TO:80 - Eleh "Location Momentum"
CD - 5 tracks - 60m 28s
(not available for download)
6-panel digipak
Artwork & Photography by Jon Wozencroft
Track listing:
1. HeleneleH
2. Linear to Circular/Vertical Axis
3. Circle One: Summer Transcience
4. Observation Wheel
5. Rotational Change for Windmill
Eleh has been an enigma since the first record under that name was released in 2006. In numbered editions with letterpressed sleeves, usually on Important Records from the U.S.A., these vinyl-only releases were evidently a labour of love and attention. Further recordings have been released on the labels Taiga and Touch, making 11 vinyl editions in all.
Eleh began as long ago as 1999 as an exploration of analog synthesis, emphasising low frequency oscillation and resonant acoustic phenomenae. Eleh highlights the physical presence of sound as it has been inspired by the physical world. There is also something ‘cathedral-like’ and cosmos-inducing in the sound built.
Following the recent 12” release, “Observations and Momentum”, Eleh has chosen to release the first digital recordings on Touch – 'Location Momentum' is a set of five new recordings which will be made openly available on CD.
"The stuff that Eleh sets in motion from whatever electronic sound generators he/she deploys represents a measured and methodical paring away of all that might appear superfluous, baroque and rococo. Each of the tracks here consists of just a handful and discrete (and discreet) but highly charged sound events that emerge, overlap, recede and reverberate at critical frequencies over extended durations. At certain crucial points this approach serves as a formula for opening a portal what David Toop has referred to as the dark void, that spectral realm magicked into being (or exposed by) the drone, in which audio apparitions and chimeras dance through smoke and mirrors, suggesting the existence of occult planes and dimensions, multiple other realities, worlds within worlds." (Tony Herrington in The Wire)
Reviews:
Earlabs (Netherlands):
9/10
First appearance on cd by the mysterious Eleh. Pure minimal drones as pure as they can get.
At this moment it is one of the biggest questions in the experimental music scene: who is ELEH. In these times of internet it might be a big wonder how someone can keep his or her identity so secret. Though, to some this might not sound as something weird, but after the releases Eleh has brought so far it is a strange thing. They have left such an impression, even while being quite limited. Eleh delivers a excursion through the world of the drone music, but not like most would expect. Not it is an excursion back the essence of the drone. Sine tones, square waves, in and out phase. Very little dynamic progression. True minimal drone music. For its first cd Location Momentum 5 pieces with a total of 60 minutes are generated.
The first piece Heleneleh is what we could expect: minimal changing drones of very clean sounds. With phasing pulses a piece is created which shows very slow frequency changing that at first it doesn't even occur. It works on a hypnotizing way dragging you in. Just a few times a more sudden change occurs where the pitch is changed a huge amount (for this kind of music). In this first 20 minutes you know exactly what Eleh stands for: minimalism. The pure essence of the drone. As the name might suggest, you do not get a palindrome, not this has no returning patters (neither backwards). The second piece is a relatively short one. With only 2:34 minutes Linear To Circular/Vertical Axis is the shortest piece on the album, but not only because of length a strange one. Here we don't hear any drones. No instead this is a filtered pulsating sound. It shows very little difference, though again when you listen carefully you can find some strange frequency changes in it.
As it seems this is a marking point, because in Circle One: Summer Transcience things start out with a high pitched tone. At first you might wonder does this change, but slowly from the deepest levels a low rumbling drone appears. Like an amoeba it embraces the high pitched sine tone to fully take over. Loud pulses of low sine tones start to mess with your mind, while yet another high pitched sound is added. This piece seems to work with a-tonality and dissonance. This piece shows much progression of the sound. Like a wave the bass also moves away again and we are left with the high tones. For the first we also seem to hear sounds that are not as clean. There appears a rumble out of nowhere which slowly leads us to the end of the piece.
The fourth track Observation Wheel is again a slightly richer piece. Still a very slow development, but this time with more sounds. Also on this piece we hear a very heavy drone created from low sine pulses, but there is also room for hiss that switches on and off. With slow frequency shifts and phasing patterns an impressive scenery is created. Again a minimal but powerful piece showing us the how a pure drone piece should sound.
The album finishes with Rotational Change For Windmill, a piece that starts out really nasty with high pitched pulses. When the bass really kicks-in things go crazy. The whole house is shaking on its foundations. The pitched up sound is slowed down and slowly starts to clip. With such small detail things change that at first you barely notice it. This track really works on the psychics. A good finish for this album.
This first CD release by Eleh shows us how pure the drone can be again. With all the references to the early drone music, it is still a very refreshing release. Maybe it is not for everyone, but for those who have a warm heart for the drone this is an essential release.
Highly recommended. [Sietse van Erve]
Tofaki (Germany):
Fascinating Torture: Primeval resonance and undiluted sound.
As little kids, we would compete by inventing the cruelest way of torturing someone. I had made a pretty strong impression with the idea of sticking needles underneath a person's fingernails and then slowly turning them in various angles, something I'd actually read about in the newspaper. A friend of mine suggested dropping a man into a bathtub filled with leeches, a technique employed by the Vietcong. To our surprise, it was however an angelic-looking, curly-haired girl in a light-blue dress from around the block, who came up with the most gruesome, horrific and utterly nauseating suggestion: Slash the guy's eyelids off, tie him up and then expose his eyes to the burning sun in the middle of the desert. The idea of red-hot heat burning its way through someone's nerves impressed us a great deal and it made us shudder to think of how the sad subject of this terrifying treatment would never see anything in his whole life but a blazing corona of light as it indelibly imprinted itself on his retina. Feminist aspects of the story aside, I was reminded of this little episode after listening to “Location Momentum", Eleh's first CD-length album-release after a string of micro-volume solo- and split-projects: For just like a visual artifact manifesting itself in your field of vision during a migraine attack some of these insanely intense pieces appear more like surreal sensory singularities than linear compositions.
It is this almost painful intensity, too, which makes the often-quoted trivia of Eleh moving away from the Vinyl-format here seem rather irrelevant. Even though it may, technically, still be possible to compress this music into MP3-files, listen to it on headphones or to spin it in the background while reading your emails, it will always seemed misplaced when not awarded your full attention. Where others regard music as a soundtrack to modern life, “Location Momentum" is nothing but primeval resonance and undiluted sound, demanding to be appreciated with your eyes, ears and emotions and teasing your tongue like a dish of strong, mossy truffles. It is absolute like few other albums have been over the past few months, aware only of itself and almost confrontationally disinterested in seeming contemporary or up-to-date. Neither intended as a comment nor as “conceptual non-communication", however, it returns to the roots of sound without the unpleasant aftertaste usually attached to analogue retro-exercises.
