Pocka, Uhrwerk (CDR The Hand Work Press)

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A beauty of a private, letterpress edition made in only thirty copies by fellow electronic artist Matt Borghi. Brad "Pocka" Mitchell is an enthusiastic, if now maybe crestfallen, supporter of small music, which he released in a steady stream on his now-defunct Kikapu netlabel.

Uhrwerk is as minimalist and handmade as its cover, with Pocka exploring a select few sounds at a time, patiently turning them over in his hands like rare diamonds, contemplating the refracting light in their cuts. The album opens with an untitled track - they all are - which could serve as the soundtrack to the rising morning sun, played on singing water glasses.

The third track of nine unfurls with a mere whisper of strings, their tendrils coming together in a loose braid as it evolves. Five sounds like an old radiator blowing, um, off steam. Six, on the other hand, breaks the chains of gravity and floats off into space sending random signals back to earth. Seven finds him still in outer space but not happy about it, left alone to cogitate on the utter emptiness and loneliness he now inhabits.

Eight seems to curl back in on itself, becoming even more introverted. The pleasant back-and-forth twang of the finale sounds like a kind of reconciliation and acceptance of the symmetrical repetitiveness of eternity.

Produced with the utmost simplicity of classical style, Uhrwerk, like its folder, is a unique piece of craftsmanship.

http://www.thehandworkpress.com