Timeslips & Chimeras

by Tangents

Overview

Australian group Tangents have continually tightened their approach to rhythmic improvisation, with each successive release sounding more natural without fitting into any categories or conventions. Timeslips & Chimeras is a double album that displays the group's gift for spontaneous creation as well as their post-production studio creativity. Originally released digitally in 2020, the first half, Timeslips, was mainly recorded in a single day, and is more closely based on improvisations. The individual tracks seem too focused to be excerpts cut from an endless jam session, but there's nothing rigid about them, and they flow in unpredictable ways. "Vessel" is an early standout, with a shimmering Rhodes melody recurring like a flash of a poignant memory, and Nick Calligeros' distant trumpet playing lighting up the night sky in the background. "Old Organs" is a prime example of how Tangents dissolve boundaries between synthetic and organic instrumentation, with intricate, raindrop-like beat patterns similar to the grey-area drum'n'bass of producers like ASC and Sam KDC, later joined by propulsive live drumming. "Debris" is slower and uneasier, with much heavier layers of guitar noise recalling Mogwai at their most imposing, pushing into full force by the track's end. While Timeslips is already quite technology-forward, second part Chimeras is more deconstructive, with more post-production effects and overdubs. Tracks like "Lilliputian" and "Timeslip" are murkier and less stable than some of the band's other pieces, and "Lost Track" has more broken electronic beats while maintaining a jazzy sophistication. "Chimera" is more of a tense ambient study in which a stately drum beat and solemn violin and piano eventually emerge. The double album compellingly demonstrates how Tangents create their own distinctive musical language, then rewrite it as they go along. ~ Paul Simpson

Product Details

Release Date:	11/12/2021
Label:	Temporary Residence
UPC:	0656605336510
Rank:	145830

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tangents   Primary Artist
Sia Ahmad   Synthesizer,Percussion,Guitar
Nick Calligeros   Trumpet
Adrian Klumpes   Organ,Piano,Mallets,Percussion,Synthesizer,Fender Rhodes,Prepared Piano
Ollie Bown   Synthesizer
Peter Hollo   Cello
Evan Dorrian   Drums,Voices,Percussion

Technical Credits

Ollie Bown   Software,Group Member,Field Recording
Sia Ahmad   Arranger
Tangents   Additional Production,Arranger,Composer,Recording
Bob Weston   Mastering
Adrian Klumpes   Effects,Group Member
Richard Belkner   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Jeremy DeVine   Design
Britt Hiatzus   Artwork
Peter Hollo   Effects,Group Member
Evan Dorrian   Group Member