Vanitas by 10:32
Like its author's cryptic moniker, 10:32's Vanitas EP trades in subtle misdirection. The name 10:32 denies its humanity, all numerals and punctuation, and yet the music is melodic, inviting; the word "vanitas" is Latin for "emptiness" (ironically, it also refers to "the arts"), and yet 10:32's music is painstakingly choreographed, as content-rich as any classical composition. 10:32 baits the listener with electronic manipulation while his heart pumps warm blood.
Even the EP's sequencing is a red herring: Vanitas opens with "Blue Little," a hunched-shoulder slice of instrumental hip-hop that originally appeared on the Ghostly Swim compilation. "Blue Little" is dominated by a hulking beat and a dour mood - but the piano chords echoing beneath hint at what's to come. As Vanitas unfolds, 10:32's exquisite skill with the acoustic guitar comes to the fore. "Harharmony"'s only rhythm comes from a lightly tapped cymbal as 10:32 interweaves guitar harmonics, tabla flutters, and undulating voices; the entirely beat-less "Harditry" rides a slowly-developing melody to a brief, satisfying climax; and "Jitter Heart" stakes out a peaceful spot between lightly crunching beats and ambient guitar arpeggios.
It's telling that Vanitas closes with "Written Not Sent," a modest solo acoustic-guitar composition in the Fahey vein. The stylistic polar opposite of its EP-opening evil twin, "Written Not Sent"'s skillful, expressive performance and sophisticated melody - adorned with only the slightest hint of machine-borne reverb - shows that while 10:32 may hide behind numbers and technology, his intentions are all too human.
Tracklist
| 1. | Blue Little | 4:32 |
| 2. | Harharmony | 5:00 |
| 3. | Harditry | 3:37 |
| 4. | Jitter Heart | 4:09 |
| 5. | Written Not Sent | 3:00 |
Credits
License
All rights reserved.
Over the space of seven full-length albums, Tim Koch has covered a lot of ground sonically, choosing to toy with mood and texture, but never committing wholly to one style. Initially coming to the attention of the electronic scene under the moniker Thug, utilising Detroit techno styled percussion immersed within a mesh of synth pads, he reverted back to his birth name for his subsequent output.