Plastic Materials

If being a fan of Marina Rosenfeld is not a full-time occupation (she releases little music), it sure is a fulfilling one (what she does release is top-shelf material). Plastic Materials features tracks composed between 2007 and 2009, mostly on her own, although Raz Mesinai (computer) and Ari Fenton (trumpet) appear on "The Conversation" and Christof Kurzmann (computer) had something to do with "Sweetest Sensation." This rather short album features two types of pieces. Most of the nine tracks are delicate ambient works constructed from vinyl surface noise, piano, and electronics. Some of these (namely "In F" and "Sweetest Sensation") are as elegant and beautiful as any previous Rosenfeld pieces. Three tracks are quite different and have all evolved out of the same project, "Teenage Lontano," a cover version of György Ligeti's orchestral piece rearranged for teenage choir. Here, snippets of teenage girls' conversations are wrapped in on themselves and arranged in a kaleidoscope of sung-spoken parts blended in with treatments. All three are fascinating vignettes and, interspersed throughout the album, they add contrast and variety. Plastic Materials is an introspective work that sits halfway between electroacoustics and experimental ambient, with some pieces displaying spikes in their otherwise delicate sonic fabric — sudden sound interventions that can be startling at times, though they do give the album a certain level of unpredictability. A strong effort. ~ François Couture, Rovi