Formication - The Condemned Piano (Memory)

Apart from some albums on the .net label Dark Winter the British formation Formication also has a few albums on their own webpage. Or technically, on the website Virb, one of the many social networking sites on the internet today.

My introduction to Formication was their "Pieces For A Condemned Piano", which I liked very much. So, I was positively surprised to come across a "part two" on their website. The story goes that while cleaning out a hard drive these gentlemen came across two completely finished, and completely forgotten, compositions, which dated back to the recording session of abovementioned album. These have now been released as "The Condemned Piano (Memory)" and can be found on Formication's Virb page.

Soundwise these two pieces are close to the hypnotic last track of the original album. Again we hear repetitive and unrecognisably warped samples of a piano. As Formication would have it, the instrument is speaking to us one more time through the veils of time. Admittedly, there is indeed something to the sound that suggests this, a sort of delayed echo, which grants a particular quality to the music. With just 25 minutes it's a short final chord. But, as far as I'm concerned, these are more than just leftovers from the cutting table. Recommended for all those who enjoyed the first album!

Originally written in Dutch for the weblog of IkEcht (http://ikecht.web-log.nl), English translation by the author.