By Charlie WatkinsÂ
Aerodynamics is the newest release from ‘psychoacoustic
clarinettist’ Kai Fagaschinski. This record contains two tracks: the first,
‘Welcome to the 20 th Century’, is a 30-minute piece performed by
The Paranormal Clarinet Society, although recorded in two sessions in June
2023 and January 2024; the second, ‘Surrounded by Idiots’, is a nine-part
improvisation, each improvisation recorded separately by Fagaschinski.
‘Psychoacoustics’ is the best way to understand the music: it is about the
sound and how it is perceived by the listener, perhaps more than the music
as such.
Unlike Fagaschinski’s duo The International Nothing, ‘Welcome to the 20
th Century’ largely eschews extended techniques, instead focusing
on the possibilities of simply putting eight clarinets in a room together –
as Fagaschinski writes, to use ‘simple language’ only. But by no means does
that make this a conventional recording, especially as the clarinets creep
perilously close to one other, causing the frequencies to beat together
furiously, before moving apart again. The music certainly requires a good
set of headphones to properly appreciate: the sound of breath or clacking of
keys is as much a part of the music as the notes, making you feel like
you’ve walked right into the middle of a clarinet coven – which I expect is
exactly the effect Fagaschinski wishes to create.
The track was recorded in two sessions, and I found the change quite jarring
when it occurs (it isn’t subtle). I would have preferred to separate the two
sessions, rather than suggest they form a cohesive whole, which doesn’t seem
the case here. Nonetheless, the slow pace of change and intricacy of sonic
detail make this an interesting listen.
The second track, ‘Surrounded by Idiots’, is an improvisational experiment.
Fagaschinski recorded nine improvisations, each 35 minutes and 19 seconds
long exactly, whilst imagining that he is improvising with the other eight
incarnations of himself, and reacting as such to these imagined sounds.
Again, it is a very intimate recording, the microphones picking up every
intake of breath, the transformations taking place measuredly. The
experiment itself is an exercise I have tried on occasion – although never
in nine parts! – and it demonstrates how improvised music has its own
recognised structures and expectations. On the whole, it works: there are
moments of surprising synchronicity and textures that are unique because of
their independence. But when Fagaschinski’s whole approach is so subtle, it
was never likely that it would produce much incongruity, and it did make me
question whether as a whole this achieves something that couldn’t be done to
greater effect by actually improvising with eight other musicians.
This record is a fascinating listen for clarinet players like myself, who
will want to listen closely to how Fagaschinski uses the instrument so
creatively. But it is best as a psychoacoustic document, absorbing in its
precision and its intimacy, that will reward any listener willing to give it
their attention.