdul Moimeme, and computer synthesist Carlos Santos skillfully utilize EAI to realize bewildering, adventurous, and remarkably diverse settings on Transition Zone, a title that ultimately defines less a location than a mission statement for music that traverses endlessly redefined spaces in unceasing flux.
The opening track, “Whirr,” hurls a listener into a vortex of turbulent, ayahuasca-vivid timbral bedlam, giving way to a bouquet of fed-back drones that eventually reveal an altered bass cadence that sounds like a subwoofer-ed trap beat heard from a dozen blocks—or dimensions—away. “Hushed” continues this exploration of layered fields of tone color, all problematized by digital blips and serrated scratches. Yet there’s also real, if paranormal, beauty to be heard throughout: The aptly named “Tumultuous,” for example, concludes with a quiescent major third. The trio’s focus on voltaic ensemble expression over ripping solos results in a certain musical synesthesia, where it’s hard to tell which artist is making what sound—that said, there’s often something comparatively homespun under the circumstances in Kingston-based Lonberg-Holm’s often unmistakable harsh, distorted arco textures. Rich, strange, and without a dull moment, Transition Zone is one of the finest new recordings I’ve heard in 2022.
