Jewell Case Finds Good Use

Thank you, Tristan Perich for finally using a CD jewel case in a way that will make me want to keep it in my collection, right next to my box sets and slabs of vinyl. This electronic composer has just released a record, 1 Bit Recordings (Cantaloupe), where the music comes from hand-assembled electronics that fit in the jewel case itself. You the listener just have to open it up, plug in some headphones, turn it on and start listening. There are even two knobs for right/left volume and a skip button. The music: bare bones minimalistic 1-bit celebrations—11 of them. Surprisingly, the primitive sounds are orchestrated with catchy melodies and climactic moments that you have to hear to believe. The audio encodings trip back to the ‘50s and ‘60s when the freaky electrified space hippies of Mills College decided to change the way we thought of “1”s and “O”s, taking a bite of the forbidden Silver Apple of the Moon’s aural Eden. True: the grooves here might be a little nails-on-the-chalk-board for some listeners, but here in the Birdman Offices, these are the sounds of the workingman. Also, hats off to Aquarius Records for shining a light on this fantastic jewel.

Tristan Parich "Certain Movement"