Musically, the action frequently borders the primitive. Rates of pulsation are modified, harmonic notes slowly added to a tonic, resting tones stretched and expanded into raw, chunky rhythms. Piercing, ultrasonic frequencies contrast with subsonic bass-radiation, suffocatingly dense time-suspending textures are juxtaposed with surgically-precise chunks of backwards-samples and again and again, movement dissolves into stasis while patterns grow from what seems to be a perfect sonic vacuum. Field recordings are notably absent from this collection, as are flashy software effects and familiar preset sounds which could provide even the slightest hint about the author's scene-associations or current production-aesthetics. Dynamics have been taken from the menu, as the first seconds of a track seem just as “complete" as the last and development appears to move laterally according to a set of simple, yet mysterious rules. You close your eyes and drown in this sea of sound only to find that the twenty minutes of opener “HeleneleH" have passed within an instant.
John Cage's 300-year-composition “Organ2" comes to mind, the notion of replacing the forwards-logic of our world with an obsessive in-the-monentness in which new sonic events appear to rotate the music by a few degrees to the left or right as if it were a threedimensional object. Even when tones are added or subtracted, the result is not just merely a harmonic expansion, but more of a timbral refinement, like adding varnish to a surface to bring out its colours and textures in greater clarity. And yet, Eleh has decidedly taken on the challenge of moulding these five pieces into a coherent album-experience. With its radical transitions and stark digital bleeps, “Observation Wheel", for example, comes as a much-needed counterweight to the monolithic fields of the aforementioned “HeleneleH". And by reprising the futuristic figures of “Linear To Circular / Vertical Axis" in the coda of concluding “Rotational Change For Windmill", “Location Momentum" comes full-circle in a deeply satisfying way in its final two minutes.
Admittedly, the physical pressure some of these waves are exerting on the body when listened to at a high volume, can sometimes seem like a subtle form of torture. But strangely, rather than feeling terrifying or intimidating, it is a rather fascinating sensation on this account. [Tobias Fischer]
Other Music (UK):
When writing about Eleh, it seems that writers tend to veer towards the thought that the anonymity of the work is more interesting than the music itself. Yes, there is a chance that this music could possibly be crafted by someone you'd kick yourself for ignoring (is it Burial? Autechre? Keith Fullerton Whitman? Bono?), but chances are it's someone you've never heard of before, or would even care to hear about. Electronic music, in its essence is an anonymous genre -- there are few traditional 'rock stars' prancing about with their laptops in tow, so surely it shouldn't matter what the source is, especially when the music itself is this arresting.
Eleh's Touch debut (and compact disc debut, no less) is possibly his most measured and varied body of work to date, and the fact that he is still unmasked after four years has little bearing on its quality. In the past his releases have tended to explore specific forms, with each track more often than not stretching over an entire side of industrial grade vinyl; here though, his minimalism has been tempered somewhat to allow a slightly more accessible entry-point to his sound. The cold, bass-heavy drones which made up the core of the Eleh sound are still present, but peppered by light modular hiccups and repeating sequences, giving a slightly different focus to the record. Without wanting to reel off hundreds of names (most reviewers have already got that in check), Eleh's music was originally intended to be a 'dedication' to minimalist pioneers LaMonte Young, Pauline Oliveros and Charlamagne Palestine, and those comparisons still hold out above all else. It would be inappropriate, however, to take Eleh's work as a simple re-hash of old ideas; he has somehow injected this very austere musical form with a patience and deep control that is rarely heard in the drone genre. Long single-note meditations might not be everyone's cup of tea (I'm pretty sure my mother would struggle with the 'point' of it) but for me it doesn't get much better than this. Absolutely essential music. [JT]
Boomkat (UK):
*The long awaited Touch debut from Eleh - one of the most fascinating and mysterious projects in contemporary electronic music* Ever since we heard our first Eleh record back in 2006 we've been completely blown away by the precise architecture and conceptual realisation of one of the more mysterious recording projects in electronic music. A succession of eleven vinyl-only releases on Important and Taiga followed, marking the enigmatic figure behind the name as a purveyor of exceptional drone music, exploring analog synthesis with a particular emphasis on the physicality of sound from the very lowest registers of the frequency spectrum. 'Location Momentum' is the first time Eleh's music has become available on a digital format, giving Touch the honour of releasing five long, deeply immersive tracks. The patient deveopment and concentration of resonant acoustic phenomenae on the 20 minute opener 'Heleneleh' leaves us breathing slowly and feeling as though our atoms are about to disintegrate like a sandsculpture built on a bassbin. The overlapping drones hit critical frequencies, creating tactile synaesthetic sensations akin to some religious/narcotic experience. The cathedral-set reverbs of 'Circle One' further enhance the worship/trip, something we recommend experiencing on a good set of speakers as opposed to headphone for maximum effect (apparently you're supposed to be 7 feet away from the sound source), putting us into a drowsy, maleable state, but still acutely aware of an immense and insistent presence in control of our senses. By the time you're onto slow subduction of 'Observation Wheel' expect blurred vision and possibly speaking in tongues as par for the course. Finally we're left open mouthed and drooling at the measured and ultra-precise control of 'Rotational Change For Windmill', gradually lowering the pure, unadorned bass tones into a vacuum of abyssal nether regions, enveloping all other tones until we're in the presence of a mass of tangible air movements, at one with a properly arcane vibe. If the music of Eliane Radigue, La Monte Young or Kevin Drumm has affected your life, this album comes very highly recommended. *WARNING* Do not listen to this album while using heavy machinery or operating a vehicle!
Vital Weekly (NL):
It wasn't difficult to miss out on the previous eleven releases by Eleh: they were on vinyl and all in highly limited editions, for labels such as Important Records, Taiga and Touch. The latter now releases the first digital release, and even I get to hear it. Eleh, of whom nothing is revealed, started out in 1999 'an an exploration of analog synthesis, emphasizing low frequency oscillation and resonant acoustic phenomena'. That means Eleh has some ancient of a synth at his disposal (or hers, we don't know), that generates tones rather than sweet bubbling sounds. Eleh records these, say two or three, and then mixes them together. Yes, if you read that, it may sound the simplest of things, doesn't it? Well, perhaps it is, but its always the result that counts, isn't it? Its music that fills out your space in a great way. Think Alvin Lucier, I'd say, but then usually pitched down - or rather: playing the lower end of the sound spectrum. By knitting a few closely related sounds together, a whole series of 'extra' sounds start to sing - like there is more space between them. Only in 'Observation Wheel' there are a few distinctly different sounds - sine wave like and white noise like. 'Rotational Change For Windmill' sounds like an alarm going off, slowing down towards the end - indeed Lucier like (think 'Clocker'). Quite a strong CD of powerful subconscious drone music. [FdW]
Norman Records (UK):
This record left our Ant feeling ecstatic.
