In a way, Exalge, the new album from synthesist, composer, and improviser Matthew Ryals, is a fascinating and uncomplicated way to dive into the artist’s works. A totally improvisational live recording at a venue of the same name in Milan, Exalge is a direct, unvarnished sonic landscape, a real-time performance of the modular synthesizer, divided into five tracks. Collaborating with Ryals on three of those five tracks – on viola and effects – is Italian musician Federica Furlani, also known as effe effe.
Ryals performs the first two tracks by himself. The dynamic “Knots” begins the record with jittery, percussive notes and blasts of electronic noise. The track’s loud, anarchic middle section is a sign of things to come, but “Surface Tension” dials up the subtlety with more (primarily) low-key soundscapes.
The album’s possibilities are ripped wide open with “Ancient Crimes”, a magnificent beast of a track, sparse noise tumbling into cavernous echoes. Once effe effe enters the song, it takes on a whole new dimension, as her viola, both mournful and urgent, is an eloquent accompaniment to Ryals’ mysterious ruckus. “Limb-Loosener” is somewhat tentative and vulnerable, Ryals’ synths and effe effe’s viola going head-to-head in a sort of cosmic duel.
The sounds are expanded even further as “Transducing the Soil” incorporates new tonal possibilities, accompanied by what sounds like a Fender Rhodes. The gentle path the song travels, in addition to its psychedelic underpinnings, has a strong Miles Davis fusion vibe – think In a Silent Way filtered through modular synths, but even wilder. Those who invest in the vinyl will be greatly rewarded with a bonus track. “Crosstalk” is a wild ride, a studio recording created months before the Milan performance. Ryals is in a playful mood here, pitting various squawks and bits of distortion against each other.
The discography Matthew Ryals has built up over the years (more recently, his Generative Etudes series) is a showcase for his wild explorations into the world of modular synthesizers. By collaborating with a fellow improviser and performing it on stage for an audience, he has once again expanded the possibilities of experimentation and improvisation.
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