Insulation

Like his peers Main, Dean Roberts, James Plotkin, Fennesz and Pimmon, Sydney based artist Oren Ambarchi's work is rooted in an exploration of the guitar. Eschewing its popular usage, Ambarchi re-routes the instrument into a zone of alien abstraction where it's no longer easily identifiable as itself. Instead it's a laboratory for extended sonic investigation. Insulation is a well-focused, neatly varied work that falls somewhere between the concrète constructions of Tod Dockstader and the abstract soundscaping of Pan Sonic or the Mego crew. Each track is a self-contained entity exploring fresh terrain - from chaotically layered clashes to eerie, isolationist incursions - even as it gets along with its neighbours. Most surprising is how Ambarchi avoids any form of computer processing or editing. Dense with activity, "Study No. 3" consists of manic, obsessively layered bursts of sound:splinters and shards of punctuation exploding across one another in a brilliant riot, like a roomful of chattering, self-activating electronic toys, or choppy strings of code being pulled from the ether. Avoiding repetition, Ambarchi's spatial awareness is impeccable. "Simon" strings an assortment of of carefully processed events around a series of pauses, while "Lungs" forms a clever collage of locked-groove clicks, bleeps, bassy tone bursts and background flicker. With plenty of low end activity, the album has a particularly visceral impact. Waves and smears of heavy bass wash against the body or burst outwards in sudden, shuddering jolts. Drones distort and spear outwards as irritants, while the layers of micro-activity bristle and barb against the skin.

The Australian guitarist Oren Ambarchi is known in new music circles for his multifarious collaborations and for the sometimes extreme intensity of his live performances.