An introspective collage of obscure sounds performed by Asian small-clawed otters, corncrakes and other fauna, interwoven with gurgling waterpipes, sizzling streams and underwater percussion.
www.dinzuartefacts.com#/dnz20/
dinzuartefacts.bandcamp.com/album/herberts-archive
"The two nine minute pieces gather together a grab bag of oddball sounds surrounding water – small- clawed otters, corncrakes and gurgling streams can all be heard – and allots them into streams of consciousness, adding some of his own gentle percussion..."
(Tristan Bath / The Wire)
"...We can’t imagine anything more playful than an otter; in this artist, the creature has met its human counterpart."
(Richard Allen / a closer listen)
"...Even though it’s often hard to identify their original sound source, these recordings are extremely evocative. Natural rhythms appear for short periods, then dissipate forever. Water streams flow and bubble, while “small-clawed otters, corncrakes and other fauna” contribute too. Abby Lee Tee arranges and conducts this wide range of sounds with an impeccable narratorial instinct, and while Herbert’s Archive is short, it manages to sail across a whole world of unexplored sonic territory."
(Adam Badí Donoval / Tiny Mix Tapes)
"...I am drawn to compare this cassette to the early pioneers of electronic music – when there were not the facilities available to gifted folks like Abby Lee Tee – the facilities that everybody has at their disposal nowadays what with the coming of the computer age and all. Abby Lee Tee has taken the sounds of his environment and fashioned it into an artistic statement..."
(Andrew Backhouse / Sigil of Brass)
released November 30, 2017
mix & mastering by gcound
artwork by joe mckay