What sound does a .JPEG make when undergoing lossy compression? Does it shed its pixels like a fungus releasing spores? Does its orphaned data hover through the air like dust particles in a sunbeam? KOOL WHP’s particulate brand of free jazz is a cupped ear to the wall of this hidden world of digital transmissions, a Discovery Channel documentary that travels deep into the guts of a laptop. Tumbling bits of fleshy kalimba careen through arterial rivers of grainy synthesizer on opener “Conversation Piece.” Low-res images are cropped, stretched and digested in “Whirled Piece.” “Phone Piece” records an OGG file’s gnarled mating calls. Listening to this trio’s newest record, peAce, is like staring into the cross section of an ant farm — it’s the sensation of unfathomable activity on a minuscule scale. It is a primal simulation of nature itself.
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