Group Material – Intimations LP

Intimations marks the first official release of Group Material, the sound work of Eric Sanchez and Avalon Kalin. Released as a limited edition cassette on Slug Spitter.

Dreamlike, “Intimations” at first signals soft, fuzzy, ambient music. Soft touch riffs meet treated “foley sound” from everyday life. But the musique concrete use of material seems to loom behind any comfortable listening, giving an added drama and subverting expectations. Kalin and Sanchez have created a rich listening landscape that is intimate and shifting. Tracks like “Nothings” and “Intimations” pulse along with repeated phrases to hypnotic effect. While “Clean Flame of Joy” and “Earth Poem” seem more pieces for soundtrack or modern dance. A compelling set of pieces that marry Sanchez’s spellbinding tape performance sound with Kalin’s rich long-form style of morphing harmonies and pulses. You can hear guitars with occasional bass and synth, but used in an almost art music way, via Flying Nun Records or Gate. However the essential sound remains an impossible timbrel drifting, achieved through use of ancient hardware. Because of this charged use of softness, “Intimations” has the effect of transporting the listener to intimate places and dream landscapes. An enjoyable treat for those who seek original lo-fi ambient, art noise, and outsider electronic music.

> Blending guitar, piano, synthesizer and field recordings, Group Material craft an ambient sound that simultaneously captures both intentional and incidental settings, an ambient informed musique concrete. On Intimations, Eric Sanchez and Avalon Kalin offer a series of 4 pieces which would feel as at home on Kranky circa 1999 as they would on any modern tape label in 2023 (as they originally did, via cassette on Slug Spitter). RIYL: Roy Montgomery, Windy & Carl, Brian Eno, Emeralds. Limited edition of 100 copies.