Joshua Dippold
Two-Bit Arguments (Rehearsals I & II)

Toktela
...And Who Keeps Moving The Moon

This is the fourth in the series of split releases on Cohort Records. It opens with a cut and glitch study by Joshua Dippold entitled 'Two-bit Argument (Rehearsals I & II)'. The piece is over thirty minutes long and treats the listener to an engaging journey through the granularisation of speech and other (usually) familiar sounds. With the processed speech sections acting as an anchor throughout the composition, Dippold's eclectic approach acquires a framework that keeps the opus interesting. Unlike many compositions of this type, 'Two-bit Argument (Rehearsals I & II)' doesn't come across as random. There is a healthy application of method to the madness here. The interaction of the vocal passages with the other events is very well constructed. The speech samples are drawn from a wide variety of sources. Some quite surprising. Some so obscured that they hardly resemble speech at all.

'...and Who Keeps moving the Moon', Toktela's contribution to this set, is a a thirty minute plus study in dark ambience. Processed field recordings? There's plenty to listen to here. The piece is built on a subsonic drone with lots of depth and weight. Cozy. Ambient and not at all static. Epic in a way. There's a plan here and the listener can hear it unfolding. Very, very enjoyable. I wish I had more information on Toktela. I'll make it a point to gather some for the next review as i'm certain we have yet to hear the last of Toktela.

JPW