As a Means Through Which I Can Speak by Ben Fleury-Steiner

"The three essentials of the English language are: Purity, Perspicuity and Precision."—Joseph Devlin

Ben Fleury-Steiner runs the non-profit record label Gears of Sand. Gears of Sand uses a straightforward and admirable plan. The label releases ambient and Zoviet-France-esque experimental artists in limited edition CD-Rs, featuring solid artwork. Its roster of artists is impressive, and each GoS recoding I have heard has been a worthwhile experience.

Dr. Fleury-Steiner's own work, As a Means Through Which I Can Speak, presents eight pieces which explore the furrowed yet rich field of melodic drone. Recorded between August 2005 and September 2006, the work contains atmospheric pieces which seek to approximate a "journey of discovery." As a Means Through Which I Can Speak opens with "Distance is an Accomplishment of the World (Part One)," a strong piece which uses a mildly ethereal melody and spaces between sounds to achieve a pleasing effect. "As a Means through which I Can Speak (Part One)," the next piece, achieves a resonance I found very satisfying. These two pieces are perhaps the strongest on the CD.

Fleury-Steiner's work is neither synth-happy nor so minimal as to be a mere soundscape for pondering. He instead achieves a balanced sound which, in the main, satisfies both the electronic pioneer and the person who, as I do, enjoys hearing melodic themes elegantly expressed in drone. The decision to break two of the tracks into parts is a wise one. I could easily imagine this release being broken down further from eight pieces into twelve or sixteen. I think this is because what I value in this work is its sense of a crisp moment—a sense that is subserved by shorter pieces. The pieces on this release are not equally effective. The pieces that have a melodic theme embedded effectively in the drones please my ears far more than the pieces which merely achieve a particular drone-riff and settle in for the duration. The release has a solid sense of production values, and the mastering by William Fields is effective.

I've admired Gears of Sand since I acquired one of its initial releases. Its releases consistently illustrate how small labels can do things that large labels are no longer capable of doing. As a Means Through Which I Can Speak provides a rich array of interesting pieces—uneven perhaps, but never unentertaining. Even the least pieces are a solid listen, and the best pieces are sublime. Ambient music, like the English language in the old Joseph Devlin saw, may be about "purity," "perspicuity" and "precision," yet Fleury-Steiner reminds us that ambient music is also about lingering questions, half-dreamt notions, and everyday-ecstatic encounters. As a Means Through Which I Can Speak eschews dronastic bombast and elven song titles in search of a kind of off-kilter yet lovely sonic poetry. It is a meditation without chant, and a question-less evocation of mystery. I'm glad I listened to this mode of speaking.

Available from Gears of Sand.

Review by gurdonark.