For the most part, tangible, arranged items eventually need rearrangement. Cards are reshuffled. Unused spices get pushed to the back of the cupboard. Shoes are taken off, placed by the door, and put back on again. The rug gets ruffled, then adjusted.
Now, a record is tangible in the sense that you can hold it, but it’s contents are trickier. They need to be gutted before a new alignment can form. A record’s rearrangement isn’t derived from a necessary need to keep order, either. It’s a personal, conscious choice.
After mining street vendor bins and second hand store shelves, Sumbu Dunia ( a.k.a. Rui Nogueiro) made the choice to rearrange the sounds cut into the black wax of the forgotten 45s he found. With time and refinement, an ephemeral fixation was gleaned out of the records. Sunlight tipped the needle into new grooves, the rpm dial was flipped from 45 to 33, and raw loops were left unprocessed.
Below, you will find the outcome of his efforts, which are brilliantly restrained and enjoyable. If you’re a geek like me for music like this, go ahead and grab the entirety of Oude Rijn, because the download also includes photos of the original sample sources’ sleeves.
And here’s a little pointless bonus fact for you: I played this at work the other day, and one co-worker said, “This sounds like ‘Under the Sea’ slowed down”, while another asked, “What the hell is this?” Pretty good feedback, I’d say.
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