Ethan Rose
Spinning Pieces
locust
CD
2007-09-18

On the heels of last year's celebrated Ceiling Songs debut full length by Portland , Oregon electronic musician Ethan Rose comes Spinning Pieces - a collation of nearly five years of small edition art object releases produced for locust music.

The aptly titled collection chronicles one man's obsession with & magical approach to old mechanical noisemakers both big and little - from a carillon in California ("Singing Tower"), to the sounds of old player pianos ("The Dot & The Line") in a dusty Portland piano shop to modified music boxes ("The Miniature & Sea"). Ethan's approach and music exudes a deep compositional sense and inviting warmth that often eludes the cold & foreboding genre of electronic music.

PRAISE
"Three extensive instrumental tracks delivered in just under three quarters of an hour. Sustained explorative chiming bell-like tones mix with glassy shimmering by way of various sonic sources. The first finds it’s origins in the automated carillon (an instrument comprised of twenty three chromatically tuned bells) at Sanford University. The second came from elements sampled from player pianos at the Immortal Piano Company; it’s just over fifteen minutes of gently murmured tones under brighter notes. It feels like the aural evocation of a gradually mounting snowfall. The third piece is seventeen minutes of sounds sourced from music boxes and an optical film reader. It brings to mind some of Steven Roden’s musical pieces generated by manipulated household objects. A backing drone unreels as seeming random clunks and thunks free float in space." - Dream