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LP
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GREYFADE 006LP
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The sophomore release from vocalist Theo Bleckmann and electronic musician and producer Joseph Branciforte, LP2 is a follow-up, companion piece, and elegant evolution of the shared musical language first developed on the duo's debut, 2019's LP1. Branciforte and Bleckmann return with a meticulously crafted album of even greater scope and complexity, further dissolving the boundaries between improvisation and composition, live performance and studio production, human and machine-generated sound. The first sound one hears when putting the needle down on LP2 -- a granular skein embroidered with the barest silhouette of a melody -- is a moment typical of the collaboration between Theo Bleckmann and Joseph Branciforte: one is never quite sure where the human ends and the operations of machines begin. The album, in its concentrated 42 minutes, proves that the palpable sonic chemistry heard on Bleckmann and Branciforte's debut was no fluke. The duo has built on LP1's successes -- alloying Bleckmann's otherworldly vocals with Branciforte's extended electronic palette and obsessively detailed production -- but they have also broken new ground in both textural invention and compositional scope. Whereas LP1 was recorded spontaneously -- with no premeditation and minimal post-production -- the sessions for LP2 proceeded somewhat differently. The pair also allowed themselves the use of studio overdubbing, occasionally adding additional instrumentation to their improvisations after the fact. One hears fleeting moments throughout the album when the dream logic of free improvisation and the premeditated nature of orchestration converge: a vibraphone doubling a meandering vocal line, or a stack of voices outlining an intricate chord progression. These moments reveal the duo's willingness to experiment with structure and form, while maintaining the spontaneity that made their first album so compelling. LP1 and LP2 also serve as fitting bookends to the Greyfade label's inaugural series of releases.
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