I’ve taken a fair bit of time and space to break-out quite a detailed run through of one example of I think a particularly effective Shake song for two reasons. And this rhythmic wave of course inhabits the larger intervals of incoming and outgoing episodes of portmento voice. Modulation on the top-lying percussion layer is synched to the rhythm, so with each hit of the emotionalised pad you hear a different face of the shimmering, simmering, wash. ‘Cymbals’ are constructed from another analogue-sounding module comprising of noise, sine wave and high-pass filter. These synth side drums provide the swing syncopation on ‘Breathe Deeper’: one hit just ahead of one bar, then one a little behind the next, then doubled-up before the next, then repeat step one, and so on. Such a timbre, combined with the technological ‘feel’ of the drums and the overall context, produces a poetic and perhaps ironic juxtaposition of ‘ancient’ and ‘modern’. Of course it has vague associations with many kinds of ‘indigenous’ rhythmic music. It’s vaguely reminiscent of two padded-up tom toms. Slightly left-field, you will hear some analogue-sounding synthesised percussion. Listen how the kick clips the front end of every second 4-bar beat with an extra kick before the one directly on the beat. But that’s really not telling you anything. Sweet harmonising comes from a luxuriously thick and syrupy portmento pad refrain, which keeps ebbing in for several minutes at a time before ebbing out again. On it, a spiralling, astringent arpeggio is waylaid on what perhaps might have been a shorter simpler journey, by psychedelizing tweaks and diversions. It occupies the entirety of side B on that record and is more than 12 minutes long. Released on Shake’s Frictional Recordings label, in 1995, catalogue number FRCT 002. ‘Breathe Deeper’ is a typical track from the back catalogue of Anthony ‘Shake’ Shakir.Īpart from this compilation, it’s to be found on side B of an EP called ‘Iconoclastic Diaries’ ANTHONY “SHAKE” SHAKIR - FRICTIONALISM 1994-2009
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