Azonic
Prospect of the Deep, Volume One
Indivisible Music
Azonic is a project for Andy Hawkins (Blind Idiot God) improvisational and experimental side. That’s actually saying quite a bit because Blind Idiot God are quite out there when it comes to improvising and pushing sonic boundaries. Azonic gives Hawkins the space to explore long form improvisations focused on high volume guitar with lots of vibrato. These experiments push closer to the realm of LaMonte Young and Glenn Branca than the more contained, song-oriented works of Blind Idiot God.
The CD version of Prospect of the Deep, Volume One consists of three long pieces for guitar and orchestral percussion. Hawkins is joined in this version of Azonic by Blind Idiot God drummer Tim Wyskida, The soundscapes they produce are atmospheric, almost trance inducing explorations. “Oblivion of the Deep” reminded me of that a critic compared the live Wire album, Document and Eyewitness to the sound of a barge rusting. The long, slow development of tones and overtones of this piece makes me imagine a sunken barge being reclaimed by coral and other creatures of the deep. “The Argonaut’s Reckoning” is a more active, but equally atmospheric piece. “Voices of the Drowned” is only available on the CD. Bill Laswell is credited with “mix translation” which included the addition of some bowed bass and triggered processing.
The sessions for Prospect of the Deep produced seven pieces. We have three on Volume One, so we can look forward to more coming on Volume Two.