Okay I confess… I've been having a secret love affair since 2006… When my Wife leaves the house I play my Eleh records LOUD. When she's asleep I listen on my headphones. I've found both listening methods have different effects on me. High volume is more of a physical experience while the use of high quality headphones is a more internal spiritual/ transcendental journey. Anyway this is the first ever CD from this anonymous entity and I've been extremely excited about its arrival. Five minutes into the opening piece 'Heleneleh' and the audio is beginning to have the desired effect on me.
I have somewhat of a fetish for pure sound and pure tone going back to my days as a lab technician playing around with signal generators and oscilloscopes. There is just something about this that really resonates with me. More than any other artist since the likes of Eliane Radigue, Eleh truly captures the beauty of minimal analogue synthesis and gently evolving tones. There is so much drone music around at the moment, it sometimes feels over saturated but I can assure you that 'Location Momentum' stands head and shoulders above most of that stuff in terms of physical and mental power. Eleh strips things back to the source, pure physics, the very essence of sound. Low frequencies are preferable and the beauty lies in the simplicity… It's also really great when the oscillations take on a rhythmical almost percussive sound as heard within 'Circle One: Summer Transience". Anyone not in possession of a turntable has been deprived of Eleh material until now which is why I see this as a release which is as important as any in the artists catalogue. It also has a wonderful balance of the earlier sound along with more recent ideas and developments. So for anyone new to the artist this serves as a valuable introduction.
There has been some online speculation as to the identity of the artist but really who cares, the audio speaks for itself… Let's just hope the Sun newspaper don't ruin it for everyone as they did with Burial.. I can see the headline now "Modular Synth Minimalist Wizard Uncloaked" Extremely highly recommended… Oh and remember: "Volume reveals detail"...
Brainwashed (USA):
With a slew of vinyl releases in their backcatalog, this is the first digital release for the enigmatic ultra-minimalist electronic project, formed to pay tribute to the titans of drone such as La Monte Young, Pauline Oliveros, and Charlemagne Palestine. Their approach definitely demonstrates their lineage, but it is never derivative or stale. The result is a beautifully sparse tapestry of analog electronics, which is both enhanced and slightly hindered by the purely digital medium.
The long opening track "Heleneleh" is intentionally simple droning electronic hum, pitched near the 60hz hum of a guitar amplifier to resemble one sitting far off in another room. The rise in pitch approximately three minutes in is a drastic one, given how intentionally static the track is. The tones eventually join each other in harmony before being met with a third, almost ringing bell type tone. Towards the end a resonant, almost orchestral texture arrives, the various pitches existing together and generating independent harmonics, all with the familiar warmth of an analog synthesizer.
The short "Linear to Circular/Vertical Axis" is a veritable beehive of activity after the frozen layers of the previous track, consisting of reversed surges of tone with significant underlying variation. There is a crunchy lo-fi digital rust to the sound that makes it stand out compared to the purity of the other longer pieces. "Circle One: Summer Transcience" takes a much different approach, beginning immediately with a high frequency tinnitus ring that stays present for the entire duration, but is presented at a restrained volume that keeps it from becoming too disturbing or irritating. An ultra low frequency sub-bass enters, eventually oscillating rapidly. It’s an intentional study in extreme sound variation, the high frequency is psychologically effective, the low end is far more physical.
"Observation Wheel" meshes almost bird-like chirps and swelling low frequency drone with rhythmic stabs of white noise. There is a subtle variation throughout, but it has a warm ambient quality, with the slowly undulating low end sound slowly pulsating like a boat in the ocean. The closing "Rotational Change for Windmill" keeps a chirping electronic tone through the first half that is repetitive enough to encroach on annoying, but never crosses the threshold. Even at low volume, a combination of ultra and sub-sonic tones and abrasive tones can be heard, almost like an old Whitehouse album being played from a few doors down.
When I say enhanced and hindered by being on CD, I think the format does wonders for the purity of sound: Eleh is known for low volume pure tones that are presented here with pristine clarity. However, the digital purity doesn’t give the disc an overly clinical or sterile sound at all, there is still the analog warmth of the source material that shines through. On vinyl though, the interaction between the imperfections of the medium and the Spartan tones would give a unique listening experience each time. So it is neither a plus nor a minus fully, it is simply a difference.
Eleh’s first foray into the digital realm is one that doesn’t hinder the warm analog glow of the sound in the slightest, and allows instead a full pure transmission of their simple, yet inviting electronic drone. Minimalist in the classic sense of the world, it is the kind of album that demands full attention, played in a setting without any distraction or intrusion. Under those conditions, it is a perfectly engrossing hour of beauty. [Creaig Dunton]
Goon (Germany):
Ringmodulator of my heart
Eleh machen elektronische Musik in der Art wie sie von den Pionieren der Minimal Music in den 1960er Jahre bereits gepflegt wurden. Dabei ziehen sie ihr Klangspektrum in die Tiefe und schaffen so eine zeitlose, moderne Musik
Text: Sebastian Hinz
Unter dem Künstlernamen Eleh erscheinen seit 2006 Tonträger in Referenz zu musikalischen Minimalisten der 1960er Jahre wie La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Eliane Radigue oder Pauline Oliveros. Ringmodulatoren, Oszillatoren, obskure Syntheziser sind hier die analoge Klangquelle. Gemäß dieses Ansatzes sind die Kompositionen von Eleh von drängender physischer Qualität. Diesem nicht-digitalen Ansatz folgend, waren bislang alle elf Veröffentlichungen von Eleh auf Vinyl-Schallplatte erschienen. »Location Momentum« ist das erste Digitalrelease der Band überhaupt. Die fünf neuen Musikstücke schließen sich nicht nur dem Namen nach ihrer letztjährigen Veröffentlichung auf Touch (»Observations & Momentum«) an. Das eröffnende »HeleneleH« nimmt den Hörer dann gleich mit einem tiefenbassigen Drone bei der Hand und lässt auch zwanzig Minuten nicht wieder los. Das einfache Konzept ist hier schon hinreichend beschrieben: Die Sounds beschreiben Schleifen am unteren Ende des Audiospektrums. Dass »Location Momentum« nicht einzig ein Album für Soundfetischisten ist, kann im rhythmisierenden Einsatz der kreisenden Loops (»Observation Wheel«, »Rational Change For Windmill«) begründet sein. Es könnte aber an der buddhistischen Qualität dieser Musik liegen, daran, dass die generierten Klänge eine Wärme ausstrahlen, die tiefe Emotionen transportiert, die schlicht überall und in jedem ist.
