the void reflex reviewed in:......................................................... .............................................
www.chaindlk.org
“Reviewing music on a regular basis is great because you basically get to hear many records you would never cross with otherwise. Sometimes they're crap, sometimes they're pleasant surprises. Massa Última (aka Portuguese Rui Almeida)'s self-released cdr surely belongs to the latter category. Almeida, joined by LuÃs Couto on the title track, uses a lot of field recordings, mostly taken in Ireland and the Aran Islands, along with instrumental sources like guitars, keyboards, mbira, drum loops etc. For a debut, his style is already remarkable, though a little rough at times, or just a bit dispersive. But there are little gems like the droning title track (with bowed strings which could definitely appeal to those into guitar-based ambiences, à la Aidan Baker) or the equally captivating "Change Resistance" (a composition for radio waves, massage chair, broken drumpad and keyboard), which are very convincing in their fresh, handicraft approach. At times the used of looped concrete sources, as in the opening "Quiet Stratagem", reminded me of Murmer, though on the whole Massa Última relies more on electronics and instruments - "Opposite Reverse", for instance, is structured on a backward melody, though I must say this is the track I liked the least, as I found it a bit predictable. But as I wrote above, this is definitely a promising and at times original debut…†Eugenio Maggi
sothzine.atspace.com issue3
“The void reflex is the debut album of Massa Última, the solo project of portuguese artist Rui Almeida. The CD comes in a modest and simple but beautiful DIY cardboard sleeve. The sounds that compose this release holds something of a spiritual darkness, the sort of sounds that would come from the mouth of a undead cyber buddhist monk. Slowly it evolves into a more industrial, machine-like sound, to end in the final track with a more gentle electronica but still drowned into distortion. There's a lot that your imagination can draw from these sounds, just take a moment and listen.†Yassine Maaroufi
www.auralpressure.com
“...The CD sleeve, like the music it contains, is very open to the imagination of the perceiver. The five tracks on this disc are the result of combing "non-musical sources" and conventional instruments. Rui spent some time documenting soundscapes in and around Ireland which he utilizes well. There are drones, glitch and cut, field recordings and copious amounts of vibe. A promising first outing.†JPW
online releases:................................................... ............................................................ .........
digitalbiotope's unleashed . 2006 . improvised music compilation . db014
enoughrecords compilation . falésia . 2007 enrcmp06
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