cajid 007cd
ILAND
anthea caddy & thembi soddell
ILAND is where the textural and dynamic capabilities of extended cello and sampler performance collide. Mapping spaces bordered by isolation, paranoia and dislocation, this collaboration between Australian sound artists Anthea Caddy and Thembi Soddell describes a provocative and tense sonic world. From the damp obscurity of condemned architecture to the laboratory conditions of anechoic and reverb chambers, Caddy extends the sonic capabilities of cello through a response to the distinct acoustics of the space she performs within. Combined with Soddell’s unique and expressive treatment of sonic textures and her signature approach to narrative structure through dynamic extremity, ILAND moves through a dense core of physically and psychologically contrasting formations to become a singular act of intense and cathartic sonic expression.
LISTEN
Track 3 (excerpt)
mp3 6:25 min 7,4 Mb
REVIEWS
Cyclic Defrost -
Bob Baker Fish
About twelve months ago this writer witnessed a collaboration between cellist Anthea Caddy and sound artist Thembi Soddell closing one of the nights at the Now Now improvised music Festival in Sydney. Immediately the mood of the night changed, Soddell’s dark soundscapes immersing themselves around Caddy’s textural scraping of her cello. It felt more theatrical than some of the previous performances, the lights darkened and the duo seemed to be improvising less around technique and more around mood. It was haunted house improvisation, gothic experimentalism as Caddy personified the creaking floorboards, the rising tension whilst Soddell embodied some kind mischievous yet immensely powerful presence. Iland is their subsequent release and it continues in that dark vein, immediately apparent in the dark minimal packaging, and the initial dramatic sweeps of cello and ghostly electronic accompaniment via Soddell’s sampler.
Caddy delights in torturing her cello, scraping sometimes mournfully, sometimes violently across the strings, overwhelming the listener texturally with her extended technique. Soddell utilises treated field recordings to fill the space around her and to subtly alter our experience via tonal manipulations. Of course she also not so subtly alters our experiences via her penchant for rising crescendos and abrupt ruptures as well as extended excerpts of silence. Techniques she has previously utilised to great effect on her two previous solo releases where she repeatedly explored the violence and suspense of dynamics.
Though Soddell retains control of the mixing, Caddy’s presence offers more than a textural counterpoint. The sounds the two utilise do feel incredibly enmeshed, the sense of space feels more dramatically realised and there is a certain controlled minimal aesthetic, where the two seem to be using the bare minimum range of sound and textures, which they dutifully explore before moving on to the next.
Touching Extremes
Massimo Ricci -
Anthea Caddy is a cello player who has worked with Darrin Verhagen and François Tetaz; she exploits unconventional surroundings to bring out the most hidden colours of her instrument, which she's able to transform into creatures that growl, howl and moan while looking for a far corner of their short lifespan to affirm their unpredictably menacing attitude. Thembi Soddell, here featured on sampler, uses both field recordings and abstract sounds to develop splendid textural backgrounds and surprising outbursts of unusual timbres, only to suddenly disappear leaving room to a disquieting faraway urban hush. The thirty minutes of "Iland" are highly impressive, in that the fusion of these different kinds of electroacoustic presage cracks our fake tranquillity, dragging us into an uncertain kind of awareness that doesn't admit the presence of danger but at the same time almost expects it with unpronounceable pleasure. By alternating movement and stasis, Caddy and Soddell manage to express an otherwise undefinable sense of inner connection with something that resembles the various phases of a nightmare, but one that -
The Wire
Lawrence English -
The uneasy acoustic sensations continue on /Iland/. Cellist Anthea Caddy and sampler player Thembi Soddell forge a formidable duo -
Like all of Soddell's compositions to date, the soaring dynamic shifts in volume, texture and density are the key to her strategies. A one-
Vital Weekly 550
Frans De Waard -
From down under comes this all female duet of Anthea Caddy and Thembi Soddell. Caddy plays cello. She has worked with Darrin Verhagen in the past, played at various Australian festivals and has her solo work released by Australian Computer Music Association and Liquid Architecture. Thembi Soddell plays sampler on this release. Her previous solo work, 'Instance' was also released by Cajid Media (see Vital Weekly 495). She samples the cello from Caddy, but also adds her own blend of field recordings. 'File under: Contemporay Brutality', which is of course funny, but at the same time, also the case at hand. The music by Caddy and Soddell is indeed quite contemporary classical sounding, with it's mass of cello sounds, breaking together, colliding, and with whatever sounds Soddell is adding to the mix. At the same time, it's not just brutality that is going on: there are moments of absolute silence. The dynamic range of this release is quite strong. Going from absolute nowhere to absolute anywhere. A work that requires full attention in order to unfold it's beauty. Blocks of furious classical sound are replaced by careful static sounds. References go out to Jani Christou or Xenakis. A particular strong work here. (FdW)