The Wire (UK):
Mapsadaisical (UK):
The front cover of Location Momentum has a ghostly image in night-vision purple, somewhere between folds of fabric and coils of smoke. Suitably dark and mysterious, it straddles the barrier between the tangible and intangible, between the real and the imagined, much in the manner of the sound it contains. The twelfth release by the individual lurking behind the Eleh name – and you’ve got to wonder just how much longer they can keep up the secrecy – is a continuation down the same path right into the heart of analogue sound. Except that he/she has chosen for the first time to release it on a digital format. The honour of releasing the first ever Eleh CD falls fittingly to sonic obsessives Touch, who also released his/her Observations and Momentum on a split LP late last year.
The change in format feels like some sort of concession to the listener, permitting deeper inspection of the precise application of Eleh’s modus operandi, revealing fresh levels of detail amongst these drones. The preferred method of listening to Eleh is, as ever, to play it loud, letting the waves flood in and fill the space. The sound takes on physical form, a towering structure that the listener can explore at leisure. And what a structure it is: opening piece “Heleneleh” feels like an entire church, with the millisecond after the organist has stopped playing stretched out to twenty minutes. The reverberations shift and mutate at a speed that even death would consider a bit on the unhurried side, occasionally vibrating nearby objects (in my room? In that church of my imagination? Just in my imagination?), causing them to shiver and groan. After this meditative magnificence, the hard hand on the volume control of “Linear To Circular/Vertical Axis” feels particularly brutal, snapping the track into equally-sized but entirely different-sounding slices. Recent Eleh releases have started to hint at an interest in not just sonic phenomena, but in the sonic phenomena of nature itself. “Circle One: Summer Transcience” takes some of the high-pitched insect-like chirp last heard on Retreat/Return and sets it amongst the most gentle gasps of wind, before these mutate into sinister-sounding gaseous hisses on “Observation Wheel”. Such interests make his/her – and I’ll tire of writing that before too many more releases – current relocation to the Touch stable, where they will share hay with the likes of Chris Watson and BJ Nilsen, seem all the more appropriate.
The release of this collection of microscopic events is an event in itself, for given that this will be the first full Eleh album not given a hideously-limited release, it is likely to be the starting point for many. It is an excellent introduction to someone who has risen with utmost stealth and secrecy to a position of pre-eminence in his/her (sigh) field, for there is no-one else who can make so little sound like so so much.
kindamuzik (Netherlands):
Na een hele resem tot vinyl beperkte uitgaven op labels zoals Important Records en Taiga, stapt Eleh over op de digitale drager. Dat dit kleinood op het label Touch uitkomt, wekt eigenlijk geen verbazing. Jon Wozencroft en de zijnen hebben de laatste jaren namelijk behoorlijk naam gemaakt als een platform voor experimentele en warme muziek die zich uitstekend leent als begeleiding bij beeldschone natuurlandschappen.
Door het gebruik van lage frequenties en resonantie exploreert Eleh al ruim een decennium de fysieke aspecten van geluid. Het behoeft dus geen uitleg dat het muzikale universum dat Eleh voortbrengt het best luid tot zijn recht komt. Op die manier krijgen de tonen fysieke kracht en baadt de luisteraar in een geluidszee die langzaam muteert.
Eleh brengt in vijf bewegingen een muzikale meditatie die de kracht van minimalisme in de verf zet. Openingsnummer 'HeleneleH' stuurt je in de goede richting. Het palindroom kan als metafoor gelden voor Location Momentum. De uitgesponnen nummers zijn immers gebaseerd op cyclische structuren die hun schoonheid putten uit herhaling en organisch in elkaar overvloeiende klanken. Geluidslagen worden over elkaar gelegd en impulsen krijgen organisch vorm, zodanig dat een aandachtige beluistering van Elehs minimalisme een zeer immersief effect heeft. [Hans van der Linden]
Sonic Seducer (Germany):
D-Side (France):
de:bug (Germany):
Prefix (USA):
Eleh is the name of a project that utilizes vintage analog modular synthesizers to pay tribute to early minimalist composers and pioneers such as La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Pauline Oliveros. Beginning in 2006, Eleh began releasing records on vinyl in tiny editions, mostly for Important Records, with a few releases on Taiga. Typical titles like Homage to the Sine Wave or Floating Frequencies are literal descriptors of the abstract music contained within. Since the project's inception, Eleh has been shrouded in mystery, and no name has ever been attached to the recordings. Rumors and speculation have been rampant, implicating everyone from Sunn0))) mastermind Stephen O'Malley to Boston-based experimental electronic musician Keith Fullerton Whitman (who released a collection of compositions for vintage synthesizers under the title Multiples in 2005, just prior to the first appearance of the Eleh project). Location Momentum marks the first digital release and the first widely available album by Eleh.
Opener “Heleneleh” is minimalism for minimalists, an unwavering 20-minute synth tone. “Linear to Circular/Vertical Axis” is the album's shortest track and its most dynamic, with a lo-fi feel to the washes of ear-ringing synth tones. “Circle One: Summer Transience” showcases the deep bass sound Eleh is capable of and reinforces the point that this music is meant to be played loud. The track is as much a physical experience as it is an auditory one.“Observation Wheel” is the noisiest song here, a flimsily built cycle of beeps and static discharge that transforms into a simplistic bass oscillation lacking the internal momentum of the stronger material. “Rotational Change For Windmill” is the superlative final song, a masterful series of barely there synth gestures that shift with a subtle beauty. The track is a bit chirpy on the high end at first, recalling the fractured digital noise of Florian Hecker, but it rewards a patient and loud listen by receding into a warm bath of synth tone with occasional deep bass fluctuations.
To me, the focus and purity of Eleh's music is an antidote to conventional popular music, and I enjoy the record as a palate cleanser and aid to meditation and focus. I realize that many people don't seek out music for this purpose, but for those that do, I heartily recommend Location Momentum.
S&V (Russia):
Rockerilla (Italy):
Armchair Dancefloor (UK):
Excepting last November’s split release with Sweden’s Nana April Jun, the mysterious drone artist(s?) Eleh’s previous 11 albums (in just four years) have been limited vinyl-only editions. Indebted to minimal pioneers such as La Monte Young and electronic music composer Eliane Radigue, Eleh produces drones of huge potency using vintage analogue equipment such as modular synthesizers and HP test tube oscillators. If that sounds at all dryly academic, just spend some time exploring the throbbing sway of ‘Observation Wheel’, which after 10 minutes of hypnotism lunges into a buzzing finale, or the frank, monumental scope of 20-minute opener Heleneleh’s slowly winding tone. These controlled, resonant compositions have drama at their core.
