Co-Process by Suss Müsik

This album is a collection of live improvisations played on grain synthesizers, using audio scans of work by visual artist B.G. Madden. Madden had this to say about the album's contents:

"I've always been a fan of Richard Serra. Always in the back of my mind, an obvious relationship to ultra-black graphite. The weight, simply and relentlessly there. 
 
"A buddy recently turned me on to Japanese architect Tadeo Ando. He takes Le Corbusier's brute aesthetic and materials and transforms them into a delicate study of ever-shifting light. I met up with friends over the holiday break and they were just back from visiting Ando's work in Naoshima, Japan.. The idea was presented that it would be amazing to see Serra's work in such an environment. The idea stuck with me.
 
"With my latest round of work I am trying to create the imaginary experience of such a mash-up, Serra and Ando.  In my studio I've written in big bold letters 'NOT AN ILLUSTRATION.' The goal is to create the imaginary experience. I'm satisfied with the initial pieces and I'm glad I shared them because...damn if Suss Müsik didn't create the soundtrack for the experience.
 
"My music terminology is weak but here goes: I hear two opposing, dissonant forces: one in the high register; one lower. Dissonant and opposing, yes, but also complimentary in an oblique and non-obvious (counterintuitive yet seductive) manner.  Is this not the soundtrack for the Serra/Ando experience?  Taken further, the clicks, bleeps, static very much captures the texture and surfaces each artist employs.

"What immediately captures me is a relentless pulse which brought to mind surf crashing against an island—the way that surf can be heard all over the island—and if not consciously heard, felt in one's core. It is relentlessly 'there,' the same way as in Serra's work. 

"I don’t understand how music is constructed, specifically what would make certain sounds sound 'Asian' or 'Japanese.' I believe I have heard that much traditional Asian music is not built on an octave scale. Maybe I was projecting, but I thought I heard something "Japanese" in the structure of the music.  Then the choral part came in and it sounded very much like Japanese school children. Was I tripping?

"I keep returning to an imaginary experience of Richard Serra's work at Tadeo Ando's museum in Naoshima, Japan. When listening to these tracks, I am transported to an island in the Pacific where Naoshima is located. I hear the rhythm of the surf. I feel the breeze and am dazzled by the shifting light.

"I don't see images when I listen to the tracks. And that makes it the perfect soundtrack for Serra/Ando. Neither artist is image oriented. Some sculptors are. Some architects are. Neither of these guys are. Their work is much more process oriented in development and is meant to be viewed by moving through them, in and around, so that one’s perspective is constantly changing. And over time, the light changes and enhances the experience. My 2D sculptures create a paradox that I accept. They challenge the viewer to see them as more than images, though that is how they are presented.  

"This music, as complimentary data, adds time, color and movement—all key elements for the Serra/Ando experience. This body of music also, to me, seems to require a similar frame of mind, or approach, when being experienced. There is something subtle happening at the very edge of perception which rewards those who are still and patient enough to look and listen for it."

~B.G. Madden, visual artist

Suss Müsik creates post-classical ambient minimalism for crepuscular airports, using handmade electroacoustic instrumentation that frequently malfunctions.

sussmusik.com