#stena

The second movement “Dafni” uses the marimba to oscillate the same pitches that are being held on the Arp, an animated drone that is considerably beautiful. “Vari,” perhaps for variant, has polyrhythmic ostinatos in the marimba, with different held notes in the halidorophone and synth. “Kouklia” finds viola added to the proceedings, with octave repetitions set against bleeps and a number of descending sine waves.

“Amathounta” turns us back to the rich textures of “Agora,” this time with ascending glissandos. The marimba joins with the ostinato found in “Vari.” This movement in particular underscores the organic growth over the course of Hav’s music. The closer, “Kition,” accumulates still more material, overtone arpeggios prominent among them, into an ebullient coda. Hav’s celebration of the human in all its stages and its exhortation of repair are abstract concepts to conceive in music, but Whitney’s reuse of its component parts makes the topics palpable.

As Matchess, the artist uses a different collection of materials on the cassette Stena. While synths and sine tones are again prominent, found sounds make their way into the frame too. “Biskopskulla Högstena” begins the tape with long held drones. This segues into “The Dew of Sickly Sentiment,” in which the lower register is plumbed in a resonant octave. “In the Bed of Ivy” recycles descending sine waves, accompanied by a fetching chord progression played on synths. “Klara Kyrka” inserts found segments including distant helicopters and church bells. “Death in Trafo, or, the Crater” silences the bells with an abrupt, buzzy tone which is then morphed with pitch bends and multiplied in octaves, followed by pulsations and a repeating, short major key melody. At nine minutes in duration, it is the longest piece on Stena, and Matchess allows the various components to fade in and out, interrelating in various contexts. It is an expertly devised composition.

“Existe” and “DB” follow, miniatures with blowing wind, amplified guitar, and the aphoristic tune that has crept into previous movements. In “DB” the tune is taken down an octave and distorted almost beyond recognition, only to be followed by the whirring of helicopter blades. “In Sleep” starts out brusquely and then softens into a gentler demeanor in which wordless vocals can be heard against drones and wind. “Third Coin” contrasts the singing with strings, overlaps of the ubiquitous tune, and the whoosh of cabin pressure, ending with a buzz. “DNA Repair” concludes Stena with free-falling sine waves diving into the drone padding, followed by an extended passage of two-mallet marimba playing. Shards of buzzing interrupt occasionally, and the vibrato of the drones changes in speed. “DNA Repair” is gradually deconstructed, ending the recording with a single tone remaining held.

Hav and Stena are compelling documents, with Whitney Johnson/Matchess demonstrating a composerly approach to ambient music that is quite successful.