Quetzolcoatl
Living
Leaf Trail 2007

01. [Untitled]
02. [Untitled]
03. [Untitled]
04. [Untitled]
05. [Untitled]
06. [Untitled]
07. [Untitled]
08. [Untitled]
09. [Untitled]
10. [Untitled]

Not much there that I want to know about Aztec mythology, and therefore Irish man Tim Hurley's incarnation as Quetzolcoatl (spelled slightly incorrectly, but who cares with such tongue twisters) was not going to trigger any oohs or ahas, in spite of boasting some rather intriguing titles. Yet it's the simplest of them that particularly caught my eye this time, as I was curious to find out if he'd - pardon little sarcasm - live up to the expectations. "Made from a seemingly humongous catalog of old solo piano recordings, Living has Hurley playing them loudly through strained speakers and capturing the results. The sound is morphed both through the electroacoustics of the speakers being pushed to their limit and the sound signature of the room to create something entirely different from the source". You could say we're dealing with reanimation, in a mighty harsh way. Don't get your hopes down, though.

Obviously, these ten untitled pieces have a (hi)story, most of them being mixed in a romantically nostalgic way; some have more poignant motifs, others seem as the result of sudden inspiration from reverberating air. Hypnotic stretchings, murky density, "soaked" sounds upon transferring them from one state/medium to another... All would become quite understandable: that very music of environment, capable of sucking in; minimal-grooving with complete absence of monumentality. Slow but hardly morose - it breathes, alright. For some, this may not be enough. Others may wonder why. Although, to an extent, he's a mood stylist just like many, there's still plenty to hear from Herr Quetzolcoatl. And even, plenty to preserve.

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