Gerritt & John Wiese – Panoramic Glass and Mirror LP

Misanthropic Agenda

Panoramic Glass and Mirror is a collaboration between Gerritt – who seems to be going by his full name Gerritt Wittmer now – and John Wiese two noise artists who have been drifting closer toward the electro acoustic realms. This collaboration here certainly enforces that theory, with pretentious minimalist artwork and carefully edited, fragile sounds that click and pop their way into my subconscious.

Despite the nice thick clear vinyl there’s not much here as far as the graphic art goes and all tracks are “untitled”, so I’m guessing Gerritt and Wiese are wanting the consumer to judge this more based on the sounds rather than the concept, or feel. The first side is more along a style of an experimental/sound art direction with sounds culled from a live recording of Wiese’. Crispy and fragile sounds melt along the wax and sound like they could be derived from rubbing styrofoam, or a glitching digital file. Dynamics are present with each track slowly ebbing and flowing. My first thought was that it all sounds very digital, but upon closer inspection it seems that it may just be specific equalizers or distortions used, probably all of the above. By the end of Side A there is a build-up to just a touch of noisier elements here, but nothing to really sync your teeth into.

I’m definitely enjoying side B much more which is apparently created from the studio sessions of Daniel Voss of (Leviathan, Lurker of Chalice, Deathroes and Yellow Swans), phew my mouth is dry from all that name dropping. But I feel the selection of sounds are much more intimate and well-suited for the processing and editing that Panoramic Glass and Mirror utilizes. This side has some gorgeous harmonic drones and excellent found sounds lapping along the sides of the recording. About half-way through the drones build to a sudden climax and die in a moment of silence that hangs just long enough to ready the listener for a darker toned composition.

The second half is definitely the most profound part of the record. The sounds are excellent, the shifting and twisting drones are alive in a spacious element and the gestures of tiny washes of noise that almost feel like they’re going to work themselves into a frenzy continue to keep me on edge. The flow of this track is superior and the sounds are excellent and engaging.

Side B is much more appealing to me than side A here but it’s still all quite enjoyable. There is a lot of thought put into the editing and arranging of sounds which is not lost on the listener and serves to draw one in effectively. You can tell these are seasoned artists are learning new things through collaborating and further honing their craft. Although perhaps a little more is to be desired in the packaging, this is sonically a great release.

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