Doron Sadja – Residuals

Appearing alone for the first time since 2003’s 12k release A Piece of String, A Sunset, Doron Sadja returns with Residuals, a work featuring four movements of experimental electronic audio. In the interim, the busy artist has co-founded the 285 Kent performance space in Brooklyn, produced various works of video and performance art and collaborated in two groups – Symbol and the interestingly named Ganjatronics.

Residuals begins slowly, with Sadja obstinately refusing to get out of the starting grid for some one and a half minutes. Once the music does get on its way however, Residuals I wastes no further time to deliver a thick, building, mountain of noise which will aurally assault the listener’s ears while also sneaking in some whispers of melody beneath. As befits a work from an artist with a range of interests, the second movement of Residuals is a departure from its predecessor and the track is comprised of halting, repetitive tones and quite beautiful moments of ambience. This easy reverie is eventually interrupted by more synth blasts and building, swirling harmonies, lending an unexpected quiet/loud dynamic to the piece.

Movements III and IV continue the bold experimentation of their predecessors and Sadja doesn’t run out of ideas or offer a second of filler. One gets the sense that there’s a keen process of self-editing going on behind the scenes here, in order to offer only sounds of the highest quality and the result was much appreciated by this listener. At times, there are small hints of the usual influences which one would expect from an aficionado of the more electronic-leaning genres, but more than a mere sum of its parts, Residuals contains within it a definite stamp of the artist’s own character and personality, no mean feat to pull off in between all those blasts of noise and abstract sounds.

Residuals is available now on CD with deluxe oversized sleeve and accompanying prints by the artist.

- Adam Williams for Fluid Radio

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