phil julian: trace

Phil Julian is a UK-based sound artist, composer, and improviser active since the late 1990s, with a prolific output under both his Cheapmachines alias and his own name. His work encompasses sonic textures ranging from harsh squalls of noise to hyper-minimalistic timbres and drones. Studio recordings and live performances within Europe and North America have focused on the use of electronics, particularly unstable and/or chaotic systems, e.g. modular synthesizers, feedback, contact microphones, objects and surfaces, and computer-based works. Julian recorded TRACE at Elektronmusikstudion in Stockholm during his Guest Composer residency in 2013. Using a combination of EMS's vintage analog equipment and various computer processes, Julian recorded and mixed the material on TRACE specifically for diffusion over the Audiorama 17.4 surround sound system, custom built and installed inside the decommissioned torpedo workshop on Stockholm's island of Skeppsholmen. "Open Form," which takes up the A side of the release, is made up of much shorter pieces recorded over the two week residency. "Corona" is an improvised piece using only analog electronics and "Arrival" uses a custom computer patch alongside a complex set of processes running on the huge EMS Buchla synthesizer. The recordings combine the dynamics and space associated with modern composition and electroacoustic works with the density and abrasive qualities more often encountered in noise and contemporary computer music. Sleeve photography by Eddie Nuttall. Mastered by Joe Panzner.