At a time when drone has become a fashionable enough genre to throw up a seeming glut of average releases, it’s good to be reminded of just what an expressive and exciting form it can be. Whereas lesser work of this type can be of short-blooming appeal, repeated listening toLocation Momentum continues to throw up new details: the gaseous ventings, wandering pressure fields and oscillator-generated cicada chirrup of ‘Circle One: Summer Transcience’, or the throat-grabbing impetus of ‘Linear to Circular/Vertical Axis’s reversed scything melody. As these moments of recognition accumulate you come to realise, most impressively of all, that this vast structure is thronging with vivid details.
ae (Germany):
In Issue 4 besprochen, lieferte Nana April June's Werk »The Ontology Of Noise« einen gewagten und etwas altbackenen Versuch, düstere Klangepik mit Breitbandfrequenzen und feldrekordistisch abgeleitetem Flickerklang zu verbinden. Eleh agieren ebenfalls auf einer limitierten und dazu noch synthethischen (Vintage-)ebene, vergeben sich jedoch jeglichen Querverweis auf bereits bestehende Verbindungen des kurzlebigen “Isolationism"-Genres. »HeleneleH« klingt mit seiner durchgehend unveränderten Dronestatik wie eine in Zeitlupe abgespielte Boards Of Canada-Platte, welche vorher vom Rhythmusrankwerk fachmännisch entschält wurde. Wenngleich das Prädikat “Elektronik" bei Eleh greift und bisweilen das Bild gereifter Herren an Schaltkreissynthies hervorruft, klingen Eleh bei aller Künstlichkeit mysteriös und anonym. Die Musik reduziert auf zerlegte Einzeltöne, einschwingende Basslinien und gedämpftem White Noise, spielen Eleh auf der untersten Stufe der Dynamik und erschaffen damit eine fast schon psychoakustische Dronemusik, die bei kleinster Veränderung des Hörens (Drehen des Kopfes, Neigung der rechten/linken Ohrseite etc.) neue Frequenzen hervorbringen oder existierende verstärken.
Eleh geben sich betont nichtssagend, ohne Linernotes und Angaben bedeutet dieses Album eine willkommene Abkehr vom bisweilen allzu transparent gehaltenen Avantgardediskurs. Eleh fungieren auf klanglicher Ebene ähnlich philosophisch wie der untergetauchte Andrew McKenzie des Hafler Trios. Ein sehr forderndes und wunderbar feingestimmtes Album voller subfrequenter Tonmodalitäten. 5/5
allmusic.com (USA):
The work of Eleh had been so linked with limited-edition vinyl aesthetics — the still-anonymous person or group had released their efforts only via that medium since their start in 1999 — that the appearance of an actual CD release was almost shocking (especially in 2010, as the format appeared rapidly headed towards an end). Location Momentum would seem to give Eleh the chance to release even longer compositions as a result, but the five-track album's individual cuts reach 20 minutes at their longest, two at their shortest. No matter the intent, the emphasis is once again on sine wave experimentation via oscillators and synthesizers, and the result is just as darkly strange. Yet the fusion of the sound with the Jon Wozencraft photographic style that helps define the Touch label, meaning stepping away from the stark black-and-white design approach of Eleh's vinyl work, results in a new interpretation of that work — the bleak winter forest landscapes and ghostly white curtains make the feeling of the opening track, "Heleneleh," even more one of approaching malevolence, at once alien and distantly serene in its huge bass-tone heavy impact. The album's impact is so crushing overall that it's almost hard to listen to — the concluding number, "Rotational Change for Windmill," provides a bit of calm humor in the title, and in its suggestion of the blades of such a building whizzing past, but it's about the only instance of it. At its quietest halfway through "Circle One: Summer Transcience," the high-pitched tones sounding like distant buzzing insects still suggest some far-off, indescribable sense of unease. Even the shortest song, "Linear to Circular/Vertical Axis," feels almost like a respite more than anything else, a strange unknown creature's respiration or heartbeat, waiting to react. [Ned Raggett]
Blow Up (Italy):
Aquarius (USA):
After about ten years of existence, and a bunch of limited vinyl-only documents, including a fairly recent LP with Nana April Jun, also on Touch, the mysterious dronological entity Eleh releases their first ever compact disc. Eleh's aesthetic of low frequency, (often) low volume drones fits in well on the Touch label. On Location Momentum, there's an hour of Eleh's vibrations, five tracks, all but one quite lengthy, some barely audible. At low volumes, Eleh's "minimalist noise" will slowly, almost imperceptibly insinuate itself into your consciousness, it becomes part of the surrounding sonic environment, instead of something you're specifically listening to. Track one, "Heleneleh", is a subtle, slowly evolving, stretched-out presence, less heard than felt. A hum, a throb, a wavering drone. It's meditative, like a subliminally sensed Buddha machine loop, under a microscope... But turn up the volume, and it becomes physical, starts squeezing your head just a little bit. Near the end of this 20+ minute track, before it fades, Eleh decides to start modulating the pitch up and down, getting jiggy with it Eleh style, or maybe just saying, something's happening, almost done, waving goodbye. But really it's only the beginning.
The next track, the shortest one here, does a backwards-sounding whip-whip-whip for about two and half minutes. It becomes lulling quite quickly, and you might wish it was still doing its slowly stuttering thing when track 3, "Circle One: Summer Transcience" starts up, utilizing a temporarily annoying high pitched test-tone sound, but that's soon joined by deeper pulsations, and begins to get interesting. This one's for the Ryoji Ikeda fans out there! A subtle bassy thump-thump-thump picks up the pace, your heartbeat perhaps quickening along with it, the test tone become more of a buzz, some white noise wind sound also enters the mix in the background, and with such simple elements Eleh creates a compelling 13 minute, 33 second composition, for those willing to take the time to absorb it. Actually, a lot of this disc reminds us of Ikeda, also Alva Noto most definitely, and Mika Vainio and the like.
The disc continues on with two more tracks of similar length, but their own identities, some elements louder and more overt than what's come before, some more "clicky" in Geiger counter fashion, yet again, there's a spooky, "is that sound coming from my stereo or outside or somewhere upstairs or inside my brain???" aspect to these. As with so many Touch releases, recommended!
