Chris Tarry
Dylan van der Schyff
Sponge
 
 
 
 

Dylan van der Schyff, drums and samples
Chris Tarry, electric bass and tape machine
 
 
 

From a nether corner of the ambient world comes Sponge, a largely improvised and very eclectic take on the subject.  The duet has conjured up a visceral sea of sound and imagination which is sometimes calming, sometimes disturbing, sometimes both at the same time.  Don't mistake Sponge for another hypnotic, into-the-void wallpaper music CD.  Sponge is too emphatic and embodies a greater musical presence than most ambient releases, largely owing to van der Schyff's deep background in improvised and new musics and to Tarry's multifaceted experience across the musical spectrum.  24 minutes of live improvised electronics.
 

What the critics are saying;

Each of the five pieces of assertive Ambient improvisation forms a lean, concentrated soundscape. Well worth hearing…

… [A] set that can be recommended equally to hardcore devotees of Brian Eno or the cutting edge of free improv.

A drum n' bass record with a difference: bassist Chris Tarry and drummer Dylan van der Schyff put texture before rhythm and value exploration more than another predictable lope across the dance floor. Tarry's enormous tone and van der Schyff's keen ear for microscopic nuances of timbre are to the fore here in what is unapologetically an experimental record.

An eerie surge runs under the spinning ambience so suited for a darkened room and a freed mind. Builds then glutters, shrills then sprinkles.  All sound exploration of a delicate and delicious level created by men and machine interspooled and tangled within rhythmic tinctures.  My living room wall shudders and breathes when thrust into this rich tonal sphere textured by the taints of ears alerted to every aural ping among us.

Produced by Chris Tarry and Dylan van der Schyff.
Recorded and mixed April 1997 by Shawn Pierce for Maximum Music.