Being the second release from Phonophani on Norway's eminent Rune Grammofon label, Oak or Rock is an exercise in cut-up sound manipulation and sonic experimentation. Like fellow Norwegians Jazzkammer, along with the plethora of artists riding the current "noise" wave, Phonophani have assembled the usual cast of clicks, static, glitches, sine waves, and incidental ambience on this 2004 recording. It's probably safer, however, to compare Phonophani (a.k.a. Espen Sommer Eide) to the likes of Martin Tétreault, Philip Jeck and Stefan Mathieu rather than purveyors of more audacious squall like Jazzkammer, Merzbow, and Kevin Drumm. Though a decidedly electronic album, Oak or Rock features enough recognizable-as-organic samples to counterbalance the record's tense, inorganic sterility. One characteristic Phonophani's new album shares with all of these artists is the amount of demand it places on the listener. Much experimental music -- particularly the music coming out of Norway and that of the other artists on the Rune Grammofon roster -- can be quite difficult to digest, requiring as it does numerous listens to be fully appreciated. Minimal, though infinitely complex, Oak or Rock is among the better Rune Grammofon releases of the past few years.
On Phonophani's second proper album, Genetic Engineering, Eide likened the construction of music by sound manipulation to the use of genetic engineering to create new life forms or modify existing ones. The principle behind Oak or Rock appears to be roughly the same as that used on Phonophani's previous release. Microscopic snippets of sound intertwine and harmonize against each other, like a self-organizing system, folding and unfolding, breaking off each other into self-replicating mutant strains of sonic texture. At least that's how it seems when it's way past your bedtime and you're listening to the album on your headphones in the dark with the wind howling outside at 1AM. The intensity of this musical experience can actually be both mysterious and overwhelming at times.
In contrast to many of the other contemporary Scandinavian, Japanese, and American noise artists, Phonophani appear to have a predilection for classical musical composition. A keen, emotive, and subtle sense of melody permeates Oak or Rock, adding to the record a wintry, Scandinavian shimmer to that beggars comparison with Iceland's Müm and Sigur Rós. Though a typically strong release for Rune Grammofon, Oak or Rock, with its emphasis on melody vs. gratuitous abstraction, is probably more accessible than many of the other recent releases on the label. Admittedly, it takes a few listens for the music to digest, but it's a worthwhile endeavor to be sure.
1. Earth Diver
2. A Lion Lies Listening
3. The Boiling Fjords Orchestra
4. Blind Birds of the Antarctic
5 Take Off You Wooden Coat
6. Cloudberry
7. The Melancholic Giant
8. Animals
9. You Must Welcome the Stranger
10. Oak or Rock