Dusted (USA):
It is fitting that the cover of Location Momentum is a murky, violet-hued image of billowing cloth, the inner photo a view through a gauzy, lace curtain, for the identity of the artist known as Eleh is deliberately shrouded in mystery. In recent years Eleh has emerged as one of the more enigmatic figures in abstract electronic and drone music, and a remarkably prolific one at that. Location Momentum is Eleh’s 12th release since 2006, but you can be forgiven if you missed out on the previous 11, since they were issued in very limited, vinyl-only editions. Their scarcity, along with the almost monastic single-mindedness of the music itself, only adds to the mystique.
I must admit finding the secrecy and air of intrigue around Eleh’s identity — as well as the occasional hyperbole-laced reviews that have greeted his recent releases — a little off-putting, but his music is another matter. More often than not, it’s wonderful. Though he’s only been releasing records for a little over four years, Eleh apparently began experimenting with analog synthesizer drones in 1999, inspired, it would seem, by the mesmerizing, overtone rich pieces favored by the likes of French synthesist Eliane Radigue, and American minimalist Alvin Lucier. His own work, such as Homage to the Square Wave, was as rigorously simple in method and execution, as it was breathtaking to hear. Using an unknown vintage, analog synthesizer, Eleh generated a series of drones that were then layered and mixed to create subtle, quavering harmonic shifts. Compositions tended to unfold at a fascinatingly measured pace.
Location Momentum is Eleh’s first release on CD and it is his most powerful and refined work to date. Though he continues along the same path of exploration, he adds new layers of complexity and detail to the mix. The opening piece, a 20-minute drone called "Heleneleh," is Eleh at his most austere. It evolves through a gentle process of addition, as tones overlap and pulse at varying frequencies to create an otherworldly shivering drone. It’s quite captivating. Much of the time, Eleh is less benignly meditative. “Circle One” is propelled by an anxious, insistent thrum that takes a lifetime to subside, at last giving way to an extended exhalation of white noise. The most singularly hypnotic piece is “Observation Wheel” with its tidal rhythm, punctuated by cicada-like chirps and gentle releases of static.
But listening to Eleh is never a soothing, immersive experience and he is at his disconcerting best with the album’s closer, “Rotational Change for Windmill”, with its unnerving stops and starts, eventually shuddering and lurching to a halt. [Susanna Bolle]
GoMag (Spain):
SA (Italy):
Selftitledmag.com (USA):
So we saw this sound installation the other day, one that featured nothing but a blinking light bulb and varying frequencies of ambient noise. As you might imagine, it made us want to scream “bullshit!” and smash the room’s sole light source at first. But then something happened a few minutes in—something strange. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, we suddenly felt like a dog who’d been blasted with a bunch of ultrasonic whistles.
If you listen to it on a decent stereo, Eleh’s first proper CD has the same effect: an overwhelming sense of being duped by pretentious drivel (”What? You don’t get it? Of course you don’t.”) eventually gives way to something transcendent and intangible. It did for us at least. And no, we weren’t high. Although that certainly wouldn’t hurt here. After all, you might just think it sounds like a hearing test with a couple subtle, steam-pressed beats and alarm clock samples.
Sound of Music (Sweden):
Första gången på cd för Eleh som under fyra år släppt obskyra drone-vinyler främst på amerikanska Important Records. Sammanhållande faktor för dessa 12 vinylreleaser har varit dronemusiken som är skapad på analog utrustning och en fullständig anonymitet där Eleh varken gett intervjuer eller på något sätt avslöjat vem/vilka som ligger bakom. Spekulationerna har givetvis varit många. Det verkar finnas ett aldrig sinande behov för gissningslekar om elektroniska artisters riktiga namn, se exempelvis Burial, Sleeparchive, Oni Ayhun och så vidare i all evighet.
Men egentligen är det inte så intressant vem som står bakom Eleh. Vad som däremot är intressant är den lågfrekvent brummande, högfrekvent tuggande och alltid lika dovt hotfulla musiken som väller ut ur Location Momentum. Att just Touch valt att låta Eleh cd-debutera hos dem är inget att lyfta på ögonbrynet över. Albumet ligger väl i linje med bolagets förmåga att suga upp artister som intresserar sig för lika delar lågmält anspråkslös som eruptivt mörk musik. Ta en Touch-bekant som Jacob Kirkegaard och hans 4 Rooms till exempel. Även om hans tillvägagångssätt var ett annat (med field recordings som lagrades över varandra i inspelningarna från Tjernobyl), så är resultatet inte helt olikt.
Även över Location Momentum vilar ett bedrägligt lugn som gör att det vid en första lyssning är lätt att avfärda som statisk ambient. Samtidigt växer obehagskänslorna, för det här är musik som det inte går att ignorera på samma sätt som en ambientskiva á la Brian Eno. 20 minuter långa "Heleneleh" är bara en stämning av instrumenten, där en ton sakta växer sig stadig och stark. När sedan "Linear To Circular/Vertical Axis" inleds är det klart att det här är musik som kräver fullt fokus. Annars blir man åksjuk. Och så fortsätter det: ena stunden försiktiga drones, i andra en skavande monoton puls.
Ger man sig in i det och lyssnar med full koncentration växer en imponerande karg ljudbild fram: sinustoner och mörka bastoner som äter sig in och stannar kvar. Under ytan är det så långt ifrån muzak man kan komma. Och på ytan händer nästan ingenting. [Mats Almegård]
GP (Sweden):
Det släpps otroligt mycket skivor med samtida drone- och noisemusik. Få har en sådan knivskarp precision i ljudbilderna som albumen med artisten som gömmer sig bakom pseudonymen Eleh. Efter tolv utgivningar på vinyl är detta hans första cd-release; fem kompositioner där klangförändringarna äger rum i slowmotion och där grundtillståndet först tycks vara stillastående. Men den som lyssnar koncentrerat upptäcker snart de starka energifälten och de optiska vibrationer som påminner om den kontemplativa kraften i Mark Rothkos monokroma måleri. Det är otroligt vackert men också märkligt oroande. Som att befinna sig mitt i stormens öga. [Magnus Haglund]
paristransatlantic.com (France):
It seems the only thing we know about Eleh is that s/he hails from Japan. Location Momentum - a first CD released after eleven vinyl albums - represents this reviewer's initial encounter with an intriguing pulse-producing organism. The ground upon which everything is based is analogue synthesis, used in deceptively static pieces almost exclusively characterized by the inside beatings of adjacent waves. It's tasteful and tasty food for lovers of serious throbbing – one listen to "Circle One: Summer Transcience" and you'll be hooked. Without swearing to the gods there is also a measure of interest for those who are waiting for news of Eliane Radigue's impending beatification. Eleh manipulates extremely acute frequencies too, so don't be surprised if during a particular section (for example at the beginning of the final track "Rotational Change For Windmill") your ears start ringing, principally when playing the music at substantial volume (though it works fine at low levels too, provided the environment is quiet). Essentially, we're talking about seriously conceived testing of the psychoacoustic qualities of electronically generated sounds, eliciting a clear reaction from the brain and, in turn, a series of peculiar codes sent to the auricular membranes. We have already seen this embodiment of indiscernible acoustic events in the work of past masters – Niblock, Lucier, the aforementioned Radigue – yet what I'm hearing now is not the product of a shallow-minded latecomer's diversion (these experiments actually started in 1999), but a record that requires severe concentration and is ready to reward with large doses of thoroughly mesmerizing phenomena. [MR]
Beat (Germany):
Bodyspace (Spain):
Figura encapuçada pelo anonimato aplica bem uma sova de drone sem resposta.
