Clouwbeck, “Placer,” Wolfrahm (Shining Day 2009)
Richard Skelton’s latest release under the name Clouwbeck finds him, to my ears, moving into a less introspective and much more externally oriented mode than in his recent works. Other reviewers have noted a darkness and memory-bound heaviness in Wolfrahm which I simply do not hear. As against the heavily memory-infused feel of his recent Carousell piece, Black Swallow and Other Songs, Wolfrahm feels full of light and the present (the “now” as it is being experienced). Where Black Swallow, and Box of Birch (in its recent re-release), felt like expressions of the composer’s internal machinations, feelings and emotions, Wolfrahm reflects the outside world and nature. It is as if Skelton is composing nature, rather than nature serving as an influence on his composition. For lack of a more specific word, Wolfrahm feels “natural” itself. It creates its own weather and geography.
And its own geology. It is critically important to pay attention to the titles of Skelton’s pieces, and to their etymologies. Wolfrahm, for instance, is a variant spelling of wolfram, or tungsten, the steel-gray metal found in several ores that has the highest melting point of any non-alloyed metal. “Gossan” is highly oxidized and decomposed rock, where all that remains is iron oxides and quartz. The six pieces each have names referring to minerals, or mining, or geological entities, from this fragmentary remnant “gossan” to the final fullness of “lodes.” This last is notable for its plurality, as if there are many possible caches of fruition to be had, and not only one. It is opportunity, to my ears, that seems around every turn in Wolfrahm—choice. (I’ve only scratched the surface of these words and their meanings, and as with all things, it is what is underneath the surface that might contain the richest vein for each listener.)
While listening through a third time I felt a natural world taking shape, and Skelton articulating a process of discovery and movement, which I transcribed in the following notes. We cannot say what Skelton “meant” by these pieces any more than we can say what the wallpaper in the dining room “means.” But here I will give you what each conjured, and leave you to listen to “Placer,” one of the most powerful of these pieces.
1. “Gossan.” As if a single chord is continually in the process of forming and then breaking up. Marvellous panning, like a fan with the instruments spread out left to right. It becomes nearly a series of block chords swelling with Skelton’s characteristic bowings and textural scrapings over this continuing chordal bed. Last minute a slow moving wail of gorgeous chords.
2. “Leached.” Major dominant start. Sunny. Like waking up. Again chords form, stop and reform. A melody seems to want to play but cannot get past its hint. More and more voices come in. It is still sunny. Like waves rolling slowly into the shore and on to the sand, only to be pulled back out and then reform, each wave slightly different but containing the same general form. A high note motion comes in as it fades slightly, the listener pulling away from the waves and towards other sounds and memories of sounds.
3. “Black Sands.” Percussive swaying in background. Definite rhythmic beat which can be placed and felt. Swelling motion a transition to a different place. Happy. (Black sand is usually found in a placer deposit, an alluvial deposit of minerals often in the bend of a river, meaning on the surface, not having to be dug into deeply, and one valuable component often found within black sands is… wolframite).
4. “Oxide.” The melody trying to get out in ‘Leached” finds fuller expression. Its repeat binds the opening. Contentment. A satisfaction with meandering through a familiar maze of sound. Longer bowed overlays and major-tending passages. Less of the tension than in “Gossan” where rapid bowings increased alarm.
5. “Placer.” At first a stepping into a tunnel. A bit ominous. Low swells, a windy rush past. A gradual acclimatization and sense of bearing. Low swells take on a major tonality. Very refreshing waves of wind come past and feel comfortable. Placer is what is on the surface. Do not have to dig for it. Just pan for it. A little cave with a few treasures, some of them you find and some you brought with you. And then the surroundings and you, the initial noises and those you brought with you, harmonize and come together as one music. Those earlier sounds become filtered through new instances of themselves. A circle of sound that is content. It gradually fades as if leaving this place, its sounds disipating but remaining in mind.
6. “Lodes.” Morning. Waking bird song. Thoughts extend via short melodic fragments. The discovery of something. A gold fragment. A lode, but plural. Multitude of options seen, no one melody or fragment has to dominate but all can be given a chance to breathe and bear riches. A riches of options. Contentment seen in opportunity. Gradual addition of instruments and voices= expansiveness. Reduction and fade at end of day.
Richard Skelton’s announcement and ordering information
Carousell previously on Hallock Hill
