Isometry by Matthijs Kouw & Phil Maguire

“A house that has been experienced is not an inert box. Inhabited space transcends geometrical space.” Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space

For their first collaborative album, Isometry, Matthijs Kouw and Phil Maguire channel the architectural movement of structuralism into minimalist electronic music. They consider synthesised sound as a concrete form; how it fills or implies a physical location, whilst ruminating on their respective countries' traditions of modernist and structuralist architecture.

The four resulting pieces invite the listener to explore the fractal properties of large-scale structures, and to wander within apparent stases to discover ever so slight variations, movements, and developments. Deceivingly simple forms patiently build structures that shape the experience of temporality. A dwelling is created by repeated units that cluster, intertwine, and emerge into a space inviting inhabitation.

The cover image is a diagram of Herman Hertzberger's Centraal Beheer located in Apeldoorn (The Netherlands). Kouw and Maguire took the building as inspiration for their album, viewing it as a material manifestation of their pieces. As a result, very special thanks are due to Herman Hertzberger for his kind permission to use his illustrations, and to Richard Bryant for permission to use his photograph of the Centraal Beheer offices interior.

Experimental music imprint and concert series that ran between 2016 and 2022.

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