Mark Fell - Periodic Orbits of a Dynamic System Related To a Knot 8.6

                Before I get into the music, I want to defend the name of this album. I’ve seen a number of people call it ‘silly’. Nothing could be further from the truth. The name refers to an extremely esoteric form of geometry. You don’t really need to understand the math, but it does make sense considering the near multi-dimensional sound of the work itself. 

                The periodic orbits would then to the many different ways the sounds revolve around each other. Mark combined these pieces from outtakes, live sessions, or unreleased pieces. While this may sound a bit disjointed, the end result is a pretty concise summary of everything he’s done with his solo projects and SND related work. 

                At times the work appears to be propelled by pure kinetic energy. The ‘That’ side definitely has this quality. Right from the beginning the sounds are jagged, moving quickly. While the beginning doesn’t feel like it would be out of place on Atavism’s second track, around the three minute mark it begins to build dramatically. I wouldn’t call it anything but pure rhythmic pulses jumping over one another. For me this side is my favorite as the song builds up to a near absurd level of activity before letting down. By the 19 minute mark Mr. Fell even introduces a few different sounds not normally found in his work, a nice nod to early dance music. 

                Meanwhile the other, opening side ‘This’ serves as a counterpoint of sorts to the madness of the second track. It is considerably quieter, revealing Mark’s methods to some degree. What is interesting is how both tracks lead into one another. You can begin with either track to hear how the same themes are visited. But generally I agree with putting the quieter ‘This’ in front of the more active and maniac ‘That’. 

                If you were waiting for a particularly raw version of Mark Fell’s work, this is it.