Dave Seidel has released Intercosmic, a new album of electronic music featuring tracks recorded in studio and in a live performance at The Wire Factory in Lowell, MA on June 7 of this year. Over the years, Seidel’s works have exhibited a long evolution from classical drones to the present mix of industrial and synthesized electroacoustic music. Seidel has an extensive background in experimental music, beginning as a guitarist in the 1980s downtown New York minimalist scene and later performing in various festivals throughout the US.. Since 1984 he has concentrated on the composition of drone and microtonal electronic music. Seidel is based in Peterborough, New Hampshire and Intercosmic is his latest offering.

Sundering Void is the first track on the album and this begins with a deep buzzing A/C hum, as might be expected from La Monte Young. Other harmonics enter, both lower and higher with the lowest being almost a rattle. These sounds build in volume and as the piece proceeds, new sounds enter and exit, gradually changing the texture. Most of the sounds are in the lower registers and the overall effect is like that of intimidating industrial machinery. When this piece was performed live at The Wire Factory, it must have been quite a visceral experience.

Sundering Void, as part of an album with the title Intercosmic, it would seem to imply a great empty place, filled with a few spacey beeps and boops, Almost the exact opposite is true. This piece does evoke a vast cosmos, with sounds that are commensurately impressive, but their character is drawn from familiar 20th century mechanical processes. About 4 minutes in, for example, some continuous high pitches enter, like the sound of a failing wheel bearing. By 6 minutes, there is a sound like the shrieking wind. Everything sounds vaguely out of control and about to self-destruct. These are all powerful elements, but are part of a familiar sonic vocabulary that make for a more intense depiction.

Halfway through the piece, a low rumble dominates the texture and faint sounds of sirens are heard, wailing in the distance. The middle registers become great swooshes of sound and the overall feeling is unsettling. There is a sense of movement in all this, as if a great energy is being expended to travel through the inter-cosmos. This is enhanced at about 12:30 when a few spacey sounds are heard above the roar, providing a glimmer of cosmic feeling. There is little sense of direction or purpose at this point – all is consumed by a loud thunder of sounds in acknowledgment of the dynamic power needed to reach interstellar space.

By 19:00, higher pitched sounds now dominate as if we are in free fall. Perhaps the end of the journey is at hand. There is only a rough rumbling in the lowest registers. The deep sounds continue to fade away leaving just a few descending notes at the finish. Sundering Void is great ride, the more so because it speaks to us in familiar sonic language.

A Furious Calm is the second track on this album and is more harmonically centered. Seidel writes in the liner notes that this piece is: “ My version of a chaconne, an application of a bit of Henry Cowell’s ideas for rhythm… Written using a seven-note subset of a microtonal Meta-Slendro scale. Some effects are digital, but all sound sources are analog, as are some of the effects.” A Furious Calm is organized in four layers, each with its own combination of synthesizers, drones, modulators and synthetic percussion. The piece opens with a lovely drone in the middle registers as additional sustained tones enter in harmony. The overall result is warmly atmospheric and surreal. Deeper bass notes are soon heard, providing a solid lower foundation. Some percussion enters, sputtering against the main harmonic texture and adding a sense of randomness to the mix. As the piece proceeds, the sounds become fully organized, expressing a sense of purpose that borders on menace. As the dynamics build, there is a feeling of grandeur as might be experienced in the presence of a large pipe organ.

By 9:00 the texture starts to thin a bit, with higher, swirling tones heard above. The dynamics slowly decrease, implying distance. At the finish, the swirling tones dominate and then fade away. A Furious Calm is an impressive combination of raw power and delicate microtonal harmonies that combine into a wide variety of textures, organized into a series of effectively layered sounds.

Intercosmic continues to confirms Dave Seidel’s mastery of alternate tuning and electronic synthesis.

Intercosmic is available for digital download from Bandcamp.