Eric Arn & Jasmine Pender - Hydromancy - LP

On the LP Hydromancy (FEEDING TUBE RECORDS FTR493), we have two side-long instrumentals performed by Eric Arn and Jasmine Pender... On side one here, ‘In Illo Tempore’ may be slow and understated, but is emphatically not a cold exploration of ambient textures; there’s some deep and rich performances going down here, and in places one can make out some hefty slide guitar action being deployed to render chasm-like swathes in the ether.
So far we have something like a less harrowing version of Michel Henritzi, and the studio treatments on Hydromancy are used to create just the right amount of frisson and iciness. Indeed as we reach the closing passages, the duo inadvertently create a form of music that could be mistaken for “spectral” composition or the microtonal clouds of a Ligeti orchestral work. Flip over to hear ‘The Serpent Ophis’... For this piece, Arn and Pender switch to a more up-tempo mode and are soon grinding out a hypnotic, monotonous riff where all the frequencies merge into an iron block of sound. There’s also a tinge of menace and fear which isn’t as noticeable on the more benign A-side. In following the coils of their chosen serpent, the duo remain resolute in their musical quest with this single-minded, obsessive music; stay with them and you too may discover the hidden treasure.
All done live, with very little editing and no overdubs and no post-processing; there’s a lot of understated skill and musical craft at play here. - Ed Pinsent, The Sound Projector

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