Re:
Light Folds: That is weird. I've only ever received download codes from
Facture via paper slips in the packaging. That's great news for you, though, Anthony: you can start digesting hours and hours of music right away! And it appears they've sold out of the extra copies; that link is dead and they've removed the non-deluxe version of the release from their main web page.
I've managed to listen to the CD and Vinyl tracks a few times; I'm setting aside the DVD tracks for a dedicated listening next week. I must say that this is an absolutely brilliant effort. The release, as a whole, has a somber, isolationist feel to it, with the primary instrumentation being piano, strings, and trumpet (yes, trumpet!). Those recorded fragments are looped and obscured in a variety of creative ways, leading both to tracks that skirt the fringes of minimal, modern composition (e.g., Light Folds, CD2) and tracks that are experimental and glitchty (e.g., the various permutations of "Her Whispers" where processed static and tape hiss provides part of the structure for the pieces).
Is it too much music? I worry that Forrest may think so once he has a chance to listen to it.
In one of my favorite movies,
Wonder Boys, there is a well-regarded author who has delayed releasing his sophomore novel for years. Many people are worried that he's blocked and he hasn't been able to produce anything of interest. The problem turns out to be the opposite: he's been writing and writing, but hasn't been able to reign the material in to provide it with an arc that contains a natural beginning and end.
In some ways,
Light Folds reminds me of this author's manuscript: There are multiple versions of the same song, using manipulations of common source material, and the artists simply chose not to edit it down to an album of a more manageable length. I appreciate this, however. The sheer vastness of the material is part of what adds to its mystique and makes me want to dive in and explore it. And, even the tracks that are variations of the same theme (e.g., Tear In the Sails --> A Void in the Sails) diverge in ways that enrich the listening experience.
