Marcus Fischer Monocoastal
Posted On: November 9, 2010
Posted In: 12k Recordings, Competition, Josh Atkin, MapMap, Marcus Fischer, Marcus Fischer - Monocoastal, Monocoastal, Taylor Deupree
Comments: One Response
Monocoastal is the latest release from label 12k, and comes courtesy of sound artist Marcus Fischer. A multimedia performer who sometimes performs as map~map or part of the duo Unrecognizable Now, Fischer's music is built on a predominant use of guitar, combined with analogue processing and found sounds. In keeping with the recent trend of 12k outputs, Monocoastal explores music inspired by the aquatic world, and through his travelling across the Pacific coast, Fischer provides his listeners with a unique insight into the ocean and the surrounding nature that lies to the west of North America.
An album that is best experienced in its entirety, Monocoastal builds itself through subtle sound references that intertwine with minimalist guitar play. Often it is these light auditory sketches, such as hints of tape noise or the faint ringing of a bell that go some way to creating an expansive atmosphere rich with images of an effervescent surf and the sense of a lonely sea breeze. This is clear from the start where album opener 'Wave Atlas' utilises glitches, clicks and fuzzes of noise to conjure a sense of water colliding with land. Indeed it is the thought of spume, that foamy mix of sea water in the wake of a crashing wave that one imagines throughout. This is continued on tracks like 'Monacostal 1' where ethereal sound processes merge with field recordings while a slow moving guitar plays on top. Here one imagines both the tranquillity of the coast as well as the respiratory quality of an ebbing and flowing tide.
