Musicians Duane Pitre and Eleh are big friends of drone. Not in the style that sees frequencies as vibrating bodies that flatten the eardrums, but rather in the calmer form that listens to a sound first before gradually beginning to process it. The grande dame of drone, Éliane Radigue, may have served as a source of inspiration for both of them, and especially Eleh reveals himself to be her follower in his solo works. Compared to Radigue’s extreme asceticism, the drone approach taken by Duane Pitre and Eleh with their project, simply entitled Pitreleh, almost represents a pop version of it. That’s not to say they work with sing-along melodies, but the two long pieces feature slowly unfolding harmonies that circle around each other as if tightly interlocked (»Vibration: Sine Pools«) or gently rise above a bass rich in overtones (»Enclosure: Wave Ramp«). Almost catchy, you could say. At the same time, the pieces are ideal for illustrating the subtle difference between this form of drone and ambient. Whereas ambient usually works with a generous use of reverb everywhere these days, these pieces are almost dry in their acoustics. They get their depth from finely balanced dynamics and are not reliant on simulated resonances. Released ten years ago as a small vinyl edition on Important, a new release is now available on cassette. This was long overdue.
Pitreleh
