Bastian Void / Kyle Landstra – split
1.15.16 by Scott Scholz

voidk

Two of the best synth zoners to ring out a stellar 2015, Kyle Landstra and Joe Bastardo’s Bastian Void take complementary yet opposite approaches to modular mayhem. Both artists bring recent recordings of pieces workshopped over summer gigs to this split C45 on Chicago’s Lillerne Tapes, gifting us with a rare tape that explores both inner and outer space.

On the A-side, Bastian Void’s “Acorn Construction” is a perpetual motion machine, blasting off with a persistent arpeggiator section into a field of cosmic dust. Several other arpreggiator-dominated passages morph into one another, nicely balancing timbres from the three major food groups of kosmische: square, saw, and sine waves. Even when the piece eventually settles into swelling pads and fading drones toward its end, a sense of motion and vertigo remains. This side is a great companion for interstate (or interstellar) travel.

When you arrive at your destination, though, it might be time to turn within, and Kyle Landstra is ready to light up your limbic system with his “Seeking Refuge in Emptiness” on the B-side. Like Bastian Void, Landstra is no stranger to the joys of the arpeggiator, but here he focuses instead on slowly shifting pads and drones. A fine coda to his excellent “Unshared Properties” quadruple tape on Sacred Phrases just a few months earlier, this feels like a reverent embrace of stillness, made of compressed time and gentle atmospheres. From its midpoint onward, “Seeking Refuge” starts to incorporate rhythmic, arpeggiated figures, but somehow they feel more circular than linear, embracing the listener from a central position instead of defining a path of movement.

Bastardo laid down some killer infinite-regression artwork that’s just perfect for this split, and he printed up these j-cards all classy and gorgeous, too, with fine line work and vintage, muted colors. There’s a rad little card inside, too, where you can familiarize yourself with these fine fellows’ feline companions. These babies are almost gone, but you can still snag one of the last copies over at the Lillerne Bandcamp. Happy travels!