Por mais que a Touch tenha habituado os seus aficionados a discos impenetráveis e por vezes duros, é difícil preparar os ouvidos para o aprisionamento que se sucede em Location Momentum, aquele que é o primeiro registo de Eleh no formato CD, em vez do habitual vinil de tiragem limitada. Sobre Eleh ninguém sabe se é homem ou mulher, ou se vive no hemisfério norte ou sul. A sua regularidade é intensa nos últimos anos e a casa de eleição é quase sempre a norte-americana Important (alto, então, porque Merzbow pode andar à espreita). Pois bem, Eleh prefere o anonimato e isso só aumenta o poder intimidatório destes drones e embargos sonoros em grande parte opressivos.
A falta de respostas biográficas no pseudónimo Eleh obriga assim a um mais intenso interrogatório do seu som para que as respostas necessárias surjam afinal. Sem revelar nada gratuitamente (a música ainda consegue forçar o compromisso), Location Momentum é perturbador ao ponto de fazer crer que o drone (ou as frequências baixas) não é brincadeira para crianças. Não é, de facto, tanto mais quando aqui surge disfarçado de calamidade e pronto para funcionar como o caramelo que cola os dentes de baixo aos de cima sem oferecer solução possível. Faz comer e calar. Eleh aprisiona com a mesma eficácia com que compreende que um contínuo sonoro incontrolável é sempre um fenómeno mais temível e dramático.
Não é sequer necessário procurar muito para comprovar o incómodo na música de Eleh. "Circle One: Summer Transcience", por exemplo, simula a pulsação cardíaca num momento de intenso pânico como é um assalto ou um desastre de carro. E a partir daqui estamos perto de uma zona de medos David Lynch, com a agulha a estremecer e a riscar o papel de alto a baixo, depois de ver a cara feia ao virar da esquina. Eleh, como já foi dito, nem sequer mostra a cara, o que só torna mais intrigante o horror que por aqui vai fluindo. [Miguel Arsénio]
Le Temps (Switzerland):
RifRaf (France):
Black (Germany):
Mit “Location Momentum" bringt das streng analog agierende und bisher nur auf Vinyl veröffentlichende Projekt ELEH seine erste CD auf Touch heraus, welche den passenden Untertitel “Slow Fade Observation" trägt. ELEH steht auch nach wie vor in der Tradition der Minimal Music der 60er Jahre und erzeugt seine Klänge nur mit Hilfe altertümlicher Oszillatoren, Ringmodulatoren und natürlich analoger Synthesizer. Der daraus resultierende Sound klingt äußerst sauber, aber dabei weder steril noch statisch, sondern entwickelt einen zutiefst beruhigend, ja fast friedvoll zu nennenden Klangfluss. Natürlich kann dieses monotone “Generator- und Lüftungsbrummen" auf zarte Gemüter auch bedrohlich wirken, aber für Industrial gewohnte Ohren dürfte “Location Momentum" das reinste Zen-Mantra sein. [M.Fiebag]
Gonzo Circus (Belgium):
Playground (Spain):
Stephen O'Malley. Keith Fullerton Whitman. Sleeparchive. Incluso con Burial se ha llegado a especular en lo que va camino de convertirse en el pasatiempo de la temporada: descubrir quién diablos es Eleh. Misterios al margen, el caso es que "Location Momentum", la primera referencia en CD de Eleh, ha levantado una polvareda en el ámbito experimental como hacía tiempo que no se veía. Un pequeño hype que se justifica no tanto por la originalidad de la propuesta -escasa, por no decir nula-, sino por su logística. Y es que éste es el disco que hacía falta aquí y ahora; la obra que linka de manera definitiva pasado y presente de la drone music.
Aún así, la frontera entre tradición y mero revivalismo se desdibuja en "Location Momentum" y, por extensión, en toda la producción de Eleh. En activo desde 1999, dicen, pero con una actividad editorial condensada en los últimos cuatro años -una docena de títulos, la mayoría de ellos en Important y Taiga, siempre en vinilo, siempre en ediciones limitadas que raramente superan las quinientas copias-, Eleh se pretende un eslabón más en la cadena estética forjada por los próceres del drone minimalista -léase LaMonte Young, Phil Niblock, Eliane Radigue o la etapa deep listening de Pauline Oliveros- manteniendo una distancia prudente con el zeitgeist: ni ediciones en cassette ni el más mínimo apego al lo-fi, por fortuna. Y ciertamente su discurso encaja a la perfección en el engranaje: drones infinitos, desarrollos al ralentí y cambios únicamente perceptibles una vez culminados. Pero paradójicamente es su tozuda alineación con el pasado lo que le traiciona. El uso restrictivo de sólo equipo analógico y, sobre todo, la rigidez de sus propias normas borran de un plumazo cualquier indicio de sorpresa. Para el oído curtido, todo lo que sucede en "Location Momentum" es absolutamente previsible, ya oído antes. Ya vivido. Pocas diferencias hay entre esto y recuperar la "Trilogie De La Mort" de Eliane Radigue.
