“xAj3z” is the first album and second release of Soisong, the collaboration project between minimalist Ivan Pavlor, the man behind COH, and Peter Christopherson, founding member of TG and half of the legendary ritual / alchemical electronic duo, Coil.

Being a long time fan of both Coil and COH, I liked the first Soisong release, the EP ‘Soijin No Hi”, I still thought it sounded like a by-the-numbers mix of COH and Peter Christopherson’s latest work, the recent Threshold Houseboys Choir album, “Form Grows Rampant”, which I thought was solid, but lacked ambition, and was really no more than a collection of well produced, emotional, downtempo synth pieces without enough substance or diversity to really make them memorable.

I had a hunch these two would really stretch out their wings and integrate their styles a lot more for this next release, and was really pretty damn excited for it, but “xAj3z” exceeds my expectations to a ridiculous degree.  It really doesn’t sound a bit like COH, Coil or Threshold Houseboys choir… or really anything else, for that matter.

I’ve called a lot of albums ‘alien’, but very few facilitate transport to a world as new, dwarfing, mysterious, detailed and complete as the one found on this album.  Yet there’s another side of this album that’s not so emotionally indecipherable, and in fact is more accessible than most of what either of these artists have ever done.  The increased presence of live instruments, as well as the vocals (which I’ll go into more detail about later) lend a much needed sentimentality and raw urgency to the album.  Guitars and live drums are used liberally, and songs like “T-Hu Ri Toh” and “Dtorumi” are actually danceable.  Nothing on the album is very harsh or aggressive.  Yet, no one would, I think, would say these artists have ’sold out’ in any shape or form.  Yes, these songs are melodic, and you might even start humming them to yourself, but their organization borders on psychotic.

The album's beautiful packaging is designed by Ivan Pavlov of COH.

We finally find out what was meant in the original Soisong blurb by Christopherson’s ‘unique style of synthesized vocals’, or whatever the phrase exactly was.  A majority of these tracks feature oddly processed, melodic, smooth Thai voices, apparently speaking Thai, and full length lyric sets of it, too.  Christopherson’s seriously meticulous editing pushes the art form to a new level.  The line between man and machine has never been more blurred.

This approach is a godsend, considering that the deeply charismatic voice of Jhonn Balance, or at least SOME kind of real vocal presence, really seems to be, in retrospect, exactly what was missing from the Houseboys’ Choir album.  That album actually introduced the processed Thai voices, but didn’t take the concept far enough for it to seem like the voices were anything more than another layer of looped ambience in the tracks.  With the development of this style, Christopherson has finally found a way to make work of equal evocative power to Coil without his longtime partner.

Some kind of strange pointillism is in use here…  almost like late period Autechre, cascades of notes stumble against each other in constantly shifting patterns, forming just enough of a coherent melodic progression for the listener to follow, but never truly repeating itself.  The significance of each note or sound may not be immediately obvious, but the structure eventually reveals its deranged perfection.  However, while Autechre tracks may evolve with too much subtlety for the change to even be noticed with casual listening, “xAj3z” is not afraid to be abrupt or jarring, ambitiously moving from section to section and melody to melody, reinterpretting past ideas constantly into darker or lighter contexts.  This style is totally new to both of these artists, and it’s all the more impressive that Soisong is creating this effect mostly with live instruments.

Aside from the vocals, the influence of their newfound homebase of Thailand is, as also promised  in the original blurb, very strong on this album.  The atmosphere of Asia has seeped into these Europeans’ blood… its mark is all over the album.

The opener, “Amkhapaa”, is, of all the tracks, most like what I expected after hearing the first EP.  Despite there being no beat, this sound is otherwise a lot like the one that dominated “Soijin No Hi” and COH albums like “Strings”…  short clips of loosely organized acoustic and electronic sounds, slowly weaving itself into a musical fabric, all inside a rather large reverb chamber.  Ghostly piano trills and individual guitar notes seem to promise some kind of coherency, only to dissolve back into emptiness.  The track establishes the ancient and alien, yet

The second track “T-Hu Ri Toh” is a surprising energetic romp, complete with fuzz bass line and a catchy main melody.  It has a frantic, chase scene like feel, and works well after the slow spaciness of “Amkhapaa”.

Then we get to “J3z”, a beautiful slice of instrumental electronica full to the brim with chiming appregiated synth melodies, built from layer after layer of basic waveforms, belltones and music box like sounds.  It’s a triumphant, nostalgic, and ultimately very mature feeling song that’s truly hard to describe, but definitely a highlight.

The fourth track, “Mic Mo” warbles through its impressionistic melody with lots overdubbed guitars and an uncertain rhythm that drops in and out at will.  It’s a mourning, regretful piece, recalling the empty, windswept streets of some ancient city.

“Paer Tahm” is a wonderfully melancholic lullaby, proof again that Christopherson’s work is always best heard at night.  Whistling, windy ambience emphasize the strange, airy sense of emptiness that seems present in Soisong even at their most coherent.

“Dtorumi” is a funky change of pace, and by far the most mainstream Soisong track to date.  Featuring funky, staccato guitar chords, a thick bassline, a chorus refrain and a 4/4 beat, it could almost pass as a straight dub track, although it’s not entirely ‘chill’.  The highlights of the song are the beautiful vocal lines, which feel like a desperate plea of some kind (not that I can actually decipher any of the lyrics).

The closer, “Ti-Di-Ti Naoo”, is a comfortingly beautiful, major key, choral resolution to the album, highlighting the sentimental rather than the disorienting and strange sides of the album with a relaxing song with few abrupt changes, reassuring the listener that all is right.  The song feels like the glow of torches and distant, yellow warmly shining street lamps in the dark of night.

The album ends on a mysterious note with an odd, not-quite-human-but-not-really-vocoded voice singing a fragmented melody over the phone that seems to end in the wrong place.  It’s inexplicable,  but somehow fits.

In conclusion, well… I’ve written a lot about this album, but it’s a complex experience beyond anything I could have predicted, and it pushes the Soisong project in an exciting new direction  It’s a very strange, yet very accessible album, way ahead of its time.  It could just as easily remain an enigma as find a place in history as an early omen of pop trends of the future.  It’s deeply multicultural music that could only have come from years of travel and life experience.  I couldn’t recommend this album more highly, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.