DWIGHT ASHLEY: Ataxia

Dwight Ashley

Ataxia

© 2006 Dwight Ashley (837101229449)

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A prime example of Neo-Expressionism meets Post Industrial.

notes

One year after the flooding of his “second city,” composer Dwight Ashley draws us deeper into murky waters with Ataxia In the liner notes to his third solo release, Ataxia, composer Dwight Ashley divulges his connection with and devastation over the disaster that struck his beloved “second city” of New Orleans during the making of the album. In so doing, he invites the listener to share in an auditory experience that explores both the epic and interpersonal aspects of disaster, disconnection and loss.

While in no wise “about” Katrina (the project was almost halfway complete before the hurricane occurred), with Ataxia, Ashley breaks new neo-expressionist ground in crafting beautifully haunting sonic atmospheres that anticipate a world
undone, in which certainty and stability are distant illusions. Those familiar with Ashley’s first two releases will recognize his characteristic use of inventive post-industrial sound palettes to create massive, almost orchestral compositions that at once seduce and confront, inviting us to probe the darker side of our humanity — and to lift the veil on ourselves.

In a culture characterized by irony, escapism and a misguided tolerance of the intolerable, Ashley’s compositions make a startling statement: not only does emperor have no clothes — his skin is missing, too. With Ataxia, he opens our
eyes with our ears, and demands we stop pretending not to notice.

reviews

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  • author: Kolousek Jan
  • In 12 crowded compositions Ashley finds refuge in a surreal world of sound
    author: Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END

    Dwight Ashley may never learn to tame his impulses into a style. The smoldering emotion of Ataxia (68'28") does not fit comfortably into any one movement. His influences here are less musical and more from national and world events. In 12 crowded compositions Ashley finds refuge in a surreal world of sound. On Ataxia his so-called neo-expressionism melts into a tempestuous state of the union message where blunt collages of battling tonalities and churning sonic textures advance like a storm front. With very little in the way of rhythm, melody and harmony, Ashley's compositions are realized through variations in timbre and tone - the most basic concept in Electronic Music. The songs are found in the making, and Ashley discovers new possibilities along the way. His work penetrates, then devours. It is a way of thinking in sound - which captures the brutality of our time. Though the political inquisition of this work may estrange some listeners, Ashley is so strident and strange, he comes off looking like a harbinger, not an oddity. Ataxia is a truthful cultural inquest and appeals for less chaos on higher ground.

  • Massively corrupted soundscapes
    author: Aron Kirk (composer)

    A delicately blended wall of utter ambience,washy synthesis,samples and massively corrupted soundscapes.If you like your music a little diverse,and unpredictable then Ataxia is for you.

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