w i r e l e s s _ w i t h i n Documenting a 2002 summit meeting of Australian sound artist Philip Samartzis and three elder statesmen of Swiss electronic improv Gunter Muller, Andy Guhl and Norbert Moslang (the latter two fulfilling one of their last engagements as Voice Crack before disbanding), Wireless Within comprises an hour of needle-sharp interplay and high sonic drama. The album’s three long tracks are notable for their tightly controlled build-up of pressure, with each new intervention (be it a snatch of field recording from Samartzis, a spike of bowed cymbal feedback from Muller or a loud pop or purr from Guhl and Moslang’s ‘cracked everyday electronics’) racking up the music’s tension. The first piece “Tombac Toothless’ possesses a good deal more bite than its title suggests, despite opening on a deceptively bucolic atmosphere of early morning birdsong. The pastoral ambience is progressively disrupted by shuddering machine groans and what sounds like a swarm of robot wasps round an animal carcass. ‘Bacchus Marsh’ pits a backdrop of laptop fizz against abrasive but abstracted smears of texture and flecks of static that almost resolve themselves into a rhythm, before the track comes to an abruptly alarming halt with a screech of electronic brakes.
		The final piece ‘Bleep Block’ is more measured with a crystalline feedback drone oscillating calmly as Samartzis drops in samples of French speaking kids at play. There’s a delightful moment when, as the electronics sparkle like raindrops in the sun, a little voice pipes up “Maman, il Pleut!” But, true to form, the atmosphere darkens and the sound of slow ominous footsteps trudging through primordial sludge brings the album to a close. Though by no means an easy listen, Wireless Within has a vividly cinematic scope that could easily connect with a more mainstream audience. It’s like a soundtrack to some spooky mystery involving various unspeakable, unidentifiable acts, leaving one with the distinct feeling that sometimes it’s best not to ask too many questions. Keith MolinÈ - The Wire t r a c k l i s t : 1_   tombac_toothless     21m36s 2_   bacchus_marsh     19m29s 3_   bleep_block     16m13s