Reviews:
(Cassette Gods) Arc’s “Monument 36" is a Deep Listener’s delight, braiding the binaural pulses of low hertz drones with plodding, electro-acoustic bows & whistles, thus revealing an unending sunrise that creeps across unindustrialized swaths of land at a patiently relentless pace. The parsing out of which sources used were created organically straight-to-tape, were captured and heavily treated (and/or occasionally looped/augmented), and which ones were products of choirs of oscillators is no easy task…and I suppose it really doesn’t matter. This tape bridges the gap between meditative visionaries like Eleh and Éliane Radigue, adopting their careful, catatonic narrative-revelations in spirit, but sprinkling in the more dynamic approach of interdisciplinary sound cultivation* and, perhaps a liiiii’l extra pep, here & there. Relatively speaking, by the time a bowed cymbal makes its presence discernible, it comes off heavy as a stoney riff. Spread uninterrupted across four distinct movements (program repeats on side B), Monument 36 is an electroacoustic-drone lover’s dream! - Jacob An Kittenplan
(Disaster Amnesiac) Before the music even started, Disaster Amnesiac was enthralled by the lovely cover art for this cassette, along with the very mysterious vibes that it exudes. Just dig on that quavery orb! Inside the J-card, that opaqueness continues as four phases of the piece are listed, along with several of what appear to be initials of people that would appear to be "the 36". Definitely the kind of graphic design that I've always found to be quite compelling, as it leaves a ton to the imagination.
Imaginative as well is the music of Monument 36. For the most part, the sounds emerge from what could possibly be synths or laptops, calmly eddying out from their sources. Long form drones are established and occasionally seasoned by small percussive clanks and chord sounds, eventually joined by what I think are viola and bowed cymbals. The longer tones of Arc's playing blend into lovely, room filling waves that tend to freeze Disaster Amnesiac in place; I find my mind floating along within their contemplative, pulsing aural streams. Monument 36, with its wide, quietly moving phases, has all of the qualities that make Minimalism such a cool approach when it is paired with attentive listening. Kudos as well for the stellar engineering here, from sound capture to mix to mastering. It sounds really well crafted on all of those fronts, too. Put this tape on and allow yourself....to....drift...... - Mark Pino
(Sound Projector) After those two hefty pig-iron specials, time for a midnight skulk with Arc on their Monument 36 (EH?100) tape. This one’s more on the order of a brooding art-drone with a cold clinical edge and minimalist aspirations, with very little information printed on cover apart from the titles of the four “phases” which make up this work. Even use of the word “phases” hints at compositional pretensions, but that’s OK as the throbbing music is such a powerful yet cold mesmeriser. Not clear how this music is realised, but it has a purity and clean “open” feeling which is attractive, and the way the layers are introduced and developed betokens a righteous mind or two behind the dials. Mysterious cover image resembles a gong or tam-tam tinted in blue, yet it also seems like an alien fingerprint with its whorls and concentric lines. Arc may come from Oakland and seem to prefer spelling their name with the concentric circles added to suggest extra reverberation, i.e. (((arc))). A few more low-profile tracks from their Soundcloud page with evocative titles like ‘Conical Signal’ and ‘Night Sea’. Sense a poetic spirit at work here, and perhaps a gallery artist too, if their avatar is reliable showing intricate star pattern being carefully delineated on a floor. From other journalists, arc is earning comparisons with Eleh, another low-profile creator who insists on anonymity as they create their very pure drones. A strong and alluring piece of magnetic force, in spite of the fragile and wispy tones. - Ed Pinsent
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