Che Chen, also of Locust Music heavyweights True Primes, is taking the lonesome road with his violin in hand, seeing where five minutes with his instrument takes him. On Side A, the results of his inner quest are intriguing but less than fulfilling; the flip seems a little less flip to me, or to be blunt, there’s more going on: sound waves are ricocheting off each other and lots of loops co-mingle while retaining their space in the composition. A gorgeous, plodding procession is the pay-off, rife with little bursts and pops adding exclamation points to an otherwise steady ride. The subtleties make all the difference. While I never cottoned to that True Primes LP, Chen is staking out some innovative territory through the solo work offered here/hear. (There’s also a CD included with a much longer piece entitled “Black Mayonnaise,” which makes me think of the cool band on Fedora Corpse.) Never hurts to check back in, I guess.
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