By Matty Bannond
Strap-on tremolos, hazarai guitar pedals, extreme panning and manipulated
vinyl LPs carry Andy Haas’ saxophone to uncharted terrain on this solo
record. What are those things? How are they used? Where can listeners spot
them in the mix? You won’t find any answers here—but that might be the main
message of For the Time, Being. Nothing is certain on this tense,
tactile album.
This is Haas’ nineteenth or twentieth release on Resonantmusic. The
experimental saxophonist isn’t entirely sure. In the accompanying blurb,
however, he’s convinced that only systems with solid low-end response can
unleash the full effect of this recording. Low-frequency tracks and
effect-altered saxophones swim around in each section. On laptop speakers
or pocket-soiled earbuds, they drown.
What does it sound like? Disconcerting and disconnected, but full of
discoveries. There’s droning, whirring and revving beneath most of the
material. Haas favors the squeakier end of his soprano horn and that gives
his voice its complex character by mixing trapped-animal panic with a giggly
quality. There’s hurt and humor in these collage-like compositions.
The cry of the blues bubbles up in some passages, most notably on
“Protention” and “(im)Material”. Haas plays around with a slide-whistle
sound on “Purified in Vain”. Breathy noises and echoing sax on “Wcnsf
(Nocturne No. 1)” put the man ahead of the machines.
Many of the tracks reveal a nervous spirit and a nagging sense of
remembered pain. But the final piece, “Dehiscence”, rounds things off with
a note of optimism. It has a winding-down atmosphere, where spacedust is
settling and a state of balance has arrived.
Andy Haas takes the role of a sculptor on this mysterious release. He
breathes life into his figures and lets them speak in seldom-heard
frequencies that agitate the membrane of his listeners’ eardrums in
unfamiliar ways (if they use suitable speakers).
For the Time, Being
invites its audience to seek connections and contexts. But you won’t find
any. Instead, this album offers an experience of disorientation and
disturbed assumptions that neatly reflects the current moment in history.
The album is available on CD and as a digital download here
.