*200 copies limited edition* Elevator Bath is elated to announce "Sleep room", the electrifying new album from Alex Keller. This marks Keller's return to the label following his exquisite collaborative LP with Sean O'Neill and top-notch mastering work for releases by Adam Pacione and Thomas Bey William Bailey. His first solo album in nearly a decade (since 2015's ingenious "Black out"), "Sleep room" is a work of singular magnetism and well worth the wait. Sources for these recordings include decommissioned computer server, vintage ECG POTS, modem/network router, non-functioning laptop, UV light insect trap, LED lights, power supplies, urban bus, commuter trains, homemade electromagnetic oscillators, stun gun, homemade Jacob's ladder, and vintage vacuum cleaner. All pieces (excluding the title track) are based on real-time studio improvisations, made with multiple homemade electromagnetic transducers often attached to gloves, as well as commercial electromagnetic microphones.
This uniquely peculiar array of both instrumentation and technique is nothing if not fascinating, and as a final product, "Sleep room" easily lives up to this intrigue. Though the album is utterly distinctive in its methodology, it is first and foremost a meticulously rendered, expertly produced collection of abstract sound art. Jolts of static and bursts of white noise collide with buzzing tones and distant drones; throbbing electrical pulses join with natural resonances and vibrations, fully utilizing the stereo field and frequency spectra. The album is also a highly individual statement with every facet of its creation bearing Keller's stamp: instrument building, recording, mixing, mastering, as well as cover art and photography were all performed by the artist.
In other words, "Sleep room" simply resembles no one else's work. This album is the culmination of Keller's uncompromising creative integrity wedded to a total commitment to process. The results speak for themselves. Among so much rather pedestrian material which passes for experimental music in recent years, "Sleep room" stands out and stands tall as a challenging and sophisticated work, as satisfying as it is anomalous.
