The picture and pattern is beginning to take shape now. The press release that accompanies Rick Senley’s third release as Music For Voyeurs talks of a very personal journey: ‘after the mental chaos of depression came the soothing touch of tablets and the previous album, ‘The Long Sleep’; serotonin nurses in silver foil, hibernation and recuperation with a glimpse of something on the other side, understanding and change...’
Amalgamating ambient passages with samplism, industrial-techno and crazy mash-ups, Music For Voyeurs reflects the dark soul of Rick Senley and while previous excursions have alluded to the contents of his troubled mind in a creative context, ‘The Curtains are Opening’ bears the hallmarks of a work that’s immensely cathartic, a therapeutic artistic exorcism as much as a musical exploration. It also makes for a listening experience that’s at times challenging, but entirely rewarding.
A gently spiralling ambient synth drifts cloudlike and it would appear that all is well until a dirty overloading guitar cuts through and darkens the atmosphere considerably. And so goes the bleakly-titled ‘I’ve Given Up On Everything’ which opens the album.
‘55 And From Wales’ compiles recorded snippets of profiles from dating sites over a delicate ambient track. Listening to the recordings and messages of so many lonely single individuals is actually pretty grim after a time, the popularity of dating agencies in all their forms a reflection on our society’s isolating tendencies. Obtaining this insight in this manner does feel strangely voyeuristic in itself.
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Elsewhere, Senley slices up sound and fragments of life to brain-bending effect: grating guitar bursts and fractured vocal snippets, myriad samples and dolorous piano collide with droney synths and mellow vibe-outs, thumping beats, harmonica breaks and myriad random bits and pieces.
The sountrack to a segment of a life, ‘The Curtains Are Opening’ is without doubt the most uplifted and uplifting MFV album to date, and is a textured, intelligent sonic collage that tantalises and stimulates the parts other audio cut-ups rarely reach.
Music For Voyeurs Online
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