Sound artist Marc Richter’s self-titled release as Black to Comm certainly earned a spot on my personal best-of list for 2014, and what I find most appealing about that album is the fact that weirdness and calm act in concert, which is a difficult feat to pull off if you’re occupying a sub-genre that excels at keeping things pretty much aurally-static. The track “Is Nowhere” stands out as probably the most typical of the eight; but even there, electric pulses intersperse, and what sounds like a person’s inability to play oboe ends things on an intriguingly off-key note. Keeping things interesting is more than just a cliché! Black To Comm lives to dull-ify fireworks and volcanic eruptions!
Fortunately, his musical appeal isn’t all that niche, because otherwise, Thrill Jockey wouldn’t have recently seen it fit to sign the Hamburg-based artist and order at least one new album scheduled for release…in “early 2019.” (His former home, Type Records, previously seemed like a natural fit; perhaps Thrill Jockey is trying to beef up their non-rock reputation? Ohhhhhh man, what have you crazy Chicagoans done!?)
We don’t know much info as of yet beyond the announcement of the signing, but if you (like me) can’t wait to hear the totally chill-yet-somehow-exciting fruits of this budding relationship, here’s a full-album throwback in the meantime: