Floating effortlessly through a labyrinth, all claustrophobic walls and ground-clinging fog, harangued by evanescing whispers disembodied from their ancient source; accosted by the hissing and the clanking and the crashing: this is how the listener experiences Càlida Construcció. Compiled by artists from around the globe (specifically, France, China, Argentina and Catalonia), the release is a study in electroacoustic and acousmatic production. Slow to start, with a plodding march of minimalism from Jeanne Clerc-Renaud, the study picks up some energy with the resolution of the second track, by Xu Hualing. “La chambre en spirale”, by Santiago T. Diez Fischer, bursts into the fray, at times with relative bombast, to maintain that level of energy, if only momentarily, before giving way to the album’s closing by Joan Bagés i Rubi–whose final moments may be the finest of the release.
As a study in electroacoustic and acousmatic, it is near textbook; employing classic sounds such as clanging metal, field recordings and tape manipulation. The production, across the board, is exquisite, highlighting the dynamic range of the source material without homogenizing the disparate efforts of the artists involved. Despite this, on a personal level I felt that it lacked that je ne sais quoi to really bring it all together to form that sort of remarkable listening experience that bears repetition.
Great, but not quite really great.
[Rating:4.5/5]
