Hairbrushing – Drip Intervals
5.31.18 by Ryn Masteller

So many yellow blue, orange red, white and green strands, so little time. That’s the Hairbrushing model anyway, a vast colorful nest of patch cords connecting this circuit to that one, a glorious heap in which maybe a little bird could build a nest, lay a couple eggs, raise a couple chicks. I’ve got birds on the brain, because we’ve got that exact nest situation going on right on our front porch, and my son needs something to occupy his mind before school ends and Switch season begins. But Hairbrushing proves the ability to push through my metaphor into entirely new territory, as the glorious synthesizer workouts he traffics in have me huffing and puffing as if I had the heart of a hummingbird, such is their unblocked forward momentum. Plus I had a little eureka moment when I popped this one in, a “holy moley, this tape is the cat’s tits” event where my blood was pulsing through heretofore undiscovered capillaries that had my head all floaty because it couldn’t keep up with the activity.

Listen you guys, I’ve heard a lot of synthesizer tapes, and I’ve heard some GOOD synthesizer tapes, but “Drip Intervals” is in the top tier, it’s not even close really. There’s just something about D. Marcum’s approach (that’s Hairbrushing’s real name) that strikes that chord (or is it “cord,” yuk yuk), a harmonious component within my own wiring that aligns almost directly with the dense emanations from Hairbrushing’s machines. Most of the time we’re treated to blistering arpeggios that resolve themselves into magic paintings, the ones where you have to relax your eyes (read: ears) to see (read: hear) (although I’ve never been able to do those, so I’m not really an authority on them). Or the jutting crystal melodies refract into sharp, colorful forms that resemble a rainbow-colored Fortress of Solitude (but Superman is a big fat piece of crap) or a rainbow-colored EQ readout emblazoned across your laptop screen. Hey, speaking of, did you read they have Fruity Loops for Macs now? Pitchfork FTW!

First thing you do tomorrow (because it’s what, 9:30 p.m. already?) is go to Obsolete Staircases and buy one of these things. They’re still available, even though they came out in November. … Oh, the internet is on all night? Well do it now then!