End Of Daze

This duo only gets better with time. End of Daze is the third opus to come out of the Pateras/Fox collaboration. This album is short (35 minutes) but choc-kfull of exciting experimental music, and nicely sequenced into a fun yet challenging listen. This duo was always about live electro-acoustic music, and still is. Samples and glitches are digitally treated and combined on the fly to produce fast-paced pieces that stand somewhere between sound collage and digital noise music. This third CD feels even more raucous and breathless than the first two, as it offers no respite. It consists of eight tracks, most under five minutes, and the two pieces that stretch out to seven minutes are as manic as the rest. Even the album closer, "Hyperpole," after a somewhat delicate beginning, quickly builds to something harsh and eventful. The opening "Prelude" is typical Pateras/Fox: brutal, hyperactive, riveting. One thinks of the British duo Furt, who share the same maximalist take on computer-based improvisation. "You're All Answers" is a fun round of gurgling glitches, while "Rupture" develops a striking sense of drama over its seven minutes (it also features materials recorded on an ARP 2500 at WORM in Rotterdam). The duo jumps back and forth through avant-garde music history, from early electronics to '80s noise to modern Maz-MSP-based computer music, building unstoppable momentum along the track. And however challenging it may be for your eardrums, this music is fun: exhilarating, surprising, and whimsical in its own way. There is definitely no way you can stay dazed during these 35 minutes, although you might feel a little confused afterward. Highly recommended. ~ Francois Couture