FRANCIS, RICHARD - Three Tracks

New Zealand sound artist Richard Francis (aka Eso Steel), is the thirdartist released on cmr and the first 3-¢?¬ù CD from the label. Richard has beeninvolved with experimental music since 1996 when he began his first soloexcursions (combining tape looped instrumentation with field recordings) andplayed in a guitar improvisation group with Birchville Cat Motels CampbellKneale, called Small Blue Torch. His sound making since then has exploreddifferent techniques of CD sampling and abstraction, with a focus onelectroacoustic collection and abstraction/manipulation of field recordingsfrom various natural and mechanical sound sources. He has released soundworks on labels such as Last Visible Dog, USA; Drone Records, Germany;Stateart, Germany; Absurd, Greece, with numerous releases on his own labels20city and CMR, and has toured extensively in Japan, New Zealand, and mostrecently the West Coast of the US.Three Tracks (co-released by CMR, New Zealand and Stateart, Germany)contains three compositions recorded mid to late 2001 in Japan (whereRichard formally resided) and mixed in mid 2002 in New Zealand. Usingcontact and stereo microphones, field audio material was gathered fromorganic and mechanical sources, found in both interior and exteriorlocations in and around Tokyo. Richard uses the subtle elements of theserecordings (quiet electrical hums and crackle, amplified ambient nearsilences, minute occurrences) and carefully abstracts and arranges them intotexturally detailed, engaging compositions. Three Tracks sits nicely inRichards catalogue of audio manipulation, following a well received 7-¢?¬ù(under his moniker Eso Steel) on Drone Records, and an LP on 20city. - 20 City.