Oren Ambarchi - MMXX - 16: Viscount Gort (2021) [Official Digital Download]

In our small corner of the world, Oren Ambarchi needs little introduction. He is among the most important and prolific figures within the contemporary landscape of experimental music. First appearing as a drummer on the free jazz scene in Sydney, Australia, during the mid-1980s, by the 1990s Ambarchi had followed the gravity of an intense creative curiosity, subsequently reemerging as visionary electroacoustic pioneer focussed largely on the guitar.

With a small group of peers, he helped spawn a global movement that elevated experimental music to its current position, all the while producing an astounding body of solo recordings and collaborations with Jim O'Rourke, Keith Rowe, Keiji Haino, Johan Berthling, Sachiko M, Otomo Yoshihide, Gunter Muller, Crys Cole, and a near countless number of others.

For Ambarchi’s contribution to the MMXX series, he sculpted Viscount Gort, a beautiful work that features piano, electronics, processing, and field recordings. Minimal and inward looking, filled with a vast sense of space and restraint, the harmonics of punctuating chords hang in the air over the work’s duration, slowly entering a dialog with subtle, bubbling electronics before being slowly overtaken by recordings of bell laden animals as the composition moves toward its conclusion.

Easily the most engrossing of Ambarchi’s recent efforts, Viscount Gort stands slightly apart from what we have come to expect from the artist, proving his unending versatility, vision, and skill. It’s one of our favorite releases in the entire MMXX series and not to be missed

Matière Mémoire presents the MMXX Series. In anticipation of the year 2020, Matière Mémoire asked 20 great artists to create an original 20 minutes piece and an artwork. Throughout this year, each quarter will see the release of 5 new vinyls, available individually or as a bundle. Each record is limited at 500 copies and comes as a crystal clear vinyl featuring an original track of 20 minutes on one side, and a laser engraved artwork on the other. Each contained in a transparent sleeve printed with the MMXX logo, and each coming with a print of the artist artwork.

Tracklist
1. MMXX - 16: Viscount Gort (20:35)