Split Series #8, by James Plotkin / Pimmon

Split Series #8

by James Plotkin / Pimmon

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

£6 GBP or more
Limited Edition 12"
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Includes unlimited streaming of Split Series #8 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out

1.	James Plotkin - Forensics for Guitar (Pt.1) 06:06	buy track
2.	James Plotkin - Forensics for Guitar (Pt.2) 05:28	buy track
3.	James Plotkin - Forensics for Guitar (Pt.3) 07:38	buy track
4.	Pimmon - Fictitious Cells 05:58	buy track
5.	Pimmon - Bettler Kempt 05:35	buy track
6.	Pimmon - Serenade Sedan 05:41	buy track

about

The eighth installment in FatCat's split 12" series, James Plotkin v Pimmon merges two markedly different sounds and takes on soundscape construction.

A regular contributor / collaborator in cult US label Kranky’s coterie of drone technologists, New Jersey-based James Plotkin is a relative veteran in the field of guitar-based soundscaping. With a diverse back catalogue, Plotkin has released material on labels like Noise Museum, Kranky, Asphodel and Release Entertainment, including collaborations with the likes of Mick Harris, Mark Spybey, and The Young Gods’ Franz Treichler.

Like the recent Andrew Read / Anthony Child split 12” (12FAT031), all the sounds gathered here are sourced from the guitar but, once again, take its function away from traditional playing techniques (picking, strumming) to a far more abstract and processed terrain. Chords and notes are replaced by drones, tones and flickers; the instrument is fully explored as a total sound-source.

What emerges are three focussed tracks of discrete sonic experimentation and edgy, isolationist imaging. ‘Part One’ is all low, rumbling drone and metallic chatter; ‘Part Three’ is based around glassy pulse-accretions and piercing tones. Whilst ‘Part Two’ utilises a rumbling rhythm loop, frantic scratch-noise and low-end undertow.

Slowly shifting and building, Plotkin’s tracks sculpt a dark, yet stunning and involving space – each working its own, distinctive character, yet cohering in a cold, spartan landscape of alien atmospheres.

First heard on a demo received over a year ago, Pimmon is the alias of Paul Gough, a resident of Sydney, Australia. Having collected and processed sounds on an old reel to reel machinbe since the age of eight, Gough has only recently begun to unleash these sounds on the world - finding release through labels like Meme, ERS and Static Caravan. He has remixes for Kid606, Lucky Kitchen, Kim Cascone and Giardini do Miro, plus a collaboration with Oren Ambarchi/Keith Rowe/Fennesz/Pita all due out soon.

Calling this his most 'romantic' release to date, Pimmon has taken snapshots of “love” sounds - kisses, hearts beating, old romance songs off 78 rpm records and acoustic guitar ballads, and force-fed them a diet of PC .DLL files to create new sonic parts to play with. While Pimmon embraces the digital realm(PC /Mac, tape manipulation, filtering through my KorgMS20), stripping apart and rebuilding sounds on the PC, he also likes to record to an old analog multitrack machine adding a layer of warmth and hum.

Buzzes and blips, distorted rumbles, ghosts of melody, radar pulses, glitched ambience all are melted into an unpredictable slab of sound that fluctuates on and off. Minimal and maximised sounds weave without sounding unfocused. The ear slips between layers that ripple and shift like quicksand...

credits

released October 1, 2000

license

about

Fatcat Records Brighton, UK

contact / help

Contact Fatcat Records

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Split Series #8, you may also like:

Goccia
by Giulio Aldinucci

supported by 5 fans who also own “Split Series #8”

Goccia, it's mixing faded recollection from the artist's life and strong memories of the listener, shaping these two halves of lives into a unique imaginary beyond comprehension. Goccia, it's two fragments of reality put together into one dream strongly marked by liturgical features, hinting that the unknown must be a part of our existence to be complete. Goccia, it's a permanent surprise teaching us that the unexpected can be the most beautiful gift if you welcome it like an old friend. Dotflac
go to album
Killing Ghosts
by James Murray

supported by 5 fans who also own “Split Series #8”

smooth but uneasy drones overlaid with beautifully curated samples(?) and subtle noise and distortion. evokes cold and loneliness while being sonically 'real'. excellent! Giles
go to album
Welcome Abroad
by People Like Us

supported by 4 fans who also own “Split Series #8”

Really interesting song collages that manages to craft something new and creative while respecting the source material. FoxPuppy
go to album
Post-American
by MSPAINT

Combining discordant hardcore with explosive synths, the Mississippi band aren't messing around. Bandcamp Album of the Day Mar 22, 2023
go to album
Cornered
by Blank Gloss

Rough-and-tumble folk guitars co-mingle with stark synth melodies on the LA duo's third LP, bridging the gap between Americana and ambient. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 22, 2023
go to album
Alley Ghost
by Kush Arora

Euphoric club instrumentals from the duo of Brooklyn's HMXGOD and San Francisco's Kush Arora, blending dancehall, drill, kuduro, and more. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 22, 2023
go to album
No greater hero than the least plant that grows
by Christopher Hipgrave

supported by 4 fans who also own “Split Series #8”

The textural complexity of this album boggles my mind. To do so much with so little, Christopher Hipgrave must be a wizard. The Lifted Index
go to album