The artist presently known as RhaD (i.e. Raffaele Pezzella, aka Sonologyst) has another Unexplained Sound Group album that I felt compelled to assess: M-E-T-A-M-U-S-I-C.
As with RhaD's Ghost Music Library (see March 2026 post), M-E-T-A-M-U-S-I-C summons matters unseen and all through self-reverential means.
M-E-T-A-M-U-S-I-C isn't shy about binding its audio vantages, either, as its six segments prove both expansive and introspective, while it surfs the social extremes.
For example, the track, "La chute dans le temps. For small ensemble of voice-organ-classic guitar-found recordings," starts with a temporal reveal, using ambient crawls, ebbing strums and a redoubtable, piano lure, each segment aligned with a shameless stream of the spoken word. The outcome is relaxing, even if brash beneath: a time for the ol' outward/inward mood, for sure.
"Pol Pot. Stereo test Signals alterations" forges still another attractive yet sinister structure, with additional utterances, matched by a trickling backdrop that teases more than not. If one were so inclined, the track could invoke a prison cell, where one sits, mopes and scopes ... perhaps scopes much too far, only to understand far too little. Exploratory stuff, indeed, enough so that one may evade eclipsing the ambivalent bar.
"Telephonic Art followed by Chamber Music" is livelier than the previous two, all due to its chit-chatty, phone-ringing exchange. That doesn't make it any gentler at heart, but there's an implied hope, a more determined drive, which tells one to reach out and try, even if ignored.
"Tesla. Sound documentary" celebrates the titular, beleaguered inventor, but along the way, it also steals from dystopic science fiction, where technology mounts, only to crash and burn. Radioactive droplets are heard throughout, underscored by angelic wails and militaristic cries, but as much as the strange interchange lies, its foundation stays sincere.
"Mark Marcum Time Machine. Sound documentary 2" springs with sheer elevation. It buzzes as much as it talks, erecting a Wells-ian ladder. Is the goal viable or mad? Will one trek forward or backward? One won't know until one cranks a gear.
"Tape manipulation of 1998, radio recordings" is the last and most experimental in the intricate line, tossing a little of this and that into its vast kitchen sink. More piano chords enter, as well as a violin and new voices, with soothing static stitching the parts. The juxtaposing requires filtering, but to do so would only spoil the flavor. The track is what William S. Burroughs may have called cut-up art, with an accidental meld that forges unpretentious perfection.
Perhaps it's the lack of dissimulation that molds M-E-T-A-M-U-S-I-C. Its audio detours pull from the barefaced annals of life, and life, whether viewed from the top or bottom, consists of so many things, if not everything. That everything distinguishes this epic. Indeed, for its bold inclusive/exclusive aspirations, RhaD's motely masterpiece is worth the experience.
https://unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com/album/metamusic
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