CD, EMD.pl, 2004
emd.pl/records
A somewhat old release from the Polish EMD label, Artur Nowak’s 2004 “Guitar Granulizer” is a 50 track concept release, on Nowak’s experimentation on the sounds achievable through the application of a multitude (well, more like 50) of different effects on guitar sample tracks. Clocking at approximately one minute for each sample, the album totals a good 53 minutes, which is quite enough for an experimental EP, especially one as focused as this one.
Without any logical or other sequence in which to play the 50 tracks (with the artist actually urging random playback), the release certainly makes great efforts not to sound like an album, defying the boundaries that defines a disc as a coherent whole and opting for sheer experimentation instead, releasing idea after idea and riff after riff, alternating between the familiar and the alien without any sense of structure or arrangement, offering the aural equivalent of a storm of inspiration, with sounds and “melodies” just waiting to be picked and used, ripe to the point of being inspiring for any guitar player or electronics tweaker.
This record is absolutely not meant for casual listening. It isn’t music. But it certainly will be music to the ears of any guitarist, and an experience for those willing to listen to what can be done to the oh-so-familiar sound of the electric guitar in the proper hands and with the proper assortment and use of effects.
Also of note is the very impressive presentation of the disc, with layers of art generated by the “Tag Artist” Reaktor plugin printed on sheets of vellum paper combining randomly, following flawlessly in the vein of the audible part of the release.
[7.5/10]
— George Mouratidis