Z’EV has always been a musician who has had my respect (he is completely uncompromising), but whose music I could not truly enjoy. His earlier percussive works, such as “Heads & Tales”, which often contained vocal samples, are more enjoyable with their concise compositions, discernable direction and polyrhythmic energy, but for the most part, his albums are such austere, unfeeling exercises; perhaps he is focused more on the process by which his works are created than the resulting sound, as are many other avant garde artists whose work sounds similarly lacking in human warmth or logic patterns, such as Ryoji Ikeda or Richard Chartier… or perhaps with his works he intends to take us on a journey to a mental space so distant that most get inevitably lost along the way, unable to emotionally relate or comprehend where the ‘trip’ was supposed to lead.
“Sum Things”, six tracks of ringing, beatless sound (described on the spine as “a possible form for cold dark matter”) is no different, showcasing many of the aspects which make him unlistenable. As often with Z’EV, every track seems to be a separate product of the same experimental method, making for an extremely consistent sound throughout the record. In this case, the primary and only sound on the album is a grainy, harsh metallic resonance, which rather than being ambient and pure is mulched up with unpleasant artifacts caused by performing excessive time stretching and compression on a sample. Only rarely does it approach something I would call ‘textural beauty’, something I’ve found in even the most unapproachable avant garde quite often. Mostly it rings obnoxiously in a muddy morass of high frequencies.
Though the music ends up sounding similar to ambient music in some ways, and does drone on, I have not been able to interpret the sound as representing a space, something ambient music generally does. There is only the haziest ‘landscape’ hidden in the sound here. It does not ‘reverberate’ as ambient music should… reverberation being the way the human ear determines the size and shape of the space in which sound occurs. The dull cacophony of this album seems random at first, and repeated listenings do nothing to make any kind of organization apparent. There are louder and softer sections. The last track is almost on the level of noise. But it seems to mean little.
Dark ambient, despite its name, is not always a masochistic genre of music to partake in. Many artists known for their fear inducing music are, for the initiated, pleasant to listen to in many ways. Lustmord’s music has a sense of hugeness and cosmic unity about it, whereas Lull specializes in a sort of cathartic, escapist hypnotism and sonic impressionism. Many an artist’s work could be called ‘badass’, and is thus enjoyable as subtle, slightly campy apocalyptic daydreaming rather than coming across as actually disturbing. All seem driven by a human sense of aesthetics. Even Aube’s work, nearly comparable to Z’EV’s in inaccessibility, has a certain spatial order and rhythm.
The universe of “Sum Things”, on the other hand seemed to be governed by a being with no soul, no desire. It is abrasive without ever really being loud, breaking inhibitions or exposing a shred of aggression. Nor does it express the simplicity and clarity of any kind of zen or meditation state. The only keys we get into the bizarre world of “Sum Things” are the photos contained in the album packaging. Eroded, precarious natural pillars of rock of a grey color the album does seem to reflect. Even Steven Stapleton’s “Thunder Perfect Mind”, which came across as completely unsympathetic towards human life, was understandable in its sheer hostility. As far as I can tell,there is no force of will present in this music. The structures of the pieces would lead me to believe that they were caused by glitches or pure mathematics (just look at the track titles), and not a thoughtful process of composition.
So, after giving Z’EV another try I must concede he remains sonically interesting to me, but completely unlistenable. Perhaps if he chose the best of six tracks here and including it on an album with other, completely different experiments, it would be possible for me to listen to all the way through in one sitting. I give “Sum Things” it 3 stars on the basis of feeling like there is still something I’m not getting here. Perhaps this is generous, but I admire those who are unafraid to really push the boundaries. This is only for the most adventurous, and even they may be disappointed.