Pese a todo, justo es reconocer que en la música de Eleh lo realmente importante no es lo que suena, sino cómo se escucha. En este aspecto, sería más procedente hablar de música "experiencial" antes que "experimental", pues es en el ámbito de lo perceptivo donde "Location Momentum", un disco ya no austero, sino directamente simplón en lo formal, se crece. Exigente, casi intratable, obliga al oyente a situarse en un mundo otro, donde las leyes del tiempo han sido sometidas a una reformulación total. Y ése sí que es el mismo universo compositivo que antes habitaron Niblock, Young, Oliveros e, insisto, Radigue, quizá la referencia más clara en la obra de Eleh y, a mi modo de ver, hacia donde deberían apuntar las sospechas que tan entretenida tienen a la chavalada. 7.6/10 [Oriol Rosell]
030 (Germany):
Blow Up (Italy):
GMD (France):
Voilà maintenant quatre ans qu'un personnage des plus étranges est tapi dans l'ombre, s'amusant à réveiller les fantômes du passé tout en fuyant la lumière du jour. On parle de personnage mais il s'agit plutôt d'une vision, d'une coquille qui se voudrait vide et qui voit dans l'anonymat le plus total l'unique moyen de tout ramener à la musique. Son nom de code est Eleh et il ne dévoile rien de l'humain caché derrière lui. Quatre ans pour façonner un personnage aussi prisé c'est court, d'autant plus que notre technomonstre (qu'il soit de sexe masculin ou féminin, seul ou en groupe) n'officie que dans le vinyl au tirage ultra-limité : alors prenez ceci comme un argument de force variable mais il semblerait bien que la place occupée par Eleh soit celle du nouveau pape du drone (au sens médical du terme) analogique minimaliste. Les faits sont décidément de notre côté car cette première réalisation sur CD trouve comme point d'ancrage le label Touch, référence incontestée de la recherche sonore.
Pour être franc avec vous, Location Momentum est un disque âpre et complexe, d'une inertie première à rendre fou n'importe quel défenseurs du maximalisme musical. Car le drone clinique n'est rien d'autre qu'un enchevêtrement sinueux d'ondes superposées sonnant comme un seul cor, haut perché et dérangeant. Une seule onde qui varie. La sédimentation sonore, la technique des couches presque tectoniques devient alors l'¦uvre d'une compréhension globale du son, une histoire qui se joue pourtant dans l'infini des nuances. Les pièces sont pachydermiques et le son, joué à haut volume, s'impose en masse comme des monstres à première vue monolithiques, à prendre comme un énorme bloc de granit dans les oreilles. Puis les écoutes passent et le disque grandit encore un peu plus : tout se redéfinit, votre oreille a traqué et débusqué les subtiles variations de tons et Location Momentum devient une pièce chaleureuse. Le monochrome s'est métamorphosé en un autre monochrome, plus vivant, encore plus précis.
Eleh bâtit des contenants et vous laisse libre du contenu : sa musique est un vecteur de pensée, un filtre qui transforme ce qui y passe en des cathédrales sonores hautes et inattendues. La chaleur toute analogique de ses synthétiseurs couplée au gigantisme des ambitions est un premier prétexte pour refuser de considérer l'austérité du drone comme une fatalité, pour ensuite redonner vie et amour à une musique folle de sa paradoxale complexité, chaude et intime derrière l'épais rideau d'eau qui la sépare de nous. Cette musique qui transforme un rien en tout - d'une oscillation au tremblement de terre - et qui récompense la curiosité acharnée en la faisant basculer du côté du secret, sur le terrain des choses qu'on ne partage qu'avec la peur d'être mal compris.
Et si les plus beaux moments du drone analogique ont été pensés et transcendés par la doyenne Élianne Radigue, qui a accompli des miracles sonores au moyen de son synthétiseur ARP des décennies durant, il nous est permis de croire ici en un renouveau du genre, une nouvelle profession de foi qui remettrait le drone dans le domaine du rêve improbable, de la transe non maîtrisée. Les spécialistes en la matière ne s'y sont pas trompés, Eleh est bel et bien un monstre que la modernité se devra de sacrer dans le domaine des musiques électroniques étranges et essentielles. Osez, forcez et soyez récompensés. Amen. 8/10 [Simon]
Ritual (Italy):
Rockdeluxe (Spain):
Signal to Noise (USA):
Etherreal (France):
Vous n'aviez jamais entendu parler de Eleh avant cet album ? C'est à peu près normal puisque Eleh a une démarche bien particulière, qui entoure ce projet d'un certain mystère. On aura tendance à penser qu'il s'agit d'un projet solo pour être aussi monolithique, et on misera sur un/une artiste américain(e) puisque la plupart des précédents disques de Eleh sont sortis sur le label Important Records. Eleh se concentre sur l'étude de la résonance, des basses fréquences et de la synthèse analogique au point de ne sortir ses disques que sur support vinyle et en quantité très limité ce qui contribue à faire de cet artiste une véritable curiosité. Cette arrivée chez Touch (si l'on omet un split avec Nana April Jun fin 2009) est l'occasion de passer au CD (mais pas au téléchargement !) et de faire découvrir Eleh à un plus large public.
On prend la pleine mesure du travail de Eleh à l'écoute du premier titre de cet album, en forme de palindrome (Heleneleh), à se demander si ce n'est pas le prénom de l'artiste qui est caché ici. On rentre ainsi dans le vif du sujet avec ce premier morceau de 20 minutes uniquement composé de ronronnements de machines. Une tonalité grave et oscillante, quelques minutes plus tard une autre plus aiguë vient se mêler à la première pour se croiser sans cesse, de manière inéluctable. La rigueur chirurgicale avec laquelle Eleh applique son dispositif d'étude sonore force au respect et transporte l'auditeur vers des territoires encore vierges. Il y a là un peu du drone, mais sans jouer pour autant sur une multiplication infinie de fréquences. Eleh s'attache à une certaine simplicité de forme, au minimalisme en évitant tout systématisme.
Si l'expérience sonore de ce premier titre peut paraître extrême, on remarquera que le procédé est à peu près le même sur les morceaux qui suivent (répétition, minimalisme) mais s'applique sur divers type de sonorités. Sifflements, souffles et grave battement stroboscopique (on pense aux pales d'un hélicoptère) sur Circle One : Summer Transcience, souffles industriels et grincements sur Observation Wheel, cliquetis et ronronnements sur Rotational Change For Windmill. Chaque source sonore arrive progressivement, s'installe, puis disparait, que ce soit pas une variation de volume sonore, ou de fréquence pour les sonorités rythmiques qui, à force de ralentir crée des vides immenses au sein desquels l'auditeur aura plaisir à se perdre.
Aussi bien dans les titres que dans la composition, l'auteur semble obsédé(e) par les éléments circulaires qui vont de pair avec le principe de répétition, de mouvement perpétuel (grande roue, moulin à vent). Location Momentum est un peu comme ces choses qui bougent et restent immobile en même temps. Écouter cet album c'est un peu comme regarder la mer : à la fois en mouvement permanent et toujours la même, immobile, suivant que l'on s'attache au détail ou à l'ensemble. [Fabrice Allard]
Elegy (France):
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